> Equestria Girls: Sonic the Hedgehog
>  by sonicfan05
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Prologue (Edited by knigsonic - 2/19/21)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





It was an early morning at the typical island. The sun was rising, the sky was clear, the river was fresh and clean, the grass was green and most of all, very peaceful.

Somewhere on that island, a small blue creature, which looked like a small hedgehog, was running through the island without a care in the world. He ran across the field at the speed of sound, he ran over a weak bridge before it collapsed, he even ran through a huge loop-de-loop without breaking a sweat. It was all thanks to his special power, the power of super speed.

He wasn't sure how he got his power or where it came from. All he knew from his guardian was that he was apparently born with it. Not that he was complaining, he enjoyed the thrill of running around at high speed and the fact could easily reach his destination within seconds before anyone could blink.

Speaking of which, the young hedgehog had reached his destination; a secret treehouse where he and his guardian been staying. He rolled through the door, across the floor, and then bumped into the nest where his guardian was resting, waking her up in the process.

While the young hedgehog didn't know about his past nor who his family was, Longclaw is the only one who was there for him since the beginning. All his life, he viewed her as many different combinations at once: a teacher, his best friend… and a mother figure. She risked herself everyday to keep him safe, but she enjoyed his company. The young hedgehog felt the same way about her, which was why he ran out this morning to get her a little "present" to show her how much she means to him.

He giggled after seeing her startled reaction, before her expression changed to a somewhat annoyed expression.

"Sonic, how many times do I have to tell you?" The owl scolded with a concerned expression. "You can't keep running around outside! Someone will see you!"

"Chill out Longclaw!" Young Sonic assured with a smirk before running in place. "No one saw me! I'm way too fast for them!” He stopped and gave her a sheepish grin. “Besides, I ran out just to get you… This!"

Young Sonic pulled out an item from behind his quills, revealing a beautiful Sunflower and then presented to Longclaw as a gift to her.

Longclaw sighed and shook her head with her playful smile. "What am I going to do with you?"

The young hedgehog may be a handful to her at times, but his heart was full of gold. Longclaw reached over towards the flower to grab it when she noticed something from the top of the tree behind Sonic. Her eyes widened when she realized it was those "tribe warriors" that have been pursuing them for quite some time and they were aiming their arrows at the young hedgehog.

"Get down!" she screamed as she dove for Sonic and then slammed the door with her foot just before arrows could hit them. 

She looked up just as more of these warriors were trying to enter through the windows with weapons and nets, intending to capture or even eliminate the young hedgehog. Determined to not let anything happen to the young hedgehog, Longclaw quickly flew through one of the windows and took off into the sky.

Longclaw went higher and higher as she dodged more arrows that were shooting at her. She was nearly close to escape from her pursuers, however, she had failed to notice one arrow that was shot from one of the warriors and hit her from her left side. Longclaw then went straight down towards the ground, unable to fly back up again. She held Sonic protectively with one side before they crashed to the ground on her other side. 

After they crashed, Longclaw slowly got up and winced from the intense pain due to the arrow that was pierced into her side. What was even worse was she couldn’t fly or move for that matter due to her injury. She knew that she could't go on anymore and she needed to send the boy away before their pursuers could catch up to them. She really hated doing this to the young boy, but with her badly injured, she would only slow him down. Her top priority was to keep him safe, no matter the cost.

"Listen carefully Sonic…" Longclaw instructed, ignoring the pain from her side. "You have this great power unlike anything I've ever seen… but in turn, there are those who wanted your power for themselves… and would do anything to get it… even harming you. The only way for you to stay safe… is to stay hidden!"

She then quickly took out a golden ring from her pouch before throwing it into the air. The ring then suddenly grew into a huge portal with an image of dark woods in the center of the ring. Longclaw turned towards Sonic as she pointed at the portal behind her.

"This world should be on the far side of the universe! You should be safe there!"

With an alarmed expression, young Sonic shook his head. "No! I don't wanna go without you!"

"You must!" She loudly insisted.

She then took the pouch off from her belt and handed it over to the young hedgehog. "Take these rings! These rings are the most important things in your possessions! Don't ever lose them!"

The two suddenly heard loud shouting in the distance. They turned just in time to see their pursuers were getting more and more closer to them. Realizing that she was running out of time, she quickly turned back to Sonic.

"If you are ever discovered, use them!" She instructed further as she gently pushed Sonic towards the portal. "And never. Stop. Running!"

Sonic was now close to the portal, but he looked back up at Longclaw with a sad expression, silently begging her to not make him leave her. This only made Longclaw give him the final push to safety.

"Now go!" Longclaw shouted.

Startled from her outburst, young Sonic turned and ran through the portal and into another world. He ran for quite a long distance from the portal before he looked back. He was alarmed to see Longclaw still on the other side of the portal while the pursuers were practically closing in on her, shielding them from entering the portal.

"Longclaw!" Sonic shouted as he turned around and ran back towards the portal.

Hearing his cries, Longclaw glanced back at the young hedgehog one last time with a somber expression.

"...Goodbye Sonic."

“No!” Sonic shouted, trying desperately to move faster towards the portal. "Noooooooo!"

Just as he reached the portal, the big ring disintegrated into nothing, disappearing into the air, losing his chance to save his guardian... and his only friend. He stopped to catch his breath, not noticing his tears leaking from his eyes. Sonic was now in a whole new world and he was going to live in this world… alone.
> Volume I - Chapter 1: The Blue Devil? (Edited by knigsonic - 2/19/21)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------






Ten Years Later...






It was early in the morning at the park of Canterlot City. Hardly anyone was around at that time, except for a young teenage girl with a flaming red and yellow hair and teal eyes. Usually, the girl was supposed to be heading to school at this time, but she decided to make a slight detour to a different destination in mind.

She walked through the park until she reached one of the park's beaches near the wooded area. The girl usually visits that bench whenever she wants to be alone or to sit down and think. Today, however, she had a different agenda in mind. After making sure that she was alone, she took out a letter that she wrote this morning and an envelope from her pocket. Thinking she still had some time left, she decided to re-read her letter one last time.



Dear Sonic,

My friends and I just came back from the Starswirl Music Festival and it was crazy, but awesome!

Let me start from the beginning, you see, we arrived at the place before the first day of the festival. When the first day of the festival finally arrived, the first thing me and Pinkie Pie wanted to do was to go see PostCrush, my favorite band. I always wanted to see them up close in person, especially after they canceled their last tour to go on “indefinite hiatus”. Of course, things went wrong due to Pinkie’s shenanigans (and her strange obsession with churros) and we got kicked out as a result and missed PostCrush. I was so mad at Pinkie for costing us to see PostCrush and banned from the festival that I wished I would get a second chance to see them and make my day perfect.

And strangely enough, my wish came true… sort of.

To make a long story short, I took advantage of this wish to make my day perfect, even go as far as to ditch Pinkie Pie, only to realize that the day keeps repeating over and over. With some help from Pinkie Pie, we eventually found out that it was PostCrush who kept repeating the same day by using the magical artifact they found, just to make their tour perfect.

Who knew?

After destroying their artifact, we convinced them that their fans didn’t want to see their perfect performance, they just wanted to see them and to have fun! Thankfully, they learned their lessons and they even let me and Pinkie performed with them on stage and take photos with them (which is now my background for my phone) as an apology. 

Best. Night. EVER!

They were not the only ones who learned their lesson. I learned that sometimes the flaws and silly mistakes are what makes these experiences perfect. It’s the part about seeing live music, and it’s the best part about being friends.

We spent the rest of our trip at the music festival without further incident and we all had a blast. It’s a shame that you are not here with us. It would’ve been the best opportunity not only to finally meet you, but also to introduce you to my friends. While they all helped me become the best person I am today, it was you who finally pushed me to start over… and to not give up. 

I owe you my gratitude. And I really think you should meet us sometime. I don’t know why you want to keep up with this secrecy, but there’s no need to be shy. We would love for you to hang out with us once we get to know you!

Anyway, I should go. I don’t want to keep my friends waiting. I’ll talk to you soon!

Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer



Satisfied with what she wrote, Sunset placed her letter into an envelope which said "Sonic" on it and then approached the back of the bench where a huge stone was placed. She lifted up the stone, placed her letter, and then placed the stone back to where it was.

Sunset let out a satisfied sigh before standing back up. As much as she'd rather stick around, she has school to go to. After checking around the area one last time, she turned and headed out the park, not noticing a pair of eyes watching her from between the bushes before it rushed off out of the city.





It was hot and quiet during the afternoon on the outskirts of Canterlot City. Not a single person or car was around that area for hours. The only living soul in that area was a small turtle, who was slowly crawling across the road.

Suddenly, a car from another town was speeding down the road towards Canterlot City, not paying attention to the small turtle. The turtle noticed the approaching vehicle, and tried to speed itself up in hopes to make it off the road and to live another day. Despite its efforts, the turtle couldn’t move any faster as the vehicle was getting closer to it. 

Just when the turtle was about to get run over by the wheels of the vehicle, the turtle suddenly felt like someone was lifting it up and moved very quickly before a blink of an eye. Realizing that it survived and was still being held by someone, the turtle looked up to see a strange blue creature with quills on its head and back, tan face stomach, green eyes, black nose, big ears, white gloves, and two different sets of worn-out shoes with socks. The creature looked down at the turtle with a smirk.

“Whoa buddy! You almost made yourself into a pancake back there!” the creature exclaimed playfully before petting the turtle with his index finger. “What are ya, some kind of adrenaline junkie?”

The creature then gave the turtle a look of pity. “I guess it’s pretty rough to be slow all the time, huh?” He then grinned. “Well, tell ya what my friend, today is your lucky day!”





After a few short minutes on the run with the creature, the turtle fully understood what the creature meant when he said: “is its lucky day”. No sooner after that creature made that statement, the creature immediately went on a run at super-speed while still holding on that poor turtle. While the turtle had fun for the first few seconds, but after that, the turtle immediately wanted to get off of his ride and get back to crawling at his own pace. Unfortunately for the turtle, the blue creature was oblivious to the turtle’s expression, even as the wind was slowly pulling his face back due to their speed.

The blue creature let out a loud cheer. “Have you ever felt so alive?” He asked with an excited grin. 

As the creature was still running, he then placed the turtle on his left hand while using his other hand to keep himself balanced. “This is great! You are doing amazing!” The creature encouraged.

Unfortunately for the turtle, the creature held the turtle too lightly. As a result, the turtle was flung backward towards the road behind them. The creature noticed his blunder and gasped.

“Oh jeez!”

With his super speed, the creature immediately rushed back to save the turtle miles behind him before it hit the ground. Luckily, he caught the turtle at the last second and then ran back to where they left off while brushing off the turtle’s back.

“Good recovery!” said the creature with a huge grin.  

The creature let out a loud cheer as he continued to run towards the long road while holding on to a terrified turtle.





Eventually, the two reached the wooded area of Canterlot Park. The blue creature gently placed down a now shaken turtle to the ground.

“Okay, let’s… keep this as our little secret, okay?” The creature said gently to the turtle. He then started waving his arms in a mysterious manner. “You never saw me! I was never here!”

Within a blink of an eye, the creature used his super-speed to vanish and ran further into the woods. The turtle blinked comically at an empty spot where the creature was. While it didn’t know where that creature had run off to, but it hoped that it never have to bump into that creature again.

Even if that guy just saved him from harm.





Some time had passed and the school bell at CHS had rung, signaling the end of last class of the day. No sooner than a second later, many students burst through the doors and rushed out, happy to be out and free to do some fun despite being assigned to do homework by their teachers. Among the crowd of students, there were seven teenage girls walking out of the school's entrance. These girls are Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle (aka Sci-Twi) and Sunset Shimmer. 

These particular teenagers are well known as “The Equestria Girls”, or “The Rainbooms” as a name for their rock band. They are extremely popular not only for their personalities and giving back to the school, but they were also considered superheroes by everyone at school whenever Equestrian magic ran amok in town. As long as they have the magic of friendship on their side, nothing could ever bring these teens down.

Once the Equestria Girls reached the bottom of the stairs of the school's entrance, Rainbow Dash stretched her arms up into the air.

"Finally!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "I thought that class would never end!"

"Mr. Cranky Doodle's class wasn't so bad," said Fluttershy in her soft voice. “I thought his Math lesson was very interesting!”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Speak for yourself Fluttershy! His monologuing about his lesson put me to sleep!”

“Which earned you a Saturday detection for dat!” Applejack added.

This caused everyone to laugh at Rainbow Dash’s expense while Rainbow Dash simply pouted in response.

“Well, now that school is over, where should we all go to today?” Rarity asked.

"Ooh ooh ooh! How about the Grape Garden!" Pinkie Pie suggested excitedly with her arm up like a little kid.

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed groan. "Pinkie, that's the fifth time you suggested we go to Grape Garden this week… and it's Tuesday!"

"But they've served the best pasta there," Pinkie insisted. "Especially their 'Never Ending Pasta Bowls!'" She grabs Rainbow Dash by the collar of her shirt and moved her face closer to hers. "It never ends!"

Everyone stood awkwardly from Pinkie’s randomness until Twilight spoke up.

"How about we just head over to The Sweet Shoppe and order ourselves some milkshakes?" Twilight suggested.

Everyone voiced in agreement before they all headed towards the Sweet Shoppe, all except for Sunset who was heading the other way. When Twilight noticed her friend wasn’t in the group, she stopped and turned towards Sunset.

"Aren't you coming Sunset?" Twilight asked.

Sunset stopped walking and gave her friend a reassuring grin. "You girls go on ahead, I'll catch up."

Twilight stared at her friend for a moment until she nodded. "Alright, but don’t take too long!"

As Twilight hurried over to the rest of the girls, Sunset turned a resumed walking. 

She continued to walk for some time until she entered the town’s park again and headed towards that same bench from early this morning. Like before, she looked around to see if anyone was watching before she was at the back of the bench and lifted up that same stone that hid her letter from earlier. This time, instead of seeing an envelope with the name of her “Pen Pal,” she spotted an envelope addressing to her.

Feeling excited that she’s receiving a response from her “friend,” she placed the stone down and sat on the bench with her letter. She didn’t hesitate to rip up her envelope, took out a letter, and began to read it.



Hey Sunset,

It sounds like you had one heck of an adventure, especially with all the time loops you've been going through. I'm glad that you're not stuck on the same day anymore and that you still got to see your favorite band despite what they did. But as long as they learned their lesson, I'm not gonna hold any grudges. You know, your situation almost reminded me of a movie I’ve seen once. I forget what it is called, but it had something to do with a groundhog?

Anyway, magical mishaps aside, I'm glad that you and your friends are having fun at the festival. I wish I was there to join the fun… but I couldn't make it. I know you wanted to meet me and introduce me to your friends for quite some time, but I can't. My reasons are… complicated. Nothing serious, but I'm fine with just communicating this way and I hope you understand. But I’m glad that I helped you become a better person… and I’m proud to call you my friend.

Anyway, it's nice talking to you and I'll see you on the flip side.

Your friend,
Sonic



Sunset let out a long sigh. 

He dodged my proposal... again! She thought dejectedly.

While she was happy that her mysterious friend responded to her, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the way her Pen Pal responded to her about meeting her and her friends, almost as if this person was trying to avoid her. Since she never technically met her Pen Pal in person, she could just shrug it off and move on, not having to deal with this person again. But the thing was, she owed everything to this Sonic guy. She wouldn’t be where she was if it weren’t for him. Sure, her friends also helped her back on her feet and lead her to a brighter path, but it was her Pen Pal who finally gave her the final push to be a better person. If only she could meet him and to tell him how much this means to her in gratitude.

Sonic… just who are you? Sunset pondered.

She never told her friends about any of this. Just by talking about this mysterious stranger to them could lead to opening up a can of worms that she felt like it wasn’t worth talking about. Especially about reliving the worse time of her life.

Sunset shook those thoughts away and quickly looked at her phone. Her eyes widened when she saw the time and realized how long she'd been sitting on the bench.

Oh, shoot! I’m late to meet up with the girls! Sunset inwardly exclaimed.

Sunset quickly got up from her bench and ran out of the park as fast as she could. Little did she know that once again, she was being watched, hiding between the leaves from within the tree.





Sunset eventually made it to the Sweet Shoppe, huffing and puffing as if she just ran a marathon. She waited for a few moments to catch her breath before she casually entered the building. Once she entered the building, she spotted her friends who were waiting for her at their usual spot, which was a small table with some chairs and a couch near the window. Sunset approached her friends and gave them all her friendly wave.

"Hey girls! Sorry I'm late!" Sunset announced.

Everyone sans Rainbow Dash greeted her while Applejack gave her a friendly smile.

"It's no problem Sugarcube! We didn't wait too long!" Applejack assured.

Rainbow Dash let out a loud scoff. "Are ya kidding AJ? We've been waiting for over a half-in-hour! Just where the heck have you been?"

Sunset nervously shifted her eyes back and forth. “Oh, I… have to do a quick errand. It was nothing important!”

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms. “Oh yeah? What kind of errand?”

“Um… I... went to the post office!” Sunset lied. “I had to send in a letter.”

“Yeah huh?” Rainbow Dash answered skeptically, not buying Sunset's lie. “I was just at the post office and I don’t remember seeing you there!”

Rarity blinked in surprise. “Wait… you were at the post office Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes. I was helping out Muffins earlier to reorganize their letterboxes,” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Wasn’t that usually a tedious job?” Sunset inquired.

“Not with my super speed!” Rainbow Dash boasted before narrowing her eyes. “Now don’t dodge the question! What were you really doing?”

Just about an argument was ready to happen, Rarity interjected.

“I think what Rainbow Dash was trying to say was that you’ve been going out on these 'errands' a lot lately before our get-togethers and you’ve been showing up later than usual. We were only concerned about you Darling and we want to see if you are alright.”

Sunset watched as most of her friends were giving her their full attention with concern expressions. Even Rainbow Dash, while she had an annoyed look on her face, Sunset knew that she was just only concerned in her own way. While this warms her heart that her friends really cared about her, she can’t tell them about her secret visits to the park for her daily letters from her pen pal.

At least, not yet.

“I’m fine girls. Really!” Sunset said in her assuring tone. “Nothing really wrong per se, it's just… something I have to do every day is all.”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “And what “somethin’” would dat be?”

Sunset inwardly cursed from her friend’s persistence. She nervously stood as her friends continued to watch her, expecting an answer from her.

“W-well…” Sunset began.

"Hey, Mrs. Cake!” 

A loud shout from a female voice startled the gang as well as all the other patrons throughout the Shoppe. They all turned and noticed a teenage girl, who was standing by the booth near the cash register.

This girl had white and green hair, yellow eyes, a long pink shirt, blue short shorts, yellow shocks, magenta boots, and a pink head brace. That girl was none other than Lyra Heartstrings, one of the students and acquaintance from their school. While she was known as the oddball of the school, she is almost just as bubbly as Pinkie Pie. Today, however, instead of her usual happy self, Lyra appeared to be moody and angry, almost as if she was frustrated about something.

Right next to her was another girl. She had long and curly blue and pink hair with light blue eyes. She wore a white dress with a blue fluffy collar and blue and yellow stripes around the sleeves and almost near the bottom part of her dress. There was even a piece of candy in a wrapper as her belt buckle. She also wore long white leggings and light blue sandals on her feet. That girl was Sweetie Drops, but most of her friends called her Bon Bon. She was also Lyra’s best friend ever since they met at Kindergarten. While she loves her best friend, Bon Bon often hangs out with Lyra to keep her out of trouble, including calming her down as her friend orders.

“Another chocolate milkshake!” Lyra barked with impatience on her face.

Mrs. Cake, the owner of the Shoppe, gave Lyra a look of concern.

“Don’t you think you've had enough dearie?” She asked.

Lyra slammed her fist on the counter, nearly making everyone nearby jump.

“Another milkshake!” Lyra shouted. “Extra whipped cream!"

"Lyra!" Bon Bon scolded her friend harshly before giving Mrs. Cake her apologetic look. “Please forgive my friend, she had a rough day!”

While Mrs. Cake was not upset from the outburst, she gave them a wary nod before retreating to the back of the kitchen to retrieve Lyra’s order. While that was going on, the girls decided to approach the two girls to see the commotion.

“Hey Lyra and Bon Bon,” Sunset greeted on behalf of the group. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, what brought ya down Lyra?” Applejack added. “You look madder than a Wampus cat in a rainstorm!”

“Oh we’re fine,” Bon Bon answered with an embarrassed grin. “Lyra… wasn’t acting herself since last night, so I took her here to try to cheer her up.”

“Oh goodness, did she have a rough night?” Fluttershy asked.

“...something like that,” Bon Bon answered vaguely.

Mrs. Cake eventually returned with Lyra’s milkshake. Without a thank you, Lyra snatches her drink and chucked it down in one go, making the others feel uneasy. Lyra eventually slammed her now empty glass on the counter and let out a sigh.

"...I saw "him" again!" Lyra muttered in a bitter tone.

The girls looked at each other uneasily before Sunset decided to be the one to ask.

"Who?"

Lyra slowly turned towards Sunset and looked at her in the eye.

"...the Blue Devil!"

Almost immediately after Lyra answered, there were collective groans from everyone sans Twilight while Bon Bon let out an exasperated sigh.

"Again?" said Rainbow Dash in an irritated tone. "Lyra, there is no such thing as the Blue Devil!"

Lyra gave Rainbow Dash an indignant look. "So you girls can believe some magical ponies from another world, magical crazed She-Demons, evil sirens, some plant monster, a giant woman and a talking dog… but not the Blue Devil?"

There was a long pause throughout the Shoppe until Pinkie spoke up.

"Wow... when she puts it like that, she makes a good point!" said Pinkie in her mused tone.

Before Rainbow Dash could argue about Lyra’s logic to Pinkie, Twilight interjected.

“Um… who is the Blue Devil?” Twilight asked.

The Equestria Girls and Bon Bon tried to silently tell Twilight not to ask about the Blue Devil, but it was too late when Lyra heard her question. Lyra gave Twilight a look of utter disbelief as if she heard someone say they have never heard of Santa Claus before. She immediately went up to Twilight’s face, making the brainy teen uncomfortable in the process. 

“Who’s the Blue Devil?” Lyra whispered before she started screaming. “Who's the Blue Devil!?”

Once again, collective groans were heard from everyone within the Shoppe.

“Ugh! Now you’ve done it Twilight!” Rainbow Dash griped. “Now we're going to be hearing this story… again!”

Ignoring Rainbow Dash’s complaint, Lyra grabbed a stool to take a seat before beginning her tale.

“The Blue Devil is a mysterious creature who lives in the woods just outside of this very city!" Lyra began in a grave tone as if she’s telling a scary story at the campfire. "I first saw that creature myself when I was in second grade. I was waiting for my best friend in the town park near the playground when I saw something from the bushes. At first, I thought it was a cute rabbit or something, so I decided to come closer to see it. But when I was near the bushes, I realized that it wasn’t a rabbit. Heck, it wasn’t an ordinary animal at all! It was some strange blue creature who stood on two legs with shoes! It has pointy ears, green eyes, white gloves, and human-like teeth! It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen! Before I could even blink, the creature just… vanished! It moves so fast, I almost couldn’t see it, like a blue blur!” 

Twilight just stared at Lyra, completely into Lyra's story while most of the others simply rolled their eyes and Pinkie Pie was simply eating a tub of popcorn out of thin air… somehow.

“I’ve tried telling everyone what I saw, including my best friend,” Lyra continued as she glared at Bon Bon, which the latter simply looked away both out of embarrassment and guilt. “But no one believes me! And everyone at school has been calling me “Crazy Lyra” ever since!"

Twilight cleared her throat. "So uh… what kind of creature was it?"

Lyra scoffed. "Heck do I know? It could be a mutant, an alien, or some freak in nature for all I care! But what I do know for sure is that creature… was spying on us! Probably planning on invading our town when we least expect it!"

Somewhere behind the group, Rainbow Dash turned towards Pinkie as she spun her index finger around near her head, whispering “cuckoo cuckoo” as she did it. Both of them giggled quietly for a moment, only receiving a harsh glare from both Applejack and Rarity.

"I dedicated my entire life to capturing this creature,” said Lyra with a determined look. “So I can not only prove to everyone that I’m not crazy, but also that he is real!”

“I… see,” Twilight said simply. “And you called him the Blue Devil… why?”

“Because he is the Devil!" Lyra answered sharply like it was obvious. "And he also ruined my life! He single-handedly made me the laughing stock of the school!”

“She's a laughing stock all right!” Rainbow Dash muttered, causing Pinkie Pie to giggle.

“I heard that!” Lyra yelled out angrily.

Not wanting to let a fight break out, Twilight quickly asked Lyra another question. “Uh… do you have any... 'proof' of this creature’s existence?”

“Sure I have proof!” Lyra snapped as she dug into her pocket from her shorts. “I even have a picture of that thing I drew from memory!”

“No Lyra, not the drawing!” Bon Bon begged as she buried her face into her hands, waiting for the most embarrassing moment to pass.

“Behold!” Lyra announced as she took out her drawing and unfolded it, showing it to the crowd.

The drawing itself was… unique to say the least. It was a picture of what Twilight assumed to be a “creature” as Lyra described, but the drawing itself looked like it had been drawn by a little kid. There were rough circles, a big blue circle, and a little tan circle, which was supposed to be the creature’s body. More rough circles above the body which looked like a head, eyes, nose, and mouth. There were also wobbly drawn tubes that were meant for arms and legs and she assumed those big blue lines behind the creature were meant to be hair(?).

Most of the Equestrian Girls were staring at the drawing with stunned expressions on their faces. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, however, began howling in laughter like hyenas the moment they both saw that poorly drawn drawing. Lyra ignored the laughter from the two teens and shoved her drawing closer to Twilight.

“Look at this thing!” Lyra insisted. “Can’t you tell how sinister it looks!?”

“Yeah… very… sinister,” Twilight said uneasily before she stepped backed and cleared her throat. "So… you drew that when you were a kid?"

Lyra shook her head. "No, I drew that a week ago!"

Lyra’s clarification only made Rainbow and Pinkie Pie laugh harder, banging the counter with their fist in the process.

"Oh, man!" Rainbow wheezed, trying to breathe from all her laughing. "I don't know which is funnier; your story or your art!"

"Both!" Pinkie guffawed while holding on to her sides to control her laughter. "They're both funny!"

The Equestria Girls and Bon Bon glared at them for their rudeness while Lyra growled in anger.

"S-shut up! I'm not great with art, okay!?"

“Knock it off you two!” Rarity scolded. “You’re hurting her feelings!”

Pinkie Pie immediately got the message and stopped her laughing, giving Lyra her apologetic look. Rainbow Dash in the meantime was still chuckling but tried to keep herself under control, especially while Fluttershy was giving her “the stare”.

With a grunt, Lyra folded up her drawing and placed it back in her pocket. "If my drawing isn’t enough proof, I also saw him last night!”

Twilight gave Lyra her skeptic look. “You… saw him?”

Lyra nodded. “Yeah... but I almost caught him!” She sighed and clenched her hand into a fist. “I was alone in the woods, setting up at least a hundred of my uncle's best traps around the area! Those traps are so advanced, you could even catch a mouse with a single touch within a second!” 

Fluttershy let out a fearful whimper, worried for the poor animals who were caught in those traps. Lyra noticed Fluttershy’s expression and gave her a friendly grin.

“Relax Fluttershy, those traps are harmless, I promise!” Lyra reassured before frowning. “Anyway, I thought for sure that I finally got him, but…"





Lyra chuckled as she was putting her finishing touches on setting up all the traps that she borrowed from her uncle. Despite that she was in the woods in the middle of the night by herself, Lyra wasn’t scared of the dark since she was wearing a headlight on her head and that she experienced outdoors due to her trips to Camp Everfree. Plus she was determined to catch the creature no matter what, even if this would take all night. She even went as far as to set up many different kinds of pinwheels and wind chimes as her own alarm system to let her know that the Blue Devil was nearby.

Once she finished setting up her last trap, she then took out her “secret weapon” which could guarantee of finally capturing this creature. She pulls out a small white bag that she bought from a fast food place earlier. She opened up a bag and then slowly took out the food, which was a freshly cooked hot dog on a bun, which was covered in chili, cheese, chopped onions and there was even an olive on top of it..

Apparently, this chili dog is the creature's favorite food. Lyra knew about this because she remembered that every time she tried to eat it herself for lunch (which was also her favorite food), it would suddenly “disappear”, followed by a blue blur. This chili dog will be the perfect bait to lure this creature right into her trap.

“Nowhere to escape, Blue Devil!” Lyra chuckled menacingly. “This time, I'll finally catch you!"

After Lyra placed the chili dog on top of her trap, she got up and went to hide into the bushes, carefully avoiding her traps as she did so. She laid on the ground and brought her night-vision goggles to her face, waiting for her friend to visit. She waited for what it felt like hours until she fell asleep into a deep slumber.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew both the wind chimes, which intently woke up Lyra. She held still for a second, not sure if it was a false alarm until she saw the pinwheels spinning around faster and faster, letting her know that her guest had arrived. She held her breath with anticipation, until she heard a loud “clank”, coming from one of her traps.

Lyra let out a huge grin. “Gotcha!" she cried with a laugh.

Lyra jumped out of the bushes and quickly ran to her sprung trap while carefully avoiding the others. When she finally reached one of her traps where the chili dog was, Lyra took out her pocket flashlight as an additional light source and aimed it at the trap. Her eyes widened in disbelief when she saw that not only was her trap not used at all, but also that the chili dog that was there was now gone, almost as if it wasn’t there at all.

“What? Impossible!” Lyra exclaimed. She growled angrily as she waved her flashlight around her. "Show yourself! You can't keep hiding from me!"

Suddenly, a blue blur zoomed past her and set off one of the traps before she could even blink.

"W-what the!?" Lyra sputtered.

Before Lyra could fully process this, she barely noticed the blue blur zoomed past her again and set off another one of her traps. And then it zoomed to another one.

And then another one.

And another one.

And another one!

Lyra could only look around in disbelief as she witnessed more and more of her traps went off without anyone caught in any of them. And while she could feel something move past her at such great speed, she wasn’t able to see her visitor at all. Unfortunately for Lyra, as she was slowly stepping back, she failed to see her own foot was stepping into her snare trap. As a result, Lyra was suddenly lifted up into the air and was hung upside down by the ankle. Both frustrated and humiliated in this position, Lyra let out an infuriated scream, startling many nearby animals from within the woods.

"Curse you Blue Devil!" Lyra bellowed angrily, despite being hung upside down. "I know you're out there! And I know you're real!"

There was nothing but silence for a moment until Lyra heard a voice that sent chills up her spine.

"No, I'm nooooooot!"





"That thing was mocking me, I know it!" Lyra concluded with a growl. "I don't know how that thing avoided all of my traps, but I swear I will catch that thing if it's the last thing I do!"

Everyone looked at each other with uneasily looks. While most of Lyra’s "story" sounded farfetched, they were also concerned about her mental health due to lack of sleep. Deciding that this has gone long enough, Bon Bon gently rubbed her best friend's back.

"O…kay Lyra, I think you had enough milkshakes for one day,” Bon Bon soothed. “Maybe you should go home and res–!

"Never!" Lyra roared, scaring everyone in the room. "This is now personal Bonnie! I won't rest until I get him, then you will all see that I’m not crazy!" She then stood up from her seat and grabbed Bon Bon's hand. "C'mon Bonnie, to the Canter-Mart!"

Without another word, Lyra marched right out of Sweet Shoppe, dragging poor Bon Bon with her.

"Hey! Wait, Lyra!" Bon Bon protested before disappearing out the door, leaving with Lyra doing Faust knows what.

As soon as the duo left the building, Rainbow Dash let out a loud chuckle. 

"Man! I always knew how crazy Lyra is, but that takes the cake!" said Rainbow Dash with an amusing smirk. However, she immediately lost her smirk when she noticed her friends were glaring at her. “What?”

"Rainbow Dash, your behavior just now towards Lyra was unacceptable!" Fluttershy scolded before she also gave Pinkie Pie her disapproving look. “And you too Pinkie Pie!”

Pinkie Pie rubbed her arm and looked down in shame.

"Yeah,” Applejack added. “That girl may be nuttier than a sack of peanuts, but dat's no reason to make fun of her!"

Rainbow Dash scoffed in annoyance. "Oh c'mon guys! Don't tell me you all believe in any of her nonsense about that 'Blue Devil', were ya?"

Rarity huffed as she crossed her arms. "Honestly Rainbow Dash! While I for one find that story farfetched, Lyra is a kind soul and doesn’t deserve to be treated from your mockery."

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “So did you believe her story then Rarity?”

Rarity looked away. “Now I didn’t say that!”

“I actually find Lyra’s story pretty fascinating!”

Everyone immediately turned towards Twilight with looks of surprise, not expecting a response like that from the young scientist of the group.

“You do?” They exclaimed.

“Well… yeah,” Twilight answered timidly, now suddenly feeling unconscious with her statement. “Now granted... some of the things Lyra said was a bit far-fetched–”

“A bit?” Rainbow Dash interjected in disbelief.

“...okay, way far-fetched!” Twilight clarified as she rolled her eyes. “But if there’s one thing I learned since I befriended you girls, is that I could believe anything no matter how strange it sounds... and that’s coming from a scientist like me!”

Fluttershy twirled her hair with a worried frown. “Oh dear, I certainly hope there isn’t a Blue Devil! It’s one thing if it’s just a lonely creature, but if it’s another one of those mean monsters we’ve faced in the past… eep!”

Rainbow Dash groaned in annoyance. “There is no Blue Devil!” she argued. “Heck, Bigfoot is more real than that thing!”

Twilight tilted her head. “You know, after all the incidents we went through involving Equestrian Magic, I’m surprised that none of you ever considered the possibility that the creature actually exists!” With that afterthought, she turned to Sunset. "Speaking of which, wasn't there a Blue Devil living in your world Sunset?"

Sunset shook her head. "No… at least I don't think so. While we have all sorts of strange creatures back in Equestria, but even I never heard of a thing called the Blue Devil."

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “So I assumed that Lyra asked you about that creature living in your world?”

Sunset let out a long sigh. “Yes… that was the first thing she asked me the moment she learned that I was from an alternate world. But when I answered that the creature never existed in my world, she accused me that I was in cahoots with the creature for three weeks!”

Twilight rubbed her chin. "Interesting," she muttered. "If what Lyra said was true, then that means that the creature has been around even before the portal to Equestria was opened!"

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Do you believe there's a blue devil too?"

"Not quite," Twilight answered. "We really need to find some circumstantial evidence that links to a possibility of a new creature before we properly study said creature for the name of science,” Twilight reasoned. “But then again, with things going on lately, if Equestrian Magic from another world exists, then I don't see the reason to not believe the possibility of blue creatures exists as well!"

The girls sat in silence. Most of them still think Lyra claims about a blue creature existing in Canterlot was way out there, but after Twilight pointed out about their lives involving magic for so long, maybe there really was a small possibility that there was more to it than Lyra claimed. Rainbow Dash, still skeptical about the whole creature nonsense, shook her head with a huff. 

"Yeah… well, if you want to hunt down and study some mysterious creature, then be my guest! Just as long as you leave me out of it!" said Rainbow Dash before changing the subject with a grin. "Anyway, are we still up for our movie night at my place?"

Almost instantly, the mood shifted more upbeat as the girls nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yeah!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

"You bet! Applejack added.

"Absolutely!" said Rarity.

"Uh-huh!" Fluttershy hummed with a smile.

"Of course!" Twilight perked up.

"You know it!" Sunset grinned.

"And the night after that... slumber party at Twilight's!" Pinkie Pie added with a cheer.

While most of the girls joined in on the cheer, Sunset turned to Twilight. "You still okay with us sleeping over at your house Twilight?" she asked.

Twilight nodded happily. "Absolutely! I just need a little time to prepare for the event and we're all good!"

"What do you need to do exactly?" Sunset inquired.

"Oh just getting some snacks, some games and some other small things is all," Twilight replied.

"Well in that case, want me to come along and help you get those things tomorrow?" Sunset offered.

Twilight smiled. "Of course!"

“And I’ll get the games!” Pinkie Pie added with an eager grin. “We’re gonna have so much fun!”

“Just as long that we’re not playing Monopoly again!” Rainbow Dash chimed in with a groan. “I can’t stand that game!”

Sunset smirked. “You’re just mad because you’re always the first to lose all of your money!”

“And went to jail almost at every turn!” Applejack added with a teasing grin.

Rainbow Dash crossed her arm with a pout as the girls laughed at her expense. “Oh yuk it up girls!” Rainbow Dash remarked.

As the girls continued to hang out and discussed more about their upcoming slumber party, no one noticed that they were being watched by a pair of eyes from outside, staring at them both from excitement... and longing.
> Intermission: Sonic's Introduction
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

So I finally arrived at a small blue house within the neighborhood where Skittles lives so that I can join in on their movie night. Movie night is my favorite because they picked out the most fun and interesting flicks. My favorite was always the action and adventure movies, which was Skittles' preferred genre. I’m hoping that she picks a good one for tonight.

I approached the window and peeked inside the house. All the girls were on the couch (except for Cotton Candy Girl and Cowgirl who were on the floor) in front of the TV, waiting for the movie to start.

"Please, please, please please…" I whispered with my fingers crossed, hoping for Skittles to pick a good movie.

Sure enough, the movie started playing with a title popped out which said: Daring Do and the Secret Rings.

"Yes!” I cheered with a fist pump. “Skittles, I knew you'll pick the best movie!"

From the corner of my eye, I saw the Fashion Queen letting out a loud groan. "Honestly Rainbow Dash! Can't you pick another movie that isn't Daring Do?"  

"But Daring Do is the best movie series!” Skittles argued. “Besides, it's my turn! You didn't hear me complaining about your RomCom movie!"

"What's wrong with the movie I picked?” The Fashion Queen retorted. “It was a masterpiece!"

Skittles scoffed. "Give me a break Rares! It was lame and boring!"

"I agree with you there Skittles!" I muttered to myself. “The movie she picked last time was lame!”

“Now now!” the Cowgirl soothed, trying to keep the peace. “We all agreed that we each have a day to pick a movie.” 

“Yeah, please don’t fight!” Animal Girl pleaded.

The Fashion Queen sighed. “I don’t mean to complain darling, but I couldn’t help that this kind of film was not my cup of tea.”

“Normally, I wouldn't mind watching a Daring Do movie,” said Brainiac. “But I already watch that one six times already. Unfortunately, it was Rainbow's turn to pick, so we'll have to deal with it.”

Skittles frowned. "Hey! What do ya mean, 'unfortunately'!?"

The girls laughed while I chuckled quietly in the background.

“Ooooh! The movie is about to start!” Cotton Candy Girl announced as she was eating a tub of popcorn (where did she get that?) while the movie began. 

Everyone else joined in while I stared into the window a fond smile.

Oh yeah, let me introduce myself! I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog!

No really. I’m actually a talking blue hedgehog! But I'm no ordinary hedgehog, I’m a hedgehog with the power of super speed! I don’t know exactly how I got these powers. Actually… I don’t even know about my past or about my family. All I know is that I was born with this mysterious power in an extremely handsome package!

Anyway, the place I'm living in now is called Canterlot City. Yeah, it's a weird name, but it’s the greatest place on earth! You could say this place is magical… but we’ll get to that later! The people here are super friendly and I’m they’re lovable space creature. So what if they don’t know if I exist!

The first one was from the family of apple farmers from the apple farm. Try saying that three times fast! Anyway, I was going to call her "The Apple Girl," but because she always wears her cowboy hat, I just call her "the Cowgirl!" Seriously, she never goes anywhere without it. She even inspired me to get one of my own for my sweet cave.

The second girl with long pink hair was Animal Girl. This girl appeared to be shy, but she is so sweet, your heart will melt. She is very kind to everyone, including animals, big and small! And apparently she talks to them too!

...I think she was having some issues.

Anyway, then there’s the Cotton Candy Girl. Other than the fact that her hair is as big as cotton candy and loves sweets, that girl is super friendly, smiles a lot, and all-around fun gal! And she is also a complete mystery to me! She is very hyper and talks too fast like she was having a sugar rush all the time and I’m also convinced that she somehow broke the laws of physics from the way she constantly pops up out of nowhere. 

And I also could have sworn that she somehow... sensed me when I’m close to her… but she didn’t act on it. 

I… think I should be cautious around her just in case.

Anyway, the next girl was Fashion Queen! This sophisticated girl is overly obsessed with dresses and fashion, but also really good at designing clothes. Clothes aren’t really my thing, but I will admit, her designs are pretty good. She even acts like a drama queen at times whenever she sees a speck of dirt or when she broke her fingernail. While she is a generous person, but she really needs to lighten up a little.

Then there’s Skittles. 

I called her that because her rainbow hair reminds me of that delicious candy I tried once.

Anyway, this girl is all definition of cool! It’s like meeting my long-lost sister, but as a human instead of a hedgehog. She plays all kinds of sports, plays guitar, loves adventures and best of all, she’s super-fast, like me! I would LOVE to have a race against her… if not for circumstances.

The sixth girl was Brainiac. She can be socially awkward at times, but she’s very nice and super smart! And by super smart, I mean supercomputer level smart! She loves to read and experimenting on anything she can get her hands on. 

I… just hope she won’t try to experiment me if she knows all about my existence.

Speaking of which, the last and my favorite girl of the group, was the Equestrian Girl, aka Sunset Shimmer! You are all probably thinking “how do I know her name”? Well… I know her because... we're pen pals!

Let me explain. After some time on Earth, I decided to take a jog to my favorite place, Canterlot Park. It was just an ordinary day when she caught my attention. I recognized that girl as one of the students from CHS, but she was known as the biggest bully of the school. However, I don’t see that same girl who wears a smug expression, I see a girl who looked all sad and alone sitting on the bench in an empty park. Which was understandable because she was like that after the “event” from her school I witnessed a week before.

It was a tough week for her to say the least. She kept her distance from everyone out of shame with guilt and fear from everyone’s anger. I could tell that she felt terrible and was really sorry for what she did and didn't know what to do. I felt pity for the young girl and didn’t want to see anyone suffer, so I decided to give her some words of encouragement by writing her a letter (after I “borrowed” a piece of paper and pen from some guy working on a crossword puzzle) and left it next to her near the rock when she wasn’t looking. 

My letter seems to have an effect on her the moment I saw her eyes lit up and smiled for the first time. After that, she started reaching out to the girls I mentioned (sans Brainiac since she was still at another school at the time) and apologized to every person in school. For someone to try to make everything up for what they did wrong and to be a better person was not only brave but admirable as well! It wasn’t an easy road for her, but she was eventually forgiven by everyone and I was proud of her for that. And for whatever reason, she left me her letter at that same spot under the rock to thank me and wanted to meet with me! I turned it down (for obvious reasons) but we continued to communicate with each other since. I’m also happy to say that not only has she become one of the group, but she also used her skills to help others. Due to her own experience, she became a very empathic person, especially to anyone who used Equestrian Magic. 

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention! Apparently, Sunset used to be a unicorn from another world, hence the nickname I gave her! Crazy right? Then again, I’m a talking super speed blue hedgehog from another world myself, so I’m one to talk.

Anyway, according to her, she came to this world after she and her mentor had some kind of “disagreement”. Remember what I said about the “event” I witnessed that night? I don’t know what happened exactly, but Sunset originally used magic on the school to “settle her score” with her mentor but someone else and those girls stopped her and changed her ways. Even after she reformed, she stuck around to help and stop whatever remaining Equestrian Magic was on the loose. I guess she still felt bad for letting this happen and wanted to make up for it, but I think her actions alone were more than enough!

There was one person in town who was actually on to me! And she calls me the Blue Devil! Can you believe it? People at her school called her Crazy Lyra. She went after me ever since we “bumped into” each other when she was younger. She tried to come up with ways to catch me, but I outsmarted her every single time! We have fun together!

Although I feel kinda bad for leaving her hanging the other night!

Anyway, Crazy Lyra aside, these girls are special! Along with Sunset, these girls have their own special powers to help out the community in town without asking for anything in return. But despite those powers, they were just ordinary teenage girls and did normal things, but that didn’t stop them from helping others in need. That… was really inspiring to me, which was why I was “with” these girls for so long.

That… sounded a little creepy after saying that out loud.

Throughout the years, I’ve seen them doing all sorts of activities together; drinking milkshakes, playing sports, hosting fundraisers, playing music for their band, and movie nights (my favorite). Basically, we’re best friends… even though we haven’t met yet. I would love to meet and befriend these girls for real!

...but I can’t.

Because of my power, it’s too dangerous to meet with other people, even if they’re friendly. Longclaw instructed me to always stay out of sight and run no matter what, but lately… being self-isolated for so long not only makes me a bit crazy… but lonely too. Sometimes, I would often wish that I’m just like them, a normal person with no powers so that I could befriend them or anyone for that matter. But… that's not gonna happen. As much as I want to befriend them, I have to stay out of sight and remain hidden. 

Even if I have to be alone… forever.
> Volume I - Chapter 2: Twilight's Field Study
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Thank you for coming to Speedy’s! Please come again!” the reception lady chimed as Twilight received her order before she and Sunset walked away from the food court.

It was a normal and sunny day at Canterlot City, specifically at Canterlot Mall where Sunset and Twilight were located. Earlier, Sunset went out with Twilight after school to help get the supplies they need for tonight’s sleepover as promised. After buying some snacks and party games from their local convenience store, Twilight suggested making a quick stop at the food court in the mall before heading to the park. Despite her curiosity, Sunset complied with her friend’s request.

“Did you get everything exactly as you ordered?” Sunset asked as they both walked out of the restaurant.

Twilight nodded. “Yep! I got everything I asked for!”

Sunset smiled briefly before she tilted her head with a confused expression. “I’ve been meaning to ask: why do you want to stop here for food? Didn’t you have lunch at school earlier?”

“Oh, I’m not hungry,” Twilight answered. “I’m actually going to use this food for other purposes.”

“What kind of purposes?” Sunset asked.

Twilight winked. “You’ll see!”

Sunset was confused from Twilight vagueness, but she shrugged it off, figuring that her friend will tell her in time.





They soon arrived at Canterlot Park and there were only a few people around. Some were either jogging, walking their dogs, or just resting on their benches. As for Sunset and Twilight, the two of them were simply strolling through the park, enjoying the scenery around them. At some point while they were walking through the park, Sunset noticed that they were approaching her usual bench. As Twilight got closer to it with each step, Sunset began to get worried.

Did Twilight find out about my letters? Sunset thought nervously.

Thankfully, Twilight walked passed the bench and continued into the woods, much to Sunset’s relief. However, this only made Sunset even more curious. She wondered what was in those woods that Twilight wanted to show her. After a few more minutes of walking, Sunset finally got the answer once they reached Twilight’s destination.

They were standing in a semi-open area with a few trees and bushes all around the area. There were some moss on trees and rocks and there were also some leaves and twigs on the ground. What got Sunset’s attention was a big white "X" marked in the middle of the field. There was also a huge bush a few feet away from the X, but with some gizmos and a huge backpack underneath it.

With a confused expression, Sunset turned to her friend. "Twilight… what’s all of this?"

Twilight grinned. "That my friend is my observation site for my field study!" She gestured the area around them. "I set this whole thing up this morning."

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Okay... but why did you set this up here if you don't mind me asking?"

Twilight adjusted her glasses. "I'm doing this so that I can do my own attempt to do a field study for this so-called mysterious creature."

Sunset blinked. "You don't mean-"

Twilight nodded. "Yes Sunset, I'm trying to see if I can find this Blue Devil!"

Sunset stared at Twilight in disbelief. She didn’t expect Twilight of all people, would be interested in this so-called mysterious creature after listening to Lyra’s story yesterday. Sure, it was Twilight’s nature to investigate anything that is out of ordinary but searching for a mysterious creature that was not from Equestria still sounds far-fetched.

"Um… no offense to both you and Lyra,” Sunset said slowly. “But the idea of a mysterious creature living in the woods sounds ridiculous… and that's coming from me!"

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. "Well you're one to talk! Didn't you believe that there was a sea monster at our beach once?"

Sunset blushed as she recalled that particular memory. "Well… you got me there!” Sunset admitted. “But I learned not to jump into any conclusions from what I saw since. Besides, didn't you believe the sea monster was real too?"

"I said no such thing," Twilight said simply as she placed her bag near the bushes. "If you recall, I was actually investigating the area so that I can find a logical explanation of why we thought we saw a sea monster." She pointed at the center of her camp. "It's the same thing here! While I also believe Lyra's story was farfetched, but it still fascinated me because of how mysterious it sounds. Not to mention, I’ve done a little research last night and I noticed that the wind capacity at certain parts of this city increased significantly for the past decade. So the fact that this has been going on for years even before you showed up, makes this all the more interesting. Even if this creature is not real, I still want to find out the truth."

Sunset was intrigued by Twilight’s words. While she expected that Twilight would research after hearing Lyra’s story, but Sunset had no idea that there would be some evidence of strange signs in town before she came to this world. Could there possibly be a mysterious creature living near Canterlot City this whole time or is there more going on?

"Well... I'll admit, even I'm curious,” said Sunset. “Considering that this Blue Devil isn't from Equestria… assuming it's real that is!" Sunset frowned. "But even so, how will you be able to find this creature? It's not like it will suddenly walk over to you to say “hi”."

Twilight smirked as if she was expecting that question. "Well Sunset, there were two key things Lyra mentioned which may help my field study!" She dug into her backpack to take out a small white food bag. "The first was that this creature apparently eats chili dogs! Which was why I purchased these today."

To demonstrate her point, Twilight opened her white bag and took out three chili dogs, which was covered in foil and showed it to her friend. While Sunset wasn’t a meat person, she’ll admit that the food smelled pretty good.

"Huh, so that's why you wanted to stop by at the food court!” said Sunset with an understanding smile. “No offense, but I never view you as a chili dog person!"

"I think that title goes to AJ and Rainbow Dash," Twilight joked, causing the two of them to chuckle. "Anyway, with these, I could get that creature’s attention!"

Sunset had a look of worry and dread on her face. "You're not going to try to catch it are you?"

Twilight appeared to be offended by Sunset’s question. "Of course not Sunset!” She then grinned. “I just wanted to see it for myself! Unlike Lyra, I need to learn about this creature and understand it's skills before we do anything else. Which leads me to the second key part of Lyra’s story!"

"And what's that?" Sunset asked with interest.

"The creature's speed!" Twilight answered. "Lyra believes that this thing moves so fast, it becomes a blue blur. If what she said was true, then I need to know its exact speed!"

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. "How are you going to do that?"

"With this!"

Twilight dove her hand into her backpack and took out an item that appeared to be a hairdryer, but bulkier and more advanced. It even had two different screens; a smaller one at the pointed end and a bigger one on the other side.

"Uh… what is that?" Sunset inquired.

"It's a Speed Radar Gun!" Twilight replied. "It's a type of device that the police used to measure moving vehicles."

"Police?” Sunset said in a bewildered tone. Her eyes then widened slightly in realization. “Wait… was that your brother's?"

Twilight nodded. "It is."

"...please tell me you didn't steal that!" Sunset pleaded nervously.

Twilight huffed. "I didn't steal it, I borrowed it… without asking."

"...and how's that different from stealing?" Sunset deadpanned.

"I'm not doing anything illegal, I'm only using it in the name of science,” said Twilight in an assuring tone. “Besides, it's an older model, so he won't miss it!"

“Whatever you say Twi,” said Sunset as she rolled her eyes. "But in case your brother asks, I was not any part of this!" 

Sunset only met Twilight’s brother a few times and he seems like a decent guy, but she was keeping on her toes around him since she and her friends were trying to keep Equestria a secret. The last thing Sunset needs was to get in trouble when her friend's brother happened to be a cop.

Sunset then decided to change topics. "So how high can this thing measure?"

Twilight did some tweaking with the device. "Well this thing can go as high as two hundred and seventy miles, but that's a typical max speed for most standard cars. It could read almost as high as a thousand, but I doubt anything could go that high."

"I see," Sunset replied as she crossed her arms. "And what if this said creature never showed up?"

"Then I guess my field study will just be a bust and call this whole thing a hoax," Twilight said casually with a shrug. She then grinned widely. "But if there really is such a creature like that out there, this would be one of the greatest discoveries of all time! Just think of all the possible scholarships I could get into with that!"

Sunset blinked. "Scholarships?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah! Specifically, colleges or universities! Since we're close to graduation, I'm already planning ahead to become a scientist. Of course, I have a strong chance to go into one thanks to my grades, but it doesn't hurt to build a resume."

Sunset gave her friend a genuine grin. "I think you'll be a great scientist Twilight!"

"Thanks Sunset!" said Twilight with a smile. "So, do you have any plans for what you want to do after graduation?"

Sunset paused, not expecting this kind of question before. If anyone asked her years ago when she first entered CHS, she would be happy to ditch the school and return home with power just to rub her former’s mentor’s face. But ever since she reformed and made wonderful friends, power wasn’t her goal anymore. She was deep in thought for a while before Sunset let out a sigh.

"To be honest Twilight… I don't know. With so many things going on at our school and this city, I never really thought about that. Quite frankly, I had no idea that the end of our last year was so soon. I'm… at a loss."

Twilight gave her friend an understanding smile. "Well don't you worry Sunset. Our graduation date is months away, so you'll have plenty of time to decide. Try not to stress about it, okay?"

Sunset smirked. "You? Giving me advice to not stress out? I think the apocalypse is among us!"

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Oh ha-ha, very funny Sunset!" said Twilight but smiled in a good-natured way. "Well anyway, do you want to join me, Sunset?"

Sunset shook her head. "I love too, but I promise AJ that I help her host a snack stand for her sister's little league baseball game. Maybe some other time, but will you be alright here Twilight?"

"Oh I'll be fine!" Twilight assured, waving off Sunset’s concerns. "I've done a lot of scientific investigations by myself at Crystal Prep before, so I'll be fine!"

"I know you will, but just… be careful, alright Twilight?" Sunset said softly. "You remember what happened back at the Friendship Games, right?"

Twilight nodded with a gentle smile. "Don't worry Sunset, I will be careful. I promise."

Sunset smiled. "Alright then, I'll see you later at your house for our sleepover!"

The two greeted farewell before Sunset parted ways, leaving Twilight all alone. Twilight immediately got to work by removing the wrappers from all three chilidogs before placing them on the plate. Next she placed the plate full of chilidogs in the middle of the field where the "X" was located before she turned and headed into the bush a few feet away from the plate. She crouched down onto her stomach where her radar gun was before taking her binoculars from her coat pocket.

"Alright Blue Devil, time to find out if you are real or not," she whispered before looking into her binoculars towards the middle field where her plate of chilidogs was located.

"Oh boy, this is so exciting!" Twilight squealed quietly.





"Okay… maybe not that exciting," Twilight sighed as she lazily laid on her side with a bored expression.

It’s been over two hours since she was laying in that same spot, watching the three uneaten chilidogs which were probably cold by now. While she knew that her stakeout would probably end up a dud, but at the same time, she also expecting something to happen with everything going on in town lately. While the young scientist wasn’t too bothered with not seeing the creature, but she was not looking forward to dealing with Rainbow Dash’s sassy comments later on like “I told you so” or “it was to be expected”. 

And deep down, she was actually hoping that the creature was real. Not just for her academic credit, but also for her own excitement of possibly meeting a new creature that was never heard of before. Sadly, it was not meant to be.

"Maybe the girls are right," said Twilight with a sigh. "Perhaps there is no blue creature in these woods. I should probably head home and prepare for the sleepover."

Twilight placed her binoculars down and turned to her backpack to began packing up her things.

Suddenly, Twilight heard a brief ‘whoosh’ sound, followed by a sudden wind blowing against her body. This admittedly made Twilight look up with a semi-alarmed expression.

"What was that?" she muttered.

Twilight immediately turned back towards the plate of chilidogs and she noticed something different about them.

There were only two chilidogs instead of three.

“H-huh?” Twilight balked. “Where did one of those chili dogs go?”

Suddenly she heard a beep coming from her Speed Radar Gun. She turned towards the reader, only to be stunned as soon as she read the number that was on the display.



296



Twilight blinked once.

Twice.

Three times.

“W-what the?” she whispered. 

Twilight even took off her glasses as she stared at the numbers, making sure that her mind wasn’t playing tricks on her. Even in her blurry state, she could still make out those same numbers.

"This… this can't be right!" she muttered as she placed her glasses back to the bridge of her nose.

She had seen her brother’s Speed Reader in action many times and saw a high number on that device a few times before, but she never seen a number go that high before. At first, she thought it could be the wind, but then quickly dismissed that because her radar only measures moving objects. Then Twilight figured that the movement might’ve come from an animal, but she also dismissed that idea. According to Fluttershy, the fastest animal in the world was a cheetah, but there aren’t any cheetahs around in Canterlot City, not even from the town’s zoo. Even if they were, no cheetahs, or any animals for that matter, could ever run that fast.

Just as Twilight continued to ponder over this, she heard another movement, followed by a wind blowing towards her direction. Twilight immediately turned towards the source and her jaw nearly dropped when she noticed that there was only one chili dog left that was sitting on the plate in the middle of the field.

“What? Another one was taken?” Twilight exclaimed as she was rubbing her eyes. “How!?”

Just then, she heard another few ‘beeps’ coming from her radar machine. Twilight glanced at her machine and her eyes nearly widened at a different and higher number on the screen.



691



“Wha– over six hundred!?” Twilight exclaimed in disbelief. She then frantically inspected her device for any signs of damages. “This... this has to be a mistake! Don’t tell me my brother’s radar is broken!”

She really hoped that she didn’t somehow accidentally wreck the equipment, otherwise her brother would be upset at her. Even if her radar gun isn’t broken, then what other explanations could have been that resulted numbers higher than expected.

As she was fussing with her tech, she heard another movement from the side of her. This time, she turned towards the source as quickly as she could, only to get temporarily blind due to strong wind to her face.

“AH!” She yelped as she covered her face. “What was–”

As she slowly raised her hand off of her face, her eyes widened in shock when she spotted the food plate. Or at least, what wasn’t on the food plate.

"NO! The final chili dog is gone!" Twilight cried as she stared at a now empty plate.

Just as before, more ‘beeps’ were coming from her radar gun. Both out of nervous and curious, Twilight slowly turned to her machine. Once her eyes were on the display screen, her face froze in shock when she saw a new and even higher number.



760



"W-what!? Seven hundred and sixty!?" Twilight shouted, couldn’t believe what she was seeing. "That’s impossible!"

Questions were flooding all over her mind while trying to keep herself from having a mental breakdown. How could not one, but all three chili dogs disappear so quickly while it happened right in front of her? How or what caused those numbers to go up higher with every chili dog taken? Had she finally lost it?

Suddenly, she heard a loud burp coming from her right. Startled, Twilight immediately turned towards the source and nearly froze in fear. All she saw was a huge bush between the two trees just distanced away from her. But what really got her attention was something inside the huge hole in the middle of the bush; a pair of eyes. She thought she was looking at an animal for a moment, but then she quickly realized it was no ordinary creature when she noticed that those eyes were not only bigger than an average animal but the color of those eyes was green.

“H... hello?” Twilight uttered after she finally found her voice.

The eyes widened for a brief moment before it disappeared into the bush and then shot out of it from the other side, leaving a trail of the blue blur.

Twilight eyes widened at the sight she was witnessing for a moment before she quickly snapped herself out her shock.

“Stop, wait!” Twilight shouted as she quickly got out of her own bush and ran after the mysterious being.

Twilight ran as fast as she could to chase after that blue blur, but the blur went farther and farther in every second. While she was never an athletic person, Twilight pushed herself further to pursuit this mysterious being. She couldn’t believe that not only Lyra’s stories turned out to be true, but also that this creature turned out to be real! She refused to let this potential new discovery to escape from her grasp, even if her legs give out from all her running.

Unfortunately for Twilight, she failed to notice a tree root sticking out from the ground. As a result, it caught Twilight’s ankle, making the young scientist trip and fall almost face-first to the ground. She groaned as she slowly lifted her head up, only to see that the mysterious blur disappeared like it wasn’t there.
 
“Oh great!” Twilight muttered in frustration, as she slowly freed her foot from the root.

As she was messaging her ankle, her thoughts were back at the creature she saw. Or at least, what she thinks she saw.

This isn’t possible! Twilight thought. I wanted to think my mind was playing tricks on me, but from those chili dogs, the blue blur, those eyes… they’re REAL! Could it be what I saw really was a…

She stopped her inner monologue when she noticed something strange within the tall grass from the corner of her eye. Curious Twilight slowly crawled towards the area and pushed some tall grass out of the way. She then stared in awe when she noticed a strange thing lying in between the grass.

"...what in the world?" Twilight whispered.

It was a long, thin, and bright blue thing that looked like a piece of hair or a needle. Slowly, she reached over towards the mysterious thing to touch it. As soon as her hand made contact with it, she was surprised that the thing felt soft and warm to her. She then lifted the item close to her face to inspect it a bit. Judging from its texture, it appeared to be some kind of quill that comes from an animal. It also appeared to be glowing somewhat like a mini light bulb which baffled the young scientist. A moment later, the light from the quill dimmed a bit, but Twilight could still feel some energy from it.

Twilight blinked at the quill while questions were running around in her brain: How could there be energy from within the quill? Exactly how much energy was in that quill? Was it from this mysterious creature she saw seconds ago? Does this mean the creature really was real? And why was it here?

Her little stakeout only leaves her more questions then answers that she doesn’t even know where to begin. Only one thing she knew for sure; she needed to do more research.

Starting with this mysterious quill.





That was close! While I'm glad Brainiac isn't hurt, but now she's suspecting that I'm there. Sonic thought as he hid behind a large fallen tree trunk while watching the teenaged girl from the distance. 

Sonic had been watching Brainiac ever since she and her friend arrived at their campsite. He stuck around for so long so he could mess around Brainiac, but it was all in good fun. 

And to help himself for some free chili dogs was a sweet bonus.

Unfortunately, those chili dogs were so good (and gassy), it made him burp loudly, revealing his position in the process. Thankfully, Brainiac only had a glimpse of him before he took off, except now she knows of his existence. Unlike "Crazy Lyra", Brainiac is very smart. She could easily find him with that mind of hers, but as long as he has his power, she won't find him. But just in case, he needs to lay low for a while.

I… should be getting home. Sonic thought with a sigh before running deeper into the woods.

In less than a minute, Sonic located his secret hideout, which was a small cave underneath the big tree. He spun into the cave, slide down the hole and landed on his red beanbag. Inside of his cave was full of things that he “found” over the years: a radio, posters, comics, toys, various street signs, many different hats including a large red cowboy hat (his favorite), and much other stuff he collected. He even has storage of food, which were mostly chips, cookies, and sodas he could find just to get by. This cave isn't anything fancy, but hey, it's home.

"Home, sweet home!" Sonic exclaimed with a yawn.

Usually, he won’t be home at this time, but due to circumstances, he decided to return home early. But he was unsure of what to do to pass the time and where to start. Sonic simply shrugged.

"Welp, while I wait for my “run-in” with Brainiac blows over, I'll just entertain myself for a while!"

In literally within a minute of his time, Sonic did every single activity he could to entertain himself from within his secret cave thanks to his super-speed: playing his guitar, jump rope with himself, do cardio exercising with his own treadmill, which was actually an old dryer that he found from the garbage dump, practicing with his nunchaku and reading every single issue of the Fili-Second comic, his favorite reading material. Shortly after that, he decided to play ping-pong (with an old highway sign as a table) against himself to keep himself from being bored. He served the ball to one side, only to hit the ball after he immediately appeared on the other side. This continued on throughout his intense game until at one point he hit the ball so hard, the ball ricocheted towards his bag of rings which was on the table, knocking it to the floor as a result.

Sonic gasped with an alarm expression. "...oh no!"

That was the same bag of rings that Longclaw entrusted him to take care of before he was transported to this world. He quickly ran up to his fallen bag to check up on the rings. With a sigh of relief, he gently placed the rings back to the bag. Sonic didn’t want anything bad to happen to the bag or the rings because they’re not only vital to his survival... but also a special memory of his friend.

He gently took out a piece of paper that was also in the bag to open it. It was a map of portals to many different worlds in the universe. Most of the worlds he and Longclaw have been to previously were crossed out after being discovered. He recalled from Longclaw that they were on a run since his birth. Every time they thought they found themselves a home, they ended up on a run again and teleported to the next world, all because someone wanted his power. The real kicker was, it was because of his own recklessness that made them flee for so long.

Including, on the day he fled to Earth.

Sonic shook those thoughts away as he stared at the image of Earth on the map before he slowly looked down towards the last word that wasn’t crossed out yet. He cringed at that specific world as he picked up one of the rings and tossed it into the air, causing it to grew big and revealed an image of a world filled with large, smelly, and stinky mushrooms as far as the eye can see.

Sonic greatly shuddered at the sight of that mushroom world. He remembered Longclaw’s instructions that in case if he was ever discovered by the humans, warping into the Mushroom World will be his final resort to his safety. He hoped that he wouldn’t come to that because he really enjoyed living on this planet and there was so much he still wanted to do here. He nearly got himself discovered after his encounter with Brainiac and decided to be a little more extra careful from then on.

That... and the thought of living in a world filled with mushrooms doesn’t sound appealing to him.

"...I hate mushrooms," Sonic mumbled.

Sonic sighed heavily as he shrunk the ring portal. He was extremely bored. He did every single activity he could think of several times within a minute. He needs to do something or else he'll be even crazier than he was already.

Then he remembered the conversation he overheard between Brainiac and Equestrian Girl, something about a baseball game at the school. He doesn't know what a baseball is, but it sounded like fun and he wanted to check it out. But he was nearly caught by Brainiac not too long ago due to his carelessness. No doubt that their "encounter" would still be fresh in that teenage girl's mind. Should he risk himself of going out again just to see a baseball game?

Sonic looked up towards the cave's entrance with a curious expression. Maybe a little peek at the school wouldn't hurt... right?
> Volume I - Chapter 3: Baseball Blues
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the top of the ninth inning during the Little League Baseball at the baseball field of Canterlot High. It was a match between the Wondercolts against their long time rival, the Shadowbolts. While the Shadowbolts were winning nine to eight, the Wondercolts weren’t discouraged in the slightest and will continue to battle to the very end. 

Many spectators from both sides watched from the sidelines at the bleachers, cheering for their teams. At the front of the bleachers, Sunset and Applejack were selling non-alcoholic Apple Ciders from their stand. While they were selling their drinks to their customers, they were mostly watching the game in support of their team and the CMCs who were among the team.

"Thanks again fer helping out with mah stand Sunset!" said Applejack with an appreciated smile. "While this ain’t mah first rodeo, but Ah appreciate yer assistance."

Sunset smiled back. "It's no problem at all AJ. I'm happy to help out! Besides, from where our stand is located, we practically got ourselves front row seats for the game."

"Can't argue with dat!" Applejack chuckled before she turned back towards the game with a loud cheer. “Go Apple Bloom! Show ‘em how it’s done!”





Somewhere off from the distance in the wooded area, Sonic suddenly appeared with his super-speed and hid behind a tree. He peeked over the tree and watched the scene in front of him with an awe expression.

“Whoaaaaaaaaa! The Playoffs!” He whispered.

Wanting to see the game up close, he zoomed across the school grounds and headed towards the back of the bleachers.

Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon Bon were sitting at the far right and in the middle row of the bleachers. Bon Bon was trying to enjoy the game with her bottle of water while Lyra just sat there with her arms crossed and a pouty expression.

"Why are we here Bonnie?" Lyra complained. "You know that I don’t like baseball!"

Bon Bon sighed while trying to remain patient with her best friend. "Because not only you were running around about that Blue Devil nonsense again, you’ve been obsessed about it for days! I'm bringing you here so you could get your mind off of it! Now be quiet and watch!"

Lyra turned away from her friend with a huff, muttering angrily about how no one took her seriously as always. She stared off into a corner just in time to see a familiar blue hedgehog appeared right in front of her. The two silently stared at each other for a moment before Lyra let out a scream, startling her best friend and other spectators close by to her.

"What!? What is it Lyra!" Bon Bon exclaimed with a concerned expression.

Wasting no time, Lyra faced her best friend while pointing towards where the blue creature was standing. "It's him! It's the Blue Devil! He's right next to–"

As soon as Lyra turned around, the blue creature was nowhere to be seen, much to Lyra’s astonishment and frustration.

"Wha- where'd he go!" Lyra exclaimed while looking around franticly. "He was right there! I know he was here!"

Bon Bon was beyond annoyed and embarrassed with her friend’s antics even before she directed at where the “Blue Devil” was standing. She sighed in exasperation as she rubbed her temples.

"Ugh… this is second grade all over again!" Bon Bon groaned.

While Lyra tried and failed to convince her best friend what she just saw, Sonic was hiding right underneath them from within the bleachers with a relieved sigh.

That was too close! Sonic thought with a sigh. Luckily, it was Crazy Lyra who saw me, so no one is going to believe her. Still, I got to be more careful from here on out!

Sonic then stealthy moved along from under the bleachers until he made his way to the middle where he could see everything. He watched in awe as the next batter from the opposite team made her way to the base. Sonic's attention to the game was briefly interrupted when he heard a familiar cheerful voice from the sidelines.

"Alright Can-Canterlots, you Banter-lots!"

Sonic turned towards the source of the voice, which revealed to be Pinkie Pie in her cheerleading outfit with her megaphone. Fluttershy was also there, silently standing next to Pinkie wearing her own cheerleading outfit.

"I wanna hear you cheer!" Pinkie loudly encouraged the crowd with a smile. "When I say 'Wonder', you say 'Colts'!" Pinkie instructed before raising her fist.

"Wonder!"

"Colts!” "Colts!” The crowd cheered loudly, while Fluttershy cheered in a much lower volume.

"WONDER!"

"COLTS!" "COLTS!"

"WONDEEEEEEEERRRRR!"

"COOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTSSSS!" "COOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLTTTTTTTTTSSSS!"

Sonic grinned excitedly. He wanted to cheer alongside them, but he doesn't want to give himself away. Instead, he turned his focus back to the game just as the pitcher threw the ball. The Shadowbolt player swung her bat, hitting the ball into the air. Just as it seemed like the ball was out of the park, Scootaloo caught the ball into her glove and then tossed it to Sweetie Belle who was standing by the first base. Sweetie Belle caught the ball and then tagged her opposing player before she could return to her original base.

"You're out!" Announced the referee. "Double play!"

As the teams switched positions, the Wondercolts students cheered for their successful play along with Rainbow Dash and Rarity who were part of the spectators.

"Woo-hoo! Way to go Scoots!" Rainbow Dash cheered loudly.

"Great job Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cheered, only to grimace the moment she saw the state of her sister's uniform. "Oh… I wish my dear sister didn't get that uniform all dirty!"

Rainbow Dash simply rolled her eyes at Rarity's remark.





Some time has passed and the Wondercolts team now caught up with their rival team; full bases and two outs. Spectators from both teams were waiting for in anticipation to see how this game will end. While that was happening, Applejack and Sunset were pouring drinks for the thirsty spectators from their stand.

"Oooh, a tie game!" Sunset said excitedly as she eyed the scoreboard. "It's all coming down to this! If our team gets another score, we’ll win!"

“If we get another score,” Applejack pointed out. Her eyes then lit up the moment she sees the next player walking towards the home base. "Ooh! My sis is up fer bat!"

Indeed it was Applejack’s little sister, Apple Bloom who was up next. She stood by the base, raised her bat over her shoulder and stared ahead, waiting for the pitcher to throw the ball. The pitcher narrowed her eyes in concentration, silently communicating the catcher of which pitch style to use against Apple Bloom. Before anyone could react, the pitcher quickly pulled back her arm and threw a fastball towards Apple Bloom’s direction. Apple Bloom, who anticipated that trick, was quick enough to swing her bat and hit the ball into the air. One of the Shadowbolts tried to catch the ball as she chased it across the field and raised her hand. But the ball was too high for her to reach and was over the fence, hitting the scoreboard.

"HOMERUN!" The referee loudly announced.

The Shadowbolts spectators groaned loudly in defeat while the Wondercolts side loudly cheered in victory, especially Applejack.

"Yee-haw! Way to go Apple Bloom!" Applejack cheered loudly while her face was filled with pride for her sister.

Apple Bloom continued ran around the field, high-fiving some of her teammates along the way. When she reached the home base, everyone from her team was piling onto her with hugs and cheers before lifting her up in celebration of their victory.

Sonic watched those kids with an awe expression. The game looked fun and amazing to him, especially the part when they run after hitting the ball. That last kid was amazing the way she hit that ball and deserved all the attention from other players. And the real kicker, he wished that he could join in on the fun.

He noticed that everyone was on the field now, congratulating the players or chit-chatting with other people. Even with his super-speed, there was no way he could leave without anyone seeing him. He decided he should wait a little longer from under the bleachers until he was sure that everyone leaves so he could escape.

...and maybe to check out the baseball field up close without prying eyes.





Twilight sighed heavily as she massaged her head, trying to ease her growing headache. She then eyed the quill in front of her, which was currently sitting on her workbench. Shortly after her time at the woods, Twilight immediately went home to her lab, which used to be her family’s garage, from the back of her house to analyze that mysterious quill she found after chasing some mysterious being. She tried to do some basic testing on this quill, only to come out fruitless. She even tried measuring the electricity from the quill using a multimeter and jumper cables.

Only to blow a fuse temporary in the process.

Even with that setback, she wasn’t any closer to figuring out what the deal was about that quill from that mysterious creature. For the first time since the Friendship Games, Twilight was stumped. At least back during the Friendship Games, she was able to slowly understand about Equestrian Magic as she went along with it before meeting her best friends. With this quill, however, she felt like she was running into a brick wall at every corner. Twilight felt frustrated with herself for having little to no process with that quill. She knew that she has to go deeper to get her answers, but she doesn’t know where to go from there.

"Twilight?"

Twilight was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard someone calling her. She turned towards the floor to see her pet dog and best friend, Spike. Spike has been with her for as long as she could remember; like a family member rather than a pet. Even after the Friendship Games, Twilight still wasn’t used to hearing him talk.

"Oh Spike!" said Twilight as she swiveled her chair around towards him. "What are you doing here?"

Spike gave Twilight his confused look. "You were supposed to take me out for a walk."

Twilight let out a tired sigh. "I told you, Spike, I'll walk with you in an hour!"

Spike raised his eyebrow. "Twilight… it has been an hour! An hour and a half to be exact!"

Twilight blinked. She then glanced at the clock by her desk. To her shock, it was indeed been an hour and a half since her response to Spike about his walk the first time.

Oh, shoot! Was I here that long!? Twilight exclaimed in thought before turning back to her pet.

"I'm so sorry Spike! I was… more occupied than usual!" Twilight answered with a guilty expression.

Spike gave her friend an assuring grin. "It's okay Twilight, I’m not mad!" He then glanced at the quill. "Was it something to do with that "thing" you found at the woods earlier today?"

"...yeah," Twilight answered as she picked up the quill, eyeing it with great fascination. "I found this thing shortly after chasing whatever it was in those woods! It's like anything I've ever seen before… besides Equestrian Magic related of course!" She then let out a huff in frustration. "I still can't make heads or tails with this thing!"

Spike titled his head in curiosity. "How do you know it was a quill?"

"Well I'm not Fluttershy, but I can tell by its shape and texture,” Twilight explained while stroking the quill. “Still, what creature could have this type of quill?"

"Did you tell the girls about this?" Spike asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I didn't tell them yet Spike. The girls were already skeptical about a non-equestrian creature running around in our city… myself included. So I'm trying to analyze this quill further to gather the information I need before mentioning this to them."

"C’mon Twi, give them some credit. They’re your friends! I'm sure the girls will believe you when you tell them,” Spike assured before smirking. “I mean, this isn’t the first strange thing that happened in this town."

Twilight smiled. "Perhaps you're right Spike," she said as she petted her dog. "My friends will believe me, though it wouldn't hurt to gather more data to back up my claim. That... and I'm also curious about what I may find."

Spike only shook his head in amusement.

"Twilight!”

Both Twilight and Spike yelped from the sound of the sudden visitor. Twilight immediately knew that voice belonged to her big brother, and he doesn’t sound happy. Panic started to creep up as her brother’s footsteps were getting closer. While Twilight still doesn’t know if this quill is related to Equestria or not, she needs to hide it quickly. In a split second, Twilight quickly pulled out a drawer from her workbench, stuffed the quill inside, and slammed the drawer shut. Unfortunately, the drawer wasn’t completely shut due to the amounts of junk poking out of it. She didn’t have time to fix it as she saw her brother entering her lab in his police uniform with a stern expression.

“Oh! Shining Armor!” Twilight said almost too eagerly while trying to distract him away from her drawer. “What’s up?”

Shining Armor's expression remained unchanged. "Twilight… we need to talk!"

Spike’s ears lowered from Shining’s tone, afraid for his friend. He hated the drama, but he didn’t want to leave Twilight behind. Twilight, noticing her dog’s dilemma, gave him her reassuring smile, and silently told him that she can handle it. Spike looked up at Twilight one last time before he quickly left the lab through the doggy door.

Now alone with Twilight, Shining Armor crossed his arms. “I hate to confront you like this, but I want you to answer me honestly!”

Twilight gulped internally. Her brother rarely acted like this to her unless if she'd done something wrong. Could it be that Shining Armor found out about their secret? She resisted the urge to check the drawer behind her as she gave her brother her full attention.

“U-um, okay. What is it?” Twilight asked while adjusting her skirt.

Shining silently stared at Twilight for what it felt like an eternally, making Twilight feel more nervous. Finally, he asked, “Twilight… did you take my radar gun?”

Twilight blinked. “Oh– OH! That?” said Twilight, while she inwardly sighed of relief. “Y-yeah, I did, but I’m not doing anything illegal with it! I was using it for my science experiment! Honest!”

Shining Armor stared at her sister for a moment, causing Twilight to sweat a little before he let out an exasperated sigh. “Twilight... you can’t take things that were from the police!”

“Well technically, your radar gun is nearly a year and a half obsolete to use in the force,” Twilight pointed out.

“Even so, that still wasn’t a good reason to be using them like they were toys!” Shining shouted angrily.

Twilight winced from her brother’s shout and looked down miserably. Shining immediately felt guilty for yelling at her sister and softly breathed through his nose to calm himself.

“Look, I know that you love to do experiments and that you would never do anything malicious or anything without reason, but I don't want you to do anything crazy or dangerous that leads you to trouble either," he explained gently. He gently placed his hand on Twilight's shoulder to get her to look at him in the eyes. "You know that I act like this because I'm worried about you and that I'm only looking out for you. I'm not trying to discourage you from your hobby, I just want you to be more careful, especially after what happened at the Friendship Games. And if you want to borrow anything from me, just… try to ask me first, okay?"

Twilight nodded. "O-okay Shining," she said softly while sighing. "And… I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry too," said Shining before he smiled at his sister. "I love you LSBBF!"

Twilight smiled back. "Love you too BBBFF!"

With that, the two siblings gently embraced each other, erasing any bad tensions between the two of them. Even when they argued, their bond still came out strong. They released their hug when they heard a chime from Twilight’s computer. They looked up just in time to see footage of Twilight’s friends, waiting by the front door of their house.

"Looks like your friends are here!" Shining chuckled as he then lightly tousled his sister’s hair.  "Now you go have fun, okay?"

Twilight giggled. "I will Shining!"

Shining Armor was about to walk out but then stopped at the last second. “Oh, by the way. Cadence will be away with her colleague to Manehattan for a few days and I’ll be working late shifts for a while. So if there are any emergencies, don’t hesitate to call me, okay?”

Twilight nodded. “Of course Shining Armor!”

“And that includes letting me know before you girls heading out there this weekend!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry Shining, I will do that too! You know we’ll be heading to where Cadence is staying at Manehattan, right?”

Shining sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. “I know Twiliy… I just want to make sure you're safe. You know that right?"

"I know," Twilight replied gently with a smile.

Shining Armor smiled back before he stepped out of Twilight’s lab.

As soon as her brother left the building, Twilight let out a huge sigh in relief. Even after Cadance promised to keep another world and magic-related a secret, Twilight wondered if maybe she should come clean to her brother so that she won’t keep hiding from him. It wasn't because she didn't trust her brother, quite frankly, she trusts her brother with her life. The problem was Shining Armor is very overprotective, especially when it comes to his family. Shining nearly wanted to tear everyone at Crystal Prep apart after finding out how they treated his sister, especially from former Principal Cinch. Twilight dreaded on how he would react when he found out about the mysterious magic from her new school, let alone her having magical powers of her own.

She shook that thought away and decided to just focus on the slumber party with her friends and to have fun. She took a glance at her drawer one last time before she got up from her seat and left her lab. Unbeknownst to Twilight, the quill that was hidden in the drawer slowly began to glow bright blue.





Some time has passed and the slumber party was currently underway within Twilight’s bedroom. The Equestria Girls were wearing their pajamas and sitting around in the middle of the floor, retelling the events of the baseball game to Twilight. Spike was at the side of the room, chewing on his chew toy. While Twilight felt bad for missing out on the game, but she was glad that her friends had fun and their team won the game.

“Wow, Apple Bloom really hit a home run?” asked Twilight, clearly impressed with Applejack’s story.

Applejack swelled her chest in pride. “Eeyup! My sis knocked that ball right out of the park! She’s a strong kid!”

Rainbow Dash scoffed playfully. “If you think that’s good, the way Scoots pulled a double play from the previous inning was awesome! I’m so proud of my sis!”

Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “I thought she isn’t related to you.”

“Just because we’re not related by blood, doesn’t mean that I don’t consider her as part of my family!” Rainbow Dash replied.

“Ah’ll perch to dat Dash!” Applejack chimed in before she and Rainbow Dash fist-bumped.

“While baseball wasn’t my thing, but I happy to be there to support my little sister,” said Rarity as she flicked her hair. “I even gave her a present as a reward for her performance!”

Fluttershy smiled at her friend. “Oh, that was generous of you Rarity. What did you give her?”

“I gave her a new pair of shoes, which I made myself!” Rarity answered with a squee. “The darling needed a new pair for quite a while!”

"Clothes. Why am I not surprised?" Rainbow Dash commented as she rolled her eyes, not noticing Rarity was glaring at her for the remark.

"It sounds like you all had a blast! I feel bad for missing it," Twilight chimed.

Applejack smiled at Twilight. "It's fine Sugarcube, we understand that you were busy with yer little science project.”

“Y-yeah... Project,” Twilight replied with an uneasy smile before she turned towards Fluttershy. "Speaking of which, did you bring that "item" I requested Fluttershy?"

"Oh, um… yes," Fluttershy answered as she dug into her small backpack and took out a small metal case. "But I'm not exactly comfortable with you borrowing it, let alone using it!"

Twilight smiled assumingly as she took the case. "Not to worry Fluttershy, I'm only going to be using it in case of emergencies, but mostly to scare them off."

Sunset, who was sitting right next to Twilight, turned towards her friend with her curious expression. "I didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but what was that "item" you asked from Fluttershy?"

Everyone now faced Twilight with looks of interest as Twilight replied casually, "Oh, I asked for her tranquilizer gun."

Her friends, sans Fluttershy, stared at Twilight in shock.

"A tranquilizer gun?!" Sunset exclaimed. "Why on Earth would you want a tranquilizer gun? Heck, why does Fluttershy have a tranquilizer gun?"

Fluttershy twirled her hair nervously as everyone stared at her in interest. "Oh, well… when I first volunteered at the zoo one summer, my father gave me that gun as of means to protect myself against much more dangerous animals. But I didn't need to since they were all so sweet to me. And even if they were, I could never bring myself to use it against an animal."

"Well that explains it!" said Rainbow Dash. "But that doesn't explain why Twilight wanted it!"

"Oh I… had a run-in with a huge animal earlier, so I need something to protect myself," Twilight lied.

While part of the reason was true, but for the most part Twilight needed something she could use to slow the creature down so that it won't escape from her again. If she ever finds that creature again. Even if her friends believe her about the creature, she was sure that no one would like the idea of her intentionally using this gun on an animal, especially Fluttershy.

Sunset gasped. "Oh my Faust! Are you hurt?"

"Don't worry Sunset, I'm fine!” Twilight assured. “It didn't attack me, it just ran off as soon as it saw me."

Sunset had a guilty frown. "While I’m glad you’re not hurt, I shouldn’t have left you all alone in those woods!”

"I can go with you on your next trip to the woods!" Fluttershy offered. "That way, I can just politely ask whatever animal it was to leave you alone without attacking them."

Twilight shook her head. “Thanks for the offer Fluttershy, but I'll be fine! Besides, I don't want to be a burden to you girls!"

“I would be more comfortable if one of us is with you to those woods, but we'll respect your decision," said Sunset. "But don't ever hesitate to ask us to come with you if you need us!"

Twilight smiled. "I know Sunset. And I will!"

"So Sunset, did you bring any video games with you?" Rainbow Dash asked, changing the topic.

Sunset perked up. "I did! In fact..." Sunset dug into her backpack. "I have something that even you would like Rainbow Dash."

Sunset then took out what appeared to be a cartridge from an old video game with an image of two cartoon characters on it with part of the number two behind them.

Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up in excitement. "No way! You got the original Speedy the Possum Two for Fega Genesis?"

Sunset smirked. "The very same!"

Rainbow Dash squealed. "Oh man, I love that game! It's my favorite game of the series!"

"Speedy Three and Fists is the best one in my opinion, but the second one is just as much fun!" said Sunset.

Pinkie raised her hand excitedly like a kid in a classroom. "Oh-oh! I like that pinball game of his! That game made me into a pinball wizard!"

Twilight grinned as she adjusted her glasses. "Well, I like the one with a bean puzzle game starring Speedy's villain, which tested your mind and skills!"

"Nerd!" Rainbow Dash teased, only for Twilight to stick her tongue out to her.

Rarity flicked her hair back. "I'm not much for gaming, although I recalled seeing my sister playing the first game from time to time."

Applejack crossed her arms with a smirk on her face. "Ah bet you secretly played 'em when no one's around?"

Rarity glared at Applejack as if she was offended by her friend’s remark. "O-of course not! Even if I could, I could never beat that underwater level!"

Rainbow grinned slyly. "You do realize that the level you're talking about took place more than halfway into the game?"

“W-what!? I-I thought it was the second level!” Rarity exclaimed with a blush.

Everyone laughed good-heartedly at Rarity's expense, who also chuckled as well.

"Teasing Rares aside, practically every old school Speedy games is good!" said Rainbow Dash with a grin, until she frowned a second later. "Until Fega started making 3D games! The series went downhill since then!"

"They're not all bad!" said Sunset. "There are some decent ones like Speedy Adventure One and Two, Colors, Generations…"

“Oooooh, I love Colors!" Pinkie Pie gushed. "The levels are so much fun, especially that one level which was a planet made entirely out of cake!” Pinkie Pie nearly drooled at the mention of 'cake'. “I would love to go to that planet!”

"Um… I remember liking the Adventure Two game," Fluttershy added softly. "But my favorite part is when you raise those cute little blue creatures in between levels."

"Ah'll admit, I played mostly the racin' genre from dat series, especially da one when every franchise from Fega joins in and their cars transformed to different vehicles in da middle of the race. Now dat one's fun!" said Applejack.

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Okay I’ll admit, while those games are okay, but they’re not perfect! While the gameplay from the first adventure game was fun, but it aged badly when it comes to graphics and some laughable voice acting. Then there’s the one where you played as Speedy’s rival, which they tried WAY too hard with the edginess and added the stupid gun mechanic, their latest one with the resistance and custom character was lazy and overall meh, and the less said about that one game with Speedy wrapped up in bandages and wrong arm color, the better!”

Sunset raised her eyebrow. "What about that one game that has so many bugs, load times, and that gigantic mess of a story?"

"Not to mention that kiss scene with a human princess?" Twilight added.

Half of the girls in the room shuddered violently in horror and disgust.

"Yeah… that game is downright terrible!" said Rainbow Dash.

"That we can all agree on!" Sunset replied.

Suddenly, they all heard a doorbell coming from the other side of the house.

“Pizza’s here!” Pinkie Pie announced excitedly.

Everyone immediately ran out of the room to get the pizza, all except for Twilight. She decided to place Fluttershy’s gun to her dresser for safekeeping. Just as she opened the drawer, Pinkie Pie appeared by her bedroom door with her pizza hanging from her mouth with the crust in first.

“You coming Twi?” she asked through her stuffed cheeks.

Twilight nodded before she stored the gun case into her dresser and then followed after Pinkie Pie to get some pizza.









It was now night time at Canterlot High’s baseball field. As soon it was dark out, all the field lights automatically turned on and illuminated the field. Everyone went home for the evening and not a living soul was around the area, all except for the anthropomorphic blue hedgehog. 

After checking that the coast was clear, Sonic peaked out from the bleacher and slowly approached the field up close. He eventually reached the middle of the field by the pitcher’s mound and slowly looked around the entire field. The entire time his expression was full of awe and wonder like a kid who just entered the toy store for the first time in their life, but much more exciting.

"Wow!" he whispered. "So cool!"

He wanted to play that game. He really wanted to play that game with other people so badly ever since he arrived here. But as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t as he forced himself to watch the game from afar. But he was tired of keeping himself hidden. If only he was a normal person instead of being a strange creature with a mysterious power.

He sighed as he glanced towards the couch’s box, where he discovered an opened sports bag on the bench which was filled with baseball gear. He assumed one of the young players or school staff must have forgotten to pack that bag to the storage at their school. Right then and there, Sonic let out a small mischievous grin as an idea was forming in his head.

He was sure that no one will at the school mind if anyone would use them.





Sometime later, Sonic was standing over the home plate while holding a bat and wearing a blue baseball helmet with a Wondercolts logo on its side. He tapped the plate and leg with his bat a few times before he swung it over his right shoulder.

"It’s the bottom of the ninth tie score,” Sonic announced while speaking in a spokesman-like voice. “Batting it up to plate with the game on the line, Sonic!"

A few seconds later, he zipped over to the pitcher’s mound and was now holding a baseball mitt while wearing a purple baseball cap with the Shadowbolts logo on its front. He adjusted his shoulders a bit before he swung his arm a little before hiding the ball behind him.

"But staring him down from the pitcher’s mound is the most fearsome southpaw in Canterlot City: also Sonic!" said Sonic as he was staring down at his “opponent”.

Sonic then quickly switched back to the home plate and wears the Wondercolts helmet again.

“Okay Sonic… you can do this!” he muttered, tightening the grip on his bat. “If you win this game, you’ll be the most awesome kid in Canterlot City!”

He then rushed outside of the foul line near the third base. This time he wore a blue baseball cap with the Wondercolts logo on the front, acting as the coach. He tapped his nose a few times, slams his face, did some arm farts, and other weird hand motions as if he was trying to give one of his teammates his secret signal.

"Hit the ball towards the guy on the left!” He shouted in a tough accent. He then twirled his right finger around his head in a comedic fashion. “His head is way up in the clouds!"

He then zoomed over at the far side of the outfield and was now wearing a light purple Shadowbolt cap. He was just looking up at the sky with a blank expression while blowing a huge bubble from a piece of bubble gum. Sonic then gave his “teammates” his confused look as the bubble burst and went right over his face.

Sonic bolted over to the pitcher’s mound as Pitcher Sonic again who let out a loud groan. "Why do we have him on our team again?"

Sonic dashed right back near the home plate, but this time he was wearing a catcher’s outfit, mask and all.

“Hey, batter Sonic! Hey, batter Sonic! Suh-wing, batter Sonic!” Catcher Sonic taunted, as he was hand signaling towards his pitcher on what defense play to use.

Pitcher Sonic got the message. With a grin, he brought his arm back and raised his leg before he threw the ball at high speed. As the ball was thrown towards the home base, Sonic zipped passed the ball, went into batting position again as a Wondercolt player, and then he hit the ball into the air.

The Shadowbolt Player Sonic was sitting on the grass, enjoying the sight of a sunflower in front of him. When he looked up from the sound of a ball being hit, he gasped at the sight of the ball hurling towards his direction. He quickly got up to just feet and chased after the flying ball.

"Ooh ooh! I got it! I got it!" Shadowbolt Player Sonic cried with his mitt up high.

The ball was getting closer and closer to him as it descended towards the ground. In desperation, Shadowbolt Sonic Player jumped into the air and stretched his arm out in hopes of catching the ball.

Only he missed the ball by an inch and he and the ball landed on the ground.

"...I don't got it," he mumbled.

Meanwhile, Batter Sonic quickly dropped his bat and ran towards the first base. As Batter Sonic reached the first base. Shadowbolt Player Sonic quickly picked up the ball and threw it towards second base. Batter Sonic saw the ball coming and he bent his back, letting the ball flew over him as he ran past second base.

"Run home! Run home kid!" Coach Sonic shouted near the third base.

With his coach's encouragement, Batter Sonic picked up the speed and ran past the third base.

"C'mon!" Catcher Sonic challenged before he raised his glove to catch a flying ball.

With determination, Batter Sonic pushed himself further to get to the home base. As the ball was getting closer to Catcher Sonic, Batter Sonic quickly dove towards the home base. Batter Sonic slides across the field dirt and over the base before Catcher Sonic could even have the chance to tag him.

"Safe!" cried Referee Sonic.

Despite being covered in dirt, Sonic let out a huge grin on his face. He quickly got up and let out a huge cheer.

"Yes yes yes! I did it! I did it! Did you all see that? I did it!"

Sonic raised his hand high, expecting to get a high five from all of his teammates.

He received none.

Reality slowly sinks in on the blue hedgehog as he surveyed an empty baseball field. No spectators. No players. No friends. No one around except himself.

Sonic slowly lowered his hand with a sad expression. "...I really am alone," he whispered quietly. "All alone... forever."

Sonic immediately dropped his bat and his helmet and started to run around the bases again. Whenever he was upset, he would run. Running was the only thing that would make him feel better and to shake off his loneliness. But that wasn't the case this time. Running only intensified his pain.

He hated being alone. He was tired of being alone. It was all because he didn't belong here and that he was cursed with his stupid power. His power was the reason that he couldn't be friends with anyone. It was his power that he lost Longclaw.

He growled angrily as he ran faster, not caring if he was digging into the field after running around in a lap for a thousand times. He also didn't notice that he was glowing and sparks were flying out of his body. But he could care less right now as he ran faster.

And faster.

And faster.

And faster.

And faster.

Until finally, all his frustrations, anger, and sorrow have reached a boiling point as he leaped into the air and let out a loud cry of anguish. But in the process, he inadvertently released his energy into huge wavelengths, completely engulfing the entire baseball field and then spread out into town. His shockwave caused a power outage to nearby techs, including field lights and any nearby buildings within the area. But that didn’t stop there, the shockwave continued to spread and caused power outages throughout the entire town, including stores, homes, and even satellites. What was even worse, the shockwave continued to spread outside of Canterlot City, possibly outside of the state.

When Sonic finally calmed himself down, he was shocked after realizing what he had done as he stood in a now pitch black baseball field.

"Uh… I'm sure no one noticed that big blue explosion… right?"

Not wanting to stick around any longer, Sonic immediately fled the area and disappeared into the nearby woods.
> Volume I - Chapter 4: Sunset's Mysterious Pen Pal
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Whelp Dash, looks like ya ran out of cash!" Applejack said smugly as she beckoned her friend to hand over her gaming money.

"Oh come on!" Rainbow Dash whined. She threw her “cash” to the floor near the board game that they just played and then crossed her arms with a huff. "I hate this game! I wouldn't have lost all that money if it weren’t for those last two spaces before "Go"!"

Fluttershy gave her friend a guilty look. "Oh um… you don't have to pay me anything for this turn if you don't want to."

Rainbow Dash sighed and gave Fluttershy a small grin. "No Flutters, it's fine. Fair is fair! Though I'll admit, I'm a little jealous that you are making the most money out of all of us! Just what's your strategy?"

"Oh there's no strategy involved," said Fluttershy with a shrug. "I was saving up the best I can before investing something that could make the best profits."

"...sounds like a strategy to me!" Rainbow Dash commented with a skeptic look. She then smirked. “Well anyway, I don’t know about you girls, but I am stoked for our first ever tour as the Rainbooms!”

“We toured before Rainbow Dash,” Applejack pointed out.

“Yeah, but never outside of Canterlot City!” Rainbow Dash responded. “Not only that, but we’ll also be performing at Manehattan of all places!”

“Ah, Manehattan~!” Rarity swooned. “One of the greatest cities in the country! Oh, I always wanted to go there! The fashion, the sites, the romances...”

“And food!” Pinkie Pie interjected with a grin. “I heard they have so many great restaurants there, including the Grape Garden!”

Rainbow Dash let out a loud groan. “Pinkie… the Grape Garden is just a typical standard restaurant! There's nothing special about it!"

“But they got the never-ending pasta bowls Dashie!” Pinkie Pie insisted. “What could be more special than that!?”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

Applejack shook her head at Pinkie’s antics before facing Twilight. “Ah can speak for all of us that we appreciate you and Cadance fer givin' us a chance to perform for this year's annual Garden Party Twilight.”

Twilight grinned. “That’s Cadance for ya! Always love to help others and gave them opportunities, including students!” She then blushed. "That… and she always wanted to hear me sing."

Applejack chuckled. "I wouldn't worry Sugarcube. Your voice is as sweet as honey!"

"I agree," Fluttershy added. "You have a beautiful voice!"

Twilight was touched by her friends' words. Besides her brother and Cadance, she never received praise from anyone, not even after she won the first part of the games for her old school. It felt good to belong and she was lucky to be friends with them.

She beamed. "Thanks girls!"

As everyone was talking among themselves, Sunset was on Twilight’s bed reading one of the old letters with a smile on her face. She was reminiscing when she first received those letters many moons ago after she was fallen from grace. They helped her through her most difficult times and became the person she is today; all because of her secret pen pal. She really wanted to meet this person, just to tell them how those letters met to her, and to finally say thank you in person. If only she could convince this guy to show up for once.

And before her upcoming graduation.

"Whatcha got there Sunny?"

Sunset yelped and turned towards Pinkie Pie while quickly hid the letters behind her. "Nothing!" Sunset squeaked with a blush. "I-It was nothing!"

Rainbow Dash smirked. "Oh really?"

Before Sunset could do anything, Rainbow Dash went behind her and snatched the letters from Sunset’s hands.

"Yoink!"

"Hey! Give those back!" Sunset shouted as she tried to take her letters.

But Rainbow Dash used her speed ability to move further away from Sunset as she was reading her letter.

"Hey check this out!" Rainbow Dash announced with a cheeky grin, ignoring Sunset's death glare at her. "Hey Sunset, just the other day, I saw you wearing your new outfit and I think you look really cool with it! I also saw you helping out that girl in her garden near the school and the two of you did an amazing job! As always, your actions of helping others are admirable and continue to amaze me. Be sure to stay awesome! Your friend, Sonic."

Rainbow Dash turned towards her embarrassed friend. "I don't know who this person is, but I like him already!"

"Um… who's Sonic, Sunset?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh… nobody important!" Sunset replied while trying to look away from her friends.

"Ooooooh, was it a letter from your secret admirer?" Rarity teased.

Sunset blushed. "W-what!? No! He's not my admirer!"

"Oh really?" Rainbow Dash teased with a huge grin. "Then why are you hiding him from us then?"

"Now now girls! Let's not torture the poor gal!" said Applejack.

Sunset sighed in relief. "Thank you, AJ!"

Applejack smirked. "But Ah am mighty curious of who this feller is that yer all uptight about."

"...I hate you AJ!" said Sunset with a glare, causing everyone to laugh at her expense.

"Do you know him Sunset?" Twilight asked.

Seeing how everyone was giving her curious expressions and couldn’t escape, Sunset let out a sigh of resignation.

"Well yes… and no," Sunset answered. When she saw the confused looks from her friends, Sunset explained further. "I first received a letter from him back when I was still recovering from… the Fall Formal." 

At the mention of that particular day, her friends gave her looks of understanding and pity. They knew how sensitive of a topic that was for Sunset, considering what she had to go through to redeem herself.

Sunset continued. “I was alone one day at the park after going through yet another hard day at school.” 





It was just another miserable day for Sunset. She was sitting all alone on the bench within Canterlot park. It was somewhat cloudy and looked like it was going to rain at any given moment, but Sunset did not care about getting soaked. If anything, she’ll just let it rain for all she cares. Anything to help distract her from her pain.

It was less than a week since the fall formal and things have been rough for her. For the past several days, she endured all the insults and hateful glares coming her way because she knew she deserved it after how awful she treated everyone. She was surprised however that the five girls she had hurt the most were the only ones who were trying to reach out to her. However, Sunset wasn’t sure if they were being genuine or they did just for the sake of keeping Princess Twilight’s promise. Would they want to be her friend or would they get back at her when she was at her most vulnerable state just like all the others? Not wanting risk to get hurt more than she was already, she decided to keep her distance from them.

But even so, she was lost, hurt, scared, and alone; and she doesn’t know what to do. Sunset sniffed, tears slowly flowed down her cheeks. She wasn’t even sure why she bothered staying at CHS. Everyone hated her. No one would ever accept her after her stunt and no one would ever want to be her friend. 

I don’t belong here... Sunset thought. I don’t belong anywhere! Even when the portal reopened someday, I doubt that I belonged to Equestria again after everything I did. Sunset let out a sad sigh. Perhaps it would be better if I…

Suddenly, she felt a strong wind blowing past her, which shook her from her depressed state. She was confused since there were supposed to be no winds today from the forecast. She then felt a piece of paper, which somehow appeared in her hand from out of nowhere. 

Feeling curious, Sunset decided to take a look at the paper. When she saw that the letter was addressed to her, she felt nervous and dread, thinking it was probably another nasty letter from a random student like the others she found in her locker daily. Preparing for the worst, Sunset began to read it.



Dear Sunset,

You probably don't know me, but I've been watching you from the sidelines for quite some time. You may think I was writing you this letter just to put you down like the others. Well, you are wrong.

I've seen the look on your face since lately after that night and I can tell you really are sorry for what you did. Even when you were bad, I don’t think you're an evil person at all. You are just a girl who made some bad decisions.

I don't know what happened prior to that incident or most of the things you've done to others, but what I do know is that I'm not looking at the person who bullied others, I'm looking at a lonely girl who needed a friend.

I know you're scared and that the whole world is against you right now, but don't let them wear you down and don't let your past define you. Show them that you've changed and be the better person because your past is not today!

And you can start by letting those five girls in. Let them help you! Let them guide you! And most importantly, let them be your friends! And I'll be honored to be your first friend.

Don't ever give up Sunset and always smile, even when things are tough.

Your friend,
Sonic



Sunset was in shock after she read that letter. Even after she read it six more times, she still couldn't believe it. She was so used to insults and mockery, she already grew numb and let them come at her. 

Aside from those five girls who wanted to befriend her, this was the first time that anyone ever said something so nice to her despite her past. And it was from a stranger. Sunset tried surveying the park to find the person who left her the note, but there was no one around. 

She didn't know who this person was or if this person was even from her school, but these kind words have lifted every doubt and self-loathing from her heart. While she was still uncertain with herself, but she was going to give this advice a try and not let it go to waste like what happened between her and her former teacher. With tears of joy in her eyes, Sunset had a watery and grateful smile on her face.

"Thank you… Sonic," she whispered.





“After that,” Sunset concluded. “I followed his advice. It was a long bumpy road for me, but I’m glad I did it. You girls became the best friends I thought I never have, I was no longer hated and became the best person I can be… and it was all thanks to whoever wrote this letter to me.”

The girls had somber looks after hearing her story. They know things weren’t easy for Sunset after that very night, but to hear how truly alone their friend felt during that time was truly heartbreaking.

“Oh Sunset,” Fluttershy said softly as her eyes were welling up in tears. “I know you had it rough after the Formal, but I never thought it was that bad!” She craned her neck down in guilt. "I just wish I could do more to help you."

Sunset placed her hand on Fluttershy’s shoulder. "It's okay Fluttershy," said Sunset with a smile. "That was a long time ago. Besides, you've done more than enough by being my friend."

Fluttershy smiled back in response.

“I can speak for everyone Darling is that we're glad to be friends with you too," said Rarity with a gentle tone. "And your past actions don’t change our views of you.”

Everyone nodded in agreement with caring smiles, while Sunset responded back with her thankful smile.

“So have ya found out who this “Sonic” feller was Sunset?” Applejack asked, hoping to change the topic to a much lighter tone.

Sunset let out a long sigh. “I didn’t. To this day, I still have no idea who he is. After the Battle of the Bands, I tried asking everyone around if they knew who this person was, but nobody knew a thing about him.”

Twilight rubbed her chin in thought. “Hmmm, you think it could be from someone who had a nickname Sonic? Like maybe from an athlete student?”

Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Um… why an athlete Twilight?”

Twilight adjusted her glasses. “Well, the term "Sonic" generally means, a speed of sound. Logically speaking, Rainbow Dash aside, someone may have earned that title who does a lot of activities that involve speed.” Twilight then grinned. “Ergo, it could be someone from the track team!”

“Hate to burst your bubble Egghead," Rainbow Dash interjected while shaking her head. "But I know everyone from every sports team in our school! And I can assure you, there isn’t anyone with a name Sonic. Nickname or otherwise.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie chimed in. “I even have files of ALL the students at CHS and Crystal Prep... for party purposes! And none of the schools have Sonic anywhere!” Pinkie gasped. “Unless I somehow missed one! Oh, that would be terrible if that was the case! What kind of a party planner am I if I never planned a party for him! But what if I missed more than one party!” Her eyes then teared up. “The poor guy could be the only kid in the world who never has a party and it’s all my fault!”

After listening to Pinkie, everyone had disturbed reactions on their faces. They had so many questions they wanted to ask from her statements, but they didn't want to because they were afraid of the answers. In the end, they all silently agreed that it was just Pinkie being Pinkie.

Twilight awkwardly cleared her throat. “Well… Pinkie’s questionable methods aside… I can confirm that there was no Sonic from my old school either.”

“Well, how do we know if he's even a student?” Rainbow Dash questioned with a skeptic frown. “He could be some creepy stalker as far as we know!”

“Well in one letter, he claimed to be fourteen years old,” said Sunset.

“Or so he claimed!” Rainbow Dash remarked.

Sunset rolled her eyes before looking at her letter. “Regardless of who he is, I'm grateful for his kind words. Despite knowing what I've done, he wanted to be my friend. I still wanted to meet him someday… so that I can thank him in person. Without him… I wouldn't have the courage to be who I am today."

"I still have doubts about this guy, but whatever you say Sunset," said Rainbow Dash as she tilted her head. “But there's one thing I don’t get! Why didn’t you mention him to any of us before? I know we are all allowed to have different friends on the side, but you usually talk about them! This “Sonic” guy… you never talk about him once until now! So why were you trying to keep him a secret from us?”

There was a sudden pause within the room. With all the distraction about figuring out Sunset’s mysterious pen pal, it never occurred to them until Rainbow Dash brought up that Sunset was deliberately hiding this person from them until now. Curious, everyone turned and stared at Sunset expectedly, making her froze.

Sunset felt like a deer who was caught in the headlights. This was the one topic that she was desperately trying to avoid. It was not that she didn't trust them about her letters. If anything, she trusts them all with her life. But if she told them her true reason for hiding those letters, she feared that this may hurt them.

She rather not want to answer Rainbow's question, but from the looks of all her friends’ faces, she had nowhere to escape.

Sunset swallowed nervously. “W-well…"

Suddenly, all of their geodes began to glow brightly, catching everyone by surprise. Not only that, but their geodes were also glowing in a light blue color. Before anyone could comment, a blue energy wave randomly went through the walls and went directly into the girls. By the time they felt a brief jolt, the wave continued past them and out through the other side of the room. 

At the same time, the lights suddenly went out. Their geodes were the only thing that illuminated most of the room. After a few seconds, their geodes stopped glowing, leaving them in total darkness.

"W-what the heck was that!?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Hey! Who turned out the lights?" Pinkie exclaimed.

Fluttershy began to whimper nervously, clutching around Spike as her life depends on him.

"Now now Fluttershy, everything is okay,” Rarity soothed while patting on her friend's back to comfort her.

“Rarity's right Fluttershy," Applejack added kindly. "Dat’s just a power outage. There ain't nothin’ to worry about!”

"Hang on girls, I'll go check on the breakers," said Twilight as she turned on her flashlight app from her phone before leaving the room. "I'll be right back!"

The girls also used their phones to lighten up the room, much to Fluttershy’s relief. As they stood there waiting for Twilight to return or for the power to turn back on, whichever comes first, Rainbow Dash decided to address the situation.

"I don't know about you guys, but I don't think this is an ordinary power outage!" said Rainbow Dash. "I felt something really weird when that happened!" 

Applejack sighed heavily before giving Rainbow Dash her stern expression. “Rainbow Dash, if yer goin' to repeat what you did from our yacht trip last time, I sware–”

"I mean it guys!" Rainbow Dash urged. "I really felt something before we lost power! C’mon guys, don't tell me I'm the only one here!"

"Rainbow Dash is right!” Sunset spoke up for her friend’s defense. “I… felt something strange too!”

“See! I’m not crazy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Rarity furrowed her brow with worry. “What did you feel Sunset?”

Sunset closed her eyes as she grasped her hand around her geode. “Before we lost power, I felt some kind of... strange force that just courses through my body and then just… vanished, but only for a millisecond.”

"Ya think this may be from Equestrian Magic?" Applejack inquired.

Sunset hesitated for a moment with an unsure expression. "I… don't know."

Rainbow Dash balked from Sunset’s answer. "You don’t know!? What do ya mean, 'you don't know'?"

Sunset slowly turned to face her friend with an uneasy expression.

"Rainbow Dash, I was raised in a world filled with magic all my life, so I’ll know Equestrian Magic when I feel it. But this…" Sunset swallowed nervously. "What I sensed... wasn't anything I ever felt before. Almost as if... this was from a completely different entity."

Everyone in the whole room stood silent with shocked faces. While the girls dealt with crazy things involving magic many times before, but at least they know what they were dealing with, especially with a former unicorn friend with knowledge about Equestrian magic on their side. But for the first time dealing with an unknown source that even Sunset couldn't identify, the girls felt a mixture of fear and uncertainty.





"Ugh! Where is that flashlight?" Twilight muttered as she was walking through her house within the darkness.

She carefully walked into the kitchen to retrieve the flashlight from one of the cabinets while trying not to accidentally bump into anything in the dark. As she walked past the kitchen window, Twilight noticed a light source coming from outside. At first, she thought that the light was simply coming from the full moon. But then she quickly realized it wasn’t the case because there was no full moon tonight.

And that the light source was blue.

"...what the heck?" Twilight whispered.

She slowly leaned towards the window and was shocked to discover that whatever was glowing right now was coming from her lab. This baffled Twilight; she made sure she turned off all her equipment before leaving. Even if she somehow missed one, they're in the middle of a power outage. How could there possibly be any trace of power right now?

Fearing that something was wrong with her lab, she quickly rushed through the back door and ran outside towards her lab. When she eventually reached and entered her lab, she was relieved that there wasn't anything damaged or stolen at all. However, the room was filled in blue light and much brighter now. Twilight surveyed the room in confusion. None of her equipment or anything for that matter appeared to be on or activated. She wondered where this strange light source came from.

Then her eyes set on her desk and noticed something very bright coming from one of the drawers which was partially opened. Twilight widened her eyes in shock.

No way… Twilight thought. It can't possibly be from that! ...can it?

Twilight slowly made her way to that drawer from her desk. With shaking hands, Twilight gently reached for the knob of the drawer and pulled it open. She was shocked to discover that the strange light source came from that quill. The very same quill she found from the woods. On top of that, not only the quill was glowing, it glowed the exact same color as that mysterious energy wave before the power outage.

Twilight slowly reached out and picked up the quill. It felt very warm like last time, except she felt more energy coming from it. There were even some small sparks coming out from that tiny thing. She then remembered that creature before she found this quill. Was that creature somehow connected to this quill and that sudden energy surge? And even if that was true, how was it capable of this energy and why? 

So far, she kept receiving more questions than answers and was not any closer to the truth. It was then that Twilight decided that she was going to do some major research and experiments on that quill to get to the bottom of it, even if she has to spend all night doing it.

But first, she was going to try to fix the breaker from this blackout… and wait for the girls to fall asleep.
> Volume I - Chapter 5: Enter Agent Shadow
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere on the eastern side of the country, there was a huge building in the central part of the city. It was served as a headquarters for the country's department defense. Ever since the mysterious "incident" occurred on the western side of the country, many representatives from each department were held an emergency meeting with the main commander of the Armed Forces.

From within the meeting room, there were eight people in the meeting, along with the main commander and vice-chairman himself, Commander Walters. He is an older gentleman with clean-cut white hair. He was also wearing a military suit with many metals all over it, showing off years of military experience under his belt.

The others who are with him from around the table were high officers from each military department; Navy, Air Force, Army, Homeland Security, and many more. As the officers were settling into their seats, Commander Walters cleared his throat.

“Twenty minutes ago," Commander Walters began. "An energy surge knocked out power across the entire west side of our country. What do we know?”

“Well, our first instinct was it was an EMP," said the Navy Chief. "But electromagnetic pulses don’t have that kind of power.”

“NASA has ruled out meteor strikes or solar flares,” the Air Force chief spoke.

“The Department of Energy says it’s not a power plant malfunction,” The Homeland Security Secretary added.

“Well, sounds like we’re really good at figuring out what it wasn’t,” Commander Walters said sarcastically.

“This could be a prelude to a larger attack," the Army Chief theorized. "I’m suggesting we scramble the Fifth and Sixth Regiment.”

“That won’t be necessary.”

They all turned towards the source of the voice of a newcomer from the far end of the room. It was a female agent who looked young enough to be like a high schooler, but was actually much older. She has a mohawk purple hair and also wore a military suit. What made her look so intimidating was her stoic face with a huge scar that ran down over her right eye.

“Oh! Agent Shadow!” Commander Walters exclaimed in a surprised tone. “What brings you here?”

“And why do you think my suggestion was unnecessary," The Army Chief added in an annoyed tone.

Without blinking an eye, Agent Shadow faced the Army Chief. “Well, sir, it’s because this incident took place near a high school!" Agent Shadow explained sternly like she was talking to a child. "And this school took place in Canterlot City, the most peaceful town of our country. Sending our regiments there would be too excessive."

"Wait!" The Air Force Chief spoke up with widened eyes. "Did you say, Canterlot City? The very same city that we keep getting reports about these strange "occurrences" for the past couple of years?"

Agent Shadow nodded. "The very same, including many rumors of multiple sightings of She-Demons, plant monster, giant woman, and young flying teenagers with wings."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" The Air Force Chief groaned while rubbing his temple.

"Then what do you suggest, Agent Shadow?" The Homeland Security Secretary inquired.

"Well as you know, I've been tracking many strange… activities from that town for quite some time," said Agent Shadow. "I suggest we calmly travel to Canterlot High and investigate the area without alerting the locals. At least that way we'll learn what happened so we can control it before we start to escalate the situation. I, along with Agent Grubber will lead with the investigation."

"And you think that’s the best idea!?" Army Chief exclaimed. "Why didn't you investigate Canterlot before?"

"Because, General," Agent Shadow sneered. "Unlike you, I take my time to observe those incidents to understand their traits. Once I have the info I need, I will then properly take care of that problem without resorting to chaos! Something that even an old dog like you could understand.”

Army Chief snarled and stood up. “You little–”

“At ease General,” Commander Walters said calmly. “Unless you wanted her to flip you over on our table again. We just had it replaced last week.”

With a growl, the Army Chief sat back down while glaring at Agent Shadow.

"As I was saying," Agent Shadow continued. "We should properly evaluate the situation and learn to control it before we bring out the big guns! And with your permission Commander, I'll head down there to investigate myself along with Agent Grubber and my small team."

Commander Walters sat there in deep thought for a moment as he stared at Agent Shadow. Eventually, he let out a sigh.

"Very well," he allowed. "You may head down there along with your team. But if you suspect something, try to be discreet unless you do whatever it means necessarily!"

Agent Shadow nodded. "Understood sir. I shall prepare to depart with my team by early the next morning."

With that, Agent Shadow turned and walked out of the meeting room. As soon as she left the room, the Army Chief let out an annoyed grunt.

"Was it really wise of you to assign her for this job? She is still young and inexperienced!"

"That may be so, but she studied and understood all the "events" happening at that town more than any of us," said Commander Walters before smiling sheepishly. "That… and I wouldn't hear the end of it if I don't permit her to investigate."

The Air Force Chief let out an amused snort. "All the more reason why I'm glad I don't have any kids, let alone have her as my daughter!"

Commander Walters narrowed his eyes at him. "Watch it, soldier, that's my daughter you're talking about!" He then cleared his throat. "In any case, she had a good point. This needs a much more sophisticated mind."

"And that goes to your daughter?" The Homeland Security Secretary asked in disbelief.

Commander Walters’ expression became serious. "As much as I trust her with a job, but because this incident is much bigger than usual, she'll need additional help. Someone who understands technology."

"You wanna send in a lab rat?" Army Chief inquired.

"Not just any lab rat. A lab rat with teeth!" Commander Walters responded.

The Navy Chief's eyes widened in realization. "You're not suggesting who I think you're suggesting?"

Commander Walters knew he was about to approach a very controversial subject, but he decided to proceed anyway.

"I know, he's a little weird…"

"Weird!?" The Air Force Chief exclaimed. "He's a psychological tire fire!"

"But he's also brilliant," Commander Walters pointed out. "Five Ph.D.'s, IQ off the charts and his… drone tech is-is-is-is revolutionary!"

The Army Chief gave him his skeptic expression. "You sure he could handle this?"

"He has the perfect Operations record," Commander Walters responded. "Remember the coup at Changelingtan?"

The Army Chief shook his head. "No."

"Or the uprising in Sombratan?

"That's not even a country!" The Air Force Chief interjected.

"Exactly!" Commander Walters exclaimed. "And you can thank Robotnik for that!"

The Navy Chief sighed exasperatedly. "I can't believe you're bringing that freak into this!"

"Neither could I!" Commander Walters responded with a sigh. "But... we have no choice."

"And what about your… daughter?" The Homeland Security Secretary inquired. "It's no secret in the agency that these two don't exactly… get along."

"You just let me deal with her!" Commander Walters assured. "While those two never see eye to eye... but my daughter is the only one who could keep him on a tight leash."





Early the next morning, the Equestria Girls, sans Twilight, was walking down the neighborhood towards their school. While most of the girls were talking among themselves, Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed sigh.

“Walking is so lame!” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “With my super speed, I would be at school by now!”

“If you do that, we won’t be able to spend time with each other before our classes!” Pinkie pointed out with a grin.

“And besides, you were overusing your ability again,” Sunset added. “We don’t want to over amplify our powers like last time!”

Rainbow Dash sighed. “Fine, fine. You both made your points! While I’m for spending more time with all of you, don’t forget, we’ll still see each other at lunch!”

“And of course, we’ll begin our trip to Manehattan tomorrow on our tour bus!” Applejack added.

“Ooooh, I’m so excited!” Rarity squealed. “I can’t wait to visit that city and check out all their latest fashion trends and other fancy places to see!”

Applejack gave her fashion friend her deadpanned look. “Ya know we’re just goin’ there to perform for Dean Cadance’s party right?”

“It never hurts to go sightseeing before then, Darling!” Rarity replied in her sing-song voice.

Applejack simply rolled her eyes.

“Speaking of which, why isn’t Twilight coming with us?” Fluttershy asked.

Sunset furrowed her brow. “I don’t know, Twilight told me that she wasn’t feeling well this morning and that she’ll stay home today… which is rare for her.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in agreement. “Yeah… usually, Egghead would rather not want to skip school, even if she caught a cold!”

Sunset tapped her finger on her chin in thought. “Well, she did look really tired when I talked to her. Maybe she didn’t get enough sleep last night?”

Fluttershy frowned, worried for her friend. “Oh, I hope the poor dear is feeling okay!”

“She better be okay, otherwise we’ll have to cancel our trip!” Rainbow Dash complained. She flinched when she noticed her friends were glaring at her. “B–because her health is more important than our gig! Hehe.” she quickly added with a sheepish smile.

Sunset shook her head at her friend before continuing the conversation. “I’m sure she’ll be okay, but I’ll go check up on her later when I drop off her homework.”

Applejack smiled. “Ah’m sure she’ll appreciate it Sunset, especially she’ll have somethin’ to do with no power.”

Rarity let out a dramatic sigh. “I can’t believe we still have no power in this town!” she complained. “We’re supposed to get that back by now!”

“I still couldn’t help but think of that strange feeling we all had the moment it happened!” Rainbow Dash added before addressing Sunset. “You sure it wasn’t Equestrian Magic that caused all of this Sunset?”

Sunset sighed as she shook her head. “I don’t know, but we gotta keep our eyes and ears open before we start anything. For all we know, it could be nothing serious.”

The girls nodded just as they were approaching CHS. But before they even set foot to the school grounds, they heard someone calling out to them.

"Sunset!"

They all turned towards the voice, only to see a teenage boy running towards them. He had short blue hair, a white shirt with a black jacket, jeans, and black shoes. There was also a blue shield with a yellow lightning bolt emblem on both sides of his jacket's shoulders.

"Flash?" said Sunset, only to frown at the boy's alarming features. "What's wrong?"

Flash paused for a moment, trying to catch his breath. "Sunset, something's happening at our school!"

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "You mean the power outage? Everyone knew that already dude!"

Flash shook his head. "No, I mean something really big going on!"

The girls exchanged looks with each other before Sunset faced Flash.

“What do you mean?”

Flash turned and pointed at the back part of the school. “See for yourself!”

Feeling curious, the girls followed Flash towards the back of the school. The moment they arrived, the girls were shocked at what they saw. There were many tents, including a huge white tent, vans, and various tech right where their baseball field was. 

What really stood out was that soldiers were roaming around the area, carrying weapons and wearing camo outfits. Some people wore white hazard outfits while using their fancy machinery to analyze something. There were also students near the area as well but they were prevented to come any closer due to the number of soldiers blocking them on a form of a wall.

The girls were staring in shock for a moment until Rainbow Dash finally spoke up.

"Okay… either they were setting up for some kind of secret spy movie without our knowledge... or something really serious going on at our school!"

Pinkie rubbed her chin in thought. "Yeah... I doubt that they’re making another Con Mane movie so soon, especially after that the last one bombed."

Rainbow gave Pinkie a flat look.

“Oh my…” Rarity uttered. “Were they… from the military?”

“And what were they doing at our school?” Fluttershy whimpered.

Applejack turned to Sunset with a raised brow. “Nothing serious, huh?”

Sunset only smiled sheepishly in response.

“Sunset Shimmer!” Sunset and the others turned to see their Vice-Principal, Luna, walking up to them with a calm expression. “And it looks like the rest of you are here, great!” a relieved smile broke out on her face. “Principal Celestia wants to speak to you girls!”

Pinkie Pie spoke up. “You mean this has something to do with–”

Vice Principal Luna quickly placed her hand over Pinkie’s mouth with an alarmed expression.

“Not here Pinkie!” she hissed while frantically looked around to see if anyone was listening. “Wait until we’re all in her office!”

The girls got the message and they silently followed Vice-Principal Luna towards the school. Unbeknownst to our heroes, they were spotted by Agent Shadow who was watching them with narrowed eyes.





The group eventually reached the outside Principal Celestia’s office while being lead by Vice-Principal Luna. Luna opened the door and silently ushered the teens inside the office.

“I brought the girls here sister!” Luna announced.

Celestia, who was sitting at her desk, nodded. “Thank you, Luna, and please shut the door!”

As Luna did as her sister instructed, Celestia focused her attention on the Equestria Girls. Her expression then became confused when she noticed one less member who was not in the room.

"Before we begin, anyone knows where Twilight is?” Celestia asked politely.

"Twilight isn't feeling well," Sunset answered on behalf of the group. "She said she's taking a day off to recover."

Celestia nodded. "I see. I suppose it is probably for the best. We were thinking about canceling classes until further notice while this was going on."

"Oh sweet! School's canceled?" Rainbow Dash cheered. Her expression changed when she noticed everyone was giving her deadpanned looks.  "I–I mean, oh no, school is canceled? The tragedy!" said Rainbow Dash with a less enthusiastic tone.

“Nice save, Rainbow Dash!” Applejack remarked sarcastically, only received a glare from the girl in question.

"Listen, girls,” Celestia spoke up in a serious tone, trying to get the ball rolling. “What I'm about to say to you now shall not leave this room, except explaining this to Twilight privately the next time you see her! Do you all understand?"

The girls nodded while giving their principal their full attention. 

"As you all know, we had a massive power outage in our town last night," said Celestia. “However, it wasn’t due to a natural cause.” 

“According to the witnesses, the cause of this power outage was from this mysterious energy surge, knocking out power as it passed through,” said Luna as she walked over and stood right by her sister.

“That blue wave!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in realization. “I knew it! I knew it had something to do with it!”

“Oh good,” said Pinkie Pie with a relieved expression. “For a moment, I thought it was because I left several baking appliances on at my house again.”

Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie Pie an odd look.

“How bad was it?” Rarity inquired. “Did it single handly knocked out the power of the whole town?”

“Worse,” Celestia sighed. “Not only this surge affected this town, but also affected nearly half of our country!”

The Equestria Girls widened their eyes in shock.

“Yer kidding!” Applejack exclaimed. “Half of our country is without power!?”

Celestia nodded solemnly. “Yes, but here’s the real kicker!” 

“Witnesses also said that this mysterious energy surge first started… right from our baseball field!” Vice-Principal Luna revealed, shocking the girls further.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash nearly shouted. “No wonder the military was all over the place!”

Celestia sighed. “Yes. They arrived here almost immediately the next morning to investigate the area to find the cause of that wave.” Her eyes became serious. “Now I must ask you, girls. Please know that we’re not accusing any of you, we just want to get to the bottom of things.” Celestia then leaned forward a bit. “Do any of you girls know anything about this?”

The girls looked at each other in silence for a moment before Sunset faced Celestia.

“No Principal Celestia,” she answered honestly. “We were at Twilight’s last night when the power outage took place. We never set foot at the school or the field since the Little Leagues baseball game yesterday.”

Celestia nodded. “I figured you all had nothing to do with this, which leads to our next question. Could this possibly be from Equestrian Magic?”

Sunset furrowed her brows. “That’s… much more difficult to answer.”

Both of the older sisters were confused by Sunset’s answer.

“Explain!” Luna pressed with narrowed eyes.

“We all sensed this strange energy the exact moment we lost power at Twilight’s house,” Sunset explained. “If it was Equestrian magic, I would’ve recognized the magic radiation right away. But the one we felt last night… felt completely different! I’ve never felt anything like this before!”

The rest of the girls nodded, confirming Sunset’s story.

“So you’re saying… that energy wave from last night was not from your world?” Celestia asked with an unreadable expression.

Sunset looked down solemnly. “I’m not certain but… it’s a strong possibility.”

Celestia closed her eyes and sighed. "I see… then this is more serious than I thought," Her eye then opened with a calm expression. "Well regardless, the event from last night really caught the attention of the military, specifically, G.U.N.”

The girls blinked in confusion.

“Uh… G.U.N.?” Rainbow Dash echoed.

“The Guardian Units of Nations,” Luna clarified. “They’re the worldwide military and law enforcement of our country. They don’t usually resort to force unless if there was any potential threat. Most of the time, they tried to get everything resolved under wraps without alerting the public, making their organization a secret.”

Applejack crossed her arms. “Well, if they’re organization a secret, that how’d y’all know dat?”

“This wasn’t the first time I dealt with them,” Celestia answered. “They have been watching us ever since... the Fall Formal incident.”

There was an uncomfortable silence from within the room, especially from a certain former unicorn. Feeling responsible for her principal’s predicament, Sunset sadly looked down.

“You mean they’ve been keeping watch on us… because of me?” Sunset said softly with a guilty expression.

Before any of her friends comforted her, Celestia spoke up.

“Don’t ever blame yourself for this Sunset,” Celestia said kindly. “Even during your… phase back then, you are still one of our most beloved students… and our friend. We would never hand you over to the government. The students' safety is always our first priority.”

The gang nodded in agreement with encouraging smiles on their faces. Feeling warm from their support, Sunset looked up and gave everyone her small but thankful smile.

“Despite our efforts to stick to our cover story, it wasn’t enough to shake them off,” said Luna, cutting into her sister’s conversation. “They kept tabs and questioned us every... incident linked to us, even outside of this school.”

“But time and time again, we gave them the exact same excuse that we have “no idea” of these incidents in question,” Celestia added. “However, with the latest one, I feared that they finally had enough and wanted to investigate us, this school and this town.”

"Is there anything we should do Principal Celestia?" Rarity asked.

"And what about the portal?" Applejack added.

Celestia shook her head. "I appreciate your concern girls, but there’s no need to get involved, Luna and I will take care of this. And thankfully, they don't know anything about the portal. And since the baseball field is on the other side of the school property, they didn’t think of searching the statue."

"Or at least, was a statue, since it was still damaged from the Friendship Games!" Luna remarked.

Celestia gave her sister her side glace before sighing exasperatedly. "Yes… our lack of budget prevented us to repair that statue.” Celestia leaned back into her chair. “Nonetheless, they think it was nothing more than an empty monument, so it was actually a blessing in disguise. Still, those agents are very sharp. We want you girls to try to keep your heads down as long as possible until this blows over and be extremely careful when you happened to come across one, especially their leader!” 

"And once this is over, we’ll look into finding out about that mysterious energy surge," Luna added. “Whether it was from Equestria or not, we must learn to prevent this sort of thing from happening again!”

Sunset nodded. “We understand. Thank you for sharing this with us and we’ll be careful!”

Celestia smiled. “That’s all we asked.”

After a quick goodbye, the Equestria Girls quietly walked out of the room. As soon as they shut the door, Celestia let out a long tired sigh which Luna noticed.

“You okay Tia?” Luna asked with a concerned expression.

“...I’m honestly not sure Luna,” Celestia responded with a frown. “While I have good faith that the girls will be alright… but I’m more worried about the organization who is currently looking into this mess.”

“Are you thinking about that certain person?” Luna inquired with a knowing frown. “While that agent is very persistent, but do really think G.U.N. will resort to that?”

“I don’t think they will Luna,” Celestia said gravely before giving her sister her hard look. “I know they will!”





Shortly after their meeting with Principal Celestia, The Equestria Girls split up to return to their own homes. Sunset was left behind in the hallway to retrieve her journal from her locker. If what Principal Celestia had said was true, her friends and her homeworld are now in danger because of this mysterious energy wave. Leaving her magical book behind at school was the last thing she wanted to do, especially with the military sniffing around the school right now. She wanted to pick up her most prize and vital possession and leave the school as fast as possible before anyone from G.U.N. noticed her.

Once Sunset retrieved her book from her locker, Sunset quickly turned around, only to accidentally bumped into someone and dropped her book in the process.

“Oh my gosh! I’m so sorry about–”

Sunset words immediately died in her throat the moment she set eyes on a scary-looking woman with a black jumpsuit and a huge scar on her right side of her face in front of her.

“Oh, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it!” she said casually, despite her stoic expression.

Sunset just stood like a statue, staring right into the woman's eyes. There was something about her that made Sunset feel uneasy, especially the way she was staring at her almost as if she was trying to analyze her soul. That huge scar on her face only made her look more intimidating.

“I think you scared her boss!” a new voice called out. Sunset turned to see a young, man walking up to her. He had spiky white hair, blue eyes, and was very short. He also wore the same suit as that girl with a scar. “Relax kid! She may look intimidating, but she ain’t gonna hurt you! Unless if you spoiled an episode of My Little–”

“Shut… up!” the woman growled.

The man flinched. “S-sorry boss!”

“Are… you two from the military?” Sunset asked after she finally found her voice.

“You could say that,” said the woman as she fished her badge from her pocket. “Name’s Tempest Shadow, G.U.N. Agent." She put away her badge while glancing at her partner. "And this annoying little man you see before you are my partner, Agent Grubber."

“Yeah, Missey!” Agent Grubber retorted while putting so much emphasis on the S's due to his lisp. “I’m maybe small, but I’m the guy you do not want to mess with… unless you have a sponge cake, then we’re good!”

“Grubber!” Tempest growled.

“Sorry boss!” Grubber responded with a sheepish grin.

Tempest let out an annoyed sigh before bringing her attention back to Sunset. "Anyway, we're here to investigate the incident at the baseball field near this school and I got a few questions for you."

Sunset felt herself stiffen as mild panic flooded through her. This was the one thing she was desperately trying to avoid and what Principal Celestia warned her about. Her gut was telling her to leave asap before those agents caught on to her.

"Oh… I’m sorry,” said Sunset while trying to sound apologetic. “I would love to help out, but I have places to go. So if you excuse me."

As Sunset walked past the two agents, she heard Tempest spoke up.

"I'm sure you can spare a few minutes of your time… Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset immediately froze with widened eyes. Her breath nearly hitched and felt her heart was beating at a rapid pace as if she just ran a marathon. While still trying to keep herself calm, Sunset slowly turned back towards the two agents.

“H-how do you know my name?” Sunset asked while keeping her nerves in check.

Tempest clicked her tongue as she stepped forward. “Well, I’ve been keeping track of this school Miss Shimmer, including the names who applied here. In fact, we’ve been keeping track of all these strange... "occurrences" from this school and some parts of this town. Including, the night of the Battle of the Bands, the incident at the Friendship Games, the mysterious “infestation” at Camp Everfree, giant women at the mall, a mysterious storm from the far west coast… shall I go on?”

Sunset felt her stomach twisted into a knot as Tempest listed off those incidents. She couldn't believe this girl knew so much involving Equestrian Magic, despite Celestia and Luna’s efforts to cover them up. Despite freaking out internally, Sunset still managed to keep her poker face.

“Um… okay? But what does this have to do with me?” Sunset inquired.

“All these 'incidents' have one crucial thing in common." Tempest paused for a moment for dramatic effect. "You and your friends were around the same time as those incidents I’ve mentioned.”

“Sound too convenient if ya ask me!” Grubber remarked.

At the mention of her friends, alarm bells started ringing in Sunset’s mind. This was not good. Not good at all. It was one thing that she was on this woman’s radar, but the fact that her friends were also dragged in as well terrified her. She needed to get this woman and her crony away from her and her friends no matter what.

“Those are just coincidences!” Sunset quickly reflected. “B-besides, all the other students were also there when they happened too. So it’s not a very good proof to single me out!”

Grubber turned to Tempest. "She got ya there, boss!"

Tempest stared for a moment before letting out a small hum.

“Perhaps you're right,” she said. “The fact that you're there at every occasion isn’t enough evidence that you are involved.”

Sunset's features relaxed someone, thinking she was in the clear.

“...however," Tempest continued, causing Sunset to tense up again. "There is one special event that not even you can’t deny.”

Sunset swallowed. “What’s that?”

Tempest smirked. “...the Fall Formal!”

Sunset nearly felt her heart stop at the mention of that day, and it filled heavily with guilt. No matter how much she tried to change herself for the better, her past always comes back to haunt her and her friends.

As Sunset was still processing, Tempest continued. “According to our records, there was a huge explosion of an unknown force on that particular night. The record said that there was some sort of accident by breaking through some old gas pipes near the school's entrance. But… I felt there was more to the story." Her eyes then narrowed. "Rumors were going around that you turned into a "She-Demon" and terrorized the school. Not only that, but there were even some videos of that night. Of course, they're not the best quality videos and even so, most of them disappeared due to "copyright claims" from the school.

Sunset resisted the urge to cringe from being reminded of that night. Even though that incident was many moons ago and many people forgave her, the memory was still fresh from her mind. Even so, this terrified Sunset that not only this person is on to her, but she was also dangerously close to the truth. No other investigation teams had ever paid close attention to that night, not even this world’s Twilight Sparkle before she became her friend. As much as this pained her, but she needed to lie her way out of this and get them off track.

“I don’t know where you get that from, but those are just rumors!” Sunset said pointedly. “Yes… I admit that I wasn’t a very nice person back then... and I'm not that person anymore. But that didn’t stop some people who are still mad at me to this very day. They would say things like I'm a "She-Demon" or over-exaggerate the things I've done, they even went as far as to edit the videos of that night to make me look like a monster." She frowned. "...and I deserve it."

Sunset sighed then crossed her arms. "If it weren’t for my friends... I wouldn't be here right now... and was able to forgive myself. And I still stand that all those events you mentioned were nothing more than just coincidences. And besides, none of the things you said have anything to do with the energy wave! So do you have any actual questions which relate to your current investigation?"

While Tempest appeared to be annoyed, her expression remained stoic. 

"No… we don't."

"Then consider our conversation over!" Sunset stated as she picked up her journal. "Good day Agent Tempest! Agent Grubber!"

With a huff, Sunset turned and walked away very casually. As soon as Sunset had her back towards them, her expression changed from annoyance to alarmed. As soon as she verified about this mysterious energy with Princess Twilight, she has to warn her friends as soon as possible.

As Tempest watched as Sunset walked further down the hallway, she heard Agent Grubbler chuckled.

“That girl got some spunk, I’ll give her that!” he said with an amused expression. “Shame she’s not the person as we thought!”

“On the contrary,” said Tempest in a low voice, not leaving her eyes on Sunset’s retreating figure. “She’s the one. In fact, she knows something!”

Grubbler gave Tempest a confused look. "How can you tell?"

"You know she said that my questions have ‘nothing to do with the wave’?"

Grubbler raised an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"...I never once asked her anything about the energy wave," She answered with a smirk as she watched Sunset stepped out of the school’s main entrance. “I want you to follow her and see where she’s going and then report everything she’s doing to me. And try to follow her discreetly!”

“You got it, boss!” Grubbler saluted before he ran towards Sunset’s direction.

“I said discreetly!” Tempest hissed loudly, only to fell on deaf ears. She then sighed in annoyance. “Augh! Barely started the investigation and I'm already having a headache!"
> Volume I - Chapter 6: Enter Dr. Robotnik
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Somewhere at Canterlot City's Park, Sonic was laying on a tree branch on one of the park's trees, hidden beneath the leaves. After his debacle at the school's baseball field last night, he fled to this park and hid on this tree since then. Normally, resting on a tree branch is one of his many favorite past times, but because of what happened last night, he couldn’t stop thinking about it and worried that his actions will get everyone to discover him. While nothing happened so far, but that didn’t ease his worries in the slightest.

Man... I can't believe I did that last night! Sonic thought as he was watching the clouds. My power caused a blackout at the field- no, the entire town! This… this never happened to me before. Was this because... I was upset?

Sonic pondered for a bit before he shook his head. Well whatever the case may be, I have to keep myself under control and stay on a low profile until this whole thing blows over!

Sonic's ear perked up when he heard someone approaching, more specifically towards the bench near his tree. He looked over and his eyes lit up when he sees his favorite human rushing over to their usual bench.

Hey, there's Equestrian Girl! I wonder what she'll be writing about today?

His smile was short-lived when he noticed something was wrong, specifically at the girl's expression. Instead of her usual cheery and upbeat attitude, it was hasty, worry… and fear?

Wait… why is she looked so distressed? Sonic wondered as he watched the girl quickly wrote something on her notebook.

The girl looked around anxiously before she quickly placed the note under their usual rock and then walked away at a fast pace. Curious to see what it was about, Sonic rushed from his tree to the rock which was behind the bench. Once he retrieved the note, Sonic immediately began to read it.



Dear Sonic,

I don't have much time, but I won't be able to respond to your letters for a while. Last night, a mysterious energy wave caused half of our country into a massive blackout.



Sonic winced when the letter mentioned the wave that he caused, but then his eyes widened at the revelation.

H-half a country!?



As a result, military soldiers showed up to our school to investigate. The real kicker was, the energy wave came from our baseball field!



Military!? Investigation!?

Sonic knew that his power must have caused some damage last night, but he never realized that the damage was that much. He was more in trouble than he thought. Shaking in fear and anticipation, Sonic continued to read the letter.



I couldn't help but feel that I was responsible for this, even though this wasn't from Equestrian Magic for once. Still, they've been watching us ever since I first arrived at CHS and this incident was the breaking point. Sometimes I wonder if I should ever come to this world at all.

I'm getting off-topic. Whoever and wherever you are, please be careful! Even though we never meet each other in person, I consider you as my best friend.

Your friend,
Sunset Shimmer



Sonic felt extremely guilty when after reading the last two paragraphs. Another thing that he didn’t realize that his actions didn’t just harm him, but also to Sunset as well since she was from another world too. Despite that he was the one at fault, Sunset was taking the blame just by coming to this world, and that she considered him her best friend, even though she never officially met him. And worse of all, he had just compromised himself and now he has to leave her, this planet, and everything behind, just like when he had to leave Longclaw behind.

Sonic began to shake while having a mile-long stare. He never even noticed nor that he cared that the letter had slipped out of his hands while he fell onto his knees.

"...no!” he whispered. “Not again… not again!”





Meanwhile, at CHS, Tempest and the soldiers from the government were still investigating the school's baseball field. The students who were trying to see the action earlier have already dispersed due to orders from both Tempest and Principal Celestia. The former wanted to get work done as smoothly as possible without any interference while the latter was only looking out for the students’ safety.

Unfortunately, the only students who were still too stubborn to leave the area were Snips, Snails, and Trixie Lulamoon.

Tempest, who was running out of patience, had been trying to get them to leave for over an hour, but to no avail.

“For the last time, this area is strictly off-limits!” Tempest explained to the kids in frustration for like a fiftieth time.

Trixie huffed as she crossed her arms. “You think you could fool Trixie? You are obviously hiding something and Trixie is intending to find out!”

“Yeah!” Snips added. “We’re curious to see what you guys found in the field!”

Snails nodded. “Yeah! We wanted to see!”

Tempest crossed her arms. “Didn’t your parents ever told you that ‘curiosity kills the cat’?”

Snips gave Tempest a confused look. “But... I don’t have a cat.”

“I have a newt,” Snails spoke up helpfully.

Trixie scowled as she facepalmed herself. “Morons!”

Tempest let out an irritated sigh as she rubbed her temples. “Look just… go home! Okay? And if you three don’t leave in the next ten minutes I–”

She stopped speaking when she noticed a huge black truck suddenly arrived at the scene along with some several blacks vans behind it.

“...what the?” Tempest whispered as she watched the vehicles come to a complete stop.

She was confused about a random truck arrived out of nowhere, until her eyes widened when she recognized a small red circle on the top part of the front of the truck.

Oh no… not him! Tempest thought both in dread and in anger.

The panels on the side of the truck slide down then lowered to the ground as a panel. Within seconds, the back of the panel turned into a staircase, impressing the two boys in the process while Trixie only watched in curiosity.

“Whoa… that truck is fancier than Rarity’s RV!” Snips exclaimed.

“And bigger too!” Snails added.

At that moment, they all saw someone appeared from the top of the stairs who appeared to be a man and very intimidating. Everything he wore was black, including his shoes, shirt, gloves, an overcoat, and his sunglasses. His hair is short, but his mustache was long and bushy. As he was climbing down the stairs, several agents including another man with a beard came out of their vans. 

They all slowly walking across the field until the mustache man stood in front of Tempest. Neither spoke a word for a moment until the man spoke.

“Tempest,” He greeted curtly.

“Robotnik,” Tempest replied coolly. She then turned to another man with less coolness “Agent Stone.”

“Agent Shadow,” he replied with a slight bow.

With a smirk, Robotnik removed his sunglasses from his face. “So… are you in charge here?” he asked.

Tempest frowned. “Yes, I’m–”

“Nope!” Robotnik interrupted, much to the three CHS students' confusion and Tempest’s annoyance.

“I’m in–”

“Wrong!”

“I–”

“I’m in charge!”

“I’m the one–”

“Me!”

“–who is leading this–”

Robotnik quickly leaned close to Tempest’s ear.

“I’m in charge!” he whispered before pulling away.

Before Tempest could speak up again, Agent Stone reluctantly presented Tempest a small electronic tablet, revealing Robotnik’s digital insignia. 

Robotnik pointed the tablet with a smug grin. “You've never seen anything like this before. It says I'm the top banana, in a world full of hungry little monkeys. Allow me to clarify.” 

He held up his pointer finger, then he turned it and his head away from Tempest while he made some ‘buzz’ sounds like he was some kind of robot.

“In a sequentially ranked hierarchy, based on level of critical importance, the disparity between us is too vast to quantify,” Robotnik said at a fast pace, confusing everyone sans Agent Stone some more. “Agent Stone?” He gestured to his right-hand man in his normal voice as he walked away towards his truck.

“The Doctor thinks you're basic.” Agent Stone clarified.

"Ooooooh burn!" Snails cried.

Snips turned to Snails with a confused expression. “Uh… what does he mean?”

Snails shrugged. “I don’t know. I gave up trying to understand him after he said ‘monkeys’.”

Trixie only rolled her eyes at the boys' remarks.

“I'm initiating a sweep sequence,” Robotnik announced as he began to press some buttons on his remote glove with an LCD display right on his arm. “Ten miles in every direction should suffice…”

As Robotnik was pressing buttons on his gloves, the roof of the truck opened, raising up several of his drones. Each drone has a strong resemblance to a large egg, including its shape and color. The only added feature to each drone was a large single red “eye” at the very tip, which turned out to be a highly advanced camera. As the drones began to hover and rise into the air Robotnik glanced back slightly.

“Is she still looking at me with that angry look of hers?” asked Robotnik with his back still facing them.

“Yes, she is,” Agent Stone answered while glancing at Tempest.

“Tell her to stop, or I'll pull up her search history,” Robotnik said nonchalantly.

Agent Stone turned to Tempest. “If you don't stop looking at the Doctor, he'll take a closer look–”

“I'm not deaf!” Tempest growled angrily, causing Agent Stone to immediately shut up in fear.

“And also tell her that her men report to me now. Blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah, blah-blah-blah!” Robotnik added while making some funny sounds. 

“Excuse me?!” Tempest exclaimed angrily. “In case you didn’t know, I already personally assigned myself to lead on this investigation! I don’t know why my fath– the commander decided to send you here, but I can assure you and him that I have complete control!”

“Oh really?” Robotnik challenged before gesturing a small audience behind him. “Then why are these kids here? This area is strictly forbidden and off-limits except for the government!”

Tempest frowned. “I’ve been trying to get rid of these kids for over an hour and they don’t seem to take the hint!”

“Well… that goes to show that you aren’t doing very well at your job!” said Robotnik before shaking his head. “Never send imbeciles to do a genius job! Agent Stone?”

“I’m on it!” said Agent Stone as he walked over towards Trixie and the two boys. “C’mon kids!”

“Oh come on, that’s not fair!” Snips complained as the men in suits began to drag them. “We just wanted to see some action!”

“Yeah, we wanna see!” Snails added, who was also grabbed by the men in black.

Trixie quickly jerked away before an agent has the chance to grab her. “Hey! You have no right to touch Trixie! We have every right to be here! While those two imbeciles were here for their own childish antics, The Great and Concerning Trixie, is only here to check the field for the school’s interest and–”

“Excuse me,” Robotnik spoke up as he turned towards Trixie. “What is your name again?”

Happy that she got someone’s attention, Trixie swelled up her chest in pride. “Well, you’re looking at a famous future magician, the Great and Powerful–”

“Nobody cares!” Robotnik shouted, cutting Trixie off and then did a fake cry. “Nobody cares…” He then began to walk towards her. “Listen, Nobody Cares?” He whispered while becoming more intimidating in each step. “You know why nobody cares who you or your two friends are? Because nobody cares about your feeble accomplishments.” 

He then started circling all around her, making Trixie and the two boys nervous and very uncomfortable. 

“Nobody cares about how important you really are. Nobody cares how ‘cool’ you are by hanging around and interfering with the government. And nobody cares how proud your mommy is that you're now reading at a third-grade level. Have you finished Muffet's Web yet?” 

Before either of them answered,  Robotnik stood behind Trixie and brought his face close to her.

“Spoiler alert: she dies in the end. But she leaves a big creepy egg sac!”

Snips gasped. “Dude! We haven’t read that yet!”

“Yeah, not cool dude!” Snails remarked angrily.

Robotnik shook his head. “Augh! What do schools teach these kids these days? It’s no wonder we’re living in a world full of morons!” He leaned close to Trixie's face. "If I were you, little girl, I suggest you grow up and do something far more worthwhile than pretending to be some useless street performer!"

"Useless!?" Trixie shrieked in rage, but Robotnik ignored her and walked away, not caring that his words offended her. 

“Get this showboat girl, along with Dumb and Dumber out of my sight!” he ordered.

“How dare you mock Trixie you big mustache president look-alike jerk!” Trixie yelled angrily as she and the two boys were dragged away by some agents. “Just wait until I use my magic to make your mustache disappear!”

“Oh, I’m shaking in my boots!” Robotnik said sarcastically while rolling his eyes. "'Magic'? Bah! How ridiculous!" 

He then turned to Tempest with narrowed eyes. “As for you, Agent Shadow, I don’t like working for you either! Believe me, I don’t! If it were up to me, I would’ve sent you packing, but your daddy insisted that we should ‘combine’ our skills and talents to speed up this job, even though I’m more than enough for this. But like it or not, we’re stuck together… but I’m still the head of this operation and we will do things my way! Capiche?”

Tempest glared at Robotnik with contempt. “...fine!” She growled. “But I still have some investigations of my own! So don’t interfere with me!”

“Whatever floats your boat sweetheart!” Robotnik said nonchalantly. His eyes lit up the moment he sees countless of his drones floating in the air in front of him. “Ah, my babies! Hoo! Look what came out of my egg sac!”

Tempest just scoffed at Robotnik’s terrible pun.

“You know what I love about machines?” Robotnik asked as he faced Tempest while spreading his arms out. “They do what they're told. They follow their program! They don't need time off to get drunk and put the boat in the water!” He then pointed at Tempest with a scowl. “And you do what you're told. Now stand over there, on the edge of your personal abyss… and watch my machines do your job.”

Tempest lingered her glare at Robotnik for a moment before she simply walked away from the area. 

Satisfied that he put his rival to her place, Robotnik turned back to his drones. “Can you feel it, Stone?” he said as he typed feverishly on his gloves again.

Agent Stone grinned. “I can feel it, Doctor.”

“It's evolution, Stone,” Robotnik declared while clenching his fists. “It's evolution!”

The drones then started flying into the woods to begin scanning for anything clues of the incident. From the sidelines, Tempest glared as countless drones slowly disappeared behind the trees. When she was sure that no one was watching, she pressed her secret communicator which was hidden in the collar of her jacket.

“Grubber, have you located Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yes I have boss,” Grubber replied from Tempest’s communicator. “She is currently staying in her apartment and hasn’t left since.”

“Good!" said Tempest with a frown. "Keep watching her! And if she leaves, follow her and notify me immediately!”

“What’s wrong boss?" Grubber asked, noticed the way Tempest spoke. "You sounded agitated– er, more agitated than usual.”

“Dr. Robotnik is here!” Tempest growled. 

“Ooooooh! Him!” Grubber replied in understanding before he responded more upbeat. “Well, how’s Agent Stone? Did he get my birthday card I sent him?”

“Nevermind that!” Tempest snapped. “Just focus on Sunset and the girls for now! The last thing we want is for them to cross paths with that man!”

“Roger that boss!” said Grubber. “And maybe once our mission is over, we should take a quick stop and Sweet Shoppe so we can get ourselves some sponge ca–”

Tempest simply hung up on him.





Sonic wasn’t sure how long he was kneeling near the bench, but at that point, he didn’t bring himself to care. Right now, he was still beating himself up for being so careless and potentially brought trouble to Sunset and her friends. The military, or whatever they called themselves, will be coming for him and now he has to leave before they catch him. All of this was happening was because he was playing baseball!

He could imagine how disappointed Longclaw must be for him to do something foolish.

"Why…” Sonic whispered. “Why did I always ruin everything? Why was I even born with this power? And why… can't I just be normal?"

Before he could think further, his ear perked up when he heard a sound of machinery above him. Sonic looked up and his eyes widened when he sees several strange floating devices in the sky.

What are those things? Floating eggs! Sonic thought with a perplexed expression.

He watched as they split up to different directions of the park. One of those strange egg drones were heading towards Sonic’s direction with a bright red circle facing him. Panicked, Sonic quickly picked up Sunset’s letter and fled into the woods, running over their special rock and left a mark in the process.

The drone eventually reached the benched area and began to scan everything that looks suspicious. The drone eventually found something very interesting on one of the rocks, specifically the top of it. The camera on the drone zoomed closely and scanned a strange mark on the surface of the rock. Once it completed the scan, all of its data and image was automatically sent to its original source for further analyzing.





Dr. Robotnik was inside of his portable lab from within his truck, analyzing the image of a strange mark with his highly advanced computer. He had a puzzled look on his face as he was typing away the information he gathered from his data. At that moment, Agent Stone entered his lab. Despite that his eyes were still on the computer screen, Dr. Robotnik somehow was able to identify him.

"Agent Stone?"

"Doctor?"

Dr. Robotnik pointed at the screen. "Do you see anything useful in this image?"

Agent Stone stared at the screen for a moment, specifically, at that strange mark which was on that rock. He shook his head. "Nothing at all, Doctor."

Dr. Robotnik let out an irritated sigh. "Of course you don't! Your eyes weren't expertly trained to spot tracks by the Native American Shadow Wolves."

As Agent Stone looked at his boss in confusion, Dr. Robotnik typed some more on his computer and then he rolled his chair back for his associate to see. Agent Stone watched as Dr. Robotnik’s computer was analyzing the mark before it alters and breaks down into a shoe footprint. Then the computer analyzed even further, revealing a mark of a human-like foot underneath the shoe print that was in.

Agent Stone stared at the screen in awe. “That's extraordinary!”

Dr. Robotnik rolled his eyes. “No. What's extraordinary is I determined the exact height, weight, and spinal curvature of this creature. And my computer can't find a single match for it, anywhere, in Earth's Animal Kingdom.” He then stood up from his chair and pointed at the footprint on the screen while facing Stone. “This blackout was not a terrorist attack and that's no baby Bigfoot.”

He went back towards his desk and leaned towards the screen. “This guy… is something else… entirely. Divert all search units to the site of the footprint!” He ordered as he let out a huge grin. “That's one small step for men... one giant leap for me!”





Some time has passed and the military was combing the wooded area. There were a bunch of soldiers patrolling the land with their search dogs at their side. There were also several drones floating in the sky, searching for anything out of the ordinary.

From the sidelines, miles from the searching team, Sonic was hiding from behind the boulder with a semi-panic expression.

"Okay, okay. Everything is fine!" Sonic whispered, trying to keep himself calm. "You played some baseball, got a little upset, lightning shot out of your butt and now they're coming for you."

Seeing that the military was coming closer, Sonic quickly used his super speed to run to the far off woods in order not to be found. Within seconds, he was back inside his cave, but he knew it would only be a matter of time before the military will find him here.

"Alright, alright, Earth isn't safe anymore," he muttered. "Time for Plan B: Mushroomville." 

Sonic quickly grabbed his backpack and then he zoomed right next to his bean chair.

"I gotta take my stuff!" He stated as he placed his backpack down and zipped it open. "Okay, essential items only!"

Sonic then started speeding around the cave to gather up his stuff to the best of his ability.

"Okay, toothbrush, toothpaste, hair gel, night light, funny hat." He then zipped back to his backpack while wearing his hat to store his things into his backpack. "This half-eaten cantaloupe," he added as he picked up his half-eaten food and placed it in the bag as well.

"Oh, and my scented candle!" he exclaimed as he rushed to get his candle in question along with some other items. "My entire comic book collection," he said as he placed them next to his bag.

"Beanbag chair…" He paused. "Can a beanbag chair fit in a backpack?" He shook his head. "No, no, no, of course not! That's stupid!"

He ran around the room, dropping his hat in the process to gather more items. A second later, he returned to his beanbag and stored the remaining objects into his backpack.

"Okay, what else?" He asked himself. His eyes widened in realization when he remembered the most important item. "The rings, the rings!" 

He quickly ran over to the other side of the cave to pick up the bag of rings that were given to him by Longclaw.

"Yes, of course," he exclaimed as he ran back to the center of the cave and was now wearing his backpack on his back. Once he was sure that he got everything he needed, Sonic pulled out a ring.

"Okay, here we go. Ring time! Mushroom planet, here I come!"

As Sonic was ready to throw the ring to open up a portal, he suddenly heard multiple dogs barking and countless drones above him.

"Oh no!" Sonic gasped. "They're right outside. I gotta go somewhere else!"

Sonic placed a ring back in his bag and started to run, only for him to stop and looked back for a moment.

This wasn't just a cave to him, it was his home. He lived here for ten long years ever since he first arrived on Earth. He loved it here and the town that he's in. But now, because of his actions, he was forced to leave... again. Worse of all, he had to leave the people he admired from afar behind. With that mindset, there was one thing he had to do first and quick.

Sonic let out a heavy sigh as he gazed at his home one final time.

"Goodbye, cave…" Sonic whispered before he turned and fled the area.
> Volume I - Chapter 7: A Pep Talk And a Visitor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time has passed and Sunset was back at her apartment complex, lying on her bed. While she was now safe in the comforts of her home, Sunset felt anything but safe with everything going on and what she learned. Sunset let out a heavy sigh as she stared at the ceiling above her.

What a mess! Sunset thought. There was a mysterious energy wave, which is not Equestrian Magic, caused a massive blackout, military soldiers are patrolling near our school and a high-ranking officer is onto me and my friends… all because I come to this world! My day just keeps getting better and better!

With another sigh, Sunset sat up. I have to warn my friends, but first things first...

Sunset reached towards her magical journal, which was on her dresser, and picked it up. She brought the book towards her, opened it up to a new blank page, and began to write with her pen.



Twilight? Twilight are you there?



After she wrote her words, Sunset waited for her friend to respond from another world. She grew more and more anxious as the minutes passed. Just as Sunset thought her friend is not responding, new words began to magically appear beneath her own words.



I'm here Sunset? Is everything okay?



Sunset sighed in relief before she wrote her response.



I'm fine Twilight. I'm sorry to bother you, but I got some important questions I need to ask you!





No need to apologize Sunset! I'll always help a friend!

So fire away! :) 



Sunset smiled at her friend’s encouraging words before getting to work.



Are there any disturbances from Equestria recently?



There was a short pause before the words magically appeared in Sunset’s journal.



No. Nothing out of the ordinary.



Sunset frowned as she wrote her follow-up question.



What about magical leaks?



Sunset didn’t have to wait long this time as Twilight’s answer immediately appeared on the paper.



No leaks. Everything on my side is sealed up.





Are there any artifacts or



Sunset paused her writing in hesitation for a moment before finishing her sentence.



creatures that have a magical surge ability?



There was an even longer pause, making Sunset worry. After about a minute, Princess Twilight finally responded.



Hmmm… can't say I've heard of them. 

What's going on Sunset? Did something happen in your world?



Sunset let out a long sigh before writing her reply.



Well, it’s like this...



And so Sunset spent a lot her time writing on her journal, explaining the situation to Princess Twilight. She told her all about the mysterious wave from their sleepover last night, how it affected the whole town and most of the world. She also mentioned how the wave caught the secret government agency, G.U.N’s attention, Principal Celestia’s warning that G.U.N. was watching them even before the wave, and some top G.U.N. agent who are already most likely onto to her. Sunset kept on writing as her life depends on it, even as far as to ignore any cramps from her writing hand.

By the time she was finished, Sunset just sat there idly with a semi anxious expression, waiting for any responses from the Princess. Minutes flew by and there was still no response from her journal, making Sunset more anxious by the second. Finally, after what it felt like hours, Princess Twilight responded.



Wow… that’s a lot to take in!



The words paused briefly before more words appeared on the page.



So there’s a strange magic in your world that wasn’t from Equestria and it managed to knock out half of the country’s powerlines.

...

...

...I’m not sure if I should be worry or fascinated about this revelation.



Princess Twilight’s response nearly made Sunset chuckle in amusement. She keeps forgetting that despite being a Princess, she was also a scientist like her Twilight. This would have cheered Sunset up if she wasn’t reminded of their current situation. Her expression became serious as she wrote her response in her journal.



I know you're possibly geeking out about this, but this is still bad Twilight! And with the military running around sniffing the school grounds, Equestria is in grave danger! And what’s worse, my friends are in danger too… all because of me!



Her heart was filled with guilt as she wrote it. None of this mess would happen if she hasn’t shown up to this world all because of her own selfish reason. Sometimes she wondered if things would be better off if she never came here at all and to keep Equestrian magic contained in Equestria… all so that her friends won’t be in danger because of her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw new words appearing in her journal.



Sunset, none of this was your fault!



Sunset huffed as she wrote her response.



Yes it is! I brought magic into this world in the first place! And time after time... my actions always came back to haunt me!



And my friends. Sunset added in thought as she sighed sadly.

There was a slight pause before Sunset received a long response from Princess Twilight.



You listen to me Sunset. While your original purpose of coming to your world was… misguided, but you're NOT a horrible pony person! And despite your past, you've done more good deeds than bad. You helped stopped the sirens, you saved the human me, you encouraged everyone to embrace the magic and you pretty much helped and befriended those in need, even after they did something bad themselves. You're a good person Sunset and everyone who knows you are proud to be your friend… even me! :)



Sunset smiled warmly at the Princess words, barely noticing her tears leaking from her eyes. She sniffed as she rubbed her eyes briefly before writing down her response.



Thank you Twilight... I needed to hear that.



Princess Twilight wrote back.



Anytime Sunset! ;)





As for your ‘current’ situation, Principal Celestia was right. You and the others should keep your heads down for the time being. I'm sure they'll be gone before you know it, just in time for your High School graduation! :D



Sunset grimaced at that before writing back half-heartedly.



Yeah. Great.



She wasn’t sure why she wrote that, but at the mention of graduation, Sunset’s mood was brought down again, but only somewhat. She must have stared at her journal too long for Princess Twilight to write back to her.



Hey… is something wrong Sunset? Aren't you excited?



Sunset sighed heavily. Part of her debated to just lie to her and say the usual “everything is fine” line, but she was bothered for the past few weeks and it was getting worse as the days go by. She wanted to vent about her feelings, but only wanted to tell someone who she trusted the most. And Princess Twilight is the perfect friend who will listen to her woes. That, and the fact that Princess Twilight is in another world. And Sunset is the only one who has access to speak to her. It was not like her friends could get her to fess up so easily.



To be honest... I don't know what to feel about this. If you asked me a long time ago, I would like to rule alongside Princess Celestia and to be the best. Now… I don’t know what to do! I’m in a much happier place than I was before coming to this world. I thought my purpose was to help others and my place is with my friends, but with this upcoming graduation… everyone is going their separate ways and pursue their own careers while I…



Sunset paused her writing, couldn’t bring herself to finish the sentence as if she was in fear of admitting to something. But she didn’t have to finish as Princess Twilight wrote her a response, summing up Sunset’s true feelings right in front of her eyes.



That you don’t know what your purpose is without your friends?



Sunset stared for a long time before she dares to write back.



Yeah.



She let out a long sigh before she wrote some more in her journal.



Not only that, but I’m also practically an alien from another world. I don’t know what I can do with myself under these circumstances. It's not like I can go to college and get a well-paid job without an official record of my citizenship, even with Principal Celestia’s influence. Of course, the old me might will forge records easily just to survive, but… I didn't want to be that person anymore. And even if I did, what would be the point of staying if everyone I knew won't be around as much anymore. My friends are like the family I never thought I have. And when they're going away, I'll end up be al--



Sunset paused her writing when she noticed water droplets all over her page, ruining her words. That was when she realized that she was crying as she felt her wet face. She sniffed as she tried to wipe all her tears away. She managed to dry most of her face when she noticed her journal was glowing again.



Oh Sunset, I understand exactly how you feel. I was like that six moons ago when I have to move back to Canterlot to take Princess Celestia’s place as the ruler of Equestria. 

I was a total wreck on that day. I couldn't handle the thought of leaving Ponyville, which I considered my home… and leave my best friends behind, who are also considered my family. And I even thought my friends didn't even care that we're separating.

But I was wrong. Turns out, my friends were also upset about going separate ways too. They were trying to put on a brave face and keep themselves distracted from their sadness. But when I told them how I felt, we all talked, cried, and hugged it out until we felt better and we all messed up my coordination ceremony in the process. We then talked it over about how much we missed each other until we all agreed to meet up again once every moon to keep in touch and to rule together as the Council of Friendship and we still kept in touch since.

My point was, you forged a very deep bond with your friends like I am. As long as your friendship is true, you could never break that bond, and your friends will always be with you, even when they're away. And if you tell them how you feel, I'm sure you will all come up with something to stay in touch.



Sunset sniffed but had a small smile on her face, but it only lasts for a second. She then wrote her response.



Maybe you’re right Twilight. We are very close, and I'm sure we can come up with ways to stay in touch. But… I'm not going to tell them just yet until this mess has passed. But even so, that still doesn't solve my issue of making a living for myself once I graduated.



There was a small pause for a moment before words appeared on her page again.



Well Sunset, if you want, you can return to Equestria and come live with me in Canterlot. I'll even offer you to be my co-ruler of Equestria.



Sunset eyes grew wide in surprise, couldn’t believe what the Princess is offering her. She even read the same line a few times to make sure that her eyes weren't playing tricks on her. With shaking hands, Sunset wrote in her journal.



Really!? Are you serious? You wanted ME to be the ruler of Equestria alongside you?



In less than a second, Princess Twilight responded.



Of course I'm serious. I couldn't think of a better pony on the job than you Sunset. :)



Sunset frowned at the words, but this time in doubt. If anyone offered her to be a co-ruler years ago, she would've been all over the moon and maybe even boast about it to her old peers. But now, she wasn’t so sure about it anymore, especially after the Fall Formal incident. With a sigh, Sunset wrote her response.



Are you sure? Last time I wanted to rule I… you know. I'm... not even sure if I'm worthy to take your offer.



There was a minute of silence after she wrote that, convincing herself that maybe Princess Twilight changed her mind about offering her the job. But to her surprise, the Princess wrote back in a very lengthy response.



Sunset, you've come so far since then. You've redeemed yourself and then some since I first met you. You've become an honest, kind, cheerful, generous, loyal, and most of all, an empathic person. You helped so many others and spread more friendships in your world that not even I can't reach. You proved yourself more than once that you are more than worthy to be by my side. Trust me Sunset, you are ready! :)



Sunset’s chest felt warm after reading that. Having Princess Twilight’s approval and for her to speak highly of her meant so much to her. While she still has some doubts, she was happy that her friend has so much faith in her and trusted her enough to rule by her side.

After wiping her tear for a hundredth time today, Sunset wrote in her journal.



Twilight… you have no idea how much your words mean so much to me. I'm so touched that you think so highly of me but… this is all so sudden. I… don't know what to think.



A second later, Princess Twilight responded.



Don't worry Sunset, I understand. I know how what it's like to have an offer like this suddenly comes to you (and believe me, I know). You don't have to answer right now. All I ask is for you to think about it and know that my offer is there if you choose to accept it.



Sunset smiled in appreciation as she wrote her journal.



Thank you Twilight. I will think about it, but right now, I need to talk to my friends about this issue and wait for it to pass.



Princess Twilight wrote back.



I understand Sunset. Do what you gotta do, but be careful! And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask me for help or if you just want to talk. 

Remember, I'm your friend too. :)



Sunset responded.



Thank you Twilight. And I will! :)



Sunset sighed in happiness as she closed her journal. No one could understand her better than Princess Twilight. She can always count on her when she needed advice when it comes to dealing with rouge magic or to lend her ear. Not that Sunset couldn't count on her other friends to help her, but she felt a stronger connection to Twilight when it comes to pony heritage and understanding her struggles.

Sunset thoughts went back to Twilight’s advice about telling her friends how she felt about the upcoming graduation and the aftermath and the possibility of going back to Equestria. While she hasn't made a decision yet, the offer was tempting since she couldn't see herself doing anything worthwhile in this world after high school. But regardless of her decision, what would her friends think of this? Would they care about her feelings? Would they try to talk her out of leaving? Would they even… miss her?

Sunset shook her head. She shouldn't worry about trivial things right now. Her main focus is to warn her friends about Tempest, wait for this whole mess to cool off, and then looking into this mysterious energy wave as soon as it's over.

Before she could act, she heard a loud chime coming from her phone. Sunset fished her phone out of her pocket and realized that it was a text message from Twilight. Sunset shook her head in amusement that she finished having a conversation with the pony Twilight, only to start another with the human Twilight. Nevertheless, Sunset opened up her phone to read the latest text from her friend.



SciTwi0915: Sunset, r u there?



Sunset immediately typed her reply.



ShimmerCode0219: I’m here Twilight.

ShimmerCode0219: Wat’s up?



Not even a second later, her friend responded.



SciTwi0915: Can you come over to my house? 

SciTwi0915: There’s something important I have to tell you and you alone!



Sunset frowned both in confusion and worry. Her text sounded like something urgent was going on and needed her to come over right away. Sunset doubted it has something to do with Twilight's cold since it was just a minor sickness. On top of that, she wondered why Twilight requested her specifically and not the rest of their friends. Whatever it was, Sunset won't leave her friend hanging and she was planning to go visit her anyway to tell her about the "current issue".

Sunset typed back.



ShimmerCode0219: Sure thing Twi!

ShimmerCode0219: On my way!



Sunset tucked her phone in her pocket and then she placed her journal into her backpack before she headed out the front door and made her trip to Twilight’s house.





Somewhere outside across from Sunset’s apartment complex, Grubber, who was sitting in his car, singing along a song which was playing from his radio. And by "singing", he was bellowing a song and badly off-key.

"It's dance magic, once you have it~ 🎵
Let your body move, step into the music!~ 🎵
It's dance magic, and it's electric~ 🎵
Let your body move to the music!~ 🎵"

"Hey, keep that racket down! You're keeping my kid up ya jerk!" Someone shouted above him from one of the apartments with an angry voice.

Grubber slumped on his steering wheel with a huff. "Sheesh! Everyone’s a critic!" he muttered.

At that moment, Grubber noticed from the corner of his eye that the apartment door opened and Sunset stepped out. He was now on full alert as he fished out his communicator, keeping an eye on the bacon-haired girl.

"Boss? Boss, are you there?" Grubber said urgently.

He waited as he watched Sunset descending from her stoop and walking down the street. He was about to speak again until he heard a loud sigh coming from his communicator.

"What is it Grubber," said Tempest in her annoyed tone. "This has better be important!"

"It's the Shimmer girl!" Grubber said quickly. "She is on the move!"

Tempest let out a disgruntled grunt. "Well then what are you waiting for? Go follow her!"

"At once boss!" Grubber replied with a salute. "Seriously, I heard the sponge cake at Sweet Shoppe is out of this world! We should totally pick one up from that place!"

-CLICK-

"...hello?"





After about ten minutes of walking, Sunset finally made it to Twilight’s house. She climbed up the porch and then rang the doorbell. After waiting for a few moments, the door opened, revealing to be Twilight. What surprised Sunset was not only her friend appeared to be crazed, but she was also still wearing her pajamas except for her t-shirt, which has an image of a few buildings including Manehatten’s Crystaller Building at the forefront and the words “Manehatten” beneath it. Either Twilight’s cold had gotten worse or there was something really bothering her friend. 

“Um, hey Twilight!” Sunset greeted politely. “What can I–”

“Are you alone?” Twilight asked with urgency as she looked around behind Sunset.

Sunset blinked. “Er… yes. Yes, I’m alone. Why are you–”

Sunset let out a yelp as she was suddenly yanked into the house by Twilight before Twilight slammed the door behind them. Unbeknownst to them, a car belonging to Agent Grubber silently pulled up across from the house so he can watch them from afar.





After Twilight pulled Sunset in and shut the door, she immediately locked the door. Sunset recovered from her sudden invite, she watched in confusion as Twilight went to her front window and pulled the blinds shut, but not before she took a quick peek outside. Twilight's actions made Sunset grow even more worried for her friend.

“Twilight? What’s going on?” Sunset inquired.

“She’s been like this since this morning,” someone replied. Sunset turned to see Spike, who had just entered the room. “Hey there Sunset!” Spike greeted with a smile and wagged his tail.

“Hey there Spike,” Sunset said warmly as she bent down and petted his head. “Have you been a good boy?”

“Uh-huh! I sure am!” Spike replied cheerfully. His ears then drooped a bit. “But I’m worried about Twilight. Her latest project is stressing her out.”

“Project?” Sunset parroted in confusion.

Before Spike could speak further, he was interrupted by Twilight who was slightly calmer than she was moments ago.

“Sorry about this Sunset, sometimes you can’t be too careful!”

Sunset stood up and faced her friend. “So what brings you to ‘Twilighting’ mode this time Twi?” Sunset joked with a lopsided grin.

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh and rolled her eyes. “I swear, if I get a dollar every time someone made me into a verb, I'll be rich by now!” She shook her head before she narrowed her eyes. “But this is serious Sunset! I discovered something very important which could change the world as we know it!”

“Okay, okay. Relax Twilight!” Sunset soothed, gently raising her palms. “Whatever it is, just tell me and I’ll help you. You know you can trust me.”

After calming down from Sunset’s words, Twilight let out a sigh. “Well… I think this will be easier if I... show it to you.”

With a single nod from Twilight, Spike got the message and he hurriedly scampered out the room. As they were waiting, Sunset was curious about what Twilight wanted to show her so badly enough to cause her friend so much stress and wanted to just show her specifically. They didn’t have to wait too long as Spike shortly ran into a room with something in his mouth, which was wrapped in a blue cloth. With an expression of gratitude towards her dog, Twilight took the item from Spike and then showed it to Sunset. Just as Sunset was about to ask about the item, Twilight slowly unwrapped the cloth, revealing a piece of a long blue quill.

Sunset stared at the quill in confusion. “Um… what is that?”

“This… is what appears to be a quill,” Twilight answered.

Sunset blinked. "A quill? How can you tell?"

"Well I’m no animal expert like Fluttershy, but I could tell just by its texture," said Twilight as she gently stroked the quill. "That… and I knew for a fact that it fell off from that creature I chased in the woods the other day."

"Wait, creature!?" Sunset exclaimed with widened eyes. "Back up! Did you say... 'creature'?" 

Twilight nodded. "Yes. Yesterday, when I was staking out in the woods… I saw… something hidden in the bushes! I tried to chase after it, but it vanished before I could even blink! And I found this thing and I've been studying it since!"

"Um… are you sure it's not just an ordinary animal Twilight? Like a bear?" Sunset queried with a look of uncertainty.

Twilight shook her head. "I know it sounds crazy coming from me, but I know what I saw! That's no animal! It was… something else entirely!"





Some time has passed since Grubber parked his car across from the Sparkle’s residence. Not wanting to cause a ruckus, as well as getting yelled at due to his singing again, Grubber didn’t turn on his radio and just simply watched the house. Unfortunately, without his music, he gets bored way too quickly. As a result, Grubber simply fell asleep, loudly snoring away to dreamland.

Unbeknownst to him, a blue blur suddenly blew past him and his car, only to come back to him a second later. Sonic cautiously peeked into the window of Grubber’s car in curiosity. He relaxed when he sees Grubber in a sleeping state. After realizing that the car is unlocked, Sonic let out a mischievous smirk before he used his super-speed to get to work. After admiring his “handiwork” for a moment, Sonic looked across from where he was and lit up when he sees the house that he was looking for. 

He zoomed across the street and stood near the window to take a peek. He spotted his two favorite girls, standing in the room while having some kinda conversation. He wasn’t sure what exactly what they were talking about, but judging from their expressions, it was pretty serious. As much as he was wanted to know what that was, it was not his concern and that he must leave, even if this pained him. While he wasn’t able to find all of the girls within this town, but if seeing these two was the last thing he could see before fleeing this plant, he’ll take it.

After silently saying goodbye to the girls, Sonic let out a sad sigh before he fled towards a smaller building from within the backyard. Unbeknownst to Sonic, he alerted a certain purple dog near a window.





“So, you’ve been studying that thing this whole time?” Sunset exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me, or any of us Twilight?”

“Would you believe me if I did?” Twilight challenged. When Sunset didn’t respond, Twilight sighed. “Besides… despite what I saw yesterday, I still couldn’t believe it myself! So, I have to run some experiments with it just to be sure that I’m not crazy!”

"Even last night?" Sunset pressed, to which Twilight nodded.

"Yes… I'm very sorry that I lied about my cold. Despite that I'm pretty much exhausted from last night, I just had to figure out about this quill. Yet so far, I only ended up with only a few answers... and more questions."

Sunset shook her head with a disapproving expression. “Well that explains why you were so tired this morning, but I'd told you that you shouldn't keep doing this to yourself like that, even if it was for a good cause." Sunset then had a sudden realization. "Hey wait a minute... how did you manage to work on your experiments? This town currently has no power!”

Twilight smirked as she adjusted her glasses. “Yes, it would’ve been a problem, but luckily, I got my very own back-up power generator, which I built it out of paper clips, dishwashing detergent, and a toothpick for this occasion!"

"...you built a power generator out of paper clips, dishwashing detergent, and a toothpick?" Sunset asked in disbelief.

"I was bored one day, so sue me," Twilight defended with a huff. "Anyway, Sunset… I think this creature is the culprit of causing the blackouts!"

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. "What brought you to that conclusion?"

“While I was navigating my way through my house last night during the blackout, I noticed a glowing light coming from my lab. And mind you, it was the exact glowing blue light coming from that mysterious wave! I was worried that something happened to my lab after the wave, so I ran over to check it out. Other than no power, everything in my lab is still in tip-top shape, except that my lab was illuminated in blue light and it came from the drawer where I stored this quill for safekeeping. Sure enough, after looking into my drawer, this quill was glowing! This little thing was glowing brighter than a Christmas tree!"

Sunset stared at her friend in shock with her eyes as wide as dinner plates. “Unbelievable! So, your saying… that it was this mysterious creature, who is the owner of this quill… was responsible for this?”

“Yes! That’s exactly why I asked you to come, not just because I trust you the most, but because you know your world more than any of us Sunset! I assumed that this creature must have slipped into this world somehow, so I’m hoping if you knew what kind of creature we’re dealing with.”

“Twilight… I don’t know what creature does this. There weren’t–”

“That’s okay!” Twilight interjected. “We could also ask me… the other me about this creature so we can–”

“No Twilight!” Sunset shouted. “I mean there is no creature exists in Equestria!”

Twilight flinched in shock. “Say what?”

Sunset let out a huge sigh. “After the massive blackout last night, I sense this strange energy that wasn’t from Equestria for once!” Sunset explained. “It was something I’ve never felt before! I even spoke to Princess Twilight earlier to console about this and... she told me there weren't any creatures or artifacts that caused this from my world!”

"Are… are you sure?" Twilight question with a stunning look. "There were no creatures or anything that caused this blackout was from Equestria?"

"I'm afraid not," Sunset replied as she shook her head. "But there's more! According to Principal Celestia, this mysterious wave was coming from the baseball field from our school! Not only that, some agency from the government called G.U.N., or whatever, is investigating our school as we speak because this wave knocked out nearly half of our country's powerline! And on top of that, they were watching us this entire time since the Fall Formal and this incident was the final straw for them to come here!"

Twilight stared at Sunset with a shocked expression, processing everything Sunset had said to her. 

“You’re kidding!” She exclaimed. She then shook her head with a worried frown. “This is worse than I fear! If what you say is true about what the Princess said and what’s going on at our school, then we may be in trouble for us and this planet for all I know!”

“W-what do you mean?” Sunset asked nervously.

While looking at her friend in the eyes, Twilight placed her hands on Sunset’s shoulders. “Sunset, after I’ve spent hours analyzing that thing, I discovered that this little quill contained so much power you wouldn't believe!”

Sunset swallowed. “How much power exact?”

"It's… unlimited!"

All of a sudden, they heard a loud crash coming from outside, followed by many aggressive barking from Spike.

“What was that?” Sunset cried as she and Twilight ran towards the back of the house.

They both reached the kitchen where Spike was, barking constantly towards the sliding glass door.

“What is it, Spike?” Twilight cried as she ran towards her dog. “Is there something out there boy?”

Spike growled but pointed his snout towards the door.

Taking the message, both Twilight and Sunset took a peek outside. They didn’t see anything out of the ordinary, except for a few trash cans lying around near Twilight’s lab.

“My trash cans were knocked over!” Twilight exclaimed.

"Maybe it was a raccoon?" Sunset offered. “They probably must have dug into them earlier for their early lunch.”

Twilight frowned. “I would agree with you Sunset, but Shining placed those cans near our main house, not my lab! Just what are they doing there?”

"Someone's here!" Spike growled, getting the girls’ attention. “I saw something heading towards your lab!”

Now fully alerted, Twilight turned towards her lab again, check it out much more seriously. Her face went pale when she noticed a crucial detail from her building.

“The window!” Twilight exclaimed while pointing at an opened window that wasn’t opened earlier. “Someone is breaking into my lab!”

“Oh my gosh!” Sunset cried as she fished out her phone. “We should call the police right away!”

Before Sunset began to dial her phone, Twilight quickly swiped Sunset’s phone away.

“Don’t!” Twilight cried. Before Sunset could ask, Twilight beats her to it. “Everything related to Equestria is in my lab, including my pendant! And Shining Armor doesn’t know anything about my experiments! The last thing we need is for him or everyone for that matter, find out about it! And if what you've been telling me is true, it could be those government agents trying to steal information about Equestria! They could get away with it even if we did call for help!”

Sunset was conflicted. On the one hand, it was a bad idea to go after the burglar themselves since they’re just two teenagers, which was why they need the police to come over and stop the burglary from happening. But if all of the things related to Equestria are in Twilight’s lab, they could risk exposing Equestria to the local authorities. It won’t be long before this incident will get G.U.N.’s attention as well since they’re still sniffing around in town. But on the other hand, if they do nothing, whoever was in Twilight’s lab will steal everything that was from Equestria, potentially compromised them anyway.

After weighing her options, Sunset sighed heavily as she put her phone away. “Well, even so, it is still too dangerous to go in there and confront them!”

“Don't worry, I've come prepared!” said Twilight as she went over to one of the kitchen’s cabinets and opened one.

Sunset watched in confusion as Twilight took out a small metal case from the cabinet. Her eyes widened in shock and realization after Twilight opened the case, revealing a familiar item from their sleepover last night.

“You're using Fluttershy’s tranquilizer gun!?” Sunset exclaimed. “Twilight, that thing was for bears, not a human being!”

“I'm not going to shoot em',” Twilight reassured as she was assembling the gun. “I'm using it to scare the intruder away. With any luck, the thief will fall for my bluff!”

Sunset shook her head in disbelief. “This is crazy Twilight! What if there’s more than one intruder?”

Twilight paused before giving Sunset her sheepish look. "Um… improvise?"

Sunset facepalmed and let out a low groan. "Ugh! And you said my idea of breaking into the school was unrealistic!" She shook her head as she picked up a rolling pin from the kitchen counter. "Alright, I'm coming with you!"

"And don't forget about me!" Spike added as he stood by Sunset.

Twilight gave them both her grateful smile. "Thanks you two!" She quickly loaded a dart to her gun and then faced the door with a determined look. "Now let's hurry!"





"Okay. I'm in… with minimum damage to Brainiac's property!" Sonic whispered as he entered the window and shut it behind him. 

Once he was sure that he was all alone, Sonic quietly climbed down from the table and then he stood in the middle of the lab. With a deep breath, Sonic took one of the rings from his ring bag and held it to his eye level.

"Okay, here we go," he whispered as he paced back and forth. "Didn't work out on Earth, but that's okay! You're going to a safe world. A nice safe world filled with mushrooms. Mushrooms that'll be your only… friends. Agh, that sounds awful! I can't do this!" He shook his head. "You have to do this, there's no other option."

Sonic then took a deep breath to calm himself. "Alright…"

Sonic surveyed his surroundings one last time. Under better circumstances, he would've been excited to finally explore Brainiac's lab, but he knew that he was only delaying the inevitable. He has to leave this world immediately, even if he doesn't want to.

He eyed his ring again. With a deep sigh, Sonic clenched the ring and moved his arm back, ready to throw the ring and activate the portal.

Suddenly, the lab door threw open, startling the blue hedgehog, and two girls and a dog rushed in.

"Freeze buster!" Sunset shouted while waving her flashlight around to search for the intruder.

"Hands in the air and step away from my tech!" Twilight added with her gun at ready.

"And my chew toy!" Spike barked.

Sunset's flashlight eventually pointed at Sonic, stopping the girls and dog in their tracks. There was stunned silence in the room between the two groups. The girls and Spike were staring at the blue hedgehog in shock while Sonic just stood there terrified, like a deer in the headlights. Not sure what to do in this situation, Sonic could only utter one thing.

"Uh… meow?"

The girls and Spike screamed, causing Sonic to scream as well. In a panic, Twilight instantly pulled the trigger on her gun, shooting the tranquilizer dart right on Sonic's leg before he had time to react.

"Ow!" Sonic cried.

The effects of the tranquilizer dart immediately take effect as Sonic’s vision became blurry and his body started swaying. Sonic blinked a few times, trying to clear his vision. The only thing Sonic could make out was the t-shirt Twilight was wearing in front of him.

"Mane...hat...tan?" Sonic slurred as he was reading Twilight’s shirt.

Sonic unknowingly dropped his ring and it rolled towards the gang before it fell to its side. The ring suddenly glowed and it grew into a large portal with an image of Manehattan in a bird’s eye view, much to the girls and Spike's shock and awe. The girls were so stunned, they unknowingly dropped their items to the floor.

Sonic walked staggeringly towards the portal in hopes to escape until he collapsed to the floor as more effects of the dart kicked in. Unfortunately, in the process, Sonic accidentally dropped his bag of rings into the portal. With his one blurry eye, Sonic watched helplessly as the bag of rings fell through the portal and it landed on top of a roof of a very tall building. It was at that moment the portal began to shrink rapidly.

"No…" Sonic moaned.

He reached out towards the portal, trying desperately to chase after the bag, but the effects of the dart became too much for the blue hedgehog as he weakly dropped his arm to the floor and passed out. At the same time, the portal disappeared, as if it was never there.

Sunset, Twilight, and Spike just stood there in shock, processing everything they just witnessed. After a moment of silence, Sunset finally spoke up, summarizing what everyone was thinking.

"...what. The. Hay?"
> Volume I - Chapter 8: Robotnik's House Visit (Pt. 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fifteen minutes passed since their ‘encounter’ with their intruder, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike were back in the house, still processing about the latest event unfolded to them. Spike ran off a while ago, claiming he needed to secure his chew toy, leaving Sunset and Twilight alone in the room. Sunset was pacing around the room, texting their friends in a group chat while Twilight, now in her usual outfit, was sitting by the dining room table, keeping an eye on their ‘guest’.

The mysterious blue being was still unconscious from the dart, sleeping from the inside of the dog cage in the middle of the table. At first, Spike protested the idea of letting that thing sleeping in his cage, but when both girls pointed out that they don’t know what they were dealing with and it was for their own protection, Spike reluctantly agreed. At any other circumstances, Twilight would have been thrilled about discovering another creature, but because of what happened earlier in her lab on top of everything else today, her worries override her excitement. Many questions were already formulating in the young scientist’s mind: Who was this creature? What exactly is that creature? And most importantly, Why was this creature here in her own home?

Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted when she heard her friend let out a loud sigh as she was putting away her phone. 

“I sent an emergency message to the girls,” said Sunset. “And Applejack said they are on their way as we speak. So all we can do now is wait.”

Twilight nodded before she turned to their guest again. "Okay, so let's recap: a mysterious wave knocked out half of our country's power lines, a military force came into our town and investigated the area as we speak, putting Equestria at risk, and now, a blue creature was hanging around in my lab… opening a portal to what it looks like the top of the Crystaller Building from Manehattan." Twilight faced Sunset with an expected look. “Did I get all of that?”

“Yeah... pretty much so,” Sunset replied with a tired sigh. “But what I wanted to know is what exactly is that thing? Where did it come from? And why is he here?” Sunset paused with a look of uncertainty. “That thing is a he... right?"

Twilight furrowed her eyebrows. "Um… I think so? At least... he sounded like a male when he spoke earlier."

"All he said was ‘meow’! That didn’t really count as him actually speaking!” Sunset argued.

“Spike said ‘woof’ sometimes, but he can still talk normally!” Twilight pointed out.

Sunset huffed. “Spike is different! Until he got hit with Equestrian magic, he was an ordinary dog! But this thing,” Sunset immediately pointed at their ‘guest’ who was still ‘sleeping’ on the table. “This thing… was something else!”

Twilight frowned at her friend in concern. “Um… you okay Sunset?”

Sunset calmed down somewhat and placed her head on her hand. “I’m sorry Twilight, I didn’t mean to snap at you,” she said remorsefully. “With everything happening all at once… this is all too much! I-I don’t know what to do or even where to start! It’s just one problem after another!”

Twilight eyes soften in understanding. “Don’t worry Sunset, you’re not alone in this. Our friends and I will be with you too. And once they get here, we’ll all figure this out together, okay?”

Sunset flashed her friend a small smile. “Yeah... you’re right Twilight. Thanks!” She then frowned and set her eyes at the cage on the table. “I guess the first thing we’re figuring out is that guy!”

The two girls stared at the creature with apprehensive expressions. They don’t know how long the effects of the tranquilizer would last on that creature, but they knew that it would be a matter of time before it will wake up from its slumber. Hopefully, while it was confined in a cage, they will be able to get their answers, assuming if that creature could understand them.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at the creature a while longer as if there was something about it that seems... familiar to her. After a full minute of raking her brain, her eyes were suddenly wide in realization.

“Hang on a second!” Twilight exclaimed, alerting Sunset in the process.

Before Sunset could ask her what’s up, Twilight quickly dug into her pocket and pulled out her blue quill. She then leaned closer to the creature while holding the quill out in front of her to compare between the two. The quill matched perfectly with the creature in question, including the color, and texture of the quill. There was no doubt in her mind, it was the same creature she saw from the woods the other day.

"...The Blue Devil!" Twilight whispered in awe.

Sunset, who was witnessing Twilight’s demonstration with the quill, stood there in shock. "Sweet Celestia!” she exclaimed. “He is real...and in your lab of all places!"

With this sudden revelation, Twilight turned to her friend with sparkles in her eyes and her face filled with glee. “Sunset! Do you know what this means? Since this creature isn’t from your world, we may have discovered a possible alien from a whole nother world!”

Sunset gave Twilight a skeptic look. “I don’t know Twilight. Him? An alien? Don’t you think that’s a bit of a stretch?”

“You are technically an alien from another world too, Sunset,” Twilight pointed out.

“...touché,” Sunset conceded.

While the two girls were busy talking, they failed to notice that Sonic was slowly waking up from his slumber. He couldn’t remember exactly how he was inside this cage since his memory was a bit fuzzy, but something told him that he needed to get out of there. Despite feeling all groggy, Sonic managed to unlatch the lock and pushed open the cage door in front of him. As he was crawling out of the cage, he heard Sunset let out an irritated huff.

"Well whatever, we need to let the girls know what we discovered,” she said as she took out her phone. “We should probably take a good picture of him and- AAAH!"

Both Sunset and Twilight were startled as soon as their eyes were on the blue creature, who somehow escaped from the cage. Without leaving their sight, Sunset tried to reach towards the rolling pin from the counter behind her while Twilight was getting ready to use her telekinesis from her necklace geode in case the creature attacked. But to their confusion, instead of attacking, the creature stared dazedly at them in recognition and… joy?

"Brainiac and… Equestria Girl?" Sonic uttered with a groan.

"He… he can talk!" said Sunset with awe, hardly believe what she just heard.  

Feeling her throat all dried up, Twilight swallowed quietly. "Are you… are you here to abduct us?"

Feeling mostly recovered from his grogginess, Sonic gave her an annoyed expression. "You two abducted me!"

"...okay, good point," Twilight admitted.

With her eyes narrowed, Sunset boldly stepped closer to the creature. "Okay, what are you? What were you doing in Twilight’s lab!"

"I-I needed to find somewhere safe,” Sonic responded. “And Brainiac's lab is the only place I could think of Equestria Girl!"

"Okay, why are you calling me ‘Equestria Girl’ and Twilight ‘Brainiac’?" Sunset questioned.

"I called her ‘Brainiac’ cause I've seen how smart she is and the way she built her machines. And I called you ‘Equestria Girl’ because you came from Equestria," Sonic answered as if it was obvious.

"Again, that's a really good point!" said Twilight.

Sunset was about to respond to her friend until her mind picked up the last thing the blue creature had said.

"Wait, how did you know that I came from Equestria?" Sunset demanded with a frown.

"You told me," Sonic said simply.

Sunset stared at the creature in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

Before Sonic could respond, Spike suddenly rushed into the room.

"Hold it right there you big blue monster cat!” Spike shouted. He then hopped right on top of the table and stood in front of the Sonic, protecting the girls. “Come any closer or I will make you my personal chew toy!" Spike threatened with a growl, showing his teeth at Sonic.

Not expecting a talking dog, Sonic was taken aback. "Whoa! A talking dog!"

Spike, who was also not expecting a creature can talk, was also taken aback. "Whoa! A talking blue monster cat!"

Despite his shock, Sonic let out an annoyed huff. "Okay, first of all, I'm a hedgehog, not a cat! Second, of course I can talk! I can talk all my life! Third, I've lived on this planet for ten years and the last I checked, dogs don't talk!"

Spike immediately shook off his shock and growled at his again. "Well, you're looking at the only dog who can talk bub! And I'm telling you to back away from my friends!"

"Spike, calm down!" Twilight said gently as she placed her hand on top of her dog’s head. "He's not doing anything to us… I think?"

"Jeez, way to make a hedgehog feel welcome!" Sonic quipped with a sigh. He frowned as more memories were rushing back at him. "Wait, wait, wait! Where are all the mushrooms? Why am I still on Earth? And-" His eyes widened and let out a loud gasp. "Oh no! The rings! I lost my rings!"

"What!?" said Sunset, taking aback from Sonic’s sudden behavior.

Before she could press on him further, they suddenly heard a loud rumbling noise coming from outside. 

"What was that!? What’s going on!?” Sunset cried. 

Sensing where the noise came from, Twilight quickly ran towards the window. “Was that your mother ship?” Twilight exclaimed with panic on her face. “Neither of us wanted to get probe right now!"

"You think you're worried? I'm not wearing any pants!" Sonic remarked.

“Me neither!” Spike added with fear on his face.

As Twilight pulled the curtain open a bit, Sunset joined her by her side. The two girls watched as a huge black truck with bright red stripes and a circle at the front pulled up near the house.

“Twilight… are you expecting somebody?” Sunset asked nervously.

“No... I wasn’t,” Twilight answered. “But I am impressed with that vehicle. I wonder if that’s a portable lab.”

Sonic glazed over the girls to see what was outside. As soon as he saw that truck, his eyes widened, and let out a scream and quickly shut the curtains. 

“Oh no, it’s them! They’re coming for me!” he exclaimed with a panicked expression.

The girls immediately turned to Sonic. “Wait, who’s coming for you? And what does that has to do with us!” Twilight questioned.

“I don’t have time to explain, but you have to help me!” said Sonic with a note of desperation in his voice.

“What!? No, we don’t!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Yeah, why should we help you?” Spike added, eyes narrowing at the blue hedgehog.

“Well, my legs, which normally would be classified as lethal weapons, feel like spaghetti!” Sonic explained before he faced Sunset with a pleading expression. “I need your help. Please! ...it's life or death.”

Sunset just stared at the hedgehog, studying his features. This creature just came out of nowhere, breaking into Twilight’s lab for some mysterious reason, he was being chased by whoever was in that truck for something that he didn’t explain, and he seems to know her and Twilight, and maybe the rest of her friends too. And on top of that, he somehow knew about Equestria! Part of her believes he was up to something and that she shouldn’t trust him and let whoever catches him. But one look at that creature’s face, he doesn’t appear to be malicious at all. Instead, his eyes were filled with sincerity, practically pleading for her to help him. While Sunset still has some doubts about him, she couldn’t bring herself to turn this creature away.

“Twilight… open the attic,” Sunset sighed.

Both Twilight and Spike turned to Sunset with looks of surprise and confusion.

“Say what!?” Spike exclaimed. 

“Sunset, Wh–”

“Just hurry, before they get here!” Sunset ordered, leaving no room for arguments.

Twilight stared at Sunset for a moment before she slowly nodded. “Alright... let’s go, Spike!”

Spike gave Sonic one last look before he hopped off the table and followed after his master out of the room.

Sunset turned back to Sonic, who had a look of gratitude on his face. “Come with us hedgehog!” said Sunset before she walked out of the room, following her friend.

With an eager nod, Sonic took a step to follow her, only for him to fall face-first onto the floor due to his legs still not working due to the dart’s effects.

“Uh… little help? Sonic called weakly.





From within his car, Grubber instantly woke up from his slumber due to the rumbling from outside.

“Huh? What? What time is it?” he muttered.

He yawned as he was rubbing his eyes, not noticing various marks and doodles on his face. There was a drawn mustache between his nose and mouth, think “glasses” around his eyes, the phrase “Genesis Does.” on his left cheek, and “Sonic wuz here!” on his right cheek. He lazily shifted his eyes to the right, only for him to instantly awake the moment he spotted a familiar black truck parked right by the house he was watching. Panicked, he reached for his communicator to contact his boss.

“Boss! Boss! Come in!” Grubber shouted.

Within seconds, he heard an irritated groan from his boss through his communicator.

“What is it now Grubber?” Tempest spoke through the communicator. “This has better be–”

“It’s Robotnik!” Grubber screamed in urgency. “He’s at one of those girl’s homes right now!”

“WHAT!? HOW!?” Tempest shouted back in anger. Before Grubber could respond, Tempest spoke again in a slightly calmer voice. “Nevermind! Just tell me the address right now!”





Once Twilight opened up the attic door from the ceiling, she, Sunset, and Spike climbed up the stairs, leading the blue hedgehog up into the attic.

“Okay, you stay here and be quiet,” Sunset instructed the hedgehog with a serious expression before turning to Spike. “Spike, keep an eye on him!”

Spike nodded while Sonic gave Sunset his two thumbs up.

“Alright, good plan! Great plan! We're already working so well together, practically finishing each other's senten–”

Both Sunset and Twilight paid no attention to Sonic’s words as they climbed down the stairs and closed the attic door, leaving him alone with Spike.

“...Okay, bye!” Sonic said simply.

There was an awkward silence between him and Spike. Sonic tried to give him a friendly look, while Spike still stared at him suspiciously.

“So… what’s it like to be a talking dog?” Sonic asked, trying to break the ice.

Spike simply narrowed his eyes.





On the other side of the neighborhood, a blue tour bus with a rainbow banner on its side was rolling down the street. Inside of that bus was the rest of the Equestria Girls with Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash sitting on their seats while Applejack was taking the wheel. While Applejack was focusing on the road, the rest of the girls were discussing amongst themselves about their latest text from Sunset.

“So, what do you girls think Sunset’s message was all about?” said Rarity, as she was powdering her face with her traveling mirror. “And why did she tell us to come to Twilight’s house for our emergency meeting?”

“Yeah, I thought Twilight is sick,” Fluttershy added with a worried frown. “Unless her cold has gotten worse. Oh, the poor dear!”
 
“I doubt it!” Rainbow Dash said drily, rolling her eyes. “When it comes to Egghead, she was probably freaking out about missing her schoolwork or her upcoming test... again.”

“Well, whatever it is, Sunset’s message sounded pretty urgent,” said Applejack, while still focusing on the road. “Let’s just hope it was nothin’ serious and not somethin’ dumb like asking fer spare guitar strings.”

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed grunt. “That was one time! How was I supposed to know that it doesn’t count as an ‘emergency’!?”

“You think it has anything to do with G.U.N. from our school earlier?” Fluttershy asked quietly.

The whole bus suddenly went quiet with deep frowns, contemplating from Fluttershy’s words.

“Now that you mentioned it, darling,” Rarity spoke up. “Sunset appeared to be distressed after Principal Celestia dropped a bombshell on us that they’ve been watching us since… the first incident.”

Pinkie Pie then spoke up in her very cheerful tone. “Well, regardless of what the meeting is about, I baked them a cake in hopes to cheer them up!”

Pinkie dug her hand into her curly hair and pulled out a white rectangle cake with chibi faces of Sunset and Twilight along with the words “To Sunlight. Love, Your B.F.Fs”.

Everyone stared at Pinkie’s cake in disbelief before Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie her questioning look.

“Sunlight?” Rainbow asked in confusion.

“The cake isn’t big enough for both of their names, so I decided to combine them!” Pinkie explained with a smile on her face.

“Pinkie… you’re so random!” Rainbow Dash remarked.

Applejack was about to add to their conversation until she spotted something strange as soon as they were closer to Twilight’s house. She saw a huge black truck, probably the biggest truck she has ever seen, parked near Twilight’s home. What stood out to her more was there was a strange man in black clothing with a big mustache, hanging around by Twilight’s driveway looking for something.

Rainbow Dash, who also noticed the stranger spoke up. “Hey… who is that guy?”

Fluttershy frowned nervously. “I don't know, but he looks so… intimidating."

"Is he one of Twilight’s relatives?” Rarity wondered out loud.

“Ah don’t think so,” Applejack answered as she quietly parked the bus. “But there’s something off about that guy." She then narrowed her eyes. "...and Ah don’t like it!”

Rainbow Dash immediately stood up. “I say we confront him and see what he wants!”

Rarity spoke up. “Wait, Rainbow Dash! You can’t just–” 

Unfortunately for her, Rainbow Dash used her super speed ability from her geode and ran out the bus to confront the man.

"Aaaaaaaaaand she's gone," Rarity finished miserably.

Applejack let out an irritated sigh. “Whelp, we better go after her before she does something stupid.”

The girls chorused in agreement and they quickly rushed out the bus to catch up on Rainbow Dash.





After reading his analysis from his drones, Dr. Robotnik was able to use his data to track down this mysterious creature, which leads him to a house in front of him. He got out of his truck and walked near the dirted section near the driveway. He hovered his glove over the dirt pile,  allowing it to scan the area with its lasers. Once the scanning is complete, he was able to identify the exact same footprint as the one from the park earlier. He also noticed that these prints were heading towards the house in front of him, leading him to believe that is where this creature was currently hiding.

“Hey!” A raspy feminine voice shouted, breaking out of his thoughts.

Dr. Robotnik quickly stood up and turned to see a teenage girl with long rainbow hair, standing in front of him with a hostile expression.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, getting too close to his face. “Why are you hanging around at our friend’s yard, huh? Are you a spy!?”

Rainbow Dash was immediately pulled back by Applejack, who gave her a scolding look. “Simmer down Rainbow! What did I tell about not to rush into thangs?”

As the rest of the girls caught up to them, Applejack gave Dr. Robotnik her apologetic expression.

“So sorry about that partner, what mah friend was trying to say was what brings you to our friend’s property, if you mind dat is?”

Dr. Robotnik, who was clearly annoyed after getting sidetracked, let out a grunt. “Well, if you must know, I’m busy with important investigation work!”

“Um, and what pray tell were you investigating?” Rarity pressed.

“Well, I’m currently investigating this thing called not your business!” Dr. Robotnik retorted. “I don’t need to tell you kids anything! So why don’t you just go to a mall somewhere and buy yourself your twentieth outfit, get a pedicure, or whatever you girls do! This is men’s work!”

The girls felt very insulted by this stranger’s remarks, but not as much as Rarity.

“How dare you!” Rarity shrieked, shoving Applejack aside just to get closer to the man. “For your information, I created my own outfits!”

“Oh, good for you!” Dr. Robotnik responded with an eye roll. “I’m sure your dresses are as good as those ugly ones I found at some thrift shop in the bargain bin the other day!”

Rarity’s face was now all red in anger. “OH, THAT’S IT!”

Before Rarity could do anything towards the man, she was suddenly held back by Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Rarity, calm down!” Applejack exclaimed.

“Yeah, don’t let this clown get to you... and that’s coming from me!” Rainbow Dash added.

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes at Dr. Robotnik while standing behind Rarity. “We’re sorry that we bother you sir, but what you said to our friend wasn’t very nice.”

“I’ve only stated the truth young lady,” Dr. Robotnik responded. “It’s not my fault that she couldn’t handle the facts. Although I doubt some brainless tree-hugging hippy like you could understand that!”

Fluttershy whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.

“...okay, I take that back. Let’s kick his butt Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shouted angrily.

“No, don’t!” Applejack pleaded. “He was just provoking us! Don’t let him get to you!”

“Yes, listen to your friend,” said Dr. Robotnik. “I’m sure you girls can learn a thing or two from a redneck hick like her!”

The girls cringed at the man’s poor choice of words as Applejack slowly faced him with a look of pure fury.

“What... did ya call me!?” Applejack spoke in her dangerous tone.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Dr. Robotnik said in a condescending tone. “Is redneck hick too advanced of a word for you? How about bumpkin? Yokel? Or maybe a hillbilly?”

Applejack threw her Stanton hat down and slowly advanced the doctor, only to be held back by all of her friends.

“Applejack don’t!”

“Please calm down!”

“He’s not worth it!”

During the commotion, they failed to notice both Sunset and Twilight stepped out of the front door of Twilight’s house, who was taken back at the chaotic scene in front of them.

“What’s going on?” Sunset said loudly, causing everyone to cease their bickering.

Twilight, who had just noticed Dr. Robotnik for the first time called out to him. “Um, can I help you, sir?”

Dr. Robotnik gave her his pleasant smile. "Oh, well good morning young lady!" he greeted, taken everyone, sans Twilight and Sunset by surprise for a sudden one-eighty of his attitude. He ignored them as he casually walked up to her porch. “I'm… from the power company, investigating a blackout. If you don't mind, I'd like to take a few readings inside your house.”

“Hey wait a minute!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she walked up to him. “I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but I call bull on it!”

“For once, Ah agree with Rainbow Dash,” said Applejack, after putting her hat back on her head. “If you really are from the power company, then why didn’t ya say that before?”

Dr. Robotnik cleared his throat. “My apologies… it was a company’s strict policy to not give out any info to the third party. I’m sure you understand.”

Rarity narrowed her eyes, clearly not buying that. “Oh really? Were all the insults you’ve given us earlier were part of your company’s policy too?”

“...I didn’t have my cup of coffee this morning,” he fibbed. “I can get pretty rude and nasty when I didn’t get one sometimes… so my apologies.”

“That’s still no excuse for your behavior earlier pal!” Rainbow Dash retorted.

“You can take that up to my superiors… assuming you could get a hold of one!” Dr. Robotnik said nonchalantly, much to Rainbow Dash and the others' annoyance. He then faced Twilight again. “Anyway, do you mind allowing me in? This would only take a few minutes.”

Twilight and Sunset studied the man for a moment before looking at each other. Even without their friends calling him out, that man was already suspicious and obviously lied about his occupation. They both nodded, silently planned to trap him before facing him. 

“So you're from the power company?” Sunset clarified, to which the doctor nodded. “I see...”

“You know, my friend Moondancer, who has a father working there,” Twilight added. “We play softball together.”

“Ah yes, I knew the guy!” Robotnik said fondly. “He liked to talk about his ‘Mooney’ all the time! …He's a good man.”

“Oh how neat, small world!” said Twilight before stepping aside. “Well, come right in and take all the readings you need.”

“Great!” Dr. Robotnik said a little too eagerly and hurried towards the door.

“Except,” Twilight spoke suddenly in her low tone, blocking her entrance with her arm and narrowed her eyes at him. “Usually, the power companies take their readings from outside the house! You know, so they can check 'em even when you're not home. Also, my friend’s father works for a vehicle company. And she's more of a Chess player kinda gal.”

Sunset stood next to her friend with her arms crossed. “Not to mention, they would usually have trucks and wear their uniforms that represented their power company when they checked the readings.”

“So, care to explain to me why you think I'm stupid enough to just let you walk inside my house?” Twilight interrogated.

Dr. Robotnik looked around and noticed that everyone was glaring at him, seeing through his lie. He thought this would be a cakewalk in fooling these girls from high school to investigate the house, but clearly, he underestimated them and are already on to him. He decided to go for “Plan B” as he secretly pulled his gloved hand behind his back and pressed a few key commands to activate a few drones to silently flew from his truck and floated into the opened windows on the top floor. 

Even if he couldn’t make his way past these annoying girls, Dr. Robotnik will always get what he’s after.
> Volume I - Chapter 9: Robotnik's House Visit (Pt. 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sonic and Spike continued to have a very tense staring contest between the two of them. Spike never left his sight off of the blue creature, which made the latter very uncomfortable. Sonic let out an annoyed sigh.

“Hey, listen pooch,” Sonic began.

“Don’t ever call me pooch!” Spike growled. “I hate it when people called me that, especially those mean kids Twilight used to hang out at Crystal Prep!”

Sonic awkwardly cleared his throat. “I’m sorry…”

“Spike!” The purple pup grunted.

“Spike… but you’re looking a little too serious,” said Sonic. “Just chillax, smile a little. I’m not going to do anything to you and your friends.”

Spike flared his nostrils. “Yeah right! That’s what those cats next door say before they turned around and take all the chew toys for themselves!”

“...dude, I’m not interested in your chew toy,” Sonic deadpanned.

Spike blinked. “You're not?”

Sonic shook his head. “No. Stealing your chew toy never once crossed my mind. Hedgehog’s honor!”

Spike frowned. “Then… why are you really here? And how do you know so much about Twilight and her friends?”

Sonic rubbed his cheek. “Well…”

Suddenly, a small egg-shaped drone entered the attic through the window, alerting Sonic and Spike. Before it managed to spot them, Sonic quickly used a bit of his speed to grab Spike and hid behind some stacked boxes. Once they were safely hidden, Spike immediately broke away from Sonic’s grasp.

“Wha- How’d you do that?” Spike demanded as he glared at him. “And what is that thing? Is it a friend of yours?”

Sonic shushed the dog before he answered quietly. “One, it’s because I’m fast! I’m always fast! And I would’ve gone faster if it weren’t for the effects from that dart your master generously shot me! And two, I don’t know what they are! They’ve been chasing me since this morning!”

They turned towards the drone when it suddenly made a beep sound and began to scan the room with its red lasers. Nervously, both Sonic and Spike took a step back behind the boxes near the shadow, watching helplessly as the drone does it work.

“This can’t be good,” Spike whispered. “And I just got my shots from the vet last week!”





Once Dr. Robotnik was sure that his drones are at work, he started talking to the young scientist again. “I’m sorry, Miss…”

“Sparkle. But My friends called me “Twilight or ‘Twi’ for short,” said Twilight, not leaving her eyes on him.

Dr. Robotnik hummed as he eyed the rest of the girls.

“And the rest of you…”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset greeted curtly before glancing at her friends. “And I see that you’ve met Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and–” Sunset blinked when she realized one of their friends was missing from the group. “Hey, where’s Pinkie Pie?”

Everyone, sans Twilight, Sunset, and Dr. Robotnik looked around. It had just occurred to them that they haven’t seen their party-loving friend since they’ve departed from their bus.

“Right here!” a cheerful voice sang.

Sunset and Twilight yelped, while the rest stood in surprise that Pinkie Pie had suddenly appeared behind the duo from the inside of the house.

“Pinkie! How’d you get over there!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“I came in through your back door silly!” Pinkie chirped as she stepped outside. “I just have to put down that cake I baked for you in your dining room! Hope you don’t mind!” 

Pinkie’s eyes than perked up when she spotted Dr. Robotnik. “Oh! Who is this? Is this your friend?” Before anyone could comment, Pinkie quickly moved and stood right in front of the doctor almost too close to his face. “Hey, new friend! Nice to meet you! Are you around here? Are you visiting here? Are you planning on living here? Are you a friend of Twilight’s? Or Sunset? Nice jacket! Where did you get it? Is that mustache real? Can I touch it? Was this part of your Halloween costume as our past president from a Civil W-”

Before Pinkie had a chance to feel his facial hair, Dr. Robotnik suddenly grabbed her wrist and glared daggers at the cotton candy-haired girl.

“Don’t. Touch. My. Mustache!” he growled.

Pinkie quickly retracted her hand with a giggle, not a least bothered by his anger. “Sorry! I’m just so excited when it comes to meeting new people! Do you like sweets? I’ll bake you a cupcake! Unless cupcake isn’t really your thing! I could make you anything you like!” She then frowned. “Except black licorice fruit cake, because that cake is nasty... and ugly too!”

Dr. Robotnik lingered his glare at her a moment longer before he faced the girls. “Keep this girl away from me and put her on a leash… and maybe a muzzle as well.” He then turned back at Pinkie. “I don’t know what it is about you, but you’re way too… illogical for me to handle.”

Pinkie perked up. “Ooh! Illogical in a good way?”

Dr. Robotnik just stared blankly at Pinkie while Applejack gently led her away from the doctor. He let out a sigh before facing Twilight.

“Well anyway, Miss Sparkle,” he began before glancing at the rest of the group. “And friends... you may have noticed that this entire town has been experiencing a power outage.”

“Yeah… we kinda already picked up on that pal!” Rainbow Dash remarked.

Dr. Robotnik quickly glanced up to see the last of his drones successfully entered the window of the teen’s house before explaining further.

“Twenty minutes ago, I tracked an energy pulse with a similar signature to the one that caused this disruption. And it all leads me to this very house you are standing in right now.”

Sunset managed to keep himself from being shocked by the doctor’s revelation. She quickly realized that this guy must be another one of the G.U.N. agents. Unlike her run-in with Agent Shadow, this person appeared to be very strange but also intimidating in his own right. And he is also appeared to be very intelligent as well; a very dangerous combination when it comes to keeping Equestria a secret. 

On top of that, he claimed that he was chasing an unknown entity that caused this mess to begin with. Could he be talking about that blue creature that she and Twilight have met earlier? Sunset still has some questions that she needed answers from the creature herself and Equestria is still at risk, whether this creature is related or not. Whatever the case may be, they needed to get rid of this guy as soon as possible before he suspects anything.

“Look, uh, Mr…”

"Doctor. Dr. Robotnik. But my associates called me Rob," he introduced with a sarcastic smile.

“Oh, you’re a doctor? Good!” Pinkie perked up. “See, I felt a really bad ache in my lower tummy the other day while I was baking a cake for my friends. I think it was because I ate a bad cupcake, but my sister Lime thinks I was having a PM–”

“I’m not that kind of doctor you Twit!” Robotnik roared. “I am a doctor of science! Most specifically with machines and robotics, the kinds of likes I’m sure you all have never been seen before!”

Twilight let out a loud gasp. "Hold on… you’re the Dr. Robotnik!?"

Everyone turned to her friend with surprised expressions. "You know him Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight nodded. "How could I not!? He is one of the greatest scientific geniuses of mankind! He has an IQ of over three hundred, he built so many machines that are out of this world, and one time, he single-handedly stopped an enemy threat from another country with his machines and intelligence alone!" Twilight chuckled. “I’ll admit, he was my idol at one point.”

"...so in other words, he's a bigger egghead than you," Rainbow Dash summarized in amusement.

Dr. Robotnik huffed. "Oh sure, make fun of others with superior brainpower, but at least my mind isn’t as small and insufficient as some average ape like you."

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Huh?”

“He’s saying that you are stupid compared to him,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Oh."

...

…

"...Hey!”

"Anyway Miss Sparkle," Dr. Robotnik continued, ignoring Rainbow’s infuriated glare. "I'm actually impressed that you did your homework about me, which is... admirable. However, you made a slight error.” He then leaned a little too close to Twilight. “I'm not one of the greatest scientific geniuses… I'm the greatest scientific genius! The rest of them were all a bunch of dummies compared to me!"

Rainbow Dash growled. "What's this guy problem? He gots some serious ego issue!"

"Look who's talking," Applejack muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothin’!”

Sunset cleared her throat. “Look, uh, Dr. Robot... skeez? Um… I'm sure what you're here for is very serious, but it's got nothing to do with my friend or us. You can ask anyone at our school or heck, anyone in town. Everyone knows us.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie spoke up enthusiastically. “We’re a pretty famous band around these parts called The Rainbooms! I bet you’ve heard of us!”

“Oh, I bet you girls do,” The doctor remarked. “I'm sure you're all hella popular with birthday parties for little girls and at some beat-up coffee shops in this backwater of a town.”

Pinkie, as well as the rest of the girls, frowned at that, but Dr. Robotnik kept going.

“And I bet you girls go all the way back to the days of many sleepovers, braiding each other’s hairs, and gossiping about boys you had a crush on, only they don’t even care about your existence!” He then faced Twilight and Sunset again. “And maybe someday, you will all achieve your goals of getting driver licenses or adopting a Labradoodle. But the reality is... I surpassed... everything each and every one of you has ever going to do!” 

He then leaned a little too close to Sunset’s face. “Before I was a toddler, I was spitting out formulas while you were still spitting up formula.”

“...I was breastfed, actually,” Sunset responded.

“Nice. Rub that in my orphan face,” Dr. Robotnik seethed before stepping back. “Miss Shimmer, are you familiar with our country’s Code 9-0-4, Title 10, Article 1-0-4?”

Twilight spoke up. “Oh, I know what it is! It’s–”

“Anyone,” Dr. Robotnik interrupted, cutting Twilight off. “Who attempts to aid an enemy of our country shall suffer death!” He then lifted his finger while glaring Sunset in the eye. “And if I'm the one that catches you... it'll be even worse.” 

All the girls, especially Sunset and Twilight all stood in fear. While this guy was both insufferable and extremely weird, but the fact that this guy has threatened them with such severe consequences shows that he wasn’t messing around. Despite the severity of the situation, Rainbow Dash was the only one who was confused with the situation.

“Uh… worse than death?” Rainbow Dash inquired, only received a glare from Dr. Robotnik.





In less than a couple of minutes, the drone already scanned one side of the attic and slowly made it’s way to the other side. During all of this, Sonic and Spike hid within piles of old toys and sports balls in one corner of the rooms. With Spike, he kept himself still with his eyes open, acting like he was a plush toy, while Sonic curled himself into a ball to blend in with the other balls, but his eyes were still showing somewhat. However, while Spike remained calm despite his chest felt like a beating drum, Sonic was shaking and nervously muttered to himself a bit too loudly.

“Okay, I'm a ball. Just a normal ball. I'm blending in like a ball. Shh, stop talking. No, you stop talking. Be quiet, Sonic. No, you be quiet, Sonic!” 

“Hey, shut up ya blue rodent!” Spike hissed through his teeth. “I don’t know why you’re talking to yourself, but they’ll hear you if you keep talking!”

“Oh, sorry about that,” Sonic said quietly. “I’m so used to being alone that I tend to talk to myself a lot so that I don’t go completely insane.”

“...I think you are already,” Spike muttered.

“What?”

“Nothing!”

They watched as the drone was creeping closer and closer to them, making Sonic more nervous.

“Oooh, I hope they aren't scanning me with X-rays,” Sonic moaned. “I had kind of an embarrassing lunch.”

“Just try to stay still and act like a ball so we could fool these things!” Spike advised quietly. “And don’t freak out!”

“Don’t freak out, got it!” Sonic responded as he finally managed to keep himself still.

Suddenly, another drone entered the attic from a different window and began to scan from the other side of the room. They both eyed the new drone nervously since it’s practically a few feet away from them. What makes matters worse was that the first drone almost reaches their area as well. Little by little, the two drones slowly boxed the two in, making the blue hedgehog more nervous by the second.

“Don't freak out,” he chanted quietly. “Don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out, don't freak out...”

The drones were now inches away from them, and their red lasers just barely touch their bodies. 

“I'm freaking out!” Sonic shouted as he quickly rolled away before the lasers could reach him.

“No, don’t!” Spike shouted as he ran after him before either of the two drones touched him.

Sonic kept on rolling until he reached the trap door of the attic, which caused it to tip downwards due to his weight and rolled him down the stairs to the second floor below. However, due to the momentum, Sonic kept on rolling down the stairs to the first floor.

“Why didn't they have their staircase carpeted?!” Sonic complained as he was rolling.

"Wait! Stop rolling!" Spike yelled as he chased after him.

"I can't!" Sonic shouted.

He continued to roll across the main hallway and into the dining room. Upon entering the dining room, however, Sonic crashed against the side of the dining room table, causing a loud bang throughout the house. Spike winced at the sound and glanced back nervously, knowing that it was too loud for anyone to hear it, including their unwanted visitor. It would only be a matter of time before they will come in to investigate.

They both need to think fast to get out of this mess and quickly.





“Look, I don’t know how well educated you are," Robotnik stated in a condescending tone. "But what the government usually does to criminals are nothing compared to what I–”

Suddenly, they all heard a loud crash, coming from the inside of the house. Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash were taken back from the noise in shock and confusion, Dr. Robotnik looked at the house in interest before he brought his eyes back at the pair for an explanation. Both Sunset and Twilight were immediately nervous from that loud sound, silently hoping that it wasn’t caused by their 'guest' and that this man wasn't on to them. While Sunset managed to keep herself collected, Twilight’s facade somewhat cracked due to panic.

“Uh… old pipes?” Twilight lied sheepishly, nearly made Sunset want to facepalmed herself.

Dr. Robotnik just stared at a bespectacled teen for a moment, studying her expression before he shrugged casually.

“Yeah… probably just the house settling,” he agreed as he turned around, appearing to be leaving. “Nothing to see here!”

Sunset and Twilight silently relieved with the outcome for a moment, until Dr. Robotnik pulled a fast one by quickly turned around and barreled through them before either of them could stop him.

"Hey!" Twilight cried, but Robotnik ignored her. 

"You can't go in there!" Sunset shouted as she and Twilight ran after him.

Sensing that their friends are in trouble, the rest of the girls also ran into the house to help them.

While the girls chased into the house to stop their intruder, Dr. Robotnik was determined to get to the bottom of it and see what those two girls are hiding. They all eventually reached the dining room where the source of the noise came from, but none of them were prepared to see what was in front of them.

In the middle on the dining table, right next to the dog cage, stood a small purple pup, who was busy stuffing his face into a cake that Pinkie baked.

“Spike!?” Twilight exclaimed.

Spike immediately looked up from the sound of his master's voice, only to freeze at the sight of several visitors in front of him, including at a stranger that he never sees before. From the back of Robotnik’s head, Twilight slightly signaled Spike to act like a real dog. Thankfully, Spike got the message, as he slowly swallowed his food. Despite that his face was covered in crumbs and frosting, he puts on his cute face and barked playfully.

“Goodness! You shouldn’t eat that little one!” Fluttershy fussed as she quickly made her way over to Spike to clean up his face. “This stuff isn’t good for dogs!”

“Oh don’t worry!" Pinkie reassured with a giggle, not bothered that her cake was ruined. "This is a special kind of cake that is made specifically for dogs!”

Applejack gave Pinkie her bewildered look. “Huh? But how– ...you know wat, Ah’m not even gonna ask!”

Sunset and Twilight nearly let out their breaths in relief. While they don't know where that blue creature was or why Spike was down here instead of in the attic, they were glad that they didn't get caught by this doctor guy. As for the doctor himself, he just stared at the dog both in confusion and annoyance, thinking that he was onto something.

"Here's the thing," he spoke suddenly as he raised his index finger. "I’m never wrong!"

Rainbow Dash patted his back. "Well, there's the first time for everything!" she remarked with a mocking grin.

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie snickered while Dr. Robotnik just glared at the rainbow-haired girl.

Sunset faced the doctor with narrowed eyes. "Well, I don’t appreciate that you just barge right into my friend’s house like that, especially without a warrant! But as you can clearly see..” Sunset then gestured around the room with her arm. “There’s nothing here! Now, I calmly suggest you leave this house immediately!"

“But you are more than welcome to take home a piece of our cake!" Pinkie added, only to smile sheepishly when she examined the state of her cake. "Or at least... what’s left of it!”

Everyone, sans Pinkie, was glaring at Dr. Robotnik, warning him to leave and never come back. 

The Doctor glared back at them. He knew something was fishy going on with this house the moment he found those same strange footprints outside. His suspensions only grew when he ran into these girls, including the two who were in this house. He suspected, no, he knew that they're hiding something, but without a lack of proof and evidence, he can't do anything. Even his machines failed to find anything suggesting that there is a creature hiding around. With nothing to find and these girls in his way, there was nothing else he could do.

With a frustrated grunt, Dr. Robotnik turned to make his way out of the room.

Suddenly, he stopped in place, much to the girls' annoyance and confusion. They watched silently as he slightly leaned towards the table as if something caught his eye. His hand slowly reached towards something to pick it up. Almost immediately afterward, he slowly faced the girls and presented an item to them with a nasty grin.

While most of the girls looked at the item in question in confusion, Sunset, Twilight, and Spike had a look of horror on their semi-pale faces.

Oh no, the quill! Sunset exclaimed inwardly. We forgot about the quill!

"Well look at that? I was right!" The Doctor gloated. He then floated his hand over his face. "Note the lack of surprise." His smirk was then replaced with a cold frown. "Shall we try this again?"

As soon as Dr. Robotnik whistled a familiar tune, a few of his drones entered the dining room from multiple directions, blocking anyone who would dare to escape. And if that wasn't enough, each drone then revealed their two twin machine gun mounts and pointed to the girls' direction. Everyone, including Pinkie Pie, became extremely nervous and afraid of this sudden threat.

They were drawn to the doctor again as he began to speak in a much more threatening tone.

"Now, ladies," he began, as he stroked the quill with his fingers. "I'm going to give you all five seconds… to tell me where it is!"

"Wait, what are you talking about!?" Rarity asked nervously before turning to the duo. "Twi? Sunset? What is he talking about?

"Five!" Dr. Robotnik stated as he stepped closer to Sunset and Twilight.

"Whoa there, partner! Can we all talk about this!?" Applejack spoke up, trying to defuse the situation, but Dr. Robotnik ignored her.

"Four!"

"M-my big brother is the head police officer!" Twilight threatened with an ounce of courage. "I will call him and have you arrested!"

Dr. Robotnik wasn't impressed in the least with Twilight's threat. "Oh really? Well, how can your brother arrest somebody who never existed? ...Three!"

“Seriously, what's going on you two!?" Rainbow Dash demanded towards Sunset. "Was there something you’re not telling us!?"

"Yeah c'mon, wreck your brain!" Dr. Robotnik bellowed, practically close to Sunset’s face. "You might be able to come up with some lame excuse to go on living! In two…”

Sunset quickly glanced around the room to see her friends. Pinkie hugged now a whimpering Fluttershy, Twilight desperately trying to analyzed the situation and a way out, Rarity keeping herself from having a breakdown, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack looking like they are ready for a fight. 

Sunset silently cursed herself for bringing her friends into danger again. Even if they could use their Equestrian magic to defend themselves, they’ll end up risking their secret in front of a government agent. Either way, Sunset was in a lose-lose situation and she doesn’t have any time left to make a decision. On top of that, the creature that they were trying to protect was nowhere in sight. She wondered if protecting this creature was worth putting herself and her friends in harm's way and about to become swiss cheese by this madman.

"One!"

"Wait!" 

Everyone immediately turned towards the sound of a new voice. To everyone except for Sunset and Twilight's surprise, a blue creature stood in front of them with a pleading expression.

"Don't hurt them!" he said directly at the Doctor.

There was a loud, terrified girly scream, but it wasn't from any of the girls.

It was from the Doctor himself.

Taking this as her chance, Sunset quickly decked Robotnik right across his face, knocking him out to the ground in the process. Unfortunately, his drones noticed her actions against their creator and pointed their guns at her and her friends as their threat. Applejack noticed the drones state to fire.

"Hit the deck!" she screamed as she uses her strength to flipped the dining table over and yanked Rarity down with her.

Sunset quickly grabbed Twilight and they both dived behind the table for cover and Rainbow Dash managed to pull Fluttershy, Spike, and Pinkie Pie behind the table with her. Rarity activated her diamond shield over their heads just as the drones began to open fire. Bullets rained down upon them, ricocheted off of Rarity’s shield and the Sparkle’s dining oak table, causing most of the girls to be terrified for their lives. They were so engrossed with the situation, they barely noticed Sonic hiding alongside them.

“This feels excessive!” Sonic exclaimed loudly over the gunfire.

"I agree!" Pinkie hollered. "I'm sure Hasbro is not going to be happy when they heard there’s gun action in this story!"

Sonic stared at Pinkie oddly in confusion.

Rainbow Dash, who happened to be close to Pinkie gasped loudly at the sight of Sonic. "Sunset, what the heck is that thing!?"

"I'll explain later!" Sunset shouted, nearly jumped at the vibrations from the bullets bouncing near her. "We gotta focus on dealing with those things and get out of here!"

The gunfires from the drones eventually ceased, preparing to reload and search for their targets. The girls peaked over the table, staring cautiously at dozens of drones.

“Now what?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Should we make a run for it?” Rarity suggested.

Twilight shook her head. “There’s too many of them. We’ll get shot the moment they see us! I doubt we’ll outrun them.”

“Well, what other options do you got!?” Rainbow Dash hissed quietly.

“I’m working on it!” Twilight responded hastily. 

When Sunset turned to check on her friends, she immediately noticed someone, or rather, something was missing in the group. “Wait… where did he go?”

“Where did who go?” Applejack asked.

Before Sunset could respond, she went pale when she spotted the blue hedgehog in question at the corner of her eye. He was standing on top of a shelf right behind one of the drones. Her eyes widened further when Sonic was focusing on the drone with a determined look, planning to jump on it. Sunset quickly shook her head and mouthed “no” to him, praying that he got the message. Unfortunately for Sunset, Sonic misinterpret this as her encouraging him and he gives her a thumbs up. The drone in question spotted the side of Sunset’s head and was getting ready to fire again. Sonic took this opportunity to jump on the drone’s back and managed to turn its direction away from Sunset just as it began to fire.

“Yee-haw!” Sonic cheered as it rode on the drone. “Don't worry ladies! I've got it right where I want it!”

The drones spun wildly, trying to shake the hedgehog off as it continued to fire its bullets. In doing so, it also shot down some other drones, as well as family picture frames, some knick-knacks, the window, and pretty much all over the walls.

“Can you believe A-mane-zon is gonna deliver packages with these things?” Sonic asked excitedly as he continued to ride the drone.

“I don’t know what that is, but this guy has the right idea!” said Rainbow Dash as she used her super-speed to rush over in-between the two drones, much to her friends’ protests. 

“Hey! Over here!” she shouted, getting one of the drone’s attention.

Both drones aimed at Rainbow Dash and fired their weapon, but Rainbow dodged at the last second, causing them to shoot each other and then exploded.

“Ha! Eat that!” Rainbow taunted, not noticing another drone sneak up behind her, ready to fire.

Applejack noticed it and quickly ran over towards the drone and used her super-strength to smash it into pieces with one punch.

Rainbow Dash finally noticed Applejack and frowned. “Hey, I could’ve taken care of it!”

“Bullroar!” Applejack shouted. “You almost got yerself killed Rainbow Dash!”

Suddenly, another drone appeared right in front of them and fired its weapon, barely giving the two teens a chance to react. Luckily, Rarity quickly stood in front of them and blocked the gunfire with her diamond shield. Rarity glanced back at her friends while trying to hold off the drone’s attack.

“You both almost got killed!” she scolded. “Now get back!”

The drone continued firing its bullets towards the trio while the teens slowly backed up until they hit a wall. Rainbow Dash and Applejack desperately tried to find an opening to escape, but the drone’s content firing made it impossible for them. Rarity was feeling worn out for using her magic for so long but tried to continue to endure the attack for the sake of her friends. 

Just when the drone had the upper hand, it was suddenly drenched in water and sprinkles, causing it to short circuit and exploded. Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack turned were awe when they saw Fluttershy holding an empty water vase with Spike by her side, while Pinkie Pie was cheering in the background. 

“Woo! Teamwork baby!” Pinkie shouted with a grin before giving Fluttershy a high five.

Unbeknown to them, Dr. Robotnik came to a few moments ago. He was still too weak to get up and had a terrible headache from the punch earlier, but he just witnessed these girls were using magical powers right in front of him. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating due to his head injury, or if what he was seeing was real. Before he could think further, his headache returned at full force, causing him to blackout again.

Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight watched as the drone Sonic was riding on spun faster and faster, causing Sonic to lose a bit of his grip on it.

“This was a horrible plan! What was I thinking?!” Sonic exclaimed while barely holding on to the drone. His face grimaced when he suddenly felt queasy coming from his stomach due to all the spinning. “Aw geez...I’m gonna puke!”

Both Sunset and Twilight knew that Sonic won’t be able to hang on to that robot much longer. Sunset then noticed a small, metal centerpiece bowl, which was originally from the table on the floor near her. An idea came to her suddenly and she quickly brought Twilight close to her and whispered her plan to her.

Feeling too dizzy to hold on anymore, Sonic loses his grip on the drone and slid to the floor with a groan. The drone finally set its sight on the blue pest and drew out its weapon. Before the drone was ready to fire, it was suddenly frozen and then shook jerkily with lavender light surrounding it. The drone then heard a battle cry coming from its left. The drone turned its red eye and saw Sunset. Before it could react, Sunset smashed its head with a centerpiece bowl, causing it to fall to the ground and shut down for good.

Once Sunset was sure that the drone won’t get back up again, she quickly checked on all her friends to see if they needed additional help. To her relief, her friends are okay and that the robots are already dealt with. Her relief then turned to dread and realization. She just punched one of the government agents. And she just put her friends in danger again, because of her actions. She knew that they’re in deep trouble as soon as the doctor woke up again, or worse when more agents rushed into the house to back-up their boss. She and her friends need to leave the house quickly. She then set her sight on a dazed hedgehog on the floor near her. As much as she was still suspicious and uncertain about this creature, he still has a lot of answers she needed from him.

“C’mon! We gotta get out of here!” Sunset shouted urgently as she bent down to pick up Sonic.

“Wait? We’re taking that thing!?” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Yes! We’re taking him!” Sunset answered forcefully, leaving no room for argument.

“Aw, don't tell me that's all you got? I'm just getting started! Let me know if you wanna go round two with the blue!” Sonic slurred, still feeling weak after getting dizzy from riding on the robot before he passed out.

Sunset shook her head as she quickly ran out of the room and towards the front door in the living room with her friends in tow. 

“Quick, this way!” said Sunset before opening the door.

She immediately froze in shock and fear when she saw Agent Tempest Shadow just outside the door who looked like she was about to knock.

“Sunset Shimmer?” Tempest said with a surprised expression. “Where is–”

Sunset immediately slammed the door on her.

“Not that way!” She exclaimed before turning around and ran towards the opposite side of the house.

“Sunset?” Applejack spoke up. “Who was–”

“She one of those agents from school!” Sunset replied quickly, who was still running. “She’s onto us!”

Before Applejack could question further, they all heard loud violent bangs from the front door behind them, looking like it was about to break at any second.

“Well I’m convinced, let’s get outta here!” Fluttershy shrieked with Spike in her arms.

The girls all ran after Sunset, just as the door finally broke off its henches by Tempest. She managed to spot one of the girls back rounding up the corner before chasing after them.

“Hey, come back here!” Tempest shouted before rounding up the corner into the dining room.

Unbeknownst to her, legs from both sides of the door stuck out, tripping Tempest over and landed face-first onto the tile floor. Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack gave each other high fives before running after their friends, leaving a groaning Tempest and a barely conscious Robotnik behind. As Tempest struggled to get back up again, Dr. Robotnik was awake again and saw Tempest in front of him.

“Agent... Shadow? What are you doing here? And how do you find me?” he demanded weakly. 

“That’s none of your business!” Tempest spat as she slowly getting up. “And I have no time for small talk!”

“I told you to stay out of my way!” Dr. Robotnik spat. “Only I was supposed to be chasing after that creature!” He paused. “Unless… you’re here for these girls?”

Tempest froze, barely showing any reaction. She then glared at him. “...what are you talking about?”

Dr. Robotnik chuckled sinisterly, despite somewhat feeling a headache again. “Oh you know, these same girls who were just here… protecting that blue creature and destroyed a dozen of my highly advanced robots with their magical abilities?” His expression darkens. “Perhaps the government will be interested that not only they became the enemies of our country… but also how their power works once I bring them in?”

Faster than he could blink, Tempest punched the Doctor right across his face, knocking him out again.

“Not unless I get them first!” she snarled before standing up and ran out the back door.

Meanwhile, the girls were outside and ran around the yard until they approached their tour bus. Applejack quickly pulled the doors open, letting her friends run into the bus. As the others quickly settled into their seats, Rainbow Dash quickly swiped the keys from Applejack and took the driver’s seat.

“Hey, wat gives Rainbow Dash!” Applejack complained. “Let me drive!” 

“AJ, this is no time to argue!” Rainbow shouted before buckling up. “Those agents are going to tail us, but I know routes we can take to lose them.”

“But Rainbow Dash… you don’t have a driver’s license yet!” Fluttershy cried worriedly.

“How can getting a ticket by an officer is worse than being chased by the government?” Rainbow argued. “Besides, despite failing many of my driving tests, I’m sure I got the gest of it!”

“And how many times did you fail your driving test?” Twilight pressed with dread.

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Meh. At least a dozen.”

“Stop right there!”

The girls’ faces morphed in fear when they spotted Tempest running towards them from their windows. Wasting no other time, Rainbow Dash placed the key into the slot and turned. However, the engine sputtered, much to Rainbow’s annoyance and panic.

"Aw fudge! Not now!" Rainbow shouted.

She tried turning the key again.

And again.

And again. But the engine made the same sputtering sound, refusing to work.

Girls watched in fear as they turned back and forth between Rainbow Dash and Tempest, who was halfway towards their bus.

"Rainbow Dash, hurry up!" Sunset yelled urgency.

"I'm trying!" Rainbow bellowed back.

“Don't force it!” Applejack exclaimed. “Just gently turn the key slightly!”

Rainbow was about to argue but noticed that Tempest was about a few feet closer from the corner of her eye. Decided to take the fate of her friend’s words, Rainbow Dash gently turned the key slightly. To Rainbow’s relief and delight, the engine roared into life. With no hesitation, Rainbow immediately shifted in gear and put full-throttle on the gas pedal, causing the bus to pull out quickly. 

To Tempest’s frustration, she saw the bus begin to move before she could reach it. At the last second, she leaped onto the bus and grabbed on to the side before it speeds down the road. It was at that moment, several black vans pulled up near the Sparkle’s household with Agent Stone in it. By the time he stepped out, he watched as the bus full of teens and one hanging agent sped away. He was about to follow them, but then he looked towards the house, worrying about his boss. After contemplating for a brief moment, he turned and ran into the house to check up on the doctor.





Dr. Robotnik groaned loudly as he was slowly waking up after getting knocked out the second time today. As his headache came back with a vengeance, Robotnik silently cursed Tempest as he remembered what she did to him. He vowed to make that so-called agent regret her actions, but he had much bigger eggs to fry.

Especially with that creature… and that certain girl who gave him the first punch.

It was at that moment, Agent Stone ran into a door-less front entrance and stopped the moment he spotted the doctor’s fallen form.

“Doctor!” Agent Stone exclaimed. He rushed over to his boss and helped him get off the floor. “Doctor, are you okay? I saw those girls race outta here and I thought–”

“That you should stop them?” Dr. Robotnik guessed coolly with a glare.

Agent Stone's only response was his blank and meekly stare, much to the Doctor’s annoyance.

“Open your mouth… and say you thought that you should stop them,” Dr. Robotnik ordered with a growl.

Agent Stone gulped. “No... I thought that maybe I check to see if you were oka–”

Robotnik then stuck his hand into Agent’s Stone month and grabbed him by his tongue and jaw. He then roughly pulled Agent Stone forward and forced him to look up into his eyes.

“You know what's hard about being the smartest person in the world?” Dr. Robotnik asked in his menacing tone.

Despite that he couldn’t move his mouth and could barely speak, Agent Stone tried to answer. “E-everyone else being stup–”

“Stupid!” Dr. Robotnik finished for him. “Yes, way to go! You got that one!”

Dr. Robotnik lets go of Agent Stone's mouth, much to Stone’s relief, and then he wipes his hands clean off his associate's jacket.

“Whatever this creature is, it's our job to secure it… neutralize it... uncover the source of its power. And if it resists… we take it apart... piece by piece. And then we’ll do the same thing with those girls too!”

Agent Stone gave his boss a puzzled look. “Um, excuse me… girls?”

Dr. Robotnik huffed and glared at him. “Yes, those girls! Do you not understand what I’m saying, or am I speaking in another language to you?”

Agent Stone awkwardly cleared his throat. “I uh… understand what you're saying, but… why are we after them exactly? Wasn’t our main focus with this mysterious creature?”

“That creature is still our main target!" Robotnik stated angrily. "But the reason why we’re also chasing after them was that number one: they were hiding that thing and got away with it! Number two: there was something… special about these girls! I had dozens of the most top-of-the-line machines with advanced weaponry by my side that even the most dangerous criminal wouldn’t dare to oppose them. And yet…" He then gestured all his fallen robots on the floor. "These girls… managed to turn every single one of them into scrap within minutes! And they were able to do so… with their own... strange powers!”

Agent Stone blinked. “Um… powers sir?”

"What, is there an echo here? YES! Powers!” Robotnik bellowed loudly. “While I may be on the floor with a major migraine and losing a fraction of my brain cells in the process, I saw them using their powers with my own eyes! One can run fast, one can use a shield, one was able to destroy my precious baby with a single punch!” He then raised his digit finger and spoke in a low dangerous tone. “They’re no ordinary girls... and Agent Shadow knows something… and I’m going to find out!”

Robotnik then let out a long huff, trying to keep his anger in check despite the major drawback. “Look up and search those girls’ histories as we pursuit!” he commanded calmly as he bent down to pick up his sunglasses. “They're now our top priority, along with that creature!”

“Yes, doctor,” Agent Stone said obediently. “If anyone can figure out about them, it’s you, sir!”

“Well, it’s a burden to be a genius, my friend!” Robotnik said casually as he slowly puts on his glasses. “We do what we have to do… in order to find out what makes them tick…”

He paused. It was then that the doctor noticed that the frame of his sunglasses was now ruined after that red and yellow-haired teen punched him.

“...Stone?”

“Doctor?”

“Call Equine Visions. Tell 'em I need new frames,” he ordered as he tossed his sunglasses behind him. “They know what kind I like.” 

The doctor began to walk away towards the front door, but then he stopped.

“Oh, and bring that quill!” he added while pointing at the item in question that was on the floor before walking out of the house for good.

Agent Stone sighed. “Y-yes, Doctor.”

He slowly picked up the quill from the floor, put it in his jacket pocket before following the doctor.
> Volume I End - Chapter 10: City Escape
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Rainbooms' tour bus was speeding down the street in the city of Canterlot. Rainbow Dash was currently on the wheel, while the girls were screaming in terror and hung on to their seats for their lives except for Pinkie Pie, who was happily humming a random, yet catchy tune. Rainbow used every trick she could think of to stay ahead and lose any possible pursuers, including making random turns at every couple of blocks, blowing past red lights, driving through alleyways, and even drive through a couple of dirt roads. Little do they know, Tempest was hanging on to the side of the bus while dodging many tree branches, trash cans, walls, and debris to keep herself on. She was determined to get herself on that bus and catch those girls.

The bus eventually pulled into a backroad with no other cars around. The girls and Spike, sans Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, were shaken up from Rainbow’s driving experience, while Sonic was still out cold on the seat near Sunset. The rainbowed-haired tomboy in question whooped loudly in excitement.

“Awwwww yeah! Told ya I could get them off our backs, thanks to my awesome driving skills!” Rainbow boasted.

"Yeah, it was fun!" Pinkie cheered. "Let's do that again!"

"No!" Everyone screamed fearfully.

"Heavens please no!" Rarity screeched as she quickly pulled out her pocket mirror and checked herself frantically. "I don't think my hair can take this much crazy driving!"

"Yeah, it was even worse than the time when Granny Smith takes the wheel on this bus!" said Sunset. She then quickly gave Applejack an apologetic look. "No offense AJ!"

"None taken," Applejack responded casually before giving Rainbow Dash an infuriated look. "As fer you, are ya outta yer mind!? Yer drivin' nearly got us all killed more times than Ah can count! Not ta mention, the amount of drivin' violations you've done alone could cause the law firm to have a field day!"

"Hey! With everything that happened moments ago, getting speeding tickets was the last thing to worry about!” Rainbow Dash retorted while still keeping her eyes on the road. “And you should be thanking me! If it weren’t for my skills and quick thinking, we would've been caught. And it's safe to say, that we finally lost them!"

As soon as Rainbow finished her statement, a fist smashed through one of the windows from the main entrance of the bus, scaring everyone in the process. The fist then retracted and, to everyone’s horror, revealed to be Tempest with a determined glare.

"You were saying Rainbow Dash!?" Applejack shouted.

Before Rainbow Dash could retort, she was startled when Tempest punched through the window again, breaking the entire window out of the frame. She then started to reach into the door to try to grab the handle. Not wanting to let the agent get in, Applejack, Sunset, Pinkie Pie and Twilight rushed over and tried to knock the agent off, while Rarity held Fluttershy protectively from the back seat. They punched, slapped, scratched, poked, everything they could think of, but Tempest held them off while her grip remained firm on the window.

“Stop that!” Tempest grunted, ignoring the blows from other teens. “Let me on this bus!”

Seeing his friends in trouble, Spike jumped off of Fluttershy’s arms, ran across the floor, and leaped onto Tempest's arm to take a huge bite on it. But to his shock, her arm was too solid and he recoiled as a result, while Tempest hardly even flinched. Spike laid on the ground, whimpered from the pain in his jaw.

“Spike!” Twilight shouted in alarm before she and Fluttershy went over and checked on her dog.

During the commotion, Sonic finally came to, feeling groggy from earlier. "Ugh… what's going on?" he muttered.

He slightly turned his head and noticed the commotion from the main entrance of the bus. His eyes then widened at the sight of Spike on the floor with Brainiac and Animal Girl with frantic expressions. Then his eyes were set on the other girls, sans Skittles, was trying to wrestle some other lady with a scar off of the door. Sensing that they need his help, he quickly rushed over to them and appeared over Sunset’s shoulder and in front of Tempest, startling everyone.

"Oh hey there! Cool scar!" Sonic exclaimed.

As Tempest yelped and recoiled in shock at the sight of Sonic, Sunset took this opportunity to punch Tempest right on her face. This caused Tempest to finally let go of the window of the bus and fell onto the street. They all watched as Tempest rolled roughly across the ground and then stopped face down in the middle of the street. Despite that gruesome sight, Rainbow Dash pressed hard on the gas pedal, to put more distance between themselves and that Agent lady for better chances of escaping.

As they were more further and further away from the fallen Agent, everyone began to calm themselves down after their crazy encounter with Tempest, but their hearts were still beating pretty fast.

"...she seems like a cool lady!" Sonic remarked, receiving some stares from others.





Tempest groaned loudly in pain as she was lying in the middle of the road. Despite that her whole body was in pain, her thoughts were on that creature she just saw seconds ago.

What the heck was that thing!? Tempest thought. Did I just saw a blue creature? Was it from the same world as her… or was it from a different world? Tempest winced, gritting in teeth from the sharp pain from her rib. Whatever the case, this isn’t good! I bet that creature was what that infernal doctor was after… and he knows about the girls too! He’s going to chase after them… not unless I get to them first!

As Tempest slowly gets back up, a car slowly approaches her and comes to a stop. Tempest looked up just as the driver’s window rolled down, revealing Grubber.

"Boss, you alright?" he said.

"I'm fine!" Tempest said with a grunt as she stood completely up. She was confused at the sight of strange markings on Grubber’s face but chose not to comment about it. "I need to follow these girls!"

Grubber nodded. "No problem boss, I'll take ya!"

Tempest shook her head. "No, I'll follow them myself! Now get out of the car!"

Grubber blinked. "What?"

"Get out of the car!" Tempest ordered.

"...but that's my car!"

"Get Out!"

Not wanting to face her wrath, Grubber quickly got out of his car, allowing Tempest to get in.

"So you're just gonna leave me here?" Grubber said in disbelief.

"Yes, and you still have a job to do!" Tempest said coolly before slamming the door. "He’s already onto them, so I want you to stay here and keep an eye on Dr. Robotnik, keep me updated on everything he’s doing, and most importantly... keep him away from those kids!"

Without another word, Tempest rolled up the driver’s window and then sped down the street, leaving Grubber behind.

…

…

…

“...well how do ya expect me to do my job without my car!?” Grubber shouted towards Tempest’s direction.





For the next few minutes, Rainbow Dash took a few more random roads just in case if their pursuer was still chasing them. Once the Equestria Girls were sure that they weren’t followed, they eventually pulled off the road and hid behind a random billboard sign to evaluate the situation.

“Alright, I think we’re safe… for now,” Rainbow Dash stated as she shuts off the bus.

Rainbow then turned towards the back of the bus where she saw her friends in various situations. Rarity was still fussing with her hair and nearly sobbing over it while Applejack rubbed Rarity’s back to comfort her. Meanwhile, Fluttershy was busy treading Spike's injury around his jaw with Pinkie Pie assisting her, while Twilight looked over them worriedly with Sunset by her side.

“How is he?" asked Twilight with shakiness from her voice. "Is Spike okay?”

“None of his teeth are broken, thank goodness,” Fluttershy replied with a sigh as she was putting away her first aid kit that she packed in the bus ahead of time. "But his jaw is aching after biting that lady's arm. I did what I can with the clove oil for his teeth and gums and a cold compress on his jaw, but other than that, he should rest and not move his jaw for now."

Twilight let out a long sigh of relief before giving Fluttershy her grateful smile. "Thank you so much, Fluttershy!" 

"Yeah, you rock Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "It's a good thing that you're a trained Veterinarian!"

Fluttershy blushed from the comment while shyly stroking her pink hair. "Oh, i-it was nothing. A-and besides, I'm technically in training. I'm not a full-fledged Veterinarian yet!"

"Even so, we’re so glad that you’re here to help Fluttershy!" Sunset said with a grin before frowning. “But what was that agent wearing that’s so hard for Spike to bite?”

“My guess would be some kind of body armor,” Twilight theorized as she softly petted her dog who whimpered in response. “But that’s impossible because Spike bit her in her forearm!”

“Maybe she was also wearing an armor for her forearms?” Rarity guessed, who just joined in on the conversation after fixing her hair along with Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

Twilight furrowed her brow. “It’s possible and that would make more sense, but her arms would’ve looked bulkier under her uniform and slowed her down if she’s chasing us. Not to mention, even with her armor, no normal person could’ve easily punched through a bus door window.”

“So we’re dealing with some kind of super-soldier?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed before throwing her arms up. “Terrific! So let's recap: Half of our country is out of power because of some mysterious wave, then those G.U.N. soldiers showed up at our school, then some nutjob almost killed us with his egg-shaped robots and now we’re being chased by some super-soldier agent lady! Did I forget anything else?”

"We also met that blue creature who is with us right now!" Pinkie said helpfully in her up-beat attitude while pointing behind her.

Rainbow, as well as the others, looked in the direction where Pinkie was pointing. Sure enough, the blue creature in question was at the back of the bus, sitting on one of the large musical instrument cases, waving back at them with a sheepish grin. They have nearly forgotten about their new passenger from Twilight’s house during Robotnik’s visit. He was still a mystery as to what that creature was and how he was related to this whole mess. To Sunset, she wanted to get to the bottom of this now that they’re out of danger.

With a determined look, Sunset strolled over to the blue hedgehog, ready to interrogate him.

"Alright, listen here buster!” Sunset began with a serious expression. “You need to start talking, right now! Who are you? What are you?"

"I told you, I'm a hedgehog," Sonic responded with an annoyed expression. "I feel like that's obvious. And I'm in big trouble."

Sunset gave Sonic an incredulous look. "Oh, you're in big trouble? You're not the one who punched some sort of government weirdo back there."

"He's lucky that Ah wasn't the one who punched him!" Applejack muttered darkly.

"Not to mention, running from the government, which I’m sure that we’ve became wanted criminals now," Twilight added.

"You think you have problems?!" Sonic challenged. "I lost my rings!"

"Rings? Now wat in Sam’s hill are ya talkin’ about?" Applejack asked with a confused expression.

"I think he was talking about his bag full of rings that he dropped after one of them expended it into a giant portal," Sunset answered.

"Wait, a portal?" Rarity spoke up.

Sonic let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay look, rings are how all advanced cultures travel between worlds," he explained before turning to Twilight. "And now mine is on top of a pointy building I've only ever seen on your skintight T-shirt."

“Hey, it was a gift from my sister-in-law!” Twilight cried indignantly, but Sonic paid her no mind.

"So now I'd like you all to take me to Manehatten, so I can get back my rings and use them to get to the mushroom planet," Sonic concluded.

"‘Scuse me… a Mushroom planet?" Rainbow Dash asked skeptically.

“Yes!” Sonic answered.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. "Ooh ooh, is the Mushroom planet have a kingdom filled with tiny people with mushrooms on their heads and also has a Princess who ruled over them, but constantly gets kidnapped by turtle-like creatures along with their evil king, but then she gets rescued by an Italian plumber who jumps a lot and collects a lot of things along the way?”

Everyone stared at Pinkie in silence for a moment after her random rambling until Sonic spoke up.

“Uh… what was she-”

"Don't mind her," Sunset interjected. "Pinkie's just being Pinkie."

“...riiiiiiiiiiight,” Sonic said slowly. "I doubt there's anyone living on that planet. And even if they were, for some strange reason, I… don't think I would like to live in that kingdom."

Pinkie frowned. “Why? What do you have against Italian plumbers?”

“Okay, we’re getting off track here!” Twilight interrupted. “We just recovered from that chase after getting attack by Robotnik and his robots, on top of finding out this strange blue creature– no offense.”

“None taken,” Sonic said casually.

“And G.U.N. is still investigating our town after that energy wave appeared out of nowhere last night. So we shouldn’t have any more surprises!”

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Everyone jumped from the sudden noise from within the bus, putting everyone on edge.

“What was that!?” Rarity yelped.

“Oh no! Is that agent back!?” Fluttershy whimpered in fear.

They heard another few banging until it was coming from the direction where Sonic was sitting. Sonic raised his hands in defense when everyone stared at him.

“Hey, don’t look at me!" said Sonic.

With narrowed eyes, Sunset gently shooed Sonic away, peering directly at the large instrument case where Sonic was sitting. Her suspicion was confirmed when she heard more banging noises coming from the case, telling her that something or someone was hiding inside of it.

Without speaking a word, Sunset glanced back at the girl's, silently asking for her assistance. Taking the message, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached the case and stood by Sunset while the rest of the gang stayed behind in caution. With nods between the three girls and mentally prepared themselves, Sunset took a deep breath and threw open the case.

The girls stopped their attack the moment they saw who was hiding in the case. Not only that, they found not one, or two, but three familiar stowaways inside the case.

"Apple Bloom?" Applejack cried.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Scootaloo?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Sure enough, the three mysterious stowaways who were hiding in a large instrument case, was Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, AKA, the CMCs.

"What are you doing here!?" The three older sisters screamed angrily in unison.

The CMCs winced from their older sisters’ fury. Apple Bloom, who has an ounce of courage, chuckled sheepishly.

"Uh, hehehe… it's a long story," Apple Bloom answered before beginning her tale.






One hour ago…


Somewhere from within the barn of the Apple Family farm, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were near the back of the bus, trying to open the rear doors without alerting anyone. Scootaloo was trying to use her lock pick on the door that she got from Rainbow Dash as her birthday gift last year, while Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stood in front of her as their lookouts.

"How much longer Scoots?" Apple Bloom asked with urgency in her voice.

"Almost," Scootaloo assured. "I just need to do a couple more pins."

"Well please hurry Scoots!" Apple Bloom pleaded. "If Applejack saw us, she'll put me on pigpen duty fer a day as punishment again!"

"You think you have it bad?" Sweetie Belle retorted. "One time, I made Rarity so mad, she made me into her personal mannequin for her dresses all day! Heck, she'll probably gonna make me do that all week if she and your sisters found out what we're doing! I still don't see why we're doing this?"

"From wat Ah've heard, Manehatten is a great place!" said Apple Bloom, her fear of getting caught forgotten. "There are so many fun things to do over there!"

"Yeah!" Scootaloo agreed. "The Rainbooms are going to be there for only a weekend where all the fun and excitement took place while leaving us behind in this boring town with no power!"

"Scootaloo, with everything going on involving Equestrian magic, this town is anything but boring!" Sweetie Belle deadpanned.

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. "Okay, aside from that, our town is pretty boring in comparison. Besides, we could all have some fun too and have a normal day for a change."

Sweetie Belle frowned. "I'm not disagreeing with you, but still…"

"Got it!" Scootaloo announced, once she successfully unlocked the back of the bus.

The CMCs quietly opened the back door of the bus and climbed in. Once they closed the door behind them, the girls looked around the bus.

"Alright girls, we're in," Apple Bloom whispered. "Now, where would we–"

Suddenly, the preteens heard various voices and footsteps coming from outside of the barn and heading straight towards them, making them panic.

"Oh, crud! Someone’s coming!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, barely keeping herself quiet.

Scootaloo quickly looked around the bus, until her eyes landed on one of the instrument cases near the back door. She quickly opened one of them up and to her relief, not only it was empty, but the inside of the case looks big enough for the three of them to fit easily.

"Quick, in here!" Scootaloo urged.

Both Apple Bloom and Scootaloo immediately dived right into the case, while Sweetie Belle stood by, hesitant to jump in.

"Girls… I don’t think if this is a good idea," Sweetie Belle squeaked. "This doesn't look very safe. Not to mention, our sisters will really be mad at us if they found us inside."

"Well, what other options do we got?" Scootaloo challenged. "And ask yourself this: would you rather have your sister be mad at you before or after we get to Manehatten?"

Sweetie paused for a moment. On the one hand, that case wasn’t designed to store people in and safe to use, especially while it’s on a moving vehicle. Not to mention, she knew her sister will be mad at her already for secretly hitching a ride behind her back. No doubt that Rarity will be furious at her if she found her in that case that they’ll use for their band performance. But on the other hand, if they’re ever discovered after the trip, at least they’ll have a good excuse to stay in Manehatten without having to travel back home immediately.

Unless her sister saw her right now at this very moment.

“...traveling from inside the case it is then,” Sweetie sighed as she quickly joined inside the case. 

Right as the CMCs shut the cover over them, most Rainbooms entered the barn and then climbed into the bus so they could meet up with Sunset and Twilight and Twilight’s house. The CMCs plan was to keep quiet and wait until they arrived at Manehatten without being detected so that they won’t be forced to be kicked out and leave behind.

Little did the three of them know, they’ll wound up getting caught in yet another crazy adventure.





By the time the CMCs finished their tale, the Equestria Girls, especially three respective older sisters, were not amused by their antics. Resisting the urge to yell at her sister, Rarity let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed her temples.

"You girls…" she stated with a stern glare. "What you three did was irresponsible! What if something happened to you while we didn’t know where you were?”

The three younger girls looked down in shame.

“We’re sorry Rarity,” Sweetie Belle uttered remorsefully. “We just wanted to go to Manehatten too.”

“Yeah, we also wanted to join in on the fun of touring with the most awesome band in the world!” Scootaloo chimed in.

“Heh, yeah it’s true. We are awesome!” Rainbow Dash boasted, only to shrink away somewhat when she noticed her friends glared harshly at her. “B-but that’s still not safe. It’s… bad,” she finished lamely before giving her friends a thumbs up.

Applejack shook her head at her brash friend before addressing her younger sister.

“Whelp, in any case, we should take you three back to town so y’all don’t get hurt. And we’ll let our folks come up with a suitable punishment for you,” Applejack stated sternly, leaving no room for argument much to the CMC's disappointment and dread.

“I don’t think this is a good idea AJ,” Twilight spoke up. Applejack was about to argue but Twilight quickly added, “In case you forget, G.U.N. is chasing us down right now!

“Yeah, we just escaped from the city!” said Rainbow Dash. “No doubt that they’re still looking for us! Heading back now would not only risk of us getting caught, but we’ll also risk getting them caught too!”

Applejack glared daggers at Rainbow Dash. “And ya think bringin’ ‘em with us is any better?”

Rarity gently placed her hand on Applejack’s shoulder to calm her down. “I don’t like this as much as you are darling, but they’re right. We don’t have much of a choice.”

“Besides, you all have superpowers from Equestrian Girl’s world,” Sonic added. “Nothing’s gonna happen to them with you girls around.”

The CMC’s jolted back in shock and fright, finally noticing the talking blue hedgehog in the room.

"Oh my gosh! Wat is dat?" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"It's some kind of blue monster cat!" Scootaloo cried.

Sonic rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh, annoyed being wrongfully labeled as a cat again.

"Actually, I think he looks more like a hedgehog!" Sweetie Belle said with a squeak.

Sonic threw his hands up with a grin. “Finally! Someone actually got it right for once!"

The CMC's were taken aback.

“...he can talk too!?” Apple Bloom uttered in awe.

“And here I thought we’re gonna have a normal day for once!” Scootaloo muttered.

Sweetie Belle said nothing while her mouth was gaping in shock.

Sonic's eyes lit up. "Oh hey, I remember you three! I saw you girls play baseball the other day!"

The three younger girls stared at Sonic with surprised expressions.

"You've seen us play?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sonic nodded excitedly. "Totally! You three are awesome! You for knocking the ball out of the park and you two for nailing that amazing double play!"

The three girls smiled widely at Sonic’s praise.

"Heh, yeah. We don't mean to brag, but we are awesome that day!" Scootaloo boasted with pride while her two friends just shook their heads in amusement.

“Hang on! Backup... did you just say... Equestria?” Applejack interrupted with wide eyes.

“Oh yeah, I said Equestria!” Sonic responded to the cowgirl. “The world where Equestrian Girl come from, right?”

“Uh… who’s Equestrian Girl?” Fluttershy asked with a confused expression.

“He’s referring to me,” Sunset answered with a blush, embarrassed with the nickname.

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Oh my gosh! Equestrian Girl! That totally suits you!”

Sunset narrowed her eyes at her.

“And you know about our powers?” Rarity pressed, trying to move along with the conversation.

“Oh totally! I knew you all have different powers from that world,” Sonic answered, much to the girl’s shock. He then pointed at Sunset and Twilight. “Equestrian Girl can read people’s minds or whatever and Brainiac can use levitation.” He then pointed at Fluttershy and Rarity. “This girl can talk to animals, and you can make diamond shields.” He then pointed at Applejack and Pinkie Pie. “She has super strength, and she can make any candies explode… among other mysterious powers I can’t quite figure out.” 

Pinkie Pie snorted. “Yeah, it's true! I can be mysterious!”

Sonic then pointed at Rainbow Dash, who stood at the back of the group. “And this girl can run at super-speed, especially every morning when she’s late for school but still have time to stop at a place called Donut Joe’s.”

Rainbow Dash nearly fell back in astonishment. “H-how’d you know?” she demanded before her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Are you also with the government?”

Sonic tilted his head. “You mean that McNosehair guy? No! Of course not!” He then pointed at Sunset. “I knew all about you because she told me!”

“What!?” Rainbow exclaimed before turning to Sunset.

Sunset frowned. “Okay, that’s the second time you’ve said that, but we never met before!”

“Technically, we never met in person,” Sonic said cryptically.

Rainbow growled and stepped forward towards the hedgehog. “Alright pal, I don’t know what game you’re playing at, but Sunset was asking you a question! How do you know about Equestria? And about us?"

Sonic frowned. "But I wasn't playing any games Skittles! I–"

Rainbow’s pupils shrank and her face went red in anger. "What did you call me!?"

Everyone was taken aback by Rainbow’s intense anger. Even Sonic suddenly felt nervous with Rainbow’s sudden change of attitude. 

"I… I called you Skittles,” Sonic said nervously. “You know? A candy made of rainbows? I just thought–”

He never had time to finish as Rainbow suddenly stomped her way over to the front of the bus to pull the switch, opening the bus’s side door. 

"Get out!” she shouted.

“W-what?” Sonic asked with a confused expression.

Even the girls were surprised by Rainbow’s sudden display. Before anyone could say anything, Rainbow spoke again.

“Look, this is the worst possible time for us to get ourselves into trouble, okay?” Rainbow growled in anger. “We were trying to make our band a name for ourselves and you just… happen to show up and know a lot about us after being chased by the government! And you give us no reason to trust you! I don’t know what you said to Sunset and Twilight, but you asked us to save your life, and we did! So now, just go… find your rings… and go to your mushroom land or whatever. I don’t care! And hopefully, I'm gonna wake up in my bed and pretended this whole crazy experience was just one big dream after eating too much junk food and drinking too many AJ’s apple ciders again. Okay? Now leave!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Sunset shouted angrily.

Sonic stood there with a shocked expression, feeling hurt by the accusation, especially from one of the girls he admired. He wanted to speak up, but the look of anger on Rainbow’s face prevented him to do so. 

Sonic let out a sad sigh as he stood up. “Okay… goodbye.”

Without a word, Sonic slowly walked towards the front of the bus, not looking at any of the girls, and stepped out of the bus.

Rainbow watched as the hedgehog keeps on walking towards the crop field, making sure that he really was leaving. Once she was satisfied that he was far enough, she turned back to her friends, only blinked in confusion when everyone was giving her looks of disproval.

"...what?" said Rainbow.

"That was uncalled for Rainbow Dash!" Sunset scolded. "He didn't do anything wrong, and we were trying to get answers from him!"

Rainbow scowled. "I'm uncalled for!? This guy somehow knows about our personal life! How was it not suspicious to you people?”

“He didn’t say anything personal to you at all Dashie!” Pinkie pointed out. “All he said was you use to like to use your powers to run to Donut Joe’s and that he called you–”

“I know what he said Pinkie! Don’t ever repeat that!” Rainbow screamed.

“Rainbow Ashley Dash!” Fluttershy yelled angrily, catching everyone, including Rainbow by surprise. “That’s enough! While I understand why you’re upset, but that’s no reason to be a meanie, especially to your friends!” 

Rainbow Dash blinked owlishly at Fluttershy before she turned her head towards Pinkie Pie, only to grimace in guilt when she sees her party-loving friend was on the verge of tears.

“I… I’m so sorry Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow said quietly. “I was out of line.”

With a sniff, Pinkie nodded with a small smile, letting her friend know that she forgives her.

Rarity frowned. “Why is that nickname bother you so much Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow looked uncomfortable at the question, but Fluttershy spoke up in her defense. “The reasoning behind that nickname is... personal to her, so please leave that be,” Fluttershy requested.

Rainbow gave her shy friend her grateful smile. “Thanks, Flutters, I–”

She immediately claimed up the moment Fluttershy glared at her. “But that’s still no reason for your attitude missy! Both to Pinkie and that poor creature!”

“Ah agree,” Apple Bloom spoke up. "He may look strange, but he doesn't seem like a bad… er… critter."

"Yeah, and he's nice too," Sweetie Bell added before frowning. "I wish that he didn’t have to leave."

"Um, girls? Everyone… he's still out there," Scootaloo announced while looking out the window.

Everyone turned to the windows, looking at the direction where Scootaloo was facing. Sure enough, the blue hedgehog was still out there, standing at the side of the road with a longing expression.

With an irritated growl, Rainbow Dash stepped outside the bus, causing the rest of the girls to follow her outside. The CMCs were about to follow as well, but Rarity stopped them.

"No girls! You three stay right there!" Rarity ordered.

"But Rarity," Sweetie protested, but Applejack cut her off.

"Let us handle this! Besides, you three are still in trouble!"

The three younger girls slumped in defeat.

"You can look after Spike in the meantime," Twilight offered kindly as she handed her dog over to Sweetie Belle, trying to cheer them up a bit. "Please look after him."

Sweetie Belle nodded. "Okay, Twilight, we will!"

Satisfied, Twilight stepped outside of the bus, where her friends were. They stood there watching as Rainbow Dash continued to berate the blue hedgehog.

“Why aren’t you moving?” Rainbow demanded impatiently.

“I don’t know where Manehatten is,” Sonic responded.

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and pointed behind him. “It’s east!”

Sonic titled his head. “East?”

"Yes, east!" Rainbow snapped. "Just go straight shot. You can’t miss it!”

Sonic raised his hands. “Okay, okay. Fine! That’s cool. I’m totally cool saying goodbye now!”

With that, much to the surprise of everyone, Sonic turned and ran across the field at a high speed and disappeared before either of them could blink. Before either of them could make a comment, within the next few seconds, they immediately saw a blue blur coming towards them. When it stopped in front of them, everyone was staring in awe to see not only Sonic again so quickly, but also the fact that he was now soaking wet and somehow had some seaweed, a small starfish on his right temple, and a fish sitting on top of his head. 

With an annoyed expression, Sonic let out a long sigh. “So!” he stated calmly. “As I crashed into the cold, dark water of the Atlantic, I realized a few things. A: I have no idea where I'm going. B: Saltwater stings. C: I shouldn't even be on this planet right now, but I am. Why?” Sonic then shot glaring daggers in a direction towards Sunset and Twilight. “Because you two shot me!”

Both the girls winced at his angered tone.

“Yeah… we know–” Twilight began before getting cut off by Sonic.

“You shot me!” Sonic accused.

“Okay, okay. We heard you!” Twilight then rubbed her neck, feeling awkward. “You don’t have to… rub it in… jeez…”

With a huff, Sonic continued to rant as he listed off with his fingers. “I'm wet. I'm cold. There's a fish on my head! And clearly, I'm not gonna be able to do this on my own!” 

As Sonic paused and breathed through his nose to calm himself, the girls just stared at the hedgehog, still not sure what to make of this creature. It was at this moment, the CMC’s poked their heads out from the window of the bus.

“C’mon sis! Can’t ya help him?” Apple Bloom asked, feeling bad for the creature.

“Yeah, he just wanted to travel to another planet to find his new home,” Scootaloo added. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Yeah, please girls?” Sweetie Belle begged softly.

With a pleading expression, Sonic then looked at Sunset right in the eyes. “Please… help me.”

Sunset silently stared at the blue hedgehog for a moment as she weighed her options. Her mind was telling her not to help him again since he still didn’t have any good reason why they should trust him. After all, that wackjob doctor was after him, not her and the girls. Celestia knows what he had done to gain the attention of the government. Another reason, as much as Sunset hated to admit this, but Rainbow Dash had a very good point that they just technically fulfilled his request and he also saved their lives with only a few seconds of distraction that gave Sunset an open opportunity to strike Robotnik down. So they should be considered even and maybe have less chance to get in bigger trouble when they’re no longer associating with him.

However, even after the fish comedically slides off of Sonic’s head, Sonic still had that sad puppy look on his face. It was the same pleading expression he gave her earlier back at Twilight’s house when he needed help hiding him from Robotnik. He doesn’t look dangerous or any evil at all. He was only an innocent creature who somehow got caught in this mess and only wanted to live his life in another world.

Just like her.

She felt a bit ashamed of herself for even considering ditching this creature. And it wasn’t fair to pin the blame on this fiasco to him as well. They were also involved with G.U.N. because of her, and now their actions put themselves further into the spotlight. They’re probably going to be chased down by Tempest Shadow regardless after she basically told Sunset that she knows her history from the school hallway.

And even without that, it was also their fault that he was also in this mess too. That creature was trying to leave this planet and she and Twilight blew that chance for him. Sunset couldn’t help but feel guilty at that. She remembered her feelings the first time she traveled to this world and then learned that the portal only opens for only a brief time, and then have to wait for thirty moons before the portal opens again. The thought that she was so close to being cut off from her homeworld forever scared her. While the circumstances were different between her and the creature, she at least understood what it was like to be stranded in this world. But the difference between her and the hedgehog was that Sunset has friends, but this creature is all alone and has no one to turn to.

She then wondered what Princess Twilight will do with this creature. Will she help and give him a chance as she does to her? While the answer was obvious, Sunset should probably discuss with her friends before making her decision.

“Girls, huddle!” Sunset announced suddenly.

Getting the message, the Equestria girls, sans the CMCs and Sonic, gathered around and formed together into a huddle away from the hedgehog so that they could discuss the situation in private.

"So, what do you think girls?" Sunset whispered.

"Well, I'm thinking why are we even having this discussion?" Rainbow Dash remarked quietly. "I don't trust this creature! He could be secretly planning to get us all captured by the government!"

"Well Rainbow Dash, if he was, then why did he stick up for us against Robotnik and helped take out a few robots?" Twilight pointed out. "If he really was against us, he could've left us behind or assisted him."

"He does seem nice," Fluttershy commented thoughtfully. "And kinda cute."

Rarity quickly glanced at the creature in question. “While I don’t see any ill intentions from him either, but I’m not sure I agree with you about him being “cute” darling.”

“What are you talking about Rarity? I think he’s cute!” Pinkie chirped before she leaned closer to her ear. “And he looks a thousand times better than his original design!”

Rarity gave Pinkie an odd look.

"Yeah well, he may have “helped” us, but he knows a lot about us, including Equestria!" Rainbow argued before facing Sunset. “He also mentioned that you told him! Care to explain to that Sunset?”

“Sunset, is that true?” Rarity asked. “You met him before?”

Sunset shook her head. “No! He claimed that I told him, but this is the first time I met that creature!”

“It’s true,” said Twilight, vouching for her friend. “We first saw him breaking into my lab earlier, which was over fifteen minutes before you all arrived.”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “Well, even so, that cat, hedgehog, needlemouse– whatever the heck that thing is, somehow knows about us and has superspeed to boot!”

“Ah thought you’ll be ecstatic of meetin’ someone else who’s also as fast as you!” said Applejack with a bit of amusement in her voice.

“Not if it’s from some random creature who happened to show up when the government showed up and has knowledge about us,” Rainbow argued before narrowing her eyes. “I don’t like this! How do we know that this was all a ploy by the G.U.N. just to give them the information they need before finding the portal and then capturing us?”

Sunset let out a long sigh. “Look… I know you are all warily about this creature, and I don’t blame you. But… my gut is telling me that he’s not evil and he needs our help. We can’t just abandon him! Plus, it really was our fault that he lost his bag of rings. Helping him get them back would be the right thing to do.” When her friends remained unsure, she gave them her pleading expression. “Please girls… if you’re not gonna trust him… then you can at least trust me.”

There was only silence coming from the rest of the girls with contemplative expressions, making Sunset worried that she wasn’t able to convince her friends. Then her worries were immediately washed away when Twilight gently squeezed her shoulder and gave her a supporting smile.

"I agree with Sunset, we should help him,” said Twilight. She then blushed as she smiled sheepishly. “And... I’m also to blame for accidentally shot him with the tranquilizer gun.”

Before Sunset could utter her thanks to her friend, another one of her friends spoke up.

“Of course I want to help him!” said Pinkie with a little bit of excitement in her voice. “We’ll retrieve his rings and then we shall throw him a party afterwords as a celebration!”

“I... I want to help him too,” Fluttershy spoke up, much to everyone’s surprise. “He may not be an ordinary creature, but I vow to help any creature who needs help, no matter what species they are.”

“Thank you, girls!” Sunset said with a smile before glancing at Applejack and Rarity. “What about you two?”

Both girls had unsure expressions, still on the fence about the creature. After a moment of silence, it was Rarity who spoke up first. 

“Oh very well Sunset,” said Rarity with a sigh. “While I have some doubts, but I do trust your judgment. And a lady should never turn down anyone- er, any creature who needed help!”

“Ah’m still not sure about dat creature,” Applejack spoke up with a serious expression before smirking. “But Ah’ll gladly lend y’all a hand.”

Sunset nodded with a smile. She then frowned when she turned to her last friend who had yet to give her her answer.

“Rainbow Dash?” 

Rainbow Dash had a deep frown, no doubt that she still wasn’t completely convinced about their “passenger”. Of all her friends, Rainbow Dash is the most stubborn of the group, a bit more than Applejack. Sunset knew that it usually takes a lot to get Rainbow Dash to trust someone, but luckily, she’s also the most loyal of the bunch. Her loyalty to her friends usually outweighs her distrust of others. After a long pause, Rainbow finally speaks.

“I don’t trust him! And I still think he’s very suspicious!” She then sighed with a bit a reluctance in her features. “But… I trust you more Sunset. I never leave you or any of you girls hanging no matter what!”

Sunset gave Rainbow Dash her biggest smile. “Thanks, Rainbow Dash!” Her expression became serious again as she addressed her friends. “Alright, since going back to Canterlot City was out of the question, the best we can do is to lay low and continue to travel to Manehatten with little to no detection as possible. We were all planning to go to Manehatten anyway, so why not we go to that building he mentioned and picked up his rings along the way?"

"Except we planned to go there to have fun, not getting chased by the government!" Rainbow Dash huffed. “And even if we did help that... thing, what are we going to do about G.U.N.?"

The girls felt grim from this. They had nearly forgotten about their current situation. Even after the blue creature escaped from their world, that doesn’t mean that they are out of the woods once it’s all said and done.

"Well… Cadance has certain connections,” Twilight suggested. “Maybe we can go to her and have her help us?"

"Ah guess it's as good of a plan as it can get," said Applejack with a shrug. "As fer that critter, while we are helpin’ him, we should probably keep an eye on him just in case."

“That’s one plan I’ll actually get behind on,” Rainbow commented before smirking. “Maybe I’ll even figure out what makes this guy so fast!”

Everyone rolled their eyes at Rainbow’s remark.

"Alright, so it's settled," said Sunset, concluding their meeting.

With nods, the girls broke out of their huddle and turned towards the blue hedgehog, who remained in his spot since his return.

“Alright… you can come with us,” said Sunset, speaking up for the group.

“Really?" Sonic cried out in joy. He used his speed to shake all the moisture out of his fur, only to end up looking like a giant fluff ball as a result. "You're all gonna help me?”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah. You did save us by distracting one of those drones earlier, so it's the least we can do.” She then rubbed her neck sheepishly. “And also… it was a little bit of our fault that this was happening to you.”

“Not a little bit. Entirely," Sonic corrected with a frown. "It is entirely your fault.”

“Okay, okay. It is entirely our fault,” Sunset spoke up before Rainbow Dash could argue. “So… are you coming?”

Sonic smiled. “Yes.” He said as he shook himself again at high speed until his body was back to normal. 

The CMCs smiled, happy for him that he can now join in on a trip and for them to make a new potential friend.

"Hey, come on up and join us, blue dude!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Sonic widened his smile. "Sweet!" Within a millisecond, Sonic zipped right back inside the bus and sat with the CMCs on one of the bus seats.

“Road trip! Woohoo!” Sonic cheered.

"Woohoo!" The CMCs cheered alongside the blue hedgehog.

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly as she buried her face into her hand. "Ugh… what are we doing?"

"Inviting our new friend with us on a trip to Manehattan?" Pinkie answered in her upbeat tone.

Rainbow Dash gave Pinkie an irritated look. "It was a rhetorical question Pinkie!"

"Oh… what's 'rhetorical'?"

Rainbow Dash simply rolled her eyes.

"Before we get back on a bus, we need to do one more thing before we go!" Twilight announced.

"And what's that Twilight?" Sunset asked.

"We need to… destroy our cell phones," said Twilight with a sigh, much to everyone’s shock.

"Are you crazy Twilight!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed. "We can't destroy our phones!"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah, how are we gonna let our families know without our phones?"

"Or using our GPS?" Fluttershy added.

"Or checking our social status on MyStable while shopping online for the best outfits for next Tuesday and streaming a new episode of 'Love and Pain' while arguing with some fanboy in the comments on which is the better pairing at the same time?"

Rarity paused when her friends were giving her odd stares.

"What? Some people multi-task!" Rarity defended.

"Look girls," Twilight spoke in a serious tone. "We're on the run from the government. They'll do anything in their arsenal to catch anyone who is on their hit list, including tracking us with our phones. In order to have better odds of not getting captured, the first thing we must do is to get rid of them, including credit cards and any other devices."

The girls were hesitant by Twilight’s plan, but Sunset spoke up.

"She's right girls… we're fugitives now. We do what we have to do to keep ourselves ahead of them, otherwise, it will be all for naught."

The girls were still not happy with the idea, but deep down, they all knew that Twilight was right. After a minute of silence, it was Applejack who spoke up for the group.

"Alright Twi... if you think that this was fer the best, then we'll do it," Applejack said reluctantly.

Twilight nodded. "Good. And make sure you get your sisters too."

One by one, each one handed their phones over to Twilight. Rarity had a much difficult time with the idea of losing her phone, but after a gentle nudge by Applejack, she finally relented. It took a while to convince the CMCs to do the same until they eventually agreed after Twilight filled them in on their situation and reasoning. Once Twilight gathered all of the phones, including her own, Twilight used her telekinesis power to lift the phones in the air and then slowly compressed them into a ball until they're eventually crushed and disintegrated to oblivion.

"It is done," Twilight said simply.

With somber expressions, the Equestria Girls slowly walked back into the bus. Applejack suddenly stopped walking and faced Sunset with a serious expression.

“Sunset, ah hope ya know what yer doing,” Applejack said quietly before she turned and headed into the bus herself.

With an unsure expression, Sunset looked up at the window where Sonic was sitting and let out a sigh.

“I hope so too...”


- END OF ACT 1 -

> Volume II - Chapter 1: On The Open Road
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been an hour that the gang was still traveling on the road in their tour bus with Applejack taking the wheel once again. They even “fixed” their bus door window by placing a piece of cardboard and some duct tape around it before hitting the road. It wasn’t an ideal fix, but at least they don’t have to worry about the airflow or raindrops in case of rain. 

Despite being on the road for so long, it was an awkward ride between the Equestria Girls and the blue hedgehog. Ever since they let him join, none of them spoke to the creature. They were still uncertain and suspicious to him, but he didn’t give them any impression that he’ll bring them harm. Luckily, their awkwardness was somewhat reduced when the CMCs did most of the conversation with the hedgehog. The girls talked about various topics such as movies they watched, their school, and their friends, which seems to make the blue hedgehog interested and excited more. For a short time, the four of them already formed a friendship. While that warmed the hearts of the Equestria Girls, but they’re still a bit cautious around the creature.

“So… you’ve been spyin’ on our sisters this whole time?” Apple Bloom inquired after hearing Sonic’s story of how he knew the Equestria Girls for quite some time.

“Well… I wouldn’t call it spying," Sonic said with a sheepish smile. "We’re all just hanging out, only I wasn’t invited and no one knew I was there.”

Apple Bloom tilted her head. “...isn’t dat the same thing?”

“He does have a point, Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo interjected. “There is a difference between spying and just hanging out without anyone knowing you’re there.”

“Yeah!" Sweetie Belle added. "Like last week when we “hung out” at Rarity’s room during their sleepover under her bed without them noticing.”

“You what!?” Rarity shrieked, turning around towards her sister with an angry look.

Sweetie Belle recoiled at her sister's glare while slapping her hand over her mouth. “Oops!”

Before Rarity could scold her sister, Applejack spoke up while still keeping her eyes on the road.

"Ah still can't believe that not only you've been stalkin' us this whole time, but yer also the Blue Devil!" 

"Yeah, Crazy Lyra was right!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"I think you need to rename her Super Observing Lyra instead," said Sonic. "She was trying to capture me ever since she first saw me at the park when she was smaller."

Rainbow Dash shook her head. "Well, shoot... now I owe Lyra an apology!"

"We all owe her an apology," Sunset added before she frowned. "That is if we ever get out of this mess. I wish I could call Principal Celestia before we destroyed our phones."

Twilight placed her hand on Sunset’s shoulder. “I understand your frustration Sunset, but we have to be cautious about this. And I know it's scary right now, but all we can do right now is get to Cadance at Manehatten without getting detected by the government.”

“Brainiac is right Equestrian Girl!” Sonic added before flashing his cocky grin. “Plus, we have powers! So if anyone is chasing us, we can take ‘em with my speed and your magic!”

Twilight cleared her throat with an uneasy look. “Let’s just hope we don’t come down to that unless we have no other option.”

"That reminds me," Rarity spoke up. "Why did you call Sunset "Equestrian Girl" and Twilight "Brainiac"?"

"Well, as I told these two earlier,” Sonic replied as he pointed at Twilight. “I called her “Brainiac” because I've seen her with her machines and she's really smart.” He then pointed at Sunset. “And her “Equestrian Girl” because she's from Equestria."

Twilight blinked with a surprised expression. "Wait, you’ve seen me with machines? When?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, I saw you one time when you were building that robot dog thing during a rainstorm in that shed of yours."

Twilight’s cheeks were red. Both out of embarrassment and indignant for that the creature to loudly reveal her private project to her friends and the way he nonchalantly called her private lab.

"It's not a shed, it's a lab!” Twilight spoke up with an annoyed expression. “And for your information, it used to be my family’s garage before I converted it into my private lab for me to do my experiments."

Sonic shrugged. “Ah, shed? Garage? Same thing!”

Twilight scowled. “No, it isn’t!”

"Ooh! Do we have any nicknames too?" Pinkie interrupted with a chirp.

"Of course!” Sonic answered happily, ignoring Twilight who had a pouting expression. “For you, I call you “Cotton Candy Girl” because your hair looked like cotton candy and that you liked sweets!"

Pinkie giggled with a snort. "Cotton Candy Girl! I love it! And that's so true about my hair! Heck, it even tasted like cotton candy.” To demonstrate, Pinkie brought her hair close to her mouth and nibbled a bit with a satisfying hum. “Wanna taste?" She offered.

"Uh… no, but I'll take your word for it," Sonic declined politely. He then turned to Applejack. "Moving right along, for you, I called you “the Cowgirl” because you lived on a farm and always wear a cowgirl hat."

"Ah see,” Applejack responded while still driving. She smiled as she briefly touched her hat. “Although, if ya want to be specific, this here is called a Statham hat. It was passed to me by my pa and Ah’m proud to wear it!"

“Oh cool!” Sonic exclaimed excitedly. “I would love to show you my big red hat... but I have to leave it behind when those bots chased me.”

The girls, especially Sunset noticed his attitude changed drastically all of a sudden when he mentioned his hat. The hedgehog appeared to be sad... and something else among the lines. They wondered what could cause the creature to be suddenly miserable. Fluttershy, who felt pity for the creature, decided to try to cheer him up.

“Um… what about me?” Fluttershy asked, as she petted Spike, who was sleeping on her lap.

Thankfully, that seemed to work as Sonic flashed her a huge smile. “Easy! You’re “Animal Girl” because I saw you talk to animals.”

Sunset nodded. “Makes sense. Fluttershy loves all kinds of animals and even understands them!”

Sonic eyes widened as he turned to Fluttershy. “You mean you can really understand what any animals were saying?”

Fluttershy happily nodded. “Oh yes. Thanks to my ability, I can understand every creature!”

“Oh, I thought it was because you were crazy, but that was actually pretty cool!” said Sonic as he gave her a thumbs up.

 Fluttershy blinked, not sure what to think of his statement. “Um, thanks… I guess?”

“And what about me darling?” Rarity inquired.

“I’m calling you “Fashion Queen” because I’ve seen you created all kinds of clothes at your shop,” Sonic replied.

“Well technically, that shop belonged to one of my relatives,” Rarity said nonchalantly before screaming, “And you’ve seen my designs!?” Before any of them blinked, Rarity was standing in front of Sonic with stars in her eyes. “What did you think? Did you like them? Tell me, which one catches your eye the most?”

Sonic slowly backed away from the fashionista as far as he can into his seat while staring at her warily. “Uh, to be honest… none of them really. I’m not really into clothes.”

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say as Rarity’s pupils shrank and her left brow twitching. Sweetie Belle, who noticed her sister’s telltale signs, let out a loud groan.

“Oh, now you’ve done it,” she muttered.

Before Sonic could ask what she meant, Rarity exploded.

“Not into clothes!?” Rarity screeched, shaking her head rapidly. “No. No no no no no! This will simply not do! I just have to make you an outfit! Oh, why did I not bring my portable sewing kit!?”

“Because it was unnecessary and we forced ya to leave it behind after packin’ too much of yer stuff already?” Applejack deadpanned.

“But a lady should always be prepared!” Rarity argued.

Applejack, while glancing at her friend from a rearview mirror, cocked an eyebrow. “To make a dress?”

“You never know darling!”

“Uh…” Sonic uttered, not sure what to think of what he witnessed.

“Don’t mind her,” Sunset assured. “She’s always like this even the smallest thing.”

“Although, now you got my sis into fashion overdrive! So expect her to give you a new piece of clothing whether you want it or not,” Sweetie Belle warned.

Sonic groaned. “Great. I set her off all because I said I wasn’t interested.”

Rainbow Dash snickered, seeing the creature’s suffering. “Yeah, that’s Rares for ya! Maybe you should’ve nicknamed her Drama Queen!”

Rarity heard Rainbow’s statement and glared at her. “I wouldn’t be the one to talk, Skittles!”

Rainbow Dash ceased her sickering and her expression darkened. “Don’t call me that!”

“Chill out Dashie!” Pinkie soothed. “What’s wrong being named after a candy?”

“I doubt that he nicknamed her after some candy Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said skeptically.

“Actually... that’s pretty much why,” said Sonic, much to everyone, especially Rainbow’s disbelief. “Her hair reminded me of that same candy I tasted once.”

Rainbow scowled as she crossed her arms. “Oh great, I’m nicknamed after a candy. That makes me feel so much better!”

“I was nicknamed after a candy and I don’t mind!” Pinky chirped.

“But mine is so lame!” Rainbow whined.

“I thought “Skittles” suits you perfectly Skittles!” said Sonic, only to make Rainbow Dash angry.

“Stop calling me Skittles!” she shouted.

There was tense silence after her outburst. Even poor Spike nearly jumped out of Fluttershy’s arms due to Rainbow’s shouting. Sonic back away a little in fear, afraid that he unintentionally made her angry again, while her friends stared at her with mixtures of concern and irritated expressions. Fluttershy in particular gave Rainbow Dash her warning glare for going out of line again. Seeing her friends’ faces, Rainbow calmed herself down with a resigned sigh.

“It’s Rainbow Dash, okay?” she said as she crossed her arms. “You can call me that, or Dash, or even Dashie, but not Skittles... okay?”

Sonic nodded. “Okay, no problem Ski– I mean, Dash!”

Everyone silently sighed in relief after the exchange and Fluttershy nodded at Rainbow Dash in approval.

“Well, I don’t mind you calling me Cotton Candy Girl!” Pinkie giggled before pointing at herself. “But since we’re properly introducing names, I’m Pinkie Pie!” She then pointed to each of her friends. “Over there is Fluttershy, Spike, Rarity, and Applejack.”

The girls in question politely waved at the blue hedgehog with a smile, while Spike simply grunted before falling back to sleep into Fluttershy’s warm arms.

Pinkie then pointed to the three younger girls next to him. “Those three over there are younger sisters of AJ, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Well, technically, a sister figure to Rainbow Dash, but sisters nonetheless. Anyway, their names are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo! But as a group, they’re known as CMC!”

Sonic tilted his head. “The CMC?”

“The Canterlot Movie Club! Yay!” The young trio chorused loudly, nearly shattering the creature’s and everyone else’s eardrums. They even caused poor Spike to abruptly wake up from his slumber again, muttering angrily among the lines of “almost catching a flying floating bone” before falling asleep again.

“We like to watch a lot of movies and analyze them for our ViewTube series!” Apple Bloom explained.

“Sometimes, we created some pranks and music videos just for the fun of it!” Scootaloo added.

“But we also like to help and offer our advice to other people to help rediscover their talents!” said Sweetie Belle.

Sonic smiled. “Oh cool! What kind of movies?”

“We like all sorts of movies,” Scootaloo answered. “But our favorite series was Daring Do!”

Sonic gasped. “No way! I love Daring Do!”

“You watched Daring Do too?” Apple Bloom exclaimed excitedly.

“Which one is your favorite?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Sonic grinned. “Daring Do and the Secret Rings!”

“Nice! Ours too!” said Scootaloo.

Sunset smiled at the site. Despite having some mixed feelings about that creature, it warmed her heart that the CMCs are forming a friendly bond with him. She almost admitted to herself that she was also warmed up to him personally. She was concerned however when she noticed his sudden sad attitude earlier when he mentioned his cave. She mentally noted to look into it later, but right now they need to move along with their introductions.

And maybe get some answers from this creature.

“We’re getting off-topic,” said Sunset before pointing at Twilight and then herself. “She’s Twilight Sparkle, and I’m Sunset Shimmer, but you knew that already.” Her face then became serious. “Now, will you please tell me how you knew all about us and Equestria?”

Sonic huffed. “For the third time, you told me!”

“How!?” Sunset stressed, nearly losing her patience. “How could I possibly have told you if we never met before?”

“You told me through our letters,” Sonic revealed.

There was dead silence within the bus as the girls stared at the hedgehog in shock, but not as much as Sunset, who was staring at him with her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

“L...Letters?” Sunset uttered. “W-what letters?”

“Oh you know, our letters!” Sonic replied casually. “We always exchanged them with each other as pen pals by leaving them underneath that one rock behind the bench at the park every week.”

Sunset felt her heart thumping hard within her chest and her throat became dry as sandpaper from the implication of his words.

No… it can't be! Sunset thought before she swallowed. 

“Who… who are you?” she asked quietly.

“You really don’t know?” said with a semi-surprised expression. With a grin, he pointed at himself with his thumb. “I’m Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!”

Sunset’s eyes widened further in shock. “You’re Sonic!?”

Once again, Spike was rudely awakened from his sleep due to an outburst. In his half-asleep state, Spike let out an annoyed grunt. “Ugh! I’ll never get any sleep at this rate!’

Sonic nodded. “Sure am!”

Everyone, except for the CMCs, was also shell-shocked with Sonic’s bombshell as the true identity of Sunset’s secret pen pal.

“No way…” Rainbow Dash uttered, eyes wide. “Sunset’s secret pen pal… was this talking blue hedgehog this whole time!?”

“...didn’t see dat one comin’!” Applejack drawled, still focusing on the road despite that her eyes were as wide as the others.

Sunset felt her head was spinning. Of all the possibilities of who her pen pal would be, a talking blue hedgehog creature was probably the last thing that came to her mind. So many questions come to her mind: How long was he around before becoming her pen pal? How much does he know about her and her friends, as well as Equestria? What was his intention of talking to her through their letters?

And was their friendship... even real?

Before she could ask any of those questions out loud, Sonic let out a loud gasp and rushed to one of the windows.

“Oh my gosh, stop the bus!” Sonic shouted.

This caused everyone on high alert. Applejack in particular almost slammed her brakes from the tone of Sonic’s urgency. Even Spike once again woke up abruptly from his slumber, but then became alert like the others after hearing Sonic’s serious shouting.

“What!? What is it?” Sunset exclaimed.

“Did that agent find us?” Twilight guessed.

“Or a monster?” Rainbow Dash suggested.

“Or something scary?” Fluttershy squeaked in fright.

Sonic shook his head. “No, that!” he exclaimed with a smile before pointing outside.

Everyone turned to face the window just in time to see a large billboard with a large image of, what appears to be, a rubber band ball.

“The World’s Largest Rubber Band Ball?” Sonic read excitedly. “We gotta see it!”

There were collective groans all around the bus. Everyone, sans Pinkie, annoyed that it was only a false alarm and not any real danger. Spike in particular was annoyed most of all for being woken up for something so trivial instead of any real emergency. 

“Oh for Pete’s sake!” Spike growled.

“Ooh! I wanna see it too!” Pinkie exclaimed with a huge smile.

“No, no, no!” Twilight yelled sternly, shaking her head with narrowed eyes. “Out of a question! This is not a family road trip! We can’t make any unnecessary stops, otherwise, G.U.N. will dissect you and arrest us!” She closed her eyes with a sigh. “Now... if we keep going at this rate without stopping, we should be at Manehatten in less than–”

The next time Twilight opened her eyes, she, as well as the others, became alarmed when their certain guest disappeared from his seat. For that matter, he disappeared completely from their bus and somehow, no one even noticed.

“Wha… where did he go!?” Twilight exclaimed.

Within seconds, Sonic reappeared back on the bus and onto his seat, much to everyone’s shock. What they all noticed right off the bat was that the hedgehog didn’t come back empty-handed. He was wearing a red baseball cap with the official Rubber-Band Ball brand on the front and he was carrying various stuff in his hands, including many mini Rubber Band Balls.

“Eh, you’re right. It was lame,” Sonic said with a shrug before showing Twilight one of the items with a grin. “The gift shop was cool though! I got you a mouse pad!”

Pinkie Pie sagged in disappointment. “Aww, I wish I was there!”

“Don’t worry, Cotton Candy Girl!” Sonic assured with a grin before picking up another item. “I got you this thing!”

The item in question was a wooden paddle ball with a red ball, which was attached to the paddle with a string. Pinkie’s eyes lit up the moment she saw the item.

“Ooh, I love this toy!” Pinkie cried happily before taking it. “How did you know that I like this?”

Sonic winked. “Just a hunch.”

“Seriously?” Rainbow Dash groaned as Pinkie started playing with her new toy. Unfortunately for Rainbow Dash, the ball Pinkie was bouncing was not only too close to Rainbow’s head, but the sounds of the ball bouncing were way too loud than she cared for.

Fluttershy blinked. “Wait… how’d you get ahold of those items?”

“Please tell me you paid them with your money,” Twilight begged.

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. “What’s money?”

Twilight’s left eyebrow twitched rapidly in response.

“Terrific! Now we’re wanted for petty theft on top of this!” Rainbow Dash complained with a huff.

“Well, at least it’s just a mouse pad and a paddle-ball,” Sunset offered meekly, trying to reduce the tension.

“Oh, but that’s not all!” Sonic added as he counted his fingers. “I also got a mug, a t-shirt, a couple of hats, a rubber bracelet, magnets, and even smaller versions of the rubber band balls!”

Most of the girls cringed at the number of items that Sonic "helped himself" from the gift shop, while Rainbow Dash felt even more annoyed at the blue rodent and Twilight was trying to keep herself from freaking out.

Sonic then turned towards Rainbow Dash and took out what appears to be a package of candy.

“I even got you some Skittles, Skittles!” 

He winced when Rainbow Dash scowled at him.

“Oh, right... can’t use that name anymore!" He said sheepishly. "Sorry, wouldn’t happen again!” He then turned to Sunset with an excited grin. “So, when are we gonna get there?”

“We will get there when we get there!" Sunset answered before she narrowed her eyes at him. "Just… don’t go anywhere anymore, okay? In fact, from now on, do exactly as I say, all the time! Got it!”

Sonic saluted. “You got it Equestrian Girl!”

Sunset frowned. I’m still not used to that nickname. She thought.

While she was still shocked that this hedgehog turned out to be her pen pal and wanted to ask him more questions, right now, her top priority was to help everyone travel to Manehattan safely. There are plenty of times to get her answers later. She’ll have to wait to talk to him alone when the next opportunity presents herself.

After all, there are certain topics she wanted to discuss with him that not even her friends know about.

“Hehehe, this is fun!” Pinkie giggled, as she continued to play with her paddle-ball near Rainbow’s head, much to the athlete's annoyance.

“...this is gonna be a long road trip,” Rainbow muttered.

"You can say that again," Spike huffed as he tried to get back to sleep in Fluttershy’s arms once again.





Tempest narrowed her eyes as she stared intensely at her GPS, provided by G.U.N. A while ago, she pulled her car over to the side of the road and checked on her device to keep track of the location of the fugitives through their phones. Unfortunately, up until an hour ago, their signals have vanished completely from her screen. She theorized that the girls either destroyed their phones or something happened to girls, leading them to get hurt, or worse. She hoped it was the former, rather than the latter. If it was the latter, then those girls are clearly more clever than she expected.

She admitted to herself that she underestimated these girls. They are no ordinary teens. They were able to evade her every time they were within her grasp despite her government training. They were able to do all of that without their powers. Her mood soured when her thoughts were drawn to Sunset Shimmer, the leader of the group. Her face still hurts from that punch that girl gave to her, but she was quick on her feet and really determined to protect her friends, Tempest will give her that. 

And that creature. She had no clue who he is, what he is and why he was with those girls. All she knows is that Dr. Robotnik is after that creature. And the fact that the girls are also associating with him, puts them in even more danger than ever before. All the more reason for her to catch up with them first before he does.

Her Commander will not be happy after hearing about her latest update with the girls.

Tempest winced from the sudden pain from her arm, especially where their purple dog bit her earlier during struggle during the bus chase.

“That darn mutt!” Tempest growled.

She dug her hand into her suit pocket and took out some sort of a high-tech pen. With a sigh, Tempest pulled up her sleeve from her right arm, revealing her forearm. But instead of flesh, her arm was made of cold, gray metal, specifically, Titanium metal.

Tempest frowned as she recalled how she earned this arm before she joined her father at G.U.N. It was a memory that she would rather forget, but one look at her arm is a constant reminder of her past lives and actions and must live with for the rest of her life. She wished that she could just erase her past.

She sighed heavily when she spotted those small bite marks that were left by the dog. With a small sigh, Tempest used the pen to activate a mini flame as she began to patch up the marks.

Those girls and that creature would have to wait.
> Volume II - Chapter 2: Who Is Sunset Shimmer?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was nearly night time over a lonely highway. The gang has been traveling on the road in their tour bus for many hours without stopping just to get to their destination as soon as possible and in fear that the agent from before might catch up to them. Even so, everyone was more tired from traveling than fear of getting caught.

Applejack was still in charge with the wheel, although her eyes suggested that she was getting tired of staring at the road for too long. The CMCs and Sonic were trying to play a game of "Eye Spy" for the hundredth time to keep themselves from getting bored. Fluttershy and Rarity fell asleep on each other's shoulders, while Spike was still fast asleep in her arms. Twilight was busy reading one of her books while Sunset, who was sitting next to her, was writing on her journal to Princess Twilight.



Dear Princess Twilight,

I know you're busy right now, but so much has happened since the last time we talked, I don’t know where to begin! 

Turns out, it was much worse than I feared. A man named Dr. Robotnik, who is another member of G.U.N. agents have been tracking the same traces of the energy wave from last night. To make matters worse, he showed up at Twilight’s house unannounced while we were all together and interrogated us. He acted like some total weirdo, and yet... he’s also very sinister to the point that he made me feel very uncomfortable. And on top of that, when we didn’t give him what he wanted, he almost killed us with his drones, despite the fact that we’re teenagers! We would have been done for if Sonic hadn't stopped him at the last second.

Oh right, I forgot! I finally met Sonic, but not what I’d expected.

You remembered that I told you earlier about rumors that there’s a Blue Devil living in our town near the woods? Well, as it turns out... Sonic is the Blue Devil! Only he’s not a devil… he’s an oversized talking blue hedgehog! Not only that, he turned out to be the same Sonic who wrote me those letters this whole time!

Yeah… I’m still trying to wrap my head around that.

Anyway, back on topic. Sonic showed up in Twilight’s home before anyone else showed up. When Dr. Robotnik arrived, he pleaded Twilight and I to help him, even though I didn’t know about him at the time. While I had my suspicions, I couldn’t just ignore him, so we agreed to help him by hiding him in Twilight’s attic and trying to get Dr. Robotnik to leave without any suspicion.

Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.

Thanks to Sonic’s distraction and our magic, we took down Robotnik’s drones and made our escape even while Tempest Shadow was on our tails. However, we became fugitives in the process. Right now, we are hoping to get to Dean Cadance in Manehatten so that she could help us get out of this mess without getting caught by G.U.N. And on top of that, we also promised Sonic to go find his rings somewhere on top of the Crystaller Building in that same city.

You see, he was trying to find a new home with his magical rings, which allowed him to make portals so that he could cross dimensions between different worlds. They’re kinda like our portal, yet... different… it’s the only thing I can describe. Anyway, he ended up losing his rings through the portal to Manehattan... and it was our fault that it happened. To make up for our mistake, we agreed to help him get his rings back.

For most of the ride, he seems to be sassy, yet harmless. In fact, he acts like a little kid who was excited about every little thing, even just anything involving us. But despite his innocent nature and all those letters he sent me in the past… a small part of me wasn’t so sure about him. He admitted that he’s been spying us for a long time and he was also the one that Robotnik was after. I feel like there was something else he wasn’t telling us... and me and the girls are going to try and find out. And most importantly...



Sunset looked up the moment he heard the CMCs, who were at their seats with Sonic, laughing heartily about some joke that he just told them.

To see how honest he was about his friendships with me. Sunset finished in her mind with a forlorn expression.

Elsewhere, Rainbow Dash was sitting at the front of the seat with Pinkie Pie with an irritated look. Sitting next to her friend isn't what bothered her, it's the fact that Pinkie still played with that stupid toy is what bothered her. Pinkie’s been paddling away with that thing for hours and it nearly gave her a headache. What really didn't help much was that Pinkie kept bouncing that ball near Rainbow’s head. Granted, Pinkie did stop a bunch of times, only because she missed, leading her to start all over again. Rinse, lather, and repeat for the next hour or so.

After hours of nonstop bouncing, Rainbow Dash let out a low growl.

"Pinkie…" Rainbow Dash spoke slowly. "How much longer… are you playing… with that thing?"

"Until I beat a world record Dashie," Pinkie answered, oblivious to Rainbow’s tone. "So far, I was only able to reach two hundred and twenty-two times!"

Rainbow Dash felt one of her eyebrows twitched. "And... what was the current world record?"

"Oh, around three thousand and four hundred times."

Rainbow’s eyes widened. "Oh, hay no!"

In one swift action, Rainbow Dash caught the paddle-ball with her hand and yanked the ball and the string towards her, snapping the string from the paddle in the process. For extra measures, Rainbow Dash threw the ball out of her open window so Pinkie wouldn't fix her toy and use it again.

"Hey! I was just getting the hang of it!" Pinkie yelled angrily, waking up Fluttershy, Rarity, and Spike in the process.

"Doubt it," Rainbow scoffed as she shut her window.

Pinkie pouted. "Meanie…"

“Are we there yet Applejack?" Apple Bloom asked while yawning. "It’s getting dark out here.”

“Yeah, this whole car ride is making me sleepy,” Sonic added as he rubbed his eyes with his arm.

“Hmm… good question, Sugarcube,” Applejack responded with a look of pondering. She glanced at her friends with the rear-view mirror. “Anyone here knows where we at?”

“Well, gee, I probably would’ve known the answer right away with a GPS app," said Rainbow Dash in her fake cheerfulness before glaring at Twilight. "If we weren't told to destroy our phones!”

“For the last time, Rainbow Dash, it was for our own safety,” Twilight replied before taking out her map from her bag. “Besides, I got all the answers we need with this map.”

Rainbow Dash stared at Twilight as if she had grown a second head. “Maps!? Who uses maps anymore? A pirate?”

“Daring Do used a map when she explores islands in her movies Sk– I mean, Dash!” Sonic pointed out.

Rainbow Dash huffed at the hedgehog's answer. "That only exists in movies! No explorers use maps in real life!"

"Actually Rainbow Dash, many explorers use maps all the time, especially while recording unexplored unknown areas of the world," Twilight interjected. “Regardless, it’s always good to have a paper map on you in case of emergencies and to study certain routes that not even most GPS knows about.” Twilight then reread her map. “Anyway, according to this map, we have about a day, maybe a day and a half before we reached our destination.”

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “And… how long until we reached our next pit stop?”

Twilight hesitated for a moment before replying, “About approximately... two hours.”

“Two hours!?” Rainbow shrieked, nearly standing up from her seat. “You’re telling me that we’ve been on the road all day and into the dead of the night… and we’re still not even close to the next pit stop!?”

“Hey, don’t blame me Rainbow Dash!” Twilight retorted. “I’m not the one who created these roads! And complaining about it isn't gonna make this trip go faster. So, you're going to have to suck it up like the rest of us!”

“But this ride is taking forever!” Rainbow complained.

“I’m with Ski- I mean, Dash here!” Sonic spoke up. “If it was just me, and if I knew my way, I probably would’ve been there by now!”

Rainbow growled as she turned to the blue hedgehog. “Fine, then take Egghead's map and go!”

“Knock it off Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy cried. "There’s no need to be so hostile towards him!”

“Fluttershy's right," Sunset added. "We’re just as tired and stressed as you are, but there's no reason to take it out on him.”

“But we’re still two hours away from a nearby town for us to crash for the night!” Rainbow argued.

“She does have a point darlings,” said Rarity with a yawn. “A lady needs her beauty sleep, and I doubt we’ll get any while we’re still on the road.”

“Even if we arrived in town, then wat?” Applejack inquired. “It’s not like we can stay at some hotel without dem G.U.N. fellers to track us with our credit cards.”

Rainbow Dash crossed her arms. “So what are you suggesting then?”

No one said a word. Each of them was pondering what to do until Pinkie spoke up.

“I know what we should do!” Pinkie announced.

“What’s that, Pinkie?” Twilight asked.

Pinkie let out a huge grin. “Camping!”

Twilight blinked. “Camping?”

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah! Since we're in the middle of nowhere and our next stop is really really far away, why not just camp out somewhere around here so we can tell stories, eat some s'mores and sleep under the stars for the night."

"That's… actually not a bad idea Pinkie," said Twilight. "We're getting closer to our destination and Agent Shadow is far behind us, so we should be safe enough to camp for the night."

Sunset nodded. "I agree. Anyone else?"

"Um… I'm okay with it if everyone else is okay with it," said Fluttershy.

Rarity shrugged. "While I prefer to be in a nice hotel room, take a nice bath, and sleep in a nice warm bed… but I suppose camping will have to do."

"You know ah'm always down for campin' Sugarcube!" said Applejack with a smile.

"We definitely would love to do campin' with y'all!" Apple Bloom said excitedly, not feeling tired anymore.

"Yeah, it's been a while since we have last done it!" Scootaloo agreed.

Sweetie Belle faced Sonic. "Have you ever been camping before Sonic?"

Sonic shook his head. "No. I never went camping before, but I always wanted to try it!"

Pinkie let out an excited grin. "Well, then you're in for a treat there cutie! I Pinkie Promised that we'll make your first camping experience so much fun that you won't ever forget!"

Sonic grinned. "Sweet! I can't wait!"

Everyone, sans Applejack, turned to Rainbow expectedly. While she normally would love the idea of camping with her friends, she doesn't want to do it with that suspicious creature around. But seeing that she's in a losing battle, Rainbow signed in defeat.

"Yeah sure, whatever," Rainbow said reluctantly.

"Welp, guess that's settled!" Applejack nodded. "Ah'll see if Ah can find us a road leading to the woods as an extra precaution in case we're followed."

"Good idea AJ," said Sunset. "The last thing we need is to be found by the authorities, especially by G.U.N."

"Yeah, while you do that AJ, I'll play us some tunes while we're at it!" said Rainbow Dash as she got up from her seat.

She made her way to the radio at the front of the bus and turned it on. As soon as she hit the switch, music began to play through the speakers, which were riveting and very atmospheric. Already familiar with the song, Rainbow Dash started lightly nodding her head along with the music. As everyone seemed captivating by the song, Pinkie Pie immediately snapped to attention. Her eyes widened as she heard the first few notes of the song. Before the singer could utter the first lyrics of the song, Pinkie Pie zipped towards the front of the bus, nearly knocked Rainbow over, and changed the station. The first song was then replaced with a different song, as the riff of the guitar blurred out from the speakers instead of the rhythm and beats.

"Hey! Why'd you change the station?" Rainbow complained with an irritated look. "I like that song!"

"No! We are not playing that song!" Pinkie yelled with a look of disapproval.

Rainbow Dash, as well as the others, were taken aback by an angry tone coming from their usual cheery friend.

"W-why not?" Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie then turned towards the fourth wall with a serious expression. "They know why!"

Rainbow blinked in confusion. "O...kay?"

Despite Pinkie’s randomness, they all decided to leave the station the way it is for the remainder of the ride until they find a safe place to camp.





Dr. Robotnik let out an irritated huff as he read over the documents on his computer for the hundredth time from within his portable lab. Ever since his visit to Miss Sparkles’s house, he and Agent Stone traveled back to CHS. Robotnik had a hard time getting access to the files no thanks to the school board, but after one of his agents kindly persuaded them, he eventually got all the information he needed about the current students. 

He located and read over the records of the seven students who are currently on the run along with that creature who escaped from him earlier. He already got a good idea of who most of these girls are after studying their history, likes, and their background. However, there was only one student who gave him the most trouble and a complete mystery to him. Despite how advanced his tech he got in his arsenal, he couldn’t make heads or tails with this individual.

It was at this point, Agent Stone stepped into his lab and walked right by him. Despite that he was facing the screen, Dr. Robotnik already knew who entered his lab and he let out a loud huff.

“Agent Stone?”

“Doctor?”

Dr. Robotnik smacked his lips. “Tell me… what do you see on this screen in front of you?”

Agent Stone stared at the screen, which contained seven documents, with a quizzical look. “Uh… they’re documents of all the students from CHS, sir?”

Dr. Robotnik rolled his eyes with a sigh. “Yes... they are. Not only that, I only have seven of them from that school, and those are the same seven students who are currently on the run with that thing! But that’s not the only thing...”

With a few taps on his keyboard, Dr. Robotnik opened all the documents of the seven teenaged girls in question, including an image of each girl.

“Tell me Stone,” Dr. Robotnik began. “Do you know which one of these things is not like the others? One of these things just doesn't belong?”

Agent Stone tried to study the seven documents to the best of his ability, but he couldn’t find a single odd thing his boss mentioned.

“I… don’t see it, Doctor,” Stone replied.

Dr. Robotnik sighed, shook his head in disappointment. “Typical! Even at an elementary level, you can’t seem to figure things out without a little guidance.”

Robotnik started typing again, causing his computer to zoom in on one of the Students' documents and photos.

Agent Stone cocked an eyebrow at the image of a student his boss selected. 





“Sunset Shimmer?”

“Yes… her,” Robotnik growled, still a bit peeved from that punch she gave him. “I want you to take a closer look at her bio.”

As Stone did as his boss instructed, Robotnik continued his explanation.

“It said here that she’s a resident of Canterlot City. Fourth-year student at CHS, works as a waitress and cashier at a sushi restaurant and currently living alone at her apartment.”

“Okay? And what’s wrong with that?” Agent Stone inquired.

“Everything!” Robotnik emphasized. “It’s everything that’s wrong!”

Agent Stone tilted his head in confusion. “How so?”

Robotnik breathed through his nose to calm himself before he explained further. “This document claimed she’s a high schooler and still a teenager... and yet, she somehow lives in that apartment by herself… and I doubt her earnings from her minimum wage job will be enough to pay her rent, among other things!”

“Maybe her parents are covering her?” Stone theorized. “This apartment is part of the school dorms.”

“Impossible!” Dr. Robotnik shook his head. “She’s an orphan… or so it claimed.”

Stone turned to Robotnik, now even more confused. “I don’t understand, Doctor.”

“I’ve been to many different foster systems in my lifetime, believe me, and I never heard of someone named Sunset Shimmer in my life. I even looked up every single one of them just to confirm my suspicions. Even if she was and somehow not on the record, an orphaned individual cannot live a life of their own without a guardian until they’re eighteen. And yet… this girl has somehow been around that school a couple of years ago without a guardian!” He then rubbed his temples. “This makes no sense!”

Stone glanced at Sunset’s record and furrowed his brow. “Um… but the record said that her current guardian is to a woman named Celestia, a current Principal of CHS.”

“It was forged,” Robotnik answered bluntly. “This record has obviously gone past a lot of red tapes to make it official without actually verifying it!”

Stone blinked. “How can you tell?”

“Let’s just say… I knew a lot about Celestia and her background to the point that she never has kids,” Robotnik answered vaguely. “Even so, the school officials are willing to turn a blind eye to allow this individual to attend their school and live off of their apartment. She could be either an ‘orphan’ who has been living on the streets, an illegal immigrant, or… something else. Even the moment I first laid my eyes on her, there’s something about her that seems… special!”

“Special?” Agent Stone asked almost bewilderedly.

Robotnik threw his arms up. “Well, I don’t know what to call her! All I know is, and especially what happened earlier today, that girl is the key to their mysterious powers.”

“You mean magic sir?” Agent Stone pointed out, only to flinch when Robotnik gave him his most chilling glare.

“Magic?” He scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous, Agent Stone! Magic only ‘exists’ is when you see some average joe attempting to pull a rabbit out of a hat or playing cards at some child’s birthday party!” He raised his finger. “What they have… is much more than some cheap magic tricks… and I fully intend to study it once I catch them!”

With a sigh, he stood up from his chair and made his way to the door with Agent Stone following him. 

“In the meantime, we'll continue to track these fugitives down. And knowing the occupation of Miss Sparkle’s brother, we shall pay a friendly visit to Canterlot's police station. Round up our men!"

Agent Stone nodded. "Yes, Doctor."

Just as they approached the door, they heard voices coming from outside.

"Lyra, you can't be here!" Someone, most likely one of the female students of the school, whispered frantically. "The school is swarming with agents right now! You'll get into big trouble!"

Before Agent Stone could go out to investigate, Robotnik stopped him and silently ordered him to be quiet.

"It's precisely why we're here!" Another female voice replied. "The Blue Devil was last spotted during our game yesterday! I bet he was also the one who caused the blackout in this town too from this field!"

Robotnik stroked his mustache in interest. The Blue Devil? Was she talking about that thing I saw earlier? If what she said is true that he was the cause, then my hunch is correct… as always!

The second female speaker continued. "This makes me want to catch him now more than ever! But if the agency catches him first, I'll never get that chance!"

The first female speaker scoffed. "For the last time Lyra, there is no blue devil! It didn't exist ten years ago, and it didn't exist now!"

Robotnik blinked. Ten years? So this oversized blue rodent has been around for that long?

"I'm telling you, Bonnie, he is real!" The second female speaker retorted. "If you can easily believe that there's another world full of magical ponies, why can't you believe in the Blue Devil?"

Robotnik raised his brow in bewilderment. Another world? Ponies!?

"That's different Lyra!" The first speaker argued. "We all knew that world existed ever since after the Fall Formal incident and we all saw the events that happened because of that world. Heck, we all saw Sunset's homeworld ourselves multiple times!"

Robotnik smirked. So... Miss Shimmer not only holds the key to her and her friends' powers, but she also originally comes from another world? Interesting...

"So you're saying, you'll believe the Blue Devil when we see it, right?"

"That's not the point Lyra! I– ugh, look this isn’t the best place to talk! We gonna get out of here before anyone saw us!"

Figuring now was the good time to act, Robotnik pressed a few quick commands on his glove before he slammed open his door, revealing his presence to the two teenage girls who were standing near his truck.

"Oh shoot! Run!" The blue and pink-haired girl screamed.

Before the two of them could run far, a huge spotlight flashed on them, nearly making them blind. As they were trying to adjust their eyes, they were immediately blocked by a few agents and a dozen egg drones. Robotnik then slowly approached them, causing the two girls to froze in fear.

"Well, well, well," Robotnik purred with a grin. "It seems like we got ourselves a couple of late-night troublemakers... just snooping around as usual, eh, Stone?"

"Indeed Doctor," said Stone with a nod. "And they trespassed our perimeter."

Robotnik immediately frowned. "I think we both know what happens to those who trespass."

Robotnik then snapped his fingers, causing both the agents and his drones to aim their guns at them. The two girls shrieked in terror and hugged each other for comfort.

“Now,” Robotnik said, his voice low with menacingly. “Unless you rather want to become swiss cheese, I want you two to cooperate and tell me everything you know.”

The white-haired girl gulped and hugged her friend tightly. "A-about what?"

Robotnik stepped forward and brought his face so close to the girl’s to the point that their noses barely touch. “What can you tell me about Sunset Shimmer and this… other world?”
> Volume II - Chapter 3: Campfire Talk
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time has passed, and the gang eventually found a place to camp in the middle of the woods for the night. While their tour bus and their sleeping bags is enough for them to shelter for the night, they already got to work to set up the campfire area for them to hang out and have fun. 

While most of the high schoolers were busy gathering firewood, Rarity volunteered to entertain the CMCs, Sonic, and Spike by telling them her scary story by the fire pit.

"And that's when she looked down and realized she was wearing purple socks with a burgundy dress!" Rarity concluded before letting out a terrifying scream.

Rarity paused her screaming when she noticed her sister and the others were giving her confused expressions.

"Purple and burgundy, darlings! The same color family!" Rarity explained before she started screaming again.

The CMCs, Sonic, and Spike looked at each other before they turned back to Rarity with strange looks.

"Ah'm sorry… but Ah'm confused," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah sis, how exactly is wearing purple socks with a burgundy dress considered to be terrifying?" Sweetie Belle questioned.

"I'm just terrified that she'll try to tell it again," Sonic muttered.

Rarity crossed her arms, feeling insulted by their criticisms. "Hmph! You kids just don't appreciate the fashion side of life."

"We do," Scootaloo insisted. "We just don't appreciate your story skills."

They all chuckled while Rarity turned her nose up with a pout.

It was at this point, the rest of the teens returned from the woods with piles of wood in their arms for the fire.

“Did we miss anythin’?” Applejack asked her sister.

“Rarity was just tellin’ us her scary story,” Apple Bloom replied.

Applejack gave her sister a knowing look. “Was dis about purple socks and burgundy dress?”

“Eeyup!”

“Why am I not surprised!” Rainbow Dash chuckled, causing Rarity to glare daggers at her.

“Now let’s not fight,” Fluttershy said gently. “We’re all trying to relax.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered. “Especially while we’re making some s’mores!”

“Ooh ooh! I want some s’mores!” Sonic cried eagerly.

As Pinkie happily gave a stick with a marshmallow to him, Sunset watched with a small smile. Despite him being a talking creature, and a little bit strange, he certainly acted like a little kid, who gets excited over every little thing. While they’re still technically keeping an eye on him, but Sunset was starting to think that maybe he isn’t as threatening as everyone had thought, especially after witnessing how well he got along with the CMCs.

Speaking of threatening, her mind then shifted to that young woman with a scar who chased them earlier. While Sunset didn’t know how or why Tempest ended up at Twilight’s house earlier, but Sunset suspected it was because she was onto her ever since their run-in at the school's hallway. What really scared her was how persistent that agent was from the way she hung on to their bus earlier, and something tells Sunset that they have not seen the last of her.

Then her thoughts went to that wacky, yet scary man they met earlier who called himself Robotnik. Not only that doctor was from G.U.N., but he had also nearly killed them, despite that they’re just teenagers. While Tempest may have been scary in her own right, Robotnik may be the most dangerous threat to her and her friends. There's no telling what he could do with his insane robots and his technology. They'll have to be extra careful if they ever run into him again.

Speaking of that man, there was something else that her friend mentioned earlier that really bothered her, and figured now would be the time to ask her.

"Hey Twilight, there is something that I was wondering about," said Sunset, getting the attention from others.

"What is it, Sunset?" Twilight asked before taking a bite of her marshmallow.

"Well, you said that you knew all about Dr. Robotnik and that he was your… idol."

"I still couldn’t get my head around that!" Rainbow Dash interjected, but Sunset ignored her.

"And yet… he also said that he doesn't exist. What does that even mean?"

"Yeah, dat doesn't make any lick of sense," Applejack agreed. "How can he exist if there's so much about him?"

Twilight swallowed her food. "Well you see, it's common for anyone who works under the government, specifically, special agents with certain circumstances, who trade their lives to serve for our country as ghost agents. If anything happens to them, like say... captured by an enemy, gone rogue, or worse, then the agency will disavow their actions and their existence."

"Sheesh, I wouldn't want to work for these guys!" Rainbow commented.

"Although, I heard both their medical and dental plans were really good," Pinkie Pie mused.

Applejack shook her head at Pinkie’s antics before continuing. "As interesting as this sounds, dat still doesn't explain how you knew about Robotnik, Twi?"

"I read his top-secret file from their database once," Twilight replied nonchalantly.

"Wait,” Rarity uttered. “Wasn't there usually a high security for going into a database from the government?"

"Please tell me you didn't hack your way into their system," Sunset said uneasily in dread.

"I did," Twilight confirmed bluntly, much to everyone’s shock. "What? I was bored one day!" She shrugged. "Besides, I barely even try to use my advanced hacking skills. Their firewalls were so bad, a second-grader could probably get in easily."

"...I'm not sure if I should be concerned that you broke into their systems so easily, or that their security wasn't so secure to begin with," Sunset commented, not sure how to feel with this revelation.

"Gotta admit Egghead, that's hardcore!" Rainbow Dash said gleefully as she rubbed her hands eagerly. "So tell us! What's the dirt on that guy?"

"I pretty much told you all about him already when he first arrived at my house," said Twilight before furrowing her brows in deep thought. "Except…"

"Except what?" Sunset pressed.

"Except… he's done a lot of bad and controversial things even before he became a government agent.”

"W-what kind of bad things?" Fluttershy stammered fearfully.

"Well, there is one incident that he caused an amusement park at disarray by hacking into various rides, sending his bots to scare the civilians and destroyed various food stands and he nearly set the whole park on fire… all because he was told that he was too short to ride a rollercoaster. And he was eleven years old at the time!"

"Daaaaang! That's messed up!" Rainbow exclaimed.

"I concur," Sunset agreed. "And I thought I had anger issues!"

"Remind me to not go on any rides with that guy," Sonic added.

"If one of mah relatives did dat, Ah'll be sure to give him a punishment of a lifetime!" Applejack growled, causing her youngest sister to shudder. "Speakin' of which, where were his dang parents?"

"Actually, he was an orphan," Twilight revealed. "Because he was a troublesome kid, he was passed from one foster system to another, until he ended up on his own when he turned eighteen."

"I guess that would explain his remark earlier about me rubbing into his orphaned face," Sunset commented.

"Oh, the poor dear, I feel sorry for him," Fluttershy said with sympathy.

"Oh, I feel sorry for him too… except that he tried to kill us!" Rainbow Dash said sarcastically.

"That's not all though," Twilight continued. "He tried to build his own amusement park, only it was shut down due to many safety violations. Then he turned to science by creating an altered power plant for energy, but that was shut down too because he polluted the lake with chemicals. He even tried to experiment with an alternate method to power up his machines, only for the science community to stop him when they learned that his intention was to use living animals to power his machines."

"W-what!?" Fluttershy shrieked, her sympathy for Robotnik was instantly gone. "He forced those animals to power up his machines? Why!?"

"Cause he's insane Flutters, that's why!" Rainbow retorted, before shaking her head. "What I was wondering was why G.U.N. have him work for them?"

"You remembered when I said that some agents have certain circumstances?" Twilight asked. "Some of those agents were former criminals who were either asked or forced to work for them after doing criminal acts after nearly threatening the country."

Rainbow, as well as the others, stared at Twilight in disbelief. "You gotta be kidding me! They actually have criminals working for them!? Why would they do that?"

"Well, in some cases, depending on how… talented this person was, they figured that they can use that individual's skills to help ‘contribute’ to the country."

"I guess I can understand their logic of having former criminals working for them," said Sunset before frowning. "After all… I was pretty awful too before you girls took me in."

"Except we took you in because we wanted to be your friend," Rarity said gently. "They only bring them in just for their own benefits and to make their jobs easier."

“What do y’all supposed they’re using him for?” Applejack wondered.

“If I were to guess, it was his super intelligence and his skills of developing tech and machines,” Twilight answered. “As I said, despite his list of… dirty laundry, his mind and technology were out of this world!” Twilight looked down in shame. "And he… inspired me at some point."

"How so Twilight?" Fluttershy asked gently.

Twilight sighed. "He's very smart and dedicated to his work to the point that he revolutionized science time and again, and yet, he's all alone… just like me." She grasped her knees. "He even said in his documents that his methods of completing his work are to study everything you can and to pursue it no matter what. He also said to not let anyone slow you down to your goal, because getting the results is more important, while everyone around you is just insignificant."

Everyone around Twilight was not pleased with what they were hearing about the doctor’s views of pursuing their goals.

"Wow… that guy really deserves a Nobel prize," Rainbow stated sarcastically, oozing in disgust.

Rarity scowled. "I never thought I could despise that man even more than I am already!"

Sonic frowned. "I bet he's so much fun to talk to at parties!"

Pinkie looked at Sonic in bewilderment. "What? How could him talking about those mean things be any fun at parties?"

"I was being sarcastic!" Sonic defended.

“What he said is awful, I know,” Twilight said gloomily. “But the worst thing was… I actually believed it for a while.”

“What!?” Sunset exclaimed, much to her and the rest of the gang’s shock.

“Except for ‘everyone is insignificant’ part!” Twilight quickly clarified. “That one I don’t agree with… at least to some degree.” She sighed heavily. “Back at Crystal Prep, no one really wanted to be associate with me, let alone actually like me. And no matter how much I contribute to the school with my advanced academic skills, no one really seems to care. And even before I enrolled in that school, with the exception of Shining, Cadance, and Spike. I’ve always been by myself all in my life. I don’t know if there’s anything wrong with me or I’m just too different from the others, but I figured that I’ll always be alone no matter how much I tried... which was why I always put all my focus on science and my research… just like him. I even use his methods during the Friendship Games… but we all know how that turned out.” She let out a humorless chuckle. “It’s all part of a curse of being a genius I suppose.”

She suddenly felt someone sat right next to her and then wrapped her up into a one-sided hug. Twilight turned to faced Sunset, who had a look of sympathy. 

“I’m so sorry that you have to deal with your loneliness for so long,” Sunset said softly, before giving her a warm smile. “But you are not alone anymore.”

“Yeah, you have us silly!” Pinkie said in her upbeat tone.

“You won’t get rid of us easily!” Rainbow said cockily.

“We got yer back Sugarcube!” Applejack added.

“We care about you Twilight,” Fluttershy assured.

“We love you for being you darling, quirks and all,” said Rarity.

“Don’t ferget about us!” Apple Bloom interjected.

“Yeah, we’re your friends too!” Sweetie Belle cheered.

“You’re awesome Twilight!” Scootaloo added.

“And don’t forget your number one assistant!” Spike barked happily.

Twilight started tearing up from all of her friends’ praises and assurances. Even after all this time she spent with them, she never would have thought she could ever get any friends, especially with these wonderful girls and her dog.

“T-thank you girls… everyone...” Twilight sniffed, rubbing her eyes underneath her glasses. “That really means a lot.”

Meanwhile, Sonic stared at the bespectacled both in empathy and in longingly. He understood what it's like to be alone just because you are different from the rest, he knew the pain all too well. But unlike Twilight, who at least has a couple of people and a dog in her life until she meets her friends, Sonic has been alone his entire life. Sure, he had Longclaw at one point, but his time with her was brief before he was forced to flee. While Sonic was happy for Twilight that she has her friends for support, he wished he had that same friendship as she does.

To keep his loneliness and jealousy at bay, he quickly moved on to a much lighter topic. “So what do we do for fun during camping?”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up from Sonic’s sudden question. “Well, aside from eating s’mores and telling scary stories, we can also do some outdoor activities, like sports!”

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed with her toothy grin. “Ah wish we have some baseball gear with us, otherwise, Ah would love to play another game of baseball!”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah, count me in! I would like to play that again too!”

“I bet our team will be super awesome with Sonic on our team!” said Scootaloo, causing Rainbow Dash to nearly grimace in jealousy.

Sonic let out a nervous cough from the sound of baseball. “Uh… I think I’ll pass with baseball for now.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “Why not?”

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well... the last time I did, I accidentally had lightning shot out of my butt, so I rather not want to do that again."

Sunset blinked. "Wait, lightning?"

“Again?” Twilight added.

Realizing that he let his last night’s activity slip, Sonic quickly covered his mouth, but he knew it was too late as everyone watched him both in interest and suspicion.

"Uh, I mean…” Sonic stammered.

“Wait!” Sunset spoke up with widened eyes. “Were you at our school’s baseball field the other night?”

Sonic began to sweat a little. “Uh… I-I may have…”

“And by ‘lightning’, were you referring to that huge blue wave explosion that same night?” Twilight pressed. “Did you have something to do with it too?”

Sonic shifted his eyes away from the girls, feeling uncomfortable. “Well… I wouldn’t call it a huge explosion but–”

"That was you!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, angry at the revelation. "You're the cause of this?"

Knowing that he had to come clean, Sonic let out a sigh. “Yes... it was me, but–”

Rainbow suddenly stood up with a look of rage. “I knew it! I knew there was something fishy about you! You were trying to take over the world, weren’t you?”

Sonic’s eyes widened from the accusation. “No, I wasn’t! I–”

"You're the one who lured G.U.N. to come after us!" she roared.

"I-I didn't mean to–"

"I knew we should've brought you with us! You were nothing but a trouble magnet and you ruined our lives!"

"Rainbow Ashley Dash!” Fluttershy yelled, ceasing Rainbow’s angry rant. “That's enough!"

Despite Fluttershy’s attempt to defuse the situation, the damage was already done as Sonic was shaking violently, his pupils shrunk to the size of pin needles, and had a hurt expression on his face as if he was punched in the gut.

"I...I...I didn’t mean..." he stammered.

Before anyone could speak, Sonic jumps off of his seat and ran away from the camp, and disappeared into the woods, leaving a trail of blue blur behind.

"Sonic!" Sunset cried out.

"Yeah, you better run you blue freak!” Rainbow Dash yelled angrily. “Before you make things worse for all of–"

Rainbow Dash was suddenly interrupted when she felt someone smacked her really hard at the back of her head. She held the back of her head in pain and turned to see who hit her. To her and everyone’s shock, the culprit was none other than Fluttershy... who had a look of pure fury on her face.

"Ow! What was that for Flutters!?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"You should be ashamed of yourself!" Fluttershy screamed. "The things you said were out of line!"

“I concur!” Rarity agreed who also had a look of disapproval. “What you just said and the way you acted was uncalled for!” 

“Yeah, that was really mean, Dashie!” Pinkie shouted angrily.

Everyone around the campfire also voiced their disapproval of Rainbow’s behavior towards her. Even Scootaloo was upset with how her idol acted towards the hedgehog.

“That was totally uncool Rainbow Dash!” she spat.

Rainbow Dash growled, frustrated that everyone viewed her as the bad guy while ignoring a major issue with that creature.

“Didn’t any of you hear him?” Rainbow Dash argued. “He was the one who caused that blue wave! He did it on purpose just to have G.U.N. chasing us!”

“Are you sure about that Rainbow Dash?” Twilight questioned, crossing her arms. “While I’m just as shocked as you are, we didn’t hear his side of the story yet.” 

“Yeah, and you just jumped to conclusions while calling him names!” Sunset shouted.

“I... well… how do we know he’ll tell us the truth?” Rainbow Dash protested desperately. “He never mentioned the wave until now!”

“We don’t know for sure, that’s why we’re trying to get him to open up,” Fluttershy explained before narrowing her eyes. “But that’s still no excuse for your behavior Rainbow Dash!”

“Yeah but I... I… I…” 

When Rainbow Dash couldn’t come up with a good argument, she let out a loud scream of frustration and stood up. 

“Ugh! Forget this!” she shouted and walked away from the group.

“And just where do ya think yer going Rainbow Dash?” Applejack demanded.

“A walk!” Rainbow snarled before disappearing into the woods.

Sunset quickly got up. “I’ll go talk to her and see what’s up!”

Sunset ran after Rainbow Dash until she too disappeared into the woods.

Rarity scoffed sharply as soon as Sunset left their sights. “Ugh! The nerve of Rainbow Dash!”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, she’s been very mean towards Sonic since we escaped from Robotnik.”

Twilight frowned. “I can understand why she was upset, but still… it wasn’t right of her to attack him like that.”

Fluttershy’s anger died down as she began to worry for the blue hedgehog. “Oh, I hope Sonic is okay and come back.” She then looked down somberly. “To tell you the truth… even though we just met him and we’re supposed to keep an eye on him… he grew on me already.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “Really?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Yes... I don’t sense any malice from him at all, even when we first met him at Twilight’s house. Also, his personality and his love for speed reminded me of Dashie when we were younger, almost as if she found her long lost brother.” She sighed heavily. “I... was actually hoping that these two would get along and get to know each other… was that wrong of me?”

Applejack shook her head. “Not at all, Surgercube. Ah’ll be lyin’ if Ah say Ah didn’t feel the same for that critter.” She frowned deeply as she stared into their campfire. “But with everythang that happened just now… Ah don’t see how Rainbow could ever get along with him.”





“What is wrong with them?” Rainbow Dash muttered angrily as she continued to walk deeper into the woods. “How can they not see that he is a threat to us?”

Usually, whenever Rainbow Dash felt stressed or upset about anything, she always had an excuse to take a walk around her neighborhood to help clear her head. But the forest would have to do. Luckily, a full moon was out, and Rainbow Dash used the light of the moon to help guide her along the path, having no destination in mind. She had hoped that her friends will wise up about their ‘guest’ and see things her way, but after her argument with her friends, the chances of that was less than likely.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!”

Rainbow Dash breathed heavily through her nose to keep herself from having another outburst before she turned just in time to see Sunset, who finally caught up with her.

“What? Are you going to yell at me some more like all the others?” Rainbow stated flatly.

“I’m not going to yell at you,” Sunset assured. “I just want to talk to you.”

Rainbow scoffed. “Right... and then you’ll yell at me. Glad you clarified that!”

Sunset crossed her arms with an annoyed expression. “There will be some more yelling if you continue to act like a child! Now, are we gonna talk or not?”

Rainbow Dash shot Sunset her glare, but she nodded silently, allowing Sunset to speak.

Sunset sighed. “Look... I understand why you’re upset and angry at him, and that you have a huge distrust towards him... but there’s no reason to be so hard on him. Besides, we don’t know the full story from him yet. And as much as I wanted you to apologize to him, I’m not gonna force you to since you’re usually too stubborn to admit you’re wrong.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at that, but Sunset continued.

“However, I can at least ask you to hear his side before you judge and accuse him again when he gets back… if he ever comes back.”

“How do we know he’ll tell us the truth?” Rainbow challenged. “While it’s one thing he’s been stalking us for years, which that and itself was just plain creepy… he left out the part that he was the one who created that blue wave and lured the government into our town up until a few minutes ago! Who knows what else kind of ‘secrets’ that rodent kept from us!”

Sunset felt really frustrated with her friend's stubbornness but managed to keep herself calm.

“Look, while I also wanted to know where his head is at, but acting all hostile around him and calling him names isn’t going to help us. All we can do is listen to him and learn more about him without being rude. I think that’s why Pinkie suggested we set up camp in the first place: we’re trying to make him feel welcome and for him to drop his defenses and open up to us. You just have to be patient.”

Rainbow Dash had a look of disbelief. “Patient? Newsflash Sunset: we don’t have time to be patient, especially while we’re on a run by the government! Besides, patients are for hospitals!” She shook her head. “No! We should come up with a much better and faster way to get all the secrets out of him… and I know the perfect way to do it!”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow. “And what's that, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow smirked. “I think you should use your magic on him!”

…

…

…

"...what?” Sunset uttered.

"Let me explain!" Rainbow said quickly before Sunset could scold her. "We still don't know about him or his intentions for spying on us for so long, and he still doesn't answer our questions! The only way for us to figure out about that thing is for you to use your mind-reading magic on him. And once we know that he is actually bad news, we will strike!"

Sunset couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Not only her friend still insisted on her suspicions about Sonic, but now she wanted her to use her abilities on the blue hedgehog by force. She never felt so disappointed and ashamed in her friend right now.

"Okay, first of all, my magic isn’t mind-reading, it’s through empathy,” Sunset retorted.

Rainbow Dash tilted her head in confusion. “Isn’t that the same thing?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, it’s actually a little more than that. Empathy means understanding what another person was feeling. In other words, my magic gives me the ability to read through their emotions and to understand from their point of view.” Seeing a blank look on Rainbow’s face, Sunset explained further. “Let me put it this way; every time I touched someone, I see things from that person’s perspective or to 'walk a mile in that person’s shoes', if you will so that I can understand what they were feeling during that moment.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Like… watching TV?”

“Something like that," said Sunset. "Except I feel like I’m actually there and also feel what that person was feeling. My magic helps me understand what that person was going through.”

Rainbow Dash nodded in understanding, but then she paused when a thought came to her. “Hey, wait a minute! If you can do that just by touching someone, why didn’t that happen to you when you carry that guy?” Her eyes then widened. “Wait… did you read my mind every time you touch me?”

“Relax! I've been training myself ever since our trip to Camp Everfree,” Sunset assured. “As long as I stay focused, I can use my magic at will so that I won’t invade anyone's thoughts by accident.” Sunset blushed before she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. “Well… most of the time.” Her expression became serious again. “As for your first question, he was knocked out after he rode one of the drones at the time. My magic can only work when that person is conscious. And for the last time, it’s not mind-reading!”

“Well, whatever you called it, I think you should use it!” Rainbow Dash insisted.

With narrowed eyes, Sunset crossed her arms. “This leaves me with the second thing… I’m not going to use it!”

Rainbow Dash balked. “What!? Why not?”

“As I said, while I see everything that the person has gone through, it was still an invasion of privacy. I’m only going to use it as a last resort,” Sunset explained. “Besides... Sonic already liked me and well... us, before we even met him. It would be easier to just ask him while he’s friendly. The last thing we should do is to break his trust by snooping into his life behind his back.”

“Trust?!” Rainbow shouted with a raging expression. “How do we know if we should trust him? He could be lying about his life for all we know!”

Sunset huffed, now getting aggravated with her athletic friend. “You know Rainbow Dash, that’s always your problem! While you’re very loyal to a fault, you certainly have a hard time trusting others, especially that you judge them unfairly before you even get to even know them! Not to mention, you also make these rash ideas whenever you get super paranoid!”

Rainbow Dash let out an exasperated sigh. “Oh yeah! Name one person who I judged unfairly and that I didn’t really trust them!”

Sunset eyes narrowed. “Me!”

Rainbow Dash recoiled at that. It's no secret that the two of them, mostly Rainbow Dash, had a rough start after the Fall Formal. Rainbow originally didn’t like the idea of befriending someone who used to bully her and her friends, let alone nearly took over the school. But because of her promise to Princess Twilight about giving Sunset a chance, she did exactly that, much to her reluctance. To make a long story short, the two eventually became close friends and Rainbow Dash is happy to be Sunset’s friend. The only thing she regretted was giving Sunset a hard time for the first few weeks.

Rainbow Dash let out a somber sigh. “Okay… you got me on that one… and I know I didn't warm up to you as easily as the others. But in my defense, you were a bully in the past and split me and my friends apart!” When she saw Sunset's guilt expression, Rainbow quickly added. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I became friends with you and I’m proud to be one, but it wasn’t easy for me to trust you right away. It took time, but because we get to know you better, I warmed up to you.” She then frowned. “While that creature–”

“Sonic,” Sunset interrupted in annoyance. “His name’s Sonic!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Right... while Sonic’s case was different! We just met him while the government conveniently chased after him!" Rainbow argued, her volume grew louder by the second. "He knows all about us, yet he didn’t exactly tell us everything about him. And we have to help him find these rings, or whatever to go to some fungus planet while we’re on the run. And after hearing that he was the cause of that blue wave, he put all of us in danger no thanks to him!” 

“Rainbow Dash! That’s not fair of you to put all the blame on him!” Sunset yelled in frustration before pointing at herself. “In case you forget, it was my fault too! G.U.N. has been watching us since day one because of my actions at the Fall Formal. Even without him around, they would have come after us regardless of when Equestrian Magic is involved. So I’m just as to blame that we’re all in this mess! Heck, I’m more to blame for this mess!”

“Hey, don’t blame yourself Sunset! You didn’t know that would happen!”

“I’m sure Sonic didn’t know about that either!”

“You don’t know that!”

Both teens just glared angrily at each other in silence after Rainbow’s outburst. Neither said a word for what it felt like an eternity before Rainbow Dash let out a tired sigh.

“I’m sorry Sunset, I really am… but I just don’t trust him," said Rainbow Dash as she turned around. "At the end of the day... keeping our friends safe is more important than trying to make friends with that little rodent!”

Sunset frowned in disappointment as she watched her friend walking away from her. “So you're not going to even try to befriend him?”

Rainbow Dash stopped walking. "What about you Sunset?" She then turned halfway and gave Sunset her challenging look. “Are you going to befriend him?”

Just as Sunset opened her mouth to answer, Rainbow quickly clarified.

"Even without being chased by the government and after knowing the identity of your pen pal… are you still going to befriend or even remain friends with him?"

Sunset was about to reply, but she stopped herself. Even as Rainbow Dash was walking away again, Sunset couldn't come up with the answer as doubts once again clouded her mind. Are she and Sonic already considered friends, even though they're complete strangers? Is she willing to befriend him because she simply wanted to or was it solely for the sake of their mission?

And is her friendship with Sonic... was even real?
> Volume II - Chapter 4: Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash (Pt. 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash has been strolling through the woods for what it felt like hours now, exploring the area in a huge circle. Her mood hasn't improved ever since her outburst at camp and then her fight with Sunset earlier. She couldn't help but felt angry that all her friends are against her, but also felt guilty for how she acted. Deep down, she wanted to go back to camp and apologize to her friends for her behavior, but her pride and ego prevented it. Instead, she continued to just walk around near the area until she cools down. When would that happen, Rainbow wasn't certain.

At one point, she decided to take a different route, which led her out of the woods and into the plains area. The plains itself was a very open area of land full of grass, dirt, and some flowers and there was even a lone tree just near her. But up ahead is what got her attention the most; a large cliff section of the area. From over the cliff, she could see the rocky ground and shallow river below her. Despite the lovely view, it looked like a very long drop from where she stood, probably about several hundred feet. It would be for the best for her to stay away from the cliff.

Rainbow sighed again as she watched the river flowing before placing her hand on her pocket, feeling her most precious item. She always carried that item with her whenever she went like a lucky charm. Whenever she was lost or upset, she would always clench on her item, as if she was trying to make a connection to somebody, hoping desperately to seek some kind of advice.

Was I in the wrong? Rainbow thought somberly. Did I really judge too harshly and unfairly? I may have gone too far, but how could I trust him? She then gripped on her 'charm' a bit tighter. Please Unc… tell me what should I do?

"Dash?"

Rainbow broke out of her thoughts and immediately let go of her charm. She looked up towards the sound of a voice from a tree and then frowned the moment she identified who was up there. Up in that lone tree branch, was none other than Sonic. He doesn't seem to be happy to see her either, yet he also had a curious expression as he looked down on her from his spot.

Oh, great! Rainbow thought sarcastically before letting out a huff in annoyance.

"What are you doing here, rodent?” She demanded. “Stalking me?"

Sonic frowned, hurt and offended from the nickname she gave him and her open hostility.

"Well, if you must know, I decided to come here on my own to clear my head after your oh-so-kind words!" Sonic responded in his not-so-happy tone.

Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of guilt from her words earlier, but brushed it off, too stubborn to admit her actions were wrong.

“Well, I suggest you go elsewhere!” Rainbow retorted.

Sonic's expression became slightly hardened from Rainbow’s tone. He hopped off from the tree and landed on the ground near her, startling the tomboy teen in the process.

“What is your big deal!?” Sonic remarked, having enough of her treatment towards him. “I understand that you don’t trust me, but ever since we met, you’ve been treating me like I’m some sort of bad guy!”

Rainbow scoffed as she threw her arms up. “How can I? You are the one who lured the government to us with that blue wave of yours! If you ask me, you’re probably doing that on purpose!”

Sonic eyes narrowed as he stood in front of Rainbow. “Oh really? Let me ask you this Einstein, why would I want people to come chasing after me when I’m only trying to live my life? And why would I want to work with those men in black suits who wanted to study me like some guinea pig? And what would be my gain of getting us all captured by some mad doctor who is obsessed with egg-shaped robots?” 

Rainbow stood in silence as Sonic glared angrily at her for like an eternity. A moment later Sonic let out a long sigh, anger drained from his face somewhat.

“Look… what happened at the baseball field was only by accident due to my… 'episode', and I didn’t mean to make things worse to you girls. And despite what you think, I’m not the bad guy! I would never hurt you or your friends! Besides, you have no right to judge… because you don’t even know me.”

Once again, Rainbow Dash felt a twinge of guilt pecking at her heart. While she won’t admit this to anyone out loud, she has acknowledged that she went too far on her accusation earlier. However, while this creature doesn’t seem to be malicious in some way, she and her friends are in this predicament because of his actions. And it doesn’t help the fact that he wasn’t completely truthful either, making him a little suspicious.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes. “Well, I may not know you, but that still doesn’t change the fact that you’ve been stalking us and put us all in danger! Just why were you watching us, huh? What is your agenda?”

“I have no agenda!” Sonic insisted loudly. “I just… I just like watching people, okay!? Is that a crime?”

“No, but it’s creepy as heck!” Rainbow argued as she crossed her arms. “And that didn’t answer my question! Why us? Of all the people in the world, you only watched me and my friends! Why is that?”

For a moment, Sonic was very hesitant to respond, feeling small from the way Rainbow staring down at him like he committed a crime. After a moment of silence, Sonic looked away.

“I… I can’t say,” he answered quietly.

Rainbow frowned, not satisfied with the answer. “‘You can’t?’ What do you mean, ‘you can’t’?”

“I can’t tell you why,” Sonic clarified, rubbing his arm for comfort. “I’m not comfortable talking about that now... you probably won’t believe me anyway.”

“What makes you so sure that I believe you now?” Rainbow countered, losing patience with the blue creature. “You know, I honestly don’t know why Sunset decided to help some freak like you, but if it was me, I probably would’ve let that Ro-butt-nik or whatever his name is to just... take you away! At the very least, you won’t cause any more trouble to my friends and be out of our lives!”

Sonic felt stung by her words. It would seem that no matter what he does or says, Dash would just hate him no matter what. Next to Equestria Girl, he really wanted to get along with this girl ever since he first saw her since they both have the same interests, but it would seem that would never become a reality.

Sonic bowed his head, eyes hidden from his quills. "Maybe I'm wrong about you," Sonic spoke in a low tone, before looking back up to Rainbow with an angry look. "You're not an awesome person at all! You’re nothing but a jerk! In fact, your new nickname is the Jerk Girl!"

Rainbow Dash was taken aback by his tone but then got angry at the words he said. "Hey! I am not a jerk!"

Sonic scoffed. "Could've fooled me Skittles!"

"Stop calling me Skittles!" Rainbow snapped.

Sonic crossed his arms. "Why?"

Rainbow scowled. "Why what!?"

"Why don't you like being called 'Skittles', Skittles?" Sonic pressed.

"Because I don't want you calling me that, that's why!" Rainbow retorted.

Sonic shook his head, clearly not buying it. "No, I want a real answer! Why are you so defensive with that nickname? ...was there a particular reason behind that nickname?"

Rainbow Dash glared daggers at the hedgehog. "That’s not of your business rodent!” She pointed at Sonic’s chest. “You're the last per– creature that I ever tell you anything about my personal life since you won’t tell me about yours! So just… back off you freak!"

Sonic clenched his fist from her name-calling but kept himself composed. Just as he was going to retort, a thought came to him and then let out a malicious smirk.

"Fine! Have it your way... Skittles!"

Rainbow growled angrily, knowing that the blue hedgehog was calling her that forbidden nickname on purpose now.

"I told you to knock it off!" she barked.

"Hey! You called me a 'creature', 'thing', 'rodent', and a 'freak'!" Sonic pointed out, unnerved from Rainbow’s angry tone. "It's only fair that I called you 'Skittles'!"

"Stop that!" Rainbow shouted.

"What's wrong? Are you gonna cry Skittles if I don't?" Sonic taunted.

Rainbow Dash's face turned red in anger. "I'm warning you!"

Ignoring Rainbow’s anger, Sonic began to chant playfully much to Rainbow’s annoyance.

"Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles…"

Having enough of his antics, Rainbow suddenly stood in front of him and brought her face so close to his that their noses were touching. She narrowed her eyes at him as if she was daring him to speak again.

"Call me 'Skittles'... one more time!"

Not backing down from her subtle threat, Sonic narrowed his eyes at her.

"...Skittles."

With a loud infuriating scream, Rainbow tried to tackle the blue hedgehog, only he vanished at the last second and caused her to land face down on the ground. She spat some dirt out of her mouth as she got up, quickly surveying the area to find that creature.

“Having fun playing with dirt?”

Rainbow Dash looked up and scowled furiously when she finally spotted Sonic, who was standing on the branch of a tree above her with a cheeky grin on his face. Rainbow Dash felt her whole body shake, angry and humiliated that the blue rodent was purposely provoking her just to make her look like a fool and for him to show off his speed like he’s better than her.

"That does it!” Rainbow Dash roared. “You think you’re so funny, hotshot? Well, you’re not, hedgehog! I’m going to take you down a peg!”

Sonic cocked an eyebrow. “Oh yeah? And how are you going to do that Skittles?”

Rainbow held back a growl at the nickname as she tried to ponder what she can do to defeat that guy. Despite how infuriated she was at the blue rodent, she couldn’t bring herself to hurt him. Besides, violence wasn’t her style unless it was necessary. 

“I challenge you… to a race!" Rainbow announced.

Sonic blinked. "A race?"

"Yeah!" Rainbow nodded. She pointed at the huge crater in front of then traced her finger around the whole area. "We're going to run this one big lap around that cliff while running through those woods and then on the flat plains and finally down the side road which leads back here. Whoever reaches back here first past this tree, wins!"

"So we're competing with speed, eh?" Sonic mused in interest before he leaped off of a tree and landed in front of Rainbow Dash with a grin. "Alright, I'm game!"

"Not so fast pal!" said Rainbow as she stretched out her arm towards him with an open palm. "Before we began... what do ya say we made ourselves a wager?"

Sonic titled his head both in suspicion and interest. "Go on..."

Rainbow Dash smirked. "If I win, and I will," Rainbow began, causing Sonic to roll his eyes a little. "You will leave… and never come back to bother us again!"

Sonic frowned. He figured that Rainbow Dash was using this race as of means to get him to leave the group. Despite that, Sonic will not back down on a challenge.

"Fine by me,” Sonic responded before pointing at himself with his thumb. “But if I win… you'll finally tell me the reason why you don't like being called 'Skittles'! No ‘ifs’, ‘ands’, or ‘buts’!"

Rainbow Dash's smirk was intently wiped away, replaced with a nervous expression.

Sonic noticed her sudden change of attitude and smirked.  "What's wrong? Scared to lose?"

That did it for her.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes and clenched her jaw. Her hesitation was wiped away as her competitive spirit and her resolve to beat this creature kicked in. "Oh… It. Is. On!" she growled.

Wanting to make sure this rodent didn’t go back on his deal, Rainbow Dash spat on her hand and then extended her arm towards him, expecting him to do the same. Thinking it was some sort of pre-challenge ritual, Sonic also spat into his hand. The two of them then smacked their hands together and shook on it, sealing their deal.

With that settled, the two of them got themselves into starting positions right near the tree. Rainbow Dash leaned forwards and placed her two outstretched hands in front of her while squaring her shoulders. She then kneeled one of her knees back a bit on the ground while keeping her other knee up forward. From the corner of her eye, she noticed the blue hedgehog was copying her position, much to her annoyance.

"Just so you know hedgehog,” said Rainbow with a determined glare. “Even before I have speed magic, I've been on the track team for years! So don't you ever underestimate me!"

"Oh, I won't!" Sonic responded, while also glaring at her. "And just so you know, I've been running all my life! So don't think a race against me is a walk in the park either… Skittles!"

Rainbow scowled at him for the insult before turning away to face the track in front of her.

Mock me all you want rodent! She thought with a growl. I'm gonna wipe that cocky smirk right off of your face when I beat you!

The two waited in silence as if they’re waiting for some kind of signal for their “race” to start. Just out of nowhere, a light breeze blew in their direction. Within that breeze was a single leaf, which had fallen off from the tree, floating down between the two racers. The two were eyeing the leaf as it slowly descended to the ground, their bodies tensed up in anticipation. When the leaf finally landed on the ground, the two immediately went off simultaneously within a millisecond.





Rainbow Dash immediately tapped into her magic from her magical geode amulet to activate the power of her speed at the start of the race, while Sonic just simply ran at the same pace as Rainbow Dash. The two are neck to neck, focusing on their running and the path ahead and neither showed any signs of fatigue. However, despite how fast she was running, Rainbow was internally struggling to keep up while Sonic had a calm smile on his face, much to Rainbow’s annoyance.

They both eventually reached the woods again and ran through them. The challenging part of running in the woods was the visibility of the path was tricker due to the leaves of the trees blocking the moonlight and that they have to dodge and go around anything that was lying in their path, including trees. Rainbow Dash managed to get herself ahead despite all that obstacle, but she knew it was only a matter of time for the blue hedgehog to catch up.

As she rounded herself around the corner, Rainbow Dash noticed a long tree branch hanging from the side of the tree. With a devious smirk, Rainbow Dash grabbed the branch that was hanging from the tree and pulled it as far as she could. When she felt a slight resistance, Rainbow Dash let go of the branch just as Sonic was coming around behind her. Before he had time to react, the branch hit Sonic right on his face, sending him back, and landed on the ground. Sonic sat back up with a pained grunt.

“Hey!” Sonic shouted angrily.

Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry at him before she ran further ahead with a victorious grin.

Sonic narrowed his eyes at Rainbow’s retreating back. “Alright, then Skittles… this means war!”

Sonic quickly got up and rushed forward, but ran right into a bush to hide between the trees.

Meanwhile, Rainbow chuckled to herself with a cocky grin, believing that her race is now in the bag after slowing down that blue pest. All she can do now is to keep on running until she makes it to the finish line. However, she failed to notice Sonic, who was running alongside her from within the bushes. Suddenly, Sonic leaped from the bushes and into the air, catching Rainbow by surprise. While Sonic was up in the air, he partly turned to face Rainbow, who had a look of shock and gave her a side smirk while giving her two-finger guns with one of his arms going underneath his left leg.





 da.kim_26


With a wink, Sonic quickly spun around and landed safely on the ground before he ran further than Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash quickly shook off her dumbfounded expression and let out a loud growl. “Oh no you don’t!” she shouted while trying to catch up to him.

With her eyes set on Sonic, Rainbow Dash speeds herself up a bit, slowly gaining up from behind Sonic. Just as she was about to reach the blue hedgehog, Sonic quickly sidestepped away from her. Before she could make a remark, she was suddenly slammed face-first into a tree. With a groan, Rainbow Dash slowly fell back into the ground, leaving a huge dent in the tree.

Rainbow Dash laid on the grass on her back in a daze; tiny bluebirds were spinning around in her vision. She was snapped out of it when she heard a chuckle. She sat up while clutching her aching head with one hand and her eyes narrowed when she saw Sonic standing in front of her with a cheeky grin.

"You're too slow!" Sonic taunted before he ran off again, causing Rainbow Dash to scream out in rage before following behind him.

They eventually got out of the woods and appeared on the open field again, able to see their path and giving them more space again. By now, they were at the halfway point of their race. Sonic appeared to be in the lead of the race while Rainbow Dash lingered behind, trying to catch up. As Rainbow Dash was getting closer, Sonic suddenly stopped, much to Rainbow’s confusion and suspicion.

What is he...

Sonic glanced behind him with a malicious glint in his eyes.

“If you can’t beat em’, blind them!” he declared loudly.

Before Rainbow could react, Sonic began to run around her in circles at a rapid pace, trapping her within a vortex of wind. The dirt from the ground was then picked up from the whirlwind and then quickly formed into a dusty tornado, causing Rainbow to obscured her vision outside of the tornado and temporarily blind. Rainbow coughed and spat the dirt from her mouth while shutting her eyes tightly and covered them with her arm to keep the dirt away the best she could.

“Y-you cheater!” Rainbow shouted angrily.

“Says the gal who hit me in the face with a tree branch!” Sonic retorted as he slowed down somewhat and stopped in front of her for a brief moment. “C'mon, step it up!" Sonic shouted before he shot forward with a huge cloud of dust appearing right behind him, leaving Rainbow Dash behind.

Rainbow Dash scowled, narrowing her eyes towards the sounds of Sonic’s feet, running away from her. That little weasel… this little rodent is a lot clever and faster than I thought! Rainbow thought in frustration, trying to keep herself at bay from the tornado. She had a look of determination as sweat began to drip down from the side of her head. At this rate, that hedgehog is going to beat me! ...looks like it's time to shift gears!

Rainbow managed to grasp her geode necklace and tapped more into her magic. Ever since she went overboard with her geode’s magic this one time, they all agreed to not use too much of their own magic unless it is an emergency. But as far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, beating that blue pest is her emergency. 

Slowly, her physical appearance changed somewhat as more of her magic flowed right into her. Her hair suddenly glowed and then grew into a long ponytail to the point that it nearly reached her feet. In the middle of her long hair was a mysterious red hairband, which appeared out of nowhere, but kept her hair in place. Her rounded ears began to glow next. The magic made her ears disappear and then reappeared above her head. Not only that, but the magic also extended her ears into a pointed shape of a pony. Finally, the most noticeable change in her appearance was when her blue wings suddenly appeared from her back.

Feeling the much-needed boost from her magic, Rainbow Dash let out a huge smirk. Let's see who's "too slow" now!

Feeling confident, Rainbow Dash sped forward, easily escaping the dusty tornado, and ran after her opponent.
> Volume II - Chapter 5: Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash (Pt. 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

On the other side of the woods, everyone was already fast asleep from the inside of the tour bus, snoozing away on the seats of the bus. Everyone, except for one. Sunset stood outside of the bus, sighing morosely as she stared up at the stars in the night sky. While Sunset was currently worried about Sonic and their current situation, she couldn’t help but think about her other issue.

Her mood hasn't improved ever since her talk with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow’s attitude aside, she brought up a very good point about the issues with Sonic, and if she’ll really accept Sonic as a friend without their current circumstances. The more she thought, the more confused and torn she'll be. She wondered why everything in her life has to be so complicated.  

"Couldn't sleep either?"

Sunset turned her head to see Twilight, who was stepping out of the bus to join her.

Sunset sighed softly and shook her head. "No. With everything that has happened for the past several hours, how can I not sleep?"

Twilight nodded. “I understand what you’re feeling. Between meeting a new creature and becoming fugitives from the government, it’s hard to not feel anxious and uncertain right now.” Twilight then chuckled. “And to think, before all this mess started, all we worried about was to figure out what we are doing with our lives after we graduate.”

Sunset slightly grimaced at the thought of graduating, but she quickly shook herself as she focused on their current topic.

“Well, you seemed pretty calm despite all of that,” Sunset said.

Twilight chuckled again. “Yeah, I know I’m probably the last person you expect to be calm from this without having a panic attack. And to tell you the truth… I would have a long time ago. But the only thing that truly keeps me sane and comfort… is having you and our friends by my side.” She gave Sunset her warm smile. “Just the fact that we’re all in this together, makes me feel like we can overcome anything.”

Sunset smiled back at Twilight warmly, feeling the same way. Her smile was then wiped away when her conversation with Rainbow Dash earlier came to mind.

“May I ask you something Twilight?” Sunset asked.

Twilight tilted her head at her friend’s sudden mood. “Uh, sure. What is it, Sunset?”

Sunset sighed. “What are your thoughts about Sonic?”

“About Sonic?” Twilight blinked before she tapped her chin in thought. “Well… I thought he was a strange creature, a bit childish, and so very energetic that he even makes Pinkie Pie run for her money. However… he’s also very curious and loves to learn everything about the world, funny and friendly too. And he doesn’t seem like the type to harm anybody. While we still don’t know much about him, he seems like a decent person– I mean, hedgehog.”

“And would you be friends with him?” Sunset questioned. Before Twilight could replay, Sunset quickly clarified. “I mean without getting chased by the government and knowing that he… watched us, would you want to be friends with him?”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Where does this come from, Sunset?”

Sunset sighed and crossed her arms, appeared to be torn. “After I argued with Rainbow Dash, I couldn't help but think… 'what if my friendship with Sonic is not real'? The main reason I decided to start over and become a better person was that his letter encouraged me to not give up.  And after meeting him for the first time, I…"

Sunset looked up when she felt Twilight gently grasped both her shoulders with a gentle look.

"That you are unsure if he is the same guy you know?" Twilight summarized. "And you're not sure of what else you don't know about him, to the point that you wanted to find out more about him... but scared to learn the possibility that your friendship with him turned out to be a lie?" 

With a look of shame, Sunset nodded, confirming Twilight’s summary.

Twilight had a look of understanding. "I get it Sunset. You've been talking to him for so long through your letters, that you think that you get to know everything about him. But after you met him in person, he wasn't exactly how you imagined him to be."

"That's an understatement," Sunset muttered. "Thanks to that and Rainbow’s words… I'm not even sure what to think! I wanted to believe he is that same per– hedgehog who helped me in the past, but I couldn’t help but think if he did that as some sort of secret agenda involving us."

Sunset then sighed heavily. "Not that I'm any better. I was on board with Pinkie’s camping idea so that he'll warm up to us… but in truth, I did that as my chance for me to find out the truth about him while his guard was lowered… rather than trying to befriend him." She looked up at Twilight with a look of guilt. "Was that bad of me?"

"While I disapproved of your idea for deceiving him like that,” Twilight said sternly, but gently. “But at the same time, I don't blame you for wanting to know if his actions were sincere. However, worrying and stringing him along isn’t going to solve anything."

Seeing Sunset's uncertain look, Twilight sighed, knowing what she’ll say next, won’t be easy for her friend to hear. "I really think you should just go talk to him about this matter instead of keep dancing around the bush. In other words: Rip the band-aid right out."

Sunset’s eyes widened at the suggestion, shaking her head. “But I… I don’t think I can! What if he–”

Twilight gently tightens Sunset’s shoulders assuringly but has a firm look. “Sunset, this whole thing with Sonic is obviously affecting you. You need to get this sorted with him right now, especially at a time like this. We need all of our heads together to get out of this mess, including you Sunset! And I’m not saying this just for our sake, I’m also saying this for your sake… as your friend.”

“But... I don’t know how I’ll handle it if this turned out to be a huge lie,” Sunset confessed with a sniff, eyes glazed from her unshed tears. “I’ve been burned so many times in my life… I don’t want to get burned by this!”

Twilight frowned, concerned for her friend. “Why is Sonic such a big deal to you Sunset? Is there something you’re not telling us?”

Sunset felt a pit in her stomach. There was a reason why Sonic is a big deal to her, and it also linked to her friends. This also relates to her future once they graduate from CHS. Not to mention, the lowest point of her life. She didn't want to talk about it, let alone telling this to her friend. But out of all the girls, Sunset is very close and trusted Twilight the most. Even if she didn't say anything, Twilight is smart enough to see through her lie, so she might as well come clean.

Even if it hurts.

And so, Sunset laid it all out, not leaving out a single detail. The more time Sunset spoke, the more shocked Twilight was by the minute. By the time she was finished, there was a heavy silence between the two of them. She noticed that Twilight appeared to be stunned, but also very upset, and strangely, guilt.

“I… I had no idea,” Twilight uttered.

Sunset bowed her head, feeling ashamed. “I’m so sorry Twilight. I never meant to–”

Sunset's words were cut off when Twilight brought her into a warm hug and held her tightly.

Twilight shook her head. “No. Don’t you ever be sorry for how you feel and your thoughts. It’s completely understandable. I would’ve felt the same way if I’m in your shoes.”

Sunset sniffed as she hugged her friend back. “Thank you,” she croaked, tears leaking out from her eyes. She shook her head. “I’m supposed to be the strong one, and yet... I’m being a total wreck right now.”

“You don’t always have to be the strong one Sunset,” Twilight soothed. “Everyone has their moments. Believe me, I know.”

Twilight broke their hug and stared gently into Sunset’s eyes. “May I tell you a secret?”

With a sniff, Sunset nodded.

Twilight sighed. “There was a time… when I doubted my friendship with you girls,” Twilight confessed, much to Sunset’s shock. “When you girls took me in immediately after the Friendship Games, at one point I thought the reasons why you befriended me was so you all could keep an eye on me so that I won't make the same mistake again, or it was because… I reminded you girls of the Princess and assumed that I act just like her.”

Sunset shook her head rapidly, horrified by what she heard. “That’s not true Twilight! None of those reasons are true!” Her expression then grimaced. “Yes, you look a lot like Princess Twilight and almost have the same quirks as her... but you are clearly a different person! We wanted to be friends with you because of you, not the Princess! I can assure you that your friendship with us... and with me, is real!”

Twilight smiled, looking like she was about to cry herself. “I know… and I bet Sonic’s friendship with you is real too!”

Sunset blinked in confusion. “W-what?”

“Because I gave you and the girls the chance and get to know you better, I realized that not only you girls are the best friends I could ever ask for… but also that your friendships with me are genuine,” Twilight explained. “So if you gave him a chance just like I gave you a chance, then maybe you two will learn something about each other and become better friends than ever before. While we still don’t know a thing about him, I can tell just by observing him with the CMCs that he’s a good person–er… hedgehog.”

Sunset gazed at Twilight in awe by her speech, but still a bit skeptical. “And… if he turned out to be someone that he’s not?”

Twilight shrugged but smiled. “Then we’ll cross that bridge when that happens, but that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes, we all got to take risks in life. Friendship itself can be risky, but also very rewarding and worthwhile.”

Sunset stared at her friend in wonder. For a brief moment, she felt like she was talking to the Princess of Friendship, rather than her nerdy, but a wonderful friend. Sunset shook her head in amusement.

"For someone who is always awkward and full of science, you sure are an expert about Friendship. Are you sure you're not Princess Twilight I was talking to?" she teased.

“Hey, just because I’m an expert at science, that doesn’t mean that I can't be an expert on Friendship too!” Twilight retorted, but also had a teasing smile. “Besides, I learned from the best!”

For the first time of the night, Sunset genuinely smiled. “Thanks, Twilight.”

Twilight smiled back. “Anytime, Sunset.”

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck with a meek look. "Oh, and uh… if it's not too much trouble, can we please keep... 'that part' a secret between us… at least for now. I'm… not ready to share that with the girls yet."

"Of course Sunset," Twilight nodded. "But if you ask me, I'm sure the others will understand if you tell them how you told me."

"Will they?" Sunset inquired with a meek look.

Twilight nodded. "Positive." She then furrowed her brow. "When are you going to tell them?"

Sunset sighed. "Well, I–"

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, nearly throwing the two girls off balance. They quickly kneeled as the ground continued to shake.

"Wha– what was that!?" Sunset exclaimed.

"I-I don't know?" said Twilight, freaking out by the event. "Are we having an earthquake?"

The two then heard many muffled screaming coming from their friends. They turned towards the shaking tour bus where their friends are, no doubt that they were rudely woken up due to the quake. As Twilight stared at the bus in concern, Sunset noticed that both hers and Twilight's geodes were growing rapidly.

Our geodes are glowing? Sunset thought in confusion as she lightly grasped her necklace. Why are they–

When the ground started shaking again, she sensed a huge amount of her magic being pulled from her geode towards the direction of the woods, as if they’re trying to tell her something.

The woods? Why would it be reacting towards–

Suddenly, her eyes widened when she put two and two together, as well as figuring out who was responsible for this earthquake.

No… she wouldn’t!

With no time to spare, Sunset immediately stood up and ran towards the direction of the woods, ignoring the shakiness below her. Twilight noticed her friend’s actions and called out to her.

"Sunset! Where are you going?" she shouted.

But Sunset never replied as she disappeared into the woods through the trees.





Rainbow Dash huffed and puffed as she continued to run across the field, trying to catch up on Sonic. Even with the added boost of her magic, she was still struggling to keep up with him, but she refused to give up and admit defeat. Eventually, she spotted a familiar cloud of dust up ahead, caused by a certain blue creature.

There you are!

With a determined glare, Rainbow Dash pushed forwards, gaining towards the dust cloud. She wanted nothing more than to see his smirk wipe off of his face when he saw her running past him with her own magic before heading towards her victory. Just as she was getting closer, she noticed the dust cloud was slowly getting smaller and thinner, revealing more of the blue hedgehog. Rainbow was eyeing at the sight in slight confusion at first, but as soon as the cloud completely disappeared and got a clear image of her opponent, Rainbow Dash widened her eyes in shock.

W-what the!?

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sonic, who was looking back at her, had his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face. But what shocked her the most, was that he was running backward like it was nothing. And he wasn’t even breaking a sweat.

“Hey Skittles, nice accessories!” he said playfully. “Where’d you get ‘em, Party Town?”

Rainbow Dash just stared back at him with a bewildered expression. He's… he's playing with me! He's been messing with me from the start! Rainbow thought as she growled furiously.

Even with her magic boost, it was still not enough to beat that creature. Worse of all, they’re less than a quarter away from the finish line. She was going to lose at this rate, but Rainbow Dash has one last trick up her sleeve.

I didn’t think I had to do this, but I have no choice but to use my 'secret weapon’! Rainbow narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth angrily. There's no way I'll have anybody, let alone a hedgehog… faster than me… in my world!

In desperation and determination, Rainbow Dash gripped tightly around her geode and tapped more into her magic. She remembered the time they had their slumber party with Princess Twilight during the Battle of the Bands event and was intently inspired by all her stories about the things her pony self had accomplished. Ever since then and after she retrieved her geode, she trained herself in secret to perfect this new move for quite some time, but she never had a chance to properly test it. But because of the current stake she was in, she didn’t have a choice.

As more of her magic was channeling into her system, Rainbow Dash was putting more focus into her legs and wings in hopes that this new move will work.

“Please work, please work, please work…” Rainbow chanted quietly in her desperate tone.

Soon, both her legs and wings began to glow. Her wings grew slightly bigger, extending further from her back, while her legs were moving a bit faster. Rainbow felt a bit of resistance from the air barrier in front of her, but she shut her eyes and pushed further. The air barrier became more solid and noticeable in front of her, electric sparks danced all around her. The barrier slowly wrapped itself around Rainbow’s body with the front part of the barrier becoming more like an arrow with faded rainbow colors around the edges. Rainbow pushed further and further with the barrier and became narrower and brighter by the second. 

And then, with a loud "BOOM", Rainbow Dash shot forward, leaving a huge trail of rainbow behind her and a rainbow wave up into the sky.





Sunset ran as her life depends on it. She was desperately lost within the woods, not sure where to go due to the semi-darkness, and the trees all looked the same to her. If it weren’t for the moonlight, she would have a much harder time navigating through the woods. But even so, she doesn’t know where to find her friend or where to look. As much trouble Rainbow is in, Sunset was mostly worried for her safety.

Suddenly, Sunset heard a loud ‘boom', causing her to halt in her tracks.

“W-what’s going on!?” Sunset exclaimed loudly.

Sunset looked up in the sky just in time to see a very powerful rainbow wave in the sky, causing nearby trees to shake violently due to the vibrations from the wave. Sunset widening her eyes in horror.

“...Oh no!” Sunset exclaimed.

Alarmed and worried for her friend now more than ever, Sunset ran towards the direction of the rainbow wave through the trees where the plains are located.





Tempest Shadow has been driving on a highway for several hours now. After she repaired her arm, she refused to make any more stops unless it's for gas, until she located those fugitive teens. Unfortunately for her, her search remained fruitless, most likely that they are well ahead by now after their getaway. In hindsight, using her partner’s junk of a car probably wasn’t the best choice for chasing after a bus, but she doesn’t have any other options. She refused to quit, and she refused to let her Commander down.

Suddenly, she heard a loud "boom", causing her whole car to shake. Tempest immediately slammed the breaks and checked out in alarm.

"Wha– what the heck was that!?" she loudly exclaimed.

The shakiness of her car and the road subsided shortly afterward. She assumed it was a sudden earthquake until she spotted something strange and out of place right up in the sky.

"Is that… a rainbow wave?" she muttered.

She thought she was seeing things due to fatigue from hours of driving. But lull and behold, there was a multicolored wave right up in the sky, despite that it was nighttime. Something like that shouldn't be possible.

Then, her mind clicked. There was only one possibility of what could've caused this strange phenomenon, and there was no doubt that her hunch was right.

Determined and with a new destination in mind, Tempest went back to her seat, turned on the engine of her car again, and drove towards the direction of the rainbow wave.





Like a locomotive, Rainbow Dash zoomed across the field, faster than she was before. Rainbow’s hair was flowing right behind her like a wavy banner and her wings were flapping rapidly like a motor of a jet. She let out a huge grin on her face, enjoying this exhilaration of being the fastest human being on the planet and soon to be the fastest being in the universe.

Within seconds, she was closing in on the blue hedgehog, who had a look of surprise on his face. In the last second, Sonic quickly side-stepped out of the way before Rainbow could barrel right into him. Rainbow glanced right behind her with a smirk as she spotted Sonic, who was now far behind her.

"Eat my dust hedgehog!" she shouted as she continued to run ahead, leaving Sonic many miles behind her.

Rainbow Dash grinned victoriously. At any moment now, she'll make it back to their starting point by the tree and win the race. And her opponent was way behind her and couldn't keep up with her awesome speed. There was no way she could lose now.

Hehe. There's no way he can catch up on me now! Rainbow thought with glee. The only way he could beat me now is if he goes supersonic! Ha!

Suddenly, she heard something behind her, as if it was a sound of an upcoming jet. Rainbow glanced to her left and her eyes widened. Almost in slow motion, she watched as Sonic, who had a confident smile on his face, caught up with her and ran alongside her. And before Rainbow could even blink, Sonic shot forward with a loud 'BOOM', leaving her and a trail of blue light behind him.

"No way!" Rainbow exclaimed with a shocked expression. "That's a… sonic boom! He's… he's faster than the speed of sound!"

She grits her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, both out of anger and grief. This wasn't fair. She was supposed to win. She was supposed to be the best. She was supposed to be the fastest. She was supposed to knock that hedgehog down a peg and finally get him to leave, away from her and her friends for good. But no... she lost. Despite all the magic she has available, she couldn’t even beat that one, annoying, blue loudmouth hedgehog.

What would "he" think of her now?

"Rainbow Dash, watch out!"

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes at the sound of her rival's voice and her eyes widened. 

She barely noticed Sonic, who just stood from the sideline for some reason, but was overshadowed from the site ahead of her. She was heading right towards the cliff. She was so busy feeling sorry for herself, she barely paid attention to make one last turn towards the direction of the tree and she was approaching the cliff fast.

Rainbow Dash tried to turn around, heck, she tried to stop running, but she kept going straight and her legs refused to stop, panicking the prismatic-haired teen even more. Even her wings refused to cooperate since it was too busy flapping rapidly for the sake of picking up speed.

“No no no no no!” Rainbow Dash cried, desperately trying to grab her legs to get them to stop. “Stop stop stop! Please stop!”

She watched in horror as she was getting a lot closer to the edge of the cliff and towards her doom. She didn’t want to end this way. Her friends are way too far away to help her. There was still so much more she wanted to do, including fulfilling her dream. 

And to fulfill her promise.

Tears trailed down her cheeks as she shut her eyes shut.

“Help me!” she screamed, even though she knew it was pointless.

Just as she was close to the ledge, she suddenly felt somebody grab her hand and pulled her backward at the last second. 

“I got you!”

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, surprised that someone stopped her, despite her legs were still running in place, creating a huge mark on the ground beneath her. Rainbow Dash turned her head towards her savior and her eyes widened in shock to see it was none other than Sonic, who appeared to be struggling. He held onto her left hand with his, while his other hand was holding on to a different tree branch behind him, refusing to let go. He even went as far as to run backward in the attempt to keep themselves away from the cliff.

“J-just hang on!” Sonic shouted, gritting his teeth as he ignored the pain of his joints being stretched.

“W-why? Why are you helping me?” Rainbow cried.

“B-because… I refuse… t-to leave anyone… h-hanging,” Sonic answered, still struggling on his hold. “N-not... again!”

Sweat was pouring down his head as he sped up his legs, trying to pull themselves back into safety. While he managed to pull Rainbow Dash back somewhat, unfortunately, that didn’t make much progress. Pain shot through both of their arms as they continued to stretch each other, desperately trying not to let go. To make things worse, unbeknownst to them, the tree branch that Sonic was holding onto was slowly starting to crack due to too much tension.

Rainbow grit her teeth tightly, trying not to scream in pain. Of all times I wanted to stop running... but my magic is out of control! I shouldn’t have tapped into my geode too–

Rainbow Dash widened her eyes in realization. My geode! That’s it!

Rainbow quickly brought her other arm behind her neck, fiddling with the cord on her necklace until she found the clip. She had a bit of difficulty trying to disconnect it with one hand, while her whole body was vibrating on top of that. Sonic meanwhile, was starting to lose his grip on both the tree and Rainbow’s hand, but he refused to let go, not knowing that the tree branch was halfway split from the base of the tree.

Rainbow Dash eventually took her necklace off of her neck and as an added measure, she tossed her necklace aside in hopes that her magic disconnected from her quicker. However, just as she threw her necklace, the tree branch Sonic was holding on broke off completely. With loud screams, both Rainbow and Sonic zoomed forward and went off the cliff, which was when Rainbow Dash conveniently powered down as her wings disappeared and both her hair and ears went back to normal.

“Oh, come on!” Rainbow exclaimed, before screaming as she descended from the cliff.

Reacting quickly, Sonic grabbed her hand again with her left hand and then grabbed the edge of the cliff with her right hand, keeping themselves from falling. Unfortunately, he was unable to bring themselves up because Rainbow’s weight made things difficult for them.

“Jeez Skittles… how much do you weigh?” Sonic grunted. “Ever thought of going on a diet?”

“Hey! Less complaining about my weight, and more trying to get us up!” Rainbow retorted desperately.

“I’m trying!” Sonic shouted, trying to keep himself from slipping.

Just when they’re losing any hope to survive, a voice called out to them.

“Sonic? Rainbow Dash? Is that you?”

Relief filled in their eyes when they heard a Sunset’s voice from above them.

“Sunset! We’re down here! Help us!” Rainbow screamed.

Sonic managed to glimpse above the ledge to see Sunset, who had a look of horror on her face.

“Oh my gosh! Hang on!” Sunset exclaimed before running towards them.

“Obviously!” Sonic retorted, grunting as he felt his fingers were about to give out.

Sunset ran towards the ledge as quickly as she could to help Sonic and Rainbow Dash before they fell. But by the time Sunset reached them, Sonic couldn't hold on the edge anymore as his fingers finally gave out, falling towards their doom.

“No!” Sunset screamed.

In a state of panic, Sunset quickly reached over and grabbed Sonic’s arm. Unbeknownst to her, Rainbow’s geode, which laid a few feet away from Sunset, glowed intensely, causing her own geode to glow as well. As soon as Sunset touched Sonic's arm, her eyes suddenly glowed white, temporarily disconnecting her sense of awareness. A few seconds later, Sunset’s eyes went back to normal, but her expression appeared to be in distress as if she discovered something she was not supposed to.

Sonic… is this what your life was like?

“Sunset! What are ya waiting for!?” Rainbow shouted, unaware of what happened to Sunset.

“Yeah, pull us up, Equestria Girl!” Sonic exclaimed, who also had no clue above him.

Sunset quickly shook her newly discovered thoughts and put her focus on saving them. With all of her strength, Sunset pulled them both up with two arms until they were safely out of the pit and far from the ledge. Relieved that they’re safe, Sunset sat on the ground, catching her breath with her hair covering her eyes while Rainbow and Sonic lied on the ground, recovering from their near-death experience.  

“Whew, that was close!” Sonic wheezed. “A few seconds longer and I would’ve become a hedgehog pancake!”

“You... and me... both,” Rainbow croaked, huffing and puffing in between words. 

Rainbow then glanced from the corner of her eye to see her geode necklace on the grass near her. With her exhaustion forgotten, Rainbow reached over and picked up her geode. She was relieved that it wasn’t broken but frowned when she noticed that her stone looked dimmer than usual. She turned to face the blue creature with a scowl.

“This is all your fault hedgehog!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

Sonic sat up with an indignant expression. “My fault!?” Sonic shouted, offended with Rainbow’s accusation. “Was that the thanks I get for saving you? Besides, if you had simply turned left before the cliff, we wouldn’t even be in this situation!”

“I wasn’t able to!” Rainbow argued. “My newest move only allowed me to go straight! I wasn’t able to control it!”

“Oh, was that your new move? That pretty little rainbow wave in the sky? I thought you were performing a stunt show. No wonder I was able to outrun you!” Sonic mocked, angering Rainbow more. Sonic then narrowed his eyes. “If you can’t even control your move, what makes you think you can beat me?”

“Hey, I have to!” Rainbow yelled, walking up to Sonic. “You were way ahead of me, so I have to kick up the ante!”

“Well, too bad for you, I beat you anyway!” Sonic retorted smugly as he crossed his arms. “So I win!”

“That race didn’t count!” Rainbow bellowed angrily, jabbing her finger at Sonic’s chest. “You cheated with that tornado of yours!”

“You cheated too Miss ‘hit-me-in-the-face-with-a-tree-branch’!” Sonic countered, who was just as angry.

Both angry parties pressed their faces close to each other again with fire in their eyes.

“You want another go, rodent?”

“I like to see you try, Skittles!”

“Oh, that’s it! I’m gonna–”

“Enough!”

Both Rainbow Dash and Sonic immediately stopped bickering and turned towards Sunset, who just stood up and her hair still covering her eyes. During their argument, they had completely forgotten that Sunset was there with them. While they couldn’t tell what Sunset was feeling with most of her face obscured, but her voice, however, Sunset didn’t sound too happy with them.

“S-Sunset,” Rainbow stammered, feeling worried after seeing her friend’s state. “What’s–”

“What is wrong with you two?!” Sunset screamed, causing the two of them to flinch back. “You both nearly tore this land apart, causing our magic to go haywire and nearly died by hanging over a cliff, and all you two fight about was this stupid race!? Do you have any idea how scared I was, thinking I couldn’t save you two on time!? Don’t any of you care!?”

Sonic craned his head downwards, ashamed of himself for getting himself carried away, and made Equestria Girl worried. Rainbow Dash also felt guilty for making her friend upset and didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Not sure what to say, she tried to apologize. 

“Sunset… we’re–”

“You!” Sunset roared, turning her attention towards Rainbow Dash with her nose flared up and her eyes full of rage, scaring the athlete teen in the process. “What you did with our magic was irresponsible! We’re supposed to be using our magic in moderation or in case of emergencies. But instead, you just waste it on something so stupid and trivial! Now we are defenseless without it until our magic recharges… all while the government is still hunting us down! What do you have to say for yourself!?”

“…he started it,” Rainbow argued meekly, pointing at the blue hedgehog in question.

Sonic rolled his eyes at Rainbow’s weak argument. “Liar!”

“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses!” Sunset shouted before another fight broke out. “I want you two to go back to our camp this instant!”

“What?” They both shouted, shocks and disbeliefs were all over their faces. 

“B-but what about our race?” Rainbow cried indignantly. “We didn’t even settle who–”

“I don't care!” Sunset screamed, having enough of Rainbow’s childish antics. “You can call your stupid race a draw! Now march back to camp!”

“But–”

"Now!"

Defeated, both Rainbow and Sonic slowly marched back towards camp, all while slumping their shoulders as if they just got scolded by their parent. As they continued to head towards the camp, Sunset let out a shaky sigh, bowing down and hidden her eyes in her bangs again. She felt very angry– no, furious at Rainbow Dash for her reckless action involving her magic just to settle about something so pointless. Sunset was also mad at Sonic for also going along with this race, however, her anger was overshadowed by her two other emotions.

Pity… and guilt.

Because of the magic mishap, Sunset unintentionally sees through most of Sonic’s memories. She saw all those times he was forced to flee with some owl creature named “Longclaw” by others who wanted to use his power… despite that he was only a child. She saw that one crucial memory of his when he came to their world for the first time… only to leave that same owl creature, who was like a mother to him behind, fending off against his pursuers. She saw everything in his life all those years in this world: living in a dark cave for him to sleep and avoid bad weather, picking up any scraps he could find for food, even if he had to steal some to survive, keeping himself hidden out of fear and uncertainty to avoid getting captured. But what really breaks her heart was that one emotion she felt from him in almost each one of his memories.

Loneliness… and desire to have a friend.

It was why he’s been spying on her and her friends. It was why he was being so nice to her in his letters after the Fall Formel. He knew what it was like to be alone and he knew her friends are really good people just by observing them over the years. Since he couldn’t befriend them due to circumstances, the best thing he could do was by helping her since Sunset needed friends more so than him at the time. And when she responded back to him with her letter, thanking him for the advice, he was overjoyed from it and decided to keep talking to her through their letters, even though he knew from the back of his mind that they could never meet… until now.

While Sunset felt touched and happy for his kind and generous gesture to help lead her to the right path, guilt overrides those emotions because she pretty much invaded Sonic’s private memories without his consent. She didn’t know how she was going to explain that to him, let alone even look at him after what she had done and learn everything about him.

Tears began to leak from her eyes. She barely kept herself together as she only allowed a small number of tears to flow down her cheeks. Shortly after that, the dam finally breaks, and Sunset wasn’t able to control her emotions anymore. She placed her palm over her lips and she let out a quiet sob.

“Sonic… I'm sorry,” Sunset wept, both out of sorrow and guilt for the poor creature. “I'm so, so… sorry!”
> Volume II - Chapter 6: Tempest in the Woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time has passed since the 'earthquake', the older teens and dog stood outside of the bus while the CMCs and Spike stayed inside for safety. They were all awake and shaken due to the quake and they were wondering what could've caused it. Twilight already explained the situation to them, as well as the sudden disappearance of Sunset. Many were worried for the safety of their friends and were debating if they should go look for them.

Just as Twilight was about to suggest going out and search for them, she spotted something coming out of the woods. To her relief, it was none other than her two friends in question and the blue hedgehog, who was walking towards them.

"Sunset, Rainbow Dash, Sonic! Oh, thank goodness you’re all okay!" she exclaimed.

As they got closer, Twilight frowned when she noticed all of their features. Both Rainbow Dash and Sonic had uneasy and guilt expressions as if they were caught with their hands in a cookie jar. But what really caught Twilight’s attention was Sunset’s expression. 

She couldn't quite make it out, but Sunset appeared to be angry as well as disappointed, no doubt had something to do with what those two speedsters had done. However, Twilight could also detect other emotions from Sunset eyes: sorrow, shame, and guilt. This made Twilight all the more concerned for her friend. Something must have happened that caused her friend to feel worse than she does before the earthquake.

Before Twilight could say something to Sunset, it was Applejack who spoke first.

"Ah’m glad y’all safe, but mind tellin’ me what the Sam Hill just happened?" Applejack inquired with a frown.

“Yeah! We even saw this pretty rainbow wave in the sky!” Pinkie added as she pointed towards the direction of the sky in question.

While Rainbow and Sonic were nervous from the question, Sunset frowned deeper.

“Why not just ask these two!” Sunset stated coolly, glaring daggers at the two, particularly at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow winced when all of her friends turned and glared at her, still mad at her from her behavior earlier and waiting to hear her explanation. Realizing that can't get herself out of it, she gulped.

“Um… well…” Rainbow spoke nervously.

“Skittles here challenged me to a race, so we did,” Sonic cuts in, much to Rainbow’s annoyance from the nickname. “She even pulled this new move on me during the race!”

Rarity crossed her arms with an angry frown. “So Rainbow Dash was the cause of this earthquake. Why am I not surprised!”

“Hey! He caused this too!” Rainbow deflected as she pointed at the blue hedgehog in question. “Besides, I have to use my Sonic Rainboom in order to beat him!”

“Aw, you name your new move after me? I’m honored Skittles!” Sonic quipped.

“In your dreams, hedgehog!” Rainbow spat. “And quit calling me Skittles!”

Before Sonic could respond, Twilight interjected. “So you drained all of our magic just so you can beat him in a race?" she shouted angrily. "What wrong with you!?”

“Technically, I beat her!” Sonic pointed out, annoyed the prismatic teen further.

“That doesn’t matter!” Twilight huffed, facing Rainbow with a stern expression. “Rainbow Dash… what you did was irresponsible! Because of your actions, we now have no magic!”

Rainbow Dash threw her hands up. “What’s the big deal!? Sunset said the same thing!”

“It’s a 'big deal' because we’re now defenseless!” Twilight responded, feeling aggravated about her friend's failing to understand the situation. “Without them, we won’t be able to defend ourselves in case G.U.N. catches us!”

Rainbow rolled her eyes with an exasperated sigh. “Look, I get it. I used too much magic, but you’re all overreacting! Just because we can’t use them now, that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good! It happened to us before, it will recharge itself in no time!”

“Oh yeah, it will recharge alright… after G.U.N. arrested us!” Applejack deadpanned.

“Oh c’mon, just chill out!" Rainbow growled in frustration. "We’re way far away from Canterlot City and we’re in the middle of the woods! What are the chances that they’ll find us?”

Just as Rainbow stated that question, a claw suddenly came out of nowhere and it wrapped around Twilight’s waist. Before anyone could register it, Twilight screamed as the claw pulled back, pulling Twilight along with it.

“Twilight!” Sunset shouted.

Twilight has pulled away from her friends at a great distance. She eventually reached the source of the claw and felt someone took a hold of her right wrist. Twilight turned her head around to face her captor, only her face went pale. Much to her and her friends' shock, it was none other than Agent Tempest Shadow, who stood right beside her car that was hidden behind the trees.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you girls,” Tempest stated, before giving everyone her amused expression. “Thanks so much for alerting me of your location with those pretty rainbows in the sky.”

Everyone, except for Twilight, turned and glared daggers at Rainbow Dash, who had a nervous expression on her face.

“Uh… you think she saw my Sonic Rainboom?" Rainbow asked sheepishly.

Sunset Shimmer facepalmed before giving Rainbow her furious expression. “Are. You. Kidding me!?” she shouted.

"There's nowhere for you to run and I have your friend," Tempest interrupted. "So I suggest you cooperate and come quietly."

"Fat chance!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "I'm coming Twilight!"

Rainbow Dash tried to tap into her magic as she ran towards Tempest, only for her to trip over and nearly fall flat on her face. She was confused as to why she didn't feel any of her magic flowing into her until her eyes widened in realization when she remembered her friends' warning from earlier.

"...Uh oh!" she muttered.

All of her friends facepalmed in response to Rainbow’s display.

Tempest frowned, not amused by Rainbow’s antics. “Now that we got that childish display out of the way, are you all willing to cooperate now?”

The girls and hedgehog looked at each other, not knowing what to do to get out of this situation. Spike growled angrily at the agent, but held himself back, not wanting to risk his friend getting hurt.

“Dis is bad Sunset,” Applejack whispered who stood near Sunset. “Without our magic, we can't do anythang!”

“Unlike Skittles there,” Sonic added quietly. “I still have my super speed, but I don’t want to put Brainiac at risk while Scar Lady is holding her?”

Sunset raised her eyebrow at Sonic. “‘Scar Lady’? Seriously?”

“What? It’s a good name for her!” Sonic defended.

“Well?” Tempest pressed, starting to get impatient. “Will you girls back down or not?”

Sunset gritted her teeth. She and her friends were so close to arriving at their destination, but Agent Tempest managed to find them, no thanks to Rainbow’s stupidity. What was even worse, their magic was completely drained and they couldn’t have Sonic to go save Twilight without the risk of her getting hurt. With Twilight currently held in that agent’s hand and with no magic, the ball is in their court now. All of their efforts to travel and avoid their confrontation will be for nothing. She rather not want to give in to Tempest’s demands, but she did not Twilight to get hurt because of her.

Once again, her friends have suffered… all because of her actions.

Just as Sunset was ready to reply, they all heard a sudden shout.

“Fire!”

Before anyone could react, a rocket shot through the bushes and went straight towards Tempest and Twilight. Tempest turned towards the sound of a rocket and her eyes widened as she saw it coming straight towards her. With Tempest momentarily distracted, Sonic quickly shot forward with his super-speed, grabbed Twilight out of Tempest’s grasp, and ran back towards the group with Twilight in his arms. Tempest barely had time to realize her hostage was missing as the rocket was now dangerously close to her. Tempest screamed with her right arm over her face just as the rocket struck her.

The teens all shut their eyes as they heard a loud explosion from the rocket, feeling a mild gust blowing through them afterward. They opened their eyes a moment later to see Sonic and Twilight now in front of them and a cloud of heavy smoke at the spot where Tempest was behind them.

“Twilight, are you okay?” Sunset exclaimed worriedly.

“I’m fine, thanks to Sonic,” Twilight answered before giving Sonic her thankful look. 

Sonic smiled and gave her a thumbs-up in response. 

“I’m glad you’re safe darling,” said Rarity as she looked around the area in confusion. “But where…?”

They all jumped and heard sudden ruffling coming from the bushes nearby. They all stood by, worried if they’re dealing with another enemy. To their relief and confusion, it was none other than the CMCs as they walked out of the bushes with proud smiles on their faces.

“Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo?” Sunset uttered.

Applejack let out a huff, frowning at her younger sister’s sudden appearance. “What are you all doing over there? We thought you three are in bed!”

The three pre-teens suddenly became nervous from the question. After being nudged by both of her friends, it was Apple Bloom who replied.

“Um w-well, you see…”








Five Minutes Earlier…




Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle were wandering around the woods for quite some time now, not knowing where they’re going. After waking up from the earthquake, it was Scootaloo who spotted Sunset Shimmer running towards the wood from the window near her. When she didn’t see Rainbow Dash around, she realized that her sister-figure is still out there during this earthquake. While Scootaloo was still mad at Rainbow Dash for yelling at Sonic, she was very worried for her safety and wanted to see if she was okay.

Of course, she was prevented from leaving the bus by Applejack and the others just so they can “keep her safe”. But as soon as the Equestria Girls left the bus, Scootaloo decided to sneak out by going through the back of the bus. At first, her friends told her that it was best to stay in the bus, but after Scootaloo turned it around by asking what if their sisters never returned during an earthquake, they relented but only they allowed to come with her.

The only problem was, they had no idea where Sunset had gone, and they were lost in the woods for what felt like hours, despite being gone for less than a half-an-hour. 

Apple Bloom let out an annoyed grunt as they continued their walk. “Ah can’t believe you’ve talked us into comin’ with you Scoots!”

Scootaloo gave Apple Bloom her look of disbelief. “Me? You’re the one who insisted on coming, Apple Bloom!”

“Dat’s only because we’re makin’ sure dat yer not doin’ anythang stupid than you are already!” Apple Bloom retorted before sighing. “Not dat it matters, because we’re lost!”

Before the two of them could argue some more, Sweetie saw something from up ahead.

“Hey girls, look!”

The two girls turned towards the direction and to their relief, they saw their campsite from behind the bushes.  

“It’s da camp! Oh, thank Faust!” Apple Bloom exclaimed.

“And there’s Rainbow Dash and Sunset. And Sonic too!” Scootaloo added as she saw her sister and the others as well. “Thank goodness they’re okay!”

As they’re getting closer to their campsite, Sweetie Belle noticed one other person who was not there with them. “Wait, where’s...”

Sweetie’s mouth was suddenly covered by Apple Bloom’s hands. Before Sweetie could try to complain, Apple Bloom gave her a shush motion and then pointed at the direction section of the camp. When Sweetie looked in that direction, her eyes widened at the sight of Twilight being held captive by a scary-looking scar lady in a dark outfit. 

The trio quickly ducked behind the bushes and listened to the exchange between The Equestria Girls and the scarred lady. They began to panic when they heard the scar lady’s demand to surrender themselves for her, presuming for Twilight’s safety as an exchange.

"Oh man, this is bad girls!” Scootaloo whispered with an alarmed expression. “Our sisters and the others are in trouble!"

"What should we do?" Sweetie Belle inquired, fearing for her sister’s safety.

Scootaloo thought for a second, trying to find the best way to help both their sisters and Twilight from danger. Then an idea came to her. She quickly turned to Apple Bloom.

“Apple Bloom, do you still have our rocket for our science project?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a confused look. “Ah did. It’s in mah backpack... why?”

Scootaloo motioned her friends to come closer to her and then she quietly explained her plan to them. When she was finished, her friends stared at her as she had just grown a second head.

“Scoots… are ya crazy!” Apple Bloom exclaimed but kept her voice down. “It’s too risky! What if we hit Twilight by accident? Or even our sisters?”

“Not to mention, we spent weeks setting up that rocket!” Sweetie Belle added with a squeak. “We won’t be able to make another one before our due date!”

“Our class grades are the least of our concerns!” said Scootaloo before pointing at Twilight and the scarred lady. “That scary lady is holding Twilight hostage and our friends couldn’t do anything while holding her, so we don’t have a choice!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchange each other’s looks, still feeling conflicted. Despite how crazy Scootaloo’s idea was, they were more worried about their sisters, not wanting that lady to take them away. With a silent nod of agreement, the two turned their sights on Scootaloo again.

“Fine, we’ll do it… but Ah need help to set up and to aim!”

The trio quickly got to work as they pulled their rocket from Apple Bloom’s backpack and set it up. They knew that they were running out of time, so they need to set this up as fast as they can. As they put they were putting together the set, they heard a slight commotion behind them, coming from Rainbow Dash. They began to feel nervous when they heard the scarred lady telling them to come quietly again.

Thankfully, the CMCs finished setting up their rocket at a record time. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pointed the rocket towards the lady while Scootaloo took the match that was for the firepit out of her pocket, preparing to light it. They only have one shot at this and it had to be accurate.

“On mah mark…” Apple Bloom muttered, still adjusting the aim of the rocket.

Scootaloo lit up the match and hovered it over the line, getting into position. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were finally on set with their aim just as Sunset was about to answer the scary lady’s demand.

“Fire!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Scootaloo lit up the line and then the rocket took off.





Applejack sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose in irritation. “Dang it Apple Bloom… what you three just did was beyond reckless!”

The CMCs craned their necks, dejected from her remark.

“But," Applejack continued. "Ah suppose you girls saved Twilight from that woman, so that was some good quick thinkin'.”

"Yeah, it was awesome!" Rainbow added. "Who would've thought your science project would be used against a bad guy?"

"You're questionable project aside, we wanted to thank you for saving Twilight," said Rarity.

The CMCs eyes brighten from her praise.

“So does that mean we’re no longer in trouble?” Apple Bloom asked with a smile.

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Don't push it!”

Apple Bloom muttered irritability in response.

Twilight cleared her throat. “In any case, was that rocket even necessary? Don’t get me wrong, we appreciate it, but that seems excessive.” 

While everyone was busy talking to one another Fluttershy noticed from the corner of her eye that a familiar silhouette appeared from within the smoke. Her eyes widened in fear. 

“Uh… g-girls?

“We didn’t mean to hurt her!” said Apple Bloom. “We were only tryin’ to scare her to release Twilight, honest! And we didn’t have a choice!”

“G-girls?”

“I know you three don’t mean to harm her,” Sunset said gently, but with urgency. “But I don’t want her to get hurt either.” 

“Yeah, I hope she’s okay!” Pinkie added.

“Excuse me, girls?”

“Sunset, she’s our enemy!” Rainbow argued. “And she just holds Twilight hostage. If you ask me, she had it coming!”

“Girls!”

“Enemy or not, no one deserved to have a rocket blown up in their faces… literally!” said Twilight. “I suggest we should call the hospital.”

Rarity nodded. “I agree, but we have a slight problem darling, we have no phones! How are we going to get help?”

“I could run and find a nearby hospital,” Sonic offered.

“But do you know where to find one near here?” Sunset inquired. “And even if you did, wouldn’t that risk you getting caught?”

Sonic rubbed his chin in thought. “Hmm… good point.”

“Girls!”

Everyone jumped from Fluttershy’s loud screaming, who blushed in embarrassment.

“What is it, Fluttershy?” Sunset exclaimed. “What’s the prob–”

Her words died in her throat as she faced the direction where Fluttershy was pointing. Everyone else followed her example, and their faces became pale, shocked, and horrified at what they were seeing. With the smoke all cleared up, they all saw Tempest Shadow standing there with an angry expression, not a single scratch on her. But what really caught their attention was her right arm, which was now exposed after the explosion destroyed parts of her jacket.

It wasn’t a regular arm at all. It was a black, metal, robotic arm.

Tempest eyed her arm before looking back up at them with a glare and clenched her fist. “That… was my best jacket!”

The gang's eyes were wide and their jaws were dropped.

“She... she has a robotic arm!?” Twilight cried out in shock.

“No way!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Cool!” said Sonic. He blinked in confusion when everyone turned towards him. “What? Am I not allowed to admire one’s arm?”

“I think it’s cool!” Pinkie chirped. "She kinda reminded me of a superhero character from a Mare-vel comic… except that she's not a hero."

“Well, that certainly explained why her arm felt like a rock when I tried to bite her,” said Spike while keeping his eyes on that agent.

“Alright,” Tempest interjected. “Now you kids are testing my patience! I hate to resort to this, but because of your refusal to cooperate, I’ll now have to force my hand.”

“...your robotic hand or your real hand?” Pinkie asked in her confused tone.

Tempest growled in response.

Unbeknownst to everyone, Twilight leaned over near Sonic and whispered something in his ear. Once she was finished, Sonic gave Twilight a nod before he zoomed towards Tempest.

“Enough of this!” Tempest shouted in frustration. “You’re all coming with–”

“Incoming!”

Before Tempest had time to react, Sonic tackled her over towards the edge of the woods and the two of them fell and rolled down the deep hill in the process.

"Sonic!" Sunset shouted.

Before she could run after them, Twilight quickly grabbed her shoulder.

“He’ll be fine,” said Twilight. Before Sunset could ask, Twilight added, “I’ll explain later.” She then faced her friends. “Everyone, get on the bus! Hurry!”

Without being told twice, everyone ran towards the bus. Before Applejack could follow them, Twilight stopped her. 

“AJ, will you come with me for a second? I need your help!”





Sonic and Tempest continued to wrestle with each other as they kept tumbling down the hill. Tempest struggled to try to pry the hedgehog off of her while Sonic kept hanging on to her as long as he could. They eventually reached the bottom of the hill of the woods, with Tempest lying in her back. It was then Tempest finally got a good grip of the hedgehog and threw him off away from her. Sonic quickly pivoted himself in midair before he landed gracefully on his feet while eyeing his opponent in his battle pose.

Tempest growled as she stood up, glaring at the hedgehog all the while. This was the second time she had seen the hedgehog in person. While she read many strange things about magic and creatures involving those girls, she never thought she'd get to see a creature in person, let alone have to fight it. He was also responsible for causing that huge mess at Canterlot City to begin with. While she doesn’t know why that thing was hanging around with those girls, all she knows was he was trying to keep her from going near them. She won’t let that creature stop her from fulfilling her mission, even if she has to fight him.

"You're in my way, pest!" Tempest barked.

"Sorry lady, but if you want to get to them, you're going to have to go through me first!" Sonic remarked.

Tempest narrowed her eyes, clenching her metal fist. "I see… then I guess I have no choice but to take you down!"

Sonic grinned. “Bring it on!”





With a growl, Tempest raised her robotic arm over her head and ran towards Sonic. When she was close to him, Tempest brought down her fist, crushing some rocks in the process of where he stood. Tempest blinked as she lifted her fist from where she punched, only to see nothing there except for a large dent on the ground which was caused by her. Now on alert, Tempest surveyed around the woods, looking for the missing hedgehog.

“You know…”

Tempest quickly turned around towards the voice, seeing Sonic with his back turn while crossing his arms. Sonic turned his head back slightly with a cocky grin.

“I'm torn to call you either Scar Lady or Miss Robo-Arm. What do you think?”

With a growl, Tempest swung her fist at him, only for him to disappear again. Before she could utter a word, she heard him talking again, but he was standing next to her this time.

“Hmm... I guess you're just as torn as I am,” Sonic mused before smiling. “How about we brainstorm some more names?”

Tempest threw a punch towards him again as her response, but he disappeared yet again. She suddenly felt a weight on her head. To her annoyance, it was Sonic who was on top of her.  

“Oh! Would you rather we continue with our warm-ups? I'm game! I heard it's really great to get your creative juices flowing!” he joked.

Tempest let out an infuriating scream as she began to barrage Sonic with her punches, determined to land a single hit on that annoying creature. Unfortunately for her, Sonic easily dodge every single one of her punches, making faces at her as she did so.  

“Do. You. Ever. Shut. Up?” Tempest shouted in between her punches.

Tempest continued to throw her punches, but Sonic kept on backing away from her without breaking a sweat. He kept on dodging and leading Tempest deeper into the woods until they eventually reached the riverbank with water flowing by. Just before Sonic could touch the water, Sonic leaped away from Tempest and landed on a rock in the middle of a river before leaping to the next rock. Tempest leaped after him, punching each rock as she did so. Sonic eventually landed on the other side of the river before he turned and ran into the woods with her following him.

As he ran deeper into the woods, Sonic looked back with a cocky grin, seeing Tempest more frustrated by the second. While she isn't as fast as Rainbow Dash, Sonic will give her credit for being determined. With a quick salute, Sonic rushed ahead and ran up along a short cliff and then on a tree. Sonic kept on running up the tree until he reached the very top. His focus on his battle was temporarily forgotten as he surveyed the area with his hand hovering above his eyes to block the moonlight.

“Huh, not a bad view!” said Sonic with a grin, soaking in the land as far as he can see.

Suddenly, he felt the whole tree begin to shake. At first, he thought it was an earthquake until he glanced down to see Tempest punching the tree with her robotic hand. To his shock, he noticed that the huge dent on the tree grew bigger with each punch from her. After Tempest gave the tree one last strong punch, causing the tree to start tip over with him on in. With a yelp, Sonic held on to the tree until he let go and curled into a ball before the tree hit the ground. He bounced on the ground a few times near the fallen tree until he rolled himself down the hill and into the water of the stream.

Sonic uncurled himself and started screaming, fearing getting drowned again.

“Gah! Help me!” Sonic screamed fearfully, failing his arms while trying to keep himself afloat. “I can’t swim! Ahhhh!”

He continued to scream and flail around, hoping for someone to come save him. Suddenly he stopped when he realized that he wasn’t downing or even sinking into the water. In fact, he felt like he was sitting on the ground despite his waist being underwater. He looked down and he realized that the whole stream was shallow, which was not deep enough for him to drown at all. He suddenly looked up when he heard someone clearing their throat, which turned out to be Tempest with an unamused frown on her face.

With a blush on his face, Sonic chuckled sheepishly. “It’s a good thing that I fell in a kiddie pool!”

Tempest grunted. “Enough games, hedgehog! I know you're faster than me, but you're not taking this fight seriously! Why is that?”

“Oh, I don't know,” Sonic trailed off with a fake ponder expression before smirking. “Maybe it was because I'm actually here as a diversion!”

Tempest cocked a brow in confusion, not understanding the creature’s words. Suddenly, her eyes widened in realization. She had been so busy trying to chase and to hit this creature, she never once considered that his whole purpose was to get him away from the campsite and to give the girls a chance to escape. Her face morphed from bewilderment to full-on rage.

Sonic chuckled at the sight of the agent’s expression and gave her a salute. “Well, it's been fun, but I gotta run!”

Before she could blink, Sonic ran past her and through the woods towards the direction of the camp, leaving a blue blur trail behind.

“Hey!” She shouted.

With time on the essence, Tempest quickly used her grappling hook from her wrist and swung after the blue blur. The blue blur kept going further and further from her towards the campsite, making it difficult for her to catch up. Despite that, Tempest went as fast as she could, launching one grappling hook after another and also hopping at every single tree branch she could find at a record pace. 

Eventually, Tempest reached back to the campsite, only to find that this place had been abandoned with no one or the bus on site. She searched her eyes around the area until she spotted a fresh set of tracks, leading to a dirt road that was heading towards the highway. She also got a full whiff of car exhaust near those tracks, leading her to believe that their departure was recent.

“They won't get away from me!” Tempest muttered as she ran towards her car.

Even with Grubber’s lousy car, she can still catch up to those teens within a few minutes on full throttle. She jumped inside the vehicle and turned on the ignition. Unfortunately for her, her car wouldn’t start. Instead, it made a lot of sputtering noises before it died.

“What!?” Tempest exclaimed as she tried to start her car again. “No, no, no, no! Not now!”

She kept turning on the ignition, again and again, to get the car to start, but the car failed on her every single time. Out of frustration, Tempest let out a loud shout and slammed her robotic fist on the steering wheel, accidentally breaking the wheel off and causing the horn to go off in the process. With a grunt, Tempest slammed her forehead on a dashboard.

Note to self: Tempest thought irritatedly. Dock some of Grubber’s salary after this mission.





As the bus was speeding down the highway, the girls let out a sigh of relief when they see that Tempest wasn't following them.

“Dat was close!” said Applejack before glancing at Twilight with a back view mirror. “That was some quick thinkin' on havin' Sonic distract her for us to escape Twi.”

Twilight nodded. “I figured with his speed, he’ll buy us some time for us to escape with her none the wiser.”

“I could’ve done that…” Rainbow Dash muttered, crossing her arms with a pout.

Fluttershy had a worried frown on her face. “But was it a good idea to leave him behind? I hope Sonic is okay!”

“Hi, there!”

Everyone screamed at the sound of a new voice. Even Applejack nearly lost control of the bus from the surprise visitor. They relaxed somewhat when they realized that it was Sonic, who suddenly appeared and sat on one of the seats of the bus.

“Don't do that!” Rainbow screamed in annoyance and shock while trying to calm herself down.

“Yeah, you nearly gave us a heart attack!” Sunset added but sounded calmer than her prismatic-haired friend.

“Sorry about that,” Sonic said with a sheepish smile. “But good news, thanks to my efforts, that lady won't be following us anymore.”

Rainbow crossed her arms with a frown. “Yeah, but for how long hedgehog? As long as she has her car, it would only be a matter of time before she catches up to us.”

Twilight suddenly chuckled maniacally, causing almost everyone to stare at her in worry and concern. “Oh, she would have… but not without this!”

Twilight then took out something shiny from her skirt pocket for everyone to see. 

“Is that… a spark plug?” Fluttershy asked quizzingly. “Why do you have that?”

Rainbow Dash suddenly widened her eyes, realizing what Twilight was implying with that item. “Wait, don’t tell me…”

With a grin, Twilight nodded. “Yep! With some help from AJ, we managed to quickly swipe this thing from her car while Sonic distracted her.”

Applejack gave Twilight her a thumb-up while still focusing on the road ahead of her.

Pinkie grinned. “Oh, I get it! You didn’t just have Sonic to distract her for us to escape, but to also slow her down by stealing her spark plug from her car!”

Twilight winked. “Bingo! I figured she'd try to chase us the moment we fled, which was why I removed it. Without that spark plug, she's pretty much a sitting duck.”

“Well, I gotta say, that’s very clever darling,” Rarity complimented. “We’re so glad that you’re with us!”

“Rare’s right Twi,” said Applejack. “You’ve been savin’ our hides since the beginnin’! We would never get this far without yer quick thinkin’!”

Twilight blushed. “Oh, I doubt that. I’m sure you guys would have come up with a better plan.”

“But no one comes up with a better plan than you, Twilly!” Pinkie chirped. “And you’re more organized than any of us!”

“I’m with Cotton Candy Girl here,” Sonic added. “You’re the brains of this group. If anyone can get us out of a sticky situation with their smarts, it’s you, Brainiac!”

Rainbow huffed. “Yeah… especially that it was you who got us in a sticky situation in the first place!”

There were collective groans all around the bus from Rainbow’s provoking remarks again.

Sonic frowned at Rainbow. “Hey, that time wasn’t my fault! Who was it that released that colorful rainbow in the sky again?”

“Well, who was it that released that blue wave in the sky and caught the attention of the military, hedgehog!?" Rainbow retorted.

Before a fight broke off, Sunset stood up from her seat. "That’s enough!"

Nearly everyone, including Rainbow and Sonic from Sunset’s angry tone. Sunset continued to rant before either of them could speak up.

"We just escaped from a super soldier agent–"

"With a robotic arm," Pinkie added.

Sunset rolled her eyes but continued. "And now you two are having another fight!" She glared daggers at the two in question. "At this point, I don’t care how it all started, all I care about is for all of us to get to Manehattan in one piece! You two nearly have us all captured by Agent Tempest, all because of your petty rivalry! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

Sonic looked down, feeling ashamed of his actions, while Rainbow Dash appeared to be annoyed by Sunset’s scolding.

"Oh come on! How could I be just to blame as him?" Rainbow complained.

"Because you carelessly used all of our magic for that stupid race and lead that agent to us while we're completely defenseless!" Sunset said angrily.

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue.

"And don't even bring up about that blue wave again because that is a separate matter," Sunset snapped.

Rainbow scowled and threw her arms up. "This is ridiculous! I didn't race against that overgrown blue rat because of petty rivalry. I raced against him so that I can protect you guys!"

"Oh really?" Sunset challenged. "Were you actually trying to protect us, or for your own ego?"

There was tense silence from within the bus, making everyone, including Sonic, felt very uncomfortable. Rainbow slowly stood up with an angry glare, offended by Sunset’s words. Before the two of them could start arguing, someone spoke up.

"Wait!"

They all turned to see it was Sonic who spoke but still appeared to be ashamed and guilty.

“Please stop fighting! The last thing I wanted was to break up your friendships because of me!”

Sunset’s anger at Rainbow was forgotten when she looked at Sonic in concern. “Sonic, this isn’t your–”

Sonic raised his hand up, stopping Sunset from speaking anymore. He let out a sad sigh.

"I'm sorry, Sunset… and I’m sorry to you too girls," he said, not looking Sunset in the eye. “Rainbow Dash is right… I am just to blame, maybe even more than her. I shouldn’t even have to race against her, but both my anger towards her and my competitive spirit made me determined to beat her.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. She expected him to put more blame onto her including her ‘Sonic Rainboom’ debacle, but instead, he took full responsibility.

“And even before that," Sonic continued, rubbing his shoulder. "I wasn’t being careful with my powers when I played baseball by myself… even when I got a little upset that night. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble for everyone here.”

“Why were you upset that night?” Fluttershy asked.

Sonic was quiet for a moment, hesitant to answer Fluttershy's simple questions.

"W-well…" he mumbled.

“Was it because you’re lonely?”

Sonic looked up to Sunset with widened eyes, who was staring down at him with a sympathetic expression.

“Despite that, you were having a blast at playing baseball by yourself… there wasn’t anyone around to share the fun with you?” Sunset asked softly.

Sonic looked down again.

“...yeah,” Sonic admitted with a sigh. “While it was fun to pretend I’m playing two teams at once… it just wasn’t the same as that game I watched the other day with those three. As much as I want to join in, I have to keep myself hidden without being discovered… and to be captured by anyone who would abuse my powers for themselves.”

“You mean... people have chased you for being a creature and for your powers?” asked Fluttershy, feeling her heartbreak for the blue hedgehog.

Sonic breathed through his nose. “Yeah… it’s always been that way since I was born. I could never have friends when I’m being chased down all the time… let alone have a life here. All I can do… is to keep running.”

Everyone, even Rainbow Dash stared at the blue hedgehog with a look of pity. This never occurred to any of them that despite how friendly and energized this creature was, that he was actually very lonely. It was bad enough that he’s been running all his life, but it was also tough for him to be the only one of his kind, trapped in a world that he originally lived elsewhere. It was a feeling that Sunset knew all too well what it was like.

They watched as Sonic slowly got up from his seat. "Anyway, you should probably pull over AJ… I'll try to find my rings myself. Thanks for the lift."

Everyone’s eyes widened at the broken tone of his voice. Despite AJ not complying with Sonic’s request, he still made his way over to the back of the bus, presuming to hop out of it. Before anyone voiced out their protests, someone beat them to it.

“And just where do you think you’re going?”

Sonic stopped in his tracks and turned towards Rainbow Dash, who had an angry expression on her face, with a confused expression.

“Uh… leaving the bus?” Sonic answered, perplexed at Rainbow’s sudden attitude.

With a grunt, Rainbow crossed her arms. “We just barely escaped from that super-soldier agent lady–”

“With a robotic arm!” Pinkie added again, but Rainbow ignored her.

“And we’re more than halfway to Manehatten, so…” Rainbow huffed, turning somewhat away from the blue hedgehog. “You might as well stick around a little longer.”

Everyone, even Sonic was shocked by Rainbow’s sudden change of heart.

“But… what about our bet?” he asked.

“Our bet is for you to leave if I beat you!” Rainbow explained. “But since our race is currently… unfinished, it’s null and void!”

Sonic eyes widened. “Rainbow Dash…”

“But only for now!” Rainbow added with a huff. “The next time we race, we’ll finish it for real!”

She grimaced when she noticed everyone, sans Sonic, was glaring at her again.

“...without our powers as our handicap,” Rainbow quickly finished.

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. While she appreciated that Rainbow Dash convinced Sonic to stay and to cut back on her attitude, that doesn’t mean that Rainbow was completely out of hot water just yet.

“You better not!” Sunset warned. “You’re still on thin ice you know!”

Rainbow waved her off before she sat back in her seat. “Yeah, yeah, yeah…”

Sunset rolled her eyes but gave Sonic her friendly smile. “Well you heard her, you can stay. And we would like for you to stay too.”

Everyone nodded with smiles on their faces, feeling the same as Sunset. Sonic stared at everyone in disbelief, couldn’t believe this group was still very accepting despite his mistakes. He felt a lump in his throat but he quickly shook that off and gave everyone his heartfelt smile.

“...Thank you.”

“Well don’t stand there Sonic, come and join us!” Apple Bloom encouraged, gesturing towards her seat with her friends.

Without hesitation, Sonic rushed over to join them. Everyone else smiled at the site before they started to have their own conversations with one another. Sunset’s smile faded and let out a low sigh. She made her way towards the front of the bus, only to be stopped by Rainbow.

“Hey Sunset, when you saved us, did you–”

“Not now Rainbow Dash!” Sunset spoke quickly, gesturing to Sonic behind her with her head who was busy chatting with the CMCs. “We’ll talk later!”

As Sunset left headed to the front, Rainbow secretly grasped on her “special item” from her pocket again. She silently wondered if letting the hedgehog stay with him was the right thing to do, despite still not knowing where that hedgehog stands. But after that sudden display from him earlier, Rainbow wasn’t sure what to make of him anymore.

Meanwhile, Sunset had her own problems. While she was glad that her friends still gave him a chance, but she still felt guilty that the only reason she understood was because that she unintentionally sees Sonic's memories. She knew that she can't keep it to herself and that she has to come clean to Sonic eventually, but not right now. Her main focus was to help get her and her friends to Manhatten safely before something else happens.

She eventually reached towards Applejack at the front of the bus, who was still busy driving as she kept her eyes on a long dark road ahead.

“How much gas do we have left?” Sunset asked.

Applejack sighed. “Welp, I reckon we have another hour before we’re out of gas unless we find another gas station if we’re lucky.”

Sunset nodded. “Then I guess we have no choice but to keep going, just in case if she was following us.”

“I doubt she’ll be able to catch up to us anytime soon,” said Applejack. “But I suppose you can’t be too careful.” 

Sunset frowned. “Quite frankly, I hope that's the last we see of her.”





Tempest eventually reached the end of a dirt road and made it to the entrance of the highway. When she realized that her car won’t start and was wasting time, she decided to keep trailing those kids on foot. Normally, she would call Grubber for backup, but he never responded; probably still angry at her for taking his car, or he was too busy stuffing his face with sponge cake again.

Her money’s on the latter.

She then considered getting a hold of someone from the G.U.N. agency to come to get her instead but decided against it. Most of the agents are working for Robotnik right now. Chances are, he’ll have them either ditched her out of spite or take her to Commander Walters and have her forced off of duty instead. Neither is an option to her and did not want to waste enough time as it was already, so she decided to keep pursuing those girls and that creature, even if she had to chase them on foot.

Normally, it would have been foolish to keep pursuing at this point, especially that those teens have gotten away again, but this time, she was prepared thanks to her secret weapon. Tempest took out a small device from her pants pocket and activated it. A bunch of green lines and red dots appeared on the screen. The green lines representing the map of the entire area, technically the entire world, and the red dots represented the people of interest. The first red dot is herself of course, which came from the device itself. The second dot came from a tiny tracker which she managed to plant on one of the girls.

Specifically, from the girl with the specs that she captured earlier.

Tempest knew that those kids would somehow get that girl back from her clutches, so she secretly placed that small tracker on that girl’s hairband without her noticing. Even though they were miles away from her by now, but as long as she has her device and her tracker still activate, it would be a matter of time before she caught up to them again.

Those kids can run as far as they want, she thought. With this thing and that tracker… they can't hide from me.
> Volume II - Chapter 7: A Chilling Phone Call
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some time has passed since another run-in from Tempest and the gang was still traveling on the road in the middle of the night. Most of them fell asleep in their seats while Applejack and Sunset were still awake, driving the bus and staying watch. While Sunset was still tense from their encounter with the G.U.N. agent, she couldn’t get much sleep anyway due to the guilt for invading Sonic's memories, even though it was unintentional. She knew that she had to come clean to him soon, but her main priority is to be alert and get her friends to Manehattan safely.

Or at least, force herself on that priority.

They eventually reached a lone gas station with a mini-mart just as they were running out of gas. As soon as Applejack parked the bus near one of the gas meters, the girls immediately walked out of the bus, glad that they could finally take a break from the ride and stretch their legs.

“Finally! Thank goodness we found a gas station!” Sunset exclaimed.

“Welp, best we fuel ourselves up and pay it in cash at the convenience store,” said Applejack as she was starting to use the fuel service.

“And maybe we can grab some food while we’re at it,” Rainbow Dash added.

Pinkie’s eyes lit up with a smile. “Ooh! I wonder if there is a Grape Garden around here?”

Rainbow Dash let out a loud annoyed groan. “Pinkie, we don't have time for Grape Garden! And even if we did, I doubt that place is open at this time of night!"

"You never knoooooowwww," Pinkie said in her sing-song voice, causing Rainbow Dash to roll her eyes as a result.

Sonic stepped out of the bus to follow the girls. As soon as he was outside, he spotted something from the side of the mart which looked like it came out of some sci-fi show.

“Hey, what’s that thing?” Sonic inquired as he pointed at the thing in question. “Some sort of a teleportation box?”

The girls turned to where he was pointing at, which turned out to be an old gray and blue booth with glass windows and a door.

“It’s a payphone!" said Twilight with a grin. "Great find, Sonic! I can use that thing to talk to my big brother!”

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. “You’re seeing your brother in that thing?”

“Technically, I can only talk to him via voice," Twilight explained. "People used to use that as a means to communicate with someone before cell phones were made."

"I’m surprised there is even one still around this day in age,” Fluttershy stated in wonder.

Twilight sighed with an uneasy look. “Yeah, from what I heard, they are now mostly used by shady dealers and fugitives from the law… which is us.”

"How fitting," Rainbow remarked sarcastically, but Twilight ignored her.

“In any case, I’m going to use it to call Shiny.”

“Why?” Sunset asked.

“Since my brother is a cop and we’re going to see Cadance, I figured he can call her ahead of time and assist us. We need all the help we can get.” She then rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “That… and I'm sure that Shining Armor is worried sick by now with our house overrun by the government.”

"Makes sense," Sunset nodded. "Alright, we’ll call him, but I’m coming with you! Maybe we'll give Principal Celestia a call too.”

“Well we’re coming too!” Rainbow spoke up for the group, which they all nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, let’s go!” Sonic whooped. He was about to rush over to the phone booth, only to be stopped by Applejack.

“Now hold on there partner! Yer stayin’ here!”

Sonic frowned. “Huh? Why can't I come?”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Um, hello? You’re a hedgehog! You stuck out like a sore thumb!”

“Your hair stuck out like a sore thumb!” Sonic remarked.

Rainbow growled. “Why you–”

Rarity gently grasped Rainbow's shoulder to calm her friend. “Rainbow Dash is right… for once.”

Rainbow had a cocky smile. “Heh, of course, I’m–” Rainbow immediately frowned and glared at her friend. “Hey! Whataya mean, “for once”?”

Rarity paid her friend no mind as she continued to explain to the blue hedgehog. “While we’re still on the run, we can at least blend in easily. But with you darling… not so much, no offense.”

“If anyone sees you with us, then the government will come chasing after us again," Twilight added. "It’s probably for the best that you wait on the bus.”

Sonic crossed his arms with a pout expression, not happy with the idea of staying put. "Fine."

“And that goes for you three as well!” Rarity said sternly to her sister and her friends, who were just standing near the bus.

The CMCs were taken aback by Rarity’s statement.

“What! Why?” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Yer in danger enough as it is!" said Applejack. "And yer technically still in trouble, so yer stayin' with Sonic as well!”

“Ugh! This is so unfair!” Sweetie complained. “We always have to sit out on everything!”

Rarity rested her fists on her hips with narrowed eyes. “This isn't a family vacation Sweetie Belle! And our decision is final!”

Seeing an argument was about to break out, Twilight calmly interjected. “Look, we won’t be long. Just stay in the car, and don’t let anyone see any of you, especially Sonic!”

“...fine!” The three young girls chorused with looks of disappointment.

Twilight then turned her attention to her dog, who was poking out of one of the bus windows. "Spike, stay here and watch these four. And make sure they don't get into any trouble."

"Roger that!" Spike saluted with his doggy paw.

"We're being babysitted by a dog… how embarrassing," Scootaloo muttered as she and her friends entered the bus.

Sonic shrugged as he followed them. "Eh, I've been in a much more embarrassing situation."

As Sonic and the three pre-teens entered the bus, the older teens went over to the payphone to make a few calls.

"Um, is it possible that G.U.N. would try to trace a call from a phone booth too?" Fluttershy asked in concern.

"Yeah, I thought we were trying not to get traced," Rainbow added, annoyed Twilight was breaking her own rules.

"It is possible since it's physically connected to the phone network," Twilight replied as she opened the booth. "But that doesn't matter, because we'll be long gone by the time they get here."

Twilight lifted the phone from the hook and placed it over her ear. She was relieved that the phone is still in service when she heard the dial tone. Her eyes furrowed when she noticed the price tag before facing her friends.

"Any of you girls have fifty cents?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow frowned. "You mean we have to pay to make a call?"

"It's called a payphone fer a reason Dash," Applejack deadpanned.

"Yeah, but this thing is obsolete!"

"Not in some countries!" Twilight pointed out, much to Rainbow’s annoyance.

"Um, I have fifty cents," Fluttershy spoke up quietly, as she took some coins out of her skirt pocket.

Twilight took the coins from Fluttershy. "Do you have any more?"

"That’s all I have,” said Fluttershy with an apologetic look. “I'm sorry."

"That's okay Fluttershy, every little thing helps," Sunset assured before frowning. "But that means we can only have one phone call."

“I think we should still call my brother for help," said Twilight. "That way he can help us by letting Cadance know we’re coming and he can get Principal Celestia to help us too."

"Ah guess that could work, but why can't ya simply call Cadance directly?" asked Applejack.

"She recently changed her number and I… couldn't remember it," Twilight answered sheepishly.

"Seriously?" Rainbow Dash moaned. "Why now of all times she changed her number?"

"Probably plot convenience," Pinkie guessed, much to Rainbow’s confusion.

Paying Pinkie’s randomness no mind, Twilight placed the coins into the payphone for her to call her brother at the station.





Meanwhile, back on the bus, the CMCs were sitting on their seats with bored expressions. While they understood their sisters' reasoning, it was still frustrating to them that they couldn't do anything while still treated like little kids. On top of that, they have Spike to watch them while they're gone, which was pretty humiliating.

Speaking of the dog, Spike, who wasn't bothered to be put on charge, was currently on the front of the seat resting his eyes. While his jaw felt better a while ago, he was concerned about Twilight and the others' safety, as well as that strange  scar-faced  girl who was currently chasing them. And while he still wasn't sure about the blue hedgehog, Spike was grateful to him for saving Twilight, which earned his respect and some of his trust. Even so, Spike was still keeping an eye on that creature.

As for Sonic himself, he was on the driver's seat, pretending that he was driving as he was turning the wheel and making motor noises. Both Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched him with mild amusement while Scootaloo just stared at him while furrowing her brow.

“Isn’t it weird to see him act like a little kid, even after he fought that scary scar lady over an hour ago?” Scootaloo whispered.

"Ah don’t see anything wrong with dat," Apple Bloom whispered back. “After all, we’re kids too and we have seen far weirder than dat.”

Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and I think he's cute acting that way." She paused for a moment, furring her brow. "Do you think he has a family?"

Apple Bloom frowned. “Well now dat ya mentioned it, Ah’m not sure. He never mentioned anything about his family once.”

Before the two could think further, they heard Scootaloo let out a loud gasp.

"Oh my gosh! Zappers!" Scootaloo cried excitedly, pointing at her window.

The girls turned to where Scootaloo was pointing and they gasped at the sight. Right across from where they were was a big flashy building with a flashy neon sign which said ‘Zappers’ with an 8-bit alien and some lightning bolts over the entrance. There was also an open outdoor restaurant next to the entrance, which was filled with adults and teenagers alike, hanging out to eat, chat, or just to have fun. There was even some funky rock music, booming from the speakers that were outside the buildings. The girls' eyes sparkled in delight and excitement at the sight of their favorite arcade place out there several feet in front of them.

"Oh my gosh, I love that place!" Sweetie Belle squealed.

"Me too!" said Apple Bloom. "Ah can't believe there's one all da way out here!"

"Yeah, we should check it out!" Scootaloo whooped with a big smile just as she was about to stand up.

"We can't girls," Spike spoke up, stopping Scootaloo in her tracks. "We were told to stay on the bus, remember?"

The three young girls drooped in disappointment.

"Oh yeah… I forgot," Scootaloo muttered.

Apple Bloom patted her friend’s back. “Hey, cheer up Scoots!”

"Yeah, there's always next time," Sweetie Belle added. "We can always go to the one in Canterlot City when this is… Sonic?"

The girls and Spike turned towards the blue hedgehog in question, who was busy looking at the window with an awe expression. For Sonic, he never saw anything that looks so exciting and lively in all his life. There were so many people out there, having fun and doing all kinds of crazy things in the middle of the night without a care in the world. 

And Sonic wanted to be a part of it.

"Oh. My. Gosh!" Sonic exclaimed. "That is the coolest place I have ever seen! I must check this out!"

As Sonic stood up from his seat Spike immediately sat up from his seat. 

"No Sonic,” Spike barked with a stern expression. “We're supposed to stay on the bus!"

Sonic was staring at Spike’s hard expression for a moment before he slowly sat back down to his seat.

"Y-you're right," Sonic stammered, trying to keep himself in check. "I'll just have to stay strong and ignore it… even if it’s the coolest place on earth."

Despite vowing to himself, Sonic ended up watching out the window again and slowly starting to lose control of his self-restraint. He watched as the two teens pressed their forearms together in greeting. He then turned towards the restaurant area where a teenage female, who managed to defeat a muscled guy in a round of arm wrestling at their table. 

Everyone watched in concern as Sonic breathed frantically against the window, which caused a fog to appear which he wiped away soon after.

“Sonic… calm down,” Apple Bloom said gently.

But Sonic ignored her as he saw one group of teens balancing and passing the beanbag around with their feet. He then glanced at another group who were playing some kind of monster card game on another table. This caused Sonic to go back and forth with his car seat, making the group around him even more concerned for him.

"Stay strong Sonic! Stay strong!" Sweetie Belle urged.

The final straw for him was when a random guy wearing a leather jacket and shades, drove by in his red and black motocross bike at the front of the building. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he quickly jumped and tilted the bike on its side before landing on it and making the bike spin around in its place. The guy shows off while riding on a spinning bike while everyone around him is cheering him on. That act of display caused Sonic to stand up with a loud shout.

"Augh! I can't take it anymore!" Sonic shouted as he rushed towards one of the windows.

He would have jumped out already if he wasn't held back by three girls and a dog.

"No Sonic, don't!" Apple Bloom shouted.

"People will see you!" Scootaloo grunted.

"But I really want to go there!" Sonic cried desperately.

"You can't! You're gonna jeopardize our mission!" Spike growled while holding one of Sonic’s shoes with his teeth.

“There’s always next time Sonic!” Sweetie Belle insisted.

“There won’t be a next time!” Sonic screamed.

Everyone immediately stopped struggling as soon as Sonic screamed. There was tense silence from within the bus. The girls and Spike stared at him in shock while Sonic, no longer putting up a fight, just stood silently with his back turned. They heard him sigh heavily before he turned towards them with a defeated expression. 

“I… I have never been to places like this before,” Sonic said quietly, ashamed to look at anyone in the eye. “I always want to join in on the fun, but I can’t. And when I leave… I’ll never have a chance again.”

Despite only knowing the hedgehog for barely a whole day, they have never seen Sonic look so upset before. Neither didn't know what to do or say next until Sweetie Belle spoke for the group.

“So you… never have any fun at all?” Sweetie Belle asked in her quiet tone.

“No… I didn’t,” Sonic shook his head with a sigh. He then slowly sat back down and leaned towards the window. “I’m sorry for being so childish. It’s hard to always watch other people having a good time, while I had to keep myself hidden… and left out. It’s one of the joys of being me.”

Everyone, including Spike, felt so sorry for the blue hedgehog. While they never knew what his life was like, they do know what it was like to be lonely. It was rough enough that he was forced to flee all in his life, but to never have any fun with someone, let alone for himself, is really sad.

Apple Bloom stared at the blue hedgehog in pity. She shifted her eyes towards the window where Zapper’s are and then back to Sonic. Apple Bloom knew that what she was about to purpose will get them in serious trouble. Despite that they’re currently on thin ice with her sister, she wanted to help out her new friend to feel normal and have fun, if only for a day.

“Girls… we’re takin’ Sonic to dat place!” Apple Bloom declared much to everyone, including the blue hedgehog’s shock.

“What!?” They all exclaimed.

Spike immediately stood on his paws. “Apple Bloom, Twilight said–”

“Ah know, Ah know! ‘Stay on da bus’! Ah get it!” said Apple Bloom with an exasperated look. “But Sonic spends his whole life on the run while livin’ on our planet and he never has time for fun! And now he’s forced to leave before he has a chance, and it ain’t fair!” She let out a sigh before giving Spike and her friends her pleading expression. “Ah know Ah’ll get in trouble fer doin’ this… but Ah say we shall let him have a good time fer once while we’re here. Dat way, when he does leave, he’ll have somethin’ to look back on with no regrets!”

Sweetie and Scootaloo shared a look before giving Apple Bloom their supportive expressions.

“You know what, you’re right Apple Bloom!” said Scootaloo. “I say we should do it as well. Maybe even join in on the fun!” She then smirked. “I’ve been itching to show him a few ropes on Tirek’s Revenge the arcade game!”

“Well, if you girls are up for it, then I’m all for it!” Sweetie Belle squeaked before turning to Sonic. “What do ya say Sonic?”

Sonic stared at the girls with an awed look. No one has ever gone out of their way for him before, let alone wanting to play with him. Seeing them wanting to include him in the fun made his chest feel so warm. Trying to keep his emotions at bay, he gave the three his most heartfelt smile.

“Girls…thank you,” he said quietly, making the CMCs smile back.

The moment was ruined however when they heard Spike clearing his throat.

“Um, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he still can’t leave the bus!” Before the girls could protest, Spike added, “At least… not while people are going to notice a talking blue hedgehog creature with us.”

They all frowned. As much as they hated to admit it, Spike made a very good point. They knew the moment when Sonic stepped out of the bus, people would be over him like moths to a flame, including the police and G.U.N. agents. The girls still won’t back down to give Sonic a good time, but they need to find a way to make people not notice him.

Suddenly, an idea struck Scootaloo’s mind. She quickly swung her backpack around from her back and dug into it, looking for something. When she finally found the thing she was looking for, Scootaloo had a huge grin on her face.

"Everyone… I have an idea!"





Back at the phone booth, Twilight waited as the phone rang near her ear while the others stood by in anticipation. They waited for what felt like an eternity before the phone finally stopped ringing and then they heard a tired male voice from the other end.

"Canterlot City's Police Department," the voice croaked.

Twilight’s eyes lit up, recognizing the voice from the other end. "Shining Armor, it's me!"

"Twilight!?" Shining exclaimed in relief before he began to frantically bombard her with questions. "Oh thank Faust! Are you alright? Where are you? Are you safe? And what the heck is going on!?" 

The Equestria Girls, especially Twilight winced from his angered tone from his last question. Twilight went even as far as moving the phone away from her ear to avoid her eardrums getting damaged from her brother's voice. However, Shining continued to rant.

"These government agents are swarming all over the city looking for you, including our house! They keep asking questions about you and I tried calling you for hours!"

Once she was sure that her brother finished chewing her out, Twilight brought the phone back to her ear. “I’m fine Shining Armor, I’m with my friends,” she assured calmly. “And what kind of questions were they asking you?”

“They’re questions about terrorism!” Shining answered loudly. “I told these guys there’s no way you would do that! I mean, I know that you could build a power generator out of toothpicks and paper clips, but you wouldn’t know how to make a bomb! Just what did you do!? Did you hack into their classified files again?"

Twilight, as well as the others, knew how bad of a situation they're in after their confrontation with Dr. Robotnik, but they never thought it would be as bad enough for them to get framed for something they didn't do, especially terrorism. They did not just become wanted criminals in Canterlot City, but the whole country. Twilight puts her worries aside as she responds to her brother.

“Listen Shining, we didn’t do anything wrong! They made all that up just so they can come after us!”

“Then why are these agents after you?” Shining questioned.

Twilight glanced at her friends then at the bus where that certain blue hedgehog was before replying, “It’s… complicated.” 

“Complicated?!" Shining shouted. "What the heck do you mean complicated!?”

Twilight rubbed her inner ear briefly after hearing her brother's shouting. “I don’t have much time to explain, we’re currently traveling halfway through the country–”

“Halfway through the country!?” Shining bellowed, which caused Twilight to bring the phone away from her this time. “Why the heck did you travel halfway through the country?”

“I told you, it’s complicated!” Twilight shouted in frustration after quickly placing the phone back to her ear. She then let out a sigh to calm herself. “Look, we’re going to see Cadance in Manehattan to help us get out of this mess. So I need you to call her and let her know we’re coming ahead of time since I don’t have my phone! And also try to reach out to Principal Celestia as well!”

“Principal Celestia? Why her?” Shining asked in confusion.

“She’s the one who gave us the heads up about G.U.N. in the first place,” Twilight explained. “And most importantly, don’t tell anyone that we talked, alright?”

“Um…” 





While still on the phone, Shining Armor nervously glanced around his office of the police department. His office was filled with many G.U.N. agents in every corner around the room, including Dr. Robotnik and Agent Stone, who was looming over him.

“I… think that may be a bit too late for that,” Shining responded meekly.

Before Shining could say more, Dr. Robotnik yanked the phone away from him and then placed the phone over his ear.

“Hello Miss Sparkle,” he greeted coolly.





Twilight eyes widened with an alarmed expression. “It’s Robotnik!” Twilight gasped quietly as she placed her hand over the mouthpiece of the phone, causing the others to panic.

“Oh, crud!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Why is he there with your brother?”

“Most likely because they knew we would be calling him,” Sunset theorized. “Especially after what happened at Twilight’s house.”

“W-what are we gonna do?” Fluttershy asked in a worried tone.

Twilight frowned. She was wondering the same thing. Part of her mind was telling her to hang up that phone immediately. However, this could also be the opportunity to find out what was going on in Robotnik’s mind while his guard was down and maybe they can better prepare themselves before they have the chance to catch them. This could also be risky because he could potentially also learn something from her if she is not careful. 

With her decision made, Twilight steel herself before speaking into the phone again.

“W-what do you want Robotnik?” Twilight asked timidly.

“Now, now. There’s no need to be on edge with me.” Dr. Robotnik soothed in a sweet, but cold voice. “I know that you’re the smart one of the group. And if you ask me, that great mind of yours should not be wasted on those insignificant low lives like that group you’re with now.” 

The Equestria Girls scowled in offense and disgust from his words.

“The only insignificant low life we all know is you!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed angrily.

“...I’m sorry. Was that the annoying rainbowed-haired girl again?” Dr. Robotnik asked in his annoyed tone.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “My name is–”

“Tell that child to stop talking… the adults are talking right now!” Dr. Robotnik said in his bored tone.

Rainbow Dash growled. “Child!? Why you–”

Before she could launch into a tirade, she felt Applejack gently gripped her right shoulder and shook her head, silently telling Rainbow Dash to be quiet.

“Anyway, from one genius to another, how about we struck a deal,” Dr. Robotnik offered. “Tell me where you, your friends, and that creature are right now and not only I’ll spare you from prison and wipe your record clean from your crimes, I will also get you the best connections to any universities or a scientific career choice as you wish!” 

Twilight frowned deeply. She knew that Robotnik and his agents were attempting to track and locate her and her friends right now as they were talking regardless of her decision; she wasn't stupid. However, she was caught off guard with his offer to get her into the best universities or even a career of her choice. Twilight always dreamed of getting an Independent Study Program at another university and eventually advanced her career as far as she remembered. But after she transferred to Canterlot High and now has best friends that she considered her family, her plans... have changed. But even so, there was something about Robotnik’s “offer” that raised a few red flags to her.

“What about my friends?” Twilight pressed. “Are you going to erase their “crimes” off their records?”

She heard Dr. Robotnik scoffing over the phone.

“You must understand Miss Sparkle. It’s too complicated to simply overlook the deeds of a whole group of criminals, so it would simply be better to help out someone who is actually useful to our society with brilliant minds!”

“...so in other words, no, you’re not going to help my friends,” Twilight summarized, appalled from the way he treats her friends. “And even without them, I will never accept your offer! It wouldn’t hurt to get connections, but I think I’ll manage without your help!”

Dr. Robotnik let out a loud huff in disappointment. “Well that’s a shame... but I suppose that's what to be expected from a so-called ex-Crystal Prep student."

Twilight blinked. "Um, what?"

"I mean, it was not only a school for rich people but for prodigies like you… or at least, a prodigy that you're pretending to be!" Dr. Robotnik continued in his “sweet” tone. "It was most impressive that everyone in your family attended that school and graduated for decades. And yet… you're the first Sparkle who decided to drop out in the middle of your old school… only to attend a much inferior school."

Twilight was taken aback by his spiteful words. "I-I… I didn't drop–”

“But I supposed that this is for the best!” Robotnik sighed. “From my understanding, you were always the black sheep of the school… and to your family as well! I could imagine how disappointed they are for not fulfilling their expedition.”

“T-that’s not true…” Twilight stammered as her eyes were welling up with unshed tears and her hand that was holding the phone began to quiver.

The Equestria Girls, who were listening to this whole time, were shocked and furious at Robotnik. While they were also victims from his remarks from the moment they first met them, the cruel things he said to Twilight crossed the line. Despite their anger, their concern for their friend’s well-being outweighs their anger.

“Twilly, don't listen to him!" Shining Armor exclaimed from the phone before growling. “You’re going too far Robotnik! Leave my sister out of it!”

Dr. Robotnik, not heeding nor caring of Shining’s threat, continued his assault.

“And despite your high intellect, you fell short in comparison to the rest of your family, including your brother. Not to mention, you were also an embarrassment during the Friendship Games. It's a wonder why your brother hasn't disowned you yet… actually, it’s a wonder why they have you at all."

"Shut your mouth Robotnik!” Shining shouted angrily. “I’m warning you–"

“I guess you ending the family tradition of applying to that school was not in your parents' minds before they were run off the road by some drunk driver. Though I wonder what they would think of you now that you become a wanted criminal and a failure of a daughter… or should I say, step-daughter!” 

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash as if something was knocked over, followed by a roar from a furious cop and brother.

"You son of a–"

“Restrain him,” Dr. Robotnik stated calmly.

There were grunts and sounds of struggles from the other end, followed by shouting, curses, and threats towards Robotnik from Shining himself. However, Twilight doesn’t pay any attention to the background noise, and the world for that matter as she just stood there with a faraway look in widen eyes after that bombshell. Not noticing that the phone had slipped out of her hand, Twilight fell on her knees with tears pouring down her cheeks before she began to sob. Noticing her friend’s emotional distress, everyone, sans Sunset, ran over and pulled the poor girl into a group hug. 

Sunset in particular was beyond furious with that man as she picked up the phone and brought it to her ear.

“Hey! You leave my friend alone, you dirtbag!” Sunset shouted in rage. “If I ever see your face again, I’ll give you something much worse than a punch to your face!”

“Ah, Miss Shimmer. I was hoping to speak to you again,” Dr. Robotnik said in his pleasant voice before it changed to more disdain. “I want you to know that the only other person who ever punched me in the face was the school bully. He hit me in the cafeteria, causing a blunt force contusion to the soft tissue surrounding my orbital bone. Humiliated me in front of the entire school, and you know what I did in response?”

Sunset, now lost some of her rage, thought nervously. “Uh... I assume you reported him to the principal's office. 'Cause, well… bullying someone at school is usually not tolerable, especially using violence.”

“No,” Dr. Robotnik said in his dark tone. “I examined the inefficiency of a world where brawn trumped brain, and I used technology to resolve that inefficiency. The boy ate his meals through a straw for a year, and I have never lost a fight again… until today.”

"Oh, well, good for me then, huh!" Sunset responded in a mocking tone.

“No, because you're about to become the bully. With the straw!” Dr. Robotnik retorted. “But then again, you’re already a bully at the school from the records I’ve read about you.”

Sunset frowned as she gripped the phone tightly. While her actions from the first years at CHS were on her and owed up to it, she hated how people kept bringing up her past just to bring her down. Government agent or not, she will not allow that jerk to bully her and her friends around and gets away with it.

“If you’re trying to get to me as you did to Twilight, it won’t work!” Sunset growled. “While I was a bully then, I’m not that person anymore. And even during that time, I would never stoop so low to hurt someone physically. However, I will use violence if anyone ever threatens and harms my friends! So go ahead, throw whatever insults and threats you have towards me, because at the end of the day… it’s you who is going down!”

Sunset breathed heavily after telling him off, pleased with herself for standing her ground against him. For a moment, there was only silence from the other end of the phone. Sunset wondered if she had just lost connection or if Robotnik hung up on her, that is until she heard Robotnik’s let out a dark chuckle which sends shivers down her spine.

“My, my,” said Robotnik in his sickenly sweet tone. “You talk big and tough for a teenage girl. Or should I say… unicorn!”

Sunset suddenly lost all color from her face and her eyes were wide as dinner plates. She was too shocked to let out a sound, let alone to speak as if something died in her throat. Robotnik’s words have also caused her friends into a shocked silence. Even Twilight, who suddenly stopped crying in shock after hearing his words. The whole area was so quiet, you could hear a pin drop.

“...what are you talking about?” Sunset demanded in a calm tone while trying to keep her emotions in check.

She heard Dr. Robotnik click his tongue before speaking in his casual tone. “Oh you know, some poor little horse creature who was shunned by her former mentor, and then decided to come to our world just so she can prove herself useful? Of course, we all know what happened during the events of the Fall Formal, but I’m more interested in the world you're from! ...Equestria, was it?”

Sunset was now starting to panic. How could he possibly have known the true origin of her and her world? She and Principal Celestia have worked hard to keep her background and Equestrian Magic a secret from public knowledge. They even made sure to have the students, both from CHS and Crystal Prep, sworn into secrecy about magic and Equestria. Before she could think further, Robotnik continued. 

“You know, I originally only have my sights on that creature that you’re trying so hard to protect for scientific interests, but now… I also have my sights on you and your world, Miss Shimmer! I don’t know how you come to this world in the first place, but when I’m finished with that creature, I’m going to find it and maybe use your world for my own purposes! I’ll even do some experiments on you just to see what makes you and your powers so tick! Maybe I’ll even experiment on your friends too! I'm coming for you, Miss Shimmer. And when I catch you, I'll–”

Sunset suddenly slammed the phone on its hook, ending the conversation with the mad doctor. She then began to breathe rapidly as she was on a brink of a nervous breakdown. Everyone stared at Sunset out of concern for their friend and also panicked from the doctor’s revelation, too scared to think of what to do next. 





Dr. Robotnik blinked in confusion as he heard the line from the other end suddenly went dead. 

“Hello? Hello? ...hello, hello, hello?”

“Um, I believe they just hung up on you Doctor,” said Agent Stone as he gestured to the phone base. “The light on that phone is off.”

“Yes, thank you Captain Obvious!” Robotnik remarked with a huff. “Did we get their location?"

Agent Stone shook his head. "No Doctor. We were shy by a few seconds."

Dr. Robotnik slammed his fist on Shining’s desk. "Blast! Looks like we’ll have to use other means to track them down!”

“Hey!" Shining shouted angrily, causing Robotnik and Stone to look down on him. 

Literally.

He was unfortunately pinned down on the floor by other agents after he almost decked Robotnik for emotionally hurting his sister. While belittling her sister’s faults and reminding the death of their parents to break her spirit was bad enough, Robotnik has the gall to reveal Shining’s guarded secret about Twilly was a step too far. He felt guilty for having her sister find out like that, and for keeping that secret from her in the first place. However, Shining put his worries for his sister aside as he focused all of his anger on that despicable man in front of him now, despite that he was trapped.

"You leave my sister and her friends alone!" Shining snarled. "You have no right to–”

Dr. Robotnik interrupted him by stepping on Shining’s hand, causing the officer to scream out in pain. "Officer Armor, right?” Robotnik asked with a look of disdain. “Since I’m a Government Official, you’re in no position to give me any orders! And since you’re Miss Sparkle’s brother– excuse me, step-brother… I’ll have you under arrest for assisting a potential terrorist!”

“You can't do that!" Shining protested as he was forced to stand up by other agents. He tried to wiggle out of their grasps despite being restrained. "You’re being ridiculous! My sister and her friends are high schoolers! There’s no way they’re capable of terrorism!”

Dr. Robotnik cocked an eyebrow. “Even with their magical powers from another world?”

Shining stopped struggling and frowned. "Powers?"

"Oh you know, those special powers that were brought over to this world by that horse girl I've talked to earlier?” Dr. Robotnik elaborated. “And your sister and her friends have been using those powers sometime since the Friendship Games?"

Dr. Robotnik snapped his fingers, which made Agent Stone take out his tablet and play the clip which was recorded off one of the drones from earlier. Shining watched as he saw his sister and her friends were hiding beneath their family dining table while being surrounded by other drones as they fired their weapons at them. He was about to retort to Robotnik again for trying to kill his sister until he noticed in confusion when everything in the video suddenly began to spin around in a blur. He heard more gunshots and shouts from the background until everything stopped spinning and his eyes widened at the sight of a strange blue creature lying down on the floor. Before he could process this, he watched as the screen suddenly flashed in lavender before it turned to the left. The last thing he saw before the screen went black was Sunset about to smash the screen with a bowl and Twilight stood in the background behind her… while her hands glowed in that same lavender color.

Dr. Robotnik cocked an eyebrow at the sight of Shining’s stunned expression. “Oh my... you really didn’t know?” When Shining didn’t respond, Robotnik shrugged. “Well, if there’s any consolation, you’re not the only one who has been keeping secrets. I guess that’s what happens when you think you know your sibling… only to find an ugly truth that was hidden right under your nose. Of course… I wouldn’t know what that was like. I am an only child.”

Dr. Robotnik gave Shining a smirk before turning his back on him. “Take him to our base… we’ll interrogate him in regards to where our fugitives are heading later!”

Two of the G.U.N. agents lead Shining out of his office, who was still shellshocked and didn’t even put up a fight. While that was happening, Agent Stone leaned over to Dr. Robotnik’s ear.

"Pardon the interruption Doctor, but I received word from one of our scouts you assigned,” he whispered. “Those girls are spotted at a gas station near some arcade and restaurant building several states away from here.”

Dr. Robotnik grinned evilly. “Excellent! Tell our scout to stay and keep watch and we’re on our way… and also to keep an eye out for Agent Shadow too... I would like to personally have a chat with her!” He then walked out of the office. “Let’s go Stone!”

“Yes Doctor,” said Agent Stone before he and the other agents followed after him.
> Volume II - Chapter 8: Fun Time at Zappers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been fifteen minutes since their phone call with Robotnik and everyone was still rattled from his threat. While Sunset eventually calmed down somewhat from her nervous breakdown, but the fear still lingered that the mad doctor knew all about her and her home. The only saving grace was him not knowing about the portal and where it was located. As long as he doesn't poke around near the entrance of the school and the portal stays hidden, her world will be safe. As bad as it was, her biggest fear was knowing what he’ll do if he ever catches her friends. She doesn’t care what happens to her if she gets caught, but if anything happens to her friends, she would never forgive herself.

Twilight was another story. Even after she stopped crying, the girl genius became quiet with a forlorn expression. Just moments ago, her whole world was shattered from Robotnik’s words. Not only did he cruelly remind her how much of an outcast she was with her dead parents, but he had also dropped a bombshell that she wasn’t even related to them, let alone her family. She couldn’t help but question everything in her life: How long was she adopted? Did her brother know about this? What about Cadance? And most importantly, who are her real parents? The more she questioned things about her life, the more sad and empty she felt.

Her friends couldn’t blame either of them for their dilemma. As much scared and uncertain they were with their current circumstance, their concern with their two best friends comes first. After spending their time comforting them, Applejack proposed they should probably get some food for the road. Before anyone could express their concern about using their credits, Pinkie cheerfully announced she kept a bag of cash in her hair in case of emergencies.

No one knew how or why Pinkie managed to carry a bag of money in her hair, but no one dared to question it.

After Sunset reassured them that they’ll be fine and they’ll wait outside, her friends entered the mini-mart, leaving her and Twilight behind.

The two of them stood outside the mart in silence for quite some time. While Sunset has her own issues, she was more worried about Twilight. Even throughout her friends' comfort, Twilight hasn't said a single word. Not wanting to see her friend suffer any longer, Sunset decided to put her own sake aside and decided to help her the best she could.

"Twilight, you feeling okay?" Sunset asked, only to cringe at her own lame question.

Idiot! Sunset inwardly scolded herself. Her whole world just turned upside down minutes ago! Of course, she is not okay!

Thankfully, her question somewhat affected Twilight as she let out a sad sigh.

"I'll… be lying if I say I'm okay," Twilight said quietly while still looking down at the ground. "I'm so confused right now. Was Robotnik telling the truth about me? Am I not a Sparkle this whole time? I… don't even know who I am anymore."

Sunset frowned. This was worse than she thought. Robotnik’s words were terrible to the point of making her friend question everything about her own life.

“Twilight… you shouldn’t believe everything that rat said to you," Sunset insisted. "He was only trying to get to us!”

Her words, however, only caused Twilight to face her with an angry look.

"Then why is Shining not telling him that he's wrong?" Twilight retorted.

Sunset flinched from her friend's angry tone. While Sunset knew that her friend isn't mad at her, but seeing her react this way really unnerved her. After seeing her friend's reaction, Twilight gave her an apologetic look before she looked down with a sigh again.

“To tell you the truth… there is some truth to his words,” Twilight confessed quietly. “When I was very young, my mom and dad died in a car crash by a bad driver. And since then, it has always been Shining and then later, Cadance who was there with me. I always ask my brother what our… parents were like, since I barely remembered them, and he always had that sad smile and some hesitation before he answered. Other than that, he barely talks about them… at least in front of me. 

"I always thought it was either too painful for him to talk about them, or he was trying to protect me for having that pain, or maybe both. But then, I wondered… if there was something about them that Shining kept from me. What if he… never really… loved me… because I’m not a true Sparkle. After all… I’ve always been an outcast both at school… and my family.” Tears began pouring from her eyes again,  but Twilight didn't even bother to hide or even wipe them. “Maybe… there is some truth to Robotnik’s words about me being adopted after all.”

Sunset felt her heartbreak into two after hearing that broken tone from her emotionally distraught friend. She couldn't stand seeing her in pain anymore, so she shot forward and pulled Twilight into a hug. She felt her shirt getting soaked from Twilight’s tears, but she paid no mind as she rubbed gently on her friend's back.

“Oh, Twilight…” Sunset soothed. “You know that’s not true. Shining loves you with all his heart, and Cadance too! I’ve seen the love and pride in their eyes every time I come over. Heck, I remembered how often he spoke highly of you and how proud he is with you in school and how you finally made friends. He is happy to have you as his sister.”

Sunset could hear Twilight sniffing through her chest. “Then… why didn’t he tell me that I was adopted?”

Sunset let out a soft sigh. “I don’t know. I wish I had the answer, but that’s something you have to ask Shining yourself.” Sunset broke the hug so that she could look at Twilight in the eyes. “And don’t forget, we don’t know if Robotnik was telling you the truth.”

“Keyword being ‘if’,” Twilight muttered.

Sunset gently squeezed Twilight’s shoulders to keep her friend focused. “And even if you were adopted, so what? I was also adopted too… back from my homeworld.”

Twilight blinked, slightly surprised by Sunset’s confession. “You mean with Princess Celestia?”

“...yeah,” Sunset answered while reminiscing both in fondness and regret from her time with her mentor and mother figure. She quickly shook those thoughts out and pressed on. “While things are better between us now, we… don’t always see eye to eye. But despite that, I know she cares for me. And I know Shining cares for you too.” Her expression then softened. “And don’t forget, you also have us too. Whether you’re a Sparkle or not, we all still care about you… and our very dear friend.”

Twilight sniffed again and to Sunset’s relief, Twilight smiled. While she was still conflicted about herself, her friend’s words helped cheered her up somewhat. She was happy that Sunset, as well as the rest of her friends, won’t treat her differently. 

“Thank you, Sunset,” Twilight said softly.

“Anytime Twilight,” Sunset replied with a soft smile. “It’s the least I can do after you helped me earlier back at the camp.”

Twilight then had a worried expression as she remembered the current predicament with Robotnik. “We still don’t know what to do about Robotnik finding out about Equestria.”

“I know,” said Sunset, feeling anxious herself. “Honestly… I’m terrified. Both our friends and my homeworld are in grave danger.” She sighed. “But as scared as I was, I have to focus on getting us all to Manehattan and worry about it later… for the sake of our friends.”

Twilight frowned. “What about your sake Sunset?”

Before Sunset could answer, they heard automatic doors from the mart open from beside them. All of their friends soon stepped out with Pinkie and Fluttershy carrying plastic bags and Applejack holding a tray of drinks.

“We’re back y’all!” Applejack announced.

“And we got some food!” Pinkie cheered, as she held up bags of food they bought from the store.

Rarity huffed as she followed behind with a pout. “Honestly, are these the only food they have? All those calories from that junk won’t be so good for my thighs!”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, what do ya expect Rarity? This is a convenience store, not a five-star restaurant. We can either take what they have or starve.”

“But this will mess up my diet!” Rarity whined.

Applejack had a deadpan expression. “You never mentioned anythang about yer diet when you ordered dat milkshake the other day!”

“That was my cheat day!” Rarity defended.

Fluttershy shook her head at her friend’s display before facing Sunset and Twilight with a concerned look. “Are you both feeling okay?”

“We’re okay… more or less,” Twilight answered for the both of them. “But we’re both ready to move on!”

“Are you sure dear?” Rarity asked in concern. “We can try to find a different spot to camp out for the night so you can recover.”

“Thanks for your concern Rarity, but I’ll be okay,” Twilight insisted. “Besides, Agent Tempest is still trailing us, so we’re not taking any more chances!”

“I hate to say this, but Twilight’s right,” Sunset added. “We wasted enough time, so we should head back to our bus and leave as soon as possible.”

While many were still concerned about the two of them, they reluctantly agreed as they walked back to the bus. Once they reached their destination, Pinkie skipped ahead and entered the bus with bags of food in her arms.

“We’re back everyone!” Pinkie chirped. “Sorry to keep you all waiting. While these aren’t exactly the best, but we got some food for–”

Pinkie immediately stopped speaking as she and the rest of the girls realized that there was nobody in the bus at all, causing everyone, especially Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, into a panic.

“T-they’re gone!” Applejack yelped as she looked around frantically. “Where did they go!?”

“You don’t think they were kidnapped do you?” Rarity asked, fearing for her younger sister.

“I don’t think so. There weren't any signs of struggle,” Twilight answered as she inspected the state of the bus.

“Then where can they be?” Rainbow Dash yelled in worry and impatience.

“Um… girls?” Fluttershy uttered nervously as she pointed at something outside of the window, gesturing everyone to look.

Everyone looked out the window where Fluttershy was pointing at and they noticed the flashy building across the street. They noticed many people were out there having fun from the outside and inside of the restaurant of the building. What really caught their attention was the main sign on the building which said, Zappers, which happens to be the CMCs, as well as Sunset’s favorite hangout at a similar arcade from their town.

“Girls,” Fluttershy spoke up. “You don’t think…”

Sunset, as well as the rest of the girls' eyes widened in realization at the implication of Fluttershy’s unspoken question.

“No… they wouldn’t!” Sunset cried.

“They would,” Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash said in unison, knowing the antics of their younger sisters.

“Oh no! Oh no no no no!” Twilight shouted as she turned and ran out of the bus to head over to the building, followed by Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy groaned as she, as well as Pinkie Pie, were the last to step out of the bus to follow their friends.

“Oooh, why won’t things ever go exactly as planned for a change?” Fluttershy complained.

“Well, if things go as planned, then this story would’ve been boring for our readers silly!” Pinkie answered cheerfully, much to Fluttershy’s confusion.





Zappers arcade is the ultimate definition of gamers paradise. The inside of the building had a nice gray carpet floor and walls, but blue fluorescent lights bounced everywhere in the area. There were various sounds like beeps, zings, and booms from various games and epic music from a video game soundtrack playing in the background. There was a store at the other side of the building to trade-in tickets for prizes and there was even a sports bar in the center of the area for food, drinks, or even just to hang out.

Many different kinds of games and arcade cabinets were everywhere with a lot of people playing them and having fun, including the CMCs, who were hanging around near an arcade game called Tirek’s Revenge. Scootaloo was focusing on the game, trying to defeat a graphic minotaur with her character while her two friends cheered her on. Seconds later, the minotaur from the game exploded, and then shortly afterward her screen displayed “You Win!” with her overall score underneath it.

"Yes!" Scootaloo cheered as she fist-pumped. "New high score!"

Apple Bloom let out a long whistle, impressed with her friend's skills. “Wow, yer weren't kiddin’ Scoots! You kicked butt at this game!”

“Heh, I may have learned a thing or two about this game from Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo bragged, causing Apple Bloom to roll her eyes.

Sweetie Belle, who only watched quietly from the sideline frowned worriedly. "Speaking of which, I couldn’t help but feel nervous. We'll definitely be in trouble once our sisters found out that we disobeyed them."

"Chillax Sweetie Belle," Scootaloo assured. "We won’t be here for long. Besides, we'll only get in trouble if we're caught."

"Found you!"

The three girls felt an icy chill down their spines when they heard a familiar angry voice from behind them. They slowly turned around and their faces turned pale when they saw the Equestria Girls, sans Pinkie, were given them stern, angry looks.

Scootaloo gulped. "Okay, now we're in trouble."

Applejack crossed her arms. "What do you three think yer doing? We told ya to stay on the bus!"

“And where’s Spike? He was supposed to keep watch of you three!” Twilight demanded.

Before any of the younger girls could answer, Spike conveniently showed up with a bunch of tickets in his mouth.

"Hey girls, check this out!" Spike loudly announced, despite his mouth being stuffed with tickets. "Someone left a bunch of these tickets behind one of the arcade cabinets! With these, I'm definitely going to get that plushie from the–!"

As soon as he glanced around the trio, Spike immediately froze in place when she finally noticed Twilight and her friends. He became incredibly nervous when Twilight placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at him in anger. He gulped as sweat poured down from both sides of his head.

"Uhh… I can explain," he said lamely.

With a frustrated grunt, Sunset stepped towards the trio and dog. 

"Girls, Spike… this is a very bad time to fool around and our patience is low. If you don't tell us where Sonic is right now in the next few seconds, you're in deeper trouble than you are already!"

Without missing a beat, the CMCs and Spike pointed towards the direction at one of the tables with one occupant, assuming Sonic, near the sports bar. 

With a peeved look, Sunset made her way over to that table with her friends, CMCs, and Spike in tow. They eventually reached the table behind Sonic with his back towards them. With a huff, Sunset tapped Sonic in the shoulder, causing the blue blur to spin around on his stool to face them.

Everyone, sans Spike and CMCs, was taken aback when they noticed the strange outfit Sonic was wearing for the first time they got here. He wore a long-sleeved pink shirt with two yellow stripes on the wrist of each arm, short blue pants, yellow socks, a huge pair of sunglasses, and a pink hat which was worn backward in his head. There was a purple arrow with an "M" symbol on the left side of his shirt and another "M" symbol on the left side of his shorts. He even has a huge headphone around his neck. The only part of his clothing he still has on is his white gloves and his mismatched shoes on his feet.





By Kirby-Popstar


Sonic smiled widely at the sight of Sunset and the others and gave them his peace sign. "Sup dudes!"

"Sonic?" Sunset quietly exclaimed, eyeing the hedgehog's clothes. "What are you wearing?"

Sonic grinned. "You like this outfit? Scootaloo gave it to me!"

Everyone turned and stared at the young athlete in question who blushed in embarrassment.

"My… aunts bought me that as my birthday gift," Scootaloo explained sheepishly.

"You're aunts bought you that!?" Rarity questioned in disbelief. "No offense darling, but your aunts have a really bad taste of fashion."

“I think these clothes are awesome!” Sonic said cheerfully. “And it’s a good thing that they did! With this disguise, I’m just an ordinary kid!”

“Yeah… from the nineties!” Rainbow muttered, getting elbowed by Applejack as a result.

Sunset shook her head with a huff. “Sonic, you shouldn’t even be here! Let’s go, fun time is over!”

"But the cover band is about to perform a song by PostCrush!" Sonic insisted.

Sunset blinked. “They’re going to do a cover song by PostCrush? Which song?”

"Sunset!" Her friends exclaimed.

"Oh right!” She said sheepishly with a blush before she narrowed her eyes at Sonic. “Don't try to distract us! We are leaving and that's final!"

“Listen, if we stay, I promise I won't say another word for the rest of the trip," Sonic bargained with his hand up before smiling. "Starting... now!”

The Equestria Girls, except for Pinkie, stared at Sonic with frowns on their faces, not amused by Sonic’s antics. Before Sunset could speak again, a female waitress wearing a green shirt with a black pixel alien and black shorts and shoes arrived near their table.

“Hi, welcome to Zappers! What can I get you?” The waitress greeted politely.

“Oh, I’ll have nachos, buffalo wings– oh, and guac!" Sonic listed excitedly, oblivious to the girls silently telling him no out of frustration. "Funny word, isn’t it! Guac, guac. Guac!”

Pinkie giggled. “Y’know somethin’, guac is a funny word!”

The waitress looked over the blue hedgehog with a weird expression. “Um… what’s wrong with that child? And why is his face all blue… and hairy?”

“Hey, uh, listen,” Rainbow Dash said suddenly in a low voice as she pulled the waitress aside, coming up with a lie as she did so. “That’s my… younger cousin and he suffers from this very rare skin disease that stuns his growth and makes him look, um… like that.”

“The face I was born with. The confidence, I picked up along the way.” Sonic added with a grin.

Rainbow Dash cleared her throat. “Just… get us some cola and maybe a couple of Apple Ciders if you please. Non-alcoholic.”

The waitress smiled awkwardly but complied with Rainbow’s order as she walked away.

“Dash, must we order some drinks?” Sunset scolded.

“It’s fine!” Rainbow Dash assured as she took her seat at the table. “The girls and this little guy said he wanted to hang out and have fun for a bit. If that's the case, then I say we let him.” She then turned to the hedgehog in question with a stern expression. “Speaking of which, you owe me one, hedgehog!”

Despite Rainbow’s sternness, Sonic simply smiled at her, who simply looked away in embarrassment.

"Well, it can't be helped," Sunset sighed as she sat down in one of the chairs. "We might as well hang out and have a quick drink."

Twilight frowned as she and the rest of the girls took their seats as well. "I guess, although I prefer we didn’t get dragged into this place."

“How could you possibly not want to stay in this place? It's awesome!” Sonic said excitedly. “All these fun games, the food, and this barstool! It’s so squishy! And it spins too!”

To demonstrate, Sonic began to spin around in his seat, laughing along as he did so. He eventually stopped spinning, but his sunglasses flew off of his face. He flashed them a smile despite feeling so dizzy.

“Whoa… I feel sick!” he commented.

As annoyed as they were with his persistence in staying in the arcade, the girls admitted that it was hard to stay mad at him for his innocence and fun personality. Despite that he is a hedgehog, he was acting like a happy little kid. Heck, he was acting like another version of Pinkie Pie.

“So, are you having fun, Sonic?” Sunset asked.

“I am so far,” Sonic replied. “I haven’t done much here yet, but I always wanted to come to a place like this!”

“Ooh! I bet yer gonna check this off the old bucket list, huh?” Pinkie asked with a huge grin. “It’s important to keep track of your accomplishments! On my list, I always wanted to try out this Yovidaphone, which is usually played out in Yakyakistan!”

While everyone shook their heads in amusement at Pinkie’s randomness, Sonic titled his head with a confused expression.

"What's a bucket list?" Sonic asked.

The girls, sans the CMCs and Spike, looked at each other, not sure who and how to explain this concept to a young hedgehog. After a silent debate among friends, it was Applejack who spoke up.

"Well,” Applejack began slowly, “It's… basically the list of things you wanna do in yer life before you, well… kick a bucket."

While the girls were satisfied with Applejack’s decent phrasing, Sonic’s eyes lit up in excitement.

"Wow! I've never kicked a bucket either!” Sonic exclaimed. “Oh, I gotta make my list!"

Before anyone could blink, Sonic sped towards a nearby waitress, who was taking someone’s order and snatched her notepad and pencil, much to the waitress’s confusion. He then appeared back to his table again and started writing his own “list” on a notepad. At first, Sonic appeared to be excited, which brought a smile to everyone’s faces. But then they watched in confusion when Sonic suddenly lost his smile and became sad as he stared at his own list.

“What’s wrong Sonic?” Sunset asked with a concerned expression. 

Sonic glanced at Sunset before he looked down again with a sad sigh. “There's so much stuff I've never done. And now that I'm leaving Earth forever, I guess I miss my chance.”

The gang all stared at him with sad expressions, feeling pity for the blue hedgehog, especially Sunset. Thanks to her empathy vision, Sunset understood Sonic’s pain. Even though they were on the run by G.U.N. all day, he had been running in his entire life. Neither have any idea what is like to run all the time and never have any fun once. The Equestria Girls weren't sure what to say or do to make the hedgehog feel better until someone, who they at least expected spoke up.

“Hey, may I see your list?” Rainbow Dash requested suddenly, catching everyone by surprise.

“Uh… sure,” said Sonic as he handed his list over to Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash retrieved Sonic's list and spent a few minutes looking over the list. Many watched in wonder why Rainbow Dash had a sudden interest until she simply placed the list on the table and looked up.

“Alright, I think I know a solution,” Rainbow announced with a serious expression. 

She paused for a dramatic effect before Rainbow suddenly smirked. “We’ll just do everything on your list right now!”

Everyone, even Sonic was taken aback by Rainbow’s proposal.

“What? Are you serious Rainbow Dash?” Rarity exclaimed.

"Well, yeah,” Rainbow Dash replied with a shrug. “Since we're all here in this arcade and restaurant, it's pretty much perfect to do almost everything he wants to do in a short period of time. Plus, we can all use a break too after everything we've been through.”

"Really? You're gonna "bucket list" with me?" Sonic asked with hope.

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head. “Well, I wouldn’t use those words exactly, but yes.”

“Whoo-hoo! I’m game!” Pinkie cheered, raising her hands in excitement.

“Me too!” Scootaloo cried as she fist-pumped.

“Now wait a second Rainbow!" Twilight interrupted. "I don’t think this is such a good idea. Don’t forget, we’re still on a run and we don’t know how much longer until Agent Tempest–”

“Hang on Twilight," Sunset interjected with a thoughtful look. "I think Rainbow Dash is right.”

Everyone, including Sonic, was surprised by Sunset’s statement.

“She is?” Twilight exclaimed.

“I am?” Rainbow Dash asked in shock, not expecting Sunset to side with her.

Sunset nodded. “We’re pretty much too far away from Agent Tempest, let alone G.U.N. to come to find us, and I don't see any harm to have some fun for a little bit,” she explained. She then faced Twilight with her hand slightly over her mouth and spoke quietly for Twilight to hear. “And besides, all of our friends' morale is low after our little ‘phone call’ with Robotnik. And I think that they need this… and so do you.”

Twilight’s stern expression softened somewhat at that. It was sweet that Sunset was with Rainbow's idea not only for their friends and Sonic's sake but also for her too. While it warmed her heart that Sunset was still thinking of her, she was still hesitant to the idea. 

“I…”

“Twilight,” Apple Bloom spoke up, getting the spectacle girl’s attention. “The reason we brought him here because he wanted to have fun. We only met to hang out here for a while before we leave.”

“And Sonic never had the chance to experience this when he first arrived on Earth so we figured we let him before he leaves,” Scootaloo added.

“Please, won’t you give him a chance?” Sweetie Belle pleaded, giving Twilight her puppy dog eyes.

While the girls understood CMCs reasoning, Twilight was still feeling conflicted about the idea of staying. Even her friends looked at her expediently, waiting for her response. It warmed her heart that her friends relied on her for her input, which was something she always yearned back at Crystal Prep. While her brain was telling her that they should stick to the plan and leave for their safety, her heart also told her to stay to help the hedgehog and also lift her friends' spirits. After a long debate with herself, Twilight let out a long sigh. 

"Okay… we’ll stay, but only for an hour!" Twilight allowed, causing everyone to smile.

Rainbow smirked as she stood up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's have some fun!"

Nearly everyone cheered in response.

“Oh yeah, you won’t regret this!” Sonic assured as he and the others were heading in different directions in the arcade, leaving Twilight and Sunset behind.

“Yeah… I’m pretty sure we will,” Twilight muttered with a sigh, wondering how she was dragged into this.

As Sunset was about to follow her friends, Twilight stopped her.

"And Sunset... thanks," Twilight said with a small smile.

Sunset simply smiled back in response.





Rarity, Sweetie Belle, and Sonic were in their own lanes as they played a friendly game of Skee Ball. Rarity rolled her skee ball across the lane and it landed into the middle ring, earning her forty points. Sweetie Belle then rolled hers over, and unlike her sister’s, hers landed in the top ring, earning her fifty points and a clap from Rarity. 

When it was Sonic’s turn, both sisters watched in curiosity and anticipation as he rolled up his sleeves. With a look of confidence, Sonic held the ball and eyed the board for a moment before he rapidly rolled multiple balls across the lane. To the sisters' astonishment, every one of his skee balls landed in the ring at the far top right side of the board, earning him a hundred points multiple times.

“Whoo-hoo! Skee Ball Champion!” Sonic exclaimed, earning a giggle from Sweetie Belle and an impressed look from Rarity.








compete in a sport








Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo were playing a game of Hoop Toss as they took turns tossing a basketball into the hoop for points. Scootaloo only managed to take a shot only some of the time while Rainbow Dash scored a shot almost every single time. Despite that her sister was beating her, Scootaloo was having a blast, as well as Rainbow Dash.

At one point, Scootaloo picked up a “blue ball” and tossed it towards the hoop. Sonic uncurled itself as he landed and sat on top of the hoop. He then rapidly stepped his feet into the hoop in his super speed, increasing Scootaloo’s score and surpassing Rainbow’s by the second.

“Haha! New high score!” Sonic bantered playfully.

Scootaloo gave Sonic a thumbs up with a victorious grin while Rainbow rolled her eyes and shook her head, but had an amused smile on her face.








do a SLAM DUNK








Sonic and Sunset Shimmer were neck-to-neck as they competed with each other over a video game on a big vertical game in front of them. The game in question was about flying squirrels trying to stay in the air by flapping their arms while dodging many pipes by going through the spaces without touching them. With two different colored squirrels on screen, the two raced against each other, slapping on their buttons as they dodged pipes and got as far as possible.

“Ha! I’m winning!” Sonic taunted playfully.

“In your dreams, blue boy!” Sunset remarked.

The two continued to have their squirrels dodging the pipes, playfully bantering with each other all the while. Eventually, Sunset’s green squirrel crashed against the pipe, while Sonic’s blue squirrel crashed shortly afterward by ten points.

“Aw!” Sunset groaned in disappointment.

“Ha! Told ya I would beat you!” Sonic boasted.

Before Sunset could throw back at him, her eyes widened in shock. Confused, Sonic turned where Sunset was facing and his eyes widened in shock too. In front of them, Fluttershy was playing the same game on a different machine, easily dodging one pipe after another with her purple squirrel without breaking a sweat. The real kicker was, Fluttershy had over one thousand points; which was way more than Sonic’s and Sunset’s scores combined.

“He he he! This game is so fun!” Fluttershy giggled, not noticing Sunset and Sonic were watching her with gaping jaws. 








play a video game








Twilight and Sonic were playing one on one on a giant screen, trying to get all four of their color first. Sonic representing the blue circles while Twilight was red. The board was almost filled with various color circles with neither side being any closer to get four in a row. 

Twilight studied the board critically, thinking carefully before placing the next circle in any of the slots. After a long pause, Twilight placed her red circle in the fourth slot, blocking Sonic’s blue circles from getting the fourth row across. Twilight crossed her arms with a smirk, believing she had the game in the bag. As soon as Sonic began his turn, he placed his blue circle in the same slot as Twilight’s red circle. In doing so, Sonic ends up winning the game with four of his circles in a diagonal, much to Twilight’s surprise and disbelief. Sonic lets out a huge cheer while Twilight, despite losing the game, gave Sonic a thumbs up with a smile.








play a board game








The mechanical bull machine was a recent new addition to the arcade according to the regulars of the place. Despite many never lasting for so long, it is a very popular attraction for people testing their skills as cow folks. Thinking it was a fun opportunity to be like a cowboy, Sonic decided to give a ride a try while Applejack and Apple Bloom stood by to see if Sonic really has the skills to “dominate” the bull. Once they knew Sonic was in position with one hand gripping the handle and the other hand up in the air, Apple Bloom used her membership card to activate the machine on “Shaken, Not Steered”, which was the easy difficulty.

As the machine was activating, Sonic had a sudden thought as he examined the “bull” he was sitting on. “Wait a second… is this bull missing a head or does it have two butts?”

Applejack shook her head in amusement while Apple Bloom yawned mockingly as Sonic easily rode the mechanical bull like it was nothing.

“Oh-ho! This is easy!” said Sonic, feeling a bit cocky as he still hung on to the bull.

Amused from his display, the two Apple sisters shared a look with smirks on their faces.

“Ah think it’s time we crank this up lil’ sis!” said Applejack with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

With a snicker, Apple Bloom placed her card in the reader again, but this time she set the difficulty all the way to the hardest setting, which was “Deadly Desperado”.

Suddenly, the “bull” started to move around really fast and was shaking in many different directions. Despite being caught off guard by the “bull’s” sudden speed, Sonic managed to keep himself hanging on to the handle, even as his whole body was bouncing and flapping off the bull a few times.

“Oh-ho-ho, I'm a cowboy, baby!” Sonic shouted in a warped voice due to being shaken around a lot.

The sisters laughed both out of amusement of his performance and good-heartedly. They became concerned however when a mechanical bull was getting faster and faster, causing Sonic to bounce around even more. Sonic desperately used both hands to hang on to the handle, but it was proven too much as he eventually threw off the "bull" and flew across the arcade. 

The Apple siblings were worried about Sonic's wellbeing, but it was short-lived when Sonic zoomed back on top of the "bull" and gave them two thumbs up.

“I’m okay!” Sonic announced, causing Applejack and Apple Bloom to chuckle in amusement and relief.








tame a wild animal








Both Sonic and Pinkie Pie watched in excitement as the waitress finally arrived with their order: An Extra-Large Chili Cheese Pizza. They nearly drooled as the waitress placed the pizza on the table in front of them. Before the waitress could utter a word, the two dig into a pizza like there was no tomorrow.

The waitress and the others watched with fascinated and disturbed expressions as Pinkie and Sonic tore into their pizza with cheese and sauce spread in different directions. Seconds later, the pizza that was on the serving tray has disappeared, leaving nothing but crumbs, sauce, and bits of cheese. They both burped loudly and then leaned back into their chairs and massaged their now satisfied stomachs. 

“Boy… that hit the spot!” Sonic praised happily.

Pinkie hummed in agreement as she licked her lips. “It sure is… let’s order another one!”

Sonic grinned. “Great idea! Hey waiter, we would like to have another one!”

“Yeah, another!” Pinkie whooped.

The gang stared at them in disbelief while the waitress let out a tired sigh.








eat a whole pizza








The gang was at the dance center of the arcade where everyone danced to the music from various video games. They all joined in the fun by dancing along with the crowd with their own dance style. 

Apple Bloom was rotating her arms in a half circle then folding back on her chest, then repeating the motion in the opposite direction. Scootaloo was doing her chicken dance. Sweetie Belle kept shifting from one foot and shoulder to the other. Applejack was skipping in place with a grin. Rainbow Dash was shaking her hips and moving her arms in motion with the music. Pinkie was doing the monkey. Fluttershy did a simple yet graceful Batusi dance. Rarity was somewhat crouching as she slowly swayed her hips. Sunset was doing the “running man” dance. Spike was simply bobbing his head at the rhythm of the music. And Twilight… let’s just say her dance style was very unique to some people.

Sonic pretty much copied everyone’s dance moves and tried to make it his own style. At one point, he started walking backward as if he was walking on the moon. Of course, most of his footwork was not perfect and a bit clumsy, but he doesn’t care. He was having a blast and happy that he was a part of the fun for once.

At one point, Sonic backed up too far to the point that he accidentally bumped into someone’s behind. Shocked from the touch, the teen girl turned around. Instead of seeing the blue hedgehog beneath her, her sight was on Rainbow Dash who was next to her. Thinking that the girl was impressed with her dancing moves, Rainbow Dash winked with a cocky smile.

“Hey! How do you like my moves?”

The teen girl threw a drink at Rainbow’s face.
> Volume II - Chapter 9: Serious Talk at Zappers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shortly after the dance, the older teens returned to their original table so they could sit and drink their colas and apple ciders while the CMCs were still out playing more games. Spike was sitting underneath the table, hugging his new plushie that he traded in the tickets he found from the prize store, which was a small gray griffon with a yellow beak and blue eyes. Everyone was still laughing at Rainbow’s expense, much to Rainbow’s annoyance.

“Gee, what happened Dash? Feelin’ a little washed-up at the dance floor?” Applejack chuckled.

“Oh ha ha. Very funny!” Rainbow muttered sarcastically, as she took several napkins to dry herself from the drink that was thrown at her. 

Sunset chuckled in amusement as she faced Sonic. “So Sonic, did you have a good time?” Sunset asked.

“I am having a good time! I'm having the best time! I’ve never had this much fun in years!” Sonic exclaimed with a smile. “Thank you all so much for granting me this.”

“You’re welcome,” Sunset said warmly. “But you should thank Rainbow Dash. It was her idea.”

Rainbow Dash was caught off guard with the way Sunset was passing the praise onto her. Before she could utter a word, Sonic turned to her with a look of appreciation.

"Thank you… Rainbow Dash," said Sonic.

Rainbow awkwardly cleared her throat as she turned away with an embarrassed blush. "Y-you're welcome."

Just as Rainbow Dash uttered those words, the CMCs went up to their table near Sonic.

“Hey Sonic, there’s a go-kart racing game featuring Speedy the Possum. You wanna join?” Scootaloo asked.

Sonic grinned. “Would I?”

“You should join us too sis!” said Apple Bloom as Sonic hopped off of his seat.

Applejack chuckled as she stood up. “Alright, alright, Ah’ll comin’!”

"C'mon Rarity, this way!" Sweetie Belle whooped as she ran towards the game ahead of her friends.

“Slow down Sweetie Belle! A lady should not run!” Rarity scolded as she followed after Sweetie with Applejack, Sonic Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo in tow.

“Whoo-hoo! A kart racing game!” Pinkie cheered as she stood up, pulling a startled Fluttershy with her. “Let’s go Flutters!”

“Wait I– oh my!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she was dragged away by her party-loving friend.

Twilight shook her head at them in amusement as she stood up. “I guess I better make sure they stay in line. You girls coming?”

Sunset shook her head. “No, I’m good! I’m just going to chill for a bit.”

Twilight nodded before facing Rainbow. “What about you Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash leaned back into her chair. “Nah, I’m sitting this one out.”

Despite both Sunset and Twilight being surprised by Rainbow’s answer, Twilight simply shrugged. 

“If you say so. Come along Spike.”

Spike, who was busy snuggling with his plushie, looked up. “Huh? Oh, coming Twilight!”

As Twilight and Spike walked away, Sunset stared at Rainbow with wide eyes, which the athlete noticed.

“What?”

“You’re sitting this one out?” Sunset questioned in disbelief. “You usually jump at any opportunity involving a Go-Kart, let alone anything involving a race.”

Rainbow sighed as she sat back up into her chair. “Actually… I stayed behind just so I could talk to you,”

Sunset blinked, taken aback by Rainbow's serious tone. “About what Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow paused for a moment, trying to gather up her words before she spoke. “Sunset… what did you see when you grabbed the blue guy from the cliff?”

Sunset frowned, nearly huffed in frustration again about Rainbow’s obsession with Sonic. “Seriously, Rainbow Dash? You’re still gung ho to find anything suspicious of him? Even after everything we–”

“No, no! It’s not about that… this time!” Rainbow Dash said gently. “I’m only asking you out of concern.”

Sunset’s anger was immediately changed to a confused expression. “What do you mean?” 

Rainbow sighed as she tapped her fingers on the table. “Sunset, while I admit to being hot-tempered and done some stupid things sometimes…”

Sunset cocked an eyebrow with a disbelieving look.

“Okay… all the time,” Rainbow Dash corrected in annoyance, rolling her eyes. “But I’m not an idiot Sunset. I’ve seen you look all upset after you rescued us from the cliff and you’re still feeling down about it since.” She then gave Sunset a look of curiosity and concern. “Just… what the heck do you see in his mind that got you all riled up?”

Sunset stared at her friend, hesitant to answer. Despite what Rainbow did earlier, it was not because Sunset didn’t trust Rainbow, it was because it wasn’t her secret to share. She still felt guilty for seeing through Sonic’s memories and she was trying to find the right time to come clean to the hedgehog. Admittedly, her guilt was weighing on her too heavily to the point that she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Since Rainbow Dash offered to hear her out and that she was there when it happened, it was probably for the best to let her in on it.

“Fine… I’ll tell you,” Sunset conceded with a sigh before narrowing her eyes. “But this stays between us! Understand?”

Rainbow nodded, beckoning Sunset to talk.

Sunset let out a long sigh. “I… accidentally saw almost his entire life, including the day he was born. Or at least… vague moments of his birth.”

"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked quietly.

Sunset stared down into her drink. "I… couldn't make out any clear images. Everything seems to be so blurry… and muffled. The only thing I could make out was that he was in the arms of another creature before being passed down to another creature… who looked like an owl before they flew away… leaving everything behind." Sunset gripped her cup tightly, feeling herself shaking. "But what freaked me out the most… were all those screams... and all that destruction in the background."

Rainbow’s eyes widened. "You mean… he's been chased all his life since he was born?" Sunset silence only confirms it for the athlete, much to her horror. "Dude… that’s way messed up! Who and why would anyone chase him?"

"...I don't know," Sunset said quietly before looking up. "All I know was that he fled from one dimension after another with Longclaw–"

"Longclaw?" Rainbow interrupted with a questioned look.

"That's the same owl he was with since he was born," Sunset explained. “She is pretty much a caretaker to him, but to Sonic… she’s the only family he had.”

Rainbow looked down. “Family?” Rainbow said quietly, unknowingly clutching her “lucky charm” tightly from her pants pocket.

“Hey… you okay Rainbow?” Sunset asked in concern.

Realizing she nearly lost herself, Rainbow quickly looked up and let go of her “charm”. “It’s nothing Sunset, just continue!”

Sunset knew Rainbow was hiding something, but she decided to let that go for now and continue the story. 

“Well anyway, they have many close calls, but those two usually managed to get out of danger and stayed together through thick and thin.”

Rainbow suddenly had a worried look, already telling where this was going.

Sunset sighed heavily. “But on one planet, they were eventually discovered by some mysterious tribe after they spotted Sonic near a sunflower field. They even managed to injure the owl caretaker by shooting an arrow on her side as they were trying to escape.”

Rainbow cringed. “Ouch!”

“Yeah…” Sunset said with an uneasy expression before sighing. “Because of her fatal injury, she couldn’t go with him anymore. So… she gave him a bag full of those portal rings and had him escape to our world… all while holding the tribe off before the portal closes off for good.”

The two had an uncomfortable silence with Sunset wore a solemn expression while Rainbow Dash had a look of horror.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with wide eyes. “You’re telling me... that he has been alone all this time in our world… as a child… for years!?”

Sunset nodded gravely. “Yeah... while I don’t know exactly how long he’s been on our planet, but all this time… he was always alone. And even then… people are still chasing him."

Rainbow frowned. "What was he doing during his time on Earth?"

"Hiding mostly," Sunset replied. "He pretty much did exactly as Longclaw told him, except when he decided to explore our town or when he had to find something to eat."

"And what has he been eating?"

"Just normal food like fruits, chips, or whatever he could find, even if he had to either steal from the market… or eat out of a trash can."

Despite the noisy background from the arcade, the two girls were silent that. For Sunset, despite already knowing about Sonic’s life, she felt her heart was broken all over again from all the things he had to go through without anyone there to support him. This makes her feel worse for ever doubting their friendship through their letters, but she wondered if that really matters now once Sonic learned about what she has done.

As for Rainbow herself, she already felt bad for the way she treated him since his arrival. But after hearing about Sonic's life through Sunset, she felt even worse. This little guy had been through so much hardship that no kid, let alone anyone for that matter, deserves that kind of lifestyle. Yet, despite everything, he was still able to put on a smile and find joy in life, something that both amazed and saddened her.

However, there was still one thing that was bothering her.

"And… what about us?" Rainbow asked. "Why was he watching us this whole time?"

Sunset sighed as she drank some of her cola. “I can’t pinpoint exactly, but at one point he saw you girls at Canterlot City’s playground together. The way you all interacted together really inspired him… especially you, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow blinked in surprise. "Me?"

Sunset nodded. "After seeing you, you inspired him to be someone he truly wanted to be."

"To be what?” Rainbow questioned. “And what exactly have I done to inspire him?"

"That… I cannot say," Sunset replied vaguely. "This is something that you have to ask him yourself." Sunset quickly added before Rainbow could complain. "But what I can say is that he was lonely. And because of that day and then me at the Fall Formal, he really wanted to hang out with us. But due to circumstances, the best thing he could do at that time was to watch us from a distance."

"...I see," Rainbow said simply.  

The playground Sunset has mentioned was an old hangout near the park where she and her friends used to play all the time as kids. As much as Rainbow was curious about which moment in the playground Sunset mentioned, she decided to save that mystery for later and moved on with the conversation. 

"So I take that you felt guilty for seeing through his life without his knowledge?”

Sunset craned her neck in guilt. “I didn’t mean to do that! My magic suddenly went into overdrive from the after-effects of your race against Sonic.”

Rainbow cringed at that. “Yeah… that was my bad,” Rainbow admitted remorsefully with a sigh. “You were right earlier, what happened back there was because of my own selfish ego… and I nearly put you all in danger because of it. For that… I'm sorry.”

“I appreciate your apology Rainbow Dash and I forgive you,” Sunset responded with a smile before frowning. “But this doesn’t help solve my issue with Sonic.” She then glanced at her drink again. “I still have a hard time looking at him after knowing that I invaded his privacy.”

Rainbow stared at her friend with a pensive look, feeling responsible for putting her friend in that position. After a moment of gathering up her thoughts, she spoke.

“Listen Sunset, if you know what I think, just tell him the truth.” Before Sunset could protest, Rainbow raised her hand. “Just hear me out! What happened was an accident, it’s not like you did it on purpose. You just need to explain what happened and let him know that you never meant to hurt him.”

Sunset looked down sadly. “But… then he’ll hate me.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Sunset, that little guy adores you! I highly doubt that he'll hate you for just one mistake." She then pointed at herself. "I made a boatload of mistakes today! Did you end up hating me after that?”

“...no,” Sunset answered meekly.

Rainbow grinned. "Exactly! And even if he gets mad at you, I'm sure he'll understand once you explain to him. Besides, it would be better if he heard it from you rather than for him to discover it himself."

Sunset sighed. "Maybe you're right Rainbow Dash. I should tell him… but only before he leaves. We already had enough problems on our plates as it is. I just hope he'll forgive me when I did."

Rainbow shrugged. "Personally, I think you should just rip the band-aid off and get it over with, but whatever floats your boat Sunny!"

Sunset chuckled. "Funny, Twilight said the same thing to me earlier about my letters."

Rainbow took a sip of her apple cider. "That's because it is good advice. Works for me all the time!"

Sunset shook her head. “So… are you satisfied with your curiosity about Sonic?”

Rainbow looked down. “Well, yes… and no.”

Sunset blinked. “What do you mean?”

“While I learned some new things about him, that dude is still a mystery to me,” Rainbow explained while sipping her drink again. “I still don’t know what his intentions were for watching us this whole time and why only us? I get that he was alone, but something tells me there’s more to his reasoning.”

Sunset frowned. “So… you still think he was plotting against us?”

“I never said that!” Rainbow said quickly, assuring her. “While I still have some suspicions, but even before your story… it’s clear to me that he was never a threat, nor any malicious intent from him at all.” Rainbow sighed as she glanced away slightly. “To tell you the truth… I always knew from the start, even before you told me your vision that he wasn’t a bad dude.”

“Then… why all the hostility against him in the first place?” Sunset questioned, not out of annoyance, but pure curiosity.

"Let’s just say… I have my own reasons," Rainbow responded vaguely. 

Rainbow then appeared to be in deep thought as she subconsciously rubbed her “lucky charm” again within her pocket. Maybe… we were not so different than I thought.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

Rainbow Dash and Sunset jumped from a sound of an angry, yet familiar voice. They both turned silently and were shocked to see a few familiar faces they didn’t expect to see again. 

One was a real tall girl, wearing black jeans, black boots with a green lightning bolt on its side, a black t-shirt with an electric green graphic through the center of the chest, and an open leather jacket over it. She also had curly white and blue hair, icy blue eyes, and two small scars at the bottom of her left eye.

The second person was a very short male teen who wore black jeans, shoes with a green lightning bolt. He also wore a black t-shirt with an electric green graphic and an open leather jacket over it. Unlike the tall girl, both of the sleeves of his jacket were torn off, leaving his arms exposed. He had blonde hair, dull green eyes, and has an irked expression on his face as if he’s about to blow a fuse at any second.

And finally, the third person, who stood in between the other two was another teen girl. She wore black jeans, black boots with a green lightning bolt on each side with three green stars at the end. She also wore a long black sleeve hoodie with the same electric green graphic on the center of her chest. She had long golden-yellow locks with a green lightning bolt hair clip and yellow eyes.

The third girl in question, narrowed her eyes, particularly at Rainbow Dash with an angry scowl.

“Dash!” she seethed.

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the girl. “Lightning Dust!”
> Volume II - Chapter 10: Brawling at Zappers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a staredown between the two groups for what felt like hours, despite that it was only for about a minute. Sunset had an uneasy look, two of Lightning’s chaperones appeared to be curious or annoyed and Rainbow and Lightning had a look of hostility. Neither side was expected to run into each other in this area, especially after their little “history” in the past. No one said a single word, waiting for whoever made the first move. Eventually, it was Rainbow Dash who spoke first.

"Long time no see… Lightning Dust," Rainbow seethed, glaring daggers at the blonde-haired girl. "What brings you to a place like this?"

Lightning growled. "What brings us here? This is our turf! And you have a lot of nerve showing your face around here. I kindly suggest for you and your friend to leave!"

But Rainbow Dash stood her ground. "Hey, I didn't know you and your cronies hang out here! And even if I did, you're not the boss of us! We can hang out wherever we want!"

Lightning Dust leaned a bit forward towards her rival, acting slightly more aggressive. "Maybe you don't understand me. How about I’ll tell you in a different way?"

Lightning cracked her knuckles to demonstrate her point.

"You wanna fight?" Rainbow growled, ready to get up, only for Sunset to stop her.

"Rainbow, don't!" Sunset hissed, keeping her voice down only for Rainbow to hear. "We're still on the run, remember? The last thing we need right now is to start a fight and get everyone's attention. Not to mention, we're still powerless right now!"

Realizing that Sunset was right, Rainbow sat back down, grumbling with an angry expression.

Seeing her rival not fighting back, Lightning smirked.

"Aw, what's the matter Dashie, cat got your tongue?" she mocked.

Before Rainbow could retort, Applejack and the others happened to arrive at that time.

"Hey you two, what's all the–"

Applejack and the others stood in shock the moment they laid eyes on a familiar face at their table.

"Lightning Dust!?" The gang, sans Sunset and Rainbow Dash, exclaimed.

Lightning rolled her eyes with a huff. “Oh joy, the geek squad has arrived!”

The gang was annoyed and offended by Lightning’s words, but Pinkie Pie waved at her with a carefree smile.

"Hiya Dusty! How'd you been?" Pinkie greeted.

Lightning cringed from Pinkie’s greeting, while her two chaperones were snickering from the background.

"Don't call me that!" Lightning snapped angrily. "Even after all this time, you are still stupid and annoying!"

Pinkie frowned, hurt from Lighting’s insult, causing Rainbow to get even angrier.

“Hey, don’t you insult her, you insecure punk!” Rainbow yelled.

“I can insult anyone I please, Dash!” Lighting retorted.

Confused from all this, Sonic turned to Scootaloo.

"Who's that gal?" Sonic whispered.

"That's Lightning Dust," Scootaloo answered quietly. "She used to be in our school and a co-captain of the Wondercolts soccer team. But after Rainbow Dash caught her doing something... ‘illegal’ which ended up harming the players, she got kicked out of the team and then expelled from school shortly afterward."

“Hey!” Lightning shouted, getting Sonic and Scootaloo’s attention. “I'll have you know that my methods helped get our team to the top squeaky!”

“Not to our team’s expense Dust!” Rainbow interjected as she and Sunset stood up to join her friends' side. “And I swear, make fun of my friends again or you’ll be sorry!”

"I would think twice before deciding to take on me and my gang Dash!" Lightning threatened before introducing them. "These are my top members, Rolling Thunder and Short Fuse." 

The tall girl, now identified as Rolling Thunder, nodded casually. "Sup."

The short teen boy, Short Fuse, simply grunted in acknowledgment.

Lightning crossed her arms with a cocky smirk. "And together, we are... the Washouts!"

As the Equestria Girls stood blankly towards the three, The CMCs and Sonic looked at each other in bewilderment.

"The Washouts?” Apple Bloom whispered in bewilderment.

“What the heck kind of name is that?" Sweetie wondered.

“Sounds like something that was best suited for a laundromat,” Sonic commented quietly.

“I don’t know, I thought that name sounded pretty cool!” said Scootaloo, only to blink in confusion when she noticed her friends were giving her strange looks. “...what?”

They turned back to the main conversation when they heard Rainbow scoffed. "I can understand that tall girl, but this guy?" She pointed at the short boy in question. "He doesn't look the least bit threatening."

Short Fuse flared his nostrils in anger and hopped on one of the chairs to level his glare at Rainbow. "Hey, watch it bub! I'm already in a very bad mood today!" 

Rainbow took a very careful step backward.

"Um, excuse me,” Fluttershy spoke up with a nervous swallow. “But why are you in a bad mood?"

She squeaked when Short Fuse glared daggers at her.

"Oh, you really wanna know?" He shouted. "I've spent weeks gathering those tickets so I can get that griffon plushie that I have my eyes on. I even hid my hard winning tickets behind the pinball machine for safekeeping... only to get stolen a while ago!" He growled as he tightened up his fist. "Whoever stole my tickets will be sorry if they ever crossed with me!"

Unbeknownst to him and the others, Spike listened from behind the girls' legs and his face went pale after realizing that it was Short Fuse’s tickets that he took from the arcade machine earlier. Not wanting Short Fuse to notice him, Spike quickly hid his plushie behind him, whistling innocently all the while.

Lightning sighed irritability, tired of hearing Short Fuse’s woes. “I’ve told you not to hide your tickets behind a random arcade machine. It’s your own fault for losing them.”

“But I don’t know where to put them!” Short Fuse argued.

“...how about, your pocket?” Lightning huffed as if the answer was obvious. “Look, just forget about your stupid tickets! I’ll buy ya a plushie later.”

“But it’s not the same!” he complained.

Lightning rolled her eyes before addressing Rainbow again. "Anyway, as I said, you're all trespassed into my turf, so for the final time, I want you all to leave... before we have to make you leave!" 

Rainbow scowled. "You little–"

"It's fine Rainbow Dash," Twilight spoke up. "We're leaving anyway, so let's just go." 

"Yes, just listen to your loser friend, Skittles!" Lightning mocked.

With a furious shout, Rainbow marched over towards Lightning Dust, only to get held back by Applejack and Sunset Shimmer by each arm.

“Rainbow, don’t!” Applejack exclaimed.

"She’s trying to get a rise out of you!"  Sunset added.

Rainbow ignored them, trying to struggle her way out of her friends’ grasp so she could wipe the smirk off of her rival’s face.

"Don't you ever, call me that Lightning Dust!" Rainbow snarled, getting the attention of other patrons. “When I get my hands on you I’ll–”

"Aw, what's wrong?” Lightning mocked with a smirk. “You don't like to be called that? Or was it because it reminded you of 'him'?" 

Rainbow Dash stopped struggling and stared at Lightning with widened eyes. While her friends were worried for her friend, they, sans Fluttershy, were also interested in the sudden revelation from Lightning Dust. Fluttershy was about to speak up to defend her childhood friend, only to get shot down by Short Fuse’s piercing glare.

Lightning chuckled maliciously. "I don't know why you even bother holding on to your childish dream, but you should just wake up! 'He' is gone... and he's not coming back!" She then shrugged. "But I suppose that this is for the best since 'he' won't see just how pathetic you really are!" 

Lightning smiled in victory as she saw her rival suddenly lose her spark, looking down somberly in a submissive matter, almost ready to burst into tears. The gang, especially Fluttershy, was very worried about her friend’s sudden change of behavior after Lightning’s words. Some were even glaring at her, but Lightning paid them no mind, seeing her rival's confidence crushed was much more worth her time. Before Lightning could insult her more, someone spoke up.

"Leave her alone!" 

Lightning blinked as she turned towards the group with mild annoyance in her features.

"Excuse me?" 

Before anyone could say anything, Sonic suddenly appeared on a chair and stood in front of Lightning Dust from out of nowhere, much to the Lightning’s surprise. The Equestria Girls suddenly felt nervous when they saw him confronting Lightning Dust and tried to silently tell him ‘back down’ but he ignored them.

"I said, leave her alone!" Sonic repeated.

Lightning puts her confusion about this guy’s sudden appearance aside as she narrowed her eyes on him. "Oh yeah? And what will you do if I don't!" 

"Keep making fun of her and find out!" Sonic warned.

Rainbow looked up at Sonic in mild surprise after he spoke those words. For a brief moment, she saw a small child version of herself instead of the blue hedgehog in front of her.

Lightning stared at the hedgehog for a second before she laughed as if she had just heard a funny joke.

"Who's this little pipsqueak Dash?” Lightning asked, trying to peek around the hedgehog. “One of your so-called followers? He is just as pathetic as your other geek friends."

"It takes one to know one!" Sonic retorted.

Lightning slowly turned towards Sonic with an angry frown.

"Ex-cuse me!?" Lightning hissed.

"Sonic… what are you doing?" Sunset hissed quietly, but Sonic ignored her.

"Sure, Dash is a show-off," Sonic ranted. "But at least she accomplished so much at our town, including saving the day a few times. And she even stands up for her friends and other people whenever there's trouble without any hesitation. Dash is not only an awesome person, but she's also an inspiration to me."

Rainbow’s eyes widened in shock, wasn't expecting Sonic to speak so highly of her despite how she treated him throughout the trip.

Sonic then frowned and his eyes narrowed at Dust. "But you on the other hand… from what I heard, you don’t even care who got hurt as long as you reach the top. And even when you’re wrong, you’re still on your high horse, convincing people that you are superior when in reality you're nothing but an insecure little girl who formed her own gang after being expelled from school with no future. So if you ask me, the only pathetic person I see here… is you!”

The whole arcade suddenly became so quiet, you could hear a pin drop. The gang stared at Sonic with wide eyes as if he said something so taboo. Even Lightning’s chaperones had jaws hanging open and constantly glanced at their leader nervously, knowing how badly she'll react to this guy's words.

“Oh… snap!” Pinkie Pie muttered.

Lightning’s face was now red in rage. No one had ever insulted her like that, not even Rainbow Dash. She gave the blue hedgehog her murderous look.

"You just sealed your fate… you little brat!" She growled in her dark tone before addressing Short Fuse. "Crush him!"

As Short Fuse cracked his knuckles, Sunset tried to intervene.

"Wait! Wait! He didn't mean it! Let's not resort to this–"

"No, no. It's okay," Sonic assured while not taking his eyes off of Short Fuse. "I'll handle this!"

Sonic quickly grabbed an empty Apple Cider bottle and held it in front of Short Fuse.

"Alright, listen up short stuff," Sonic taunted. "You just picked a fight with a poorly disguised hedgehog who’s seen way too many action movies! What do you do? What do you do?"

Fearing where this was going, Sunset called out to him. "Sonic, don’t!"

"Take this!" Sonic cried as he brought his arm back and swung it back unto Short Fuse's head.

However, instead of the glass breaking, the bottle simply bounced off of Short Fuse’s head, while remaining intact. What made things worse was that Sonic’s stunt did not affect Short Fuse as he just stood there acting as nothing happened.

As Equestria Girls, CMCs, and Spike watched the scene in horror, Sonic glanced at his bottle in confusion.

"Huh," he muttered. "Am I crazy? It's supposed to break, right?"

Sonic raised his bottle over Short Fuse again and tapped Short Fuse’s head with it.

No result.

Sonic tapped Short Fuse’s head again.

“Dink," Sonic muttered nervously.

And again.

“Dink-dink!"

And again.

"Break, please."

And again!

"Break, please. Break this bottle, please! Please, please, please, please, please..."

Sonic tried hitting Short Fuse’s head harder and faster with his bottle, but no matter how many times, or how hard he did it, the result remained the same. The only difference with each swing though was making Short Fuse more annoyed and angrier by the second.

Rainbow Dash noticed Short Fuse slowly pulling his arm back. “Sonic, look out!”

Sonic stopped hitting Short’s head and looked up just as Short Fuse was ready to punch at him.

"Uh-oh!" Sonic exclaimed.

Sonic immediately ducked the moment Short Fuse threw his punch. At the same time, Rainbow Dash ran up towards Sonic to save him from getting hit. By the time Rainbow Dash reached from behind Sonic, Sonic ducked and Rainbow Dash was hit in the face by Short Fuse’s punch instead and was knocked back.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy exclaimed in shock and fear.

Rainbow stumbled backward until she hit the back of another patron and knocked him towards another patron’s drink to the face. It was at this point that the entire arcade was in full chaos as many fights broke out in the area. The girls were unfortunately caught in the middle of all the chaos as they were either chased or dragged into a random brawl by a different group.

Rainbow Dash did her best to defend herself by dodging every attack from random people. She kept backing away from other people until she bumped into someone behind her. To her relief and annoyance, it was Sonic who she bumped into.

“Nice going!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed sarcastically.

“Thanks!” Sonic responded, oblivious to Rainbow’s sarcasm. “It’s awesome right?” He then put both his fists up. “Alright, who's next? Who wants some? Who do I get to beat up?”

Sonic immediately ran off while Rainbow just tossed one of the patrons aside to avoid getting hit.

“Sonic!” Rainbow shouted.

Before she could give chase, she was suddenly pulled back, which turned out to be Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder.

“Where’d you think you're going Dash?” said Lightning with a crazed look. “You and I still have a score to settle!”

Lightning Dust punched Rainbow Dash right on her stomach before Rainbow could have time to retort.

Meanwhile, Sonic ran from one group to another to pick a fight with someone. But because of his size, he was consistently ignored or not noticed by others, much to his annoyance. His annoyance was quickly overshadowed by his hunger and surveyed the arcade.

“Hey, has anybody seen my waitress?” Sonic announced. “Still waiting on those buffalo wings!”

Due to the commotion from within the arcade, no one seemed to hear him. Sonic threw his arms up, feeling annoyed again for being ignored.

Note to self, give this place three stars for lack of assistance. Sonic thought with a huff.

"Stop!" 

Sonic’s ears perked up from a very distressed shout from a familiar voice. Sonic turned towards the source and immediately spotted Spike with Short Fuse, struggling over a Griffin plushie by pulling it towards each other like a tug-of-war.

"Let go! She's mine!" Spike shouted while holding on to his prize tightly with his mouth.

"You got her using my tickets!” Short Fuse yelled angrily. “Therefore, it's mine!"

Sonic narrowed his eyes. While he and Spike had a rough start, there was no way he'd allow some bully to steal a toy from Spike or anyone for that matter.

"Hey, short stuff!" Sonic shouted.

As soon as he got Short Fuse’s attention, Sonic ran up to him.

 "Heads up!"

As Sonic leaped over Short Fuse, he profusely punched Short Fuse in the face multiple times. He eventually landed a few feet away from him, blowing his knuckles with a satisfied grin. 

Unfortunately for Sonic, his punches do not affect Short Fuse as he slowly turned towards the hedgehog with a growl, now angrier than ever. When Sonic noticed Short Fuse’s unfazed and angry expression, Sonic’s eyes widened.

“Uh oh!”

"You're dead meat!" Shirt Fuse roared before charging at the hedgehog.

"Sonic! Look–"

Spike's warning was brought to a halt as he and everything around Sonic were suddenly brought to a halt, almost into a standstill. Even Short Fuse, who was only about an inch away from Sonic, stopped short with the same engaging expression.

“Really?” Sonic deadpanned.

With no response from Short Fuse, Sonic gave him a half-smirk before zipping away, leaving his disguise behind.





Sonic observed the arcade as he ran past all the “chaos”, which was frozen in place like Short Fuse. Several people stood in place, about to punch, kick or slam someone else amid the fight. Some even tried to hide under tables or gaming cabinets to avoid the fight with funny expressions. Several items or foods were thrown around, appearing to be floating in the air.

Sonic noticed one of the patrons, who was about to fall on the ground with his phone flying back away from him. Deciding to fool around a little bit, Sonic slid towards that guy and grabbed his phone. He made a pose next to the guy before taking a selfie with his phone. When he was finished, Sonic casually tossed the phone aside then dashed ahead to keep himself focused on the task. Unfortunately, he failed to notice a flying shoe ahead of him. By the time he noticed it, he was hit in the face by a shoe.

As he shook his head in a daze from a shoe, he noticed from the corner of his eye that the Equestria Girls and CMCs were caught in a fight by different groups. Pinkie was shielding the terrified CMCs while Applejack was defending them, despite that they were about to get a dogpile from several patrons. Sunset appeared to try to fight off other patrons while Twilight shields herself with a plate from an upcoming attack. Both Rarity and Fluttershy tried to defend and duck from a fist and chair from the two patrons. And Rainbow Dash was about to get punched in the face by Lightning Dust while being held by Rolling Thunder.

Worried, yet determined, Sonic ran towards them. Getting these girls to safety was his top priority. He rushed towards Pinkie, CMCs, and Applejack first, pushing them aside from a safe distance so that the patrons could only dogpile on each other. Next, Sonic ran over to Rainbow’s aid. He jumped up on the table behind Rolling Thunder. He snagged a beanie from someone’s head and placed it over Rolling Thunder’s head, pulling it down over her eyes. He hopped off of Rolling Thunder and landed on an air hockey table behind Lightning Dust. He pulled Lightning’s hood from her hoodie and stretched it back over the air hockey and attached it to what appeared to be a shield from one of the video game series. Sonic then leaped directly at the wall so he could bounce himself off towards Rainbow Dash’s back and pushed her towards the sports bar. As soon as they were at the counter, Sonic ran towards another group of friends, but not before he slid over one of the bottles of Apple Cider towards Rainbow Dash.

Along the way from the top of the counter, Sonic came across his waitress, who was about to drop a tray full of chili dogs, nachos, condiments, and two sparklers. Excited to see his favorite food, Sonic snatched and ate all the chili dogs and then let out a burp. He then grabbed the condiments and sparklers from the waitress and ran towards Sunset and Twilight. 

He pushed them both aside to safety and then he forced the two patrons underneath the muscular girl’s arms in their place. He then squirted the condiments all over all three patrons' faces and danced with the sparkles all at once before he placed the sparklers into the muscled girl’s ears as a finishing touch before moving on to the next group. Sonic quickly moved Rarity and Fluttershy aside from a safe distance and then brought the two patrons a bit closer together. Sonic then rushed into a nearby bathroom, only to return with dozens of toilet paper, and wrapped the two patrons up until they looked like a couple of mummies. 

Satisfied with his work, Sonic snagged the gaming-themed bunting line and tied it around one of the legs of the arcade machine. With the same line, Sonic ran all over the area through and around many random patrons’ legs and bodies, so that the rope of the line wrapped around them. He eventually ran up the wall and across the ceiling, until he was close enough to a ceiling fan. He lassoed the bunting line around the ceiling fan and he spun around with the fan until he lets go and flew across the room and landed on the wall where Tirek’s head was. Sonic yanked Tirek’s head from the wall and hopped across the room from one person to another until he was behind Short Fuse and placed Tirek's head over Short Fuse, completely covering up his head and sight.

Sonic returned to his original spot where his disguise was and quickly put them back on again. Sonic then spotted a red napkin from one of the tables near him and an idea came to him. With a smirk, Sonic snatched the napkin and then he stood a bit further from Short Fuse in a bull tamer's pose. Sonic waited a few seconds before real-time started catching up again.

The results were immediate.

The ceiling fan started spinning again at a rapid pace, pulling the bunting line along with it. This caused the whole line to pull tightly, pulling and knocking everyone to the ground as a result. The patrons that were originally intending to harm the Equestria Girls were either piling among themselves or punching each other out. As for Lightning Dust and Rolling Thunder, Lightning punched Rolling Thunder, who still had a large beanie over her head, right on her face and knocked Roller Thunder to the ground. Lightning’s confusion of hitting the wrong person was short-lived when her hoodie tugged the shield off from the wall, which ended up hitting her on the back of her head and knocked her out.
Just as Short Fuse was able to move again, Sonic pulled his napkin back.

"Olé!" Sonic cried playfully.

As soon as Short Fuse started running, he immediately felt something around his head and couldn’t see a thing. Before he could fully process his surroundings, Short Fuse ran and crashed through the front window of the arcade and landed outside on the sidewalk, groaning loudly in pain.

"–out! Huh?" Spike uttered in confusion as soon as he saw the state of the arcade.

As soon as the rest of the gang have also caught up in real-time, they have also noticed the aftermath of the arcade with dumbfounded expressions. One moment, they were surrounded in a brawl by other arcade goers, but in the next second, nearly everyone was on the floor in pain. There was even one guy, who was all wrapped up in toilet paper, who tried to come near one of the girls, only to trip over another person and fell face-first on the ground. Sunset quickly shook off of her shock and addressed the others.

"Is everyone okay?"

Everyone nodded numbly, still shocked by the display.

Twilight slowly turned to Sonic, who suddenly stood on a sports bar counter in a victorious pose.

"Sonic… you did all of this?" Twilight asked in a quiet, yet astonished tone.

"Yup, I totally did!” Sonic responded with a huge grin and a thumb up.

Twilight’s eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "B-but but… how!? How did you–"

"Save your questions later Twilight!" Sunset interrupted as she surveyed the area nervously. "We should probably get out of here! Now!"

Not wanting to be told twice, everyone rushed towards the front entrance. Spike however lingered behind as he ran back to pick up his plushie before following the others. Once they were outside of the building, the gang ran towards their tour bus while leaping over a barely conscious Short Fuse.

“Oh, man! That was amazing!” Sonic gushed in excitement as he ran along with the others. “Oh wait a second, did we even pay our tab? It doesn't matter!"

As the gang was halfway towards the bus, most of the patrons, who had recovered from their daze and pain, also ran out of the building to give them chase with Lightning Dust in the lead.

"Rainbow Dash!" She screamed in rage.

Unfortunately for her, Lightning tripped over and fell face-first on the dirt. Feeling a bit disoriented, Lightning flipped onto her back and glanced at her feet to see what caused her to trip. She scowled angrily when she saw the shoelaces from each shoe were tied together without her knowing. She turned her head towards a fleeing Rainbow Dash.

"Rivals for life!" Lightning roared.

Rainbow glanced back at Lightning then at Sonic as they continued to run. “What the heck did ya do to set Dust off?”

Sonic smirked. “Let’s just say that she should’ve paid more attention to her feet!”

The gang eventually made it to their bus. As they quickly entered the bus for safety, Pinkie’s eyes lit up.

“Ooh ooh! I always wanted to do this!” she yelled in excitement.

Pinkie ran towards the front of the bus before jumping and then sliding across the hood from her right side. As soon as she reached across, Pinkie grabbed the side view mirror and swung herself into the main doors, and landed inside of the bus.

“Nice!” Sonic cheered with a smile before entering the bus.

As soon as everyone entered safely into the bus, Applejack immediately took the wheel and then started the ignition.

“Ha ha! See ya suckers!” Sonic taunted as they pulled out of the gas station, leaving the angry mob behind.

He then turned towards the gang with a smile. "I don't know about you gang, but I think these people like me."

“Doubt it!” Rainbow remarked, rolling her eyes.

“Sonic!”

Sonic immediately turned his direction towards Twilight, who was glaring at him. 

“What you did was reckless Sonic!” she scolded. “This isn’t some game we’re playing you know. You could’ve gotten us all thrown in jail, or worse!”

Sonic winced from Twilight’s angry tone, but he quickly recovered with an apologetic, yet cocky expression.

“Well… maybe I could’ve, but I didn’t, did I?” said Sonic.

Twilight huffed. “Couldn’t you try to be more careful?”

Sonic simply shrugged with a sheepish smile.

Before Twilight could scold him some more, Rainbow Dash interjected her.

“Oh, chill out Twi!” said Rainbow, as she rubbed her jaw. “Yeah, he started the fight, but he also saved us too. So I say we cut him some slack.”

Twilight opened her mouth to argue, only to get interrupted by Sunset this time.

“She’s right Twilight. We would never get out of a sticky situation if it weren’t for him. So we’ll let this one slide,” said Sunset before giving Sonic a stern look. “As long as he behaves himself for the remainder of our trip!"

Taking the hint, Sonic nodded rapidly. “Of course! Won't happen again!" He promised as he raised his left palm while placing his right over his heart. "Hedgehog’s honor!”

Twilight stared at the hedgehog with an unamused expression for a moment before she let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine! Just… don't do that again, okay?" Twilight rubbed the bridge of her nose. "In the meantime, I'll go talk to AJ and discuss our next route plans."

As Twilight walked towards the front of the bus to talk to AJ, Sunset stared at her speckled friend in concern.

Meanwhile, Rainbow was still rubbing her jaw, grimaced in pain. Fluttershy, who was sitting next to her, gave her a look of concern.

“You okay Dashie?" she asked.

“I’m fine Flutters!” Rainbow reassured, trying to play it cool while ignoring the pain from her jaw. "I've been hit worse before, so this is nothing."

Fluttershy frowned, not buying Rainbow’s words. “It doesn’t look like it’s ‘nothing’ to me!” She then quickly took out her first aid kit from under her seat. “I’m going to take a look and treat your wound."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue.

"And that’s final Missy!” Fluttershy added with a stern look.

Knowing that she won't win this argument, Rainbow Dash let out a sigh as Fluttershy treated her cheek. Rainbow felt it was unnecessary since she had dealt with pain before and can shake it off eventually. But if this what it takes to make her Fluttershy feel better, Rainbow will endure it even if it was embarrassing.

“That. Was… Awesome!”

Rainbow Dash slightly turned her head to her left to see her surrogate sister and her friends talking excitedly with the blue hedgehog.

"You totally took all these guys out single-handedly!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

"Yeah, you must be super fast!" Sweetie added.

"I know, right?" Sonic said with a huge smile. “And did you see how much toilet paper I used? The next person that goes into that bathroom will have nothing to wipe with!”

"Wat really amazed me was you did all of dat within a second," said Apple Bloom.

"Was I?" Sonic wondered out loud. "It felt like half of a second to me."

As Sonic and the CMCs continued having a friendly conversation, Rainbow Dash stared at Sonic with an awed expression.

Unbelievable! she thought. That guy caused all that chaos back from the arcade... within half of a second!? How fast was that hedgehog? Her eyes then narrowed. And was he... holding back this whole time during our race?

Despite Fluttershy was fussing around with one side of her face, Rainbow Dash remained quiet throughout the whole ride, deep in thought.
> Volume II - Chapter 11: Motel and Alleyway
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After about an hour of driving, The Equestria Girls, CMCs, Sonic, and Spike eventually found a small motel for a few hours of sleep, much to Rarity’s chagrin. After checking in and using Pinkie’s emergency cash to pay at the front desk, the gang was divided into small groups to their own rooms: one room for Rarity and Applejack, one for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, one for Pinkie and the CMCs, and last one for Sunset, Twilight, Sonic, and Spike.

After settling in, the gang hung out in Sunset and Twilight’s room to evaluate the situation. For Fluttershy’s case, she was placing some ice she got from the ice tub into the cloth as a makeshift ice pack for Rainbow Dash, much to the Rainbow’s annoyance.

"There you go Rainbow Dash," Fluttershy soothed as she handed an ice pack over to Rainbow. "Just keep holding it over your cheek to reduce the swelling for a while. No exceptions!" 

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom!" she replied sarcastically before taking the ice pack from Fluttershy and placed it on her right cheek.

Meanwhile, Sonic, no longer wearing his disguise, was retelling his experience during a brawl from the arcade to the girls and Spike from the other side of the room.

"The floors were sticky, the crowd was rough and the odds were against us, but there was no stopping The Rainbooms, the CMCs, and the Blue Blur!" He then sat down and took out his pencil and list from his quills. "Anyway, better scratch another one off my list!"

Sonic immediately drew a line over the words "start a brawl" from his list.

Twilight frowned as she was petting her dog. “But you still haven’t explained how you run so fast! Normally, it’s physically impossible for a living creature to go that fast!”

“Yeah, from the way you take everyone out at the arcade, you were even faster than Rainbow Dash!” Spike added, only to cringe when she felt the person in question were glaring daggers at him. “Uh, no offense.”

Rainbow Dash only grunted in response, putting a bit more pressure on her ice pack.

Sonic simply shrugged. “To tell you the truth, I’m not too sure either. I have this power since I was born, so it felt natural to me.” He then rubbed his chin in a thoughtful pose. “Though, I suppose the best way to describe it… it’s like I can suddenly make everything around me stop time temporarily.”

“Like… pausing a TV show?” Rarity offered.

“Yes… and no,” Sonic replied. “While everything and everyone around me seemed like they stopped, they can still technically move… but really, reaaaaaaallllllllllly slow.”

“Oh! Like Tank?” Pinkie asked with a chirp.

Sonic titled his head. “Tank?”

“Rainbow’s pet tortoise!” Fluttershy clarified for Pinkie.

Sonic faced Rainbow with a curious expression. “You have a pet tortoise?”

Rainbow blinked, taken aback by Sonic's curiosity. “Uh… yes?”

Sonic immediately speeds over to Rainbow with a smile, making the athlete jump.

“Wow, that's so cool!” Sonic exclaimed excitedly. “What’s he like? Why was he named Tank? Is he a fast tortoise?”

Rainbow Dash shook her head and slightly backed away from an excitable hedgehog. "You are one weird little dude," she commented as she placed an ice pack over her cheek.

"We're getting a little off track," Twilight interjected, as she was adjusting her glasses. "So what you're saying is that sometimes you can go so fast, your perception of time slows to a crawl."

Sonic nodded. "Yeah, that's pretty much it!"

Twilight smiled. "I gotta say, Sonic, you are more and more intriguing every single new thing we learn about you and your powers." Her eyes then became wide and shining in curiosity and wonder. "I would love to run some experiments with you to test out your speed… non-life-threatening of course."

"Settle down there Twi," Applejack spoke up. "Ah hate to be that gal, but we still need to focus on our task at hand."

"AJ's right," Sunset added. "We need to get to Manehattan now more than ever. It's bad enough that the government and Tempest are chasing us, now Robotnik knows the secret about our magic and Equestria." 

Fluttershy had a worried frown. "Ooh, I don't even want to think about what would happen if they catch us! They're probably going to experiment us to no end and we'll never see our families again!"

Fluttershy whimpered in fear, but she was comforted by Pinkie. 

"Don't you worry, Flutter Butter!" Pinkie chirped as she brought her friend into a hug. "They won't catch us. And even if they did, your Auntie Pinkie Pie will be here to protect you."

"...you know that I'm a year older than you, right?" Fluttershy muttered with an annoyed expression.

While the group was having a conversation, Rainbow Dash focused on holding her ice pack on her cheek. Sonic, who was both curious and intrigued with Rainbow’s action, grabbed some of Fluttershy’s spare cloth and placed it on his cheek. Rainbow grunted as she shifted her ice pack around slightly. Sonic copied Rainbow's actions by making a grunting noise and shifting his own "ice pack".

Annoyed by Sonic’s actions, Rainbow placed her ice pack down and gave him a flat look.

"Okay, you went from one weird little dude to one really weird little dude!"

Not bothered by Rainbow’s comment, Sonic eagerly placed his cloth down. "So, what are we gonna do now?"

"Yeah! Are we gonna do some fun stuff like from your slumber parties?" Sweetie Belle asked her sister eagerly.

Rarity let out a tired sigh. "Well I, for one, just gonna pass out watching TV. I'm far too exhausted today." She gave her sister a stern look. "And you should too."

Sweetie frowned. "Aw… do we have to?"

"We're only here to get a quick rest, not to have fun," Applejack cuts in. "We need some energy fer our travels, Sugarcube. So I kindly suggest you get some sleep. And that goes double fer you, Apple Bloom!"

"And you as well, squirt!" Rainbow added while glancing at her surrogate sister.

The CMCs groaned in protest but didn't complain further. Sonic, however, spoke up in protest.

"But this is my last night on Earth! I wanna soak up every last second!"

"Well… you can find something to do in this room," Sunset suggested. "Go ahead and knock yourself out."

Sonic glanced around the room with a smirk, already thinking of many fun possibilities he can do.

Before any of them could blink, Sonic was zipping around the room. Sonic was moving around so fast, they had a hard time keeping track of him. They managed to catch a glimpse of him doing all sorts of activities like messing around with the television from the wall, spinning on a wall painting, pulling many tissues out of a box, popping in and out of one of the dresser’s drawers, holding a pillow fight with himself, and even standing on one of the wall lights above the bed with a lampshade on his head, but was balancing over the ledge.

A second later, Sonic ran into the bathroom, only to come out and cover the room with toilet paper. Then another second, he ran into the bathroom again and closed the door. After various sounds of toilet flushing, teeth brushing, and water running in a span of a second, the bathroom door opened again and the blue blur zoomed out of the bathroom. They finally saw Sonic sitting on the bed next to Rainbow Dash with towels wrapped around his waist and head and wearing one of the motel’s fluffy slippers.

“Good times,” Sonic commented with a relaxed smile.

Everyone smiled and shook their heads, amused at Sonic’s antics. Then they all immediately grimaced in disgust when they heard Sonic “break wind” loudly a second later.

“Ugh! Really!?” Rainbow exclaimed in annoyance.

Rarity immediately pinched her nose with her right hand while fanning the smell away from her with her left hand. "Good heavens! What did you eat!?"

Sonic paused, knitting his eyebrows in thought. "Well, I don't know what it's called, but it's the same stuff I usually had from Crazy Lyra and then Brainiac the other day."

Twilight blinked. "You mean a chili dog?"

"Yeah, that's it!” Sonic cried enthusiastically before licking his lips in satisfaction. “Hmm. Love that stuff!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. "Well, you might wanna check your fur on that one dude!" she said before she resumed her ice pack.

Sunset shook her head before she sat on her bed. “So Sonic, what's this next planet you're supposed to go to like?”

“It's no Earth, I can tell you that,” Sonic sighed as he removed his towel from his head. “There's no people, just breathable air and giant mushrooms and stuff.”

There was silence in the room as everyone stared at the hedgehog with looks of pity and uncertainty. No one said anything until Twilight spoke up.

"Well, look at the bright side,” said Twilight, trying to cheer him up. “At least you won't be the only fungi!"

Twilight glanced at her friends with a smile, expecting to hear a laugh from her clever joke. Unfortunately, all of her friends, including Sonic, had flat expressions before giving her a not-so-great reception from her attempt at humor.

"Oh dear," Fluttershy muttered.

"Boo! Bad mushroom joke!" Rainbow Dash jeered.

"Seriously Twi?" Applejack exclaimed.

"No. Don't ever do that again," Sonic deadpanned.

"I agree. That was terrible!" Spike added.

"Even I thought that joke was lame," Pinkie commented.

Even the CMCs weren’t giving Twilight any mercy.

"Mushroom pun? Seriously?" Scootaloo scoffed.

"Mah puns are better than dat!" Apple Bloom added.

"Yeah, your joke stinks!" said Sweetie Belle.

"Now Sweetie Belle, that's not a nice thing to say,” Rarity scolded before adding, ”Even if her joke does stink!"

Twilight threw her arms up. "Oh c’mon! It's a good one!"

Pinkie shook her head. "Twily, we love you, but leave the jokes to the experts… like me!"

Twilight crossed her arms with a pout. "Hmph! Well, I thought it was funny!"

Sunset patted her friend with a comforting smile. As everyone chuckled at Twilight’s expense, Sonic watched on with a sad smile. 

Man, I'm really gonna miss this place. He thought. I know I have to leave Earth to be safe, but what if Longclaw was wrong? Maybe... I could have a life here...

Sonic quickly shook his head. As much as he would love the idea of staying on Earth forever, it was nothing more than sad wishful thinking. He caused enough trouble for himself and these kind girls already. He needs to get his rings soon so that he can leave for both his and these girls’ sake.

Applejack checked the time from the digital clock, which was on the dresser. “Whelp… looks like it’s time for shut-eye. We should all get some sleep so we can be on da road by eight.”

The CMC’s were about to protest again, but after they received a stern glare from their sisters, they relented. Sonic however was not about to give up.

“You sleep. Don't worry about me. I'm gonna stay up all night, enjoying Earth while I ca–”

Before he could finish his sentence, Sonic suddenly collapsed on the mattress of the bed. Before anyone could voice out in concern, they heard a snore coming from a now sleeping blue hedgehog.

Twilight chuckled at the site. "Well… that was quick!"

Fluttershy smiled. "You know, he may be some hedgehog creature, but if you look past all of that, he's just a kid."

"And a cute kid at that!" Pinkie added in agreement.

Applejack nodded before getting up. "Welp, that critter had the right idea. Time to get some shut-eye!"

The girls, sans Sunset and Twilight, followed Applejack out of the room, bidding each other good night before heading to their rooms. With Sonic sleeping in his bed and Spike sleeping on the foot of the other bed, Twilight and Sunset were the only ones who were still awake. As Twilight was heading to bed, Sunset stared at her with a concerned expression.

"You okay Twilight?" Sunset asked.

"Just tired, but nothing like some sleep won’t fix," Twilight responded.

"I mean with everything that happened," Sunset clarified. "With fleeing from our homes, our encounter with Robotnik and Agent Tempest, and that brawl from the arcade."

Twilight sighed as she got under the covers. "I'll admit, it's been stressful and a little scary, but I know with you girls on my side, we'll be fine."

"And what about..." Sunset paused, hesitant for a moment. "Well… you know."

Twilight frowned, knowing what Sunset was referring to. "You mean about finding out that I was adopted?" 

Sunset didn’t respond to Twilight, but her silence pretty much answered for her. 

Twilight let out a heavy sigh, placing her glasses on a nightstand next to her. "I'm… still processing that, but don't worry about it… I'll be fine."

Sunset furrowed her brows. "Are you sure Twilight? We can still talk about–"

"I said I'm fine!" Twilight snapped.

Sunset flinched, taken aback by Twilight’s harsh response. Seeing Sunset’s hurt expression made Twilight feel guilty for the way she responded to her friend, knowing that Sunset was trying to help her.

"I'm… I'm sorry Sunset," Twilight said solemnly. "I didn’t mean to snap at you. We… had a long day and I'm too tired right now. Can… we talk about this another time?"

Despite wanting to help her friend, Sunset didn’t want to push her either, so she relented and decided to give her some space for now.

"Of course Twilight, I understand," Sunset said gently with a smile. "I'll be here to listen when you are ready to talk, okay?"

"Thank you, Sunset," said Twilight before letting out a yawn. "Well… goodnight."

Before Sunset could say anything, Twilight shut her eyes and immediately turned away from her, causing Sunset to frown.

"Goodnight… Twilight," Sunset said quietly.

Sunset let out a low sigh. She hated that she couldn’t do anything to help her friend, especially when she knew that Twilight was suffering. All she could do for now was to wait and be there for Twilight whenever she needed her. But even so, that doesn’t make her feel any better. She can’t help but blame herself that her friends kept on suffering today all because of her. She wondered if things would work out better for everyone if she hasn’t come here in the first place. 

Sunset then remembered Princess Twilight’s offer from earlier. Perhaps, it was probably for the best that she no longer has any purpose in this world soon. As soon as the hedgehog leaves this world after retrieving his rings and then getting out of this mess, she’ll return to Equestria and sealed the portal for good so that she and the Equestria magic will no longer cause any trouble.

Speaking of the hedgehog...

Sunset then turned her head at the sleeping hedgehog, who was just laying haphazardly on the side, muttering something about chili dogs. Shaking her head, Sunset made her way over to him and gently pulled a blanket over him. She then noticed Sonic’s list, which was placed on the nightstand beside him. Curious, Sunset picked up his list and took a peek at it. To her astonishment, nearly everything on his list was crossed out, all except for one, which was in the middle of the list. The only thing on his list that wasn't crossed out, was “make a real friend”.

Sunset’s eyes softened as she stared at the list and then at the sleeping hedgehog with pity. While this hedgehog was a handful, he is easy to get along with once she looks past his appearance. It also helps that he is also very friendly, fun, and funny too… to a certain extent. But at the end of the day, this poor little guy is lonely… and she has her magic to thank for that. That was another thing to add to her never-ending pile of guilt. As much as she wanted to come clean with him right away, she still has to focus on their mission.

Maybe, Sunset thought. If things worked out… perhaps we can be… 

"Breaking News!"

Sunset quickly turned her head towards a loud source, which was the TV, and her eyes widened. Instead of a scheduled program, it was some News Show with a gray globe backdrop and the red words “Breaking News” flashing on the screen’s bottom-left corner. What got Sunset’s attention was profile pictures of her and her friends were on screen too.

A young female newscaster, who was wearing a purple dress shirt with long three-tone purple hair, brown eyes, and freckles on both her cheeks began to speak.  

“Earlier, a small group of teenage girls are accused of domestic terrorism at Canterlot High and possibly the entire city of Canterlot. The same group was also accused of kidnapping three younger girls, who happened to be siblings to some of the suspects from the same school. Those suspects in question are Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, and Sunset Shimmer. These girls are currently on the run and are considered to be armed and dangerous. Any information regarding their whereabouts should be reported to local authorities immediately. I’m Spotlight Splash and you’re watching Equestria Daily News!”

Sunset felt her heart rate going up and her stomach filled with dread after watching the news. Not only she and her friends have now become the most wanted people in the country, but there is also a huge manhunt underway by the authorities, making their travel to Manehatten much more difficult. 

It was right then and there that Sunset realized that the worst has yet to come.





Agent Tempest Shadow has been power walking on a highway for the past several hours. She felt her feet ache with each step, but she kept herself focused and pushed on for the sake of the mission. She thought about flagging down a random driver to hitch a ride a few times but decided against it. The last thing she wanted to do was to get an innocent civilian involved and risk her actions being traced back to base.

Tempest eventually reached the gas station on the outskirts of town. She sighed in relief, glad that she could finally take a short break for her aching feet. Just as Tempest was about to enter the mini-mart, she noticed a huge crowd outside of what appears to be an arcade and restaurant across the gas station. What really caught her attention was that the local authorities and some government agents were also among the crowd.

What happened here? she thought.

Against her better judgment, she decided to make her way over towards the arcade building near the crowd out of curiosity. As she was getting closer, she could hear the people, both teens, and adults, chattering among themselves with bewildered expressions. Tempest suspected that whatever happened here must have riled these people up. 

When Tempest spotted one of the agents in front of her, she spoke up.

"Hey, excu–"

Suddenly, a pair of hands popped out of the bushes and then was placed over Tempest’s mouth, keeping her from screaming. Before Tempest could fully process this, she was quickly pulled into the bush, before the other agent could notice her. The other agent turned his head over after hearing a commotion, only to shrug and turned his head back when he saw nothing.

Tempest struggled as she was pulled completely into the bush by an unknown assailant. She repeatedly elbowed and kicked someone behind her, trying to get some creep to let go. Just when she was about to use her advanced defense move, she barely heard the creep in question in a hushed voice.

"Ow! Boss, Boss it's me!"

Tempest stopped struggling when she realized that familiar voice. Her hunch was correct after she turned to see her partner, who was rubbing his sore face and leg with a low painful grunt due to her attacks.

"Grubber!?" Tempest exclaimed. "What are–"

Her question was cut off when Grubber suddenly shushed her, much to her annoyance. He quickly glanced behind him, checking to see if there was anyone who heard them before addressing Tempest again.

"Follow me and be quiet” Grubber whispered. “I’ll explain once we’re away from here."

Grubber turned and ran off before Tempest could say a single word. With a huff, she followed her partner, determined to get to grill him and get the bottom of this. They eventually reached the back of the arcade building where no one was around, finally allowing Tempest to get some answers.

“What the heck is going Grubber!” Tempest hissed quietly, trying to keep herself from screaming. “What are you doing here? You were supposed to be keeping an eye on Robotnik!"

Grubber gave Tempest his deadpan expression as he was listing things off with his fingers. "Well, for one thing, you took my car. It's hard to do my job when you took my only means of transportation."

"...oh," Tempest responded, letting out an awkward cough. "Well… then how did you get here?"

Grubber rolled his eyes. "For your information, I had to call and wait for G.U.N. to send me another vehicle before I trailed after you," he stated, pointing at his new motorbike near the alleyway. "Although, I'm surprised that I got here before you!"

Tempest frowned. "I told you that I can handle it!” she poked Grubber’s chest a few times with little force. “And you still could've gone back to town and followed Robotnik and kept him and his team off of those girls!"

“But Boss, after everything that happened, finding you was my top priority!”

Tempest frowned deeper. "What are you talking about?"

Grubber blinked. "You mean… you haven't heard?"

Tempest cocked an eyebrow. "About what?"

Grubber was silent for a moment as if he was silently debating if he should tell his boss or not. But after receiving a hard glare from Tempest, Grubber relented.

“Robotnik… framed you, boss.”

Tempest’s eyes widened. “What!?”

Grubber flinched from Tempest’s angry shout, avoiding her wrath. “C-c-calm down boss!”

Tempest narrowed her eyes, silently demanding Grubber to start talking, to which he got the message.

“A-after your run-in with him at that one girl’s house, h-he told the higher-ups that you went rogue after knocking him out.” He explained, causing Tempest to growl. He gulped. “He… he claimed that you were after these girls yourself so that you could claim their power.” 

Tempest opened her mouth to protest.

“I know, I know… it’s technology ‘magic’,” Grubber quickly cuts in, knowing what she was about to ask. “But Robotnik doesn’t believe in magic. You and I both know that this is all nonsense to him since he’s a science person.”

Tempest shuts her mouth, but her expression tells Grubber to continue.

“A-anyway… He told the higher-ups that you planned to harness all the girls’ powers so that you can use them to overthrow the country… and the world… all so you can take revenge on everyone for how you were treated due to your– um… ‘background’… despite being adopted by Commander Walters.”

With a furious expression, Tempest shook her head. "No! Those are lies! I would never betray them!" 

Grubber raised both his palms in front of her. "I know, I know… I believe you!" He insisted. When Tempest calmed down somewhat, Grubber sighed. "He has everyone fooled! The only one who doesn’t fall for his lie was your fath– I mean, Commander Walters. Unfortunately, he was outvoted by the majority of the base, and they ordered your arrest. So I came all this way to warn you before the other agents caught you!"

Tempest tightened her fist in rage. Darn him… he must be framing me on purpose in hopes of me getting captured and arrested, so no one will be in his way!

Tempest breathed through her nose to calm herself slightly. “So that’s why you came out here? Just to warn me?”

Grubber rubbed his neck. “Well… it was part of the reason. You being framed wasn't even the worst of it!" He then took out his cell phone. “Those girls have also made it into the news!”

Tempest’s eyes widened. “They what?”

To demonstrate, Grubber opened the news app on his phone and played the news video that was broadcast earlier before showing it to Tempest.

“Earlier, a small group of teenage girls are accused of domestic terrorism at Canterlot High and possibly the entire city of Canterlot. The same group was also accused of kidnapping three younger girls, who happened to be siblings to some of the suspects from the same school. Those suspects in question–"

"Wha… When did this happen!?" Tempest demanded, nearly shouting.

Grubber shushed her. "It was shortly after you and those girls left town that Robotnik deemed them as high-level threats, making them number one most wanted in the country. He even went as far as feeding the media claims that everything that happened in the city was due to their terrorist plot."

Tempest felt her jaw slack, couldn’t believe what she was hearing. "That's… that's ridiculous! They're just teenage girls!"

"Not according to Robotnik," Grubber said with a sigh. "Especially after seeing them using their 'powers' at one girl's house."

"And what about those three other girls who are with them?" Tempest asked with dread.

"They're the younger siblings to our girls!" Grubber answered. "They somehow got dragged into it and are on Robotnik’s radar as well! He believes anyone who is with them, is just as big of a threat!"

Tempest rubbed one side of her temple with a long sigh. Great. So now their younger sisters are involved in this mess too! This will make things much more complicated.

She shook her head. "Well, regardless of what he 'thinks', that's not how we handle things! We're trying to keep things under wrap, not making noise! He's causing more problems than necessary!"

Grubber nodded. “I agree, but unfortunately, he already convinced G.U.N. to make their 'crimes' public. And to add one more nugget of 'good' news, he traced these girls here when they used one of the public phones near that gas station.” 

“They were here!?” Tempest nearly yelled, causing Grubber to shush her again.

“Yes. But it was also reported that they fled the scene after they caused a racket at that Arcade place.”

Once again, Grubber showed Tempest his phone. This time, it was a photo gallery of the inside of the arcade building. However, the photo itself contained a damaged state of the arcade, such as a turned-over machine, broken tables and chairs, and even marks on the walls. Each photo Grubber showed Tempest was worse than the other, causing Tempest’s eyes to widen further as he goes.

"These girls… did all of this!?" Tempest stated quietly in shock.

"Well, yes… and no," Grubber replied as he kept swiping his phone. "While those girls were involved, this whole chaos was caused by some kid."

Tempest blinked. “A… kid?”

“Yes.” 

Grubber eventually found what he was looking for on his phone and presented it to Tempest again. “Take a look here. This was recorded by one of the patrons of that place.”

As Grubber pressed play on the video on his phone, Tempest watched carefully as the footage played out in front of her. The footage itself was loud due to the shouting in the background and a little shaky, presuming the video took place during the fight within the arcade. She cringed somewhat as random people threw their fists or hit each other with various items. She wondered where security was when this fight happened and considered giving the owner of the place a piece of her mind.

Suddenly she heard a shout and the footage quickly turned towards two figures in front of her. Both of these figures appeared to be young, except the one who is blonde and wearing a leather jacket is clearly older, assuming to be in his late teens, while the other with a strange outfit looked slightly familiar, but couldn't quite make out because she was only seeing his back. Just as the blonde teen was about to attack the other kid, a second later, the teen with the leather jacket disappeared, and many patrons except the girls and that mysterious kid were on the floor, groaning in pain.

Tempest was taken aback after watching the clip. "What the– what the heck happened!?" She then gave Grubber an annoyed look. "Did you accidentally cut most of the footage?"

Grubber shook his head. "No. This was happening in real-time, boss! There were no edits in this whatsoever."

"...you must be joking!" Tempest deadpanned, hardly believing what she just heard.

"It's the truth!" Grubber insisted. "We interviewed everyone who was there and even checked their recordings on their phones and said the same thing!"

"But that's impossible!" Tempest argued, swiping the phone from Grubber’s hands, much to his chagrin. She then rewatched the video. "How could any of this have happened within a second in real-time?"

To Tempest’s frustration, she watched that same clip on Grubber’s phone repeatedly but couldn't find anything odd within the footage. She was starting to feel impatient as her search was more fruitless by the second. Her sole mission was to track down those girls, not playing around on her partner's phone. 

She considered just giving up and gave the phone back to Grubber when she noticed something odd from the footage for a brief second.

“Wait a second…" she muttered before she snapped her attention to her partner. "Grubber, how do you slow down the footage with this thing?"

"You should find that option under 'edits' on the top right of the screen." He instructed.

Tempest did just that and made sure to adjust the speed of the video as low as possible. She waited for a bit as a "minute" video played to a crawl until she finally got to a certain part of the video and paused it. On the screen, it was a selfie photo within a video of a teenage boy, who was upside down with a missing tooth with a dazed expression. But what caught Tempest’s attention was a certain blue creature next to the kid with a thumbs-up and a wink towards the camera. Tempest’s eyes widened when she recognized that creature.

"It's him!" She exclaimed. 

She then rewinds the footage to that part with the "kid" in that weird outfit again, confirming her suspicions. 

"That’s no kid, it was that blue hedgehog I fought earlier in the woods and the one Robotnik was after!”

Grubber glanced at his phone. “Uh… how can you tell? He looked like a human to me.”

Tempest gave him an incredulous expression. Seriously!? No one saw through that so-called disguise!? It’s almost as bad as mistaking one hedgehog for another by being colorblind! What is the world coming to? 

She shook her head. Still, that creature… I knew he was fast when I fought him in the woods earlier, but this… this is unbelievable! I guess that explains why there was a huge commotion here! At least I’m on the right track, but I need to get to those girls before that weasel gets them first!

"How long ago did they flee from this arcade?" Tempest asked suddenly, tossing a phone back to Grubber, who barely caught it.

"A-about approximately a couple of hours ago," he responded.

“Do you know where they’re headed?”

“Someone reported that they were heading east, specifically towards Manehattan.”

Tempest nodded. “Then that’s where I’ll be heading next. With any luck, I’ll find them before he does!”

"What about your… situation, Boss?" Grubber asked.

"This changes nothing," Tempest answered with a grunt. "It would seem that the only thing I can do to convince them that I haven't gone rogue is to catch those girls myself."

"And Robotnik?"

"I'll deal with him once this is over," Tempest growled as she turned away. "For now, continue with your job."

Grubber saluted. “Yes Ma’am!”

Tempest was just about to walk away when Grubber spoke up.

“Oh, and uh… Tempest?" Grubber added with some hesitation. "When this is all over… maybe we can hang out sometime and get some coffee, and maybe even pick up some sponge–”

“Grubber,” Tempest stated in a cold voice, that made Grubber stop talking.

She sighed through her nose. “We talked about this! We are not friends! We are nothing more than associates! I’m your boss, and you work under me! Your job is to do everything I told you to do and then report back to me! We don’t ever socialize outside of work, including going out for coffee or eating some stupid cake! Understood?”

“...understood... boss,” Grubber said quietly.

Without a word, Tempest walked away from Grubber. Just as she was heading out of the alleyway, she paused when she glanced at Grubber’s new motorbike, which was black and red with two long handlebars. Seeing a key in its ignition and need to get to the girls as soon as possible, Tempest decided to put Grubber’s bike into good use.

“I’ll be borrowing this!” Tempest stated as she quickly got on the bike and turned the ignition.

“Hey wait! That’s my bike!” Grubber exclaimed.

Tempest ignored him as the bike roared into life and then she took off down the alley, leaving Grubber behind.

“Hey!” Grubber shouted as he gave chase but then stopped as he watched her drove out of the parking lot and back on Radical Highway.

…

…

…

“What’s with you stealing my ride!?”
> Volume II - Chapter 12: An Olive Branch
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It has been an hour into the night since they arrived at the motel. The gang was in their beds fast asleep, drifting into dreamland. Everyone… except for one.

Somewhere, outside on top of the balcony section of the motel stood Rainbow Dash, leaning against the balcony and staring up into the night sky in deep thought. She couldn’t get a wink of sleep due to many thoughts plaguing her mind: G.U.N. hunting them down, some crazy doctor nearly killed them, some super-soldier lady chasing after them, losing the race, losing magic due to said race, and of course, that mysterious blue creature who was the center of it all. 

She was beyond frustrated and confused with the whole situation. She wanted to blame it all on the hedgehog for where they are now, but now, after seeing and learning some things about him, she wasn’t sure what to think anymore. Despite knowing that he wasn’t as bad as she first thought of him, there was still something about him that she didn't understand, nor what his true motivation was.

She once again clenched on her “charm” hidden in her pants pocket. She had also been thinking about “him” more than usual since the start of their trip. She wondered what “he” would think if he saw her now. Would he be disappointed that she wasn’t any closer to her dream than she promised, or would he be disappointed in her for the way she’d been acting? But the one thing that was the weirdest and scary thing to Rainbow was that “he” actually sounded and acted like... 

"Dash?"

Rainbow jolted up in fright from a sudden sound of a voice behind her and quickly spun around. She relaxed somewhat and to her annoyance when she realized it was none other than the blue hedgehog himself, who had a look of confusion and curiosity. She quickly lets go of her “charm” and crosses her arms across her chest, trying to act like his sudden appearance didn’t scare her at all.

"O-oh… it's you," Rainbow Dash said somewhat casually with her voice cracking somewhat. She then awkwardly cleared her throat. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Sonic stared at her with his eyebrow raised from the way Rainbow behaved but decided to let it slide.

"I was feeling a bit thirsty, so I decided to go out to get myself a drink, and then I saw you," Sonic responded before tilting his head. "So what brings you here?"

Rainbow frowned. He was the very thing that made her feel so conflicted all night long. The last thing she wanted to do was to tell him anything. She turned her head away from him with a grunt.

"It's none of your business, hedgehog!" said Rainbow, sounding a little harsher than intended.

She expected him to get angry and shout back at her for the way she responded. But to her surprise, he just let out a sigh with a dejected look.

"Alright, I get it… you don't want me around,” he said quietly. “I just want to help in some way. But, if you don't want to share, then I understand. Sorry for being a bother."

As Sonic slowly turned and headed back to his room, Rainbow watched on with a look of guilt. Once again, this little guy didn’t do any harm and was only here to talk, only for her to act like a jerk. She then remembered what she learned about him from Sunset at the Arcade earlier and then the advice she gave to Sunset afterward about being truthful to him. So she decided to swallow up her pride and actually take her own advice by trying to be a little more open with the hedgehog.

"Wait!" she spoke up suddenly.

This caused Sonic to stop in his place and slowly turned towards her with a confused expression. Rainbow inwardly sighed as she faced towards the balcony again while tapping a free space beside her, gesturing to him to come closer. Taking this as some kind of a sign of an olive branch, Sonic slowly made his way over and eventually stood right next to her.

Neither of them spoke for a while as they silently looked up towards the stars in the night sky. While they were marveling at the beauty of its sight, they were actually trying to distract themselves from each other. They even tried to avoid looking at each other. As awkward as this has turned out, they knew at some point, they gotta address their issue. With a reluctant sigh, it was Rainbow Dash who finally broke the ice.

"I… came out here to think,” said Rainbow, answering Sonic’s question from before.

Sonic finally faced Rainbow with a curious expression. “About?”

“About… everything that led to… this," Rainbow responded.

Seeing Sonic’s curious, but patient expression, Rainbow finally decided to completely bury her pride and say what she’s been meaning to say to the hedgehog since they first met.  

"I'm… really sorry… about earlier,” she said quietly with a forlorn expression. “For… acting like a complete jerk… for suspecting you… and uh, that thing back at camp?"

Sonic blinked. "Oh, you mean what happened between us in the woods? Water under the bridge!" He then smiled in understanding. "If anything, I'm the one who owes you an apology for being pushy and insulting you."

Rainbow raised her brows, surprised by the hedgehog’s humbleness. "But… I insulted you first!” she insisted. “The things I said back at camp were uncalled for."

Sonic shrugged casually. "Well, to be fair, I wasn't being very nice to you either." He then frowned. "Though, not gonna lie… what you said back at camp really hurts."

Rainbow winced at the memory of her behavior back at the campfire from earlier. She sighed as she looked down and rubbed her right arm with a guilty expression.

"I'm sorry about that too… that was really lame of me. I have this bad habit of speaking my mind before thinking, but that was no excuse for what I said."

"And yet, you still felt suspicious of me?" Sonic inquired.

Rainbow winced again, now feeling even more uncomfortable and awkward for how spot-on his words were. Seeing her in that state, Sonic spoke without a hint of judgment in his voice.

"Look… I'm not upset, and I don't want to fight with you. Quite frankly, I want to get along with you, but it's clear that there is still an issue between us. I just… I just want to know why… why you hate me so much?"

Rainbow turned towards the hedgehog with a look of horror on her face. "Whoa, hold on… I never said that I hate you! Heck, I thought you were pretty cool!"

Sonic frowned, feeling more confused than ever. "Then… why did you give me a hard time since we met?"

Rainbow furrowed her brows as she stared at the blue hedgehog, thinking deeply for a moment on Sonic’s question before she let out a soft sigh.

"Alright, I'll level with you,” she said with a frown. “But fair warning, I won't be able to sugarcoat this."

Sonic nodded. "Fire away."

Rainbow sighed one last time before she looked at the hedgehog right in the eye.

"To be blunt… part of the reason was because… I don't even know you. You're this… strange being who came out of nowhere, which happened around the same time this wacky doctor showed up and almost killed us! And on top of all that, you've been watching us like some kind of creepy stalker! I… felt you've been hiding something from us!"

Sonic opened his mouth to speak, but Rainbow immediately cut him off.

"I know you're not going to do anything bad to us, you've proven to us time and time again that you'll help us at the drop of a hat. But there's this part of me… that I'm still doubting you."

Sonic felt a bit hurt by her words, to which Rainbow noticed.

"Please don't take this the wrong way," she added as she placed her hand over her heart. "My friends… they mean everything to me… and I'm willing to do any means necessary to keep them safe. We were together once and then we… split apart… all because I was being too stupid and prideful to see that we were being manipulated. And my friends suffered because of it… and I don't want that to happen again.”

"How were you and your friends split apart?" Sonic asked.

Rainbow faced away from Sonic and sighed. "It was because of Sunset."

Sonic tilted his head. "Sunset?"

"Back when she was... not nice." She clarified.

"...Oh," Sonic uttered with a look of understanding.

"Yeah... she manipulated us into hating each other just so she can rule the school and no one to opposed her," Rainbow said with a frown. "Admittedly, I held a grudge on her for a while, even after she became my friend. But because of my grudge, I nearly..."

Rainbow quickly shook her head and turned back to Sonic. "But that's all in the past," she added quickly before narrowing her eyes. “Anyway, point is... if you’re really on our side and not going to backstab us… then I need you to be honest with me." She paused for a moment before she spoke with a serious, yet soft expression. “Out of everyone in our town, why… why me and my friends… and why did you stick around for so long?”

For a moment, Sonic didn’t respond. He just simply stared at her as if he was hesitating. Fearing that she may have offended or even scaring him off, she was about to retract her question until Sonic finally responded.

“It’s because… I was lonely,” he responded in a quiet tone. 

Rainbow Dash was taken aback. This was the saddest tone she heard from the hedgehog by far, even more than that time after they escaped from Tempest. What really shocked her the most was just how sincere he answered from underneath all of his sadness.

“Ever since I came to Earth,” Sonic continued, not noticing Rainbow’s expression. “I have no one to talk to. Of course, I can’t just go up to anyone easily since… you know.” Sonic gesturing himself to make a point, which Rainbow nodded in understanding. “Still, you humans fascinated me. Doing all kinds of things freely without a care in the world. So all I could do was watch from the shadows. And as the years have gone by, my love for your planet and your town grew more by the day. Everything is just so peaceful in your city, and it makes me wish that I was a part of it.” Sonic frowned sadly. “But what I want more than anything… is to actually make a friend… and to not worry about anyone coming after me just so they can get to my power.”

“... I see,” said Rainbow, feeling pity for the blue hedgehog. She then frowned. “And what about me and my friends? How do we fit into all of this?”

Sonic paused for a moment before letting out a low sigh. “The first few days on Earth… were actually the worst days of my life. Losing my lifelong friend, no home, nothing to eat, and worst of all, I felt… lost. I honestly don’t know what to do with myself and how am I going to live on this planet. That is… until one day…”





Young Sonic sighed sadly as he slowly walked through the wooded area of the park. Things didn't go well for him ever since he first arrived on Earth. First, he tried sleeping in a box, only for it to get ruined from the rain that morning, then he was chased out of a fruit stand while being mistaken as a cat… whatever that is, and now, some human girl, who he tried to befriend, screamed at the sight of him and called him the blue devil. He was starting to wonder if he'll even handle living on this planet.

If only Longclaw was still with him.

“Stop!”

Young Sonic stopped and looked up from a sudden cry for help. He quickly looked to his left through the bushes to see a small playground with a lot of fun equipment, including a swing set, a slide, and a sandbox at the center. However, Sonic’s main focus was on those three kids at the center of the playground. 

One was a young boy with brown hair covering his eyes. He was wearing a brown t-shirt, white shorts, and shoes and there were also three basketballs on the center of his shirt. The second kid was another young boy who had gray hair and blue eyes. He was wearing a black t-shirt and gray shorts and shoes. There was also some kind of a dumbbell emblem on the center of his shirt. The third kid was a young girl with long pink hair and teal eyes. She was wearing a white t-shirt, light green skirt, green socks, and white shoes. She even had three pink butterflies on one side of her skirt.

At a first glance, it looked like the three of them were playing together, but with one good look at the girl's face, the two boys were actually ganging up on her. The two boys were playing “keep away” by passing what appeared to be a stuffed white rabbit back and forth, while the poor girl tried desperately to get it back from them. The two boys laughed cruelly as she was getting more and more upset by the second.

“Stop it please!" The girl begged with a whimper. "Please give him back to me and leave me alone!”

“Or else what, Flutter-cry!" The boy with the dumbbell shirt taunted before shoving the girl down to the ground. "Are you gonna cry if I don’t?”

Sonic scowled in anger as the two boys laughed at the girl's misery. “Not cool!” he growled.

He wanted more than anything to jump in and help the poor girl, but Longclaw's stern rule of keeping himself hidden held him back. Not to mention, he had one run-in with the other girl earlier which didn't end well, he didn't want to go through that again. However, the moment he saw tears running down the girl's cheek, Sonic finally made his decision despite the consequences.

Just as Sonic was ready to intervene–

“Hey!” 

Sonic, as well as the bullies, turned towards the source of the voice to see another young girl with a determined glare. She had magenta purple eyes and, to Sonic's surprise and fascination, rainbowed colored hair, which was wild and messy. She wore a maroon shirt with a cloud and rainbow lightning bolt insignia in the center and blue overalls shorts. She also wore light blue sneakers with rainbow-striped socks.

“You leave her alone!” the rainbowed-haired girl threatened, glaring at the two boys.

The dumbbell boy scoffed. “Or else what?”

“Keep making fun of her, and find out!” the rainbowed-haired girl challenged.

The dumbbell boy laughed as if he just heard a funny joke. “I would like to see you try Rainbow Crash! How can a weak girl like you ever–”

The rainbow-haired girl suddenly charged up to the bully and tackled him to the ground, much to everyone’s shock, and tried to pull the rabbit plushie out of the boy’s hands. The dumbbell boy tried pushing and even punched the girl’s face a few times to get her off, but the girl refused to give up. The boy with the basketball shirt tried to help his friend out by pulling the girl off of him, but the rainbowed-haired girl elbowed him in the face during the struggle. The girl eventually took the bunny away from the boy and rushed over to the pink-haired girl, standing in front of her protectively. The two boys slowly stood up with tears in their eyes but bore angry expressions.

“You regret this Rainbow Crash!” The dumbbell boy vowed before he and his friend ran off, crying to their mommies.

“Yeah, you better run!” The rainbowed-haired girl shouted after them.

Once she was sure that the two boys are gone, the rainbow-haired girl turned and knelt in front of the pink-haired girl.

“Hey, are you okay?” the rainbowed-haired girl spoke softly.

The pink-haired girl looked up at the other girl with a bit of hesitation. Her fear and nervousness immediately went away as soon as she saw the bruise on the rainbowed-haired girl's left cheek.

“You’re… you're hurt,” the pink-haired girl gasped in concern.

The rainbowed-haired girl grinned. “Oh, don’t worry about me, this is nothing!" She then gently handed the bunny plushie over to the pink-haired girl. "The important thing is, your bunny is okay.” 

With a happy squee, the pink-haired girl retrieved the bunny back and hugged him with a huge smile on her face. Sonic watched the scene with a warm feeling in his chest, happy to see someone there to help that girl. He was also glad to see that there are good humans around and that things may not be so bad on this planet after all.

“Say, what’s your name anyway?” the rainbowed-haired girl said suddenly.

The pink-haired girl froze and then immediately looked away from the other girl while keeping her face hidden with her hair. Despite being saved, Sonic figured that the pink-haired girl must be very shy and wasn't used to hanging out with other kids her age. While the pink-haired was very quiet for a full minute, the rainbowed-haired girl was still there with a patient smile. Finally, the pink-haired girl spoke with a nervous expression.

“I’m… I’m Fluttershy," she said in a very quiet tone, which neither Sonic nor the rainbow-haired could make out.

“I'm sorry, what was that?” the rainbow-haired girl asked.

“I’m Fluttershy!” she said a bit loudly, but still in a quiet tone.

Thankfully, the other girl heard her that time and smiled widely.

“Well, Fluttershy, my name is Rainbow Dash!” she introduced herself. “You seem cool! You wanna hang out and be friends?”

Fluttershy turned her head back to the other girl with a surprised expression. “Really? You want me to be your friend?”

“Totally!” said Rainbow Dash with her huge grin as she extended her hand towards her.

Fluttershy stared at the other girl for a moment before she smiled happily and took the girl's hand to stand back up.

As the two girls ran off to play, Sonic watched on both out of happiness… and longingly.





“That day, your actions inspired me," said Sonic with a smile. "The way you stood up for Animal Girl was really cool and you weren’t afraid to stand up to your friends and to not give up the fight, despite the odds. I really would like to be friends with you right then and there… but I couldn’t. So every day, I come to that same park at around the same time to see you and Animal Girl. To my surprise, each time I see you, you’ve gained a new friend. First, it was Cotton Candy Girl, then it was Cowgirl, and then Fashion Queen shortly afterward. On some days when you girls weren’t at the park, I decided to follow each of you to the point that I know each of your favorite spots, including your school and your homes."

“That… doesn’t sound creepy at all,” Rainbow Dash remarked sarcastically, but Sonic didn’t pick up on that.

“Anyway,” Sonic continued. “Even after you all split up at one point, you all somehow got back together again as friends, including Equestrian Girl. And then shortly afterward, Brainiac.” He smiled admirably. “I guess the reason why I stuck around for this long was that there's something really special about you girls. The bond between the seven of you is amazing and strong, despite being different from each other.” He looked down with a sigh. “And to tell you the truth… I always wanted to be a part of it."

Rainbow stared at the hedgehog in awe, seeing him in a new light. While his method of sticking around was odd at best, he was just a lonely creature. No, a lonely kid, who always wanted a friend but couldn’t due to circumstances. She couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. And although she would never admit it out loud, she was also touched that seeing her stand up for Fluttershy as kids inspired him to do the right thing and help others. She felt strangely proud of that fact.

"Anyway," Sonic spoke up with a curious expression. "You said protecting your friends was part of the reason. What's the other part?"

Rainbow froze at that and nearly cursed herself. She couldn’t believe she let that part slip since she had originally no intention of mentioning that part. She was about to deny that, but Sonic’s curious expression without a hint of mockery caused her to think. He practically opened up to her about why he followed her and her friends for so long, so it was only fair to her to be open to him too… even if it was embarrassing to her.

Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh. “Fine… the other part was…"

Rainbow Dash then muttered something, which Sonic couldn't pick up.

"What?" Sonic asked.

Rainbow muttered again, but even quieter this time.

Sonic frowned. "I still can't understand you."

This caused Rainbow to yell out in frustration. "I was jealous! I was jealous of you, okay!?" Rainbow shouted.

Sonic was taken aback more by Rainbow’s confession than her shouting. "You’re… jealous of me? Why?"

Rainbow crossed her arms and turned her head away from him. "It's because you're fast… faster than me," she admitted with a sigh. "I always dreamed of being the fastest thing alive. And I thought I was pretty much there with my super-speeding magic… that is… until you arrived."

Rainbow frowned bitterly. "The way you move around at high speed, including during our race and that incident at the Arcade made mine a joke in comparison. Like, how am I supposed to compete with that?” Rainbow sadly looked down with another sad sigh. “I… don’t think I’ll ever top that.”

It pained her to say it, but she finally admitted her feelings to the hedgehog, even if she hated it. Now she waited for him to respond, expecting him to laugh at her or gloat that he was the best. But with how she treated him earlier, she probably deserved whatever he could dush out.

“Are you kidding? I thought you were the one who was hard to beat!”

Shocked by that statement, Rainbow quickly faced the hedgehog again with wide eyes. To her confusion, he had a look of seriousness, yet admiration on his face instead of mockery.

“Those moves you pulled out earlier gave me a run for my money," he said in an excited tone. "And the way you used that Sonic Rainboom really has me on my toes! You’re like, the fastest human I ever met! No one has ever actually caught up to me before!”

“R–really?” Rainbow said with wide eyes.

Sonic grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. “Totally! That race we had earlier… was the most fun I have had in years! I always knew you were cool the moment I saw you! But after that moment, you are way past cool!”

“You… you really think that?” Rainbow said softly. “Even after beating me and… the way I acted towards you earlier?”

“I already told ya, I forgive you. It’s not my style to hold any grudges,” said Sonic. He then rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish expression. “And as for that race… we technically never finished it.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened, taken aback by this revelation. “W-what do you mean we ‘never finished it’? Didn’t you run past ahead of me with that sonic boom of yours before I nearly threw myself off the cliff?”

Sonic looked away as he rubbed his cheek with his finger. “Well… when I noticed you were out of control and was heading towards that cliff, I immediately turned around to help you. Even if we were competing, I… couldn’t live with myself if anything happens to you.”

Rainbow stared at Sonic with an awed expression. Unbelievable! He was practically close to the finish line, only for him to give up his win just to save my butt!

While annoyed that their race was never finished, her respect towards the hedgehog grew tremendously. Here she was, complaining about not being the best while this creature only cared about having fun and for the safety of others. On top of that, the hedgehog’s actions reminded her of ‘him’, which was something she never thought of until now.

With a chuckle, Rainbow shook her head with a small grin. "You're definitely the better racer than I am, hedgehog… and I don't just mean speed.” She let out a sigh as she placed her hand in her pocket, grabbing her “charm”. “The most important thing than being the fastest is to be selfless and to help others. It was something my uncle once taught me… which I forgot about.” She gripped her charm a bit tighter. “...for a while."

Sonic blinked. "Your uncle?"

Rainbow was quiet for a moment, before sighing. "Yes… his name was Rainbow Blaze. He's been a friend of my family, but he's been an uncle to me my whole life."

Sonic nodded. "I see. Tell me more about him… if you don't mind that is."

Rainbow Dash tilted her head up, watching the stars dance in the night sky. “Well, Rainbow Blaze is Bow Hothoof’s best friend, which is my dad. While they’re not related by blood, my uncle is practically an older brother to him. They’ve done everything together, including fulfilling their dreams of becoming pilots for the Wonderbolts.”

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. “The Wonderbolts?”

“The Wonderbolts are a group of stunt performers for their air shows," Rainbow explained with a look of nostalgia in her eyes. "They are the best of the best in this country. But my Dad and Uncle Blaze, they’re the best of them all! I still remembered all their crazy stunts and speeds in all their shows and those two are amazing, even as a team!”

“Wow… sounds like your dad and your uncle are cool people!” said Sonic, impressed with their skills.

“Right!?” Rainbow agreed with a huge smile. “But that’s not all the Wonderbolts can do! They were also the special secret air force squad for the military!”

Sonic’s eyes widened. “Really!?”

Rainbow nodded. “Oh yeah! Both my dad and my uncle were specially trained to go out on a mission to fight and help people who needed help. It’s one of many reasons why they’ve joined in the first place. Those two went on countless missions together even before I was even born!” 

Rainbow then frowned. “On one mission, however… my father almost died in a plane crash because of an enemy attack. Despite his superior’s orders, my uncle rushed towards the crash site and saved my dad before my dad’s plane exploded with him inside it.” Rainbow looked down, almost on the verge of tears. “If it weren’t for my uncle… my dad wouldn't be here today. However, the crash messed up his back to the point that he wouldn't fly as well as he used to. So he was forced into early retirement as a pilot.”

Sonic frowned, feeling sorry for Rainbow’s father. He can’t imagine what it was like to not fly again. That’ll be like if he suddenly couldn’t run again. No one deserved a fate like that.

Rainbow sighed. “Of course, this crushed my dad. Flying is the thing that he was good at. The only other job he could take is working at a warehouse for Mare-A-Zon. But to everyone’s surprise, my Uncle decided to retire as a pilot too and work at a warehouse with my dad.”

Sonic blinked in surprise. "He did? He actually gave up his dream job, just to work alongside your dad?"

Rainbow nodded with a proud smile. "Yeah. My uncle felt that if my dad goes, he goes. And he did that to help and support my dad too. He was just that loyal to him!” 

Rainbow sighed again with a fond smile. “Anyway, shortly after that, they lived together. And even after my dad married my mom and then had me, my uncle stuck around. He even raised me along with my parents.” Rainbow then smiled fondly. “My uncle and I are as thick as thieves. He even allowed me to hang around in our basement where he built different kinds of planes as his side job. There were even a few times when I snuck down there and pretended to be a pilot… just like him...





Rainbow Blaze slowly walked downstairs into their basement with a concerned expression. As soon as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked around the room as if he was searching for something or someone. He knew the person he was looking for was down here somewhere since the lights were on. He didn’t want to get scolded by the misses again for letting her down in the basement unsupervised… again.

“Skittles!” Rainbow Blaze called. “Skittles, where are you?” 

“Over here Uncle Blaze!”

Rainbow Blaze turned his head towards the source and then shook his head in amusement.

“Of course, she was over there,” he muttered fondly.

He then made his way over to his latest project, which was only half a plane, with little Dashie stirring the yoke within a cockpit.

“There you are, Skittles!” said Rainbow Blaze before he frowned. “You know your mom didn’t want you to come down here by yourself, or else we would both be in trouble!”

“Sorry uncle,” Little Dashie said with a sheepish expression before she smiled brightly. “But look at me! I’m a Wonderbolt! The fastest kid in the world!”

She then started turning the yoke again while making airplane noises, causing Blaze to laugh wholeheartedly.

“You sure are, champ! Now come on down there Skittles, it’s time for dinner!” he said. When Dashie didn’t respond, Blaze then had a sly smile on his face. “I heard that your mom is making pasta and potato sandwiches on sourdough.”

Just like that, Dashie stopped what she was doing and perked up.

“Oh boy! My favorite!” she exclaimed excitedly, causing Blaze to laugh again.





“Wait a minute,” Sonic spoke up suddenly with wide eyes. “Questioning the edibility of your sandwich aside… your uncle calls you–”  

"Yes… he used to call me Skittles," Rainbow revealed with an embarrassed look. “It was a personal nickname reserved from my uncle.”

“Wow… I never would have guessed,” said Sonic. “Why did he call you that?”

Rainbow coughed with blush appearing on her cheeks. “Uh, he… once told me that when I was born… the stubbles on my head reminded him of… Skittles.”

Rainbow felt even more embarrassed and annoyed when she saw Sonic had a huge grin on his face. “W-what are ya looking at? Are you gonna make fun of me!”

Sonic shook his head. “Oh no, you have it all wrong. I thought it was very sweet. Cute, really!”

Rainbow growled as her face suddenly became as red as a tomato. "S-shut up!"

Rainbow then cleared her throat and quickly changed the topic. "Anyway… both my uncle and my dad are heroes to me. They told me about their adventures all the time when I was younger.” She smiled fondly. “I always looked up to them because of all those cool things they have accomplished. I wanted to be in the Wonderbolts to do those awesome tricks and to help people too… just like them.”

Rainbow Dash then lost her smile and sighed with a forlorn expression. "Then, one day… my dad received a letter from his Commander of his old squad. My dad didn't tell me all the details, but he mentioned that the mission was so serious, his Commander wanted his best recruits to be there, including my dad and my uncle. But he could only take one of them… and there is a good chance… that they won't be coming back from that battle.”

Sonic suddenly felt a sense of dread, already knowing where this was going. His hunch was right when he watched Rainbow’s expression change to a look of distress and gripped on the railing tightly.

“Even though my dad's back mostly recovered from the accident, it still wasn’t the same from his glory days. Despite that, my dad intended to accept the assignment right then and there, but my uncle,” Rainbow swallowed. “...had other ideas.”





"Absolutely not!" Bow bellowed. "I won't allow you to take my place! The Commander specifically requested for me!"

"Our Commander requested one of us!" Rainbow Blaze retorted. "Out of the two of us, I'm the best candidate!"

As the two men were busy arguing, little did they know that their loud argument had woken up Rainbow Dash from her sleep. All of their yelling made her feel worried, but also curious about what their argument was about. So she sneaked down the stairs until she reached the bottom while being careful not to get spotted. She peered around the corner so that she could see three adults in the dining room. Her parents were on one side of the table while her uncle on the opposite side. Both her dad and uncle were glaring at each other while her mother stood on the sidelines with a worried expression.

"Best candidate my foot!” Bow growled. “You and I both know that I'm a better fighter than you and I can handle these Changeling punks!"

"You were the best fighter!" Blaze countered who was just as angry. "Have you forgotten that you barely survived that plane crash since our last battle and your back never recovered to this day? Your body can't handle any of the maneuvers while flying on a jet anymore and you know it!" His eyes narrowed. "Besides… you have a wife and kid now, Bow. You can't leave them behind, especially Dashie!"

Bow slammed his fist on the table, nearly made Rainbow jump from the noise. "Don't you bring Dashie into this!" Bow screamed. "She should know what I'm getting into as a member of the Wonderbolts!"

"She's a child, Bow!” Blazed shouted. “She wouldn't understand this at all at her age! Quite frankly, I don't think she knows the risks you have to take when you're dragged into a mission like this! Does it ever occur to you that she'll one day get anxious and worried when you're out on a mission for so long?"

"That doesn’t matter!" Bow yelled stubbornly. "With my skills, she wouldn't have to worry about me leaving for so lon–"

"How would she feel when one day she heard that you died!" Blaze roared.

The whole house had suddenly gone quiet. Bow just stood there in shock, as if someone had physically slapped him in the face. He never once thought about how his daughter, let alone his family would feel if he has perished in a battle. His wife, Windy Whistles, placed her hands over her mouth with tears in her eyes; horrified at the thought of losing her husband. Rainbow Dash, who was still hiding from them, widened her eyes in horror. She felt her whole body was shaking, terrified of the possibility of not seeing her dad again. 

As for Rainbow Blaze himself, he just glared quietly towards his friend, still fuming at his stubborn friend. Seeing that he finally slapped some sense into Bow, Blaze breathed through his nose to calm himself down before making a final point.

"I still remember how I felt after hearing the news about my father just months after he was drafted,” Blaze said quietly. “I was about Rainbow’s age when I heard it, and it tore me and my mother apart after that. It was one of the main reasons why I became the Wondercolt; it is so that no child would have to suffer for losing their parents from the battlefield, including Rainbow Dash. I don't want her to go through the same suffering as I was after she loses you. So…" He let out a long sigh. "That's why… I'm volunteering. At least that way, in case if I don't make it, you'll still be here with her and your family. While I… got nothing to lose. She needs you more than she needs me."

"That's not true!"

The adults jumped from the sudden voice. They turned their direction at the voice and were shocked to see Rainbow Dash who finally revealed herself. They were all alarmed when they noticed how very upset she was, telling them all that she overheard their heated conversation.

"R-rainbow Dash!” Windy Whistles stammered. “H-how long have you–"

"What you just said was not true!" Rainbow Dash shouted, ignoring her mom. "While I need my dad… but I also need you too!” Her eyes then became glassy from her unshed tears. “Please… don’t go!”

Rainbow Blaze just stared at Rainbow Dash for a moment with a neutral expression before letting out a sigh. “No Rainbow Dash… you don’t need me and I don’t have a choice… it was something I had to do.”

Rainbow Dash felt her whole body trembling, tears were leaking from her eyes. “N-no… it’s not fair… it’s not fair!”

Rainbow then immediately turned and rushed towards the front door and ran outside, ignoring her parents pleading for her to come back. With the bright moon hiding her way, Rainbow continued to run down the neighborhood, sobbing as made her destination.





Rainbow let out a shuddering sigh, a lone tear trailed down her face as she relieved her painful memory. Sonic stared at Rainbow with a sad frown and his ears drooped, feeling pity for the young tomboy. After a painful moment of silence, Rainbow spoke again in a quiet tone.

"I… ended up running all the way to the town park… where no one could see me cry.” She vented as she closed her eyes. “The news about my uncle leaving in place of my dad, crushed me. Granted, I’m both happy and grateful that my dad doesn’t get dragged into it, but not at the cost of my uncle. I was both sad and angry that he basically had to go and leave us… me behind like he doesn't care about my feelings. I can't remember how long I was crying but at some point…”





Little Dashie sniffed as she sat on one of the swings with tears running down her face. She still couldn't accept the fact that her uncle is leaving for a possible never to return mission. She wondered why can't her uncle have simply stayed and why everything had to be so unfair.

“Skittles.”

Rainbow Dash ceased her crying somewhat from the sound of her uncle’s voice. Normally, she would be thrilled to see her uncle, but due to circumstances, she was too upset to even look at him. She heard her uncle letting out a soft sigh from behind her.

“Skittles… I know you’re upset with me right now, but you know why I have to do it, right?” Blazed inquired.

Rainbow knew why, but she refused to answer. Despite that, her uncle answered for her anyway.

“If I don’t, your father would be the one who is leaving, with or without his back injury," Blaze said softly. "I don’t want you to lose him in case something happens to him.”

“But what about you?” Rainbow spoke in a croaked voice, before facing him with red eyes and tears running down her face. “If you leave… it’s possible that I would lose you too!”

Blazed frowned. “Skittles–”

“You are just as important to me as well as my dad!" Rainbow shouted, no longer caring that she was crying in front of him. "And I know we’re important to you too! So why are you going to leave us behind? To leave me behind? Don’t you love me?”

“Of course I love you Rainbow Dash!” Blaze exclaimed. “Which is why I’m volunteering in the first place!”

Rainbow Dash stared at her uncle with a stunned expression, feeling more confused than ever. “I… don’t understand.”

With a low sigh, Rainbow Blaze knelt in front of Rainbow Dash, looking her in the eye.

“Well… one of the main reasons was because… I owed your father my life,” he revealed softly with a somber expression, stunning young Rainbow Dash further. “After my father died… I thought my whole world had ended, and I don’t know if I can go on without him. But your father… he picked up the pieces and was there for me even at my worst moments." He grinned. "He was stubborn, but his loyalty was true to the point that he became my brother right then and there. Heck, he was always there to save my butt again and again in all of our missions.” 

His expression became serious. “And now that he has you and your mom, and that his back wasn’t the same as it used to… I figured I can finally repay my debts to him… as my way to say thanks for being there for me… and to show him I’m just as loyal to him. Besides, if anything happens to him after leaving you behind, I won’t ever forgive him… and myself.”

Rainbow Dash sniffed, rubbing her eyes. “But… there’s a chance that you… won’t make it back either.”

Blaze gave his niece a cocky grin. “Hey now, look who you are talking to! No one's gonna take me out so easily!”

Rainbow Dash wasn't convinced with her uncle’s words as she looked down with a crestfallen look. Her uncle frowned for a moment, thinking of a way to cheer her up and to believe in him. Then, an idea struck him, causing him to smile a little.

“Maybe this will convince you,” he said in a soft tone.

For a moment, Rainbow Dash heard her uncle fiddling with something, causing her to wonder what he was doing. Her uncle then appeared in front of her again with his hand outstretched in front of her.

“I was going to give this to you on your birthday," he said. "But I figured now is the best time.”

Rainbow Dash looked up to see what he was holding and let out a huge gasp. It was his "good luck charm" necklace that he always wore around him. He usually never takes that necklace off, not even when he has to take a shower or when he went to bed. But the fact that he willingly took that off and handed it over to her really shocked her.

“Unc… that’s your–”

Blaze nodded. “It was. But now… it’s yours!"

He then handed his charm over to Rainbow, who was still surprised by her uncle’s gift. “With this, a part of me will be with you and a reminder of our promise when we meet up again someday.” He then grinned. “Buuuuuuuut it doesn’t hurt to have some luck on your side! This thing saved my life more times than I could count! It certainly gave me luck when I needed it, so who knows? This thing may even help you out someday, or maybe even your friends!”

Blaze placed both his hands on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders and gently squeezed them, all while looking at her in the eyes. 

“So will you do it? Will you look after your folks while I'm gone? And will you do your best to become a fast, strong, and even a loyal person to become a Wonderbolt someday… even when I’m not around?”

Rainbow Dash began to cry again, but she nodded. "I… I… I'll try, uncle," she choked. "I… I will try to be that loyal person for everyone to count on… a-and… I will b-become the next Wonderbolt a-and… b-be the fastest person in the world. M-maybe even be faster than you… a-and and…" she began to sob right into her uncle’s chest. "And I will make you proud!"

With a loving smile, Rainbow Blaze hugged her little niece. "You already have Skittles," he said softly. "And remember, no matter where I am… I will always be here with you."





Rainbow felt her tears running down her face as she recalled that particular memory. As for Sonic, he felt sad for the tomboy girl. A part of him wanted to comfort her but figured it was not a good idea at the moment since she probably wouldn't appreciate that. Rainbow Dash then rubbed her tears off of her face and let out a somber sigh. 

"The next day, my uncle left our home and took one of his planes to travel to the Wonderbolts base halfway around the world on a secret mission… and I never saw him again."

"What happened to him?" Sonic asked softly.

"...I don't know," Rainbow answered quietly while looking away. "All I know from my dad was after an enemy jet shot him down, his plane disappeared somewhere on some tropical island.” 

Sonic frowned. “Did they ever find his plane?”

“They eventually found his plane,” Rainbow answered with a grim expression. “But it was all wrecked into piles of scrap metal… and there were no signs of him. They thought my uncle got himself captured by some men for their tyrant king, but after the Wonderbolts succeeded in their mission to stop them, they couldn’t find him among the many prisoners of war… and the Wonderbolts reported him M.I.A. ever since."

Sonic blinked with a confused expression. "M.I.A?"

"Missing in Action," Rainbow clarified with a sigh with an anguished look. "He just disappeared without a single trace of him to the point that many believed he was…”

Rainbow stopped herself before she could speak any more, refusing to even think about the possibility of her uncle’s fate. She quickly shook them away as she raised her clenched fist and glared up into the night’s sky.

"But I don’t believe it!” she exclaimed. “There’s no way he can be gone! I know my uncle, he would never be taken out or to give up so easily! He's too tough for that! Besides…" She added softly as she opened up her palm, revealing her uncle’s lucky charm. "We promised…"

Sonic took a good look at Rainbow’s charm and his eyes widened. "Hey, is that..."

On Rainbow’s palm, it was a necklace with a dark blue geode hanging from it. The geode itself was somewhat dull and had some cracks due to age and wear and tear. But what really caught Sonic's attention was a familiar cloud with a lightning bolt image, etched on the surface of the geode.

"I know what you're thinking… but this isn't my necklace," Rainbow stated while her eyes never left her necklace. "This was my uncle's. He used to wear this thing all the time, believing that this'll give him luck for his shows and missions. He gave that to me believing that I needed more luck than him… although it makes me wonder if that was probably his downfall."

She then let out a small chuckle. "And when I first received my geode, which has the same mark as my uncle's… I was quite shocked. This feels like fate… it's as almost if my uncle was watching me this whole time. But regardless..." Rainbow squeezed her uncle's charm, closing her eyes. "My uncle's necklace… will always be my most prized possession."

Rainbow sighed as she placed her uncle’s necklace in her pocket. “It was even more painful to me… when someone called me by that nickname that was usually reserved by my uncle. Fluttershy, who was my best and only friend at the time, understood that." She frowned bitterly. "But people like Lightning, however…” 





Little Dashie and Fluttershy were walking through the hallway of Cloudsdale's Elementary towards their next class. It has been a few months since Rainbow Dash has seen his uncle off on a mission with the Wonderbolts. She had hoped every day that his uncle would beat the bad guys and return home safely, but her hope diminished when she overheard her father last night, saying that her uncle had disappeared during the battle… and that he's most likely gone. The news about her uncle crushed her. Even when Fluttershy was trying to comfort her in between classes, it didn't help bring Rainbow’s spirits back up. She just wanted to get through the day so that she could mope in her bedroom, thinking about her uncle.

"Hey Skittles!" 

Rainbow Dash froze for being called by her nickname. She slowly turned around and groaned when she saw who it was. It was another girl with two shades of gold hair and was the same age as Rainbow Dash. She wore a black t-shirt with a white lightning bolt and three yellow stars emblem on her chest, white shorts, and shoes. That girl was none other than Lightning Dust, and she had a very nasty smirk on her face.

"What's wrong?" she mocked. "Feeling sad that your uncle's gone, Skittles?"

"Don't call me Skittles!" Rainbow shouted angrily, getting the attention of other kids.

"Why not Skittles?" Lightning taunted some more. "I thought that name suits you since you're a widdle baby!"

“S-stop that!” Rainbow stuttered, trying her best not to let Lightning’s words get to her.

Lightning smirked as she began to chant. "Skittles Skittles Skittles Skittles Skittles Skittles Skittles!"

As all the other kids in the hallway were laughing at her, Rainbow Dash hid her face and began to shake violently. Fluttershy stared at Rainbow Dash with a concerned look, feeling helpless to help her friend. This allowed Lightning Dust to fully twist the knife.

"Aww, feeling embarrassed?” Lightning asked with an evil expression. “You should feel proud that your uncle calls you that, after all… he's probably dead now!"

This was the final straw for Rainbow. With a scream, she tackled Lightning to the ground, while ignoring her friend's plea. The two of them wrestled to the ground as the kids surrounding them chatted "fight" over and over. Even as she was taken to the principal's office by a teacher, Lightning’s cruel words about her uncle still hurt her, and a lone tear trailed down her cheek.





Rainbow Dash shook her head, trying to get rid of her painful memories. "The only reason she knew about it was because she used to be friends with me. My guess was, she grew jealous of me hanging out with Fluttershy more than her." She frowned. "But regardless… Lightning and I were no longer friends after that, but she still mocked me with my uncle's nickname, further spoiling the good memories I had with him. So I would challenge anyone who misused that name towards me again if that is what it takes to preserve those memories of him… without me forgetting him."

“I see…” Sonic said quietly with a guilty expression. “So that’s why you were mad when I called you… that.”

Rainbow sighed with a regretful look. “Yes, and I realized that you are not like Lightning or my other bullies who would taunt me with it and I’m very sorry for acting so harshly.” She then looked up at the stars. “I guess deep down, whether he’s alive or not… I still haven’t gotten over not having him in my life.

“...I understand,” Sonic responded with a look of empathy. "Believe me… I know what it's like to lose someone you care for."

Rainbow faced Sonic with a surprised and curious expression. "You do?"

"Uh huh," Sonic sighed heavily. "I… don't know my own parents,” He revealed quietly. “But I was watched over by this guardian who was with me for most of my life.”

Rainbow blinked, intrigued by that revelation. “What was she like?”

“She’s pretty much a really big owl, but with years of knowledge and fighting experience,” Sonic described, before putting on a fond smile. “She was basically Obi-Wan Kenobi… if Obi-Wan Kenobi had a beak and ate mice.”

Rainbow snorted in amusement from that analogy.

Sonic shook her head with a chuckle. “Anyway, she was assigned to protect me, but over time… she became my longtime friend… and also a mother I never had.”

Sonic let out a soft sigh. “But then, one day… our pursuers found us… all because I was too careless. I only ran out just to get a gift for her, to show her all of my appreciation for being there with me, only to get spotted by them and I led all of them to our hiding place. We tried to flee like we always do… but she got badly hurt in the process. So in the process…" He swallowed. "She used one of her rings to send me here on Earth… while she stayed behind and fended them off."

Rainbow widened her eyes in horror. She had heard some of his past from Sunset earlier at the arcade, but never in this much detail. While felt the pain of losing a loved one, but to lose someone in front of him as a child… she couldn't even imagine how painful that must have felt. She could help but pity this poor hedgehog.

Sonic closed his eyes in sadness. "And the worst part? I don't even know if she got captured, escaped, alive, or even... dead." Sonic then tightening up his fists. "But what I do know… is what happened that day… was my fault… and it was my fault that I unknowingly alerted everyone at Canterlot City and dragged you girls into it… all because of my cursed power! ...that is why I have to do what she told me to do: is to never stop running… and stay hidden. So that way no one, including me… won't get hurt by me again."

There was silence on the balcony. For Sonic, this was the first time he ever talked to anyone about his past, instead of talking to himself for once. While he still felt the pain of losing Longclaw, but strangely, he felt a bit lighter after finally talking to a live person. The only thing he wondered now was what Dash thinks of him now. Would she think of him even lower than before? Sonic still has his eyes shut, ready for whatever remarks she throws at him.

"Well, no offense to your guardian mom, or whatever… but I think she was wrong." 

Sonic opened his eyes and looked up at Rainbow in mild shock. Not only he wasn't expecting her to not look down on him, but also her telling him that Longclaw was wrong. As he stared at Rainbow Dash with a confused expression, Rainbow elaborated.

"While you may think it's a curse and dangerous if anyone gets a hold of you, but at the end of the day… it's yours! That power is yours and yours alone! No one else has the right to take it away from you and to use them for their own selfish desires. Why? Because it's all about how you use your powers that counts!

Rainbow pointed to herself. "Take me for example! When I first got my super speed, I'll admit… I don't know what to do with it… and I'm a bit scared of it, too. That is until Sunset told us to just embrace my magic, don't hold it back… and learn a little more what it can do… because it's a part of me! So… I did. And, oh man… I enjoyed every bit of it! I can go faster than I could ever have dreamed! And I learned new things with my magic every time I used it, like what we just did with our race! 

"I'm sure there are tons more things about my magic that I have yet to learn! And aside from wanting to be the fastest thing alive… I also wanted to use my magic to help others… and to help and protect my friends when they need me. So... my point is, instead of using it to run away– no pun intended, you can use it for so much more. And only you have the right to use that power!"

Rainbow then leaned forward so that her eyes met Sonic's. "So, now that I told you everything about my experience, I have one question, hedgehog, well… two actually: who are you, and what do you want to do with your power?"

Sonic paused for a moment, thinking deeply over the question that Rainbow gave him. After what it felt like internally, Sonic let out a long sigh with a troubled expression.

"I… don't know," Sonic admitted softly. "I honestly do not know. I've been using my speed to avoid danger, entertained myself, or to play pranks from time to time… but I never thought I could do anything beyond that."

Sonic looked up, expected to see Rainbow Dash being annoyed by him, but to his surprise, she actually smiled and had a look of understanding.

"Hey, it's no sweat," she said. "We all still have time to figure things out. I'm still figuring out what to do with my life for myself."

Sonic blinked in confusion. "I thought you said you wanted to become a Wonderbolt?"

"I do. But I would also like to be a major soccer player for the country… maybe even for the world." Rainbow shrugged. "Or… I could be both... but who knows?"

"Yeah, they both sound pretty cool," Sonic nodded. "As for me… I'll have to think about it. And I hope you'll think about what I said to you too about being who you are." He smiled. "Though, if you were to ask me… I think your uncle is already proud of you."

"T-thanks…," Rainbow said shyly with a small blush. She quickly cleared her throat and narrowed her eyes. "Just… keep this conversation between the two of us alright? If you tell anyone else about this… I’m gonna deny it!”

With a chuckle, Sonic gave Rainbow his teasing, yet a friendly wink. 

"Your secret is safe with me, Dash!" He said, before yawning. "Anyway, I'm gonna go catch some Zs. It was nice chatting with you."

As Sonic walked away, Rainbow called out to him. "Hey, hedgehog!"

Sonic paused and glanced back at Rainbow who had a serious expression.

"If we ever have time… I want to race you again someday. But this time… it'll be fair and square, and I won't hold anything back!" Rainbow vowed.

Sonic stared at Rainbow for a moment before he broke out into a grin and gave her a thumbs-up. 

"Looking forward to it! That’ll be our promise!" Sonic then turned away and started heading back to his room. "Goodnight, Dash."

Rainbow watched as Sonic was walking away from her with a soft expression. "Goodnight… Sonic."

Rainbow then turned and looked up at the stars, while gently holding her uncle’s charm. She felt a bit lighter and all her worries were laid to rest after her conversation with Sonic. While the two of them didn't become friends right away, at least they both reached an understanding and found common ground. She is even willing to get along with him for the sake of her friends. Plus, the blue hedgehog is actually a pretty cool dude… not that she’ll admit this out loud. She can only hope that their trip to Manehattan will go smoothly from here on out.

"Fastest human in the world, eh?" Rainbow wondered before grinning. "Heh… I can live with that."

But unbeknownst to the two speedsters, another person was awake and couldn't get a wink of sleep due to her worries about current events. After noticing Sonic was missing from his bed, she went outside to search for him, until she spotted him with Rainbow Dash. She was worried that the two of them were arguing again until she started listening to their conversation. 

By the time that they finished, she felt many different emotions swirling in her heart. She was relieved and happy that the two of them got along and reached a common understanding, but she mostly felt sad and guilty for pretty much listening to their painful past without their consent. Even so, both of their stories drove her to tears. She wanted to come over and hug the two of them, but she knew it was not her place, especially since she was partially responsible for her friend's misery when Rainbow mentioned the time when she and her friends were separated. Even after she was forgiven for her actions, there were some things she still regrets she had done back when she was a bully.

All the more reasons why she has made her decision.

When she noticed Sonic was about to head back, she quietly headed back to her room and then immediately went to bed before he noticed her. She even made sure to face towards a wall, appearing to be asleep as heard Sonic climb back to his own bed. She let out a quiet sigh.

One thing was for certain, Sunset Shimmer will have a much harder time sleeping tonight.
> Volume II End - Chapter 13: Friendship Drama & Car Chase
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was early the next morning at the arcade. Police swarmed around the building, keeping any curious spectators out of the building, except for the two glaziers who just replaced a broken front window from the night before. The rest of the local authorities were inside the building, questioning all the patrons who were in the arcade from the previous night, including three certain members of the Washouts. Lightning Dust, Rolling Thunder, and Short Fuse, who was now wearing a neck brace, were sitting in the middle of the sports bar with tired and annoyed expressions.

Ever since the incident last night, they were held up by local authorities, asking for their side of the story while questioning them multiple times. Of course, they were irritated that they were held up for so long and answering the same repeated questions, but they have no choice but to go along with them. Before they were questioned, Lightning Dust also instructed her crew to keep their confrontation with that group to themselves. The last thing they needed was to get involved in this mess more than they were already.

Rolling Thunder let out an annoyed huff. "Man, this stinks! I wish they would just hurry up and let us go already! I've got other things I'd rather be doing!"

Lightning Dust rolled her eyes. "Well believe me Rolling Thunder, I do not want to be here as much as you are, but we don’t have much of a choice! Let's just keep playing along with these cops a bit longer and then we'll be out in no time." Lightning then leaned over to Rolling Thunder and whispered, "And remember to keep ourselves on the down-low."

Short Fuse let out a loud growl, despite the pain he was feeling from his neck. "Well, I certainly don't want to be here any longer! I'm still ticked off at that mutt for stealing my tickets and took that plushie before me!” He then clenched both of his fists in anger. “It was the only thing they have in this place and I spent weeks getting it… only for that fleabag to take it away from me! She's mine, I tell ya! Mine!"

Finally had enough with Short Fuse’s woes, Lightning Dust glared at him. "Short Fuse, I swear to Faust, if you mentioned that stupid plushie one more time, I'll take whatever plushies they have in this place, and shove them right up your–"

"Miss Lightning Dust?"

Lightning Dust ceased her ranting rage from someone calling her name. She was irritated at first, thinking it was a cop asking her those same questions again. But as soon as she and her two members looked up, they were taken aback when they saw two strange guys in black outfits standing in front of them. One had a beard and short hair with a stoic expression, while the other had a very long mustache, with a goofy, yet serious expression. 

Despite his odd appearance, there was something about that mustached man that made Lightning feel uneasy. She couldn't help but feel a bit creeped out from the way he was eyeing her like he was trying to analyze her. There were also a few dozen people in their black suits behind them, which led Lightning to believe that these guys shouldn't be taken so lightly. Lightning glanced at her two members, only to see them shivering with nervous expressions. Annoyed at her gang’s pathetic display, Lightning Dust decided to be the one to take the reins.

Even if she was also nervous about these mysterious strangers.

"Who… who the heck are you?" Lightning asked, while still trying to keep her guard up.

"Dr. Robotnik," the mustached man stated before introducing his partner. "And this confused gentleman beside me is Agent Stone."

Agent Stone glanced at his boss with a confused expression, but Robotnik ignored him.

Lightning frowned. "Are you some kind of cop?"

"Let's just say that we're… investigators," Robotnik said vaguely with a smirk. "We'll just cut to the chase… Agent Stone?"

With his boss' unspoken order, Stone takes over for him. "We heard what had happened here last night and we would like to ask you a few questions."

Realizing where this conversation was heading, Lightning rolled her eyes while trying to hold back an annoyed sigh. "Well, if you must know, we already told the cops everything that happened." She then gestured to the whole arcade around them. "This whole place became disarray… all because of that geek squad who didn't belong in our turf!"

"About that," Stone stated as he took out a large photo before presenting it to Lightning. "Were the 'geek squad' you mentioned… happened to be any of these girls?"

Lightning took a good look at the photograph and her eyes widened in recognition and anger. The photograph itself contained what it appeared to be in front of a stoop from a school. But what got her attention was those familiar seven girls and their dog, especially that certain rainbowed-haired girl at the center.





"Yeah, it's that Rainbow Crash… and the rest of her little geek squad!" Lightning growled, clenching her teeth.

"So you've seen her and these girls?" Stone pressed.

Lightning nodded. "Yeah. I saw them last night, and I even spoke to them! They even brought their little siblings with them, including that little brat who told me off last night."

Stone cocked an eyebrow. "This 'brat' you mentioned… was there anything particular about that kid?"

Lightning Dust furrowed her brows, deep in thought. "Well… now that you mentioned it, that kid moves pretty fast and has this long blue spiky hair like he was cosplaying as some anime character."

Stone stored his photo in his jacket. "Do you know where they’re heading?"

Lightning narrowed her eyes at the agent. As much as she would like to send these guys to where Rainbow Dash was heading as payback, something tells her that this was too big to get involved. The last thing she and her gang needed was to get themselves roped up to whatever mess the geek squad caused. Plus, she was already losing her patience on answering redundant questions and hated to get bossed around, even if they had high authority.

"Maybe I do… maybe I don't!" Lightning grunted. "Like I'd ever answer to you!"

Before Stone could retort, he felt Robotnik’s hand gripping his shoulder and pulled aside.

"Stand down agent Stone,” Robotnik said in his casual tone before his expression became serious. “This prepubescent girl obviously doesn't understand the urgency of the matter."

Lightning Dust's nostrils flared up. "What did you say!?"

Paying Lightning no mind, Robotnik continued while speaking in a much more condescending tone. "I mean, this child would rather pretend to be a hotshot leader of this worthless gang than to deal with the reality and admit to herself what a loser she truly is."

Despite her two cronies' attempts to calm her down, Lightning stood up from her seat, knocking her chair back in the process.

"You wanna fight, old man?" Lightning shouted angrily. "I'm gonna kick your butt right out of this place!"

Unnerved by Lightning’s outburst, Robotnik stepped a bit closer towards the teen. "If you don't back down and tell me the girls' whereabouts… it will be me who will kick your butt out of this place!"

Lightning Dust went right up to Robotnik’s face and sneered. "Oh really?"

Robotnik simply smirked.

Before anyone could blink, Lightning took a quick swing to punch Robotnik in the face, but the doctor easily dodged her and grabbed her right arm. Before Lightning could recover, Robotnik quickly jabbed a few pressure points on Lightning’s back with his left hand, making Lightning's whole upper body paralyzed. Next, Robotnik grabbed the back of Lightning’s jacket and spun her around a few times until he tossed her across the room and crashed through the same window again, and landed outside on the sidewalk with a groan.

Everyone, except for Stone, stared at the display in shock and awe, stunned that some lanky man took down an athletic person quite easily. Many were too nervous to utter a single word to them, but the two members of the Washouts were now terrified after seeing their boss was taken out by some crazy person. Short Fuse whimpered as he gently grasped around his neck. The two Washouts nearly shrieked in fright as Robotnik slowly turned towards them with a crazed smile.

"Now then,” he spoke menacingly. "Unless you want the same fate as your leader… tell me where those girls headed."

The two Washouts members gulped.





Shortly after they got their information, Robotnik and Stone walked out of the arcade, heading towards their track.

"Now that's what I call a ‘good cop, bad cop’!" said Robotnik, as he hovered his palm out towards Stone for a high-five.

With a smile, Stone attempted to give a high-five to his boss, only for Robotnik to punch Stone right in the gut.

"Left yourself open," Robotnik stated, leaving a hunched-over Stone behind and entering the truck.

With a loud gasp for air, Stone stood back up and followed after his boss into their truck. As Stone entered his boss’ portable lab, Robotnik was already at his supercomputer, tapping a few buttons.

“Judging by the quickest route to Manehatten,” he stated, keeping his eyes on the screen with a map of the country, which was in blue in front of him. “The approximate speed of their vehicle, local weather conditions... they should be... right about... here.”

With a final push of a button, Robotnik’s visual blue screen zoomed closer to one of the states and then displayed a map of a road with the girl’s moving bus, which was in red.

“That's brilliant, sir!” said Stone, impressed with his boss’ performance.

Dr. Robotnik glanced at his lackey. “Thanks!” He said before turning away and whispered, “For nothing!”

Not catching his boss' remark, Agent Stone cleared his throat. "Also Doctor, we received word that Agent Shadow was spotted heading towards the same direction as to where those girls are heading."

"Really?" Robotnik hummed, while still watching his computer screen. "Well no matter, we'll deal with her later. Besides, by the time she reaches them, it'll be too late!"

Robotnik then stroked his mustache while in deep thought. Though even after we reach them, there’s still an issue with catching these kids because of their powers, especially that Shimmer girl. He then grinned evilly. And I know just who will be fit for the job!





Tempest Shadow has been driving on Grubber’s bike for several hours on Radical Highway. She was somewhat surprised that her partner's motorbike was decently fast. But thanks to his bike and her tracking device that she secretly placed on one of the girls, Tempest was getting closer to them. At long as she continues to ride at least ten miles above the speed limit, she'll catch up to them within a half-hour.

Tempest then thought back to her memory with her brief run-in with Grubber. Deep down, she admitted that she was being a bit harsh on him throughout the mission, including that night when he was trying to invite her out to cake. Heck, she was never nice to him the moment she first met him. Truth was, even before she became a G.U.N. agent, she was never a people person and not too great at being social in general. But with how life was going to her and always buried in work, she rarely had time to socialize anyway. Maybe she'll make up with Grubber someday, but right now, her main focus is to find those girls before Robotnik as soon as possible.

As Tempest was watching the road ahead of her, she suddenly noticed a huge shadow creeping up over her. At first, she thought it was simply a rain cloud, but then she quickly realized that the shadow was hovering only her specifically and was following her. Her suspicion was raised further when she saw a bright light reflecting from the side mirror of her bike. As soon as she glanced at the mirror, her eyes widened.

From the reflection of her mirror, a large, round-shaped robot was hovering in the air with its rocket boosters from its feet and back. While most of its body was obscured by a shadow, Tempest can easily make out two glowing red eyes just peering right at her. The most alarming thing about this mysterious robot was its large plasma pistol in its right hand.

And it was pointing it directly at her.





Tempest immediately steered her bike to switch to a different lane, dodging the laser from the robot's pistol at the nick of time. However, the robot was in pursuit behind Tempest as it continued to shoot its laser rapidly towards her. Tempest kept on dodging and ducking away from the lasers while trying to shake off from this rampaging robot. As soon as she dodged another laser, Tempest floored on the gas pedal and zoomed straight ahead away from her pursuer.

The robot watched as its target was gaining away and was heading towards the turning point. Its eyes then zoomed closer to the turning point and it noticed that there was a cliff by the turning point which was blocked by the barriers. It then turned its sight at an old tree on the opposite side of the road which was leaning towards the turning point. Seeing the opportunity to take out its target, the robot aimed its pistol at the tree and fired its weapon.

The laser flew out of the robot's pistol and hit the tree, breaking it into two. The large portion of the tree then slowly tipping over towards the road, including Tempest who was unaware of the danger. As Tempest was about to make her turn, it was then she noticed another shadow was hovering over her, causing her to look up. 

Nearly caught off guard by a falling tree, Tempest quickly dodged away from the tree. As she did so, however, she realized too late that she was approaching the turning point fast and couldn't slow down in time. As a result, Tempest crashed against the road barrier, and then she and her bike flew over the cliff. A few seconds later, there was a loud crash, followed by a brief explosion from a crashed bike.

The robot hovered right over the cliff and surveyed the area, checking to see if its target survived. There was nothing but a rocky bedrock near the shorelines at the bottom of the cliff. At the very center of the bedrock were the remains of the motorbike, which was covered in flames and thick black smoke. It was hard for the robot to make out through the smoke to see if there was a body among the wreckage of the bike. And even if its target wasn't wiped out from the explosion, no one could survive after landing on some sharp, jagged rocks, let alone from a great fall.

Suddenly, the robot heard a voice coming from its inner intercom, which turned out to be the voice of its boss.

"Excellent work my most trusted minion!" Dr. Robotnik praised with sick glee. "It would seem that Miss Shadow just 'fell' into an early retirement."

He then chuckled darkly as if it was a funny joke. "Now… go on ahead to a designated area and stand by. In case my plan to catch them fails–not that it would ever happen…  you know what to do."

With a nod, the robot faced the direction of its next target and flew ahead, leaving the wreckage behind. But if the robot had paid close enough attention and stuck around longer, it would have noticed Tempest, who was hanging and hidden by the side of the cliff. 

Tempest sighed in relief as soon as the robot left the area. If it weren’t for her quick reflexes and her robotic arm, she would have been done for. Her eyes then narrowed; someone sent that robot to take her out by any means. Now it was heading towards the same direction where the kids were heading. There was only one man who was coward enough to have his machine do all the dirty work. Now more than ever, she needed to get herself out of the cliff and get to those kids before it was too late.

As she was in the process of climbing out, she pokes her head out just as this huge black tank sped past her and broke through the thick tree that was blocking the road. Tempest’s eyes widened in shock. She recognized that tank, which confirmed her suspicions. She can't waste any more time.

Tempest immediately spotted a blue sports car heading in her direction. Not wanting to waste any more time, Tempest stood in the middle of the road, spreading her arms out. Thankfully, the car came to an immediate stop, and then a man with light pink hair wearing a blue suit, red tie, and glasses stepped out.

"Hey! What's the big idea!” He yelled angrily. “You’re making me late for my–"

"Scuse me, Sir!” Tempest interrupted as she showed him her G.U.N. badge. “I’m gonna have to borrow your car!"

Before the man could say a word, Tempest immediately jumped into his car and then drove off, leaving the man behind.

“Hey! What about me!? ...I’m gonna be late for my spa treatment!”





The gang had been on the road in their tour bus since early this morning. They all ended up leaving their motel as soon as they woke up in hopes that any potential pursuers won’t catch up on them. Even after having their few hours of sleep, they all still felt uneasily with the situation due to the events from last night. It also didn’t help that Sunset reported to her friends what she saw on the news before going to bed.

No one was happy… to say the least.

“I’m ru-hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo-iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiined!” Rarity sobbed ever since they got onto their bus. “With me being marked as a criminal, no one in the fashion industry would ever hire me! Of all the worst things that could happen, this is the. Worst. Possible. Thing!”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes with a huff. “Your fashion career was the least of our worries, Rares!”

“I’m with Dash, Sugarcube!” Applejack agreed. “Now that we’re on the most wanted list, everyone is after us!”

Fluttershy had a worried frown. “Even if we make it to Manehatten, how are we going to get to Dean Cadance without being detected?”

“Not to worry, Flutter Butter!” Pinkie chirped. “We’ll just come up with a disguise and we’ll blend in without anyone notices. And luckily for me, I brought my mustache!”

Case in point, Pinkie took out a fake mustache from… somewhere, and placed it over her lips, causing everyone to look at her strangely.

“...Ah’m not even gonna ask,” Applejack commented.

Twilight cleared her throat. “I can’t believe I’m saying this… but Pinkie’s right. Before we even get there, we need to disguise ourselves and stay as low as possible before seeing Cadance. Rarity, you think you’re up to the task?”

Rarity’s eyes brightened, her sadness completely forgotten. “I thought you would never ask darling! I have so many different outfits I came up with for us!”

Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Sonic, and Sweetie Belle all groaned in dismay.

“There she goes again,” Sweetie muttered.

“Yeah, now she’ll make us wear whatever versions of outfits she'll come up with!" Rainbow complained.

“Well, at least she’s not sad anymore,” said Applejack.

“I'm just surprised how quickly she bounced back,” Sonic muttered before he shook his head and smiled. "So… what kind of bucket list do you girls have?"

Sunset blinked. "Us?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. Everyone has a bucket list! Pinkie Pie even said she has one."

"He's right!" Pinkie said in a sing-song tone.

Sunset rolled her eyes from Pinkie’s antics but smiled. "Well, even so, you're the one who's leaving earth, and neither of us planned on kicking the bucket anytime soon."

Sonic chuckled. "Don't be so sure. Your best friend is a magnet to danger!”

Sunset nearly cringed at that, which her friends noticed. Feeling like she was put on the spot, Sunset tried to play it cool. 

“Oh, we’re… besties?” Sunset inquired.

Sonic hummed at that.

Sunset cleared her throat. “Well, that’s… a bit presumptuous.”

Sonic seemed to take aback from it, offended by Sunset’s words. Sunset noticed his expression and quickly tried to correct her wording.

“I-I mean, uh… I-I like you, of course, but… y’know, we’re not… best friends.”

Sonic furrowed his brows. “But what about our letters? Isn’t that what best friends do?”

Sunset suddenly felt nervous again for being put on the spot again. Thankfully, Twilight chimed in.

“Well, anyone can write a letter to each other regardless of what kind of friend you are,” Twilight answered for her friend. 

"...she tucked me in last night," Sonic pointed out.

Sunset coughed as her cheeks were as red as a tomato. Some of her friends raised eyebrows at Sunset’s behavior, while others like Rainbow and Pinkie snickered in amusement.

Twilight also cleared her throat. “Well… in Sunset’s defense, she doesn’t know who exactly you are until we meet in person. So in a sense, we’re still… acquainting with each other.”

Sunset silently thanked her friend for stepping in as Sonic hummed in understanding.

“Hmm… I guess you have a point.” Sonic then smiled. "Okay, how about, best animal friend?"

"Sorry bub, that title belongs to me!" Spike said, puffing up his chest with pride. "I've been friends with these girls since the beginning, thank you very much."

"Okay, let's just drop this increasingly humiliating topic of conversation,” said Sonic before smirking. “Bucket lists, give them to me!"

Twilight smiled. "Very well, the only thing on my bucket list is to study everything I can and become a full-fledged scientist. Specifically, the unexplained and mysterious phenomenon in this world!"

Everyone on the bus stared at her with blank expressions.

"...basically, like the wild magic from Equestria," Twilight simplified. 

There were collective "Ahs" from everyone around the bus with looks of understanding.

"Well, it makes sense that you wanted to be a scientist, Brainiac,” Sonic said with a smile. ”You're the smartest person I know."

Twilight blushed. "W-well I doubt that,” she said modestly before clearing her throat. “Of course, I need to get accepted into a university of my choice first."

"With your record, there’s no doubt that you’ll be accepted, Darling," Rarity grinned. "I, for one, am planning to start a career for my own fashion line, but I need to apply to a business college which is far from Canterlot City."

“Well, I got tons of things I wanted to do on my bucket list!” Pinkie giggled. “But the number one thing I wanted to accomplish is opening up my very own bakery!”

“Nice! If you ever open up one, I’ll be the first in line to try out your sweets!” Sonic complimented.

Pinkie winked. “Then that’ll be our Pinkie Promise.”

Sonic then turned to Fluttershy. “What about you, Animal Girl?”

Fluttershy shyly played with her hair. “Well, um… like I said, I wanted to be a fully licensed Veterinarian and to help all animals.” She then smiled. “And I… would love to open up my own Animal Sanctuary for injured or abandoned animals. Feathered, furry, scaly, or slimy, every critter is welcomed. My sanctuary can be the one place in the Canterlot City they call home, till they are ready to take on the world.”

Sonic smiled warmly. “That sounds wonderful. I would love to visit that sometime!”

“We all would love to visit that!” Twilight added, earning many nods from others with heartwarming smiles.

Rainbow Dash quickly wiped a tear from her eyes. "Okay, sappiness aside, I would like to become a soccer star and become the best of the best!"

Sonic smiled at Rainbow Dash with a knowing look. He remembered the conversation they had from last night and knew that Rainbow only revealed part of her dream to everyone. Despite this, he will honor Rainbow’s request to keep that a secret.

"Welp, no surprise there!" Applejack remarked playfully, causing Rainbow Dash to stick her tongue out at her in response. “As fer me, I’m not plannin’ on going to some fancy-schmancy college, Ah’m just going to take over the Apple Family business and run mah apple farm.

“And Ah’ll help too!” Apple Bloom added. “And to help others find their true talents!”

“Me too!” Sweetie chirped. “And to become a singer.”

“I also want to help others and to become a professional scooter!” said Scootaloo.

“Far out!” said Sonic, giving Scootaloo a high five. He then turned to Sunset. "So what about you, Equestrian Girl?"

Sunset blinked. "Me?"

Sonic nodded. "Yeah Equestrian Girl, everyone said their bucket list–”

“Well technically, we all said one thing from our list,” Sunset pointed out.

“Still, we’re curious to hear yours,” Sonic insisted.

Sunset rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh well, um… I… don’t have a list per se...”

Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Oh, c’mon Sunset! You usually have plans for everything, even before we became friends. You must have something you want to do with your life!”

“What Rainbow Dash was trying to say was that it’s okay if you don’t have any huge plans,” Rarity cut in, glaring at the prism-haired girl in question. “Anything you want to do in mind is fine, whatever small it may be.”

Sunset glanced away, feeling a bit hesitant to answer. "Well… maybe just one thing."

"Ha! I knew it!” Rainbow said smugly. “So just tell us already! 

“Yeah! Tell us, tell us, tell us!" Pinkie chanted excitedly.

Sunset still felt very hesitant to answer. 

Aside from Princess Twilight and her other best friend, she never spoke to any of her friends about her potential plan for her future after graduation and wasn't sure how her friends would react. Quite frankly, she was still thinking about it herself. But with her friends, including Sonic, giving her encouraging smiles, Sunset realized she should no longer keep them in the dark. 

Sunset only hopes that they'll take the news well.

With a sigh, Sunset finally began to speak. "Okay so… even after living in this world for some time… I wanted to find some sort of purpose in life, y'know?" 

Everyone nodded in understanding. So far so good.

"So, I want a chance to prove myself that I can be useful under real pressure. So, after I graduate I…"

Sunset paused as her nerves were starting to get to her. As her friends were patiently waiting for her to finish, she knew that there was no turning back now. No turning back now. She softly breathed through her nose to calm herself.

"So I'm thinking… about going back to Equestria… and working with Princess Twilight. And, I don't know… see if I have what it takes."

Sunset had finally done it. She finally told her friends her upcoming plans after graduation. While she was still a bit nervous about how they would respond, but weirdly, she also felt good to finally let it out and be open to her friends. However, that feeling was short-lived as Sunset saw most of her friends, especially Sonic's reaction, which was an open-mouth shock.

Sunset blinked in confusion. "W-what? Why is everyone looking at me like that?"

Before anyone could respond, it was Sonic who spoke up, pretty much summed up what everyone was thinking.

"You're leaving Canterlot City?"

Sunset inwardly sighed with dread. Of course. I knew that's how they would react.

"B-but but why?" Sonic pressed, not happy with the news. "Why would you want to leave Canterlot City, let alone this world?"

"Now hold on, Sugarhog," Applejack interjected. "Ah'm sure wat Sunset meant to say was she is going back to her world just to work for the Princess."

"Yeah," Pinkie added with a chirp. "It's not like she is going away forever, right Sunny?" 

Pinkie turned to her friend in question, expecting to agree with her assumption. She then frowned however when she noticed Sunset was refusing to meet her eyes with a somber expression.

"S-sunny?" Pinkie asked again, now feeling a bit nervous.

Still refusing to look Pinkie or any of her friends in the eye, Sunset let out a heavy sigh. "Actually… I'm thinking about going back to my homeworld and staying there… permanently."

Most of her friends stared at Sunset in shocked silence. Neither of them expected Sunset to decide to go back to Equestria and live there for good, despite how happy she was in the last few years with them. The fact that Sunset was not meeting any of their eyes, they all felt that something was wrong.

"You… are coming back to visit, right?" Fluttershy asked with a frown.

"...I don't think it's possible," Sunset said quietly.

Everyone was taken aback by Sunset’s statement.

"W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy inquired nervously.

Sunset refused to answer, worrying the gang even further.

"Sunset… was there something you're not telling us?" Rarity pressed.

Sunset simply glanced back with a nervous expression.





Meanwhile from within Robotnik’s mobile lab, Dr. Robotnik casually made his way towards the heart of his lab with a wicked grin. They have finally caught up with those pesky kids and that creature and their capture were almost within his grasp. They have to keep his lab several yards behind to keep themselves hidden as a necessary precaution for the element of surprise. With Agent Shadow already being dealt with, no one will stand in his way.

As soon as he reached the center of the room, Robotnik raised his arms and activated the room into a red hue and several holographic images of his machines and tech in the process. The camera in front of him turned on next, showing live footage of the back of the Rainboom’s bus on the road.

“There you all are!” he whispered.

Rubbing his hands with glee, Robotnik surveyed all of his holograms, planning out which would be the right one for the job.

“Now, which of my machines do I use?” he mused as he hovered each image with his pointer finger. “Eeny, meeny, miny…” 

When Robotnik hovered at one particular hologram, he let out an evil smirk as he made his decision. 

“Mayhem!”

With his machine selected, Robotnik turned back towards the camera and his keyboard and then pushed some more buttons to execute his plan. He then stood back and watched the camera feeds, eagerly awaiting as his plan unfolds.





As her friends were quietly staring at her and expecting an answer, Sunset felt very conflicted. She did not want to have this conversation with her friends, especially while they’re still on the run. When her eyes set on Twilight, however, Twilight nodded with a gentle expression, encouraging her to speak. Sunset remembered the conversation she had with Twilight back at the camp when she spilled her woes to her. Her friend encouraged her to just tell them how she feels and they’ll understand, but telling the rest of her friends was a lot more difficult than just Twilight. Not to mention, this was linked to Sonic as well.

She probably should've kept her mouth shut about leaving for Equestria.

Sunset sighed heavily. "Since we're all going separate ways once school is over, we won't be around CHS and Canterlot City much anymore. When that happens…  there will be no one around to keep Equestrian Magic in check or to step in when things get haywire. So, therefore… to prevent any Equestrian Magic from coming through… I'm thinking of having Princess Twilight to close the portal… for good."

Many were distraught with this news. Not only that their friend is considering leaving their world for good, but also going to permanently seal herself off from them.

"B-but but, you can't!" Pinkie protested. "We won't be able to see each other anymore!"

Sunset turned away again. “Well, we won’t be able to see each other much anyway!” 

Everyone stared at her in confusion. 

“What do you mean Sunset?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, what makes you think that we won’t see each other anymore?” Rarity pressed.

Sunset huffed before facing her friends again. “Oh c’mon guys, we all know that we are all going to be busy with our lives, so it will be impossible to get together like we used to.”

"That's ridiculous Sunset!” Rainbow exclaimed. “I mean yeah, we will be busy and that’s the way in life. But just because we won’t see each other much, doesn’t mean we won’t be together again at all!” 

“Fer once, Rainbow Dash is right!” said Applejack, ignoring Rainbow’s indignant look. “And besides, we’re more than friends, we’re family! No matter how far apart we are, families always find each other."

“...are we?” Sunset whispered.

Applejack blinked and leaned towards her friend for better hearing. “What was that Sunset?”

“I said, are we?” Sunset repeated.

Everyone was surprised by Sunset’s question.

“Whatever do you mean darling?” Rarity asked with a confused expression. “Of course we are family!”

"Yeah, but to an extent, right?” Sunset responded with a scoff. “I mean, it’s not like we're a real family or if I’m ever a part of it!”

“What are you talking about Sunset!” Rainbow Dash demanded, frustrated with Sunset’s stubbornness. “Since when we weren’t part of a family!”

“What about the time that you all–”

Sunset stopped herself from shouting when she realized she almost said too much. She then shook her head.

“No, that doesn’t matter! The point is… my mind is made up.”

Before anyone could argue, it was Sonic who once again cut into the conversation.

“You’re not making any sense!” Sonic shouted. “You come from a great town, great people, and by my count, zero bad guys trying to kill you!”

Pinkie appeared to be in deep thought. “Well… technically, we survived the fall from the trap door and nearly enslaved by three sirens, almost getting crushed by Gloriosa’s vines, nearly destroyed while trapped in the mirror by Juniper– oh, and we're nearly sent to 'squish city' by Vignette’s phone–”

“Not now, Pinkie!” Sonic interrupted, not using her nickname for once as he glared at Sunset. "I don't understand? Why!? Why are you willing to throw all the good things in your life away? Besides… what could be more important than protecting the people you care about?”

Sunset simply stared at Sonic.





Unbeknownst to the Rainbooms, Robotnik’s tank slowly approached their bus from behind. Its bright red eye locked on to the target, specifically the console from the inside of the bus. Once the tank was close enough, it opened up the compartment from the top of the tank, revealing a large, sharp, pointy harpoon. The harpoon slowly pointed towards its target, getting ready to fire.





"Listen Sonic… it's complicated, alright? I don't think you or nearly anyone here understands what I'm feeling right now!"

"How is this complicated!?" Sonic argued. "You're the one who was willing to abandon your friends and don't believe that they're family to you?"

“Now that's not fair, Sonic!" Sunset exclaimed. "I'm not even trying to abandon them. Don't put words in my mouth!"

"Then what do you call it, huh?" Sonic retorted. "Ditched? Cast off? Or simply, running away!"

"Oh, that's rich coming from you!" Sunset snapped.

While the two exchanged heated words between each other, the girls and Spike were sitting in the background watching, feeling uncomfortable during the affair.

"Girls… I have a bad feeling about this," Sweetie Belle whispered to her friends.

Apple Bloom nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too. Dis is worse than the time we argued who Daring Do end up with before watchin' Daring Do and the Black Knight movie."

"Ugh! Don't remind me," Scootaloo muttered as she shuddered both from her not pleasant memory and the current events in front of her right now.

Twilight, who watched silently up to this point, decided to speak up.

"Please, stop fighting you two! Perhaps if we all calm down we can–"

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Sonic shouted, angered by Sunset’s remark.

"For someone who's preaching at me for running away from my problems, you certainly are good at running away from your problems!"

"I didn't have a choice!" Sonic screamed. "You made many choices in your life which include your mistakes! And now you are choosing to run away from this!" 

Sonic’s eyes narrowed. "If you asked me, I think you’re running away because you're scared of something! Was that it? What are you scared of, Sunset?"

"I'm not scared of anything!" Sunset denied angrily.

"You're lying and we both know it!" Sonic shot back.

"You don't know anything!" Sunset shouted. "I'm not abandoning my friends like how you were abandoned by Longclaw!”

Just as Sunset said those words, she immediately covered her mouth, horrified for letting those words out. 

There was dead silence throughout the whole bus. The Rainbooms, Spike, and the CMCs who witnessed the events watched with a stunned expression, feeling confused and concerned with the last thing Sunset had said. Rainbow Dash in particular nearly gasped in shock and dread that Sunset unintentionally mentioned Sonic's surrogate owl mom and guardian. As for Sonic himself, he had the most shocked expression on his face with his eyes as wide as dinner plates. No one on the bus spoke for what felt like an eternity until Sonic finally spoke.

“How… how did you know her name?” Sonic uttered almost in a whisper.

Sunset felt sweat dripping down the back of her neck as Sonic gave her his hard look. She inwardly scolded herself for letting her anger get the better of her and end up stuck in an uncomfortable position. Feeling unnerved by Sonic's stare, Sunset looked away from him.

“Uh… I think you mentioned her at one point,” she fibbed, hoping Sonic would take the bait.

Unfortunately, Sonic doesn't buy her fib as he narrowed his eyes into slits.

“I did… but I never once mentioned her name,” he said in an eerie calm voice, which sent chills down everyone's spines. “I’ll ask you again… how did you know her name?”

Sunset nearly gulped as she faced the hedgehog again. There was no way she could fool him or get out of this mess she was in. She even glanced towards Rainbow’s direction who had a knowing look on her face. With him demanding answers and her friends watching, Sunset realized that she has no choice but, to tell the truth… even if it hurts him.

Sunset sighed as she rubbed her arm. “Well… do you remember what happened at the cliff after your race with Rainbow Dash?”

Sonic nodded, his expression remained serious. “Yeah?”

Sunset felt her stomach was filled with dread due to her nerves, but she forced herself to push on.

“When I… grabbed your arm, I… accidentally… saw your memories… of you and her.”

Everyone, except for Rainbow Dash and Sonic, gasped loudly in shock from the revelation. Sonic's pupils from his eyes shrank the moment Sunset dropped this bombshell on him.

“You saw my memories!?” he exploded.

“I-It was an accident!” Sunset stammered nervously. "I-I didn't mean for this to–"

"How much of my memories did you see?" Sonic demanded.

Sunset suddenly felt frightened by Sonic’s anger.

"A-almost all of your memories," she answered. "From the day you were born to living on Earth."

“And you kept all of that from me this whole time and didn’t tell me!”

"I… yes, I did," Sunset confessed, feeling ashamed. "I was planning to tell you."

“And why didn’t you?" Sonic pressed. "When exactly are you going to tell me?"

"I was waiting for the right time!"

"Right time!? For what!? When I leave Earth, or are you never going to tell me at all?"

"I was trying to focus on getting us to Manehatten safely!"

"More important than telling your friend?" Sonic’s eyes narrowed. "Now that I think of it, even after we met, you never once referred to me as your friend."

"We just met!" Sunset countered. "You don't expect us to become friends right off the bat!"

"What about our letters!?" Sonic argued. "We talked to each other all the time, talking about our lives, other people, our daily activities. You even referred to me as your best friend! Was that a lie too!?"

Sunset felt a sharp pain in her chest from his words. "N-no! That wasn't a lie! But what is to say that you haven't lied to me! I don't recall you ever mentioned that you're a blue, furry hedgehog in any of our letters!"

"Would you believe me if I did?" Sonic challenged. "And even if I did, would you hunt me down like a wild animal like all the others?" His eyes suddenly changed from anger to hurt. "Do you not trust me, even after we've been through?"

"I do!" Sunset answered. 

Sonic stared back at Sunset, clearly not believing her words.

"Really!" she insisted, her anger subsided a little. "Though admittedly… not at first. I was doubting if our friendship was even real! And I didn't know if you were sincere or were you trying to go after my friends. But after I saw your memories–"

She winced as Sonic glared at her again for mentioning that debacle, but Sunset pushed through.

"I realized I was wrong about you, and I truly wanted to help you, especially after seeing how alone you are for living in this world for so many years. I wanted to get to your rings so you can find another world so that no one will hunt you down again!"

"...was that the only reason?" Sonic asked quietly. "You wanted to help me because we're friends… or was it because you took pity on me and nothing more?”

There was tense silence throughout the bus. Sunset just stood there with her mouth partly hanging open, too stunned to speak. Everyone from within the bus has a mixture of emotions that includes shock, anger, disappointment, sadness, and worst of all, pity.

Sonic simply looked down, shadow blocking out his eyes. “I see… so not only you were going to ditch your friends and look into my memories without my knowledge… but I'm also nothing more than a charity case to you. I thought you were an awesome person and we have something in common… but I guess I was wrong.”

Sunset felt like she was being punched to the feels. She had hurt Sonic all because of her words and keeping that secret from him. What struck her the most was as he said the last few words to her, for a split second she saw a split image of herself days after that fateful night at the Fall Formal. 

She then glanced at her friends and winced from their expressions. They too were upset due to her actions and the things she said to them earlier. It was then that she realized that she messed up big time as guilt was filling her heart. She let this happen because of all her doubts and fears. She wanted to fix all of this and owed her friends a proper explanation as she did with Twilight, but that all can wait. 

There was someone else she had to apologize and properly explain to first.

Sunset sighed as she faced the blue hedgehog. "Listen, Sonic… I–"

Suddenly, something crashed through the back of the bus, destroyed the back door in the process, and then hit the main console of the bus, causing everyone to scream out in shock and fright.

"What the hay!?" Sunset screeched.

“Girls, look!” Spike shouted. 

Everyone turned towards the back of the bus, and their eyes widened in horror when they saw a huge tank behind them. They also noticed that the thing that was shot into their main deck was attached to that thing thanks to that rope.

“W-what is that thing!?” Rarity shouted.

After studying the tank, Twilight’s eyes widened in horror as she already figured out who was behind all of this. “It’s ...Robotnik!” 





"Yeah!" Robotnik cheered loudly in victory, pleased to see that he hit his target. "Now, reel those kids in!"









The gang suddenly felt the whole bus begin to shake and felt a bit of resistance. Alarmed, Applejack turned her focus back to the steering wheel, but couldn’t gain control.

“W-wat’s happening?” Applejack exclaimed, trying to gain control of the bus.

Twilight quickly noticed the pulley that was on top of the vehicle was rotating in the opposite direction, tightening the rope as it rotates.

“It’s trying to pull us back!” Twilight exclaimed. “AJ, step on it!”

“I’m tryin’!” Applejack shouted as she slammed her foot on the pedal.

While that was going on, Sonic berated Sunset, still felt hurt and angry for what she did.

"You know what? I was wrong about you!" Sonic scolded. "You're not the Equestrian Girl at all! You're more like… the Jerk Girl!"

"I thought I was the Jerk Girl!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"No, we're cool now!" Sonic assured Rainbow before he glared back at Sunset. "That name however is now passed over to her!"

"Have you noticed that there's a harpoon stuck to our deck!" Sunset snapped at Sonic in frustration.

"Please stop arguing with you two!" Fluttershy pleaded.

"She's right! We have much more important things to worry about!" Rarity added.

Applejack, for her part, did her best to shake off that monster tank from behind them by swerving back and forth. Unfortunately, due to the harpoon attached to the deck, it was impossible to escape. She can’t just simply remove it because their magic still hasn't recovered since last night. And even if she did, it was too dangerous to touch it and risk getting electrocuted due to the sparks coming from the deck.

As Applejack was swerving, she accidentally slammed into one of the railings on the side of the road. This caused the whole bus to shake, nearly making everyone disorientated. However, this also caused Sonic to almost fly out of the side window of the bus, but he grabbed the side mirror at the last second and swung over to the front of the bus' windshield, startling everyone in the process.

"Sonic!" Sunset exclaimed, worried for the blue hedgehog’s wellbeing.

Sonic seemed unfazed for suddenly being outside of the bus as he continued to berate Sunset.

"I was forced from my home!" He yelled angrily, not noticing that his eyes were glowing blue and sparks coming out of his body. "Your home is perfect and you're leaving it! Why would you do that!?"

Everyone was shocked at the display as more sparks were flying out of Sonic.

"Sonic, your body!" Sunset exclaimed as she pointed at him.

Sonic looked down at himself and then began to panic when he noticed the sparks were coming out of him. "Oh no no no! Not again!"

While they learned that Sonic was the cause of the baseball incident, they never once considered how it all happened until now. They felt more alarmed as more sparks came out of his body.

"Sonic, stop!" Spike cried. "You're gonna blow us all up!"

"I can't!" Sonic shouted as he frantically tried to shake off the sparks. "I don't know how!"

While everyone was freaking out, Applejack quickly glanced back and forth between the hedgehog in front of her and their pursuer behind them. Almost instantly, the apple farmer came up with a plan.

"Alright, hang on y’all!" Applejack announced.

Rainbow Dash turned to her. "Why?" 

"Cuz Ah'm gonna do this!"

Applejack then slammed on the gas, going full throttle. Applejack's quick thinking caused the harpoon to finally break away from the dock and pull back towards the tank. Unfortunately, this also caused a huge jerk motion on the bus and tossed Sonic into the air towards the tank. Caught off guard and to prevent himself from harm, Sonic curled into a ball and landed on the road. However, with the combination of his nonstop spinning and an extra boost from his power, Sonic sped across the road in his ball state until he collided against the tank with a loud 'boom'. 

During the explosion, the front left wheel was destroyed and caused the whole tank to tip over towards its right side. It eventually landed roughly on the side and slid across the road in several feet until it came to a stop. While the gang was relieved that they stopped their pursuer, they were more worried about the hedgehog’s wellbeing. As Applejack quickly turned the bus around and sped towards the wreckage. As soon as the bus came to a stop, Sunset quickly brought her head out of the window.

"Sonic!" Sunset screamed with a worried expression.

The rest of the group poked their heads out the windows as well, staring out into the once monster tank in flames. At first, they were all worried, assuming that the blue hedgehog had perished from the explosion. Their worries were short-lived when they heard a loud groan which came from a small blue ball near the turned-over tank. The blue ball uncurled itself, revealing Sonic, and he laid on a road. He moaned again as he slowly stood back up while pressing his hand on his head.

"Uhhhhhhh… guess I had a bonus life," Sonic mumbled.

Sonic immediately snapped out of his dizziness when he noticed the wreckage of the tank. With a victorious grin, Sonic zoomed over to the wreckage and then performed a little dance that he once picked up from one of the students back at CHS.

"Oh ho ho yeah, baby! Sonic: one. Big Tank: zero!"

Everyone was relieved that Sonic came out in one piece as he continued to dance. Rainbow Dash however cringed at the sight of his dancing.

"Seriously!? That dance?" She moaned.

Sonic noticed everyone stared at him and he smiled at them. "I'm sorry, did we get that on camera?"

"Sure did!" Pinkie chirped as she took out her scrapbook from her hair. "I already placed a photo of you in our scrapbook!" 

Pinkie then opened up her book, revealing many photos of their trip, including a photo of Sonic dancing near the destroyed robot just seconds ago. "I call it: 'Sonic's First Spin Dash'!"

Everyone, except for Sonic, gave Pinkie bewildered looks. After a moment of silence, it was Applejack who spoke up for the gang.

"H-how'd you find the time to do dat?" Applejack asked slowly.

Pinkie puts away her scrapbook back into her hair while giving Applejack her serious expression. "Applejack, when you're out on adventures like this, you make the time!"

Applejack simply stared at her in confusion.

Twilight shook her head before she turned back to Sonic. "How are you not dead?"

"I have no idea?" Sonic responded with a grin. "Do you all see me take that thing down?"

"We did and it was awesome!" Scootaloo whooped.

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yeah, you took dat thang down like it was nothing!"

"The way you smashed that tank like it came out from one of a Michael Neigh movies!" Sweetie Belle added.

"I know, right?" Sonic said excitedly as he continued to sway his body. "And did you all see me dancing?"

"Yes, we all saw you dancing!" Sunset responded a bit hastily. "Now c'mon back!

"Just a second!" said Sonic as he faced the fallen tank with a mocking grin. "Ha! Is that all you got?"





Robotnik smirked. "No, but thank you for asking."

He then swiped his digital blueprint of the original tank away from his screen, switching to a different blueprint of his mini-tank in its place.





Suddenly, the red light from the tank's "eye" faded and the inner wheels shrunk into the bigger wheels as the machine roared into life, making everyone nervous.

“Uh oh!” Sonic exclaimed.

Fearing where this will lead, Sunset shouted towards the hedgehog.

“Sonic! Get back on the bus, quick!”

“You girls, go! I’ll catch up!” Sonic shouted after them, eyeing the tank warily.

Without the need to be told twice, the girls ducked their heads back into the bus as Applejack immediately took off away from the tank. Once he was sure that the girls were at a safe distance, Sonic rushed towards the bus and then jumped back inside through the doorless back entrance.

At the same time, the "tank" finished its transformation and a much smaller tank with wheels suddenly popped out from the bottom of the bigger tank and chased after the bus. This caught the attention of both Sonic and Fluttershy at the back of the bus, which made the two of them nervous from the site.

"I think that tank just had a baby!" Sonic commented.

"Yeah… but not the cute kind!" Fluttershy shrieked in fear.

As the mini-tank was catching up to their bus, it opened up its compartment from the top, revealing some kind of launcher with a disk. Then it tried to lock on towards the back of their bus, preparing to fire its weapon. While this was happening, it was Rarity who noticed its behavior.

“What’s it doing?” she questioned with a cautious expression.

Twilight turned around towards their pursuers. When she noticed the launcher from the top of a mini-tank, Twilight’s eyes widened in realization.

“Applejack, look out!”

Applejack glanced behind her just in time to see the tank launch a large red disc and then slid across the road towards them. Acting fast, Applejack quickly turns her steering wheel and the whole bus dodges the disc at a split second. The disc however kept on going and was heading towards a purple and green van ahead of them.





From within the van, it was occupied by three teenaged girls. One girl had huge puffy orange-haired with a serious expression, the second girl had long, violent pigtails with green streaks and a permanent scowl on her face, and the last girl had a long light blue ponytail with two dark blue streaks and a goofy look. The first girl was in charge of taking the wheel at the front of the van, while the other two girls were chilling at the back of the van on their cots. Unfortunately, the two girls at the back were busy arguing while tugging a single tablet towards each other in an unfriendly game of tug-of-war, driving the puffy orange-haired girl crazy.

"C'mon Sonata, hand it over!" The pig-tailed girl demanded with a glare as she tried to yank the tablet away from the other girl.

"Nuh-uh!" The pony-tailed girl denied stubbornly, pulling the tablet back with a glare of her own. "I haven't even watched an episode of the Taco Chronicles yet!"

"You've been watching that show all day yesterday!" The pig-tail girl argued. "So it's my turn to use it!"

The pony-tailed girl narrowed her eyes. "No, it’s my turn!"

"No, me!

"Me!" 

"Me!

"Me!"

Having enough of their bickering, the puffy orange-haired girl let out an angry growl and glanced back at the two girls behind her. 

"Both of you shut your pie holes or I'll take that thing and smack you both with it!" she threatened, causing the other two to clammed up in fear.

Unbeknownst to them, the red disc, which was launched by a tank, was now under their van and then attach to the bottom of their vehicle. As soon as the disc is attached to the bottom of their van, it then released a huge electric shock, frying the van’s systems in the process. The van suddenly stopped functioning and then starts to spin around the road out of control. The three teenage girls screamed as the van continued to spin, despite the puffy orange-haired girl’s attempt to keep it in control. Finally, the van stopped spinning as it comes to a complete stop in the middle of the road.

The puffy orange-haired girl felt herself shaking and tried to catch her breath, recovering from her adrenaline, while the two other girls were sprawled on their cots, feeling dizzy after being spun around in their vehicle many times. As they were recovering, the puffy orange-haired girl noticed a familiar bus sped past them, followed by some kind of mini-tank. 

"What… the…" she muttered.

The puffy orange-haired girl narrowed her eyes as she watched them drive away. There was something vaguely familiar about that bus to the puffy orange-haired girl, but she couldn’t put a finger on it due to her mind still recovering from the ordeal. She was interrupted from her thoughts as the pony-tailed girl slowly lifted the tablet in the air while still laying on the cot.

"Yay… I won… woo-hoooo," the pony-tailed girl cheered weakly before she fainted.

The pig-tailed girl let out a weak moan. "Ugh… you're the worst, Sonata!"

The puffy orange-haired girl simply laid her head on her steering wheel and sighed.





The gang winced as they watched someone's van getting hit by that disc that was meant for them and then spun out of control. They were slightly relieved that the van stopped at a safe spot and appeared to be unharmed, however they are still in danger as they were chased by that mini-tank.

“Well, that's not good!” Scootaloo uttered.

"Ya think!?" Spike retorted.

“Oh, I hope that driver is okay!” said Fluttershy with a worried expression.

“They’ll be fine!” Rainbow Dash assured quickly. “We just need to worry about ourselves!”

Twilight tried to activate her magic with her geode, but unfortunately, her magic was still drained. “Ugh! If only we recovered our magic after last night!”

The Equestria Girls cast a glare towards Rainbow’s direction, who threw her hands up in annoyance.

"Ugh! How many times do I have to say 'my bad'!?"

Seeing that everyone was in distress, Sonic decided to do something about that mini-tank and protect them as much as he could. He quickly ran over towards the back of the bus.

“Hey, where are you going Sonic?” Sunset asked.

“Just stay here and keep driving the bus!" Sonic instructed while keeping his back towards her. "I’ll handle this, and if I don’t make it… just ditch me. You seem good at that!”

Sunset felt stung from Sonic's cold words, no doubt that he was still upset at her. Before she could utter a word, Sonic jumped out of the bus.

Just as Sonic jumped on the road, the mini-tank launched some more discs towards their bus. Not wasting any time, Sonic ran up towards one of those discs and hopped on one with his left foot and the second with his right foot. 

With his speed and momentum, he was able to change the direction of those discs that were underneath his feet towards the mini-tank. As he continued to slide across the road, Sonic picked up some more discs along the way and tossed them to each disc to destroy one another to prevent them from reaching the bus. He eventually reached the mini-tank and he jumped off of the discs he was on, destroying them in the process, and then climbed to the top of the tank where the little red circle was.





Robotnik felt a bit frustrated as none of his shots from his machine hit the bus or that blue thing yet. He was also a bit bewildered as he watched the same blue thing riding on his ammo and heading towards him. He was confused for a moment when that blue thing disappeared, only to be taken back when his face suddenly appeared in front of him with a cocky smirk.

"Hey everyone, and welcome back to my live stream! Today, we’re destroy robots! Step one…"





While making his own sound effect, Sonic slapped the disc over the mini-tank's eye and ran away before the whole vehicle erupted into a field of electricity. The mini-tank was then moving out of control until it drove abruptly off of the road and then flipped over on its back from the ditch and exploded into flames. The CMCs cheered as soon as Sonic returned to the bus.

"Alright! You did it Sonic!" Said Scootaloo.

Their celebration was short-lived when an even smaller robot with one of the tank’s wheels suddenly emerged from the flames and then chased after them again.

"You did not do it," Scootaloo said meekly.

"Who the heck is this guy!? Apple Bloom exclaimed.





Robotnik grinned as he witnessed his robot chase after them in its newly transformed state, which was one of his many backup ideas in case of situations like this.

"Ever wonder where your tax dollars are going?" he mused.





Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the persistent robot, who was quickly gaining up up them.

“Okay, now it’s our turn!” Rainbow said determinedly, before turning to Applejack. “AJ, I need your help!”

AJ briefly glanced at Rainbow Dash with a bewildered expression. “Me!? But Ah’m driving!”

“Then let someone else take the wheel!” Rainbow shot back.

“But neither of us don’t have licenses yet!” Rarity cried.

“Not to mention, we left ours behind back at Twilight house,” Sunset added, which Fluttershy nodded in confirmation.

“Ooh ooh, can we drive?” Scootaloo asked eagerly.

“Absolutely not!” Applejack exclaimed with a glare. “Yer way too young!”

Scootaloo crossed her arms with a pout.

“What about me!?” Sonic offered.

Applejack blinked at the blue hedgehog then glanced at her friends.

“Ah don’t know. Is he even legal to drive?” Applejack asked with an unsure expression.

“Was there a law that a hedgehog can’t drive?” Pinkie offered.

“...good point.”

Applejack quickly pressed some buttons before she stood up from her seat, letting the blue hedgehog take over. “Here, just keep us goin’ straight! Ah put on cruise control!”

“Awesome!” Sonic said excitedly as he took the wheel. “I feel like that guy from his car race movies!” Sonic then speaks in a different voice, trying to make an impression of a character from the movie. "It's all about family, Cowgirl!"

Scootaloo huffed. “So it’s okay for a hedgehog who is practically a kid to drive and not actual kids to drive. Makes perfect sense!”

The older teens ignored Scootaloo’s remark as both Rainbow Dash and Applejack made their way to the back of the bus. Rainbow Dash quickly dove into one of their cases and took out Applejack’s bass as a weapon, which the latter quickly objected to.

“Oh, no you don’t!” Applejack protested as she yanked her bass away from Rainbow. “Ya ain’t usin’ mah bass as a weapon!”

“But your bass is perfect against them!” Rainbow Dash insisted. 

“How about usin’ yer own guitar!”

“But yours is much harder than my guitar!”

“If I could make a suggestion,” Pinkie interrupted as she took out a few random items from her hair. One was a baseball bat and the other was a hammer. “Use these!”

As much as they wanted to know how Pinkie managed to store those items in her hair so easily, they decided to put that question aside as they each took Pinkie’s items, Rainbow Dash took the bat, while Applejack took her hammer. While that was happening, the robot shoots out spikes from both sides of the tank’s wheel and then tries to go towards one of the bus’ wheels to puncture it.

Apple Bloom immediately noticed what the robot was trying to do. “Hey! It’s tryin’ to puncture our tires!”

“On it!” Pinkie Pie hollered as she pulled down one of the bus’ windows and took out one of many cupcakes from her hair. “I may have no magic, but I still have plenty of cupcakes to dish out!”

Pinkie immediately fired multiple cupcakes towards the robot like a turret, causing the robot to pull back away. This allowed both Rainbow Dash and Applejack to swing their weapons at it, but they kept missing it due to lack of reach. 

“Hey, quick suggestion girls,” Sonic spoke up as he continued to drive the bus. “Roll up into a ball and smash it with your body!”

“I don’t think either of us can do that Sugarhog,” Applejack responded.

Suddenly, the bus swerved back and forth abruptly, nearly causing both Rainbow and Applejack to fly out of the bus. Luckily, Rarity and Fluttershy were there to grab on to them just in time before they had fallen out.

“Whoa! Where’d you learn to drive!?” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“Here, in this bus!” Sonic responded as he was currently reading a driver’s manual of the bus. “It’s happening as we speak!”

“Sonic! Don’t read and drive!” Twilight shrieked anxiously as she yanked the book from him.

“Hey, I’m still reading that!” Sonic retorted.

“Forget that,” Sunset cuts in. “All you need to know is keep your hands on the wheel, foot on the pedal and keep your eyes on the road!”

“Okay okay, yeesh!” said Sonic as she focused on the road as instructed.

While that was going on, the robot had a difficult time getting closer to one side of the back wheel of the bus due to many barrages of cupcakes from the pink curly-haired girl. So it decided to change tactics by heading towards the other side of the bus so it could puncture a different tire. Unfortunately for the robot, a random apple suddenly came out of nowhere and hit the robot on its head. It was then followed up by a water bottle, a wretch, a tennis ball, a parakeet plushie, and many other various items which end up hitting the robot every time.

“Keep throwing!” Apple Bloom cried as she and her two friends kept throwing whatever items they could get their hands on so they could throw at their robot pursuer.

“No, not my make-up!” Rarity screeched, aghast as she watched her sister throw out many of her make-ups towards the robot.

“Rarity, our lives are more important than your stupid make-ups,” Sweetie Belle chastised as she was throwing the make-ups at the robot. “Besides, you have like, fifty cases of them!”

“But those are special edition!” Rarity whined.

Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes at her sister’s comment.

The CMCs interference did the trick as the robot pulled back away from the flying projectiles towards the back of the bus. This gave another opportunity for Rainbow Dash and Applejack to swing their weapons at the robot again, but once again they were unable to land a hit.

“It’s no good!” Applejack grunted in frustration. “We can’t hit it at this rate!”

“Hey Sonic, we can’t reach it!” Rainbow called towards the front of the bus “Bring it in closer!”

“What?” Sonic shouted, couldn’t make out what Rainbow was saying.

“Bring it in closer!” Rainbow screamed. “You need to hit the brakes!”

“Oh,” Sonic shouted in understanding. “Like this?”

Sonic then proceeds to press one of the petals underneath his feet. Unfortunately, instead of slowing down, he ends up accelerating the bus, nearly causing everyone to fall off balance. This almost caused Rainbow and Applejack to fly out of the bus, but once again, they were grabbed by not only Rarity and Fluttershy, but also Sunset, Twilight, and Spike too.

“No, the other brakes!” Rainbow berated at the hedgehog.

This caused the hedgehog to quickly slam the other petal, causing everyone to nearly fall balance towards the opposite direction. This sudden action caused the robot to slam against the back of the bus, making it disoriented due to the force. Seeing her chance and not wanting to waste any time, Rainbow quickly swung her arm with her bat back and whacked the robot right up at the red dot of its head as hard as she could. This caused the robot to slow down and stagger away from the bus until it eventually fell on its side and smashed on the road into pieces.

“Haha, yes! In your face, WALL-E!” Rainbow whooped before pulling back into the bus.

“Alright, Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cheered!

“Nicely done, Dash!” Sonic praised.

Rainbow Dash simply gave him a thumbs up with a grin.





From within his mobile lab, Robotnik was seething in rage as the blueprint of his machine was now covered in a warning yellow light. After witnessing another part of his robot being destroyed yet again, Robotnik threw his hands up with an angry roar.

"Ugh! Give me a big. Fat. Break!"





From the wreckage of the robot, the red light suddenly turned on from its eye. The eye then poked out of the robot's body, revealing a tiny round robot with a tiny rotor. It then flew over towards the bus at high speed until it hovered right next to the side of the bus. Everyone was taken aback by this robot's sudden appearance. Pinkie however gushed at the sight of it.

"Aw. This one is cute! Can we keep him?" Pinkie gushed.

The tiny robot's eye suddenly glowed orange and it shot a long laser on their bus, catching everyone off guard. They watched as the robot then hovered around their bus while still shooting its laser. To their horror, they noticed that the laser burned through the bus, cutting along the top portion of their bus in the process.

"Oh c'mon! It took us forever to fix up our bus!" Rainbow Dash complained.

"Ooooh, how could something so adorable be so terrible!" Fluttershy exclaimed.

"You've got car insurance for this bus, right?" Sonic asked nervously.

"We don't know, but it certainly wasn't Progressive," Pinkie answered.

The robot continued to make its way around the bus with its laser until it came to a full circle. As soon as the laser reached its starting point, the whole top half of the bus flew off, startling everyone. As soon as the roof of the bus was dealt with, the tiny robot then hovered towards one of the girls. Finally having enough of that thing, Sonic grabbed the tiny robot and tore the thing in half.

"Buzz off!" Sonic growled.

However, in doing so, the "eye" part of the droid ended up sticking into his hand, and then it started beeping loudly, making everyone on the bus feel nervous.

"Uh… that doesn't sound good," Sonic muttered uneasily.

As part of a tiny robot, now on Sonic’s hand continued to beep loudly, Twilight’s eyes widened in horror in realization. "Oh no! Sonic, get rid of it! Quick!"

"I'm trying!" Sonic exclaimed as he was waving his hand around like a madman.

"Throw it out the–throw it anywhere!" Rainbow Dash shouted with a panic expression.

"I can't get it off!" Sonic retorted, still shaking his hand around in hopes to get rid of the bomb.

"Alright, ah'm pullin' over!" Applejack announced.

Applejack quickly drove off of the road and into the big grassy field near a rocky edge. As Applejack slowly brings the now half bus to a stop, Sonic rushed out of the bus with his super-speed and tried to get rid of the bomb off of his hand by any means, and moved around a lot as he did so. He tried waving it off as he was standing, wiped it off on the ground, waved it off as he lay on the ground, wiping the bomb off with another hand or arm, pulling it off with his other hand, and he even tried to pull it off with his teeth. No matter what method Sonic used, the bomb refused to budge, not even when he used his super-speed. Sonic eventually managed to get the bomb off of his right hand, but unbeknownst to him, the beeping bomb was moved and stuck right on his forehead.

“Did I get it?” he asked as he glanced at himself.

"It's on your forehead!" Sweetie Belle shouted as she pointed at the bomb.

In a panic, Sonic tries to shake his head but the bomb won't fall off.

Thinking quickly, Sunset took off her jacket and ran up towards Sonic.

“Hold still!” Sunset instructed as she gently hovered her jacket over Sonic and grabbed the bomb. As soon as she felt the bomb on her jacket, she quickly wrapped it into a ball, and then she tossed her jacket at a far distance.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Alright, it's going, it's going…"

Sunset turned back towards the others with a victorious smile. Unfortunately, she did not realize that the beeping bomb was now stuck on her right palm.

"Aaaaaand it's still there!" Rainbow finished nervously.

Sunset glanced at her right palm in horror. “Oh, crud!”

She tried shaking her hand around, but the bomb remained stuck.

“I’ll save ya Sunny!” Pinkie exclaimed as she quickly grabbed the bomb while wearing her oven mitts… from somewhere. “Ha! Got it!”

Pinkie then quickly took off her mitts and threw them away from her. Unfortunately in her haste, Pinkie tossed her mitts in the wrong direction and accidentally hit Fluttershy at the back of her head, and the bomb was now caught in Fluttershy’s hair in the process.

“...oopsie,” Pinkie uttered.

Fluttershy screamed in fear and tried to shake her head and wiped her hair in a wild manner.

“Get it off! Get it off! Get it off! Get it off!” Fluttershy screeched.

“I gotcha Flutters!” Rainbow exclaimed! 

Rainbow quickly took off one of her rainbowed armbands and then she quickly yanked the bomb off of Fluttershy’s hair. Once she grasped the bomb, Rainbow then quickly tossed her armband away from her. However, because she didn’t pay attention to her surroundings, she accidentally hit Rarity and the device was on her hair instead.

“Ahhh! Rainbow Dash, what are you doing!?” she screamed as she shook her head around like a madwoman.

“Whoops! Sorry, Rarity!” Rainbow said sheepishly.

“Hang on Rarity!” Twilight cried as she quickly took out one of her lab gloves from her pocket and then put it over her right hand.

Twilight then tried to pull the bomb off of Rarity’s hair, but it was stuck. As Twilight pulled the bomb a bit harder, Rarity grunted in pain as a result.

“Ow ow ow! Careful darling!” Rarity cried. “I just had my hair permed a few days back!”

Twilight kept on tugging the bomb until she finally pulled it free from Rarity’s hair. However, because she pulled it too hard, the bomb flew from Twilight’s hand, and then it landed on Applejack’s chest. Rather than feeling panicky about the situation, Applejack just stood there with a deadpan expression.

"Okay, this is gettin’ ridiculous!" Applejack commented as she tried to yank the bomb off of her to no avail.

As Applejack kept trying to tug the bomb off of her, Twilight noticed that the bomb was beeping a bit more rapidly, horrifying the young genius even further.

"It's gonna blow!" Twilight shouted.

Now fearing for her life, Applejack tried to tug the bomb with a little more force, but it still wouldn't budge. She wished she had her strength magic right now to help her out of this jam.

“Sis!” Apple Bloom cried with fear in her voice. 

Apple Bloom was about to run towards her sister but was stopped by Sonic.

"Hang on! I have an idea!" said Sonic.

Sonic quickly ran into the bus to dig through one of the cases from the back, looking for an item. Once he found a screwdriver, Sonic ran back outside and towards Applejack. With his speed, Sonic yanked the bomb off from Applejack, effectively getting it stuck on him again. He ran towards a nearby rock then attempted to pry the bomb off of his hand with a screwdriver he found from the bus.

“Get off of me!” he exclaimed as he continued to jiggle the screwdriver under the bomb.

Finally, he managed to pry the bomb off of his hand, which was stuck on the end of the screwdriver. Sonic then carefully placed a screwdriver on a rock without touching the bomb again. Once the screwdriver was secured on a rock, Sonic turned back towards the others with a huge grin.

"Ha! Nailed it!" Sonic cheered.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, the beeping noises from the bomb became much more rapid. When Twilight noticed its behavior, she let out a loud gasp.

"Sonic, look–"

Before she had the chance to warn Sonic, the bomb exploded, knocking Sonic and the rest of the gang down to the ground due to the blast. 

Once the explosion subsides, the gang slowly gets themselves back up, groaning from their minor injuries. As Sunset was halfway up, she gasped when she noticed Sonic was lying face down on the dirt, partially covered in scorch from the explosion.

"Sonic!" Sunset shouted as she ran towards the fallen hedgehog.

The gang also noticed the fallen hedgehog and quickly ran alongside Sunset with worried expressions. As soon as Sunset reached him, she turned Sonic onto his back, examining him with worry and fear.

"Oh no no no no no! Sonic!" Sunset yelled as she lightly shook him. "Sonic, wake up!"

Her friends eventually caught up to her, but she didn’t pay them any mind as she tries to wake Sonic up, but to no avail.

"Sonic!" CMCs exclaimed as they approached them with tears in their eyes.

"Is… is he…" Sweetie whimpered, couldn’t bring herself to finish her sentence.

Everyone watched in horror as Sunset desperately tried to find any signs of life from the blue hedgehog. Not wanting to give up on him, Sunset pressed her ear over Sonic’s chest and listened quietly. To her relief, she can still hear his heart beating, but only a bit faint.

"He's alive," Sunset announced, much to everyone’s relief.

"Oh, thank goodness," Rarity sighed as she placed her hand over her chest.

“I-I knew he’ll be okay,” said Spike, desperately wiping his eyes so no one would notice. “That guy is one tough hog!”

Twilight frowned in worry. "He's badly hurt. He needs medical attention, now!"

Pinkie turned to Fluttershy with a worried frown. "Can you do something, Flutters?"

“Yeah, Fluttershy, can you help him?” Apple Bloom asked desperately, as she and the other CMC gave her worried looks.

"I… I can try," Fluttershy stammered. "But I need our medical kit!" 

"On it!" Rainbow exclaimed before glancing at Sonic. "Just hang in there buddy!"

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to head towards their damaged bus, she was suddenly blocked by a mysterious tall figure, catching her and the others off guard.





The figure was a giant-sized egg-shaped robot. Its main body was white and had two black triangles on its chest and black bottom. It has long black metal arms and legs with two bulky white feet and white metal hands. What intimated everyone the most were two glowing red eyes that were on its round gray metalhead. It was also holding a large plasma pistol, which was black and had several small red lights that were inside of the pistol's muzzle.

"W-wat the hay is dat!?" Applejack exclaimed.

"S-some kind of a… egg robot?" said Twilight with a voice of fear and uncertainty.

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh. It looks more like an Eggrobo to me!" 

The Eggrobo then raised its huge plasma pistol towards the gang as the pistol began to glow into a bright red light.

"Incoming!" Applejack hollered.

Everyone scattered and dodged in different directions just as the giant Eggrobo fired its weapon into a bright red laser. The Eggrobo gazed intensely at the teens and dog who were lying on the ground for a moment before it slowly turned its sight on its real target.

Sunset froze in fear as it felt the robot's gaze at her then glanced downwards. Sunset followed its glaze and her eyes widened in realization that this thing was looking at Sonic. She felt her heartbeat thundering against her chest as the robot slowly marched its way over to them. Despite her fear, Sunset pulled Sonic into her chest while her eyes still set on the robot.

"S-stay away from him!" Sunset shouted with much courage she had left.

The robot slowly raised its pistol and aimed at the pair.

Sunset hugged Sonic further into her embrace and shut her eyes, expecting the end.

"Sunset, look out!"

Before she had time to react, Sunset suddenly felt being shoved to the side along with Sonic. Time seemed to have slowed down as Sunset opened her eyes to see her savior. To her shock, the one who had shoved her to safety was none other than Twilight. She watched in horror as the robot behind Twilight fired its weapon at her. But instead of a laser, it was a long, thick net and it wrapped all around Twilight. Once she was completely trapped, the Eggrobo pulled Twilight towards it.

"Twilight, no!" Sunset yelled, fearing for her friend.

As soon as Twilight was close to it, the Eggrobo then flew up in the air along with her with its rocket thrusters from its back and feet. Spike, who was on the ground, gasped as he watched his friend carried out by an evil robot.

"Twilight!" Spike cried. 

Spike tried to get up to chase after the robot, but his leg gave out due to his injury.

As the others began to recover, Sunset immediately chased after the robot. She tried desperately to tap into her magic by grasping tightly around her geode, but her magic was still depleted. Unfortunately, the robot was way too fast as it was already several miles away from her. Sunset gave up on running as she and her friends watched helplessly as the Eggrobo continued to fly away with Twilight until it disappeared over the horizon.

"N-no!" Sunset uttered as she fell to her knees in the middle of the road. 

The whole world suddenly went dark all around her as Sunset fully processed that her best friend was taken. That robot was going to kidnap Sonic and possibly her too. But Twilight was able to save her at the last moment but was taken in her place as a result.

All because she was too scared to move.

Sunset felt her whole body was shaking in guilt and her eyes began to water. This was the very thing she has feared the most. All of her friends are in danger because of her actions. And now one of her best friends is kidnapped all because of her and she was too powerless to stop it.

"Twilight… Twilight…" she whispered.

With tears falling down her cheeks, Sunset screamed out into the sky in anguish.

"Twiliiiiiiiiiiigggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhtttttttttt!"


…


…


…


…


…



-END OF ACT II-

> Intermission: Big Brother's Duty
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




Many Hours Earlier...




"Let me go!" Shining shouted as he was dragged around by G.U.N. agents. "I’m a police officer! This is a criminal offense!"

The agents didn’t seem to care about his treat as they continued to drag him down the hall until they have reached their destination. As soon as they opened the double doors, the agents pushed him into the room and then they shut the doors. Infuriated, Shining ran up to one of the doors to open it, only to find that both doors were locked.

“Open this door!” Shining Armor screamed as he bang on the door with his fist.

He watched through one of the door’s windows as the agents walked away from him, ignoring him.

"Get back here!” He yelled as he kept banging on the door. “You leave my sister alone! If any of you and your boss lay a hand on her, you all will be sorry!"

“Shining Armor?”

Shining stopped banging on the door and turned towards the newcomer, only to be surprised when he saw who it was.

“...Luna?”

Indeed it was Vice Principal Luna who was in the room with him, which turned out to be the gym of CHS. They’re not the only ones, though. There were also many CHS students and staff who are trapped in the room as well while being watched by a few G.U.N. agents. Shining doesn’t know why everyone, including the kids, is in here with him but by the looks of many terrifying faces, he assumed that they were in here by force like he was. He was snapped out of his thoughts when Vice Principal Luna began to question him.

“What are you doing here?”

Shining blinked with a confused expression. “I should be asking you the same thing.”

Vice Principal Luna sighed as she crossed her arms. "Well, when those men in black arrived at our school, they had us all placed in this gym for our 'own safety' while they investigated the crimes that were committed by a few of our students." She scowled. "But if you ask me, they were actually keeping us here as prisoners, including our students!"

"But why? Why did they do this?" Shining inquired with a perplexed look.

Vice Principal Luna studied Shining for a moment. "Tell me Shining Armor, how much do you know about your sister and her friends?"

Shining frowned at the question, remembering what had happened from the phone call back at the station. "That apparently, my sister and her friends have superpowers this entire time?"

"Technically, it was magic, specifically, Equestrian Magic," Vice Principal Luna corrected.

"I don't care what they're called!" Shining growled in frustration, glaring at Vice Principal Luna. "You're telling me that you knew this entire time!"

With a sigh, Vice Principal Luna nodded. "Yes… as well as my sister and Dean Cadance!"

"Cadance knows!?" Shining shouted. "She knew about Twilight having powers and didn't tell me!?"

Vice Principal Luna shushed before she quickly glanced behind her with a nervous expression. Thankfully, none of the agents who were close by didn’t hear Shining Armor’s outburst. With a relieved sigh, she faced back to Shining Armor again.

"Please don't be angry at her, Shining Armor," Vice Principal Luna pleaded gently. "Twilight specifically requested Cadance not to tell you so you wouldn't be worried about her."

"I'm her big brother! It's my job to worry about her!" Shining retorted. "I just wish that she told me and not kept secrets from me.” He then whispered to himself with a miserable look. “But then again… I'm one to talk."

Vice Principal Luna cocked an eyebrow, apparently hearing Shining’s remark. "Forgive me for prying, Shining Armor, did something happen between the two of you?"

Shining let out a sigh, stuffing both his hands into his pants pockets. "That so-called doctor interfered with my phone call with Twily and tried to make a deal with her for their location. When she refused, not only did he talk down on her, but he also revealed that she was actually… adopted."

"She what!?" Vice Principal Luna exclaimed in shock. "Surely you jest!"

"I wish I was," Shining sighed with a guilty expression. "When I was ten, my mother came home one day… carrying a newborn girl, which was Twilight. When I asked her who she was, my mother simply told me that she's my new sister."

"To this day, my parents never told me where she came from, but…” Shining frowned with a determined look. “I didn't care about that. To me, Twilight is my sister and I love her… and I always will!"

Vice Principal Luna was glad to hear that despite they’re not related by blood, Shining still has a strong bond with his step-sister. "And Twilight never knew that she was adopted?"

"No... and I felt terrible to keep this hidden from her, but my parents made me swear to not tell her and mention this to nobody." Shining then growled in anger. "But somehow… that man knew… and he told her because she refused to cooperate with him to give up her friends. I swear, if I ever see that man again… I will make him pay! My role as an officer be darned!"

Vice Principal Luna frowned. "Shining Armor, while I understand your anger, we must be smart about this! You said that Twilight tried calling you, yes?"

Shining Armor nodded. "Yeah. She and her friends called me somewhere in the middle of the country just for me to warn Cadance and Principal Celestia… not that I could at the moment since these guys took my phone and my walkie-talkie. And even if I have my phone, Twilight destroyed hers and I assumed her friends destroyed theirs too."

"I see… and what was the warning?"

"That everything about them being terrorists was a lie and they're framed for it, which I figured," Shining Armor answered. "But then that Doctor showed me that she has powers… and then there's that creature from the video."

Vice Principal Luna blinked. "Creature?"

"Yeah…" Shining replied, furrowing his brows. "I don't know what to make of it. It was blue all over and barely looked human. And he's fast too! And that Doctor also mentioned something about Equestria." He frowned deeply. "I know my sis and her friends are innocent, but I felt there was more going on about all of this."

Vice Principal Luna hummed. "I'm sorry you have to find out this way and be dragged into this, but we all agreed to keep everything a secret per Twilight and Sunset’s request."

"Both my sister and Sunset wanted to keep this a secret?" Shining Armor inquired.

Vice Principal Luna shook her head. "Oh, not your Twilight, the other Twilight."

Shining Armor had a confused expression. "Other Twilight? What are you talking about? And how does Sunset fit into all of this?"

Vice Principal Luna silently berated herself for that slip-up. She was about to deny that, but the look on Shining’s face tells her that he wanted answers, especially about his sister. After a moment of self debating, Vice Principal Luna sighed.

"Well… since your Twilight’s brother and most of it is out in the open, I suppose you have the right to know," Vice Principal Luna responded.

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes. "Tell me everything!"





"So yeah… that's about it," Vice Principal Luna concluded after over an hour of explanation.

Shining Armor stood there with a stunned expression, still processing everything he just heard. Despite Vice Principal Luna telling him every event that happened from Sunset’s first arrival to the recent incident at the baseball field, he doesn't even know what to think. If it weren’t for Dr. Robotnik’s video of his sister and her friends using their powers on the robots, he would've thought that the Vice Principal would be crazy.

Feeling a sudden migraine, Shining rubbed one of his temples. "Wow… I have so many questions, but I don’t even know where to start. Another world? Talking ponies? Sunset? Another Twilight who is a Princess!? ...this is all starting to sound like it came from a cartoon show for girls!"

"I know this is so hard to believe, Shining Armor, but believe me… this is real!" Vice Principal Luna said calmly.

"After that video I saw from Robotnik, it's hard to believe it's not real," Shining Armor chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "Believe it or not, I was such a geek when I was younger; spending my time collecting comic books, playing video games and DD with my friends, and sometimes pretending to be a superhero or traveling in a fantasy world. Seeing that this is all real… it's a geek's dream come true, except…"

"That it puts your sister in danger?"

"...yeah," Shining Armor admitted. "The thought that Twilight has… magic and that she's been into dangerous situations before including now… scares me. And the worst part is… she's all alone out there and I can't do anything to help her while we're stuck here."

"I know it's scary Shining Armor, I thought the same way sometimes when my sister is in a dangerous situation, but I've seen your sister in action before. She is a lot stronger than you think. And Twilight is not alone. She has friends by her side, and their friendship makes her much stronger and happier than ever. She will be fine, so have faith in her and her friends too."

While Shining Armor was still worried for his sister, it was reassuring that Twilight had people who cared for her by her side. 

He gave Luna his small grin. "Thanks, Luna," He said gratefully before frowning. "Speaking of which, where is your sister anyway?"

"My sister… has disappeared," Vice Principal Luna responded with some hesitation. "She said there was something important that she had to take care of. I only stayed behind just to look out for our students and staff."

Shining Armor was taken aback in disbelief by this revelation. "The school was taken over by government soldiers and kept us and your students here like prisoners! What could possibly be more important to your sister than this?"

Before Vice Principal Luna could respond, the gym doors from behind them opened.

"Alright, ladies! You two can join the others!" One of the agents stated as they threw the two new arrivals into the room, which turned out to be Lyra and Bon Bon, before locking the doors behind them.

As Lyra landed on the floor, Bon Bon ran up to the gym doors and banged on them with her fists.

"Get back here!" Bon Bon screamed with a furious expression. "You'll pay for what you did to Lyra! You all will all pay!"

Vice Principal Luna gently grasped Bon Bon's shoulder, only for Bon Bon to pull herself out of her grip and turn towards her with a snarl.

"Don't you dare touch me you–" Bon Bon eyes widened when she saw who she was yelling at. "Oh, V-vice Principal Luna! I'm so sorry! I-I thought you were one of those agents!"

"It's alright, Sweetie Drops," Vice Principal Luna assured with a look of understanding and concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" said Bon Bon before she turned her eyes at her fallen friend. "But Lyra, she… she…"

Both Vice Principal Luna and Shining Armor turned towards Lyra and they gasped at the sight.

Lyra herself wasn’t looking so good. Her appearance alone, she looked like she had been roughed up. The worse was her face, as it was covered in some bruises, small cuts, and she even had a black eye on her left eye. Her eyes were wet in tears and she whimpered in pain.

"Oh, my stars, Lyra!” Vice Principal Luna exclaimed as she ran over and examined the poor girl. “What happened to you!"

"It's that man!" Bon Bon spat, trembling in rage. "After he captured us, he kept on questioning us about Sunset and that 'blue devil'. When he didn't get the answers he wanted... h-he…"

Bon Bon immediately broke down, covering her face as she sobbed.

Both Shining Armor and Vice Principal Luna became furious at the Doctor's treatment of those girls.

"That monster… they're just kids!" Shining Armor growled.

"Did those agents do anything physical to you too?" Vice Principal Luna pressed gently while trying to keep herself calm.

Bon Bon shook her head with a sniff. "No. Unlike that man, they didn't harm us, but they continued to badger us for hours and they refused to give Lura any medical attention."

Shining Armor scowled. "Those sons of–"

"Shining Armor, language!" Vice Principal Luna scolded. "We may be imprisoned, but we're still in school!"

"S-sorry!" Shining Armor apologized sheepishly.

“And that’s not even the worst thing!” Bon Bon added as she looked up at her Vice Principal with a teary guilt expression. “That Doctor threatened that they’ll do worst things to Lyra if we don’t tell him anything! So I… I told him. I told him about Sunset. I told him about Equestrian Magic. I told him about Sunset’s world! I told him everything so that he won’t hurt Lyra anymore.” She buried her face into her hands again, feeling ashamed. “I’m so sorry! I’m so sor-re-he-he-hee!”

Shining Armor hugged the crying girl into her arms, shushing her. “It’s okay, Bon Bon. It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

Vice Principal Luna nodded. “He’s right. We understand. You were only doing that to protect your friend.” She then frowned angrily as she hugged Lyra tightly. “And for what he did to you girls… that’s just evil!” 

Shining Armor trembled in rage. It was one thing for the Doctor to take these kids prisoners and threaten them, but when he actually hurt them, that's going too far. He then thought of his sister and her friends who are still chased by that crazy Doctor. If he was capable of punching these girls earlier, he feared what he is going to do with his sister and her friends once he catches them.

With a determined look, Shining broke out his hug and surveyed around the room.

“Shining, what are you doing?” Vice Principal Luna asked uneasily.

“I trying to find a way for us to bust out of here!” Shining Armor replied, much to the Vice Principal and the girls’ shock.

“Are you crazy!” Vice Principal Luna quietly exclaimed so she wouldn't alert the agents. “We can’t just–”

“Before I was cut off, Twilight called me earlier and asked me to send a message to Cadance for help!” Shining explained. “I don’t know how Cadance fits into all of this, but if it’s going to help my sister, I really need to send this message.”

Vice Principal Luna’s eyes widened at the revelation before her face changed to an understanding expression. “I think I understand… your sister must’ve been aware of Cadance’s connections.”

Shining blinked. “What kind of ‘connections’?”

“Let’s just say that she, as well as my sis and I, used to have a former job before becoming Principals,” Vice Principal Luna answered vaguely. “Still, this doesn’t change our current situation!”

"Well, I can’t just sit here!” Shining Armor retorted. “I need to do something and let Cadance know that Twiley and her friends are on their way and need her help before that wack job Doctor gets to them!"

“Well, what can we do, Shining Armor?” Vice Principal Luna challenged. “The whole school is crawling with agents! And even if we managed to get past them and found a phone, they will trace our call. Not only we’ll get caught again, but this will also put your wife, your sister, and her friends in danger!”

Shining Armor growled in frustration. "Darnit, there must be a way to get around that and warn Cadance!"

“Um… we might have a suggestion.”

Shining immediately turned to the sound of a new voice, and immediately spotted three teenage boys in front of him. One had spiky blue hair with a cool leather jacket, one was wearing glasses, and one with a beanie and long green dreadlocks. Seeing the surprised and suspicious expression from Shining, the blue hairs teen chuckled nervously.

“Uh, sorry for sneaking up on you, we couldn’t help but overhear your conversation. You’re saying that Twilight and the girls are in trouble?”

Shining Armor cocked an eyebrow. “Yes… and you are?”

Vice Principal Luna, after letting Lyra rest near Bon Bon, walked over towards Shining and the three boys.

“Shining Armor, these three boys are Flash Sentry, Micro Chips, and Sandalwood,” Vice Principal Luna introduced. "And they're also friends with the Rainbooms.”

“I see,” Shining responded before turning to the boys again. “Now, about your suggestion?”

“Well, it is our bro Micro who has the answer to your woes,” said Sandalwood. He then lightly elbowed Micro Chips. “Tell ‘em, dude!”

Flustered due to sudden attention, Micro Chips adjusted his glasses as he addressed Shining. “Er, yes. I believe I can help you get in touch with your significant other by communicating with her with my latest invention, Com-Mun-a-Wave 3000! With it, you won’t worry about getting yourselves attention by those noisy secret intelligence officers!” 

Shining, as well as the others, stared at Micro Chips with blank looks, no idea what he was saying.

“He’s saying that he built himself his own makeshift telephone which is untraceable and he offered for you to use it.” Flash summarized.

Shining Armor blinked. “Oh! Well, why didn’t you say so?”

Micro Chips frowned in annoyance. “I just did!” 

Shining Armor narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the nerd. “And why did you build your own telephone that is untraceable?”

“Oh, it's… for a science project,” Micro Chips answered with a nervous expression.

Shining Armor frowned, clearing not buying it.

“...and to keep my nosy mother off my back during my phone calls with my girlfriend,” Micro Chips sighed with a resigned look, making his two friends snickering in the background. 

While amused by this, Shining Armor pressed on. “And… does your machine really work?”

“Affirmative!” Micro Chips answered confidently. “I field-tested that baby several times! I always make sure to properly test my inventions!”

“Yeah, especially after his toaster robot thingie gone haywire!” Sandalwood added.

Micro Chips sighed as he looked down sadly. “...my poor beloved JVJ-24601 was never the same after that day."

While Shining Armor had no idea what they were referring to, he wanted to get this conversation back on track. “And where is your… invention?”

“It’s hidden somewhere within the science room,” Micro Chips responded. “I have it hidden in a specific spot so that it won’t be sabotaged by some other incompetent students!” He then crossed his arms with a huff. “Believe me, it happened to me once!”

Flash frowned at his friend. “You’re not still miffed at her for thinking that one of your machines is a muffin oven, were you?”

“She shouldn’t even touch them, to begin with!” Micro Chips retorted.

“Where is the science room?” Shining inquired. 

“It was right at the other side of the school, away from this gym,” Bon Bon answered while comforting Lyra.

Shining nodded. “Then that’s where I’ll be heading!”

“Shining Armor,” Vice Principal spoke up. “You’re not really suggesting you’ll–”

“If his machine really works and prevented these agents punks that I’m tipping Cadance off, then I have no other option,” Shining stated.

“But even if you find the science room and Micro’s machine, you won’t know how to use it,” Vice Principal Luna pointed out.

“Indeed!” Micro Chips adjusted his glasses. “Which is why I should come along with you so I can set it up!”

“Absolutely not!” Vice Principal Luna snapped. “I’m not letting a student be involved in this! Besides, have you all forgotten that Robotnik’s agents are patrolling the entire school right now? How are you even going to get there without any detection in the hallway, let alone getting out of this gymnasium?”

“Leave that to me!”

Suddenly, smoke burst from out of nowhere, covering everyone’s sight for a moment. When the smoke is cleared, they see a white-haired girl, coughing due to the smoke in front of them. Along with the girl, there were also two boys; one was tall and the other is short.

Shining stared at the new arrivals with a perplexed expression. “Now who are you three?”

The girl recovered from her coughing fit and gave Shining her cocky smirk. “Well, you're looking at the–”

“Her name is Trixie. She’s great and powerful. Blah-blah-blah! And those two boys are Snips and Snails!” Bon Bon interrupted, much to Trixie’s annoyance. “Now why are you here, Trixie?”

Trixie huffed as she crossed her arms. “Okay, first off: rude! Second: Trixie couldn’t help but hear that Sunset and the others are having trouble and you need to send a quick message to Dean Cadance that they’re coming her way.”

Shining Armor blinked. “You heard that?”

“Yeah, we can hear you several feet away from us,” Trixie said in a matter-of-fact tone.

“...was I really that loud when I'm having a private conversation?" Shining Armor muttered.

“Anyway, Trixie also heard that you all need to get past these guards to get to this guy’s machine all the way to the science room undetected. So Trixie offered to distract them by getting all their attention to me, just enough time for you all to slip away!”

“And we’ll help too!” Snips added while Snails nodded eagerly.

Shining, as well as the others, were taken aback by Trixie’s offer.

“Oh, well how brave of you. And may I ask why you wanted to help us?” Shining asked.

“Well, since Sunset is Trixie’s friend and that she and the Rainbooms are in danger, how can Trixie not step in to help?” Trixie answered as if it was obvious.

“...you mainly wanted to get back at that crazed mustache man for belittling you earlier, didn't you?” Flash deadpanned.

“What? No, of course not!” Trixie denied, offended by Flash's claim. “Although, getting back at that mustached creep is a sweet bonus!”

Everyone, except for Shining Armor and Vice Principal Luna, rolled their eyes.

“So you’ll guarantee to get all the guards’ attention, including the ones from the hallway?” Shining asked.

Trixie nodded with a confident smirk. “The Great and Assured Trrrrixie will have all the guards come running to me faster than you could say, ‘alakazam’!”

Micro Chips nodded. “Great! Now that’s settled, we can now get to that room no problem!”

“My answer is still no!” Vice Principal Luna said sternly. “It’s too dangerous for you to leave, even with Shining Armor!”

“We’ll go with him!” Flash offered.

“Yeah, we’ll make sure our bro won’t be harmed by us!” Sandalwood assured.

Vice Principal Luna crossed her arms. “Even so, I won’t allow my students to get into harm's way, even if we’re technically not having class right now!”

“As much as I would love to have you kids assist me, your Vice Principal has a point,” Shining stated. “She is still technically in charge of this school, so I’m afraid my hands are tied.”

“Vice Principal Luna, we understand why you’re worried, but as Shining Armor mentioned, he needs to send a message to Dean Cadance to help the Rainbooms!” Flash pleaded.

“And my invention is the only thing that will work without getting trace by other agents,” Micro Chips added. “And since I’m the only one who knows how it works, we don’t have much of a choice.”

“They have a point!”

The gang turned to see Lyra, who was trying to stand back up, despite Bon Bon’s protests.

“Lyra–”

“I’m fine Bonnie! I’m just a little sore!” Lyra assured with a grunt before addressing Vice Principal Luna. “Listen, in order to stop that madman and for us to get out of this mess, we need to pass this message to her! She can even pass this message to your sister! It’s risky, but… we have to try!”

Vice Principal Luna paused as she eyed Lyra and then everyone else, who was staring at her expectedly. After a moment of silent debate with herself, she let out a sigh.

“Alright, fine… we’ll try!” Vice Principal Luna responded before giving Shining a stern glare. “But promise me you’ll keep those kids safe!”

Shining nodded, but with a smile. “You have my word as an officer!”

“Good!” Vice Principal Luna stated before facing the boys. “Now you three promise me you’ll stay by Shining Armor’s side at all times and do exactly as he said, got it!”

Flash, Micro Chips, and Sandalwood nodded.

“And what about you?” Shining Armor asked.

“What else? As Vice Principal, I’m staying here to keep the other kids safe,” Vice Principal Luna replied before eyeing Trixie, Snips, and Snails. “And to step in in case their little distraction gets out of hand!”

“Hey! Trixie doesn’t need help!” Trixie protested, puffing her cheeks in annoyance.

Vice Principal Luna narrowed her eyes. “This isn’t a negotiation young lady!”

Trixie humphed as she crossed her arms with a pout. 

“Alright, then it’s settled!” Shining announced quietly as he gestured everyone to come closer to him. “So here’s the plan…”





There was tense silence from within the school’s gym. The G.U.N. agents who stood around the gym watched intensely at the CHS students and staff, refused to let them out of their sight. Everyone who was trapped in the gym was either sitting or standing with one another. Neither said a word or attempt to move due to their fears and uncertainty as they felt the eyes of all the agents were on them.

Suddenly, smoke exploded in the middle of the gym from out of nowhere, startling everyone including the agents. Before the agents made their move, the smoke cleared out, revealing Trixie, who was now wearing her cape and her magician’s hat along with Snips and Snails on each of her sides.

"Ladies and Gentlemen!" Trixie announced in her performing voice. "Feast your eyes and witness the amazing performance of The Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!"

As most students were stunned by Trixie’s bold move, one of the agents spoke out towards her.

“Hey, who said you can do a magic show? Stop this at once!” The agent ordered.

“Well well well. It seems we have some neigh-sayers in the audience!” Trixie proclaimed with a glare, pointing at the agent who called her out. “It’s bad enough that they imprisoned all of us, now they’re preventing us to have any sort of entertainment!”

The agent suddenly became fluttered by Trixie’s claim. “I-I-I was just doing my job, young lady!”

“A likely story!” Trixie remarked. “Can Trixie be allowed to do at least one magic trick?”

The agent let out an awkward cough. “F-fine… but just one!”

“Excellent!” Trixie grinned as she gestured to her minions to wheel out the small wagon, which was covered in the cloth with the same design as her cape. “Now, watch and be amazed as Trixie and her assistants performed her best trick yet!”

After pausing for dynamic effect, Trixie immediately pulled the cover off of the wagon, revealing several fireworks. “Presenting Trixie’s great and powerful fireworks!”

Everyone, including the agents, watched in horror at the sight of fireworks loaded in Trixie’s wagon.

“Hey wait! Hold on a second!” The same agent cried in a panicked tone.

“Light ‘em up, boys!” Trixie ordered.

Before anyone could stop them, Snip and Snails lit up the fireworks. 

Within seconds, the whole gym was in chaos as several fireworks exploded everywhere from within the room. Many students were screaming and running amuck as they avoided the flying rockets, the CHS staff was trying to save the students, and the agents were trying to get the room back into order. Unfortunately, the gym was too much for the agents to handle as things were getting more out of control with screaming kids and exploding rockets.

The agent who called Trixie out immediately started speaking with his communicator. 

“Back up! I need back up!” he screamed.

Within seconds, several new agents burst through the gym doors and entered the gym. As some helped out trying to get the crowd under control, most immediately ran up to the magician and the two boys who were responsible for this mess.

“Um… ta-da?” Trixie uttered with a sheepish expression.

The agents glared at her with unamused expressions.

Trixie chuckled nervously. "Um, for my next trick… Trixie will make herself… disappear!"

Trixie, along with Snips and Snails, immediately turned and ran away from them while the agents gave them chase.

During the commotion, Shining Armor, Flash, Sandalwood, and Micro Chips sneaked towards the gym doors and escape through them before anyone noticed. Vice Principal Luna, who was standing by, briefly glanced at the doors with a knowing look.

Good luck you guys! She thought before she quickly ran off to help Trixie from those agents.





As soon as they quietly left the gym, Shining, Flash, Sandalwood, and Micro Chips sighed in relief.

"Wow, I can't believe our plan worked!" Micro Chips remarked.

"Me either," Sandalwood agreed. "Usually, things go wrong whenever Trixie’s involved."

"Hopefully, Trixie’s little performance will keep them busy for a while!" Flash stated.

"No time for waste!" Shining Armor cried. "Lead me to the science room!"

They all nodded before they ran down the hallway with Shining in tow, all while keeping their eyes out for any signs of agents. Thankfully, no agents were patrolling the hallway and they eventually reached the science room much to their relief. 

The group quickly ran into the room and then locked the door for added security.

"Alright, where's the machine?" Shining asked, not wasting time.

"I'll get it out!" Micro Chips assured them before giving them a stern look. "But I want you all to turn around and close your eyes!"

Sandalwood let out an annoyed huff. "Oh c'mon dude, really?"

"After what happened with the muffin incident, I have to be cautious!" Micro Chips stated.

Flash frowned at his friend's stubbornness. "First off, I'm offended that you don't trust us for not showing us the location of your machine. And second, this is more important than having people knowing where your stupid machine is located!"

"My machine is not stupid!" Micro Chips retorted. "They're all like children to me! And I can't have anyone mess around with it like they were toys!"

Sandalwood frowned. "Jeez dude, you're acting like some nerdy helicopter parent!"

"Well, at least I'm not some annoying hipster!" Micro Chips countered.

Sandalwood gasped. "How dare you!"

"Enough!" Shining shouted, ceasing their argument. "If you can set this up as quickly as possible, we'll comply!"

Micro Chips nodded. "Thank you kindly!"

Flash and Sandalwood rolled their eyes with a huff as they and Shining turned around as requested.

They stood in silence, staring at the wall as they heard various sounds from behind them.

“Okay, you can all turn around now,” Micro Chips announced.

The three complied and were shocked to see a huge machine appear right in front of them in a matter of seconds.

"Wow, that was fast!" Shining remarked.

The machine itself was about the same size as Micro Chips; boxed-shaped metal with some wires, flashy lights, a keypad, and, of course, an old-fashioned corded phone on its side. Micro Chips pushed a few buttons on his machine, which was then turned on with a loud purr.

"Alrighty, the machine is all set!” said Micro Chips. “Just punch in the numbers like any other phone and you’re good to go!”

“Really? Just like that?” Shining inquired.

"Just like that," Micro Chips confirmed.

Shining shrugged. “Well, alright then!”

Shining picked up the corded phone from its dock. Just as he was about to dial, he paused when the most crucial thought occurred to him.

“…I forgot her number!”

The teens were flabbergasted at Shining’s revelation.

“You forgot!?” Flash shrieked. “How'd you forget your own wife’s number?”

“Well, for one thing, I usually just select her contact on my phone and call her that way,” Shining Armor explained sheepishly. “And even so, she lost her old phone, so now she recently got herself a new one… along with a new number.”

The teens facepalmed simultaneously.

“Good grief!” Micro Chips remarked.

“Shh! Quiet!” Sandalwood said suddenly.

Before either of them could ask Sandalwood why, their ears perked up when they heard the sounds of running footsteps, followed by a voice from outside the science room.

“I think they’re this way!” A voice cried.

“Keep looking! They’re not that far!” Another voice ordered.

Everyone in the room tensed up into a panic after hearing the voices.

“Oh, shoot! They knew we were gone! And they’re coming this way!” Flash exclaimed quietly.

Sandalwood turned to Shining. “Uh dude, no pressure, but try to remember her number and fast!”

“I’m thinking, I’m thinking!” Shining cried.

Suddenly, they heard a doorknob rattling from the science room's door, startling everyone.

“Anyone in there?” A voice shouted.

“Nooooo– ow!” Sandalwood answered, only to receive an elbow to the ribs by Flash.

“Hey! They're here! Help me get this door open!"

“Oh no! They found us!” Micro Chips screamed.

They all watched nervously as the door banged violently with each strike from the agents from the other side. Cracks began to form around the lock of the door, threatening to break at any given moment.

“Try to remember her number, Shining Armor!” Flash exclaimed in an urgent tone before running off. “We'll hold them off to buy you some time!”

“Yes– wait, really?” Micro Chips questioned in a perplexed tone before he was dragged away from Sandalwood.

As the teenage boys ran up to the door, Shining turned back to Micro’s machine, raking his brain on his wife’s new cell number could be.

“Oh boy… is it two-two-five or two-two-six?” Shining Armor muttered anxiously.

Meanwhile, the teens reached towards the door and placed themselves over it to keep the agents out. Unfortunately, it was too much for them due to the mass amount of agents from the other side of the door. Flash desperately looked around the room until he spotted a teacher’s desk near the door.

“Quick, push the desk over here!” Flash shouted.

The three quickly rushed to the desk and then push it until it was against the door. The desk helped somewhat, but the agents still tried to break in through the door.

“Open this door or we’ll break it down!” One agent threatened.

“Ha! I like to see you try, dude!” Sandalwood taunted.

“Very well… we’ll use the battering ram!”

Both Flash and Micro Chips simply glared at the eco teen who had a sheepish grin in response.

They jumped when the door started banging again, but with much more force than before.

“Quickly, gather more desks and chairs!” Flash ordered before he and his friends started gathering them up.

During the commotion, Shining still tried to recall the memory of his wife’s phone number while ignoring the noises in the background. His head was hurting as he desperately dug deeper into his memory bank, hoping to remember something which helps trigger those specific numbers. If only his sister was here with him since she had a better memory than he was. His sister can recall almost anything; all those books she read, many tests she passed, all the presents he gave her on her birthday…

Suddenly, it hits him and his eyes flew open.

Twilight’s birthday! Of course! He thought.

With that revelation, Shining quickly used the date of Twilight’s birthday as he dialed the numbers on Micro’s machine.

“Oooh, I hope she’ll pick up!” Shining prayed.

On the other side of the room, the teen boys threw another chair in front of the door to keep those agents out. Unfortunately, the holding of the door grew weaker with every strike from the agent’s battering ram.

“They’re breaking through!” Flash shouted. “We need another piece of furniture!”

“There isn’t anymore!” Sandalwood cried in a panicked tone.

Seeing that they have no other options, the teens pressed themselves against all the furniture against the door to hold the agents off a little longer.

“Hurry Officer! I don’t think we have much time!” Micro Chip yelled as he struggled against the door.

“C’mon, pick up, pick up, pick up!” Shining begged as he was listening to a ringtone from Micro’s machine.

Shining waited anxiously as the phone continued to ring for what felt like an eternity. Shining was beginning to lose hope, believing that he either made a mistake or no will answer until the line stopped ringing.

“Hello?”

“Cadance!” Shining lit up in happiness. “Oh thank Faust you answered!”

“Shining Armor? Is everything okay?” Cadence said in a concerning voice. “This isn’t your usual number. Where are you call–”

“I don't have time to explain Cadance,” Shining cuts her off in urgency. “But Twilight and her friends are in trouble!”

“Trouble? What do you mean they’re in trouble?” Cadance inquired, now in a much worrying tone. “Shining what is going on!?”

“I don’t know, but the girls are framed by some government wack job named Robotnik and he’s chasing them halfway through the country!” Shining explained. “Twily said that you can help them and they’re on their way towards you as we speak!”

“Wait, Robotnik!? Did you just say–”

“They’re breaking through!” Flash shouted, as the agents nearly destroyed the door.

Realizing that he was running out of time, Shining quickly gave Cadance his final message. “Cadance, listen to me! When the girls get to you, keep them safe! And tell Twilight… that I'm sorry… for everything.”

As Shining said those words, many agents finally broke through the door and the barricade surrounding it. Before the teens could fight back, the agents quickly captured and restrained them within seconds. Before the agents get to Shining, he quickly yanked a huge chunk of wires and parts off of the machine, much to Micro Chip's protests, rendering the machine unusable.

“Everyone on the floor now!” One of the agents ordered.

As soon as they were handcuffed, the teens and Shining were immediately thrown on the floor, much to their discomfort. Despite getting captured again, Shining couldn’t help but feel proud and relieved that he fulfilled his promise to his sister and did his part to help her.

I did what I could Twily. Shining Armor thought as one of the agents slowly walked up to him. The rest… is up to you and your friends. 

The agent took out his concealed baton and raised it over Shining’s head.

I… believe in you! 

Shining Armor then felt a blow from the agent’s baton and his vision became black.
> Volume III - Chapter 1: Arrival to Manehatten
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Robotnik was fuming, breathing heavily as he stared at his computer screen for the past few minutes. Not only did one of his top robots fail to capture the creature and the girls, it got destroyed by the said creature and the girls. The first time he believed one girl's house was a fluke, but the second time… he failed.

He never fails.

"Did we get them?" Agent Stone asked who was standing behind Robotnik. "Oh, no there they are. They're real survivors, that group," Stone added, not helping Robotnik’s mood.

Robotnik slowly turned and glowered at Stone. 

"Can we have a moment?" he asked calmly in an eerily tone.

Not wanting to anger his boss further, he obliged as he followed him further away from the computer until they were near the wall.

"Pin yourself to the wall," Robotnik ordered while facing away from him.

With a sigh, Agent Stone grabbed his collar and threw himself backward toward the wall. Robotnik then turned and leaned his face closer to Stone's in anger.

"You know, I won't miss you when you're gone," Robotnik growled. "Human beings are unreliable and stupid, and I care very little about them. My machines are diligent, relentless. They're everything to me!"

Before he could berate Agent Stone further, he noticed a blue glow coming from Stone's inner jacket pocket. He slowly peeled Stone's jacket open, revealing a glowing blue quill that they took from the Sparkle's residence. Curious, Robotnik took the quill out of Stone's pocket with his fingers and inspected it at every angle.

"...Omoshiroi," he uttered quietly in another language.

For whatever reason, Robotnik slowly brought the quill close to his mouth and licked it.

Only to get a brief electric shock as a result.

He recovered quickly from that shock and silently offered Stone to lick the quill, to which the latter refused.

Suddenly, they heard the alarm blaring in the background, startling the two men. Robotnik glanced at his computer screen and then relaxed when he saw it was his scout, entering into the back entrance with their "guest" trapped in a net.

Robotnik grinned. While we didn't capture the creature, at least we got that pony girl! Things are finally coming my way!"

The Eggrobo finally entered the lab and slowly approached the two men. As soon as it stood in front of them, the Robo plopped their "luggage" right in front of their feet.

"Excellent work my minion!" Robotnik praised, rubbing his hands gleefully. "I knew I could count on you, you–

Robotnik froze when he got a clear view of who was trapped in a net. Instead of Sunset Shimmer, the one who they captured turned out to be Twilight Sparkle. Twilight, despite being trapped in a net, was lying on her side glaring at the two men.

"You… you imbecile!" Robotnik roared, causing Agent Stone and the Eggrobo to flinch. "Not only didn't you get the creature, but you also brought me the wrong girl! I gave you one job! One job! And you still screw it up!"

The Eggrobo bowed its head in shame.

Agent Stone cleared his throat. "Well, to be fair, Doctor… a lot happened during that chase. So it's understandable that he made a mix-up–"

Agent Stone briefly froze in place when Robotnik gave him the death glare.

"Right… shutting up now," Agent Stone muttered meekly.

Robotnik let out a loud huff, most of his anger evaporated. "Well, no matter… she will do. Besides," He slowly turned towards his captive. "She and I have so much to discuss!"

Twilight gulped quietly as Robotnik was looming over her.

"Y-you can threaten me all you want, Robotnik!" Twilight stammered, trying to act tough. "I will never join you! And I will never ever betray my friends!"

"Oh Twilight, Twilight, Twilight…" Robotnik hummed. "I'm afraid you wouldn't have a choice in the matter. Speaking of which…"

Robotnik slowly stretched his arm out towards Twilight making the teen pull back in fright. She expected him to hit her, but to her confusion, he didn't. But to her horror, he grabbed her necklace and yanked it away from her.

"Well, well, well…" Robotnik eyed the necklace as if he won a prize. "It would seem that you're very attached to this little thing." He then grinned evilly. "Care to explain, Twily?"

Twilight stared back with a look of dread and fear.





The suburb part of Manehatten was usually quiet and peaceful, away from the stressful life of the city. Anyone who is around the suburb would think it was just a typical day, unless they spotted a damaged tour bus with no roof, zooming down the street with some difficulty.

After they're run-in with Robotnik’s tank and robot, the Rainbooms were in low spirits. Their bus is heavily damaged, Sunset was planning on leaving this world, Sonic was badly hurt and unconscious due to an explosion from a robot, and worst of all, their dear friend Twilight was kidnapped by Robotnik’s robot. 

They weren't able to chase after her due to their bus not starting properly. And even if they did, they wouldn't be able to catch up to her due to the damage on their bus. There was nothing for them to do but for them to continue to head to Manehatten to see Cadance and then planned to save Twilight. The fact that they managed to get the bus started at all was a miracle of itself.

The Rainbooms, the CMCs, and Spike sat miserably on the bus while trying to distract themselves from recent events. Applejack was busy driving their bus while focusing intensely on the road. Rarity mindlessly checked herself in her pocket mirror a dozen times. Rainbow Dash just stared over the bus with a bored expression. And Pinkie kept counting trees and houses as they passed by.

The CMCs sat quietly in the middle row, still shaken from the robot's attack. They all held on to each other for support while nervously surveying the area around them in case they got attacked again.

Fluttershy was sitting at the back row of the bus, cradling Spike who was on her lap. Spike whimpered in sadness and despair over his missing best friend and family. Even getting petted by a nice pink-haired girl wasn't enough to cheer him up.

Sunset took Twilight’s kidnapping the hardest. Sunset just sat quietly, as she held Sonic in her arms who was still injured and unconscious. She didn't say a word since witnessing her friend being taken in front of her. The robot was originally gunning for her, but Twilight saved her at the last minute and took her place. She felt a huge amount of guilt and blamed herself for letting that happen. If only she hadn't frozen like a scared little filly.

The whole bus ride was quiet and awkward until Rainbow Dash let out a sigh with an impatient look.

"Are we there yet?" Rainbow asked for like a hundredth time.

Applejack resisted the urge to roll her eyes as she kept her focus on the road. "We should be at Cadance's place in a few more minutes."

"Oh, thank goodness!" Rarity exclaimed. "I don't know how much longer until our bus collapses."

"Yeah, no thanks to that robot, our bus is now as slow as a tortoise! Even Tank can go faster than this!" Rainbow Dash remarked. "We've been on this road for hours!"

"We've only been on this road for over forty minutes," Applejack deadpanned.

"Or one year and four weeks to our fellow readers!" Pinkie pointed out before glaring towards the fourth wall. "Seriously Author, I know you've been busy and have a life, but you can't keep your readers hanging!"

The girls stared at Pinkie strangely for a moment before shrugging, thinking Pinkie was just being Pinkie again.

"I'm mostly concerned about Sonic," Fluttershy spoke up with a concerned expression. "We only used what's left of our first aid kit to help him, but it wasn't enough."

"Don't worry darling," Rarity assured gently. "As soon as we get to Dean Cadance, the sooner we can help him."

"Let's hope so," Applejack commented. “But in order to do that, that would mean we have to tell Dean Cadance about Sonic.”

Rarity frowned. “I know Twilight said nothing but good things about Cadance, and that she’s nothing like her former principal of Crystal Prep, but should we trust her?”

Applejack shrugged her shoulders. "Well, we can’t go to the hospital for obvious reasons and no one else to turn to, so we have no choice.”

“Well, regardless of whether we trust Dean Cadance or not, I’m hoping that she has some good food because I'm starving!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Pinkie perked up. "Well Dashie, if you’re really hungry, then maybe we’ll disguise ourselves and have a quick bite at the–"

"Pinkie, I swear to Faust, if you bring up Grape Garden one more time, I will kick your butt all the way back from here to Canterlot City!" Rainbow shouted.

Pinkie whimpered with a hurt expression, tears welling in her eyes.

"Rainbow Dash, that's not very nice!" Fluttershy scolded harshly.

"I concur!" Rarity glared at her friend. "We're all stressed enough as it is! You don't need to make it worse with that attitude of yours!"

"Worse!? How could it get any worse, Rares!?" Rainbow yelled in frustration. "Just take a look around you! Our bus is trashed, Sonic is hurt and unconscious, we're still chased by the government and that crazy Doctor, and said crazy Doctor just kidnapped our friend, who's also been the brains of our escape up to this point! We're now at the threshold of Tartarus!"

Rarity frowned, aggravated with her friend’s behavior. "Well, we wouldn't be in this mess if you hadn't decided to challenge Sonic into a race!"

"What!?" Rainbow screeched angrily. "You're saying it's all my fault?"

Rarity scoffed. "Well, you irresponsibly used up all of our magic in efforts to beat Sonic because of your bruised ego! And our magic hasn't recovered since!"

"I hate to take sides, but Rarity’s right!" Fluttershy added with a deep frown. "If we still had our magic, we could've saved Twilight!"

"Aw c'mon! That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash retorted, glaring at her friends. "Yes, I screwed up! I'll admit that! But at least I was trying to keep that robot-tank thing away from us! What have you all been doing during all of this? Fixing your hair with your pocket mirror? Hiding under a chair? Daydreaming about eating those stupid 'never-ending pasta bowls' at the Grape Garden?"

Rarity and Fluttershy were both hurt and offended by Rainbow’s remarks, but not more so than Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! What does Grape Garden ever do to you!" Pinkie Pie shouted in an angry tone.

The three girls began to argue among themselves, while the CMCs, who was watching the exchange, felt helpless and uneasily from the sidelines. Accusations and insults were thrown between the three of them, voices grew louder by the second. Applejack grew frustrated both for losing concentration on her driving and seeing her friends losing their cool during the most crucial time. She opened her mouth, ready to get their attention, but someone else beat her to it.
 
"Quiet!"

The girls ceased their argument and turned to Sunset, who gave them all her disappointed frown.

“I know you’re all upset and on edge since that incident with Robotnik on the highway, but yelling at each other isn't going to help us! We need to work together to get out of this mess!”

Rainbow scoffed. “Oh yeah, like you’re the one to talk about ‘working together’ who was also planning on ditching us without telling us!”

Sunset winced at that.

"Rainbow Dash!" Fluttershy scolded.

"No… it's fine," Sunset sighed. "I want to tell you girls the full truth behind my reason for leaving… I really do, but right now, our focus is we get to Cadance’s as soon as possible for Sonic and us to recover, and then we'll plan things out from there."

"And what about Twilight?" Fluttershy asked in concern. "How are we going to save her?"

Sunset paused, furrowing her brows. "...I don’t know."

There was an uncomfortable silence within the bus, lost and uncertain about their situation. No one said a word for a full minute until they heard Applejack speak. 

"We're here!" Applejack announced.

The gang looked over the bus to see a huge white mansion with a balcony sitting on a hill, surrounded by a tall black picket fence.

"Huh... for a Dean, that house looks fancier than I expected," Rainbow Dash commented.

"I believe this house belonged to Cadance's colleague," Rarity pointed out.

"Let's just hope this colleague will let us in," said Applejack as she drove their bus into a driveway.

As soon as she parked the bus, the engine immediately died out, but that was the least of the girls' worries. As most of them immediately ran out of the bus and towards the mansion, Sunset covered Sonic with a blanket and then gently carried him in her arms.

"Come on, Sonic," Sunset muttered as she rushed out of the bus and towards the mansion. "You're gonna be alright. You'll be alright," she assured, both to Sonic and herself.

By the time Sunset caught up, Rainbow Dash had already rung the doorbell. They waited for a moment before the door opened. The girls, especially the CMCs, were surprised to see who was on the other side of the door.

"Diamond Tiara?" Apple Bloom exclaimed in a surprised tone.

Diamond Tiara, who was holding the door open, stared back with a shocked expression. "Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? What are you all doing here?"

"We're here to see Dean Cadance," Apple Bloom answered. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, this is one of many of our vacation homes," Diamond answered as if it was obvious.

"Yer vacation home?" Apple Bloom blinked before her eyes widened. "Wait. Does dat mean–"

"Diamond Tiara, who's at the door?" 

Everyone cringed from the sound of a female and a very familiar demanding voice.

"Aw fiddlesticks!" Apple Bloom muttered.

A moment later, an older woman appeared at the door alongside Diamond Tiara. The woman was none other than Diamond Tiara's mother, Spoiled Rich, who is also a member of the school board. To put it simply, she wasn't well-liked due to her snobbish attitude and looking down on people who are less rich than her. Spoiled dislike the Rainbooms and believed they were a bunch of hooligans due to their mysterious magic despite all the good they have done. She really dislikes them after they prevented her husband from owning Camp Everfree to build their very own Spa Resort and resented them since. She also dislikes the CMCs due to their antics, especially after they "corrupted" her daughter and then befriended them.

Needless to say, Spoiled wasn't so happy to see them, especially after she watched the news involving them.

"Oh no no no! Not you girls!" Spoiled shouted, pulling her daughter aside.

"Wait Mrs. Rich," Sunset exclaimed. "We can explain–"

"Oh no! You're not welcome here! Goodbye!" Spoiled stated coolly as she was shutting the door.

Luckily, Rainbow, Applejack, and the CMCs were fast enough to hold the door, preventing it from closing.

"Mrs. Rich, don't!" Applejack exclaimed.

"I said, you're not welcome here!" Spoiled growled through her teeth.

"Mother, let them in!" Diamond yelled as she tried to pry her mother away from the door, but Spoiled wouldn't budge.

During the commotion, another woman walked into the room behind Spoiled.

"Mrs. Rich, what's going on– girls!"

"Cadance, let us in!" Sunset yelled.

Without hesitation, Cadance quickly shoved Spoiled to the side and then let the girls inside the mansion.

"You alright girls?" Cadance asked in a concerned tone as she shut the door.

"We went through worse," Rarity answered for the group. "Thank you for letting us in!"

Before Cadance could ask further, she was interrupted by a furious Spoiled.

"How dare you allow these criminals into my house!" Spoiled shouted at Cadance in an angry tone before facing the girls. "I am not allowing this! I'm going to call the police– no, the FBI– no, the S.W.A.T. team– no, I'm calling your mothers!"

"Mrs. Rich, please!" Cadance scolded calmly before addressing the Rainbooms. "Girls, what is going on? You're all over the news and ever since Shining Armor called me, I tried calling Twilight but I couldn't reach her!"

"That's because we had to get rid of our phones so that we wouldn't get tracked," Sunset answered.

"Tracked?!" Cadance exclaimed in a bewildered tone.

Meanwhile, the CMCs were having a conversation with Diamond Tiara.

"Nice to see ya again Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom said sheepishly. "Though, Ah wish we meet again under better circumstances."

Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

Diamond frowned in concern. "What's going on with you girls? Is everything okay?"

Before either of the CMCs could answer, Diamond was pulled away by Spoiled.

"Diamond Tiara, get away from them!" Spoiled yelled, glaring daggers at the young trio. "Now look at what you all did! My daughter became an accessory to treason!"

Apple Bloom scowled at the older woman. "No, she ain't!"

"Yeah, you're being ridiculous!" Scootaloo shouted.

"For sure!" Sweetie Belle added in frustration.

Seeing a fight between Spoiled and the three girls, Cadance tried to defuse the situation.

"Alright, let's all calm down–"

"Calm down! I will not calm down!" Spoiled screeched.

"Cadance's right!" Applejack interjected. "We should all calm ourselves down and let us properly expla–"

"Don't you lecture me you criminal!" Spoiled spat, narrowing her eyes. "I always knew you girls are trouble! I tried to get the school board to expel you all, but I was constantly blocked by Celestia and other admins for being unreasonable! But this time, I have a good excuse!"

"Spoiled, that's enough!" Cadance scolded, now starting to feel impatient with the woman. "Don't ever call them criminals again, especially my sister-in-law! We blocked your attempts to expel them because you have no grounds against them! And they've done a lot of good in our committee and you know it!"

"Oh really?" Spoiled spat. "Well, I would like to see you try to defend them for being wanted terrorists!"

"We don't know the full story yet," Cadance argued. "I've known these girls for a while and they would never do this!"

"Oh sure, only you would say that!" Spoiled replied in a condescending tone. 

Spoiled then noticed Sunset was holding something with a blanket covering it. "Hey, what do you have underneath there?" She demanded. "Is that plutonium? Some kind of weapon!?"

"Yes, it's obviously a weapon!" Sunset responded sarcastically, rolling her eyes. She then addressed Cadance. "Look, this is getting out of hand. Perhaps we should all go to the next room so we can–"

"You stole something, didn't you?!" Spoiled accused as she stepped closer to Sunset. "I demand you show me what you're hiding!"

"Hey, stay back!" Sunset shouted, stepping away from the Spoiled, but Spoiled ignored her and reached for that "item".

She was quickly blocked by Rainbow Dash and the rest of the girls.

"Back off lady!" Rainbow growled. "Leave her alone!"

"Mom, knock it off!" Diamond pleaded.

"Stop this at once, Spoiled!" Cadance yelled. "You've gone too far this time!"

Despite being held down by teens and an adult, Spoiled continued to ignore them as she was reaching out for the "item" in question. After a moment of struggling, Spoiled managed to grab the blanket and tried pulling it.

"Let go!" Sunset cried.

Spoiled refused and kept on tugging the blanket until she finally pulled the blanket away from Sunset. When she finally got a good look at what was hidden in Sunset’s arms, Spoiled, as well as Diamond Tiara and Cadance, were stunned when they saw that it was a strange unconscious blue creature. The Rainbooms and CMCs stood nervously at their reactions for a moment before Spoiled started swaying unsteadily.

"Oh– oh catch me, Diamond…" Spoiled muttered before she fainted on the floor, losing consciousness.

"Oh, thank Faust!" Scootaloo exclaimed with a relieved expression. "I thought she would never shut up… no offense Diamond Tiara."

"None taken," Diamond Tiara responded, but still stunned at the blue hedgehog in Sunset’s arms.

It was then that Cadance had finally broken out of her shock.

"Okay… will someone please tell me what is going on!?" Cadance demanded, now freaking out. "What is that thing? Why were you all chased by the government? And where's Twilight!?"

The girls were silent, wordlessly looking at one another on who will be the one to break the news to the former Dean. Deciding that she will be the one to tell her, Sunset loudly cleared her throat.

"We'll explain everything!" Sunset assured awkwardly, bringing Sonic closer to her chest. "But first… can we have a glass of water?"
> Volume III - Chapter 2: Medical Attention and New Shoes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It’s been some time since Twilight got herself captured by one of Robotnik’s robots. Shortly after he took her necklace, she was tied up and then placed in the corner of his lab. She watched helplessly as Robotnik was at his desk, studying her geode thoroughly by using his fancy microscope.

She expected him to torture her for her friends' location or the secret of their powers, but he didn't. In fact, to her astonishment, he almost treated her more like a house guest than a prisoner. He even requested Agent Stone to fetch her a drink a moment ago. She had been racking her brain about Robotnik’s odd behavior; were all of his threats against her and her friends turned out to be empty threats? Or did he have some kind of secret agenda hidden behind his “kind gesture”?

Whatever the reason may be, Twilight had this uncomfortable feeling that she did not like.

“I must say, Miss Sparkle," Robotnik announced, breaking Twilight out of her thoughts. "That little necklace of yours is fascinating! Do your friends also have similar necklaces like this? Do they have their own powers?” Robotnik pulled away from his microscope and looked directly at her. “Who knew a small geode like this contained so much power and they each had different abilities? I can’t even begin to imagine so many different possibilities we can do for these gems.”

Twilight scowled, glaring daggers at the evil doctor. “Our geodes are not for you or anyone to use and abuse with, Robotnik! And besides, our geodes will only work for us while it remains useless for others. Believe me, I tested them myself with my friends!”

Robotnik clicked his tongue, making his way over to the young scientist. “So you’ve already experimented with them I see? As expected from a young super-genius. From one scientist to another, I can respect the amount of work you put into it." He then loomed over her coolly. "However, your scientific skills are only at a high school level compared to mine! I’ll crack your little geode mystery and then I'll use your geode powers before supper time!”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “Y-you’re bluffing! You’ll never get them to work!”

“We shall see!” Robotnik smirked. “And what about Equestria? Will you tell me about that?”

Twilight immediately clammed up, refusing to answer despite the frightening eyes in front of her.

“What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue?” Robotnik mocked with a chuckle. “That’s fine. I’ll look into that later, but for now…” He lifted the quill up to Twilight’s face for her to see. “I’m going to solve this little thing!”

Robotnik then walked right back over to his desk to retrieve his headphones. He was about to put them on, but then he paused and put his headphones back down.

"Hope you don't mind if I play a little music for you to listen to while I'm working," he stated.

Not waiting to hear Twilight’s response, Robotnik waved his hands in front of him, pulling up many blue holograms right in front of him. From what Twilight could make out, they appeared to be different sets of musical playlists for certain occasions; such as “Dinner For One”, “Everybody Wants To Rule The World”, “Crush 40”, and “Heavy Metal Bombing Over Babylon”. Robotnik eventually chose a playlist that said, “Tunes Of Anarchy” and music began to play. Satisfied with the selection, Robotnik waved his holograms away, and gleefully spun around in his chair before he went to work.

With his claw device from one side of his desk, Robotnik hovered the quill under his microscope and inspected the quill for a moment. With a few presses from his gloves, the quill pulled away from the microscope while Robotnik went to the other side of his desk to prepare another device, which is some kind of fancy cylinder glass tube. Even though she was kidnapped by an evil man, Twilight admitted that she was very impressed with his high-level technology.

Robotnik then picked up a quill and placed it on one of the power conductor cables. He then picked up another cable and then proceeded to measure the power by connecting the cable to the other end of the quill. 

Realizing what Robotnik was about to do, Twilight spoke up.

"Um, I wouldn't do–"

As soon as Robotnik connected the cable on the quill, the power in his lab suddenly went out, leaving both Robotnik and Twilight in darkness.

"...that," Twilight finished meekly.

With an annoyed huff, Robotnik took out his lighter from his pocket and lit it. Using the flame from his lighter, he guided his way over to the lab's fuse box and opened it. From what Twilight could make out from the lighting of Robotnik’s lighter, there were some labels near some switches, such as “Badniks”, “Evil Lab”, and “Self Destruct”. Twilight rolled her eyes, particularly at the second label. 

Real subtle! She deadpanned in thought.

Robotnik flicked a few switches on the fusebox, turning the power back on, and then shut it. He pressed a few buttons on his gloves and his music resumed, causing him to bobble his head again with the tune.

Twilight watched as Robotnik held the handle of the cabinet as he dived down to the floor a couple of times before he spun away from the fuse box and then stood at the center of the room with two monitors in between him. He still danced as he pushed a few buttons on one of the monitors, causing the metal arm to come to life, and placed the quill in the cylinder tube. As soon as the quill was placed in the device, the digital readings appeared hovering over the quill as it was scanning its energy level. 

As the quill was analyzing, Robotnik pressed a few more buttons on his monitor, and a hologram image of a snowy mountain appeared behind him. He then started hopping around and swaying in place, as if he was skiing down the mountain. A moment later, Robotnik changed the image behind him into a night city area with a Tyrannosaurus rex and he ran in place with a mock terror expression as if he was being chased. Twilight watched for a moment as Robotnik was “running away” by a holographic T-Rex before he suddenly stopped and turned around, allowing the T-Rex to “bite his head off”. Despite knowing that Robotnik was only bowing his head as a dramatic effect, Twilight couldn’t help but grimace at the sight due to how real that digital dinosaur looked from where she sat.

Now “headless”, Robotnik danced away from Twilight, swaying his hands and body all the while. He danced further and further away from her until he turned around and showed off his head as if he just performed a magic trick. As the singers in the background finished the notes in the background, Robotnik slowly opened up his jacket and stood with a smirk before he started into breakdance as the music was playing into a breakdown.

Twilight stands corrected. Robotnik was planning to torture her… by dancing in front of her. Twilight cringed as she slightly turned away from the sight of Robotnik dancing.

Sweet mother of Faust! That’s the evilest thing I ever had the misfortune of witnessing! Even I can dance better than him!

Not paying Twilight’s discomfort in mind, Robtonik continued to dance without a care in the world. He slowly spun around in circles, swaying his body all a while. As soon as he fully spun around, he screamed in shock and the music immediately stopped playing as soon as he spotted Agent Stone, who was dancing in front of him with a tray holding three coffee cups. Even Twilight was taken aback by Agent Stone’s sudden appearance, wondering how he got into the lab unnoticed and for how long. 

Unperturbed by his boss’ outburst, Agent Stone offered him one of the coffee cups. "I just thought you and the girl might like a latte with steamed Kirin’s goat milk."

Robotnik gave Agent Stone an annoyed look. "What do I look like, an imbecile?” In anger, he shoved the latte away and shoved his face into Stones. “Of course I want a latte... I LOVE THE WAY YOU MAKE THEM!"

Suddenly, they all heard a few beeps, coming from the tube where the quill was placed. Robotnik and Stone made their way over to the quill to check out the results. Twilight herself, barely read the results from where she was sitting and her heart sank when she read the power analysis of the quill marked as "Unlimited" in red text, which was the exact results she got from her lab.

Robotnik smirked. "Ready the prototype!"

As he announced those words, the back of his lab lit up, revealing more of his drones and a large egg-shaped hovercraft in the center.

"With this kind of power, my machines can finally reach their full potential!" Robotnik rubbed his hands in glee, as he made his way over to the room. "Don't wait for me, Stone. I got a hedgehog to hunt!"

"Um, what about the girl?" Stone asked as he glanced at the captured girl in question.

"Keep an eye on her so that she doesn't try to escape. But then again, I highly doubt that she's going anywhere!"

With that, Robotnik entered his machine room before a large door shut behind him.

With his boss gone, Stone turned to face Twilight. Neither one said a word as they stared at each other in awkward silence. Clearing his throat, Stone stretched one of the cups to her.

"Latte?"





Shortly after the incident with Spoiled Rich, most of the Rainbooms, CMCs, Spike, and Diamond were standing in the kitchen, waiting for Cadance and Fluttershy to return with the medical supplies. As an added precaution, they've already tied up a passed-out Spoiled Rich on a chair in the living room so that she won't call the authorities or interfere with healing Sonic. Sonic himself was still unconscious, as he was lying in the center of a long Island counter.

The Rainbooms haven't said a word since Cadance and Fluttershy left the room. While they were still upset with Sunset and stressed about their missing friend, their worry for Sonic's wellbeing overridden them. And even when Sonic recovered, they still have yet to explain their situation with Cadance, as well as her sister-in-law being kidnapped by Robotnik.

None of these girls were looking forward to breaking that news.

As for the CMCs, the preteens quietly catch up to Diamond about their adventure, leading up to Diamond's summer home.

"So let me see if I got this straight," Diamond stated with a confused expression. "You three snuck in your sisters' tour bus, met this creature… and were on a run by this government group called 'G.U.N.' since?"

"Yep. Pretty much," Apple Bloom replied. "If you include bein' chased by some robotic tank and nearly attacked by dat Eggrobo."

"And don't forget the all-out brawl at Zapper's arcade!" Scootaloo grinned. "It was awesome!"

Sweetie Belle had a deadpanned look. "Yeah, except I'm pretty much sure that we're banned for life from that place after that."

"Totally worth it!"

Diamond shook her head at Scootaloo’s remark before her eyes set on Spike, who buried himself in Applejack’s arms with a sad expression.

"Is… he okay?" Diamond asked in concern. 

"He's still upset after we lost Twilight to dat robot on Radical Highway," Apple Bloom answered with a sigh. "The poor guy really took her kidnapping the hardest."

He's not the only one. Sunset thought sadly, feeling sorry for the young pup as well as guilty for failing to save her best friend.

Scootaloo stared at Sonic's unconscious form before looking up at her idol with a worried expression. "Rainbow Dash… is Sonic going to be okay?"

"Don't worry squirt, Fluttershy and Cadance will heal him in no time," Rainbow Dash assured.

Scootaloo frowned. "Will they?"

Rainbow didn’t answer. While she was trying to convince her fan and sister figure about Sonic’s conduction, in actuality, she was trying to convince herself. While she kept denying herself almost throughout the “trip”, she admitted that she was starting to become more fond of the hedgehog. His actions and beliefs reminded her of herself, almost like meeting a long-lost sibling. She and Sonic had finally come to an understanding, only for Sonic to get badly hurt from that exploding robot. She wasn’t sure if even Fluttershy’s expertise in healing animals will be enough to save him. Nevertheless, Rainbow has hoped that Sonic will bounce back from his injuries.

After all, they still have a race to resume as promised.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Cadance and Fluttershy came into the kitchen with various medical supplies.

"We gathered as many first aid tools as we could find,” said Cadance as she and Fluttershy placed them on the counter near Sonic. “Though I'm not sure if any of these would help."

“Whatever you have will do Cadance,” Sunset replied with a grateful smile before facing Fluttershy. "So, can you help him, Shy?"

Fluttershy furrowed her brows with an unsure expression. "I… don’t know Sunset. While I’m still training to be a veterinarian, this is even beyond me. I don't even know where to look!"

“Just do the best you can, Darling,” said Rarity.

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah, Flutter Butter! If anyone can help him, it’s you!”

Feeling a little pressure, yet determined to help Sonic, Fluttershy sighed. “Okay… I’ll try.”

As Fluttershy began to work on her patient, Cadance starred at the blue hedgehog with a curious expression. "So… does this thing talk?"

Rainbow nodded. "Oh yeah, constantly! This guy talks so much, he almost made Pinkie Pie a run for her money.”

Pinkie nodded. “It’s true, though I doubt he’ll beat me as a recent champion for the annual Speak-Off competition!”

Applejack raised her brow. “Ah thought yer the champion of our annual Turkey Call?”

“Same thing!”

Cadance stared at Pinkie with a confused expression. “O…kay?”

While that was going on, Fluttershy lifted Sonic’s arm with one hand while looking at a wristwatch that she borrowed from Cadance with the other. As soon as she pinched Sonic’s wrist, her eyes widened.

"Oh… my!"

"What? What is it, Fluttershy?" Sunset asked in a worried tone.

"It's his pulse,” Fluttershy answered. “It's super fast!"

"Maybe… that's normal for him?" Rarity offered.

Fluttershy frowned as she checked Sonic’s body. "I don’t know much about his physiology, but he doesn't appear to have any broken bones. He was only… banged up."

Fluttershy continued to look over Sonic for any signs of fatal injuries until he reached his feet. Everyone was taken aback at just how beat up his shoes are. It was bad enough that the shoes themselves looked worn out, the bottom on each shoe had holes in them, which were too big for lack of protection. Even both his socks had holes at the bottom of his feet due to wear and tear.

"Whoa… looks like his shoes have seen better days!" Rainbow remarked.

"Just look at his feet!” Fluttershy exclaimed sadly. “Oh, the poor dear!"

Rarity looked at the hedgehog in pity. “I can't even begin to imagine running around in those things all the time!”

"I'm surprised he can still run in those… let alone walk!" Applejack added in concern.

As the older girls talked among themselves, Sweetie Belle picked up one of Sonic’s shoes and examined it. She frowned sadly at her eyes set at the bottom of Sonic's shoes.

Poor Sonic, Sweetie thought. He saved us a few times and always put others before himself, despite not wearing good shoes. If only there's something we can do for him.

Sweetie then blinked. Or can we?

With a determined look, Sweetie walked up to her sister and tapped her on the shoulder. This caused Rarity to turn around and then noticed that it was her sister who was trying to get her attention.

"Yes, Sweetie Belle? What is it?" Rarity asked.

Sweetie Belle quietly gestured to her big sister to come closer to her. Confused, yet curious what it was about, Rarity did exactly as requested. Sweetie then leaned closer to Rarity’s ear and whispered something into her ear. When she was finished, Rarity looked back at her with a surprised expression.

"Sweetie… are you sure?" Rarity inquired.

Sweetie nodded. “I’m sure, Rarity. Besides… he needs it more than me.”

"That's so sweet of you, Sweetie Belle. I’m proud of you!” Rarity smiled in pride before frowning again. “But I don't have any sewing supplies on me."

"We have a sewing machine and supplies in one of our rooms upstairs if you want to borrow it," Diamond offered who was listening in on their conversation.

Rarity’s eyes lit up. "Oh, that's perfect! Then we have no time to waste!" She then turned to her friends. "We'll be back, Darlings, my sister and I have something to take care of!"

Before anyone asked, Rarity, the CMCs, and Diamond Tiara left the kitchen and into the living room. Just as they entered the living room, Spoiled Rich woke up from her "slumber" and spotted her daughter and the others walking across from her.

"Diamond? Diamond Tiara!? Untie me this instant!" Spoiled ordered.

Diamond Tiara ignored her mother as she led the CMCs and Rarity towards the stairs.

"Diamond Tiara, if you don’t untie me in the next five seconds, you won't be allowed to go to our annual garden party!" Spoiled threatened.

"Fine by me! Those parties are lame and boring anyway," Diamond remarked, not giving her mother a single glance.

"Lame and boring!?" Spoiled shouted with a scandalized expression. "How dare you say that, young lady!?"

Diamond didn't answer as she, the CMCs, and Rarity climbed up the stairs.

"Diamond! Diamond!"

When her daughter was not answering, Spoiled sighed with a miserable look. 

"…I have to go to the bathroom."





Meanwhile, while still in the kitchen, Fluttershy continued to do the best she can to give Sonic medical treatment while her friends watched on with worry.

"Anything?" Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy sadly shook her head. "I did everything I could, but he's still out cold."

Rainbow let out a frustrated grunt. "Ugh! There must be something we can do to snap him out of it!"

"Yeah, but what?" Sunset pressed.

Rainbow didn’t answer as she and the others were trying to come up with how to revive Sonic.

"Wait a minute!" Applejack exclaimed. "What about smelling salt?"

Sunset blinked. "Smelling salt?"

Applejack nodded. "Yeah! Remember when Rainbow Dash was knocked out badly during a soccer game, so they used one of them to revive her?"

Rainbow Dash cringed from the memory. "Ugh! Do you have to bring that up, AJ?"

"Point is," Applejack continued, ignoring Rainbow Dash. "If dat helps waking Rainbow up, maybe we can use 'em to wake Sonic up too!"

"That's a great idea, Jackie!" Pinkie praised before turning to Fluttershy. "Do you have any smelling salts for cats, Flutter Butter?"

Fluttershy furrowed her brows. "Um… no. There's never any smelling salts for cats, or for any creatures for that matter."

"Aw, candy corn!' Pinkie exclaimed with a frown. "They really should've made some for pets."

"I think I may have some smelling salts in my human first aid kit," Cadance offered. "Would that work?"

Sunset glanced at Sonic's unconscious body for a moment before sighing. "I don’t know… but we have to try."

With a nod, Cadance dug into her first aid kit, took out one of the salts, and handed it over to Fluttershy.

"Here goes nothing," Fluttershy whimpered as she hovered the salt under Sonic's nose.

Everyone watched in anticipation with worry.

"C'mon buddy…" Rainbow Dash said quietly.

"Please come back to us, Sonic!" Sunset whispered.

As soon as Fluttershy snapped the salt in half, Sonic's eyes suddenly flew open, and sat up straight.

"Gotta go fast!"

As soon as he shouted, Sonic ran around all over the kitchen at hyper speed, knocking down some plates, pans, and knickknacks in the process. Sonic eventually zoomed back on the counter in front of the gang with a frantic expression.

"Where am I? What year is it? Is Countess Coloratura the president?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! It's okay buddy!" Sunset soothed, raising both her palms up. "It's okay! Calm down."

Sonic calmed himself down and then immediately smiled when he spotted a new face next to Sunset.

"Oh hi, Crystal Lady!"

"…h-hi," Cadance uttered with a stunned expression. Despite that she was briefly informed that the blue hedgehog can talk and run super fast, it was still a shock for her to see in person.

"Wait!” Rainbow Dash spoke up with a confused expression. “You know her? And did you just call her Crystal Lady?"

"Yes and yes!” Sonic answered with a nod. “I saw her one time near Canterlot City’s mall with Brainiac and she wore a lot of crystal jewelry. She looked so pretty with all the crystals."

Cadence blushed from the hedgehog’s compliment. "O-oh! I see! I… I'm flattered!" She turned toward the girls while clearing her throat. "Uh, girls… may I speak to all of you in the other room for a moment?"

With collective nods, the girls followed Cadance out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Cadance turned towards Sonic, who was still standing on the counter, as she was shutting the double doors.

"Stay there, uh… little space hedgehog, and get some rest," Cadance requested.

"You got it!" Sonic responded eagerly. "I'm great at resting! I rest faster than anybody."

Cadance shut the door on Sonic, despite him still talking from the other side of the door.

Rainbow Dash chuckled, pointing at the door with her thumb. "See? Still talking, that guy!"

Fluttershy nodded in agreement. "Yeah, he's almost a rival to Pinkie when it comes to nonstop talking!"

Pinkie had an amused smirk. "Oh please, I'm a master of nonstop talker compared to him!"

Cadance cleared her throat again. "Alright, girls… just to let you all know that despite everything that happened in the past half hour, I've been under control this entire time."

Sunset nodded. "Oh yeah, you're definitely taking this well!"

"Yep, calm as a cucumber!" Applejack added.

"Thank you!" Cadance said a little too cheerfully. "Now, with that said… what the heck is going on!?" She screamed, startling the girls. "Is that thing an alien?!"

"Well… yes and no," Pinkie answered vaguely, causing Cadance to frown in impatience.

"Okay, look," Sunset spoke calmly, getting Cadance's attention. "You know how a student from our school goes around claiming about a blue devil in our town?"

"You mean Crazy Lyra?" Cadance asked before her eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute… the Blue Devil!?"

She turned towards the kitchen door where Sonic was before facing the girls with a shocked expression.

"You mean that's him? I thought it was all made up as one huge prank from CHS due to a rivalry against Crystal Prep!"

"Nope, he's the real deal just as Lyra said," Rainbow Dash confirmed before rubbing her neck sheepishly. "And to tell you the truth… we didn't believe it ourselves until we met him a day and a half ago."

"So what is he doing here? What are you girls doing here?" Cadance frowned. "And where's Twilight?

The girls hesitated for a moment with nervous expressions. The majority of the group then turned towards Sunset, staring at her expectedly. Sunset glared at her friends for a brief moment before she began explaining to the former Dean.

"Okay, here's what happened..."





Sonic was all alone in the kitchen, sitting on the counter with his legs dangling over it. He stared at the closed door in front of him, trying to make out mumbling sounds from the other side. There was no doubt that they were talking about him, trying to explain his involvement to Crystal Lady.

He frowned when he heard Sunset’s voice through the door. He remembered their huge argument back on the bus before they were attacked by Robotnik’s machine. While he doesn't blame her for accidentally reading his mind, he was still very upset that not only she lied, she was questioning their friendship to begin with. He also couldn't believe that she was willing to leave her home and her friends behind. 

Was he wrong about her? Did she even care about her friends? Did their time together mean anything to her? 

Were they ever friends?

"Sonic!"

Sonic snapped out of his depressing thoughts as the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Rarity entered the kitchen with Sweetie Belle hiding something from behind her back.

"Oh, hey girls, what's up?" Sonic greeted.

"Well darling, we couldn't help but notice that your choice of… footwear looked old and full of holes. And not to mention, way out of fashion!" Rarity explained.

"So, with the help from my big sis, we all put together a special gift just for you!" Sweetie added.

Sonic blinked. "A gift… for me?"

The girls looked at each other and nodded with knowing and exciting grins before Sweetie Belle revealed the "gift" in front of Sonic.

"Ta da!" The girls chorused. 

Sonic was taken aback in shock. The gift in question were these high quality, bright red and white shoes on Sweetie’s hands. It had a huge white stripe across the sole of the shoe, had a yellow tag, and it looked all brand new.





Overcome with emotion, Sonic pointed his trembling finger at the shoes. "A-are they…"

Apple Bloom nodded happily. "Yep! We got these brand new pairs of shoes especially for you!"

"And with these shoes, you won’t hurt your feet anymore," Scootaloo added.

"Only the best of the best for an alien superhero like you!" Diamond Tiara bragged.

Speechless, Sonic swallowed a non-existing lump down his throat. "You… actually bought me a new pair of shoes… for me?"

"Well… they're technically mine, and they were made by my sister," Sweetie replied but with a warm smile. "But I figured you need these shoes more than me."

"And I also did some slight modifications of these shoes so that they don't wear out quickly no matter how long or fast you run!" Rarity said in pride. "I figured my experiences of designing Rainbow Dash's shoes will come into play sooner or later!"

"...you really mean that?" Sonic asked softly. "You don't mind giving these to me to keep?"

Apple Bloom nodded. "Yep! Since yer so fun to hang out with and a cool guy, consider this a gift from us… and fer being our friend."

Rarity winked. “Told you I’ll be designing some sort of clothing for you!”

Sonic felt his heart swell in warmth. "Wow… thank you." Sonic smiled. "No one's ever given me a gift before. I gotta check that off my bucket list."

"Well, what are you waiting for? Try them on, Sonic!" Scootaloo cried eagerly.

With a big happy grin, Sonic eagerly put on his new shoes and then stood up on the counter. He then ran in place, did a little dance, and spun around to test the comfort and durability of his shoes. They are definitely more comfortable than his old ones and they don't break down as quickly as all of the other shoes. And best of all, they were a gift from his new friends.





"All right! Looking good!" He exclaimed excitedly.

The girls responded with happy grins.
> Volume III - Chapter 3: Sunset’s Confession
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

From within Robotnik’s portable lab, both Twilight and Stone took a long delicate sip from their cups. Once they consumed their beverages, they both smack their lips and let out a satisfied sigh.

"I must say, Agent Stone, this latte with steamed Kirin’s goat milk is delicious!" Twilight complimented, slightly surprised with herself for liking Stone’s drink.

"Thank you very much!" said Stone with an appreciative smile. "And please, call me Stone."

Twilight glanced down at her cup in wonder. "Where’d you get this latte from, Stone? Starbuck?"

Stone coughed lightly as he sheepishly rubbed his neck. "Actually… I made them."

Twilight looked up with a surprised expression. "You made these lattes?"

Stone nodded. "Oh yeah! Before I became the Doctor's assistant, I've always experimented with different kinds of lattes as a hobby of mine... mostly involved with goat milk. Of course, the Doctor doesn't seem to care much, but I always enjoy making it for everyone."

"Well, from one person who experiments with things to another, I can respect that," Twilight grinned. "Have you ever thought of running your own café?"

Stone blinked. "My… own café?"

Twilight nodded. "Yeah! That way, you can make different lattes and more for everyone all the time. I bet you'll be good at it."

Stone stared at Twilight for a moment, deep in thought. No one has ever encouraged him to pursue the things he likes, not even the doctor. He always loved to make his lattes for other people, but to run his very own cafe? He will admit... that did sound nice.

"Well… I doubt I'll be able to run a café business as a government agent, but…” Stone smiled. “I'll consider it."

Twilight was about to respond when all of the sudden, all the alarms were blaring and the whole lab lit up in red, startling the two of them.

"Intruder!" Stone exclaimed, surveying around the lab before addressing Twilight. 

"Don't go anywhere!" he ordered before he moved away from Twilight.

Twilight let out a huff, wiggling her tied hands. "Oh sure, no problem! It's not like I'll go anywhere any time soon!"

Ignoring Twilight’s remark, Stone dug into the inside pocket of his jacket and took out his stun gun.

"C'mon out!” Stone demanded, pointing his gun in multiple directions. “I know you're there!"

At that moment, a small grenade was launched on the floor toward him from out of nowhere before it exploded, engulfing most of the room into a smokescreen.

"W-what the–" Stone coughed, covering his face with his arm.

Before he had time to react, he felt someone knock him from the side of his head before he fell to the floor and lost consciousness. Twilight meanwhile, watched the whole scene in front of her, curious and scared after seeing Stone was taken out by an invisible assailant. 

"W-who's there!?" Twilight shouted while doing her best to cover her mouth from the smoke despite being tied up.

Then she heard heavy footsteps of someone slowly walking towards her, making Twilight more afraid. Slowly, she could make out a shadow of her “mysterious savor” as they stepped closer. Part of Twilight hoped that it was one of her friends, but judging by the height and size it was sadly not the case. The mysterious stranger kept getting closer and closer, slowly revealing themselves. Once the stranger fully emerged from the smoke, Twilight’s eyes widened in shock and fear.

"Y-You!?"





Some time has passed since they revived Sonic, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, Spike, and Sonic were in Diamond’s room to catch up, while everyone else, including Rarity, gathered around in the living room and sat in their seats, leaving Sunset to explain to Cadance without leaving any details. She told her about the incident at the school’s baseball field, the meeting with Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna, then meeting Sonic and their promise to help him, Robotnik attacking them at Twilight’s home, and being hunted down by the government as they traveled half of the country. She then finally told Cadance about the recent attack by two robots on the highway before breaking the news about Twilight being kidnapped.

Needless to say, the former Dean was not happy with the news.

By the time Sunset finished her story, Cadence had just silently stared at her for what felt like a long time, still processing everything she just heard.

“So let me get this straight,” Cadance finally spoke slowly. “This blue… hedgehog… was the one who knocked out half of this country’s power?” 

Sunset nodded.

“But he was trying to get to his new home to this… mushroom planet?”

Sunset nodded again.

“And the reason why you're helping him… was because you and Twilight accidentally shot him with a tranq gun… which caused him to accidentally drop his bag of rings through a portal of that same ring… to the top of that Crystaller building?”

“Yeah… that’s pretty much it,” Sunset confirmed.

Cadence blinked. “This… is a lot to take in." 

“Oh, c’mon Principle Cadance!”

Everyone turned towards Spoiled Rich, who has still tied up on a single chair away from them with a look of utter disbelief.

“You can’t seriously believe any of this now do you?” She scoffed. “I mean, aliens? It’s bad enough that those kids are delinquents, but it's clear to me that they have lost their minds!”

"Hey, no comments from the peanut gallery!" Rainbow Dash retorted. “And besides, you knew about Sunset’s world and this is what is considered unbelievable to you!”

Spoiled humphed. “I still think you’re all crazy and that you are all going to jail when I get out of this!”

“Oh, I would love to see you try, grandma!” Rainbow countered.

“Grandma!?" Spoiled screeched, her face all red in anger. "How dare you, you prismatic-haired brat!?"

Before Rainbow Dash could insult her again, Rarity interfered.

“Rainbow Dash, don’t provoke her!” she scolded.

“What? She started it!” Rainbow defended, pointed at Spoiled in question.

“Rarity has a point,” Applejack added. “We’re dealing with a big issue right now, so it’s best to ignore her.”

Spoiled humphed again, glaring at the girls with offense while Rainbow Dash subtly stuck her tongue at her in response.

Sunset cleared her throat "Anyway… Twilight suggested that we come here so that you'll help us out. She… never told us why though."

"...I see," Cadence nodded with a solemn expression. "Before you all arrived, I received a message from Shining Armor that you girls are in trouble. But I never imagined that it'll be as bad as this!"

Sunset blinked in surprise. "Shining Armor messaged you?"

"Yes... though he didn't give me all the details, but he told me what's going on before he got captured." Cadence tightened her fist. "He only did this to protect you girls and Twilight. But he had no idea that Twilight…"

The girls bared sad expressions, thinking of their missing friend as Cadance was trying to keep herself from crying. Sunset watched Cadance with guilt weighing on her heart.

"Cadance, I… I'm so sorry," she said quietly. "If only I was fast enough I could've–"

"No!" Cadance cried with a fierce look. "Don't you ever blame yourself Sunset! It's not your fault!" Her expression then became soft. "From what you told me, Twilight sacrificed herself to save you. I'm sure if the roles are reversed, you wouldn't want her to blame herself either."

Sunset sighed. "Be that as it may, Twilight is gone because of me and I swear I will bring Twilight back even if it means putting myself in her place!"

"Let's hope we don't come to that, Sunset," Rarity stated before facing Cadance. "What else did officer Shining Armor tell you, Cadance?"

Cadance's eyes narrowed. "Apparently, G.U.N. took over CHS and had all the students and staff, including Shining Armor captured and treated them like prisoners. They even tortured some of the kids like Lyra to get more information about you girls."

The Equestria Girls were shocked by this revelation and couldn't believe what they were hearing about their school since they left.

"Yer kidding!" Applejack exclaimed before her eyes widened in realization. "Does that mean Granny and Big Mac got captured too?"

"And my sisters Limestone, Marble, and Maud?" Pinkie Pie added with fear in her voice.

Rainbow Dash grunted, feeling more disgust with G.U.N. now more than ever. "Man… these guys are bad enough, but what they're doing to everyone at school, especially Lyra, was too far!"

Fluttershy whimpered. "Oh, I hope everyone over at our school is okay!"

Sunset frowned. "What about Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna?"

"Luna is captured along with the students," Cadance answered. "But Principal Celestia… is missing."

"Missing?" Sunset echoed in concern. "What happened to her? Did G.U.N. get to her?"

Cadance shook her head. "No. She disappeared before G.U.N. completely took over the school."

Sunset cocked an eyebrow, confused by this statement. "But we spoke to her in school when they first arrived! Why did she disappear and leave everyone behind?"

Before Cadance could answer, there were some loud beeps, coming from Cadance's pocket, assumed to be Cadance's phone.

"Oh, excuse me, girls. I have to take this!" Cadance slowly stood up. "I'll be right back!"

The girls watched as Cadance semi-hurried out of the room to take that “phone call”.

"Huh, I wonder what's that about?" Rainbow commented.

"Whatever it is, it must be important," said Applejack 

Fluttershy frowned. "Do you think that maybe Cadance has some sort of secret that she's not telling us?"

“Maybe she’s some kind of a super-secret spy agent the entire time!” Pinkie theorized while hanging upside down from the ceiling… somehow.

Rarity shook her head. "I doubt that. Whatever it was, it's probably nothing.” Rarity frowned. “Speaking of secrets…"

Knowing who Rarity was referring to, most of the Equestria Girls turned to face the one girl in question who still owe them an explanation.

"W-what?" Sunset questioned, a bit perturbed by the way her friends were staring at her.

“Don’t you ‘what’ me, Sunset!” Rainbow retorted as she stood up with a glare. “You’re hiding something from us, so make like a glass of OJ and spill!” 

Before she could yell further, Applejack immediately grasped Rainbow’s shoulder to calm her down while Rarity spoke up in a calmer tone.

“What Rainbow Dash was trying to say was while your attitude at the bus from earlier hurt us, we are also very concerned and we are hoping you will tell us why.”

Sunset said nothing for a moment, turning away from the group and grasping her arm.

“It’s… it’s complicated,” Sunset responded quietly.

“Complicated!?” Rainbow scowled, shrugging Applejack’s grip as she stepped forward. “What's so complicated about leaving us behind and not coming back?"

"We're going our separate ways anyway," Sunset responded emotionlessly, still not looking at them. "I don't see how this is any different!"

"I told you!" Rainbow huffed. "Just because we're going our separate ways, doesn't mean we're going away forever!"

"And how do you know that?" Sunset pressed. "What makes you so sure that while we're having our own lives after high school we'll one day see each other again? You'll probably be too busy touring around the world for your career or settling down and having a family!"

Rainbow paused for a moment. "I'll admit, I don't know for sure. Maybe my life will be busy. Maybe my time will be less as the years go by.” Her expression became determined. “But I won't let that stop me! We will find a way to see each other again. Even if it's only once a year or two, I will gladly use that time to be with you girls once more… including you, Sunset! You girls are more than friends, you're family to me!"

"...am I really your friend?” Sunset questioned with a bit of anger in her voice. “Am I ever your family at all?"

Rainbow, as well as the others, we’re taken aback by Sunset’s question. "What kind of question is that? Of course, you're my friend! Of course, you're my family! You're just as important to me as well as the others."

Sunset tightens her fist. "How will I know for sure that you won't forget and abandon me? That you don't remember anything about me except when I bully you?"

"That's ridiculous Sunset!” Rainbow argued. “None of us will forget you or abandon you!"

Couldn’t contain her anger anymore, Sunset finally turned to face Rainbow.

"But you already did that more than once!"

Realizing what she just said, Sunset wordlessly gasped and covered her mouth. But it was too late as Sunset saw Rainbow as well as the rest of her friends, staring at her in shock as well as concern. 

“We… abandoned you?” Rainbow echoed. “W-what do you mean?”

Sunset turned away again, refusing to answer, nor look any of her friends in the eye.

The girls stared at Sunset in silence, confused and concerned for their friends. Neither of them knew what Sunset was referring to until Rarity finally put the pieces together.

“Was this about what happened with the memory stone incident?” Rarity spoke softly, causing everyone's eyes to widen in realization.

Sunset still has her back towards them.

“It… was more than that,” Sunset admitted quietly with a sigh before facing her friends. "We all know that we didn't start off as friends and I was horrible to everyone, including you girls. Even though you all forgive me, a part of me believed you all still have some… resentment towards me.”

“That’s not true Sunset!” Rainbow Dash cried. “None of us resent you!”

Sunset frowned. “That’s not what you said to Sonic last night.”

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in alarm while the others stared at her in shock. “You… you overheard–”

“Not on purpose,” Sunset explained, looking uncomfortable. “I went out looking for Sonic after I noticed him missing from his bed. It didn't take long for me to find him with you but…"

Rainbow had a look of dread. "How long?"

"Long enough," Sunset answered guilty, making Rainbow feel more nervous. "Don't worry, I'll keep the conversation between you two,” she assured. “But I will say that I couldn't help but feel responsible for what happened to you… so I can understand why you felt some resentment towards me."

"I used to!" Rainbow Dash corrected. "Not anymore."

"Were you really?" Sunset pressed. "How do I know that there was still a small part that you do? When Wallflower took all the good memories of me, you all thought the worst of me and never gave me a chance."

The Equestria Girls, except Sunset, looked at one another before craning their necks in shame.

"We're still sorry for what happened that day, Sunset,” Applejack spoke for the group. “While it's true that we remembered the bad things you've done, but as we got to know ya and became friends with ya, we now knew that yer no longer the same girl from when you first got here. Without those good memories of ya, it made our minds think yer a bad person." Her eyes shifted away in guilt. "Not dat it's any excuse fer not hearin’ ya out and ditchin’ ya."

"I know that,” Sunset sighed. “And it was because Wallflower manipulated your memories to get you all to turn on me. I did forgive her, but when that happened, I can't help but think back to when we first started becoming friends after… that day."

Fluttershy gave Sunset her sad and understanding expression. “You mean the Fall Formal?”

“...yeah,” Sunset nodded. "How our first few days were awkward, how I noticed some subtle bitter looks as we talked, how often you all 'forgot' to invite me, and many off-handed comments about me, followed by 'no offense' line."

The girls winced at that, which Sunset took notice of. 

"I know you all didn't mean it and that you were trying, but you're all still getting used to me at the time, and I understand that now. But at the time, I did not believe this would ever work out for us becoming friends and I will be forever alone because of my actions." Sunset closed her eyes. "That is… until I met my best friend."

The Equestria girls looked at each other in confusion before addressing Sunset.

"Who?" Rarity asked.

"...Sonic."

Seeing her friends’ surprised and confused expressions, Sunset elaborated. “I’ve mentioned to you all before that I worked hard to become a better person and redeem myself because of him. But what I didn’t tell you was that I considered him… my true best friend.”

The girls gasped.

"Your true best friend?" Pinkie exclaimed.

"...Yes," Sunset confirmed with a sigh. “Let me explain. While we never met in person– at the time, his letters were the only good things I looked forward to, even on my worst days. Aside from talking about our days, I always talk to him about everything in my life, even all the bad things I’ve done… as well as my insecurities. I don’t know if it was because it was much easier to talk to someone I don’t know who isn’t from our school, or was it because there was someone who actually bothered to talk to me… let alone actually wanted to be my friend.

“In that short time, he became my only true friend in the world and likes me for being me… and didn’t judge me based on my past. Sure, I still felt lonely sometimes when he couldn’t meet with me and I now see why… I thought just communicating with him with letters was more than enough while the others don’t matter to me.

“But then… the Battle of the Bands happened. You girls truly let me in for the first time… and actually bonded with me. The more time we spent together, the less loneliness I felt. And over time… we became so close, that I considered you all my best friends… and I could never imagine my life without you girls. However… Sonic is still my main best friend and holds a special place in my heart, even if we never met… until yesterday.

"When I saw that my best friend was a literal talking blue hedgehog… I don’t know what to think! The fact that he kept that from me and watched us for so long… I was ashamed to admit that I began to question him if our friendship after all this time was ever real. I mean, I decided to become a better person because of him. How am I supposed to feel if our friendship was a lie? I'd be devastated!"

Pinkie frowned sadly for her friend. "Sunny…"

"But after seeing his memories by accident,” Sunset continued. “I realized that our friendship is real! But I never wanted to invade his memories like that– accident or not, but then again, I was scared to ask him that directly without hurting him."

"Well, you pretty much missed the boat on that, Sunset!" Rainbow Dash remarked, only getting elbowed hard in the ribs by Applejack.

"Even so…" said Sunset, ignoring Rainbow’s remark. "Despite his friendship being real…. I still felt unsure. There were still some things I don't know about him and I want to help him not just because I pitied him, but how will I know that we're still friends after this?" She placed her forehead on her hand. "I… I know this all sounds stupid, but… I don't want to lose his friendship… like how I nearly lost you girls!"

"You didn't lose us Sunset!" Applejack said gently. "We will never leave ya based on yer past actions or yer mistakes.” 

Pinkie nodded in agreement. “Yeah, Dashie makes mistakes all the time and we're still friends with her."

"Hey!" Rainbow exclaimed, offended by Pinkie’s remark. "While I'll admit that I'm not perfect, I'm not that bad!"

Pinkie tapped her chin in thought. "Well, there was the time when you kept referring to your band instead of our band during the Battle of the Bands, going on a wild goose chase for wild magic during our Spring Break trip, overpowering our magic for using too much of your speed magic including during your race with Sonic–"

"Okay okay! Point taken! Yeesh!" Rainbow huffed before turning to Sunset. “Anyway, AJ’s right… as much as I hate to admit it. We’re not perfect, you’re not perfect, and you considered Sonic as your main best friend! Big whoop! It doesn’t matter about our past, what really matters is right now! And right now, as far as I know, you are still our best friend no matter what you think!” She grinned. “And if you’re worried about offending us about who’s your main best friend, don’t! We each have one of our own!”

While Sunset felt some assurance from Rainbow’s words, Sunset still couldn’t shake her guilt from her chest and refused to look at her friends.

Noticing her friend’s distress, Fluttershy frowned. “There is still more to this… wasn’t there?”

Sunset sighed, still looking at the wall ahead of her. “I also felt… guilty… for everything that happened.”

Rarity tilted her head. “Do you mean guilty for right now or your past?”

“…everything,” Sunset answered quietly. “Ever since I first came to this world for my own selfish goal, and even after I changed my ways, I've never thought about the consequences for just coming here. Not just for being a bully, but for coming to this world in the first place.” 

Sunset felt her tears foaming from the corners of her eyes. “It was bad enough for what I have done as a meanie and then a She-Demon, everything after the Fall Formal was worse after another because of Equestrian magic! And now… we're all on the run from the government… and your lives are ruined, including Sonic… all because I came here!” 

"If I stayed any longer, who knows what else could happen," Her voice cracked. "You all mean so much to me and if anything happens to you girls… I couldn’t live with myself! And since I have no place in this world and that we all be separated and forget me anyway, which is why… I'm returning and staying in Equestria for good… and not ruining anything anymore than I did already. And this way…” 

Sunset closed her eyes, letting a lone tear down her cheek. “...you all will be safe.” 

There was silence within the room as Sunset refuses to face her friends, ashamed and fearful of their reactions. Are they upset? Disappointed? Angry? Disgusted? Maybe all the above? She wanted to know how they feel towards her because the silence was killing her, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak anymore.

After what felt like an eternity, it was Rainbow Dash who finally spoke.

"Sunset… you're an idiot!"

Sunset immediately turned around with a surprised expression, not expecting that kind of response. The rest of the girls, however, gave Rainbow Dash a look of disapproval.

"Rainbow Dash!” Rarity exclaimed, appalled by Rainbow’s choice of words. “She just poured her heart out! How can you be so–"

Rainbow immediately raised her palm out, interrupting Rarity’s rant before she continued to speak to Sunset.

"Do you think you're the only one who made mistakes?” Rainbow retorted with an angry expression. “Do you think you're the only one who is responsible for your actions with our magic? Do you think you feel that only you can carry all the burdens by yourself? Well, you're wrong, Sunset…" 

Her expression became soft. "We all make mistakes too. Faust knows how many mistakes I've made in the last couple of days!"

"Oh, I know! It's five!" Pinkie chirped. "You've made five mistakes since the start of this trip!"

"...thank you, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash grumbled sarcastically before addressing Sunset again. "And you shouldn't blame yourself for bringing magic either. You didn't know this would happen."

“She’s right dear!” Rarity added with a look of sympathy. "Princess Twilight mentioned that this happened even before you showed up when Starswirl sent those three sirens to this world.” 

“But even so, we’re just as responsible as you are,” Applejack pointed out. “So don’t try to bear all of this burden on yer own… especially when you have us to carry it with you! We won’t leave a friend hanging!”

“And you didn’t ruin our lives or Sonic’s either Sunset!” Fluttershy spoke softly with a kind smile. “We all chose to face together whatever danger comes our way… just as we all chose to have you as our dear friend.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered. “And besides, we wouldn’t have you as our friend if you haven’t come to this world. And we wouldn’t trade you for anything!”

Sunset began to tear up again. “You girls…”

"So you've already become one of us a long time ago Sunset!” Rainbow smirked. “And we're in this together whether you want to or not!"

The rest of the girls nodded in unison, smiles on their faces.

Sunset looked uncertain as she rubbed her tear away. "But… we're going to be separated anyway after our graduation."

Rainbow Dash scoffed. "How many times do I have to tell you? Just because we'll be going our separate ways in life, doesn't mean we'll be separated forever! Why? Because you, along with the others, are my best friend! We will find the time to see each other again!"

Sunset stared at Rainbow with a surprised expression. "I'm… still your best friend? Even if I'm best friends with Sonic?”

"Of course, Sunset!” Rarity nodded. “We’re not upset at all dear. There's no shame for being best friends with Sonic for the longest.” She then gave Sunset her sly smile. “Besides, who said you only need one best friend?"

"Yeah! Our group is full of best friends!” Pinkie added cheerfully. “There's always room for more!"

"And you changed our lives Sunset… and I mean for the better!” Fluttershy said with a smile. “You are one of the few important people in my life Sunset! There's no way that I or any of us will ever forget you.”

"And yer not just our best friend, yer also our family,” said Applejack with a caring look. “As Granny Smith says to me many times– quite literally: families always find each other again."

Rainbow Dash gave Sunset an assuring smirk. “Like it or not Sunset, you’re stuck with us!”

Sunset began to tear up again, but with a smile on her face. “Thank you, girls,” she sniffed. “While Twilight was very understanding, I was afraid of how you girls will react.”

“You told Twilight and not us!?” Rainbow remarked, only to get elbowed hard in the ribs by Applejack again.

Sunset cleared her throat, feeling awkward. “I told her beforehand because I’m… closest to her among our group… no offense.”

“None taken, Sunset!” Applejack replied before Rainbow could speak. “You two are close friends since the Friendship games, so we understand.” She then frowned. “By the way, what exactly do ya mean that you have ‘no place in the world’, Sunset?

Sunset winced, couldn’t believe that she let that slip. As much as she wanted to leave that part to herself, she realized that her friends deserved to know. She pretty much confessed a lot to them already, so she might as well tell them the rest, even if she felt silly from this uncertain fear.

“Well, truthfully… I don’t know what I’m going to do in my life after we graduate,” Sunset confessed with a sad sigh. “I thought it didn’t matter to me as long as I have you girls by my side. But when we graduate… I felt like I lost some kind of purpose in my life.” Sunset let out a bitter chuckle. “How ironic… I originally came to this world thinking I knew exactly what I wanted to be… only it wasn’t… and now I don’t know what to do with myself.”

Applejack smiled. “Sunset, it’s okay. Not everyone knows wat to do yet even after we graduate. And it’s not like you need those answers right now. Heck, Ah’m still figuring out wat to do with mah life too.”

Rarity nodded in agreement. “Yeah, part of life is to keep figuring things out and you’ll eventually find your answers. Or maybe a different answer even if you think you get one.” She beamed. “But I have full confidence in you that you’ll do amazing whatever you want to pursue in your life Sunset, because let’s face it… you are very talented in your own right.”

“I… appreciate your kind words,” Sunset responded, still feeling uncertain. “But even so… I’m technically an illegal alien from a different world. I can’t have the same opportunities in this world as you girls and I don’t want to resort to illegal means like how I got into CHS. So I have no reason to be here. It was part of the reason why I took Princess Twilight’s offer in the first place.”

“Maybe so Sunset, but you have us!” Fluttershy beamed. “We’ll find a way to help out! And even if it didn’t work out, you can still come visit us!”

“But what happens after we graduate?” Sunset asked with uncertainty. “How are we going to stay in touch?”

Rainbow walked closer to Sunset and gently placed her hands and Sunset’s shoulders. “We can discuss this further after we rescue Twilight!” Rainbow Dash assured before giving Sunset a confident smile. “But don’t worry, we’ll make it work! No matter how far apart we are, and no matter how tough our lives may be, our friendship will never break. You can count on it!"

Despite the tears running down her cheeks, Sunset smiled at her friend before hugging her, which Rainbow hugged back. Seeing this, the girls quickly joined in and pulled Sunset into a group hug. Sunset sighed happily, feeling the love and warmth from her friends.

You girls… are the best friends that anyone could've asked for! Sunset thought with a smile.

Spoiled, who was watching them from the background rolled her eyes with a scoff. “Ugh! This is even more overly dramatic than that soap opera show I watched the other day!”

No one seemed to pay any attention to that snobby woman as the girls continued to hug each other out.

Unbeknownst to the group, Sonic hid himself from around the corner, overhearing their conversation. He left Diamond's room some time ago when the CMCs and Diamond started talking about their crushes at school, so he decided to check in on the Equestrian Girls. He was about to join in on their conversation until Sunset started confessing about everything that bothered her since the start of the adventure, including him. 

While her uncertainty about their friendship stung him, he understood where she came from. His friendship with Sunset is real, he wasn't entirely honest with her either, especially since he isn't human. Even though he can only communicate by letters, she is his first real friend to him. A selfish part of him didn't want to lose her if she learns the truth, but deep down, he knew that it isn't fair to her to keep that hidden from her even if it was due to circumstances.

And he also understood where she came from and why she wanted to leave this world behind. It was only because she wanted to protect her friends, all due to her guilt from her past actions. It was why he was drawn to her in the first place; despite her past, she became a person who really cares about her friends and will do anything to protect them. He felt guilty for accusing her of being a jerk. And he felt really guilty for being partly responsible for their current situation as he did with Longclaw so many years ago. He decided right there and then as soon as they retrieved his rings, the sooner he would leave for the mushroom planet and not put others in danger ever again.

As the girls formed into a group hug, Sonic quietly returned to Diamond’s room, leaving the tender moment private to themselves.

Suddenly, Sunset began to glow and her pony ears popped out. A second later, her friends also started glowing and their pony appendages appeared on their bodies as well. The girls noticed the sudden magic appearance and they broke out their hug shock, causing their magic to die out and their pony parts to disappear.

"Girls!" Pinkie exclaimed. "Our magic! It's…"

"They're back!" Rarity cried. "But how!? I thought our magic won't return for another day!"

Sunset furrowed her brows, her mind racing as she recalled everything they went through up to this point. Then her eyes widened in realization.

"I think I realized something!" She exclaimed, getting her friends' attention. "I remembered from my past conversations with Princess Twilight that sometimes our magic vanishes when there is a discord within our connection and can only be restored as soon as our discord is resolved."

Fluttershy frowned. "If there was a discord, then what could that be?"

"The only thing Ah can think of was when Dash misused our magic during a race against Sonic," Applejack remarked.

Rainbow Dash huffed with an annoyed expression. "Do you guys have to keep bringing that up? I said I was 'sorry'!"

Sunset glanced sideways, feeling guilty. "Actually… it's not just Rainbow Dash."

The girls, even Rainbow Dash turned to Sunset with confused, yet curious looks.

"Then who else?" Rarity asked.

"...me," Sunset sighed. 

Seeing her friends' stunning expressions, she elaborated.

"I was so emotionally distressed about my friendship with Sonic, friendship with you girls, and our future, the magic within us became weaker. And what happened after a race between Rainbow Dash and Sonic was the final straw for me." She then smiled. "But after we all made up, I immediately felt our magic again, and now they're stronger than ever."

Applejack smiled. "Ah'm just glad that we all resolved our issues, Sunset."

"Not everyone," Sunset sighed, glancing where Sonic and the younger girls were hanging out. "I also need to talk and apologize to Sonic," Sunset assured. 

"So are you going to do it now or wait until the next robot attack?" Rainbow Dash teased.

"Now," Sunset answered, rolling her eyes before giving her friend an assuring expression. "No more delays, I promise. And after that, we'll come up with a plan to save Twilight."

"That's what I like to hear!" Rainbow declared with a toothy grin. "We'll get Twilight back, send Sonic to that mushroom planet, and kick Ro-butt-nik's butt!" 

The girls let out a loud cheer in response.

All of the sudden, they all heard several loud knocks, taking everyone by surprise. They all turned towards the source of the noises, which were coming from the front door. The girls slowly turned to one another with apprehension.

"Um… is Cadance expecting any visitors?" Rarity asked quietly.

"...I don’t think so," Sunset answered uneasily.

They jumped when they heard more knocks coming from the front door, but much more swiftly. 

“Oh no… what if it was G.U.N.?” Fluttershy squeaked in fear. “They found us!”

“Now calm down, Shy,” Applejack soothed. “Ah don’t think it was them.”

“What makes you sure?” Rainbow Dash questioned skeptically.

“If it was them, they could’ve broken through the doors and windows already!” Applejack reasoned.

Rainbow frowned. “Even if you’re right, this person isn’t leaving!”

They heard more knocks coming from the door, proving Rainbow’s point. With a determined expression, Sunset walked towards the door.

“Sunset, what are you doing!” Pinkie yelled in a whispered tone.

“Answering the door and put an end to this!” Sunset replied. “Whether it’s the government or not, I will not run away.”

Ignoring her friends’ protests, Sunset approached the door. As her friends followed after her, most likely to stop her, Sunset took a deep breath before she threw open the door. When she saw who was behind the door, her throat hitched in emotion.

The person behind the door blinked before she give Sunset and her friends an awkward wave. "Um… hey girls!"

"Twilight!"

Before Twilight could utter a word, Sunset immediately dove toward her and brought Twilight into a bear hug. Following Sunset’s example, the girls barreled them into a group hug. Even Spike ran up to Twilight as soon as he sees her and pressed himself on her legs, refusing to separate from her. Twilight smiled warmly with tears in her eyes as she melted into her friends' embrace.

"Twilight, you're okay!" Sunset croaked as tears were flowing from her eyes and held Twilight tightly, refusing to let go. "Thank Celestia that you're safe!" 

"Are ya hurt, Twi?" Applejack asked in concern before frowning. "If that Robotnik creep did anythin' to ya, so help me–

"He didn't do anything to me," Twilight assured quickly as she broke away from their hug. "Other than practicality scarring me after watching his… dance routine…" Twilight shuddered. "He didn't harm me."

The girls were confused about what Twilight meant about Robotnik’s dance routine, but they decided to shelf that for now and focus on the main issue.

"How did you escape?" Rainbow Dash inquired before smirking. "Did you pull off an escape trick and beat up some baddies like Daring Do?"

Twilight cleared her throat as she rubbed her neck with a hesitant expression. "Well, actually… I was rescued."

Sunset blinked. "Rescued? By who?"

"By me!"

The girls turned towards the front door and their eyes widened in shock when they saw their new visitor. Standing by the door was none other than Tempest Shadow, staring at the girls with a cool expression. Ignoring the other girls, Tempest turned her gaze at Sunset, who had a horrified expression on her face.

"Hello again… Sunset Shimmer!"
> Volume III - Chapter 4: An Unexpected Visitor
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

No one moved a single muscle, let alone breathe the moment when everyone saw Tempest enter the house. For Sunset Shimmer, this was the worst-case scenario. One of the G.U.N. agents, who are highly trained, have found them. And now she's here to take Sonic, her, and her friends away to be experimented on and to get info in Equestria.

Every fiber of her being screamed at her to run or to fight and protect her friends, but she was too terrified to speak, let alone to move. She could only watch in horror as Tempest stared back at her as if she were being held in her place from her gaze alone.

"We need to talk… Sunset Shimmer!" Tempest stated as she slowly made her way over towards Sunset.





Before either of them could blink, Tempest was suddenly tackled to the side by an unknown being and landed on the floor. Tempest looked up to see Rainbow Dash standing over her in front of Sunset with her fierce glare.

"Stay away from her you creep!" she shouted before she rushed towards Tempest with her super speed.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” Twilight cried.

But Rainbow Dash didn't heed Twilight’s words as she charged toward Tempest, preparing to tackle her again. However, Tempest was ready for this time as she took out a small capsule from her belt and tossed it in front of her and it exploded. Before Rainbow Dash could realize what was happening, she was suddenly stopped in place due to the sticky substance which appeared suddenly on the floor, causing her to get stuck in place. 

“What the–” Rainbow cried as she struggled with her legs in hopes of getting free from the substance.

Tempest quickly got up and made her way over to Sunset again.  "Hold on a second, I–"

Tempest was cut off the moment the diamond shield appeared and held her in place. While Tempest was struggling with the shield, Rarity suddenly stood in front of Sunset with one hand on her amulet while holding her other arm out towards Tempest.

"Sunset, grab our sisters and get out of here!” Rarity ordered, glancing at Sunset briefly. “We’ll hold her off!"

Sunset finally snapped out of her state and shook her head. "No! Not without you!"

Before they could argue, Tempest punched through the diamond shield with her robotic arm, breaking Rarity’s concentration. Before Tempest could step forward, she was immediately grabbed and held in place by Applejack from behind.

“Go, Sunset!” Applejack shouted, struggling against Tempest despite her boosted strength.

Reluctantly, Sunset nodded and ran towards the stairs while Rarity attempted to help her friend with her shield again.

"Girls, wait!" Twilight cried again, but no one listened during the commotion.

With a grunt, Tempest maneuvered her arms around until she managed to grab Applejack. She flipped Applejack over her head and tossed Applejack towards Rarity; the two crashed together like rag dolls. While the two girls were in a daze, Tempest ran after Sunset.

"What's going on over there!" Spoiled demanded, still tied up in her chair.

Spoiled then spotted Sunset running past her. She was about to demand to the fleeing teen when Tempest rushed into the living room.

"Are you from the law?" Spoiled asked with relief. "Oh, thank goodness! You must untie me! Those hooligans are insane and held me against my–"

Tempest doesn't pay Spoiled any mind as she continues to pursue Sunset.

"Hey! Are you listening!?" Spoiled screeched in disbelief, which fell on deaf ears. "Hey! Hey!"

"Stop right there!" Tempest shouted, gaining onto Sunset.

Wanting to help Sunset, Fluttershy quickly ran and opened the nearest window and then let out a loud whistle with two of her fingers. Within seconds, various small animals from birds, squirrels, and chipmunks rushed through the window and then towards Tempest. 

Tempest managed to block off Sunset before she could get to the other room where the stairs are. Before she could get to Sunset, she was suddenly bombarded by various small animals and also blocked her vision.

"Aak! Stop! Get off!" Tempest grunted, trying to swat many animals away.

During the commotion, Fluttershy quickly grabbed Sunset’s hand. "This way, Sunset!" 

As Fluttershy led Sunset away towards the next room, Tempest spotted them during her struggle with the animals. Determined to catch up to them, Tempest reached for the dial which was on the back of her glove and turned it up. This action caused a loud ultrasonic soundwave from the glove, loud enough for the animals to stop attacking. 

The animals immediately fell to the ground and some even covered their ears to try to block out the sounds, screeching in agony. The animals weren't the only ones who were affected as the girls and Spike were also on the ground as their ears were ringing in pain.

"Gaaaaah! What the heck was that!?" Rainbow Dash screamed as she covered her ears in pain.

Even Spoiled was affected by the soundwave. And due to her arms being tied to a chair, she was unable to cover her ears from the most obnoxious sound.

"Aaaaaahhhhh!" She screamed in agony as if she was tortured. "Make it stop! Make it stoooooooopppppp!"

Unfortunately, the soundwave also affected Sunset and Fluttershy as it forced them to drop down and press their hands over their ears to ease the pain. Tempest, who was unaffected by the sound due to her training, remained standing and made her way over to Sunset to take advantage of the situation.

Only to be blocked suddenly by Pinkie Pie… who was also unaffected by the sound somehow.

"You want to get to Sunny, you have to go through me first!" Pinkie growled as she dug her hands into her hair.

"Wait Pinkie, hold on!" Twilight pleaded while still clenching her ears from the floor, but Pinkie didn’t listen.

"Eat cupcakes, Scar Lady!" Pinkie shouted before she started throwing multiple cupcakes at Tempest from her hair like a gatling gun.

"Wait, stop!” Tempest grunted as she was repeatedly hit by never-ending amounts of cupcakes.  “I'm not your– ack!"

As Tempest was currently buried in Pinkie’s cupcakes, Sunset recovered from the soundwave and slowly stood back up. She tried to help Fluttershy, but Fluttershy was still weak due to the soundwave.

“I’ll be fine!” Fluttershy assured. “Get the kids and go!”

Sunset nodded and tried to rush towards the stairs again.

Tempest spotted Sunset leaving and tried to speak up, but her face keeps getting hit in the face by cupcakes multiple times. Her patience has finally reached her limit as her expression changed to pure rage.

"Enough!" She screamed before slamming her hand on the center of her chest piece. This action activated a shockwave from her suit which pushes back against the cupcakes and slammed into Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was thrown back from the shockwave, which resulted in her slamming into Sunset before she has the chance to reach the stairs.

With an annoyed grunt, Tempest wiped the frostings off from her face with her arm and slowly made her way towards Sunset and Pinkie. Sunset and Pinkie looked up in fear as Tempest was getting closer to them. Just as Tempest reached them, they heard a sudden voice from the top of the stairs.

"Hey! What's going on in–" 

Tempest looked up to see the talking blue creature again, along with three young trios related to the Equestrian Girls. The four of them looked down in shock and horror when they saw the same super-soldier from the woods the other day now invading their hideaway and fighting the Rainbooms.

"Equestrian Girl!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Sis!" Apple Bloom screamed in fear and concern.

Before Tempest could act, Sonic zoomed down the stairs with her super-speed and slammed into Tempest. Seeing Sonic was about to rush towards her again, she attempted to reach for her capsule again, only to get shoved in the back by Rainbow Dash who was now freed from the sticky substance.

“Not this time, lady!” Rainbow retorted before using her speed to tackle her again.

Tempest saw this coming and dodged Rainbow’s attack. Unfortunately, she was so focused on the Rainbow-haired teen, that she completely forgot about Sonic as he rammed right into her side. Unbeknownst to them, Tempest’s pocket knife fell out of her utility belt and landed near Spoiled’s feet. Noticing this, Spoiled glanced at the group to make sure they're not watching her before she pulled the knife towards her and hid it underneath her foot.

Meanwhile, as Tempest landed on the floor, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash stopped running and stood side by side. They quickly glanced at a dazed Tempest and then at the large rug in the living room and then at each other. The two nod, silently thinking of the same thing before they broke off into super speed again.

Sonic ran into the living room where Spoiled was sitting. Before she could blink, the rug disappeared from underneath her, and watched as the “rug” disappeared into the main room.

“Hey! That was custom made!” Spoiled shrieked.

Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash rushed over to Tempest and then spun around the agent into a whirlpool before she had the chance to recover. Tempest was hoovered into the air by a mini rainbowed tornado, making her feel even more disorientated. The “tornado” eventually stopped spinning, allowing Tempest to fall back to the ground, only to get caught by some long rug and then get wrapped into it like a human-sized burrito.

Tempest crash-landed on the floor with her stomach facing down, trapped within the thick rug. She peered up from the floor to see Sonic and Rainbow Dash standing over her along with Sunset, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and even the CMCs and Diamond Tiara. Everyone was in their fighting stance with fierce glares, cautiously watching to see if the G.U.N. agent is going to break free before they could pounce on her.

Sonic cracked his knuckles. "You ready for round three, Scar Lady!?"

"Stoooooooooop!"





As everyone was startled by a sudden loud voice, Twilight rushed in a stood between the gang and Tempest. But what really surprised everyone was when Twilight faced them and shielded Tempest to prevent her friends from harming her.

Sunset blinked in confusion. “Twilight? What–”

"It's okay!” Twilight assured. “She's on our side!"

The girls and Sonic were taken aback by Twilight’s revelation.

"Wait, seriously?" Sunset exclaimed.

"Yeah, she was the one who saved me!" Twilight confirmed. "I wouldn't be here if it weren’t for her!"

Sunset frowned skeptically. "But what's her gain? How do we know we can trust her!? She was the one who chased us!"

Tempest cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention. "Perhaps I can answer that… if you don’t mind letting me go?"

Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at her suspiciously. "And how do I know that you won't attack the moment we release you?"

"Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash turned her attention to Twilight who had a pleading expression on her face. "Do you trust me?" 

"Of course I trust you! But–"

"Then please… hear her out. If not for her, then do it for me!" Twilight then faced the others. "And that goes for all of you too! She saved me from Robotnik, so you all owe her that much, right?"

Everyone glanced at each other in silence, still feeling apprehensive about the agent despite Twilight’s assurance. Sensing the tension from everyone, Rainbow let out a sigh with an uncomfortable expression.

"Listen Twilight… we–"

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash." 

Rainbow, along with the others, turned to face Sunset in shock. "Sunset?"

"I don't like this either," Sunset stated with a sigh. "But if Twilight says that she's okay, then… we'll trust her to let her speak."

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue.

"She's right, Dash!" Sonic spoke up. "She did save Twilight after all. And not to mention that she had the opportunity to call backup after finding us. We should at least hear what she had to say." He then flashed her a confident grin. "Besides, unlike last time, you all have magic now, so I'm sure we can take her if she tries anything."

"...I still can't believe that thing can talk!" Tempest muttered with a brief surprised expression on her features.

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, still feeling unsure. But when she glanced around the room, her friends seemed to be convinced after hearing Sunset and Sonic's words. Knowing she was outnumbered and that they were right, Rainbow Dash let out a huff.

"Fine… we'll let her talk!" She turned to look at Tempest in the eyes with a warning glare. "But you try anything to my friends… you'll be sorry!"

"...noted," Tempest replied, unfazed by Rainbow’s threat.

Within seconds, Sonic and Rainbow Dash used their super-speed again, standing Tempest right up and freeing her from the rug. As Tempest was stretching out her stiff body, Sunset wasted no time questioning the G.U.N. agent.

"Okay, first things first… how did you find Twilight in the first place?" Sunset interrogated.

"Tracking device," Tempest grunted as she lightly cracked her neck, causing others to cringe from the sound. "I placed it on her hairband as assurance before you all escaped from the woods."

Twilight immediately checked all over her hairband to find that said device. She eventually spotted and held up a small device that no one noticed before for all to see.

"Whoa! She's good!" Pinkie remarked, clearly impressed by this.

"Yes," Twilight agreed, feeling perturbed by Tempest's actions. "Though I'm not sure how I feel about you placing a tracker on me."

"You should be glad I did that or else you would never be found at all," Tempest remarked.

Sunset frowned. She knew the true purpose of that tracking device was to track them down after their escape. But as much as she hated to admit it, if Tempest hadn't done that, she wouldn't be able to track Twilight and rescue her. However, there was still this one glaring issue that needs to be addressed.

“Well, I appreciate that you saved my friend, but what I really want to know is why were you chasing us?"

Tempest crossed her arms. "To answer your question, I was assigned by my commander to watch over you and to secretly throw your scent off of other G.U.N. agents of anything that relates to you and your world."

“What?” Everyone shouted eyes widened in shock.

“Wait, hold the phone!” Rainbow Dash remarked. “You’re… helping us?”

“To put it simply: yes, I was,” Tempest revealed. “Ever since the Fall Formal incident, I was tasked to clean up all of your messes as a favor from my commander. But because Equestrian Magic is around more than ever and you girls are always involved, I was always tasked to clean up duty and erase all evidence leading to you."

Everyone had confused expressions on their faces. “Um, what do ya mean by ‘cleaning up our messes’? Sunset asked for the group.

Tempest rolled her eyes. “By ‘cleaning’ I mean erase any trace of or collecting remaining magic from your world, including erasing any recorded video clips by spectators, and then denying the events that happened involving you girls. Covering those strange events from your school was daunting enough as it is, but then you made it more difficult when they’re taking place in different parts of Canterlot City, including the Everfree Forest!” Tempest sighed irritably as she massaged her temples. “I suspected that you girls and your magic will extend beyond Canterlot City at that rate. And after what happened yesterday at your school’s baseball field… my hunch was correct.”

“You… you knew about Equestria Magic?” Sunset’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief. "But… when we first met, you were grilling me about the baseball field and suspected me!"

Tempest smirked. "I only mentioned your past, I never once mentioned the baseball incident… you told that yourself."

"She got you there, Sunny!" Pinkie remarked, causing Sunset’s face to become red in anger and embarrassment.

"But you still threatened me!" Sunset accused.

Tempest sighed and shook her head. "All I did was give you a subtle warning so that you'll be scared enough to head home and stay there so that you don't run into Robotnik." She frowned. "But I didn't take any account of that Doctor to actually going to one of your homes where this blue rodent was hiding."

"His name is Sonic! He's not a rodent!" Sunset shouted in anger, causing everyone to jump. Sonic in particular was surprised that Sunset stood up for him like that despite what happened earlier on the highway.

"Okay okay, sorry!" Tempest said hastily, raising her palms in defense. "I didn't know he had a name, so sue me!"

Before Sunset could speak further, Twilight gently placed her hand on her shoulder and silently told her to calm down. Not wanting to upset her friend, she silently obeyed but was still steamed at Tempest.

"But what about when you held Twilight hostage back at the camp?" Rarity took over.

"I never planned to harm her. I only did it to get your attention and listen to me without running away," She answered before rubbing her neck sheepishly. "In hindsight… that wasn't my best idea."

"Well, duh! Of course, that wasn't the best idea! Holding people hostage is what a bad guy would do!" Rainbow remarked.

Tempest frowned. "What was I supposed to do? Walk over to you and talk?"

"Yes! That's what a normal person does!" Sunset retorted.

"And how do I know you won't run away like last time back at Miss Sparkle's house?" Tempest argued with a frosty look. "Last time I tried, you slammed the door to my face and then ran to that bus of yours!"

Sunset opened her mouth to argue, only to pause as she recalled that particular event in her mind. 

"Okay… I'll give you that one!" Sunset conceded awkwardly. "But what about when you attacked us on the bus as soon as we escaped from Robotnik?"

"I was trying to talk to you but you all didn't give me a chance, especially after that right hook you gave me!" Tempest glared.

"Oh, uh… sorry about that," Sunset cleared her throat with a blush on her cheeks. "Though… to be fair, you did jump onto our bus and then tried to break the door down with your fist."

"Which took us forever to rebuild our tour bus by the way!" Rainbow Dash added with an annoyed look.

"Technically, it only took us a minute and twenty seconds according to our song," Pinkie corrected before frowning. "Aw jeez, now I'm starting to sound like my sister's boyfriend!"

Tempest sighed heavily, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "Okay… maybe I should've taken a better approach to you girls."

"Well, why didn't ya?" Applejack pressed.

"I'm… not great at socializing with other people," Tempest admitted, feeling embarrassed before pressing on. "But my point is, I was trying to protect you from Robotnik and G.U.N. Not arresting you! I thought your Principal told you that!"

Sunset gave Tempest a bewildered look. "Huh? No, she didn't! She warned us to stay away from G.U.N. and their leader, which is you!"

Tempest shook her head. "While I work for G.U.N., that doesn't mean that I'm their leader." She cocked an eyebrow. "Did she mention me by name?"

Sunset furrowed her brows. "Well… no, but–"

Sunset thought back to their last meeting with Principal Celestia from yesterday. She recalled all the words and advice that were said by the older woman, but one particular statement stood out from her.





"We want you girls to try to keep your heads down as long as possible until this blows over and be extremely careful when you happened to come across one, especially their leader!”





Sunset frowned in thought. While it was true that Principal Celestia never mentioned Tempest by name, Sunset assumed that it was her after their first run-in in the hallway. But if what Tempest says is true that she really isn’t the leader of G.U.N., then who was it? After thinking for a brief moment, Sunset’s eyes widened in realization.

"...it's Robotnik," Sunset revealed, alerting her friends in the process. "Principal Celestia was actually warning us about Robotnik the whole time!"

"Yes…" Tempest sighed in irritation. "Aside from my father, that oaf is our leader at G.U.N."

There were collective groans all around the room.

“Can’t say that I’m surprised,” Rainbow Dash remarked with a scowl. “At this rate, this Egghead could give our Egghead a run for her money… no offense, Twilight.”

“None taken,” Twilight sighed with a deep frown. “I knew from his records that he can be very ruthless and that his mind may match or exceed my own. But after meeting and getting captured by him… I don’t think that even all those records I read could even comprehend just what makes the doctor who he is.”

“I don’t think anyone could!” Fluttershy whimpered.

"That reminds me,” Rarity spook up, trying to move the conversation along. “On the day when Robotnik showed up at Twilight’s house, how did you know that we were there?"

"I had a colleague of mine check up on Miss Shimmer after our first run-in at the school," Tempest answered.

"You have them stalking me!?" Sunset shouted with an angry expression.

"It wasn't stalking, it was a stakeout! There's a difference!" Tempest argued. "And it was for your own protection in case something happens. And it's a good thing that I did since the doctor unexpectedly decided to drop by at your friend's house."

Sunset grunted angrily, unable to think of anything to counter Tempest’s point.

"You keep mentioning him in a distasteful manner," Twilight pointed out. "You two aren't partners?"

Tempest had a look of utter disbelief like she just tasted something sour. "Are you kidding me? Of course we aren't partners! He's been a menace in our workplace and this country for years! I also have a partner who screws up more than occasionally, but I would rather work for him than Robotnik on any day!"

"Yeesh, it seems even the government couldn't stand him!" Rainbow Dash remarked.

"And yet, they still sent him after us?" Fluttershy questioned with a confused expression.

"You can thank my father for that!" Tempest crossed her arms. "Despite my best efforts to convince him to make me the lead of the investigation, he still placed him in charge. And since he's our commander– not to mention that I was also being framed by that mustached weasel, my hands are unfortunately tied."

"Hang on a minute!" Applejack announced, narrowing her eyes at Tempest. "Earlier you said that your commander assigned you to protect us from G.U.N.'s scent, and yet, you also said that your commander placed Robotnik in charge to go after us… this doesn't make a lick of a sense!"

"Hey, you're right!” Sunset cried. “Those two statements contradict each other!" She then glared at Tempest. "Care to explain that?"

Before Tempest could answer, they heard Cadence rushing into the room with them.

"Is everyone okay? I heard a commo–"

Cadence stopped speaking the moment her eyes landed on Twilight. 

“Twilight!” she cried.

Twilight’s face brightened. “Cadance!”

The two rushed in and quickly hugged one another. “Oh, I’m so happy to see that you’re safe!” She then looked over the teen in concern. “Are you okay? Were you harmed?”

“I’m fine!” Twilight assured. “I was only held captive until I was rescued.”

Before Cadance could ask who, it was then she noticed a new visitor in the room with them.

“Oh, Tempest!” Cadence blinked.

“Cadance,” Tempest stated casually.

Cadence huffed as she released Twilight and gave Tempest an annoyed look. “Honestly, couldn’t you give me a heads up that you’re coming?”

“I did,” Tempest insisted. “I just communicated to you with our communicators.”

“All you said was that you ‘got the package’ and ‘don’t let the kids leave', but you never mentioned that you’re on your way!” Cadance pointed out.

“What? I thought the package thing was self-explanatory!” Tempest shrugged.

“You’re impossible!” Cadance shook her head with a sigh before she smiled. “But regardless, I’m grateful that you saved my ladybug!”

Tempest turned away, clearing her throat with a blush on her cheeks. “I… I’m just doing my job.”

Cadance then frowned with a worried expression. “Have you heard anything from her yet?”

Tempest shook her head. “Before I was cut off, she already infiltrated the G.U.N. headquarters and almost reached the main office where my fa– I mean, Commander Walters was staying.”

Cadance hummed. “Well, there’s some good news at least. Hopefully, she’ll get some answers from him without them breaking into a fight and him hurting her.”

“Those two have history,” Tempest stated. “If anything, she’ll end up hurting him!”

Throughout their conversation, everyone watched the exchange with bewildered expressions. Before the two adults could continue, Sunset spoke up for the group.

"Wait, wait, wait– time out!" Sunset exclaimed, gesturing her hands into a t-pose. "You two… know each other?"

Both Cadance and Tempest said nothing for a moment as the two of them looked at each other, having a silent conversation before facing the group again.

"We have," Cadance confirmed slowly. "Me and Tempest, well… you could say that we used to be… ‘co-workers’!"

“You mean as a teacher?” Sonic tilted his head. “No offense, but I don’t see Miss ‘Scar Lady as a teaching type.”

Tempest shook her head. “No. By co-workers, she means… as soldiers.”

Everyone's eyes widened in shock.

“Soldier!?” Sunset exclaimed. “You were a soldier?”

Cadance sighed. “Yes. Specifically… a former G.U.N. agent!”

“What!?” they all screamed.

“Hold on a second!” Pinkie shouted. She then calmly took out a glass of water from… somewhere and chugged it down, only to do a long spit-take a second later and her jaw dropped in shock.

“You… you used to work for G.U.N.!?” Sunset uttered, still baffled by this huge bombshell.

“Yes...” Cadance sighed through her nose. “And I’m not the only one.”

“W-what do you mean?” Fluttershy asked nervously.

“Cadance and I were also partners with your Vice Principal, Luna,” Tempest answered.

For the second time within a minute, everyone's jaws dropped in shock.

“Vice Principal Luna was also a G.U.N. agent!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. She then paused, rubbing her chin in thought. “Huh… that actually explains a lot, especially all those times she gives me bad looks every time I’m late for class!”

“So wait– back up a bit!” Sunset interrupted. “If Cadance and Vice Principal Luna used to be G.U.N. agents–” Her eyes widened as big as saucers. "Does that mean Principal Celestia used to be a G.U.N. agent too!?"

Tempest let out an amused smirk. "Oh, she's much more than an agent!"

Everyone was taken aback by Tempest's statement.

"W-what do you mean?" Sunset asked nervously.

Tempest only stared back at her in silence before she clarified…





Commander Walters has been busy for the past couple of days in his office from within the military headquarters. He was sitting at his desk, reading many latest updates from Dr. Robotnik during his pursuit of the main "suspects" on the major blackout incident. He let out a long sigh, aggravated with Robotnik’s methods as he continued to read. Despite the doctor’s brilliance, his actions have done more damage across the country than the girls they were chasing... and that includes the brawl incident at some arcade place. He wanted to keep this discreet, but the doctor insisted that they should alert the media for better chances of capturing those kids. While it was a bit excessive to put these high schoolers on the most wanted list, but at this point, he’ll try anything to get this job done as quickly as possible.

But that didn’t stop the paperwork from coming in.

As he was currently reading the hundredth form so far today, his office door opened, revealing one of his office aides.

"Commander Walters!” The aide announced urgently. “Someone here to see you and it's urgent!"

"Tell that person to wait!" Walters gruffed, not looking up from his paperwork. "We're busy enough as it is!"

"But sir… it was our former commander!" He paused. "Your protege!"

Walters paused before finally looking up at his aide with a surprised expression. "Wait… you're serious? She's here?"

The aide nodded. "Yes sir."

…

…

"...let her in!" Walters ordered.

"Yes sir!" The aide saluted before closing the door behind him.

As Walters waited, many thoughts ran through his head, mainly about his formal pupil. Before he took over again, his pupil used to run the Armed Forces and G.U.N. before she suddenly announced an “early retirement” to pursue other interests. She even said to him that she will not return to this place again, not even for a visit. So why now of all times she decided to return?

Before he could wonder any further, he was nearly startled when there was a knock on the door.

Walters quickly composed and cleared his throat. “Enter!”

The door opened, revealing a very familiar person that he never thought of seeing in his office again.

"So… it really is you!" Walter uttered quietly.

"And hello to yourself," His former pupil stated with a calm look. "After dodging all of your agents who were so busy containing my beloved students and staff like some criminals… I hope you don't mind sparing some time to explain yourself!"

"N-not at all!" Walters gulped nervously, flashing her his assuring smile. "I always have time for you… Celestia."

Principal Celestia nodded. "Good… we have so much to discuss!"
> Volume III - Chapter 5: Revelations
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sunset’s mind had officially stopped functioning. She, as well as her friends, stared at Tempest in disbelief after the G.U.N agent dropped a major bombshell about their high school Principal. Not only Celestia was a former G.U.N. agent along with Luna and Cadance, but she was also a former G.U.N. commander to boot. Sunset doesn’t know what to think; she felt shocked, confused, upset, and even angry at Principal Celestia. She was reminded of her “formal teacher” who also kept secrets from her about the mirror before fleeing to this world. She wondered what other secrets Principal Celestia was hiding.

Sunset has so many questions she wanted to ask Tempest but was unable to pick just one. In the end, she shook her head and stated what everyone else was thinking. 

"This… this is too much to take in!"

Cadence frowned worriedly at a distressed teenager. “Sunset–”

"It's crazy enough that you and Vice Principal Luna used to be G.U.N. soldiers, but Principal Celestia is the commander of G.U.N.!?" Sunset exclaimed.

"Former commander," Tempest corrected.

"Whatever!" Sunset snapped. "I just… why!? Why didn't she tell us any of this!? What else is she hiding!?"

Before she could berate further, Cadence intervened. "Please don't be mad at her," Cadence pleaded. "She… didn't want you girls to get involved and dragged into this mess. She only wanted you girls to stay safe and away from G.U.N's attention while she and Tempest took care of it. And she thought the best course of action for your girls' safety is to not know about her background at all."

"Too bad that Robotnik derailed that plan the moment he arrived at the brainy one's house," Tempest remarked, crossing her arms.

"That still doesn't explain how Principal Celestia, as well as you and Luna how all of you became G.U.N. agents before being Principals!" Sunset stated but sounded more like a demand.

"Allow me to explain," Tempest began, uncrossing her arms. "Long before you knew them as your principals, the three of them were top agents of G.U.N… and Celestia was our leader. And long before even they were around, strange… occurrences happened in Canterlot. Random creatures roaming around, people losing memories, giant plants attacking, people and items randomly levitating… just to name a few. I’m sure you know what the causes are Sunset Shimmer.”

“Equestrian Magic?” Sunset’s eyes widened. “You mean… they’ve been around even before I arrived?”

Tempest nodded. “Yes. Although, they were minor annoyances then compare to the events that were happening now after you arrived. But at the time… the government didn’t have a clue as to what caused those strange events. But many witnesses claimed that the origin of these occurrences happened after they spotted this strange man in a wizard robe and a long white beard at random occasions.”

“Hang on!” Twilight interrupted. “Sunset didn’t you once mention that you have the greatest wizard living in your world?”

“You mean Star Swirl the Bearded?” Sunset asked, furrowing her brows. “Now that you’ve mentioned it, that does match the descriptions of him. He was also known as the Pillars of Old Equestria, but that was a long time ago!”

“So a long-time mystery has been solved, yet a few more in its place,” Tempest sighed.

“Life is just full of mysteries,” Cadence mused. “Not everything can be easily solved.”

Tempest rolled her eyes before continuing. “Anyway, the government eventually founded a classified small team to investigate these strange occurrences in Canterlot, learn from them… and protect ourselves and our people in case of a threat.”

Sunset frowned, knowing where this is leading. “G.U.N.?”

“G.U.N.” Tempest confirmed. “This small organization has been around for several decades. Many members have come and gone over the years, and eventually… Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were assigned to that team.”

“I was assigned to the team because I wanted to help make a difference in the world before deciding that I can do just that through education,” Cadence added.

“And why were Celestia and Luna joined?” Rarity inquired.

“Family tradition,” Tempest answered bluntly. “Both Celestia and Luna come from a family of the military who served for our country. Of course, they never really wanted to be a part of it, to begin with.”

"And… where did you fit in?" Applejack asked.

Tempest was silent for a moment, hesitant to answer at first. She then signed heavily before facing the window with her back towards them.

"I… used to be a soldier… for an ex tyrant named Storm King," Tempest confessed.

Sunset blinked with a surprised expression. “Storm King?”

Tempest glanced back at Sunset. “You heard of him? The information about that… man was classified to this day.”

Sunset nodded. “Yeah, Princess Twilight and her friends faced a monster who was also named Storm King who attempted to take over Equestria.”

“...I see,” Tempest responded. “I can't say that I'm surprised. There's always a counterpart of ours in your pony world.”

“Not always,” Sunset pointed out. “I’ve known some people in this world who don’t have a counterpart in my world. Heck, I never saw my own counterpart in this world. So I suppose I'm one of the few exceptions.”

“...perhaps,” Tempest hummed before facing the window again. “Anyway, about ten years ago, the formal Tyrant attempted to overthrow our country and to rule with his iron hand. Because his threat was so serious, all hands were on deck, including your principals. But it wasn’t enough to take down an army from a small country, so we even requested some elite Wonderbolts to assist us in taking that tyrant down.”

It was at that moment that Rainbow Dash let out an audible gasp, which all her friends took notice of.

“What’s the matter Dashie?” Fluttershy asked in concern.

Rainbow Dash immediately caught herself and tried to wave off their concerns. “N-nothing! It was nothing!” she said quickly before turning to Tempest. “C-continue with the story!”

While most of the people present in the room were confused by Dash’s behavior, Sunset and Sonic stared at Rainbow Dash worriedly, knowing exactly why she had a brief moment of emotion. 

Tempest, not paying Dash’s blunder any mind, continued. "Anyway, their mission was to invade the enemy base, take out the invasion army and their leader. They've lost a few fighters, but they managed to defeat them and put a stop to Storm King."

"And… why did you work for that tyrant?" Sunset pressed.

Tempest frowned. "I… lost my parents when I was very young. I was forced to live as a street rat and only steal to survive. I was eventually caught by one of Storm King's soldiers and was about to be executed, but Storm King saw my 'potential' and thought he would make use of me. So he had me trained under harsh conditions until I became second-in-command. …I was thirteen then.

"I was cold, emotionless, and cared nothing but to serve the man who spared my life and nothing else matters to my life. That is… until I met Celestia." 

Tempest sighed through her nose. “At first, we were enemies from different nations and we fight whenever we clashed. But the more I meet her and her group, the more I questioned myself if what I’m doing was right. Things went downhill when Storm King released a weapon that could potentially destroy everything within the area, including his own soldiers and civilians. I tried to stop him, but he attacked me and threw me into his pet grizzly bear’s den to die. It’s how I got this scar.” Tempest glanced at her robotic arm longingly. “...and lost my arm.”

Tempest sighed, lowering her arm. “I would have become that bear’s next meal… if Celestia hadn’t saved me. Even after Storm King’s defeat, I thought I will be locked up and punished for my crimes… but Celestia convinced them to give me a chance and mercy since I was a ‘kid’ at the time. Walter, the commander from back then and now, eventually adopted me as his ‘daughter’ while Celestia gets promoted as the new commander. They even gave me this highly advanced robotic arm as soon as I became a member of G.U.N.

For a moment, even from the window’s reflection, Sunset could’ve sworn that she saw Tempest had a brief grateful smile on her face. “It took a while, but I became a better person than when I was a troubled teen. And I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for her. And even after she retires, I will always be loyal to her and consider her my commander.”

Sunset stared at Tempest in awe. Even when they were sworn enemies, Principal Celestia was still willing to help a person out and finds the good in people… just like what she did with her when she arrived in this world and even after the Fall Formal. Despite Celestia’s kind actions towards the agent, it doesn’t change the fact that Celestia hid her past from them during their meeting two days ago. There were still some things about Celestia that are still a mystery to her, but Sunset decided to put that all aside in favor of the one thing that Sunset was curious about the most.

“If you don’t mind me asking, why did Principal Celestia retire as commander of G.U.N. and the military?”

“Well, after two years of being the commander, something… happened to her which caused her to throw away that position and pursue as a teacher instead,” said Cadance.

The girls looked at each other in curiosity and concern before Sunset pressed on.

“And… what happened to her exactly?”

Cadence had an uncomfortable expression on her features. “...I’m afraid that is not my place to say,” Cadence responded eventually. “You'll probably have to go ask her yourself. But what I can say is that in response to what happened, Celestia withheld information that could've led to a breakthrough on G.U.N.'s lifelong investigation about these strange occurrences."

"And what's that?" Pinkie asked.

"The location leading to the source of the occurrences," Cadance answered.

Sunset’s eyes widened. "The portal to Equestria!"

Cadance nodded. "Yes. It was during the last month of her role as commander that she discovered it along with a few others… which was near your school. After the incident, she had those portals destroyed except for the one near the school entrance. No one else knew its location except for Celestia, Luna, me, and Tempest."

Sunset frowned. "If what you say about Celestia destroying the other portals is true… then why did she only keep that one open?"

Cadance looked away from Sunset. "Again… not my place to say."

Sunset growled in frustration at dealing with yet another Celestia’s secrets added to the pile.

Cadance turned her head back at the group. "After Celestia stepped down from G.U.N. and her military career, Luna and I left with Celestia for the same reason, as well as to support her.”

Rainbow frowned as she turned to Tempest. “So why are you still with G.U.N? Were you not supporting her despite her saving your life?”

“On the contrary, I supported Celestia and wanted to leave as well,” Tempest answered, as she turned away from the window and faced the girls again. “But I knew that once we leave, G.U.N. and the government will keep tabs on us and watch our every move even after quitting, especially after he became the new G.U.N. leader. So I stayed behind so that I can help and do everything that I can from the inside. Plus… military combat is what I do best.”

Twilight furrowed her brows. “So I assume the one who replaced Celestia after that was…”

“Robotnik,” Tempest sighed with irritation. “I knew he was eyeing Celestia’s position ever since she was promoted. Heck, he wanted that spot after the mission against the Storm King. He practically jump at the chance as soon as she stepped down.”

“He was involved in that mission too!?” Rainbow exclaimed with a surprised expression.

“Yes,” Tempest confirmed, much to the girl’s shock. “Admittedly, he played the biggest part in Storm King’s downfall. His cunning plans and machines made Storm King look like he was mistakenly playing checkers during a chess game. And even before I switched sides, I never liked that man for being egomaniac, smug, arrogant, and just plain crazy!” 

Tempest frowned deeply, growling in aggravation. “I've always known that he is up to no good, but not a lot of people would believe a former villain from another region. And even so, my father believes that Robotnik is too beneficial to throw him out and that he can be controlled." She shook her head. "That old fool!"

"Um… aren't you being a little too harsh on him?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "He is your father."

"Step-father," Tempest corrected, shooting Fluttershy an annoyed look. "While I'm grateful that he adopted me, he and I… don't always see eye to eye."

Cadence frowned. "Our squad don't always agree with anything with Walters either, especially Celestia and Luna." 

"Yes… he was part of the reason why Celestia quit in the first place," Tempest remarked bitterly.

Everyone looked at the two adults with a frown, especially Sunset. While she was concerned about her Principal, she felt that they still didn't tell her the full story about her. The more she learns about this world's Celestia, the more mysterious she is. She is arguably more mysterious than her world's Celestia.

Before Sunset could wonder about Celestia further, Cadence spoke up. "By the way, I meant to ask, what made you girls decide to come here in the first place, aside from the obvious."

Sunset blinked. "Well… we all decided to come here after Twilight suggested–" Sunset suddenly stopped talking and her eyes widened in realization. "Wait a minute…"

Sunset immediately turned towards her friend, shock written on her features. "Twilight… you knew Cadance used to work for G.U.N. this whole time?"

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Twilight, whose expression froze like a deer in headlights. She didn't say anything for a moment before looking away with a mixture of shame and nervousness.

"Y-yeah… it's true."

The entire room, except for Cadance and Tempest, gasped in shock.

"Say, what?" Apple Bloom exclaimed.

"Whoa… the plot thickens!" said Sweetie Belle.

"This is even more shocking than the latest Daring Do movie!" Scootaloo added.

Diamond Tiara simply stared in shock, despite not understanding what was going on in front of her.

Sensing her friend's distress, Spike ran up to Twilight and jumped onto her legs to get her attention. Feeling better and grateful for his support, Twilight scooped Spike up and cradled him in her arms. She sighed heavily before facing Sunset with an apologetic look.

"When you came to my house and told me that G.U.N. took over the school… I immediately thought of Cadance. I figured that her connections to her former workplace will help get the bottom of things and help protect us from Robotnik."

"So how long have you known about Cadance being a former G.U.N. agent," Sunset inquired.

"Since I was six," Twilight answered. "I found that out by accident when I walked in on her while she was still on her armor."

"I forgot to lock the door as I was changing that day," Cadance added. "After I explained to her in a minor detail about my "job", I made Twilight swear not to tell anybody."

"Which I haven't," Twilight assured before she smiled fondly. "And even after I grew older and learned more about G.U.N. in my own time, I always thought that you are a hero."

"Oh, I don't know about that!" Cadance said modesty but was touched by Twilight’s words.

"Do you also know about Vice-Principal Luna, and… Principal Celestia?" Sunset questioned.

Twilight shook her head with a pleading expression. "No… while I knew that Cadance used to work for her squad, I had no idea that her partners were Luna and Celestia, let alone working for G.U.N., I swear!"

Twilight turned away, too scared to face her best friend while trying to hold back her tears. She suddenly felt Sunset’s hands gently grasping hers, causing Twilight to look back at Sunset.

"I believe you," Sunset said assuredly with a gentle smile. "I've always known you have a plan for everything. Your brain is what saved us many times throughout our adventure."

The Equestria Girls nodded, agreeing with Sunset’s words with smiles of their own.

Relieved that her friends didn't hate her, Twilight sniffed. "You gave me too much credit, Sunset," she said modestly, wiping her unshed tears with a smile. "You girls helped too!"

Sunset frowned out of confusion and concern. "But why didn't you tell us?"

Twilight craned her neck downwards. "With everything going on and how everyone became super paranoid, especially after meeting Sonic… I was too scared to say anything."

"Twilight…" Sunset spoke softly, firmly grasping Twilight’s hands. "We would never think of you that way. But we're very sorry for causing you so much anxiety."

"Yeah Twi," Applejack added. "We were overly stressed while on the run for a couple of days. But we understand why you kept this from us!" She then cast a side glare at a certain rainbow-haired tomboy. "Especially after someone freaked out during our campfire!"

Rainbow Dash drooped with a heavy sigh, tired of being called out many times. "I'll never live that down, will I?"

Rainbow Dash then felt someone gently grasp her shoulder. She turned to the side to see Fluttershy with a kind smile.

"While you're a bit much from the way you suspected Sonic, we understand that you were trying to look out for us," said Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash nodded. "I was, but I learned my lesson not to go overboard when meeting others." Rainbow Dash then smiled sheepishly. "Aaaaaaand also not jumping the gun on using our magic unless for emergencies."

"You better!" Applejack remarked, but with a smile of her own.

Tempest loudly cleared her throat, getting everyone’s attention again. "In any case, Celestia should be at the capitol talking to Commander Walters. With any luck, she should be able to clear your names and mine within a few hours.”

Everyone’s eyes widened, surprised by Tempest's revelation about Celestia’s agenda.

"R-really? Principal Celestia will make us not criminals anymore?" Rarity asked with a hopeful expression.

"It may take some time, but I have faith that she will," Tempest replied, assuring the young fashionista. "In the meantime, I'll serve as your bodyguard to keep you all safe from that crazy Doctor in case he showed up."

The Equestria Girls and the CMCs were ecstatic by the news. With Principal Celestia meeting the current G.U.N. commander and backing them up, their nightmares of being chased down from G.U.N. and Robotnik will finally be over. Their celebration was short-lived when Sunset suddenly brought up the most crucial question.

"What about Sonic?"

Everyone paused and look at Tempest expectedly. Sonic, who was silent this whole time, was surprised that Sunset mentioned him.

Tempest cocked an eyebrow. "What about him?"

"What's going to happen to Sonic after we're off the hook?” Sunset pressed, narrowing her eyes. “And don't lie!"

Tempest stared at Sunset silently for a moment before sighing. "Sonic… is a different case. He's a strange being from another world and he single-handedly took down half of this country's power."

"But he didn't mean any of this!" Sunset argued before pointing at herself. "Heck, I'm from a different world too! Why can't you do the same to him?"

"You are an exception," Tempest stated. "Yes, you're from a different world, but we can easily make an excuse that you're just a girl who's involved in magic. Not to mention, you technically look like a human too, which makes our story easier." She then gestured towards Sonic. "Him? Not so much. He's a talking, breathing animal with a mysterious power. It'll be impossible to sweep him under the rug. And even so, my father was interested in the power from within that creature. Hence why he sent Robotnik to try to study him in the first place."

Sunset tightened her fists. "Would that mean that he'll be taken to be… experimented?”

“…most likely,” Tempest answered bluntly.

Everyone frowned, both worried and upset that the government is still after Sonic even after they were given the way out. With a determined frown, Sunset turned to Cadance.

“Cadance, how far is Crystaller Building in this town?” she asked.

Cadence blinked. “Um… just about fifteen minutes away from here by car. Why?”

Sunset nodded. “Good! We should head out to that building as soon as possible!”

Everyone was surprised by Sunset’s statement while Tempest was ready to protest.

“Hold on young lady, you can't just–”

“I'm sorry, agent Tempest!” Sunset cuts her off. “But I still don't trust you or G.U.N. And I'm not taking any chances on letting them get ahold of Sonic. We're still going to help him get his rings as promised so that he can find a new home.” She then glared intensely right into the older woman’s eyes. “And I'm not going to let you or anyone else get in my way!

Tempest glared back. She opened her mouth, ready to tell Sunset off.

“I agree!”

The two turned to see Twilight, who also had a serious, determined expression on her face. “We promised him, so now we’re going to finish that promise!”

Sunset nodded at Twilight in appreciation for backing her up.

Annoyed, Tempest opened her mouth to speak.

“That goes double for me!”

They all turned towards the source. To everyone’s surprise, it was Rainbow Dash who spoke up.

“We were helping the dude out, so that’s what we’re going to do!” she said with a determined grin.

Before Tempest could argue, one by one, the rest of the Equestria Girls speak out as well.

“And me too!”

“And me!”

“And for me as well!”

“Don't forget about me!”

Tempest was flabbergasted that these girls are willing to protect this creature despite the situation they were in. “N-now wait just a second!”

"No offense lady,” Rainbow Dash interrupted. “But after what we went through and hearing stories on how G.U.N treated everyone at our school, I don't think I could even trust them to look after my pet tortoise!" Her eyes narrowed. "So if you're going to get to him, you're going to have to go through us first!"

Everyone but Cadance glared intensely at Tempest as if they were challenging her to make a move. Sonic meanwhile felt extremely touched that everyone is defending him, especially the Equestrian Girl despite their argument on the highway.

"Whoa now, hang on!" Tempest exclaimed, raising her palms in defense. "I never said that I'll hand him over! If he's as harmless as you said, then I won't cage him like some wild animal." With a sigh, Tempest gave them her serious look. "I'll help you girls help him. However, there's no way that I'll allow you all to go to that Crystaller Building! Manehattan is crawling with law forces right now! You will all get caught for sure!"

Before Sunset could argue, Twilight spoke up. "Sunset… there's something else I should tell you."

After getting Sunset and the others' attention, Twilight looked down both dejectedly and in shame.

"Robotnik… now knows where we're going… all because of me!" She confessed while on the verge of tears. "He… forced me to tell him everything! He even stole my geode!"

As everyone gasped, Twilight slightly pulled down the top part of her shirt. Sure enough, her neck where her geode necklace is supposed to be is now bare. Twilight felt herself trembling.

"He… he threatened that he'll hurt Shining Armor in a much worse condition than he was already if I don't comply!" Her eyes then began spilling tears down her face. "I'm… I’m so sorry!"

Twilight began to sob, which caused Sunset to bring her into a hug with her friends joining in. 

Sonic who stood from the sidelines tightened his fist in anger. While he only met the Doctor briefly back at Brainiac's house, he already despise that man. It was bad enough that he's gunning for him, the Doctor is willing to hurt others, including one of these girls to reach his goal. He wished that he wasn't unconscious back at the house, otherwise, he'll give him something much worse than a punch in the face by Equestrian Girl.

Cadance, after hearing the threat Robotnik said to her kid about her husband, growled in rage. "That… that evil son-of-a–"

Her angry rant was interrupted when Tempest placed her hand on her shoulder, calming her down.

"Don't worry… we'll make him pay," Tempest promised. "And try not to control your temper for her sake."

Cadance stretched her arm outward, breathing softly while gently holding her stomach with her other hand. "...I know."

Tempest nodded before facing the girls again. "You all see what I mean! Robotnik isn't messing around. He'll do anything to get what he wants… all for the sake of power and his own sick curiosity!" Her eyes narrowed. "All the more reason why I think you girls shouldn't go anywhere."

The Equestria Girls all looked at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation. They then nodded, having the same mindset before turning back to Tempest.

“We'll still take that risk!” Sunset answered for the group. “We need to get his rings and then send him out of here before Robotnik finds him.” She then gave Tempest her pleading expression. “Please… let us save him!”

Tempest simply stared back at Sunset, feeling conflicted at that moment. After about a minute of silence, she let out a sigh of resignation.

“Very well… I'll allow you all to take him to that building,” Tempest allowed before her expression became stern. “But only if you allow me to go with you.”

Sunset frowned. "Seriously!? In case you forget, we managed just fine up to this point!"

"This is not up for negotiations!" Tempest exclaimed, leaving no room for argument. "Besides, your Principal requested me to watch you girls as a favor! So you need me for your own protection, whether you like it or not!"

Sunset simply glared, frustrated at the agent’s persistence. As much as she was still wary of her, Sunset knew that they were in a stalemate and won’t be able to get anywhere until she agree with Tempest’s terms. Thinking of Sonic’s safety, Sunset decided to give in.

"Fine,” she growled. “But you better keep your word or else we’ll be forced to take you down! Are we clear?"

Tempest nodded, not bothered by Sunset’s threat. “Crystal!”

“We’re coming too!” Apple Bloom announced, as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded in agreement.

“Absolutely not!” Applejack exclaimed. “You three are staying here!”

The CMCs drooped, upset for being denied. “But Applejack–”

“No buts!” Rarity joined in. “It’s dangerous enough as it is and you weren’t supposed to be here in the first place! So you must–"

“But this'll be the last time we see Sonic!" Sweetie shouted.

Everyone became silent, surprised by Sweetie’s outburst. As she sniffed in sadness, Scootaloo spoke up for her.

"We just… want to spend the remaining time with him… before we have to say goodbye."

The girls felt saddened by the young tomboy’s words. It didn’t occur to them until now that once Sonic retrieved his rings, they will have to say goodbye to him for good. Even Sonic felt sad, knowing that he has no choice but to leave despite that he finally became closer to them. They all didn’t know what to say to the young girls to make them feel better, or themselves for that matter.

Fluttershy walked towards the CMCs and then knelt to their eye levels. "Well, we still have time to prepare ourselves, so how about you three use that time to show him what he means to you."

The young trio paused, considering Fluttershy’s suggestion.

"Ah… think Ad has an idea," said Apple Bloom before turning to Diamond. "Diamond, can we–"

Knowing what Apple Bloom was going to request, Diamond nodded with a kind smile. "It's still upstairs for you to use."

With somber nods, the four of them made their way up the stairs, preparing to make whatever it was they were planning. As soon as the kids disappeared up the stairs, Rainbow Dash turned Fluttershy.

"It was good thinking, Shy," said Rainbow Dash. "The girls need this."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes, and I don't blame those three." She subtly glanced at a certain blue hedgehog. "They're not the only ones who will miss him."

Tempest turned to her former partner. "Well, I hate to be so blunt, Cadance… will you look after them?"

Cadence nodded. "Don't you worry, I'll be sure to keep these kids safe!"

"It's not just them I'm referring to," said Tempest as she glanced at Cadance’s stomach.

"...I know," Cadence said softly as she gently rubbed her stomach with a tender smile. "I'll make sure to keep this little one safe too."

The Equestria Girls, who were watching Cadance’s display, had their eyes as wide as saucers when they realized what Cadance was referring to.

"I-is…” Sunset stammered. “Is she–"

"Oh my gosh, I'm gonna be an Aunt!" Twilight squealed, happy with this big news.

As the girls ran up and congratulated Cadance on the news, Sonic stood in the background and appeared to be in deep thought.
> Volume III - Chapter 6: The Crystaller Building
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"No way dude!" Spike argued with a look of offense and disbelief on his face. "Masked Matter-Horn will totally wipe the floor with Fili-Second!"

Sonic scoffed. "Are you kidding me, dude? With her speed, Fili-Second can take Masked Matter-Horn out before she could even blink!"

After everyone discussed their game plan, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Rarity went back outside to try to fix their tour bus, while the young girls were still upstairs, and the rest of the gang hung out in the living room. As they were all waiting, Sonic and Spike somehow got into a conversation about reading their superhero comics. At first, they were having fun discussing their favorite issues, fan theories, and even reenacting some of their favorite battle scenes. The two of them got along really well as if they have been friends for years.

Until they talked about their favorite hero and who will win in a fight between them.

"You're crazy!" Spike glared. "Masked Matter-Horn is a highly skilled martial artist and has high-tech. She could easily detect Fili-Second from a mile away!"

"Yeah right!" Sonic retorted. "She may have some moves and her fancy toys, but I doubt a lady with no powers could dodge, let alone detect Fili-Second before she gets pulverized!"

"AntiMatter-Horner!" Spike growled.

"Fili-Hater!" Sonic spat.

Both Sonic and Spike glared at each other so intensely, that you could see electric sparks flying in between them. Pinkie, Fluttershy, Sunset, Twilight, and Tempest, who was sitting in the background, were perturbed at the sight as the two of them were "debating" over their favorite comic book characters.

"S-scary!" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Um… should we interfere?" Sunset asked unsurely, stunned at the display in front of her.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "I wouldn't recommend it. The two of them are having some nerdy battle about which superheroine is the strongest. I think we should stay out of it."

"...I'm not sure if I find this amusing or disturbing?" Tempest muttered.

"Why not both?" Pinkie chirped, earning a strange look from the agent.

Before Sonic and Spike's debate could get any further, the CMCs and Diamond Tiara walked into the room.

"Hey, Sonic!" Apple Bloom called.

Sonic ceased his debate with Spike and stood up. "What's up girls?"

Apple Bloom had something hidden behind her while staring at Sonic. "Well… now dat yer leaving fer good to yer new home… the girls and Ah wanted to give ya somethin’... to remember us by."

Both Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded.

Sonic had a curious expression. "What's that?"

With a quick glance at each other, the CMCs grinned as Apple Bloom revealed an item.

Sonic blinked at the sight of a long red fabric strap with some golden stitching around it. It also has an emblem of a blue shield with a silhouette of a golden pony wearing a cape in the center of the strap. Before Sonic could ask, Sweetie Belle spoke.

"It's one of the bracelets that we made… for our club."

Sonic’s eyes widened. "You mean…"

Apple Bloom nodded with a huge grin. "Yep! You are now an honorary member of the Canterlot Movie Club!"

"Yep! Like me and Silvy!" Diamond added as she showed off her bracelet which was around her left wrist.

As Sonic was processing this moment, Scootaloo placed the bracelet around Sonic’s left wrist.

"Normally, we perform our little initiation speech for new members,” Scootaloo beamed. “But due to circumstances, we figured we should just hand over the bracelet."

"Which is for the best since Scootaloo’s speech is too long," Apple Bloom quipped, causing Scootaloo to blush in embarrassment.

"I was going to revise it… eventually!"

"And I was also going to make you a cape as we did with ours,” Sweetie Belle added. “But I figured that this would be better since you run fast all the time."

Apple Bloom gave Sweetie Belle a knowing look. "It's also because Rarity banned you fer using her expensive fabric again… wasn't it?"

"...maybe?" Sweetie Belle said sheepishly.

Apple Bloom shook her head in amusement before facing Sonic. "Anyway, even though you'll be leavin' this world, you'll always be a CMC and a friend to us no matter how far you'll go."

"I… I don’t know what to say!" Sonic said softly, feeling a bit emotional as he looked over his new bracelet before facing the girls. "...thank you."

Feeling emotional themselves, the CMCs, even Diamond Tiara went over and hugged the blue hedgehog. 

The Equestria Girls smiled at the display, touched by the young girls' friendship with the blue hedgehog. This made Sunset think about her time with the hedgehog and their argument before they were attacked on the highway. She decided right then and there that she should talk to the little guy.

"Um, Sonic?" Sunset called nervously.

Sonic broke off his hug from the girls and looked at Sunset curiously. "Oh… what's up Equestria Girl?"

He didn't call me the 'Jerk Girl'. That's a good sign. Sunset thought.

With Sonic’s attention and her friends watching her, she felt a little more nervous. She calmly breathes through her nose to calm herself before looking at Sonic in the eyes.

"Listen, about what happened…"

Sunset was suddenly interrupted when they heard a loud slam from the front door. Seconds later, Applejack walked in along with Rarity and Rainbow Dash with a frustrated frown.

"Whelp, that's all she wrote," Applejack remarked. "Our tour bus engine stopped working. So we're pretty much sittin' ducks!"

Sunset frowned. As annoyed as she was for being interrupted from her heart-to-heart with Sonic, the fact that their tour bus is down for the count concerned her.

She then turned to the G.U.N. agent. "What about your car, Tempest?"

"You mean that hunk of junk I borrowed from some guy?” Tempest asked before shaking her head. “I'm afraid that thing's engine started smoking almost a block before arriving here!"

"Ponyfeathers!" Sunset cursed. "Now how are we going to get to the Crystaller Building?"

Tempest thought for a moment before she addressed Diamond Tiara. "Hey kid, does your mother own a car?"

"Oh no! Don't you dare!" Spoiled remarked loudly, overhearing their conversation.

Diamond nodded. "Yeah, she owns a car!"

"Don't help them, Diamond Tiara!"

"Can it hold up to eight people and one hedgehog?" Tempest inquired.

"You're not letting that thing touch my car!"

"It can hold up twice as much!" Diamond confirmed.

"Diamond Tiara, I'm warning you!"

"Great, then I would like to borrow her car key, please!" Tempest requested.

"Hands off of my car you scarred punk!"

Diamond shook her head. "Actually… you shouldn't have this key."

"Ha! I knew you come around Diamond!"

Diamond grinned wickedly. "You should give it to Sonic instead!"

"Oh, you are so grounded, missy!"

Tempest smirked back. "Oh, I like the way you think!"

"Don't you even think about it!"

Rarity frowned unsurely. "Uh… are you sure that your mother won't mind if we borrowed her car?"

"Touch my car, or else expulsion will be the least of your worries!"

"Oh, I'm sure she won't mind!" Diamond assured, waving off their concerns.

"I do mind!"

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Good enough for me! Let's go!"

Everyone walked out of the room to retrieve Spoiled’s car keys, leaving an infuriated Spoiled behind.

"This is my house!"





Manehatten was just as busy as usual. People were out and about, cars and taxi cabs passed by, and construction workers fixed yet another leak near the sewer lines. The only difference in Manehatten today than usual was more police patrolling the city, looking for a certain group of teens who were on the run from the law.

One patrol car was slowly driving past a one-way street with a couple of cops surveying the area. After they get a good look around the area, they've decided to turn into the next street down the block. Had they stuck around longer, they would have noticed some fancy long car, which was covered in recent dents and scratches, speeding down the road with a certain blue hedgehog controlling the wheel.

"Coming through!" Sonic shouted, nearly hitting another vehicle.

"Whoa, now, this is my turn, and I go around him! Sorry!"

"What are you, crazy?!" A random driver screamed angrily, but Sonic hardly paid them any attention.

Sonic roughly pulled halfway onto the sidewalk, hitting a fire hydrant. 

"Aaaaaaand, perfect park!" Sonic announced before killing the engine.

As soon as Sonic parked the car, the Equestria Girls burst out of the car, with Rarity running out before she knelt on the ground.

"Land!" Rarity screamed in relief, nearly kissing the ground as if it was the best thing I'm the world.

The rest of the gang slowly climbed out of the car, each one feeling dizzy and nauseous like they just survived a rollercoaster ride.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Fluttershy gasped.

"I thought I was gonna die!" Twilight exclaimed, holding her hand over her chest.

"Me too!" Sunset agreed.

"And Ah thought Rainbow’s driving from yesterday was the worst!" Applejack remarked.

"Normally, I'll be insulted by that," Rainbow groaned while keeping herself from throwing up. "But for once… I agree with you."

"I thought it was fun!" Pinkie chirped, gaining looks from Rainbow Dash.

"...this was a mistake," Tempest muttered as she was the last one leaving the car.

Sonic rolled his eyes at everyone’s remarks about his driving skills. "Hey, I don't know why you all complain about it. I got us here!" He smirked as he raised his palm. "And please, five stars!"

"With that kind of driving, you get half a star at best!" Rainbow Dash retorted before shaking her head. "Scratch that, a zero!"

"Everyone's a critic!" Sonic huffed as he hopped off of the car.

He and the others then looked up towards the Crystaller building which was several feet in front of them. The building itself was very tall, almost taller than the rest of the buildings in the city. It has a very tall pointed antenna spire on the top, but there was also a flat roof underneath with gargoyles statues on each corner.

"So, this is it?" Sonic asked.

Sunset nodded. "Yep."

Sonic nearly whistled at the sight of it. "Wow, look at that thing!"

“I agree darling!” said Rarity while marveling at the building. “It is practically one of the main landmarks of Manehatten. A true beauty of this city!”

“I don’t know much about beauty, but that building is huge!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “It may be hundreds of feet tall for all we know!”

“One thousand and forty-six feet to be exact,” Twilight stated matter-of-factly. “And I must say, even in person, that building structure looks impressive!”

“I hate to cut your sightseeing trip short, but we have a mission to do!” Tempest reminded the group. She frowned as she inspected her new “outfit” which was made by a young fashionista. “And remind me again as to why are we wearing these trench coats, scarfs, and hats?”

Tempest, as well as the girls, were all wearing long, light brown trench coats with trench hats that were large enough to cover the upper part of their faces. Rarity, however, wore a light maroon trench coat and a purple trench hat with a pink ribbon just to match the same style as that detective from her favorite mystery novel series. Rarity insisted for everyone wear her new outfits as a means to disguise themselves to hide from the law who were looking for them. Sonic was the only one who didn't wear the trench coat because not only did he refuse to wear them, but he insisted that his speed is enough to avoid other people.

“Yeah, Ah’m with agent Tempest on dis Rarity,” Applejack said unsurely as she eyed her outfit. “Are ya sure our disguises will keep us hidden?”

"But of course darling!" Rarity insisted with a confident smirk. "With my latest work, we can simply blend into the background without anyone noticing."

"Oh yeah, this will definitely work… when you're in a movie from the eighties and nineties!” Rainbow Dash remarked sarcastically.

Pinkie shrugged with a grin. "Well, if it works on some teenaged mutated reptiles who were named after the renaissance artists, know ninjutsu, and loves pizza, then I’m sure it’ll work for us girls too!"

Before Rainbow Dash could argue, some random pedestrian walked by and Sonic quickly hid behind the car before that person could notice him.

"Hey there ladies, nice trench coats," The pedestrian commented in a friendly voice as he kept walking.

"Thanks!" Pinkie chirped as she waved at the pedestrian.

Rainbow Dash stared at the retreating pedestrian in disbelief while Rarity gave Rainbow Dash her smug grin.

When the coast was clear, Sonic came out of hiding and stood near the girls again. 

"So, Sonic… your bag of rings is in that building?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yep," Sonic nodded.

"Do you know where they are?"

"Right on the roof," Sonic pointed at the top of the building.

"I was afraid you'll say that," Fluttershy whimpered, eyeing the roof nervously.

Sunset frowned. "This may be difficult. How are we going to get up there?"

"Can't ya use your speed to run up the building?" Rainbow Dash inquired the blue hedgehog.

"For a smaller building? Sure! I've done that multiple times at Canterlot City. But a taller building like this? …I'm not sure. I've never attempted it before." Sonic studied the building with a frown. "Not to mention the curved part of the roof might be a bit difficult to maneuver at high speed.

"Even if you could pull it off, judging the height of that building, people will probably notice your blue blur going up the building," Twilight pointed out. "So it's probably for the best that we go to the roof by other means without anyone noticing us."

"What about simply using the stairs or an elevator?" Rarity suggested. "Didn’t most buildings have roof access?"

"Let me check!" Rainbow Dash announced.

"Right behind you!" said Sonic.

"Wait, how will you–"

Before Tempest could ask, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash zoomed away, disappearing towards the building.

"Oh… they’re gone," Tempest blinked. "We're they always like that?"

"Eh, you’ll get used to it," Pinkie chirped.

A second later, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash returned to their sides like they hadn't even left.

"No good!" Sonic reported.

"Yeah, you need a special key to get to the roof," Rainbow Dash added.

"Terrific!" Sunset groaned. "So what are we going to do now?"

"I think I have an idea," said Twilight. "But we're going to need some… assistance."

Twilight, as well as the rest of the gang, all turned and stared at Tempest, which the G.U.N. agent took notice of.

"W-what's everyone looking at me for?"





The inside of the Crystaller Building was as busy as usual. Various people were around either visiting or doing business for the building, including the lady who was working at the reception desk. The receptionist was working on her computer when she heard a group of people approaching her. She looked up to see what appeared to be a scared lady with high-tech armor and a group of seven teens wearing trench coats and hats with one of them carrying a duffel bag.

"Ma'am!" Tempest stated, holding up her badge for the receptionist to see. "We got a jumper on the roof! Gotta get up there fast or we're gonna have a human pancake on our hands!"

The receptionist cocked an eyebrow as she stared at her badge. "And… they send a government agent instead of a cop?"

“...yes. It's that serious ma'am!” Tempest answered, putting away her badge.

The receptionist glanced at the group behind Tempest. "And those ladies?"

“They're friends with that jumper," she replied quickly. "Figured they'll help convince them not to jump. Now please ma'am, give us access! Every second counts!"

The receptionist paused for a moment as she studied them, making the young group in trench coats slightly nervous.

"Well… alright," the receptionist sighed, placing a key card in front of them.

"Thank you, ma'am!" Tempest said gracefully, taking the key card. "You just saved a life!"

The receptionist nodded as the group made their way toward the elevators. As soon as they turned their backs toward the receptionist, they all quietly sighed in relief.

“Wow, that really works!” Sunset whispered.

“Of course,” Twilight nodded with a sly grin. “With Tempest as an authority figure, it makes things easier to convince them to give us access to the roof.”

“Normally, I detest abusing my rank to do our bidding,” Tempest remarked quietly. “But in this case, I’ll make it an exception.”

“There’s the elevator!” Rainbow Dash pointed to their destination ahead of them.

The group reached one of the elevators and Sunset quickly pressed the up button. While they were waiting, a businessman and a businesswoman showed up and stood near them. The group waited uncomfortably with a pair of strangers, but as long as they all acted casually, they wouldn't be suspicious of them.

Their plans, of course, derailed the moment when their certain "passenger", who was hiding in their duffel bag, decided to talk at a bad time.

“Hey, how much longer? I can't breathe in here!” Sonic muffled from the bag.

The girls' backs stiffen in alarm from Sonic’s loud voice, which unfortunately got the two strangers' attention. Sunset, who was holding the bag, tried to subtly shake the bag to get Sonic to stop talking, but he didn't get the message.

“Um, hello? Anybody there?” Sonic asked loudly.

“Shhh! Be quiet, you blue idiot!"

The girls were now more nervous, as well as confused when they heard a second voice from within the duffel bag.

"You!? How'd you get in here?"

"That's not important! Just stay quiet! You're jeopardizing the mission!"

The woman turned to Sunset with a confused and suspicious look. “Do you have a child in your bag?”

“What? No! O-of course not!” Sunset lied with a slightly high-pitched voice before laughing nervously. “H-how can a child fit in here?”

Unfortunately for Sunset, their situation gets worse when the two "voices" begin to speak again.

“Ugh! This is worse than the dog cage you had me in earlier! This bag smells awful!”

“I disagree! Whatever that was in this bag smells like heaven!"

Sunset grinned at the woman nervously, sweat forming from the side of her head.

“I know I heard it that time!” the man stated, narrowing his eyes. “Just what are you hiding?”

The girls began to panic as the man got closer to the bag. Tempest silently reached into her stun gun from her jacket as she watched the man, getting ready when things were about to go south. Before the girls could protest and for the man to reach the bag, a certain purple pup suddenly popped out of the bag.

“Uh, hello there! Lovely day, isn’t it?” Spike cried in a jovial tone.

As the man jumped back in shock and the woman gaped in shock, Twilight quickly jumped into Spike's conversation.

“U-uh– yeah! It is a lovely day!” Twilight cried in an upbeat tone before turning to scold Spike but kept her huge grin. “Spike, why are you here? We told you to wait at home with Cadance!"

“I was afraid that I'll lose you again, so I sneaked into this bag,” Spike explained. “Plus, the smell of used sweaty gym socks in this bag was too irresistible!”

As Rainbow Dash blushed in embarrassment by Spike mentioning her gym socks, the woman began to utter in a shocked tone.

“W-who is that?”

“Oh, that’s just Spike… my dog!” Twilight answered nervously.

“...and he can talk?” The woman inquired.

“Yes!” Twilight replied quickly, before shaking her head. “Well, no… he technically can’t!" Her eyes darted back and forth as she desperately tried to come up with a lie. "I… made him talk… by ventriloquism! We were just on our way up to perform one of my… latest skits… for the children at the, um… children’s hospital!”

As the girls nearly groaned from Twilight's cringy cover-up, Twilight puts on a grin to make her story more believable and also secretly proud of her own clever thinking.

“...so you came to the Crystaller’s Building instead of a children's hospital?” The man inquired with a skeptic frown.

Twilight felt her stomach drop, becoming nervous again. “Well, uh…”

“Oh, yes!” Rarity jumped in, coming to Twilight’s rescue. “It was only an audition for the children’s hospital! One of many procedures we have to go through. You understand!”

The man narrowed his eyes. "Well then… show me your skit!"

The girls became nervous again, but Twilight complied with the man's request.

"Oh, sure thing!"

Twilight knelt near her dog. "So, Spike… what is the most fun day you have in your life?"

As Spike answered his question, Twilight purposely moved her lips around as if she was the one who did the voice work.

"Well… the most fun day for me was when I was outside all day playing my favorite chew toy, and then I chased the squirrel around before I took a nap on Twilight’s bed." Spike paused. "Oh! And at some point, I was also trying to sniff my own–"

"Oh, Spike you little rascal!" Twilight let out a fake, yet embarrassed laugh. “But it looks like you bothered them enough! So get back in there and stay quiet!”

“But it was his–”

Before Spike had time to argue, Twilight pushed him into the duffle bag and Sunset quickly zipped the bag closed.

“Ehehehe… isn't that little fella silly?” Sunset said sheepishly.

The rest of the gang, save for Tempest, let out some awkward chuckles in hopes of selling their lie, even as Sonic began to speak again.

“No, I'm scared of the dark! Is anybody there? Hello?"

As the woman slowly backed away from the weird group, the man scoffed.

“Cute performance, but maybe you should work on your performance and your ventriloquism skills," he criticized before walking away.

As the girls sighed in relief, Rainbow Dash scowled at the man's back.

"Rude!" Rainbow Dash remarked, only to get elbowed on the ribs by Applejack.

Tempest sighed in irritation as she was eyeing the floor numbers above the elevator. This is going to be a long wait!





Meanwhile, back at the Rich's summer home, the CMCs were busy pouting as they stared out the window to nothing, while Diamond Tiara joined them out of boredom.

"This stinks!" Scootaloo complained, crossing her arms. "I can't believe we were forced to be left behind while they headed to the Crystaller Building with Sonic! Even Spike was with them that little sneak!"

"Ah'm just as frustrated as you are Scoots!" Apple Bloom sighed. "But they didn't give us a choice."

"What are you two complaining about?" Diamond Tiara remarked, rolling her eyes at their woes. "You three just traveled almost across the country while I was stuck in this house for days!"

Scootaloo stared at Diamond with a cocked eyebrow. "What's wrong with this house? I thought it was awesome! It even has an inground pool in the backyard for crying out loud!"

Diamond huffed. "Trust me, I guarantee you'll be bored with this place after a couple of hours."

As the two bickered, Apple Bloom noticed Sweetie Belle staring silently at the window with a very worried expression on her face.

"Hey, wat's wrong, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie furrowed her brows, pressing her hand over her chest. "I can't describe it… but I just had an awful feeling! I'm worried not just for Sonic, but also for my sister and the others."

"Don't worry Sweetie," Scootaloo assured, overhearing their conversation. "Our sisters and the others managed to take down bigger threats before. They can take care of themselves!"

Sweetie frowned, feeling unsure. "Well–"

"Girls!"

The CMCs and Diamond turned away from the window as Cadance quickly walked into the room with a frantic look.

"Where's Spoiled?" She exclaimed. "She's not in her chair!"

"What!?" They cried.

The pre-teens ran to the living room to check for themselves with Cadance in tow. To their shock, the chair where Spoiled sat was empty, save for some rope, which was now cut. There was also a small pocket knife lying on the floor that they'd never noticed before, which explained how Spoiled escaped from her spot.

"Oh no, she's loose!" Diamond Tiara exclaimed.

"Where did she go!?" Scootaloo yelled in a panicked tone.

Scootaloo’s question was immediately answered when they all heard Spoiled’s loud voice coming from the kitchen.

"That's right officer, I was held against my will by these hooligans, stole my car, and now they're heading to the Crystaller Building along with some freak of a creature!"

Realizing just who Spoiled was talking to, they all panicked and ran towards the kitchen. When they reached their destination, they all spotted Spoiled yelling over the phone, assuming to be the police.

"Please, come save me and then arrest these–"

Cadance immediately pounced on Spoiled, yanked the phone away from her, and hung up. She then glared at Spoiled with a furious expression.

"Just what you think you're doing!?" Cadance berated.

"What else!?" Spoiled retorted as if it was obvious. "I called the cops and now they're going to arrest these criminals for holding me hostage and running from the law!"

"Spoiled, you fool!" Cadance screamed. "You're putting these kids in danger!"

"Danger!? They tied me up like I was some prized turkey!" Spoiled spat.

"That's because you're trying to get Rainbow Dash and the others in trouble without getting the facts!" Scootaloo yelled with an angry expression.

"Hush brat!" Spoiled shouted harshly.

"Hey, don't you ever talk about my friends that way!" Diamond screamed, furious at her mother.

Spoiled scoffed. "Your 'friends' are going to jail along with their sisters and you will be grounded for a lifetime after this!"

"Spoiled, you don't get it!" Cadance argued, frustrated by Spoiled’s stubbornness. "By using that phone, he will–"

Suddenly, they all heard a doorbell coming from the front door.

"Oh, they're here!" Spoiled exclaimed in delight. "I knew the cops would show up!"

As Spoiled made her way to the door, Cadance began to panic, realizing that this was all too quick for even the cops to show up at their house.

"Spoiled, don't open the door!" Cadance yelled.

But Cadance's warning fell on deaf ears as Spoiled yanked open the door.

"Oh, thank goodness you've arrived! Those hooligans are–"

Spoiled’s words died in her throat when she immediately realized that the one behind the door wasn't the cops. Spoiled shook in terror as she stared up at her "visitor".

"W-w-what are you!?"

Spoiled suddenly screamed as her body shook violently after getting an electric shock from an unknown visitor. The girls and Cadance stared in horror as Spoiled’s body convulsed in front of them before Spoiled fell to the ground and passed out. They all looked up at the visitor and the CMCs became terrified as soon as they identified their visitor. The visitor then bulldozed their way into the door, destroying it and the wall in the process.

The Eggrobo pointed its gun at them, peering down at their frightened faces with its piercing red eyes.





After their uncomfortable ride up the elevator with other people, the girls reached the top floor and then rushed up the stairs leading to the roof. When they reached the door, Tempest used her card key to open the door and everyone stepped outside on the building's rooftop. As Applejack closed the door behind her, Sunset placed the duffel bag on the ground and unzipped the bag to free Sonic and Spike from their temporary transportation.

Spike immediately jumped out of the bag and ran to Twilight while Sonic sat up gasping, coughing, and hacking due to the smell he had to endure from the bag.

"Ugh! What were you keeping in this bag? A jar of pickled farts?!" Sonic glared at Rainbow Dash as he swatted a long sock off of his head.

"I didn't have time to wash my bag after my intense soccer match last week, so sue me!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

Sonic huffed as he stepped out of the bag while everyone else disrobed their tench coats much to Rarity’s dismay.

Fluttershy surveyed the roof. "Okay, so uh… what exactly are we looking for?"

Sonic immediately used his speed to run towards the edge of the roof to pick up a small brown bag and then presented them with a gold ring.

"This!" Sonic answered with a smile.

"Ooooh, pretty!" Pinkie cooed, eyeing Sonic’s ring.

"I concur, darling," said Rarity with an awe expression, nearly drooling from the sight. "I could make over a dozen outfits with rings like that!"

"Now, now Rarity," Applejack intervened. "Control yourself now!"

Rarity quickly shook her head and then she blushed with a sheepish smile.

Twilight furrowed her brow. "So… how does your ring work?"

"Now, all I have to do is think of where I want the other end of the ring to appear, and I throw it," Sonic explained simply.

"Hang on," Sunset interrupted. "You can go anywhere you want… just by thinking of any place before throwing it?"

Sonic nodded. "As long as you know a place and have a clear image in your mind, it is possible."

Sunset paused for a moment. "May I borrow your rings for a minute?"

"Sure. Knock yourself out!" said Sonic as he flicked the ring towards Sunset with his finger.

Sunset caught the ring with her right hand and grasped it. She then closed her eyes in silence, trying to picture a specific location she had in mind. Once the image is clear, Sunset opened her eyes, and then she tossed the ring in front of her, hoping it would work.

Only for the ring to land on the ground and nothing happens.

As Sunset sighed in disappointment, her friends stare at her in concern.

“Um… what place were you thinking Sunset?” Fluttershy asked.

“...Equestria,” Sunset answered with a heavy sigh. “Specifically, Princess Twilight’s Castle.”

“Why Equestria?” Rarity inquired with a curious expression.

Sunset shrugged. “I guess… part of me was hoping that there was another way for me to travel between my home world and this one without relying on our own portal too much.” She then frowned. And to make it easier to visit you girls.

Rainbow picked up the ring with a skeptic frown. “Are you sure that this thing works?”

Sonic nodded. “Positive! My rings work for me all the time!” He frowned in confusion. “But if that place you mentioned is real, then I had no idea why it didn’t work that time.”

“Have you ever used these rings to travel to other dimensions?” Twilight asked. “Like in other universes aside from our own?”

Sonic blinked. “Good question,” he rubbed his chin in thought. “Those were Longclaws before she gave them to me, but she told me that she used to use them to travel between worlds even from the far side of the universe. But she never once mentions anything about traveling worlds from different universes.”

“I see,” Twilight hummed before nodding. "Then I may have a theory."

“And what’s that?” Applejack asked.

"My theory is that Sonic’s rings can only be used to teleport to other places within the same universe,” Twilight theorized. “So it may not work if you try to teleport to other locations in another universe like Equestria."

Sunset felt disheartened by Twilight’s explanation. "So much for visiting Equestria or anywhere on the go without using the portal near the school."

Sunset felt someone place a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Twilight who was giving her a gentle smile. 

"Don't worry Sunset, we'll figure something out."

Despite having sad eyes, Sunset grinned back in response.

“I’m sure Brainiac will figure it out Equestrian Girl,” said Sonic as he took another ring from the bag. “I’ll let you keep it. Actually, make that two!” He tossed another ring at Sunset, to which she caught it. “Each use of the ring is a one-way trip. So it’s best to have two just in case.”

“We appreciate your generosity Sonic,” Twilight grinned. “Now we have something else to research on!”

Sonic smiled back.

"So… we did it?" Fluttershy asked.

"I think we did!" Rainbow Dash confirmed with confidence.

"Weeee!" Pinkie cheered. "We got Sonic’s rings back! And we have a fun adventure!"

"I wouldn't call most of our adventure 'fun',” Applejack spoke up. “But Ah'll admit, our trip to Manehatten will be unforgettable fer sure."

The girls' celebration was interrupted when Tempest cleared her throat. "Hate to interrupt, but we're spending way too long on the roof! It's best that you girls say goodbyes now before the staff here starts to get suspicious."

Everyone suddenly felt sad about that. While they successfully retrieved Sonic's rings, the last thing they had to do was to say goodbye to their new friend.

And neither of them looked forward to it.

As the group prepared to say goodbyes, Tempest suddenly received some beeps from her communicator. Knowing who that is, Tempest moved towards the back and quietly answered it.

“Talk to me!” Tempest whispered.

Tempest listened quietly as she heard another person speaking through her communicator. When that person was finished, Tempest let out a sigh of relief.

“You got through to him? That’s good news!” Tempest then narrowed her eyes. “And what about my situation?”

While that was happening, one by one, the girls and Spike each said their goodbyes to the blue hedgehog. The first one to say goodbye was Applejack.

"Whelp, Ah guess this is goodbye, partner," Applejack tilted her hat, but with a sad smile. "It's been an honor meeting you. And remember dat No matter where you go, always be honest and true to yourself."

"I will, Cowgirl!" said Sonic. "I'll miss hanging out with you and sleeping on one of your apple trees."

Applejack chuckled. "Yer always welcome to drop by, sugarhog!"

The next one to say goodbye to him was Fluttershy, who had tears in her eyes.

"Oh… I'm going to miss you!" Fluttershy sniffed, hugging the hedgehog. "You are the most unique and kind creature I have ever met!" She then looked him in the eyes. "Never lose yourself and always be kind even to those who didn't deserve it… remember that!"

Sonic smiled sadly. "I will, Animal Girl! I'll always take your words to heart!"

Fluttershy smiled, wiping tears from her eyes.

The next one was Pinkie Pie. Despite that she still has a smile on her face, her eyes appeared to be sad and her hair became less poofy.

"I wish you didn't have to go so soon!" She whimpered, giving Sonic a bear hug. "Our adventure with you was so much fun! I regret that we didn't have time to throw you a 'Welcome and Goodbye' party!"

Sonic hugged back. "I don't need a party, Cotton Candy Girl. Just having fun with you and giving me joy from your laughter is enough for me."

Pinkie gave Sonic her teary grin.

Then it was Rarity’s turn to say farewell to him.

"Farewell, darling!" Rarity said softly. "l will never forget you and I hope that the gift from me and Sweetie Belle will serve you well!"

"I'll never forget you too, Fashion Queen!" Sonic assured. "And I will also never forget the generosity you and your sister have given me, in which I will take special good care of these shoes."

Rarity sniffed but smiled. "You better! These shoes are some of my best work!"

The next one on the line was Rainbow Dash, who was trying to act cool, despite failing badly.

"Hey…" She began softly. "Sorry that we didn't have time to do everything on your bucket list. Or having a rematch to our race."

Sonic grinned "It's okay, Ski– I mean, Dash. I did the ones I needed the most. And while we did start out on the wrong foot, competing in a race with you is one of my biggest highlights. I'm just honored that I get to run with the most awesome and the most loyal person like you."

Rainbow Dash couldn't keep her emotions in anymore as tears leaked from her eyes. 

"Dang it! Why do you have to be so sappy!" She croaked but smiled as she hugged Sonic which he returned.

Rainbow Dash eventually broke her hug, leaving Twilight a chance to go next.

“While I’m sad that I didn’t have the chance to experiment with your speed, I’m sadder to see you leave,” said Twilight.

“Hey, at least you now have some of my rings for you to play with,” Sonic joked before smiling. “I want to thank you again for helping me, Brainiac. I’ll miss hearing your smart talks.”

Twilight chuckled. “Of course, Sonic. And I’ll miss having you around too.” She then beamed. “But as long as we keep our memories alive, anything is possible with the Magic of Friendship.”

Just then, Spike leaped out of Twilight’s arms and went into Sonic’s arms.

"Sonic… please don't go!" He whimpered, lips quivering. "Who am I going to debate about the Power Ponies with?"

Sonic had a sad smile as he hugged him. "I'm sorry, buddy… but I have to go. But just know that talking to you about comics has been fun… and that you're the coolest dog I ever knew."

Spike was crying but smiling.

Sonic then smirked. "Also… Fili-Second is the best superhero, hands down!"

"N-nuh-uh!" Spike argued playfully, wiping his tears. "Masked Matter-Horn is the best, hedgehog!"

Sonic chuckled, allowing Spike off of him.

There was only one person left he had to say goodbye to.

Sonic looked up at Sunset, just as she looked down on him. Both sides felt apprehensive after their talk on the highway, but neither didn't want to end it on a bad note. Building up her courage, Sunset took a few steps closer and then knelt to Sonic's level.

“Sonic…” Sunset uttered. “For the things that I said, and also for accidentally seeing your memories, I… I didn’t mean–”

“Sunset!” Sonic spoke up.

Sunset stared at Sonic with wide eyes, surprised by his statement and for addressing her by her real name this time.

“While I was shocked that you read my mind, I knew it was an accident and I’m not angry at you about that.” Sonic looked down in guilt. “Also, I… accidentally overheard your confession with the girls.”

Sunset’s eyes widened in surprise. 

“I had no idea about everything you’re going through,” Sonic said quietly. “Fear of being separated from your friends, guilt about your past and current situation, magic coming from your world, and to top it all off… putting up with me when I didn’t tell you the full truth on how I know you girls.” 

Sonic’s ears folded and he drooped sadly. “Sunset… I'm sorry I was so hard on you. I know it's a tough decision for you to leave Canterlot City. Walking away from something you care about has to be painful.”

“It was,” Sunset sighed. “But you’re not wrong when you said that I tried to run away. I thought the only way to protect my friends was to leave… and I was also afraid of losing them once we graduate. But my friends knocked some sense to me.”

Sunset placed her hands on Sonic’s shoulders while looking at him in the eyes. “I’m also sorry for being a jerk to you. With everything going on, including my drama with my friends… I was beyond stressed.” Sunset frowned sadly. “But it was no excuse for what I said. I should’ve talked to you from the beginning about us because… part of me was scared that the one person who believed in me was a lie and if our friendship was even real. I’ve been hurt by others so many times in my life, that I was scared to face the idea that my best friend… turned out to be someone who was only pretending to be.”

Sunset sniffed, feeling tears dripping down her face. “I-I know this was all stupid and ridiculous, but I–”

Sunset was suddenly interrupted when Sonic pulled her into a warm hug, much to Sunset’s confusion. 

“It’s okay Sunset… I understand,” he whispered before looking her in the eyes again. “I mean… I didn’t exactly give you girls my best first impression. But I just want to let you know, even with the bad things you’ve done in the past… I still wanted to be your friend. Heck, I wanted to be the first to befriend you after that night. But I didn’t want to put you in danger because of me… so I have to watch you from afar… even if it’s risky.”

Sunset had a heartfelt smile, wiping her tears away. “Hey, a good friend once told me that sometimes we all got to take risks in life… even friendship itself, but it can be very rewarding and worthwhile when you take that risk.”

From the background, Twilight beamed at her friend.

“I also want to let you know,” Sunset continued. “That while I did pity you, I’m also helping you because… you are my best friend… even if you are a blue-talking hedgehog. And if I have known that befriending you would lead us all to where we are now… I’ll do it all over again!”

Sonic felt his eyes moistening and his chest grew warm from her words. “S-sunset…”

The two hugged again and stayed in that embrace for a while, neither one of them wanted to let go of the other.

“Sonic… are you sure that you want to leave?” Sunset whispered but in a pleading tone. “You don’t have to go if you don’t want to.”

Sonic shook his head “I don't want to go, but I can't stay. As long as I'm here, I put everyone in danger. I can't do that.”

“You could always visit!” Sunset suggested a bit desperately. “Whenever you feel lonely, you can just drop by at any time… when there's no government chasing us of course.”

Sonic sighed as he broke his hug. “As much as I love to, I'm afraid that I’ll be leaving for good.”

Seeing Sunset’s sad expression, Sonic flashed her a small smile. “But I just want you to know that these last two days have been the best two days of my life… and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.”

Sunset sniffed, but she smiled back. “I'm going to miss you… Sonic”

“And I'm going to miss you… Sunset Shimmer," said Sonic.

With a sigh, Sunset slowly stood back up and made her way back to her friends, who had looks of sympathy.

“And Sunset?”

Sunset turned back at Sonic.

"I just want to say… thanks!" he said with a smile.

Sunset had a curious look. "For what?"

“For saving my life,” Sonic answered.

Sunset smiled back, her eyes becoming wet with unshed tears as her friends stood by her side.

After finishing his goodbyes, Sonic turned away from the group, facing toward the city. Sonic slowly took out a ring from his bag and glanced at it. For a moment, he hesitated, not wanting his time with his new friends to end. But then he remembered that he and the girls aren’t safe with him around and that it was probably for the best that he leaves as soon as possible. 

With a sigh, Sonic puts on his determined expression, picturing a mushroom planet in his mind, and then he throws the ring in front of him to get the portal to open...

Only for a ring to bounce off of one of Dr. Robotnik’s flying drones, which suddenly came out of nowhere.

Before anyone could react to it, many more drones appeared and surrounded the gang.

“Okay, did someone leave their 'Find My Phone' on?" Sonic remarked.

The girls stood nervously as drones were slowly closing in on them, cutting off their chance to escape. Tempest growled in irritation, knowing that "he" was nearby as she reached for her stun gun. Sonic slowly backed away from a few drones until he was a step away from the edge of the roof. 

Then they all heard a sound like a flying machine. They looked up just in time to see a hovercraft coming around the building and then it hovered right in front of them. As they were wondering who that is, the cockpit opened, revealing to be Dr. Robotnik, who was now wearing a new black and red outfit with black goggles with red lenses on his head.

He then flashed them all with his evil grin. “Well, hello… girls!”
> Volume III - Chapter 7: Rooftop Confrontation
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The gang stood in shock as soon as Robotnik revealed himself to them in his egg-shaped flying machine. No one expected to face the doctor personally in Manehatten, let alone on the roof of the Crystaller Building. Terrified of that man since last time, Spike quickly hid behind Twilight’s leg. The doctor chuckled evilly at their stunned expressions.

"Welcome to Manehatten girls!" Robotnik greeted in a condescending tone. "Are you enjoying the sights?"

"Robotnik!" Sunset shrieked in an alarmed expression. "How'd you find us?"

Robotnik grinned. "Why I overheard that little birdie with an obnoxiously loud voice mentioning that you all were here to the cops with my fancy tech."

With a deep frown, Rainbow leaned to Pinkie’s ear. "If we ever make it out of this, remind me to put super glue on Spoiled’s chair."

Pinkie nodded.

Rarity took a good look at Robotnik and cringed from his new attire. “Ugh! What exactly are you wearing!?”

Robotnik glanced at his suit and frowned at the young fashionista with an offending expression. “It's a flight suit! It was designed to modulate my body temperature and reduce drag!”

Tempest scoffed. “And even after all these years, you still are one!”

“Oooooh, good one! Says the rogue agent who’s currently assisting criminals!” Robotnik sneered before cocking an eyebrow. “Speaking of which, I'm sort of surprised that you're still alive despite my robot running you off the road. But then again, I should’ve known that I can’t get rid of you so easily, eh Fizzy?”

As Tempest cringed at that nickname, others looked at Tempest in confusion and interest.

“Fizzy?” Sunset asked.

Tempest sighed, starting to feel a migraine due to her dread and embarrassment. “He’s… referring to my real name... Fizzlepop Berrytwist.”

Pinkie let out a loud gasp with excitement and delight on her face and stars in her eyes. “That is. The most. Awesome name. EVER!”

As Tempest groaned from that, Robotnik continued.

“And I also see that you also took out Agent Stone– no surprise there, and taken Miss Sparkle out of my lab!” Robotnik then turned to Twilight with a frown as if he was scolding her. “That was very rude of you to leave, Twilight! I thought our family bonding we had earlier was special!”

“Family!?” The Equestria Girls exclaimed, minus Twilight.

As Twilight widened her eyes in alarm, the girls stared at her with bewildered expressions.

“Twilight… what was he talking about?” Sunset pressed nervously, perplexed at what she was hearing. 

“You mean she didn’t tell you?” Robotnik asked while mocking in a sad tone. “Wow… I’m hurt, Twilight! I thought you'd be honored to mention to your friends that you and I are related!”

“No way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in disbelief. “Don’t tell me that you’re her father!”

“No, of course not!" Robotnik scoffed, before grinning. “I’m her long-lost cousin!”

As everyone was processing this latest bombshell with dumbfounded expressions, Sunset stood in front of Twilight with a look of rage. 

“You’re lying!” she screamed, pointing accusingly at the doctor. “You were trying to mess with us!"

"I can assure you, Miss Shimmer, that I'm not lying!" Robotnik smirked before glancing at Twilight. "And Miss Sparkle knows it too, right Twily?"

Sunset turned to Twilight who was looking away with her hair hidden in her eyes, refusing to look her friend in the eye.

"Twilight…” Sunset grasped Twilight’s shoulders gently with a pleading expression. “Please tell me that this clown is lying!"

Twilight said nothing for a while, scaring Sunset and the girls further.

"No… he wasn't," she croaked, before finally looking at Sunset with teary eyes. "While I was captured, he took some of my hair and ran a DNA scanner test with his own hair." Tears then leaked from Twilight’s eyes. "...and we matched!"

As Sunset was taking this all in, Robotnik chuckled evilly. "Matching her DNA with mine was the final confirmation for me that the two of us were indeed related… just as I predicted!"

As everyone turned their attention to Robotnik, he elaborated.

"During my younger days, I've done some digging about my past life. Most of them were either dead or missing in action while they conveniently worked for the government. But to my surprise, I found out there were two people in my family who are still alive. And Miss Sparkle here is one of them.

"Of course, her name is never mentioned. But my biggest clue in identifying her was the parents who adopted her… Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Before they were well-known as a famous author and a college professor, they were once scientists for the government and they were truly brilliant… but not as brilliant as me of course. They were working on a top-secret project until one day, they just up and left… and took little Twili with them!"

"Where does Twilight fit in all of this!?" Sunset demanded with narrowed eyes. "And where are her real parents?"

Robotnik tsked, wagging his finer at her. "Now where's the fun in telling you all the answers?” He teased. "But I will say that after they left, they tried to keep their lives private in hopes that the government would leave them alone… until the news broke out of their accident, mentioning their 'orphaned' kids as well. Since Mr. Armor was born before their sudden resignation leads me to suspect that Twilight is their adopted child. So I've been secretly keeping track of her whereabouts since… including the time she hacked into my files, which I let her for the fun of it.

"Part of me was hoping that after knowing our past and offering her the benefits of being the best in the world, I thought she'll join me… and be part of our world ruling family. But I guess it was for the best that you were adopted since you’re nothing but a failure at Crystal Prep, especially after being turned into a monster that one time at the Friendship Games.” He then smirked. “Perhaps she’s better suited if she enrolled in ‘Monster High’?”

Robotnik laughed as if he told a joke, making Twilight cry again. Enraged by this, Sunset snarled at the laughing doctor.

“Hey, you watch your mouth and leave my friend alone you flankhole!” Sunset threatened. “Unless you want another punch to the face from me like last time!”

As Robotnik scowled at Sunset’s threat, Tempest turned to Sunset with a surprised expression.

“Wait, you punched him in the face?” Tempest inquired.

“Oh, she totally punched him right in the face!” Sonic answered with a grin.

“Yeah, it was awesome!” Rainbow Dash agreed with a laugh.

“Normally, I would disapprove of violence no matter the circumstance,” Rarity stated before glaring daggers at Robotnik. “But in this case, that brute deserved it!”

“Oh, yeah!” Fluttershy agreed with a frown.

“Fer sure!” Applejack nodded.

“You said it!” Pinkie Pie added.

"Yeah, I’ll take your word for it since you gave me one earlier," Tempest remarked before smirking. "Though I would pay a million bucks to actually see you punch this clown!"

“Enough!” Robotnik retorted angrily while clenching his teeth. “The time for talking is over! It's time to push buttons!”

“Your flying eggs are pretty impressive, Mr. Eggman!” Sonic taunted with a cocky smirk. “But let's face it, you'll never catch me!”

“Eggman?” Applejack muttered with a confused expression.

“He called him that because of his egg-shaped robots and his aircraft, duh!” Pinkie answered with a smile. “Even I get that!”

Applejack gave Pinkie an odd look.

“Confidence…” Robotnik said with an impressed grin before frowning. “A fool's substitute for intelligence!”

"Don't forget about us!" Rainbow Dash remarked with a determined glare. "We also have powers of our own! So it's eight of us against one!"

The girls nodded in unison.

"Make that nine if you include me!" Tempest added as she took out her stun gun before narrowing her eyes at the doctor. "Speaking of which, I have a bone to pick with you, Robotnik! What is your game tricking me like that?"

"Now whatever do ya mean, Fizzy?" Robotnik asked in a friendly tone.

"Don't play dumb!" Tempest spat. "I heard that you 'framed' me of going rouge after I punched you back at the house!"

"Ha! He got punched again!" Rainbow laughed, pointing at Robotnik much to the doctor’s annoyance.

"Wow, he must really have a punch-able face!" Pinkie commented, angering the doctor further.

"Quiet you!" The doctor spat.

"I was told that G.U.N. is after me too,” Tempest continued, frowning. “But Celestia informed me that my father had no idea what she was talking about!"

"Oh my, Celestia is with Walters?” said Robotnik with some genuine surprise. “Never thought that the washed-up former Commander is with that old fool again."

"Don't dodge the topic you freak!" Tempest shouted, pointing her gun at the doctor. "You lied to me! G.U.N. never ordered to hunt me down to begin with! Just… why? Why the false game of cat and mouse?"

"Well for one thing, by tricking you to think you're a wanted criminal, you didn't think of contacting G.U.N. or even your daddy since you always prefer to go solo and your relationship with him is rather strained,” Robotnik explained before smirking. “And the second reason… it's just simply fun to watch you squirm!”

As Tempest growled in anger, Robotnik raised his finger. "You are wrong about one thing though… lying to you wasn’t my idea!"

Before Tempest could even ask what the doctor was talking about, she suddenly felt an extreme energy force surrounding her body. She grunted in pain as she felt like being crushed, forcing her to drop her gun and fall to her knees. The gang was both alarmed and confused as they watched Tempest groaning in agony.

"Agent Tempest! What's wrong!?" Sunset exclaimed.

"I… can't move!" Tempest grunted, gritting her teeth.

The girls tried helping Tempest, but they were unable to pull her back up as if she was glued to the ground.

"What's causing this!?" Rainbow remarked, grunting as she kept trying to pull Tempest up.

As the girls continued to help Tempest, Sunset paused as she looked carefully at Tempest, especially at the mysterious aura surrounding Tempest. Sunset blinked when she felt a familiar force coming from Tempest.

Is this… Equestrian Magic? Sunset thought. 

Sunset stood a few more seconds, trying to fully analyze the magic as it felt super familiar to her, but couldn’t put a finger on it. Suddenly, her eyes became as wide as saucers.

Wait! This magic belongs to–

"Look!" Fluttershy interrupted, pointing up in the sky with a frightened expression. 

Everyone turned to where Fluttershy was pointing and was shocked to see that same giant robot who kidnapped Twilight from the highway, floating right next to Robotnik.

"It's the Eggrobo!" Pinkie screeched.

"What's it doing here!?” Rarity exclaimed in terror.

"Look! It's opening its hatchet!" Applejack shouted.

Indeed, the hatchet where the robot’s “head” was slowly opening up backward. As it continued to open, smoke comes out of the body, obscuring their vision for a few seconds. As soon as the smoke cleared up and the “head” completely opened, it was revealed to be…

Nothing.

Everyone was confused for a brief moment, wondering why the cockpit of the robot appeared to be empty. Their unspoken question was soon answered when they heard an annoyed grunt, followed but some mutterings about hating being “too short”. Seconds later, a head popped out, revealing a man with blue eyes and spiky white hair, at which Tempest instantly realized who that person is.

"Hello… boss!" the man greeted, giving Tempest his wicked grin.

"G-Grubber!?" Tempest exclaimed, shock written all over her face.

"Didn't expect to see me, eh Tempest?" Grubber mocked with a chuckle. "But then again, you never expected anything of me despite working with you for so many years!"

Confused by a sudden appearance of a stranger she never met, Rainbow turned to the group.

"Who is this guy?" she whispered.

"That's Tempest’s partner," Sunset answered quietly, not leaving her eyes off of Grubber. "He was with her when they confronted me near the school’s lockers the other day."

"Oh yeah, I’ve seen him too!" said Pinkie with her confused expression. “But I thought he was a young grade student because of how short he is!”

Sunset quickly shushed Pinkie, hoping that the short man to not hear her.

Despite struggling with the unknown magic, Tempest simply stared at Grubber, feeling betrayed by her partner. "You… you worked for Robotnik all this time?"

"Indeed I am!" Grubber confirmed with a toothy grin. "Despite that I'm working 'with' you, I'm actually working for the doctor as his double agent. He wanted me to report everything you've been 'investigating' as long as he paid me a handsome amount. My yesterday's task wasn't any different: Reporting everything you investigate back to the doctor that you're trying to hide about CHS. He even had me call you over to one of the girls' houses to catch you in the act!"

Grubber frowned. "Of course… that blue talkin' porcupine derailed that plan. Robotnik wanted me to keep track of you as you chased the girls and I knew that you'll steal my ride again, so I placed a tracker on my car. I've been tracking you with this awesome machine after you left me. But after you were missing from my abandoned car, I panicked and went straight for the gas station up ahead to catch up with you. It was by coincidence that there was an incident caused by that hedgehog and those girls across from the station.

"With the Arcade getting all the buzz relating to those girls, it was only a matter of time before G.U.N. involved. By that point, Robotnik filled me in on a plan to have those girls placed on the most wanted list on the news while lying to the Commander that you're in on this. We also do not want you to report the truth to your father or other agents, so I came up with a plan to lie to you that you were framed as a traitor so that you would focus on catching up with the girls as predicted.

"After that, my next plan is to track you down, which I also tracked you with my bike that you "stole" from me, and to take you out of the picture for good! After that, kidnapping the pony girl and then deliver her to the boss. But that nerdy girl with the glasses threw a wrench in our plans! We were going to use her as a bargaining chip for the pony girl, but our plans were yet again foiled when someone took out Stone and rescued the girl.

Grubber narrowed his eyes at Tempest and growled. "I didn't realize that the rescuer was you! But then again, I should’ve known that you wouldn't be taken out so easily. But the silver lining was, we were tipped off that you are here and I can finally achieve my goal!" He then had the robot point his big robotic gun at Tempest. "Getting rid of you!"

Tempest shook her head in disbelief. "But I don't understand… why!?"

"Why?" Grubber scoffed with a look of hatred. "It is because you are a cold, heartless, inconsiderate, jerkface!"

The gang winced at Grubber’s choice of words towards the G.U.N. agent.

"Ouch…" Sonic muttered quietly while Spike wordlessly nodded in agreement.

"I tried to generally befriend you and put up with everything you threw at me,” Grubber berated at Tempest. “But not only you've been treating me like dirt, you just don't care or appreciate all the things I sacrificed for you! And on top of that… you keep stealing and wrecking my vehicles!” Grubber banged on his console with his fist in anger. “Seriously, do you have any idea how much I have to pay my car insurance out of my own pocket for this year alone!?" He then breathed through his nose to calm himself down. "Oh, and money! With Robotnik on my side, I can finally pay off all of my car bills and then set for life with sponge cakes for the rest of my days!"

"But… we've been partners for years!” Tempest cried. “Does none of that mean anything to you!?"

"We were never partners!" Grubber stated coldly. "It's just as you said: We were never friends. We are nothing more than associates. Well… former associates now!"

At Tempest’s crushed look, Robotnik then laughed at her misery. "This is all too rich! And people say that I'm cruel… but you have it coming, Tempest! You've been such a thorn to my side as much as that former Wonderbolt fighter years back!”

“Wait, hang on!" Rainbow Dash spoke suddenly, staring up at Robotnik with wide eyes. "That Wonderbolt you mentioned… who do you mean!? And what are you talking about!?”

Annoyed for being interrupted, Robotnik answered in a nonchalant tone. “Well, not that you could understand it, but back when I was ‘training’ under the government, I was involved with the war against a former tyrant, the Storm King. What they don’t know was that I secretly manipulated that tyrant and our government so that I can get into power in the G.U.N.’s chair much quicker than anticipated. Because of my genius, no one knew my plans.” He frowned. “Except for that meddling air fighter with his rainbow hair who was suspicious of me from the beginning!”

Rainbow Dash nearly gasped. “Uncle Rainbow Blaze!?”

“Oh? That man was your uncle?” Robotnik asked with some interest. “Well, that would explain why I detested you as soon as I saw you. Your hair reminds me a lot like him too!” He then shrugged. “But I guess stubbornness runs in the family since he was trying to catch me in the act so that he can prove to the higher-up of my real agenda. He even overheard my conversation with the former tyrant himself. I didn’t want him to foil my plans as soon as our ‘battle’ with the Storm King was over, so… I have one of my drones to shoot his plane from the back!”

Everyone stood there in shock at the revelation, especially Sonic, Sunset, and Rainbow Dash. For Sonic and Sunset, they couldn’t believe that someone would pull off such a heinous act just for his own selfish act and cruelty. Rainbow Dash, however, felt her mind shattered after hearing what happened to her uncle and that he was gone all because of this man. Sadness, as well as anger, began to swirl within the athletic teen as she openly wept while glaring intensely at the doctor with gritted teeth.

Seeing Rainbow’s emotional suffering, Robotnik continued to slowly twist the knife.

“Of course, that ended up setting me back for a while when Celestia took over as a commander, but I eventually took care of that too! But it was well worth shooting down that pest like an annoying bug that he was!” He then gave Rainbow Dash his cruel smile. “I only wished to see the look on his face as he suffered before his demise, wouldn’t you agree, Skittles!”

This has finally pushed Rainbow Dash to her breaking point as she let out a loud scream of rage, scaring everyone in the process.

“I’m gonna kill you!” Rainbow Dash roared before she shot herself toward Robotnik with her speed.

“Rainbow Dash, wait!” Sunset warned, but it fell on deaf ears.

At that moment, Rainbow Dash doesn't care about anything except taking this evil smug monster down and avenging her uncle by any means necessary. She was just seconds away from striking him across the face and hopefully knocking him off his flying vehicle to the ground below.

Suddenly, as if the doctor was expecting this, Grubber's machine glowed in a magical aura and then lifted something in front of the Robotnik, which was hidden from beneath the doctor. Rainbow Dash's rage quickly vanished and instantly stopped herself just as she spotted someone that she knew as soon as they appeared in front of Robotnik as a shield.

“Scootaloo!?” Rainbow Dash cried in shock.

This allowed Grubber to appear in front of her, knocking her back into her friends and crash to the ground. As Rainbow Dash was slowly getting back up with Fluttershy’s help, grunting in pain, everyone stared at Robotnik in shock.

"Oh no! He got Scootaloo!" Twilight exclaimed.

“She’s not the only one!” Robotnik cackled before nodding to Grubber.

Getting the message, Grubber activated the magic from his console, causing his robot body to glow again. Then, one by one, more of Robotnik’s victims raised up in front of him, much to everyone’s horror.

"Cadance!" Twilight shouted in alarm as soon as she spotted her sister-in-law.

"Apple Bloom!" Applejack screamed when she spotted her terrified younger sister.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity screeched in fear after seeing her sobbing little sister.

"And Diamond Tiara too!" Sunset exclaimed as soon as her eyes landed on a struggling young rich girl.

Robotnik looked down on the group with glee before his expression became serious. 

“Now that I got your attention,” Robotnik spoke in a low, dangerous tone. “If either of you takes another step closer, these ladies are goners!" 

As soon as Robotnik made his threat, he snapped his fingers to demonstrate his point. In response, Grubber adjusted the magic holding their hostages, including Tempest from the robot, and squeezed them tightly. This caused the five of them to scream out loudly in pain, further terrifying and upsetting the gang especially the older sisters and sister-in-law to the hostages.

“Stop! Stop hurting them!” Twilight begged, tears streaming down her face. “These are just children, and Cadance is pregnant!”

“Oh, agent Cadance is expecting? I suppose a congratulation is in order,” Robotnik grinned wickedly. “Let me be the honor of delivering the baby by popping them out of her after dropping them a thousand feet below!”

“You monster!” Twilight screamed angrily despite her crying.

“Eh, I’ve been called worse,” Robotnik stated casually with a shrug before becoming serious again. “Now that I got all of your attention, hand over your geodes… or else you all say goodbye to the people you love!”

The girls gasped at his ultimatum.

"Our geodes!? No way!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, clenching her necklace tightly.

"Yeah, we'll never hand them over to you!" Sunset growled, glaring daggers at Robotnik.

"I don't think you have any position to refuse with me, especially since I got your friends in my grasp!" Robotnik stated coolly. 

“Coward!” Sonic remarked, but Robotnik ignored him.

"Besides, the power from your geodes has great potential! Which is why I managed to harness its power to Grubber's machine with Twily's necklace."

Sunset took a good look at Grubber’s robot in question. It was then she finally noticed a new addition on the robot, specifically, on its chest. There, appeared on the upper top left corner of its chest was a purple geode from Twilight's necklace, which was glowing behind bulletproof glass.

"So, that's it!" Sunset exclaimed with a scowl. "I thought that magic felt familiar! You stole it from Twilight's necklace and used it against our friends!"

Robotnik cocked an eyebrow. "Stole it? I'm merely channeling it for better use, but that's just from one geode! Imagine using all seven geodes for greater power!" He then frowned in disgust. "If only they weren't wasted on some dumb teenagers for fun and other pointless acts!" He clenched his fist. "And once they’re in our possession, we’ll take over this world and your home world, pony girl!”

As Sunset stared at Robotnik in anger, Rainbow Dash stepped forward.

"If you think that we'll actually give them to you, we–"

"If we give them to ya, you promise you will release 'em?" Applejack interjected, much to Rainbow’s shock.

“Applejack!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “Why would you–”

“He has mah sister, Rainbow Dash!" Applejack croaked, tears leaking from her eyes. "Ah can’t let anythang happen to her and ah’ll do anythang to save her… even if I have to sacrifice mah geode!”

“Me too!”

Rainbow Dash turned to Rarity, who was also crying. “I know we’re placing the world at risk, but I can’t let that monster hurt Sweetie Belle!”

“And I don’t want him to hurt Cadance!” Twilight added with a guilty tone. “It’s my fault that they’re in that position!”

“We don’t want that meanie to hurt them!” Pinkie added with her hair becoming less poofy. “You know that he has Scootaloo too, right!?”

“Of course I know!” Rainbow Dash retorted, feeling angry and scared. “I don’t want him to hurt her either but… there has to be another way!”

“I don’t think that there is!” Fluttershy whimpered, feeling despair due to the situation.

“Tick tock, girls!” Robotnik interrupted in an impatient tone. “What’s it gonna be?”

Sunset lingered her sight on their captive friends, feeling useless and trapped. As much as she wanted to give Robotnik what for, she and her friends couldn’t risk letting anything happen to the kids and Cadance. With a redundant sigh, Sunset shifted her gaze on Robotnik.

“You didn’t answer AJ’s question,” Sunset spoke up with narrowed eyes, getting Robotnik’s attention. “Once we hand over our geodes… you’ll let them go, right?”

Robotnik grinned. "As long as you do as I say, I promise that I'll let them go."

“Girls! Don’t listen to him!” Tempest shouted, only to get squeezed by Grubber’s magic.

“Quiet you!” Robotnik scolded before staring intensely at Sunset. “I’m waiting!”

The girls wordlessly stared at one another, having a silent conversation. After a moment of tense silence, everyone but Rainbow Dash nodded at Sunset. Realizing that they have no choice but to comply, Sunset sighed reluctantly.

“I’m sorry, Princess Twilight…” She whispered as she removed her necklace.

One by one, the girls removed their geodes and held them out toward Robotnik. Satisfied with their obedience, Robotnik nodded to Grubbler, permission him to take them. With a huge wicked grin, Grubber pressed one of the buttons, activating a long hose from its chest, and began to suck the geodes.

It first picked up Applejack’s geode and sucked it right into a hose and then appeared inside the chest, causing the robot to glow orange and activated a new feature.

“Oh yeah! Now I’m feeling its super strength!” Grubber cheered.

Next, the hose picked up Fluttershy’s geode and did the same thing as Applejack’s geode as the robot glowed yellow as soon as the geode was installed.

“All right! Now I can detect everyone miles away!” Grubber grinned.

The robot took Pinkie’s geode next, and it glowed pink as soon as the geode was installed.

“Magical energy grenades? Nice!” Grubber purred.

Rarity’s geode was taken next, and the robot glowed white once her geode was in place.

“Oh sweet! A new shield!” Grubber exclaimed excitedly, marveling at his new addiction.

A bit more reluctant at first, but Sunset eventually let go of her geode, watching helplessly as it was sucked into the robot. Once Sunset’s geode appeared in its chest, the robot glowed orange as a result.

“Yes! The endless amount of energy is mine!” Grubber shouted triumphantly, screaming towards the heavens.

“Excellent!” Robotnik crowed before glancing at the last girl. “Just one more!”

Everyone turned towards the last person in question which was Rainbow Dash, who had her back to them. While they couldn’t see Rainbow’s face, they saw that she was holding on to her necklace and stared at it, as if she was debating on handing it over.

“Rainbow Dash!” Sunset called in her pleading voice. “I don’t like this either, but please… do what he said!”

“Yes my prism-haired friend,” Robotnik mocked. “Listen to your friend… unless you don’t care about what happens to your little sister!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo shouted, shaking her head. “Don’t do it! Don’t let this egg guy get away with it!”

“You watch your mouth, brat!” Robotnik growled before snapping his fingers.

Grubber activated his magic again to squeeze Scootaloo tightly, causing her to scream loudly in pain.

“Stop!”

With a long sigh, Rainbow Dash slowly turned around to face Robotnik and held out her geode with a sad expression. “I’ll… I’ll do it! Just… please don’t hurt her again!”

With a smirk, Robotnik nodded to Grubber again.

Not wasting any more time, Grubber activated his vacuum and sucked the geode off of Rainbow’s hands and into the robot. Seconds later, the final geode appeared inside the robot’s chest and the robot glowed in various colors as a result.

“Yes! I got some speed, baby!” Grubber laughed in wicked glee before flexing his robot’s arms. “And now, I’m complete!”

“Yes, it is beautiful!” Robotnik said proudly, wiping off his fake tear. “It is exactly as I dreamed!”
Sunset glared at the two angrily, but she kept a cool head for the sake of her captured friends. “Okay doctor, we did as you demanded! Now let them go!”

“Very well then,” said Robotnik. “I am a man of my word!”

Robotnik turned to Grubber and simply nodded. With a smirk, Grubber reached for the button and deactivated the robot’s telekinesis ability. Tempest was immensely freed from their prison.

The hostages, however, were still floating in the air.

As a result, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Cadance began to fall while screaming in terror.

"No!” Sonic shouted as she and the gang tried to reach them.

“Apple Bloom!" Applejack cried.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity screamed.

"Scootaloo!" Rainbow Dash hollered.

"Cadance!" Twilight yelled.

Unfortunately for them, they couldn’t reach them on time, not even Sonic. And without their powers, they have no way of saving them. While half of the girls were crying out to their sisters and sister-in-law, Sunset looked up at the doctor with a burning hatred.

"Why?!” She screamed while tears streamed from her eyes. “You said you’ll let them go!"

Robotnik smirked. "I did… I let them go." 

Tempest growled and pulled out her gun. “You’ll pay for this, Robotnik!”

Before Tempest could fire her weapon, one of the drones shot the gun out of her hand and zoomed closer to her.

“Well ladies, it’s been fun!” Robotnik gloated before snapping his fingers. "Now… time to get vaporized!"

As the drones surrounded and aimed their weapons at them, the Equestria Girls, Tempest, and Sonic stood nervously.

"That's not good!" Sonic stated.

“Ya think!” Spike retorted despite feeling scared for his life.

“I’m sorry, girls,” Tempest said guiltily. “I wished I could’ve prevented this!”

“Don’t blame yourself, Tempest! It’s not your fault!” Sunset responded.

"What are we going to do now!" Fluttershy cried.

Twilight shook her head. “I don’t know! I can’t think of anything!”

As the girls watched the drones with dread, Sonic quickly glanced at the wall where the roof door was then towards the edge of the roof where their friends have fallen. He suddenly had an idea to not only save the kids and Cadance but also get themselves out of this situation.

“Don't worry, gang!” Sonic spoke up with confidence, getting their attention. “I know exactly what to do!”

Before either of them could ask, Sonic suddenly used his super speed to run back towards the roof’s door, jump on the surface of the door, and then launch himself towards the gang. This resulted in the girls, Spike, and Tempest being shoved by the blue hedgehog and then flying off the roof, screaming as they started falling towards the streets below.

“What the–” Grubber remarked as he and Robotnik peered over their seats, surprised at what the hedgehog had done to his friends.

With his jaw hanging, Robotnik slowly sat back in his seat.

"I was not expecting that!" Robotnik whispered in a shocked tone. Seconds later, he shrugged acting casual again. "But I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn't count."

As soon as Robotnik finished his sentence, his drones begin to fire many bullets and missiles at the blue hedgehog, who was calmly standing in place. Just as the missiles and bullets seemed like they were about to hit him, including the one missile close to his face, they all stopped in place as if they are suddenly frozen in time. Seeing this, Sonic smirked.





While the bullets and missiles froze in place, the Equestria Girls, Spike, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, Cadence, and Tempest were still falling but at a snail's place. Sonic wasn’t concerned about this though as he mockingly checked out his “watch” on his wrist while tapping his foot as if he was impatiently waiting to get hit. After enjoying his quick jest, Sonic casually swiped the missiles and bullets away from him with his arm. He then took two of the missiles and started hitting those stray bullets away like he was playing the xylophone. He then jumped off the roof, grabbing another missile along the way, and then he slammed the missile on top of one of the drones and destroyed it before he did the same thing with the second drone next to it. He then jumped off the second drone while grabbing two missiles this time and then he shoved two missiles beneath the third drone as he was “power sliding” on the building on his knees, exploding it in the process.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, Robotnik had already anticipated this as he was slowly reaching for the red button to push, where one of Sonic’s quills was stored as a power source for his vehicle. Each second as Sonic destroyed his machines, he gets closer and closer to the red button until finally, he pressed it. As the red button changed to blue, one of Sonic’s quills is powering up Robotnik’s vehicle with blue sparks overriding the vehicle. Seconds later, Robotnik’s flying machine comes to life and it is now moving as fast as Sonic as it began to fly up the sky.

Not noticing Robotnik’s sudden movement, Sonic ran down the building and lightly pushed the two drones in the process so they can shoot each other in real-time. Sonic then turned around and faced the two drones, making some gun sound effects as he was playfully shooting his gun fingers at them.

"Pew-pew-pew! Pew-pew-pew-pew!"

Unfortunately in the process, Sonic wasn’t paying attention to the sky above him as Robotnik did an about-face downward towards him, taking out his laser gun from his vehicle in the process. By the time Sonic had finally noticed him, he was too late to dodge as Robotnik shot his laser, hitting right where Sonic was standing and knocking him away.

For a brief moment, Sonic was in a state of delirium, groaning from the pain as his eyes were all blurry. As soon as he fully opened his eyes, his senses immediately recovered and then panicked when he saw himself and his friends falling to the Manhattan street below. He realized that if he doesn't save his friends soon, they'll all become pancakes, including himself.

Sonic quickly reached into his satchel to grab one of his rings, but to his horror, his satchel was completely empty. As he frantically surveyed around him, it was then that he noticed that all the rings scattered around him, falling alongside him and out of reach. He then saw one ring right in front of him and tried to reach out toward it.

"C'mon!" He cried out urgently, unable to grab the ring. "C-C'mon, c'mon, c'mon, c'mon!"

He tried to bring himself closer to the ring, even tried air swimming towards it, but he wasn't anywhere closer to the ring. As they were dangerously getting closer to the ground, Sonic's brain went into overdrive as he tried desperately to think of a way to snap the ring. He then suddenly came up with an idea before plucking one of his quills out of him and then using it to snag the ring with the curl of his quill.

Relieved that he caught a ring, Sonic quickly touched his feet on the side of the building and ran down towards his fallen friends. Seeing that the CMCs, Diamond, and Cadance were getting closer to the ground, Sonic threw his arm back as far as he could, picturing a specific location in his mind before throwing the ring toward his friends. 

Please work! Sonic prayed desperately.

Like a bullet, the ring shot forward as it passed by the screaming teens, a dog, two adults, and kids before it grew and opened up on the ground right before the kids touched the ground first and went through the portal. Followed up by Cadance, Tempest, Spike, and then the Equestria Girls.

Yes! Thank goodness! Sonic sighed in relief before frowning in worry. Did everyone make it through!? The only one I didn't see going through the portal was–

"Out of my way, hedgehog!"

Sonic barely had time to react as he was suddenly barreled through by Grubber as he flew down at high speed before he entered the portal himself. As Sonic was spinning around, disorientated by getting knocked over, he noticed to his horror that the portal shrunk after Grubber entered the portal before it disappeared completely. 

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No, no, no!" Sonic cried as he tried to get himself to stop spinning and to slow down the fall, but he was unable to control himself as he continued to fall faster and faster to the ground. And with the other rings too far for him to grab, he was unable to make another portal for his own escape by being flattened. While he was glad that his friends are safe momentarily, his only regret was not being there with them.

And to say goodbye for real before his demise.

With no way of escaping or breaking his fall, Sonic closed his eyes, embracing the impact…
> Volume III - Chapter 8: Equestria Girls vs. Grubber
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sweet Apple Acres is a usually busy, yet quiet place in the countryside of Canterlot City. Today, no living soul was around the farm except for some cows, pigs, horses, and a few other farm animals. One particular cow was busy chewing on some hay from the inside of one of the farm's barns.

The cow's peaceful meal was interrupted when it heard a loud sound of something opening up next to it, revealing a portal. Before the cow could process this, a bunch of screaming teens, preteens, two adults, and a talking dog flew through the opening portal and landed roughly in a huge pile of hay. The cow mooed in fright and ran to the opposite side of the barn.

The gang groaned after landing in a huge stack of hay, slowly recovering after nearly having a death experience of falling from a thousand-foot-tall building.

"Did someone get a number on that bus?" Spike slurred, feeling woozy.

“Are we dead?” Fluttershy groaned, feeling dizzy due to her landing.

“No,” Applejack answered, who was first to recover and then looked around in mild shock. “We’re… back at mah farm!?”

Rarity, as well as the others, slowly got up and climbed out of the hay. “How’d we get here?”

“Sonic’s ring!” Sunset exclaimed with realization. “He must’ve sent us here with one of his rings before we hit the ground!”

"Thank goodness he saved us!" Pinkie frowned. "Just a few more seconds and we would have become human pancakes!"

The girls nodded in agreement.

"Sis?"

Applejack, as well as Rarity, turned and was relieved to see their sisters, as well as Scootaloo, climbing out of the hay.

"Apple Bloom!"

"Sweetie Belle!"

The two older sisters ran up to their respective younger sisters and brought them into bear hugs.

"Are ya alright?" Applejack asked in worry.

"Are any of you hurt?" Rarity frantically checked over her sister with tears in her eyes.

"Naw, we're fine!" Apple Bloom assured with a smile, feeling safe in her sister's arms.

"You kidding me, Apple Bloom? It was scary!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, hugging her sister tighter. "I thought we were goners!"

"Don't worry Sweetie Belle, you're safe," Rarity cooed, hugging her sister back and refusing to let go.

“Speak for yourself!” Diamond retorted as she climbed out of the hay in disgust. “Now my clothes are covered in hay and smell like cow!”

“Well, at least you’re still alive!” Apple Bloom said with a sheepish grin, which caused Diamond Tiara to glare at her.

"Thank goodness that everyone is alright!" said Cadance as she was climbing out of a haystack.

Just as Cadance climbed out of the haystack, Twilight rushed over to her and hug her tightly.

"Cadance!" Twilight cried, sobbing into her sister-in-law's shoulder. "I-I'm so sorry! If anything happens to you, I–"

Cadance shushed her gently, bringing her into a comforting hug. "No, none of that! Don't ever blame yourself. What Robotnik had done wasn't your fault, ladybug."

While that was happening, Scootaloo surveyed her surroundings as if she was looking for something. Or rather, someone.

“Hey!" Scootaloo exclaimed suddenly. "...where's Rainbow Dash?"

The Equestria Girls paused and then looked around the barn. It had never occurred to them until now that one of their friends is missing.

"I… I don’t know," Fluttershy stammered in worry. "I thought she was here with us!"

“And Sonic isn’t here either!” Spike added after noticing another friend missing from the group.

The girls all looked at each other, each having the same thought of worry and dread.

“Girls…" Rarity swallowed. "You don’t think…”

“No! They can’t be gone!” Sunset yelled. “They’re alive! I just know it!”

"Now calm down Sunset," Applejack said gently. "Ah'm sure Sonic and Rainbow Dash is alright!"

"Then where are they?" Sunset asked in a desperate tone.

"...Ah don’t know," Applejack answered quietly, worrying for their friends' safety.

“He betrayed me!”

Everyone turned as Tempest climbed out of the haystack with a mixed expression of hurt and anger.

“My own partner betrayed me!” she growled, tightening her fist. “I don’t understand why would he do this to me!?”

Getting the agent’s attention, Rarity awkwardly cleared her throat. “I don’t mean to pry but… didn’t your friend say that you been treating him harshly?”

Tempest glared at the young fashionista. “Harshly? He’s an agent! He should know what he’s getting into when working for the government, especially me! And he isn’t my friend, he’s my associate!”

Twilight narrowed her eyes, not liking Tempest's attitude at all. “Well… it’s no wonder that Grubber turned on you!”

“Excuse me!?” Tempest frowned, offended by Twilight’s words but the teen genius continued.

“You reminded me so much of my former classmates back at Crystal Prep who used to treat me so horribly and looked down on me because I was ‘beneath’ them. Even after everything I’ve done, they never thanked me. They even made me into a she-demon after pushing me to unleash the magic… just to win a game!” She sighed sadly. “Even after they apologized, it still hurts just remembering how they treated me like I never belonged there. So… I decided to switch over to CHS and became a lot happier since.”

The Equestria Girls nodded at Twilight with small smiles, letting her know that they were there to support her.

Tempest frowned. “What’s your point?”

“While I don’t know how being an agent works, I do know about treating others with respect," Twilight elaborated. “And you… despite knowing you for a day, have no respect towards others or cared for anyone whatsoever!”

Tempest frowned, feeling a bit awkward and a little ashamed. “It’s not that I don't care about him, I’m just… not so great with social interactions. And my life during, as well as after my time as the Storm King’s soldier was unpleasant because people tend to judge me too quickly before knowing me. So… I kept my distance.” She looked Twilight in the eyes. “While it’s not an excuse… but I hope you understand where I come from.”

As the girls processed this, Cadence cleared her throat.

“I remember that was your struggle when you first joined us,” said Cadence with some sympathy. “While I understand what you're going through, always pushing people away while using them isn’t the best way of working with someone, even if he is your work associate.”

“Yeah, well… that doesn’t matter now," Tempest sighed. “Now that Robotnik is on to us and that Grubber has the girls' geodes, it is only a matter of time for them to hunt us down and take over this country.  Maybe even the world.” 

Sunset’s eyes immediately widened in alarm. "Oh my gosh!"

She then immediately flung her backpack around and dug into it, causing everyone to look at her in curiosity and concern.

"Sunset, what are ya doing?" Applejack asked.

“I'm going to warn the Princess!” Sunset answered quickly as she pulled out her journal. "I'm telling her to seal the portal on her side immediately in case Robotnik showed up at CHS!"

She was just about to write her message to Princess Twilight when suddenly, her journal was snatched away by some grappling hook.

"Hey! Sunset cried.

Everyone turned towards the direction where Sunset’s journal was snatched. To their shock and horror, the journal is now in the possession of someone else in the barn that they did not notice until now.

"I'll be taking that!" The person stated.

“Grubber!” Tempest shouted angrily.

“I don’t know how we got here, but the fact that we're back in Canterlot City couldn't be any more perfect!" Grubber grinned. "I can now begin my second mission… finding your portal!”

“What!?” Sunset and the others gasped.

Grubber chuckled. “Oh yes, the doctor knows that you girls are hiding the portal to your school thanks to one of your students during the interrogation. Of course, they don't know where it is, but I can comb the place much quicker with this thing!"

Sunset’s eyes narrowed. "Well, jokes on you! You don't even know how it works!"

"Yeah!" Pinkie added with a frown. "Princess Twily will only respond to things that were written by her friends in that journal!"

"Pinkie!" Everyone shouted.

Realizing what she just said, Pinkie immediately covered her mouth. "Oopsies!"

"So the princess in your world responded by writing this journal, eh?" Grubber grinned wickedly. "Oh, this is way too easy! I know exactly how to draw her out!"

Taking out his pen, Grubber opened up Sunset’s journal and began to write.

"Dear Princess Twilight," Grubber stated loudly as he wrote. "We're having an emergency! Dr. Robotnik is taking over Canterlot City using our magic and now he is threatening to take over Equestria! We need your help to stop him! Please come to our world immediately!"

He looked down at Sunset as he finished up his writing with a smirk. "Your friend… Sunset Shimmer."

Sunset and the others stared up at Grubber in horror, knowing exactly what he was planning. Grubber cackled at their display.

"If you’re really close friends to your princess from another world, then it's only a matter of time for her to respond to "your" message… and then she'll expose the portal location as soon as she arrives!"

"No!" Sunset shouted, causing Grubber to laugh.

“Now if you excuse me, I’ll be heading to the school within seconds thanks to your geodes!” He goaded as he pressed some buttons on his console to activate Rainbow’s geode for super speed. “So long, girls!”

He laughed again as the blue geode glowed, getting ready to zoom across the town to the school.

Only for the geode to dim out, and nothing happened to his robot.

“Huh? What the–” Grubber remarked.

Grubber pushed the button to activate his super speed ability again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

But the result remained the same, much to Grubber's annoyance and frustration.

The girls all watched and looked at each other in confusion, wondering why Rainbow’s geode was the only one that wasn't working for Grubber's robot. Their thoughts were interrupted when Grubber let out a frustrated growl.

“C’mon, activate!” He shouted, pressing the button again.

“Activate!” He screamed. "Activate!"

No matter how many times he pressed the button, nothing happens, causing him to slam his console with his fist in anger.

“Is this thing broken!? Stupid piece of junk!” He grunted as he reached for a different button. “No matter… I’ll just go for plan B!”

Without a word, Grubber activated the hover jets from the back of his robot, and zoomed towards the barn’s ceiling, breaking through it, much to the Applejack’s anger. Everyone immediately ran out of the barn just in time to see Grubber flying away towards the direction of the school, getting further and further away by the second.

“Um… what just happened?” Fluttershy asked, feeling confused about the situation.

“Yeah, I thought he has Dashie’s speed ability!” Pinkie added.

“I don’t know, but we don’t have time for answers!” Sunset replied immediately. “We gotta get to the school quickly!”

“But how?” Twilight exclaimed. “Without a car, there’s no way we can catch up and stop Grubber!”

“If only Randolph weren’t on vacation, otherwise I’ll have him here in a jiffy!” Diamond thought out loud. 

“Even if he wasn’t, I doubt he’ll have time to show up before that bad guy reaches our school!” Scootaloo argued.

Diamond frowned, annoyed at her friend. “Well, do you have any ideas?”

Before Sunset could say a word to break up a potential fight, they suddenly heard voices that were several feet from the farm.

“Apple Cider! Get your Apple Cider here!”

“You won’t find a better-tasting Apple Cider anywhere else in Canterlot City!”

Everyone turned towards the direction of the voices, only to see two older men with one having a red mustache, hanging around in their makeshift stand near the farm. The two Apple siblings groaned in annoyance after recognizing the two men in question.

“Ugh! The Flim Flam Brothers!” Applejack remarked bitterly.

“Even during a world’s crisis, they’ll do anythang to get a profit… off of our farm!” Apple Bloom complained.

As the girls and spike glared at the brothers in disapproval, Tempest glanced over near their stand to see a red pickup truck with a crude artwork of their faces on the side with the words “Flim Flam Fields”. She also noticed from the distance that the car keys were still in the ignition just waiting to be used. A sudden idea came to her mind as she glanced back at the girls with a mischievous look.

“Girls? You said we need a car, right?”





“That’s right! Get your tasty Apple Cider right here!" Flim announced loudly to upcoming cars.

“Freshly squeezed from our Flim Flam’s Fields!” Flam added in a jovial tone.

“One taste will knock your socks off!”

“As well as your taste buds!”

As they continued on with their advertisement on the road, Applejack approached them with a deadpan expression. The two brothers noticed her and gave Applejack their most amused expressions.

“Well well well! If it isn’t Applejack from the Apple Family!” said Flim with a smirk.

“Here to tell us to leave again?” Flam purred.

“Well, the joke’s on you! We’re not breaking the law!” Flim toothy grinned.

“So deal with it!” Flam finished.

The two laughed while Applejack stared at them with an annoyed expression. Keeping her anger in check, Applejack crossed her arms.

“Ah don’t have time fer dis!” Applejack glared. “While Ah’m more than happy to give ya reasons why you should get off of our property, we’re having an emergency and we could use yer truck!”

The con brothers stared at Applejack with surprised expressions, not expecting her of all people to be asking them to borrow their "iconic" truck. They looked at each other for a moment, having a silent conversation before addressing the young apple farmer.

“Well," Flim cleared his throat. "While it is kind of you to ask and your request was reasonable–”

“But we don’t care! So we’re not handing it over!” Flam finished before giving Applejack his smug grin. "Unless you're willing to contribute a 'minor' fee."

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Ah ain’t asking!”

Before they could ask what she meant, they suddenly heard a loud "Vroom" coming from their truck. They both turned towards their truck and they were shocked to see Applejack’s friends and some strange woman in their car and just turned it on with the key they left inside.

“Wha– Hey!” Flim shouted.

“What are ya doing!?” Flam exclaimed.

“Stealing your truck!” Tempest answered from the driver's seat as if it was obvious.

“Don’t worry, we’ll give it back to you later!” Sunset added hastily from the passenger's side.

After Applejack quickly jumped into the back of the pickup truck, they immediately took off which caused the brothers to chase them on foot.

“Stop!” Flim screamed.

“Get back here!” Flam yelled.

“Thanks for understanding!” Pinkie chirped from the back of the truck as they continued speeding down the road, leaving the two brothers in the dust.

…

…

…

“...I told you we shouldn't have left our keys in our car!”

“Shut up, Flam!”





Security at the Canterlot High’s gymnasium was as tight as ever. Ever since Shining Armor and his crew attempted to send a message to Cadance, G.U.N. tightened their security by increasing more agents to stand around and guard the room for less chance of chaos and breakouts like last time. The students and staff were now on the floors and seats with handcuffs around their wrists to give them less chance to fight back. Even Shining Armor, despite recovering from his unconsciousness, was all cuffed and two guards hovering over him with guns pointing at him so that he doesn't do anything.

A moment later, a lone agent entered the room, approached the two guards, and saluted them. 

"Any word from Dr. Robotnik?" One of the guards asked.

An agent shook his head. "Negative sir! No word back from him yet!"

"I see,” One guard hummed. “Then we'll keep our ears open for him while we continue to watch our 'guests'?"

This caused Shining Armor to scuff while glaring up at the guard. "You won't get away with this! I can't believe you all were working for that piece of scum despite everything he did!"

The guard smirked. "Well, Officer Armor, when money talks, you always take the opportunity to switch teams."

"Unbelievable!"

The two guards and agent turned to look at Vice Principal Luna, who was sitting a few feet from Shining Armor with a look of disappointment and anger.

"It's bad enough that you're all a bunch of greedy, corrupt traitors, but to go as far as to capture everyone at school and even hurt them, that's just beyond unforgivable!"

"What are ya gonna do? Send us to detention?" The guard laughed along with two of his associates. "Though I must say, Luna, of all my years working for the government, I never thought I would see the day that a once top agent like yourself ends up in chains."

"Don't you ever underestimate me!” Luna warned with a hiss. “Despite being absent from G.U.N. for so long, my skills are as sharp as ever!" She then narrowed her eyes. "And if it weren’t for kids and faculty that you held hostage… I would have kicked your butt a long time ago!"

"Oh? You kick my butt?" He chortled as if what he was hearing was a joke before pointing his gun at her. "How exactly would you have accomplished that while handcuffed? Let alone at gunpoint?"

"Simple," Luna answered. "First, as soon as I freed myself, I'll punch you square in the face… hard. Then I'll go after the one guy with the gun on your left, using him as a human shield, while using his gun to knock out the second guy without a gun before I knock the first guy out too. Then, I'll come back over to you, and punch you again so hard that your tooth will come out right before you lose consciousness and have the chance to pull the trigger. After that, it is without a doubt that the rest of you boys in this room will come after me like mosquitoes. But since I'm an advanced trained martial artist, I can take every one of you amateurs out within seconds!"

The guard chuckled condescendingly. "That's some good, fantasy story you came up with Agent Luna." He then frowned before he turned away. "But as I said, it's only a fantasy! There are only dozens of us against you! There's no way you can take us out so easily! And besides, you're still tied up! So you won't be able to do anything anyway!"

As he said that, Luna suddenly heard a small beep, coming from her watch. She carefully glanced at her watch to see a small text message which said: “The Sun is delivering her cake”. Right then and there, Luna knew exactly who sent that message and understood the meaning behind the message.

It is time to execute the next part of their plan.

"Yeah, about that…" Luna trailed off.

The guard looked back at her. “What?”

Luna slowly revealed her wrists with a slight smirk. "...I just picked my handcuffs."





While the surprised guard stared at her with wide eyes, Luna immediately rushed off the floor and punched him square in the face, causing him to fall to the ground. The second guard with the gun was about to use his weapon, but Luna quickly elbowed him in the face and then quickly got behind him locking his arms in place. The agent was about to intervene to get her off of the guard, but Luna managed to pivot the struggling guard’s gun to hit the agent’s face with the butt of the gun and knocked him out. Shortly after taking the agent out, Luna quickly held the guard’s arm and then karate-chopped him on the back of his head, knocking him out too. At that point, the first guard stood back up and was ready to shoot Luna. But Luna anticipated this as she quickly pulled the gun away from the guard and punched him again in the face, causing him to lose his tooth in the process and then knocked out as he landed on the floor.

Seeing the commotion, all the agents in the room immediately rushed over to Luna to try to detain her. With a small smirk, Luna got into her fighting stance and silently beckoned the agents to "bring it on".

One agent tried to grab her, but Luna easily dodged and kicked him on his back. She then quickly elbowed another agent to the chest behind her and then tossed the agent toward another one before he had the chance to punch her. Another agent tried to sneak attack her, only for Luna to duck and then swept his leg with hers before karate chopped his chest.

One agent managed to grab Luna from behind by holding her in place from under her armpits, giving another agent an opportunity to attack her by the front. But Luna quickly stumped the agent’s foot who grabbed her, and then flipped herself over the agent and landed behind him, grabbing him from the back instead. This led the agent in the front accidentally punch the captivated agent in the face, knocking him out. Before the agent could process this, he was then punched in the face by Luna and lost consciousness.

There were only five agents left surrounding her and they each carried batons with the electricity turned on. This doesn’t faze Luna at all as she quietly gestured for the agents to try to come closer. No one moved a muscle for what felt like an eternity until one agent shouted and prepared to strike Luna. Seeing his attack coming, Luna quickly dodge the agent and karate chopped his neck, knocking him out. The second agent attacked next as he tried to strike her back, but Luna skillfully maneuvered around his attack and kicked him on his back which caused him to crash into a nearby wall. Two more agents attempted to attack her at once but Luna managed to quickly seize one of the agent’s wrists with one hand, causing him to let go of his baton and Luna grabbed it with her other hand. With a baton in her possession, she swung it at the second agent’s chest and electrocuted him before passing out. The third agent tried to help another agent out, but Luna, after turning the electricity off, swung her baton again and stuck him in the face, knocking him out cold. She then kneed her captivated agent by the gut, stunning him, before delivering the final blow to the back of the agent’s head with a baton and sending him to the ground.

As Luna was checking out her defeated opponent, the final agent let out a loud scream as he ran behind Luna in an attempt to take her out, only for Luna to casually punch him in the face and knock him out behind her without turning around.

After the final agent had fallen to the ground, the expressions from many students, staff, and even Shining Armor were a mixture of shock and awe after witnessing the Vice Principal of the school, take down practically an army of G.U.N. agents within seconds.

Exactly what Vice Principal Luna had said earlier.

"Holy guacamole!" Flash Sentry exclaimed with wide eyes.

Luna simply tossed the baton over her as she made her way over to Shining Armor. One agent groaned as he struggled to get himself back up, only to get knocked out by Luna’s foot as she walked past him. She eventually reached behind Shining Armor and began picking the lock of his handcuffs.

“H…how the heck did you learn to fight like that?” Shining Armor asked, still marveling at the way Luna took out the guards.

“Like I said, I know advanced martial arts,” Luna simply answered as she completely unlocked the handcuffs off of Shining’s wrists before moving on to the next person. "Celestia is on her way with some backup as we speak. So help me out freeing the others!"

“R-right,” Shining stammered before getting up and helping to free the other prisoners.

From the sidelines, Flash, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, and Trixie stared at their Vice Principal with awestruck expressions. 

"Remind Trixie to never get on Vice Principal Luna's bad side!" Trixie remarked quietly while the others nodded mutely.





Grubber continued to fly his way over the neighborhood towards CHS after he left Sweet Apple Acres. He frowned in confusion and annoyance, still wondering why the super speeding ability of his robot didn’t work despite that the geode was just fine after installing it. He wondered if there was some kind of glitch affecting the machine. He then shrugged as he realized that it doesn’t matter anyway since he became very powerful after stealing their gems. And while Grubber wasn’t looking forward to facing his boss’ wrath, he will have to let the doctor check on the robot later.

"It won't be long before I reach CHS,” Grubber muttered before smirking. “And then the pony world will be as good as the doctor’s!"

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a loud “beep” coming from his radar.

"Hm?" Grubber hummed curiously as he glanced at the radar.

The radar showed him that at least a bunch of life forces were not only behind him, they are gaining on him fast. He quickly turned around and he was surprised to see the Equestria Girls and his former partner riding on some red pickup truck while chasing after him.

"Tsk! These kids just won't quit!" He growled as he was pressing some buttons. "Looks like I better take them out!"





Meanwhile, the girls and Spike were hanging on to their seats as Tempest sped after Grubber from behind the wheel. 

"Please hurry, Tempest!" Twilight said urgently.

"Yeah, step on it!" Sunset added. "Equestria and everypony else are in grave danger!"

"I'm pressing hard the paddle!" Tempest retorted. "But this is as fast as it goes!"

"Jeeze, Flim and Flam’s truck is a piece of junk!" Apple Bloom remarked. “Even our old hay tractor is faster than dis!”

“Doubt it,” Diamond muttered, holding on tightly to the side of the truck.

"Don't worry, I'm taking the shortest routes possible!" Tempest assured. "We should be there in no–"

"Heads up! It's Grubber!" Sweetie Belle shrieked.

Everyone looked up to see Grubber just in time for his robot to be switched into fighting mode while still flying towards his destination.









"Time for you girls to be blown into bits!" Grubber shouted as he pressed a few buttons, ready to attack.





The girls watched nervously as Grubber’s robot began to charge up his attack.

"Oh dear!" Fluttershy shouted.

"Hang on everyone!" Tempest warned as she shifted the gear of their vehicle. "This is going to be a bumpy ride!"

As soon as Tempest said it, Grubber released his attack, shooting a laser beam toward them.

Predicted the attack, Tempest quickly turned the wheel and managed to dodge the laser before they were hit. The girls nearly screamed as the truck abruptly turned, followed by feeling the waves from the blast behind them.

“I knew I should’ve gone with my daddy to my great-grandmama’s cabin in the White Tail Woods instead!” Diamond screamed, holding on tightly to Apple Bloom as the car was swerving.

The robot continued to shoot its laser at the car, but Tempest kept on dodging them before it has the chance to hit them. Grubber became annoyed at this, so he decided to change his strategy. He pressed another button, activating one of the geodes and gaining access to its magic. The girls noticed the magical aura surrounding the robot and began to glow purple.

"Watch out! He's using Twilight’s magic again!" Rarity alerted.

With his arms outstretching towards each side of the road, the robot marked the trees with its telekinesis ability and lifted them off the ground with ease. The robot raised the trees in the air for a moment, focusing on its aim before throwing its arms towards the girls, tossing one tree at a time. Anticipating this, Tempest dodged around each tree that was thrown at them before they each hit the ground and break into several pieces.

"Whew! Dat was close!" Applejack exclaimed.

“Keep your guard up!” Cadance loudly advised. “We're not yet out of the woods!”





Grubber scowled in frustration as he witnessed his latest attack didn’t work.

"Persistent pests!" he growled before pressing another button, activating another geode. "Looks like it's time to bring in the big guns!"





The girls tensed as the robot began to glow again in a different color, this time it was Pink. The robot slowly lifted its arms and faced both palms towards them. Light began to glow into a big pink ball of light on each palm.

"Look out!" Scootaloo shouted.

The robot began to shoot multiple glowing pink bombs at the car at a rapid pace.

Tempest once again, did a few sharp turns as she evaded the bombs before they were hit. Each time a bomb landed on a road, it caused several shock waves near the car and left some damage on the road behind them. The robot eventually stopped firing its bombs, giving the girls a chance to catch their breaths.

"That was… Pinkie’s attack!" Twilight exclaimed, widening her eyes in terror.

"Ooooh, why do every sweet goodie I've thrown always blow up!?" Pinkie bemoaned. "It was how I lost my oven!"

Everyone gave Pinkie an odd look.





Grubber grunted, both impressed and aggravated that his pursuers managed to avoid his attacks.

"Okay…” He hissed with a dark look before pressing a few buttons. “Let's see if you can dodge this!"





By now, both groups made it to the suburb part of Canterlot City, getting closer to the school. The robot glowed once again, but the color of its aura was purple. It lifted its arm toward some nearby empty cars parked alongside the road and lifted them with telekinesis again. The girls tensed as the robot was floating the cars in their direction.

“Get ready to dodge, Tempest!” Twilight urged.

“Rodger!” Tempest responded.

The robot then flung its arms, and the cars rained down toward the group. Tempest, as usual, aggressively turned the steering wheel as it dodged one car after another before crashing on the road. As they were dodging the cars, Grubber pulled a sneaky move as the robot glowed Pink. It raised its palm and fired the energy bomb at their truck.

At that moment, Tempest managed to dodge the final car before it even landed on them. But as she went around the fallen car, she didn’t even have time to react as the energy bomb appeared right in front of them. By the time she registered it, she was too late as the bomb hits the hood of the car and exploded, causing the pickup car to spin out of control.

"We've been hit!" Sunset screamed.

"Hang on!" Tempest shouted while trying to turn her wheel.

The girls screamed as they continued to spin around out with Tempest losing control on the road. They eventually found themselves spinning off the road and on a grassy field, which was the front of CHS. They continued to spin on the grass leaving tire marks as they go until they hit an empty pedestal and the truck stopped in place. 

The robot floated over to where their truck has fallen as the smoke comes out of the hood. Seconds later, the head part of the robot slowly opened and revealed Grubber’s face with a huge smirk.

"End of the line, ladies!" He gloated as he floated over with its palm sticking out, ready to finish the job.

But to his shock and confusion, the girls, Cadance, Tempest, and even their little dog were nowhere to be seen.

"Wha– where'd you all go!?" He demanded, looking around the area frantically.

Unbeknownst to Grubber, everyone had already jumped into a nearby bush for safety before they crashed. Other than a few scratches and light bruises, they were all still in one piece. The girls peeked at Grubber quietly as they tried to keep themselves hidden as long as they can.

"Well, at least we made it to the school!" Pinkie said quietly.

"Yeah, but that creep is also here!" Sunset whispered as she watched him in worry. "We’re too close as it is! We can't let him see where the portal is located!"

Twilight frowned. "But how, Sunset!? He has all of our magic and we're powerless to stop him!"

“Not to mention, with my geode at his side, it is only a matter of time before he finds us!” Fluttershy whimpered.

"Found you!"

The girls froze as Grubber shouted, looking directly at where they were hiding.

“Case and point!” Fluttershy screeched fearfully.

Tempest narrowed her eyes and frowned in determination. “Girls, try to distract him any way you can and get away from the portal!”

Sunset blinked and turned to Tempest. "Wait, what do you–"

"Just do it!" Tempest ordered.

Despite not getting what Tempest was planning, the Equestria Girls complied as they hopped out of the bushes before Grubber gets any closer.

"Hey Grubber, catch us if you can!" Sunset shouted.

“Na Na!” Pinkie taunted, sticking her tongue at him while pulling one of her eyelids down.

Before Grubber could react, the girls managed to run far away from where Grubber was standing.

"Hey, get back here!" Grubber growled. "Running and hiding from me is useless!"

He hovered by using the jet pack again from the back of his robot and then flew after the girls. As he chased after the girls, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Spike slowly peeked out from the bushes. 

Apple Bloom was about to give chase. "We're coming Appleja–"

She barely took a step when Tempest place a hand around her mouth and pulled her back into the bushes. And before the other two CMCs thought of sneaking out, Cadance wrapped her arm around the two of them and pull them back too. Once they were behind the bushes again, the CMCs looked at Tempest and Cadance in annoyance while Spike and Diamond had curious expressions.

"What the hay was that fer!?" Apple Bloom shouted.

"Yeah, we want to help!" Scootaloo added.

Tempest shushed them with her index finger, keeping the kids quiet. "No girls, this is way too dangerous for you kids!"

"Seriously!? You're just going to tell us to not help!?" Sweetie exclaimed, only to be shushed by Tempest again.

"I didn't say that!" Tempest clarified quietly. "Grubber will be too focused on me and your sisters as his main targets while everyone else around him will be an afterthought!" She then pointed at them. "And that's where you four come into play!"

“A-hem!” Spike cleared his throat loudly.

“Sorry… you five come into play,” Tempest corrected.

Spike nodded in satisfaction.

“Tempest… you sure about this?” Cadence asked.

“Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing!” Tempest assured. “You know what do, right?”

Cadence nodded. “I do, but be careful Tempest!”

“You too, Cadence!” Tempest responded.

With a determined look, Cadence turned and quietly disappeared through the bush, leaving Tempest, Spike, and the kids alone.

“So what exactly do you have us in mind?” Diamond asked.

"Does any of you know the portal's location?" Tempest asked.

The CMCs and Spike nodded.

"Perfect!" said Tempest. She then silently gestured for them to come closer to her. "Now listen carefully everyone, here's the plan…"









"Hold still!" Grubber grunted as he swung his robot arm to crush one of the girls.

Fortunately, Applejack saw his punch from a mile away and was able to dodge his attack. She then quickly counterattack by punching one of the robot's legs to damage it.

Unfortunately for her, this turned out to be a mistake.

"Yeowch!" Applejack screamed, holding on to her right hand in agony.

This allowed Grubber to crush a distracted teen with his robotic fists again. Before he could flatten her, Sunset quickly shoved Applejack out of the way, and the two of them dodged safety before they were smashed by Grubber's fist. As Grubber growled in frustration, Sunset quickly helped Applejack up.

"Watch yourself AJ!" Sunset advised. "Without your geode, your super strength won't work!"

"Oh, now ya tell me!" Applejack remarked, only to wince again due to the pain from her right hand.

They looked up when they noticed Grubber, looming over them with a scowl on his face. He raised his robotic hand to punch them again, only to be interrupted when a rock hit him on the side of his head. Followed by another.

He turned around to see Rarity and Twilight glaring intensely at him while Fluttershy stood nervously in the background.

"Back off from my friends you brute!" Rarity hollered, before throwing another rock at him.

"Yeah, leave them alone!" Twilight added, throwing her rock at him too.

Unperturbed by this, Grubber simply caught two rocks with each hand while glaring at the young fashionista and genius.

Rarity gave Grubber her sheepish smile while Twilight laughed nervously. "Uh… nice catch?"

Without a word, Grubber drew both his arms back and was about to throw a rock at the girls, until he was hit by another object to the face.

This time, it was a cupcake.

"What the…"

Grubber wiped the frosting off of his face and turned toward the perpetrator. To his annoyance, it was Pinkie Pie as she was holding a few cupcakes that she had taken from her hair.

How she managed to store all those cupcakes, Grubber doesn't have a clue.

"That was a marzipan cupcake!" said Pinkie. "You like?"

"...I hate marzipan," Grubber seethed. 

"Good!" Pinkie chirped before scowling. "Here comes some more!"

Within seconds, Pinkie started throwing an endless amount of cupcakes from her hair at Grubber at a rapid pace. Grubber grunted as more cupcakes hit him on the face and body. He quickly pressed some buttons, glowing himself white, and then activated his diamond shield, blocking any more incoming cupcakes towards his way.

Pinkie stopped throwing her cupcakes and gave Grubber her annoyed and pouting expression. "Hey, no fair! You're blocking all of my cupcakes!"

"That's the idea!" Grubber spat as he raised his other robotic hand. "Now it's my turn!"

Grubber's robot glowed pink before he fired a magic bomb at Pinkie. While the bomb wasn't anywhere near Pinkie, the small explosion was still enough to send Pinkie flying and then crashed into Applejack and Sunset and then Rarity and Twilight. The girls then crash-landed on the ground, causing Fluttershy to run towards them in worry.

Fluttershy immediately checked on her friends for a moment, checking to see if they were hurt. She was relieved that neither of them was hurt, but she soon became angry at what Grubber almost had done. She immediately looked up at Grubber in anger.

"How dare you!" Fluttershy shouted, startling Grubber as well as her friends. "Listen here, mister! Just because you're big, doesn't mean you get to be a bully! You may be hiding in that robot of yours that get you to shoot bombs, levitate, and energy shield with our geodes… but you do not– I repeat, do not hurt! My! Friends!"

She narrowed her eyes. "Now stop what you're doing right now or else!"

Grubber blinked for a moment before he let out a huge laugh. "Aw, how cute! Was that supposed to be a threat? I'm invincible! There's no way a weakling like you could hurt me!"

Fluttershy smirked. "I wasn't talking about me!"

Grubber had a confused look for a moment before he suddenly felt a violent shake from his robot, almost as if something struck him. He turned around to see Tempest who just punched the robot's leg with her metal arm before punching it again. This caused the robot to tip over and fall to the ground.

As soon as Grubber was down, Tempest quickly ran up to Fluttershy and Rarity.

"You girls okay?"

Sunset nodded, despite feeling aches on her body. "We're fine, thanks for saving us."

They suddenly turned back to the robot as Grubber let out an angry growl.

"That's a lucky shot!" He spat, getting his robot back up from the ground. "But that's the only free shot you get!"

Tempest frowned, cracking her knuckles. "I'm just getting started!" She muttered before she rushed herself over towards him to strike.





While the “battle” was still going on between Grubber and the gang, mysterious ripples appeared on the side of a tall pedestal where the horse statue used to be. Then with a sudden flash, a girl with long blue hair with pink and purple stripes appeared out of the pedestal with an urgent expression. The girl in question looked exactly like Twilight Sparkle, except she wasn’t wearing glasses and wore a different outfit.

This was actually the pony Twilight, aka Princess Twilight Sparkle from Equestria. After she received a message from her "friend", she dropped everything she was doing and came post-haste through the portal, looking for her friend.

"Sunset!" She spoke frantically. "I came here as soon as I–"

She was suddenly silenced when a mysterious hand covered her mouth and a few more sets of hands held her in place. This caused the girl to panic and began to struggle to free herself from whoever was trying to capture her.

"Shhh, quiet! He'll hear you!"

Twilight stopped struggling the moment she heard a familiar voice from her number one assistant and friend. Or rather, the counterpart version of her assistant. As soon as she was let go, she was baffled when she realized that not only this world’s Spike was here, but so were a few others that she wasn't expected to see near the portal.

"Wha– Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? Spike? And Diamond Tiara!?” She exclaimed to her surprise and confusion. “Why are you–"

She was suddenly shushed by the CMCs and Diamond Tiara.

"No time!" Apple Bloom answered.

"We'll explain later!” Sweetie promised.

“Just follow us and be quiet!" Diamond added.

“And hurry!” Scootaloo said urgently as she took hold of Princess Twilight’s hand and pulled her away opposite to where the fighting took place, much to the princess’ bafflement.

"Hey, wait– hold on a second!"





Tempest dodged one bomb after another as she continued to get closer to Grubber. Once she was close enough and avoiding the fifth bomb, Tempest leaped herself into the air towards the head section of the robot to hit her former partner. But before she could land a single punch, Grubber quickly blocked her with his diamond shield. As Tempest recoiled due to the shield, Grubber quickly followed up by punching her with his other robotic hand, sending her straight down near the Equestria Girls.

As Tempest roughly landed on the ground, leaving a huge dent in the process, Fluttershy gasped.

"Tempest!"

Fluttershy was then frozen in fear when Grubber immediately loomed over her and her fallen friends with an evil laugh.

"Give it up girls!" He gloated. "With your geodes on my side, fighting me is futile, especially you, Tempest!"

Tempest growled as she tried to get herself back up, but couldn't due to her pain. "You'll never win, Grubber!"

"Quite frankly my dear, I already have!" Grubber chuckled evilly as he slowly hovered his robot hand over them with the glowing energy bomb ready to fire. "Now say goodbye!"

Just as Grubber was about to push the button, he suddenly heard loud beeping coming from his radar. With a bit of annoyance for getting interrupted, Grubber checked at the radar and his eyes widened at the site of five different life energies from behind him.

But only one of them had a very high magic level which was barely off the charts.

"Wait, what!? Where did that life with so much magic come from!?" Grubber exclaimed before his eyes widened in realization. "Wait, hold on a second…"

He quickly turned around and spotted the four kids, a teen, and a dog running away from him. That was when he put the two and two together.

"The Princess is here already!?" Grubber shouted in shock.

"Oh crud, he knows!" Applejack exclaimed.

Determined to help her friend, Sunset quickly got up, ignoring the pain, and ran past Grubber, who he took notice of.

"Oh no, you–"

Before he could pursue her, Tempest suddenly used a grappling hook and launched herself over to Grubber. She then tried to wrestle Grubber off of the controls in an attempt to stop him or at least buy Sunset some time.

"Hey! Get off of me!" Grubber shouted in anger.

“Not on your life!” Tempest shouted back.

Meanwhile, Sunset ran as fast as her life depend on it, determined to reach her friend before Grubber catches up. Seconds later, she finally caught up with Princess Twilight, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Spike much to her relief.

"Twilight!" Sunset yelled.

Princess Twilight stopped briefly and turned around with a look of surprise.

"Sunset? What–"

"Keep running!" Sunset cried before grabbing Princess Twilight’s hand and taking off with her.

The group ran faster than they could have been before, determined to outrun the enemy behind them. Sunset felt her legs were aching so much from all the running and her body was still in pain, but she kept pushing on to save her friend. She silently wished that her friend Rainbow Dash was here with her super speed or Sonic was here to get Princess Twilight to safety as quickly as possible.

Unfortunately, it was at that moment when Grubber had the upper hand and managed to throw Tempest off of his robot.

"Buzz off, partner!" He remarked.

Tempest fell to the ground with a painful thud, grunting as she was laying facedown.

With his former partner out of his way, Grubber then zoomed after the fleeing teens. He eventually reached them and then grabbed the Princess into his robot hand.

"Got ya!"

"No, Twilight!" Sunset screamed.

Princess Twilight tried to struggle her way out of the robot’s grasp, but it was no use. With an evil chuckle, Grubber lifted the Princess towards him so they can eye level with each other.

“Fancy meeting you, Princess!” He said with fake pleasantry before frowning. "Now let’s cut to the chase: tell me where the portal is!"

With a grunt, Princess Twilight glared at Grubber. "I'll never tell you! I don’t know who you are, but I’ll never jeopardize Equestria for the likes of you!”

"Really?” Grubber mused. “Then how about we try this!"

With his other robot hand, his palm faced Sunset and the CMCs before glowing purple. Before they could react, their bodies glowed purple and they were lifted off of the ground, causing Sunset and the kids to scream.

"Sunset! Girls!" Rarity exclaimed as she and the others were getting up and running up to them, but they were still several distances away.

With Sunset and the others in his grasp, Grubber looked back at the Princess.

"Now will you tell me where it is?" He frowned. “Refuse to tell me, I’ll squeeze them like grapes!”

"Don't tell him, Twilight!" Sunset shouted. “Don’t tell them the locat–”

She then screamed in agony as Grubber used his magic to squeeze Sunset a little more tightly.

"Tick tock, Princess…" Grubber glared, almost running out of patience.

Princess Twilight watched in horror as Sunset was slowly getting crushed by his magic. Despite not knowing what was going on, she knew that she can’t reveal the portal’s location to that man without putting Equestria at risk. But if she doesn’t tell him, Sunset, along with the CMCs and Diamond Tiara will get hurt or worse… and she wouldn’t live with herself when that happens. And her human friends are still too far away to reach them. And by the time they did, it will be too late. Judging by his expression, the man appeared to be almost running out of patience if she waited for too long.

With a defeated sigh, Twilight sadly looked down. "...I'm sorry, Sunset."

“Twilight, no!”

Grubber smirked. "Well? Where is it?”

Twilight swallowed, still looking down. "The… the portal location is…"

However, while Grubber kept his focus on the princess and his hostage, he had completely missed and forgotten about Spike. During the exchange, Spike stealthfully climbed up the robot, hopping on any piece of metal that was climbable for him to reach. He eventually made his way to the top of the robot behind Grubber, just when Princess Twilight was ready to reveal the portal’s location.

Spike narrowed his eyes at the mean man before turning his gaze onto his right arm. Just as Princess Twilight was about to spill the beans, Spike leaped down from where he was standing and gave Grubber a huge bite on his arm.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Grubber screamed in pain.

He then tried to shake Spike off of his arm, but Spike held on to his arm tightly with an iron grip.

“Let go!” Grubber shouted, shaking his arm. “Let go of me you stupid dog!”

By that point, the other Twilight and the rest of the gang eventually caught up to them and Twilight let out a loud gasp.

“Spike!”

Having finally reached his boiling point, Grubber waved his arm so hard, he threw Spike off of him and he landed on the console. Before Spike could recover, Grubber held Spike in place, glaring at him with rage.

“You’ll pay for this, pooch!” He spat with his face so close to Spike.

Spike whimpered and shut his eyes, expecting Grubber to do his worst to him.

"Hey Grubber!"

Grubber turned away from the dog towards someone calling his name. Tempest, despite being held by Applejack and Twilight, glared at Grubber as she slowly lifted a rectangular device that was in her hand.

"...you're fired!"

She pressed the button.

Grubber cocked an eyebrow in confusion, wondering what was she referring to, until she heard some “beeps”. As he investigated the noise, he had forgotten all about Spike, giving him an opportunity to escape. Grubber eventually located the noise and his eyes widened in shock as he spotted a tiny detonator sitting directly on the component of his console. It was then that Grubber realized that Tempest was not only buying time for these twerps, but she had also placed these bombs during their struggle, which was all part of her plan this entire time.

As the detonator was now blinking and beeping rapidly, ready to explode at any second, Grubber's face fell.

"...aw nuts."

Spike managed to jump out of the robot just as the head portion of it let out a huge explosion, which caused to push Spike further away. At the same time, the magic aura around Sunset and the pre-teens stop working, letting them go and causing them to fall. Even the robot’s hand released Princess Twilight from his grasp, causing her to fall to the ground below. The giant robot slowly tipped backward and then crashed to the ground, not moving. The robot was at least of the girls’ concerns as they each called out to their falling friends in alarm and dread.

"Sunset!"

“Spike!”

"Princess Twilight!"

"Girls!"

The gang quickly ran up towards the robot to catch their fallen friends. Applejack and Rarity managed to catch their sisters respectively into their arms, while Fluttershy was able to catch Scootaloo. Twilight easily caught Spike before he hits the ground, while Pinkie somehow easily caught Sunset in her arms with ease. Both Diamond and Princess Twilight screamed as they were about to hit the ground, only to be caught at the last minute by Tempest with Princess Twilight in one arm and Diamond Tiara in her metal arm.

“Agh… couldn’t you catch me with your non-metal arm?” Diamond groaned, feeling like she was about to puke.

“...you’re welcome!” Tempest stated sarcastically.

Princess Twilight stared awkwardly at Tempest before waving at her sheepishly.

“Um… thanks for saving me!”

Tempest simply nodded, not saying a word.

“Spike? Spike! Speak to me!” Twilight begged, checking over him with tears in her eyes.

Spike groaned before looking up at her with a sly grin. “So… does this mean you’ll get me a premium classic unwashed white ankle sock as a reward for saving the day?”

Despite her tears flowing down, Twilight chuckled before hugging him, relieved that he was okay. “Oh, Spike!”

"Are y'all okay?" Applejack asked, as she, Rarity, and Fluttershy gently placed the CMCs back on the ground.

"Yeah… yeah we're okay," said Apple Bloom.

"Just shocked is all," Scootaloo assured. “Totally wasn’t scared at all!”

"Sis!" Sweetie Belle hugged her sister as soon as she was let down.

"Oh, Sweetie Belle! I'm so glad you're safe!" Rarity hugged with tears in her eyes before looking at her sternly. "For now on, you girls are staying home!"

Sweetie Belle nodded in agreement. "Yeah… I think we had enough adventures for one day!"

“Technically, it was two days!” Scootaloo corrected.

“Two days too many!” Apple Bloom joked, causing others to laugh.

"Okay, can someone tell me what's going on here!?" Princess Twilight shouted after Tempest placed her down on the ground. She then surveyed the group in front of her, realizing who was missing from the group. "And where is Rainbow Dash?"

Sunset cleared her throat. "Oh, well…"

Before Sunset could answer, they all heard a loud "whoosh" behind them. The gang turned around just in time to see a giant ring opening up in front of the school’s entrance. Everyone stood in shocked silence as they watched whatever it was coming out of the portal…
> Volume III - Chapter 9: Chasing Around the World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




An Hour Earlier…




"Whoa, whoa, whoa! No, no, no!" Sonic cried as he tried to get himself to stop spinning and to slow down the fall, but he was unable to control himself as he continued to fall faster and faster to the ground. And with the other rings too far for him to grab, he was unable to make another portal for his own escape by being flattened. While he was glad that his friends are safe momentarily, his only regret was not being there with them.

And to say goodbye for real before his demise.

With no way of escaping or breaking his fall, Sonic closed his eyes, embracing the impact…

…

…

…

"Gotcha!"

Sonic eyes flew open the moment he landed in something soft and heard a very familiar raspy voice.

Sonic looked up and was surprised to see that it was none other than Rainbow Dash. Just moments ago, he saw her almost hitting the ground along with her friends, yet here she was, much further up in the air along with him. What stood out to him the most was Rainbow Dash now having pony ears and wings appeared on her body.

"Rainbow Dash!" Sonic stared at the tomboy in awe. "How–"

"We'll talk after we land safely!" Rainbow Dash answered quickly, eyeing the ground as they continued to fall.

With her wings, she quickly flapped them multiple times so that she and Sonic slowly descended towards the ground instead of falling. They eventually reached the ground with rings scattered all around as Rainbow Dash's feet safely landed on a sidewalk in one piece. Rainbow Dash gently placed Sonic on the ground as Sonic looked up at her in awe and gratefulness.

"Wow… thanks Rainbow Dash! I thought I was a goner for sure!"

"Yeah, it was a close call!" said Rainbow Dash before smiling. "But I'm glad that you're okay!"

Sonic frowned. "While I am grateful that you saved me but… how? How did you reach me? You were almost towards the ground… and you got wings!" Sonic paused. "Wait, how did you get those wings!? I thought you gave your geode to Grubber!"

Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. "Well… it’s like this…"








Moments Ago…




“I’m sorry, Princess Twilight…” Sunset whispered as she removed her necklace.

As the Equestria Girls removed their geodes, Rainbow Dash was conflicting with herself in dreed.

‘What should I do!? What should I do!?’ Rainbow growled internally as she removed her necklace. ‘There’s no way that Robotnik and his goon are going to keep their word! They’ll most likely turn around and eliminate us as soon as we handed our geodes over to them! But if we don’t do as they say… they’ll hurt squirt and the others… or worse!’

As Grubber one by one took her friend’s geodes, Rainbow immediately turned her back towards everyone as she held on to her own geode. Feeling hopeless, Rainbow dug into her pocket with her other hand and took out her uncle’s necklace, staring longingly at it in desperation.

‘Uncle… what should I do?’ she pleaded in thought. ‘I can’t let these monsters get away with it and I can’t let them have my geode! They will use them to hurt everyone! But… I can’t let them hurt Scootaloo and the others too!’

“Excellent!” Robotnik crowed before glancing at the last girl. “Just one more!”

Rainbow felt all eyes were on her but she kept her focus on her uncle’s necklace.

‘Uncle… I know I’ve always talked to you through this whenever I needed advice, but the truth is… I really needed you right now… not this piece of metal with a similar looking geode as mine–’

Suddenly, her eyes widened. ‘Wait… our geodes looked the same!'

She then heard her uncle’s voice echoing in her mind from her memory many years back.

'This thing saved my life more times than I could count! It certainly gave me luck when I needed it, so who knows? This thing may even help you out someday, or maybe even your friends!'

"...Unc," Rainbow whispered.

“Rainbow Dash!” Sunset plead. “I don’t like this either, but please… do what he said!”

Before Rainbow Dash could say anything, Robotnik butted into the conversation.

“Yes my prism-haired friend,” Robotnik mocked, much to Rainbow’s anger. “Listen to your friend… unless you don’t care about what happens to your little sister!”

“Rainbow Dash!” Rainbow heard Scootaloo shouting behind her. “Don’t do it! Don’t let this egg guy get away with it!”

Rainbow Dash is most certainly not going to let these clowns get away with it. In fact, she had a plan that could potentially give them a fighting chance, but it could be very risky. She wasn't sure if this could pull off without Robotnik and Grubber noticing. And most importantly, she didn’t want to execute her plan without putting her friends in danger.

Not again.

“You watch your mouth, brat!” Robotnik growled before snapping his fingers.

Rainbow felt her heart ripped out when she heard Scootaloo scream loudly in pain due to Grubber's doing.

Right then and there, Rainbow made her decision.

“Stop!”

With one last good look at her uncle's bracelet, Rainbow Dash let out a long sigh as she discreetly placed her own geode in her pocket while slowly turning to face Robotnik. She then held out her uncle’s geode towards him with a sad expression. 

‘Thank you for all your guidance, Uncle… but I must do this on my own!’

“I’ll… I’ll do it! Just… please don’t hurt her again!”

Rainbow felt a huge twist in her stomach as she watched her uncle’s geode taken from her hands and entered inside the robot's chest. She then noticed that, unlike the others, her own geode didn't glow in color as soon as it was installed, but luckily, no one else seemed to pay attention to it. She could only hope that her plan worked.

As she expected, that mustached snake didn't honor his deal and let Scootaloo and the others fall towards the Manhattan street below. She is about to get past these drones to save her falling friends, but she wasn’t expecting Sonic to suddenly push her and her friends off of the roof and fall along with the others.

“What the heck!?” Rainbow screamed as she was falling.

Rainbow Dash looked up as she was falling and she could see some of Robotnik’s drones explode within seconds, no doubt that Sonic was behind all of this. While she wished that Sonic didn’t have to push her and her friends off of the building, she hoped that Sonic has a plan to save her and her friends while giving Robotnik and Grubber a what for. However, she also noticed that Robotnik had disappeared as well. Before she could fully process this, another explosion appeared in the middle of the building, and then she saw Sonic appeared to be falling along with his rings. From the look on Sonic’s expression, he appeared to be disoriented.

“Oh no!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

Realizing that Sonic is down and that she and her friends are getting closer to the ground, Rainbow Dash quickly took out her geode and tried to tap into her magic.

“C'mon, work! Please work!” she pleaded.

Rainbow managed to look up just in time to see Sonic running down towards her with one of the rings. Unfortunately, Rainbow also spotted Grubber flying after him, getting closer and closer by the second. She then looked down and saw her friends were still screaming their way down the building and they were dangerously close to the ground. Feeling panicked and determined to save her friends, Rainbow tightly grasped her geode on her chest.

‘C’mon, please. Please work!’ Rainbow Dash begged desperately. 'I know I screwed up before and my reasons then were selfish, but I really need this magic more than ever!'

Not knowing that Sonic has thrown the ring past her and her friends’ scream grew louder than ever before, Rainbow grasped her geode even tighter.

'I beg you, please…’ Rainbow whispered, a lone tear sliding down her cheek. ‘Let me break free… and save my friends!'

Suddenly, she felt herself stop falling.

Or rather… slowing down.





Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes and she saw that she wasn't falling at a fast pace anymore. Instead, she was falling at a slow pace along with everything around her. Even Sonic was slowing down in front of her. That was when Rainbow Dash had an astonishing realization.

‘I'm… I'm in a slowdown… just like Sonic!’ Rainbow let out a toothy cheerful grin. “Yes! Thank you, harmony!”

Her cheers were short-lived when she remembered something crucial.

“Oh shoot, my friends!”

Rainbow immediately looked down and was surprised to see that while her friends were still falling, they were falling through a huge portal that she hasn’t seen til now. From what she could tell, they were heading right into a giant haystack within a very familiar barn that she visited many times.

'Oh, thank goodness!’ Rainbow Dash sighed inwardly in relief. ‘My friends are falling through Sonic's ring and into Sweet Apple Acres. I knew that hedgehog had a plan!'

Her eyes immediately narrowed when she saw someone else enter the portal after her friends.

'Wait, is that Grubber!"

Sure enough, that was Grubber who was still riding in his super robot of his along with her friends' geodes that he stole. Rainbow Dash scowled in anger.

"Get away from my friends you freak!'

Rainbow Dash managed to get her feet on the side of the building and rushed herself toward the portal, determined to kick that evil jerk’s butt and get her friends’ geodes back. But as she was getting closer, she stopped herself.

"Hold on… Sonic!”

Rainbow Dash immediately turned around to see Sonic, who was too far from the building, slowly continuing to come down with nothing to soften his fall. 

"Oh no! He's falling!"

Rainbow turned back towards the portal and was getting smaller. She knew that by the time Sonic reached the bottom, the portal would be closed and he would be crushed. After a quick inner debate with herself, she looked back at the portal where her friends were.

'Hold on a little while longer, girls!'

As the portal closed up completely, Rainbow Dash immediately about-face and with effort, Rainbow Dash ran up on the surface of the building and launched herself upwards towards Sonic.

"I'm coming, Sonic!"

Rainbow Dash felt the gravity pulling her down, slowing her down a little, but she pushed on, determined to save the blue hedgehog. She ran higher and higher up the building like an ongoing locomotive. Unfortunately, gravity finally caught up with her as Rainbow felt her legs slowing down by the second, making things difficult for her to reach Sonic.

'No! I refuse to give up!'

By the power of sheer will and determination to save her friend, blue wings suddenly appeared on her back, along with her pony ears and longer hair. Rainbow Dash used her wings to push herself further upwards until she reached a good spot in a certain area of the building. Then with a little kick, she leaped from off the side of the building and positioned herself underneath Sonic. Rainbow then stretched out her arms, just as real-time finally kicked in and for Sonic to safely land in her arms.

"Gotcha!"





"And that's what happened," Rainbow Dash concluded. "I know what I did was very risky to do but… if it weren’t for my uncle’s necklace… I wouldn't be here saving you."

Sonic smiled, both impressed and grateful for Rainbow’s rescue and quick thinking. "You know what, I don't care what Applejack and the others have said about you. You are the most awesome and clever person I know!"

Rainbow Dash smirked at the praise. "Heh, thanks! I am awesome!" She then paused for a moment before frowning. "Wait… what did they say about me!?"

Before Sonic could respond they heard the most unpleasant voice calling out to them.

"Where are you, hedgehog!?"

They both looked up and became alarmed when they saw Robotnik floating down towards them.

"Crud! He's coming!" Sonic exclaimed. "Let's move, Skittles!" 

Sonic cringed immediately when he realized that he unintentionally called Rainbow Dash her most sensitive nickname. He quickly turned to Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry!" Sonic apologized with his pleading expression. "I just blurted it without thinking! I didn't mean–"

Rainbow Dash raised her palm, signaling for him to stop talking. To his surprise, instead of being angry, Rainbow Dash had a calm and friendly smile.

"Listen Sonic, if we make it out of this, I'll let you use that nickname as many times as you want. Deal?"

Sonic blinked for a moment before he smiled back. "Deal!"

"Well, well, well…"

Sonic and Rainbow turned around just in time to see Robotnik floating in front of them with his flying vehicle with a smug grin.

"It would seem that the Rainbow Brat is here as well!" His eyes narrowed when he noticed Rainbow Dash's real necklace around her neck. "And you somehow still have your geode around your neck! I don't know how you do it, but I would gladly take it off of your hands when I'm done with you!"

"You leave her alone, Eggman!" Sonic shouted as he stood in front of Rainbow Dash like a shield. "And you will pay for what you did to my friends!"

"And how will you do that?" Robotnik taunted. "With your quill installed on my machine, I'm just as fast as you!"

Sonic let out an angry growl, knowing that the doctor was right.

"Can I give you one genius piece of advice?" Robotnik asked in a sweet tone before grinning. "Don't run. It'll only hurt more if you do. And it's bad for your joints, they proved it."

Sonic and Rainbow scowled. As much as they wanted to kick the doctor’s butt, they both knew that they were no match for him, especially with Sonic's power within the quill in his possession. They both glanced at the many rings scattered around the street before looking at each other. After a moment of wordless conversation, they nodded before looking back at Robotnik with a glare.

"All right, Eggman," said Sonic. "You wanna get fast?"

"Then let's get fast!" Rainbow Dash finished.

The two quickly gathered up all the rings that were on the street and sidewalk with their super speed before they took off away from Robotnik.

Robotnik frowned as he placed his flight goggles over his face. "The hard way it is."

With a push of a button, Robotnik activated the power from Sonic’s quill for his hovercraft before taking off after them at high speed.

Both Sonic and Rainbow Dash were running down the street of Manehatten and dodged a few vehicles along the way as fast as they can to get the doctor off of their backs. Unfortunately, Robotnik was quickly on their tails and had his laser cannon pointing at them again. Worry and determined to get rid of him, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash kicked it into high gear and dashed further, just as Robotnik shoot his first laser. They managed to dodge Robotnik’s laser, only for the laser to hit one of the cars on the road.

“Dude! He just destroyed that car!” Rainbow Dash shouted in shock as she and Sonic kept running.

“I knew Eggman is crazy but not that crazy!” Sonic remarked while focusing on dodging the cars.

Before Rainbow Dash could respond, she yelped as she dodged another laser that was meant for her and hit another car. They quickly turned right on the road where there were fewer cars, but Robotnik was still behind them as he continued to shoot his lasers. Getting a little desperate, the two then pulled a last-minute sharp left turn into another street in an attempt to fake him out. However, Robotnik saw through their tricks as he also made a sharp left turn with a grunt.

"That was an illegal left by the way!" Robotnik remarked loudly.

Rainbow growled in frustration as she ran around the cars. “Shoot! He’s gaining on us!”

“Keep running!” Sonic shouted as he lept from one car to another to avoid the lasers.

So the two of them continue to run down the Manehatten streets, avoiding one laser after another. They tried to zigzag along the road to make Robotnik’s aim a lot harder, but no matter what they do, the lasers followed their every move. They temporarily split up with Sonic jumping on the lower edge of the building and running across from it. Before Robotnik fired his laser Sonic quickly jumped across another building, striking a quick pose in the process, and then slide down along the second building. Rainbow meanwhile, ran underneath the patio of an empty outdoor restaurant to get some cover. Unfortunately, it didn’t work as Robotnik’s lasers shot through the patio roof easily, destroying some parts of the restaurant in the process. Rainbow dodged all of the lasers before she jumped herself back onto the road to join Sonic.

They both ran towards the bus with an image of an Eiffel Tower on the side which said “Visit Prance”. They quickly slid through underneath the bus just as Robotnik fired his laser at the side of the bus, destroying the bus in the process in flames. They glanced back both in shock and disbelief that Robotnik was still right behind them, leaving the ruined bus in its place.

"How is this guy still on our tail!" Rainbow yelled in annoyance, running beside the blue hedgehog.

"I don't know!" Sonic exclaimed. "Aside from you, no one has ever caught up to me before!" He then quickly took out one of his rings from his small bag. “I think I have an idea!”

Before Rainbow Dash could ask, Sonic threw his ring in front of him, picturing that location from the bus from earlier. Seconds later, the ring grew bigger, creating a portal that leaves to a different location. With no time to waste, both Sonic and Rainbow dashed their way toward the portal with Robotnik tailing after them.





Somewhere in another country, a mime was performing his act in front of a woman and her little girl. He did the whole gig of him being trapped inside an invisible wall by making it appear that he was pressing against it, sliding it, and even tapping it as if he was trying to convince them that he was inside. Unfortunately, neither of his audiences, especially the little girl, was convinced nor entertained by his lame act.

The mime then tried to make a motion with his fingers by forming an arch from above his head and down around towards his legs. Unbeknownst to him, he timed his arch perfectly as the ring portal appeared behind him, startling the woman and girl in front of him. Thinking he was finally getting somewhere, the mime continued with his performance, until he saw Sonic and Rainbow Dash running past him from the corner of his eyes.

“‘Scuse us!” Rainbow Dash said quickly.

“Coming through!” Sonic added.

Confused, the mine turned to look behind him, only to be startled when he saw a large flying machine coming through the portal and coming straight at him.

"Sacré bleu!" The mime shouted as he, the woman, and the girl dove away before Robotnik plowed into them.

"Excusez-moi, monsieur!" Robotnik apologized before chucking with mad glee and continued to chase after the blue hedgehog and teen.

As they were running across a foreign street, Rainbow Dash quickly glanced behind her, only to be dismayed that Robotnik was still behind them. "I've always wanted to go to Prance, but not like this!"

As they were running, Sonic spotted another poster of a different location from one of the buildings as they passed by. Sonic then quickly took out another ring.

"Let's try another location!"





Seconds later, a portal opened up for Sonic and Rainbow Dash to run through and they were in a brand new area from another country. This time they were running along the top of a very long and tallest wall in the entire world. Unfortunately, Robotnik also flew through the portal and continued to chase the two from behind them.

“Here we go! Room to open it up!” said Sonic who was still running.

“Let’s hope so!” Rainbow Dash added, running along beside the blue hedgehog.

With a burst of speed, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash ran ahead in an attempt to leave Robotnik in the dust. But Robotnik, however, also bust forward, trailing along behind them.

With the fastest speed possible, Sonic and Rainbow Dash ran along the path of the wall, even along the curves of the path. They were even running along the side wall of the path and kept jumping to both sides in an attempt to go faster and confuse the Doctor to avoid getting hit by his laser. While Robotnik wasn't shooting at them, he was still trailing after them with a determined glare.

After running for what felt like minutes, Sonic and Rainbow Dash jumped back on the main path and kept running.

"We can't shake this guy!" Sonic remarked in annoyance.

Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow in thought before an idea hit her.

"Mind if I make a suggestion?" Rainbow Dash asked as she took out her ring from her pocket.





Somewhere near Camp Everfree, one teenage boy with green hair was finishing up raking all the leaves and twigs off of the camping grounds. As the boy picked up the last bunch of leaves, a teenage girl, which turned out to be his sister, with long raspberry hair walked up to him and offered him a glass of lemonade. With a silent thanks, the boy sipped his lemonade and let out a satisfied sigh.

“Ah… that hits the spot!" He said. "It took us almost the whole day, but everything in the camp is cleaned up on time for our new campers tomorrow!”

“I’m just glad that we finally got it done!” The girl said cheerfully. “With our camp all cleaned up, we can focus on setting up many activities so we can give our campers the best time that they'll never forget!"

The teenage boy frowned. "Gloriosa, while I admire your optimism, I don't want you to overstress yourself and do everything on your own like last time. Let me help you when you need it, okay?"

"Don't worry Timber, I'll be sure to let you know, I promise," Gloriosa assured. "I got– I mean, we got this!"

Suddenly, a portal opened in front of them, surprising both siblings. Soon, both Rainbow Dash and Sonic ran out of the portal and ran across the camp.

“Gangway!”

“Love the settings!”

Shortly after that, Robotnik emerged out of the portal and zoomed after them. 

“Agh! Hate the outdoors!” Robotnik complained, sniffing as his allergies were getting to him but kept his focus on his chase.

The three of them sped around the camp, ducking into the cabins, through the trees, and even running through the water as Sonic and Rainbow Dash tried to outrun the evil doctor. Unfortunately, in the process, they ended up making a mess of the camp as leaves, debris, dirt, and twigs were everywhere all around the camp, much to the horror of the two siblings. Rainbow Dash realized that this wasn’t working as she once again took out another ring and tossed it. The ring quickly grew into another portal, which Rainbow and Sonic ran through with Robotnik in tow before the portal closes.

With those three gone, Timber stared at the state of their camp in shock and disbelief. He slowly turned his head towards his sister and was nervous to see Gloriosa just standing there with a crazed look and her left eyelid twitching. 

“Uh… Gloriosa?”

“That’s okay…” Gloriosa stated sweetly, despite her mad state. “I’ve got this!”





Somewhere in Canterlot Movie Studio, everyone was getting ready for the latest Daring Do movie with the cast on set and the filming crew setting up their equipment. Among those people, a man with green hair and glasses was sitting in his director's chair while a teenage girl with two long green ponytails and glasses stood next to him.

"Thank you again for giving me another chance, Uncle Canter Zoom," said the girl with a grateful smile.

"Don't thank me, Juniper," said Canter Zoom. "It was thanks to your friends from CHS who are giving you the good word!" He then narrowed his eyes on his niece. "But if you attempt to sabotage my movie again, I will kick you out again! No ifs, ands, or buts! Got it?"

Juniper quickly nodded. "I won't! I learned my lesson! I promise!"

Canter Zoom nodded. "Good! Now, please bring me my smoothie!"

"Yes sir!" Juniper saluted before leaving the area to get her uncle his smoothie.

Canter Zoom shook his head. While he was happy that his niece is making amends, it was still going to be a while before she regain his trust. He then put his niece aside as he directed his focus back to the filming stage.

"Alright places everyone and start from the top!" Canter Zoom announced with his megaphone.

He watched as the actor and actress were now in position, waiting for his signal.

"And… action!"

The taller bulky man began to act his lines with a sneer. "Your luck has finally run out, Daring Do!"

The actress glared as she took out her whip. "Guess again, Ahuizotl!"

Before the two of them begin to 'fight', a portal suddenly appeared right behind them, startling the two actors.

Canter Zoom blinked in shock and glanced at his notes. "Hang on! This wasn't in the script!"

Before anyone could blink, Sonic popped right out of the portal, along with Rainbow Dash, and ran past the two actors.

"Sorry! Heads up!"

"Love your work!"

Seconds later, Robotnik also popped out of the portal and flew after Sonic and Rainbow Dash, nearly barreling the two actors. Luckily, the two actors jumped away before he could hit them.

"Out of my way!" The doctor shouted.

The three of them ran/flew across the movie set, knocking down all the background and props in the process. Before they reached the other side of the studio, Rainbow Dash took out another rung and tossed it in front of her, causing another portal to appear. Shortly afterward, Sonic, Rainbow Dash, and then Robotnik entered the portal before the portal disappeared completely.

Canter Zoom, the two actors, and many movie staff were staring at where the portal was in disbelief. They then looked around their studio, surveying all the damages that were caused by what they witnessed moments ago. As they were still processing this, Juniper returned to the studio with her uncle’s smoothie.

"Here's your smoothie, Uncle!" Juniper announced.

As soon as she entered the studio, she stopped immediately when she noticed the damaged state of the movie studio. She then felt uneasy as everyone, including her uncle, turned and stared at her as if they wanted answers from her.

"I–I have nothing to do with this! I swear!" She insisted in a panic.





Somewhere in Equestria Land's theme park, a group of performers was standing on their floats, getting ready for their rehearsal for their big parade. From the sidelines, there stood a young woman named Vignette, a social media celebrity and also in charge of Equestria Land from last time. 

After the success of the grand opening, she was placed in charge again of directing the parade again for the upcoming event in a few weeks. And ever since the events of the grand opening, Vignette decided to change her mindset to just being yourself while not becoming a "better version" just to appease other people.

“Okay, people! Chop chop!” Vignette announced. “We must make our parade in Equestria Land even better than the last time! And also try to be excited about it so that our guests will be excited to come back for more with even more guests!” She then winked. “Remember, BYAHF: Be Yourself and Have Fun!”

Everyone nodded in smiles as they got themselves into positions on their respective floats.

“And… queue the parade's opening!” Vignette cheered.

The performers then began to play their instruments and waved as their floats started to move. Things were going swimmingly, until a portal appeared floating above one of their floats, causing Vignette to gasp.

“What the–”

“'Scuse us!” Rainbow shouted.

“Watch out!” Sonic yelled.

The two of them ran across the float and then jumped towards another float. At that moment, Robotnik flew through the portal next and chased after Sonic and Rainbow Dash, causing everyone to jump out of his way.

“Ah, an amusement park!” Robotnik stated fondly. “It reminded me of a similar place where I burned it to the ground as a lad. Good times! Good times!”

The three of them rushed across one float after another, damaging everything in sight much to Vignette's dismay. Before they reached the end of the last float, Rainbow Dash took out another ring, tossed it, and opened another portal. Rainbow and Sonic ran through the portal with Robotnik following after them and the portal closed behind them.

Everyone stood in shocked silence, wondering what the heck was that about. Vignette herself felt an overwhelming amount of stress and despair after seeing all her work she put into was now destroyed in a blink of an eye.

“Someone get me a stress salad!” she screamed, causing one of her assistants to run out in panic to retrieve their boss's salad.

With a loud groan, Vignette began to type on her phone, then drooped in defeat. “Hashtag… ParadeDisaster!”





Somewhere in an outdoor stadium in another town, the crowd gathered around the stage to see their favorite band performing live. Many believe that their show at the Starswirl Festival would be the last live performance but to many fans' surprise and delight that they began touring again. The crowd’s excited chatter was interrupted when they heard an announcement from the two voices on the loudspeakers.

“Good evening everyone!”

“Are you ready to ROCK?”
The crowd screamed loudly in delight.

“Then please put your hands together…”

“For the one and only… PostCrush!”

The stage suddenly exploded into a smokescreen and then flooded in pink and cyan lights. Then, silhouettes of two people raised from the stage and appeared before the crowd. Once the smoke cleared up, it was revealed to be everyone’s favorite two band members of PostCrust: Kiwi Lollipop, aka K-Lo, and Supernova Zap, aka Su-Z.

“Ready, Su-Z?” asked K-Lo with a smile.

“You bet, K-Lo!” Su-Z replied cheerfully.

They were about to start playing their instruments and perform their song when a portal suddenly appeared from one side of the stage, much to the surprise of PostCrush and the crowd. Before anyone wondered if this was part of the show, Rainbow Dash and Sonic ran out of the portal and ran across the stage.

“Excuse us!” Rainbow Dash shouted, running past PostCrush. “Sorry for the interruption!”

Sonic was about to run past PostCrush too, but then he stopped and ran back in front of the duo with an excited expression.

“Oh my gosh! You’re PostCrush!” Sonic squealed, surprising the two girls. “I am such a huge fan! May I have both of your autographs?”

Before the shocked duo could even respond, Robotnik suddenly popped out from the portal and flew towards the hedgehog.

“Uh… maybe another time!” Sonic said hastily before running away. “Later!”

Sonic quickly caught up to Rainbow Dash as she tossed another ring near the other side of the stage, creating another portal. As they both stepped through, Robotnik flew after them, but not before he scoffed in disgust as he surveyed around him.

“Agh, I hate pop music!” Robotnik muttered.

The portal then disappeared as soon as Robotnik entered through it.

PostCrush blinked at where the portal was, before looking at each other with confused expressions.

“What the heck was that about?” K-Lo questioned with a perplexed expression.

Su-Z said nothing as she simply shrugged, just as clueless as her friend.





Somewhere near a highway, three teenage girls were offroad trying to fix their van. Ever since their van randomly stopped working, they spent nearly the entire day trying to fix their van in hopes of ever going on the road again since they don’t want to risk or have the money to call for their car to be towed and repaired. However, only the two girls were busy under the hood to fix their engine while the third girl was sitting on the roof of the van, trying to watch her show on her tablet.

"Agh! Quit slacking off and help me fix this engine already!" The poofy orange-haired girl complained impatiently with a grunt.

The two purple and teal pig-haired girl looked up from the hood and glared at the poofy-haired girl. "Well, we could've finished this sooner, but someone is too busy gluing her face on our tablet!"

The long blue pony-haired girl looked up from her tablet with an indignant pout. "Hey, Taco Chronicles just released a brand new season! I just have to watch them!"

Before the two pig-haired girl could argue, the poofy-haired girl interfered. "Forget her, Aria! Just focus on fixing this piece of junk!"

The pig-haired girl let out an angry huff before she and the other girl went back to fixing their van's engine.

The long pony-haired girl paused her show for a moment and look up, appreciating a beautiful twilight sky as the sun slowly sets behind the trees. Suddenly, she heard a “ding” sound and looked in the direction of the road. To her surprise and shock, a giant ring opened up, revealing what looked like a different location. Seconds later, a blue creature ran out of the “ring”, followed by a rainbow-haired teenage girl who looked familiar to her, and then a strange man riding on an egg-shaped flying vehicle. She watched as they ran down that long highway for a few miles until one of them threw something which revealed that giant ring again, and everyone went through it before the big ring disappeared completely.

The long pony-haired girl stared in the direction with her eyes nearly popped out of her sockets. “Whoa!”

The two girls stopped working on the van and looked up when they heard the long pony-tailed girl scream.

"What!? What is it?" The puffy-haired girl demanded.

"I just saw something amazing!" The long pony-haired girl exclaimed.

"Well, what did you see?" The two pig-tailed-haired girl pressed in annoyance.

"I saw this magical portal thingy open and this huge blue hedgehog was running through it at a high speed. Then some rainbow-haired girl who looks just like the one we faced at the school months ago, who was also running really fast! Then some strange man with a mustache, who was riding on some flying machine that looks like an egg, flew out of the portal too and was pursuing them. And within seconds, the blue hedgehog threw something in front of him, which opened up another portal and they all went through it before the portal closed behind them with a loud PHVWOW!!"

The two girls stared at the long pony-haired girl in silence with deadpanned expressions. They then looked at each other, knowing the exact same thoughts they have about this “story” before they slowly turned their heads back at the long pony-haired girl.

"Okay… I think you need a break from your tablet for the rest of the day!”

“Yeah, go back to sleep, Sonata!”





After escaping the highway, Sonic and Rainbow Dash escaped into another location, which took place in a different part of the world. They were somewhere in a hot desert with endless miles of sand all around them. There were even some pyramids, old statues, and there was even an ancient sphinx in the background. But despite all that, Robotnik was still chasing after them, much to the two’s frustration and fear.

"Agh! We can't lose him!" Sonic exclaimed.

“Just kept running!” Rainbow Dash yelled. “He can’t just chase us forever!”

“Ya sure about that?” Sonic remarked.

Rainbow Dash didn’t have time to answer as a laser suddenly came out of nowhere, nearly hitting her. Robotnik nearly ran out of patience in chasing them and just keep firing his lasers until he could hit them no matter who or what gets in his way. The two quickly separate and run faster to avoid more of Robotnik’s lasers. Their eyes sting as they felt the dust of sand covering their faces, but Sonic and Rainbow Dash pushed on to run farther than Robotnik and avoid his lasers.

They eventually reached a massive hill of sand where an old ruin took place. Rather than going down the hill, both Sonic and Rainbow Dash two slide back after dodging another Robotnik's lasers, tricking him to go a bit further than them. As Sonic and Rainbow Dash knelt on the ground, they both looked down at the dusty sand and then at each other, and the two of them give each other knowing grins.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Sonic asked slyly.

Rainbow Dash smirked. "If you can't beat ‘em, blind ‘em!"

With a quick nod between the two of them, the two then rushed underneath Robotnik’s ship and began to run around together in a huge circle. The sand quickly picked up its speed into a huge dust devil, which eventually turned into a giant sandy tornado, trapping Robotnik in the process. Robotnik struggled as he was trying to gain control of his ship while trying to see through a now thick wall of sand. 

“Lost… visual contact!” Robotnik grunted, spitting out sand as he spoke.

Both Sonic and Rainbow Dash quickly stepped away from the tornado and stopped running, admiring their well-executed plan.

“Alright, it works!” Rainbow Dash cheered with a huge grin.

“But not for long!” Sonic added before pointing at one of the pyramids. “Up there! Hurry!”

Without wasting any more time, they both ran toward the pyramid in hopes to escape without Robotnik knowing.

Robotnik growled as he continued to struggle with his controls from within the tornado. He swore that as soon as he get himself out of this mess, he will make sure that these two will rue the day they ever messed with him, especially that rainbowed-haired brat. It was then that the tornado finally died down a little Robotnik managed to see something through a weak part of the sandy wall, which was a blue blur running up on one of the pyramids. 

"Hey! You two are not allowed up there!” Robotnik shouted angrily. “It's one of the Seven Wonders!”

Robotnik quickly pushed the button, which activated his jet boost to blast himself out of the tornado and straight toward the pyramid.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash ran toward the top of the pyramid at their maximum speed. Once they were more than halfway to their destination, Sonic took out his ring and tossed it in front of him. The ring then grew and opened up a portal with an image of Canterlot High inside the portal.

“Alright, next stop, CHS!” Sonic shouted.

“Yes, we’re gonna make it!” Rainbow Dash cheered as she ran past Sonic in excitement.

Unbeknownst to Rainbow Dash, however, Robotnik caught up to them and he quietly took his aim at her with his laser. He waited for a few seconds until his tracker zoomed in on to Rainbow Dash and the words on his screens said “Target Locked”. With a wicked grin, Robotnik pressed the button and fired his laser.

Sonic glanced behind him just as Robotnik fired his laser. Sonic’s eyes widened in horror as he realized who was Robotnik’s target and quickly turned back to Rainbow Dash.

“Skittles, look out!” Sonic screamed. 

Giving himself a huge boost, Sonic burst forward with all the speed he has to catch up to Rainbow Dash. Rainbow turned her head around just as Sonic pushed her away towards the portal and out of Robotnik’s target. 

Unfortunately, in the process, Sonic was hit in the back by Robotnik’s laser, as he was launched forward due to the blast.

This led to Sonic crashing into Rainbow Dash again, and the two were flung forward and disappeared right through the portal toward their intended destination.
> Volume III - Chapter 10: The Final Boss Battle
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Okay, can someone tell me what's going on here!?" Princess Twilight shouted after Tempest placed her down on the ground. She then surveyed the group in front of her, realizing who was missing from the group. "And where is Rainbow Dash?"

Sunset cleared her throat. "Oh, well…"

Before Sunset could answer, they all heard a loud "whoosh" behind them. The gang turned around just in time to see a giant ring opening up in front of the school’s entrance. Everyone stood in shocked silence as they watched whatever it was coming out of the portal.

Suddenly, something shot out of the portal and then roughly landed near the front entrance of the school. To their shock, the one who was shot out of the portal was Rainbow Dash and Sonic. Rainbow Dash rolled onto her back, gritting her teeth in pain as she lost her wings and pony ears in the process, while Sonic landed on his stomach a few feet away from Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash!" Sunset cried as she and the others ran over toward Rainbow Dash to help their friend. "Are you okay!?"

"I'm fine!" Rainbow Dash assured, ignoring her pain as she turned to where the hedgehog landed in concern. "But Sonic’s been hit!"

The girls faced where Sonic landed and their eyes widened in horror when they spotted his body just lying on the ground unmoving with a huge wound on his back.

“Sonic!” Sunset screamed as she was about to run over to him.

“Don’t move!”

Everyone looked up in shock to see Grubber with his robot palm aimed toward them with a smug look. Not only he has survived, but his robot is now almost good as new as if the damage caused by Tempest never happened.

“What! How!?” Tempest demanded with wide eyes. “We just destroyed your machine!”

Grubber chuckled menacingly. “I seemed to have neglected to mention another one of the gems’ abilities. Specifically the yellow one!”

As he said it, his robot chest, which had a huge scratch, glowed up in yellow. And in a few seconds, the scratch disappeared, shocking everyone who witnessed it. Grubber smirked at their shocked expressions.

“Not only I can detect all life force, but it can also self-repair too!”

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me!” Scootaloo remarked.

“Face it, Tempest, I’m invincible! You girls can’t beat me!” Grubber gloated before he let out an evil laugh.

Everyone stood there with worried expressions, feeling frustrated and useless with the situation.

“This is bad!” said Twilight. “No matter what we throw at him, he’ll just come right back!”

“So what are we going to do, Twilight!” Rainbow Dash inquired desperately.

Twilight looked down with a hopeless expression. “...I don’t know.”

“What about you, Tempest!” asked Sunset. “Do you have any more tricks up your sleeves?”

Tempest shook her head with a somber expression. “I’m afraid I don’t. I used what’s left of my gadgets and my arm is severely damaged after fighting that thing the first time!”

Rainbow frowned in frustration. “So there’s nothing we can do?”

Everyone had looks of uncertainty while Scootaloo let out a loud huff. “Man, can this get any worse?”

Suddenly they heard something from behind them, which caused Fluttershy to turn around and gasped.

"Um… girls?" She whimpered nervously, pointing in the direction in front of her.

Everyone followed their friend’s pointed finger and their expressions changed to a look of horror.

Slowly emerging from the portal was the front of a familiar flying hovercraft. Little by little the ship came out of the portal until it fully appeared right in front of them. Once again, the cockpit opened, revealing a certain doctor with a huge mustache and an evil smirk on his face.

“Robotnik!?” Everyone screamed.

Apple Bloom gave her friend a side glare. “Oh, you just had to ask that, Scoots?”

Scootaloo had a nervous, sheepish expression in response.

"Did you miss me?" Robotnik announced. 

He blinked as soon as he saw a pair of Twilights among the group. He even removed his flight goggles to see if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or are there two of my cousins?" He asked himself loudly.

The human Twilight winced at that while the pony Twilight turned to her doppelganger in confusion.

"Cousin?"

"Don't pay him any mind, Princess Twilight!" Sunset interjected, not leaving her eyes off Robotnik.

Human Twilight nodded with a glare. "Yeah, I refuse to accept him as my cousin!"

"Aw… you wound me so, Twily!" Robotnik mocked, grasping his heart playfully. He then frowned as he addressed Grubber. “I see that you're having trouble with these girls despite the update, eh, Grubber?”

Grubber winced at his boss's cold tone. “B-boss, I… I was just going to finish them off, but–”

“Save it!” Robotnik spat. "We'll discuss later! Just take care of those brats, while I’ll deal with the hedgehog!”

Grubber gulped. "Y-yes boss!"

He was about to approach the girls, but Tempest stood in front of him.

"Over my dead body, Grubber!" Tempest challenged, pointing her laser pistol at him.

Grubber scoffed. "Big talk coming from an agent with a weak weapon and no gadgets!"

Undeterred, Tempest cocked her weapon. "You and I both know… that I've been through worse situations!"

As the two of them were having a standoff, Robotnik hovered his hovercraft over to Sonic's lying form. 

"I gotta say… you're an astonishing little creature. It'll be fun to take you back to the lab for a litany of invasive exploratory procedures." He peered over at the fallen hedgehog with maniac glee. "Any last words?"

"Guac… I like that word…" Sonic groaned weakly before passing out.

Sunset and the others watched helplessly as Robotnik chuckled over Sonic’s weak response. Sunset wanted to go over to save Sonic, but with Grubber watching them and Robotnik just seconds away to finish him off, she doesn't know how. She desperately looked around her, her mind racing for ideas to stop the evil doctor. Sunset then spotted Sonic’s bag of rings, which was on the ground at her feet. With a sudden idea, she took a glance at Grubber and Tempest. After knowing for sure that Grubber was distracted, Sunset quickly made her move.

Meanwhile, Robotnik was staring at his screen, targeting Sonic. He waited until the target mark was locked completely on the hedgehog, ready to fire.

"I don't have to tell you how many scientific breakthroughs have been made possible by animal testing," Robotnik said matter-of-factly, reaching over the fire button with his thumb. "You're being very selfish."

Unbeknownst to Robotnik, the portal opened behind him, revealing Sunset with a determined frown. Before anyone noticed her, Sunset quickly leaped into the portal and landed on the back of Robotnik’s ship. As the portal closed behind her, Sunset quickly and quietly climbed to the side of Robotnik’s cockpit. When she saw Robotnik's thumb hovering over the button, Sunset began to attack.

"Heads up, Egghead!" Sunset yelled.

Robotnik quickly spun around. "What the–"

Whatever Robotnik was about to say, Sunset slugged him right across the face, knocking him away from the controls and his goggles flew off of his head.

The gang gasped loudly in concern for their friend, while Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie cheered for Sunset’s daring move.

"Ha Ha! Give him what for, Sunset!"

"Yeah, kick his butt, Sunny!"

“What is that kid, doing!?” Tempest exclaimed in frustration and worry. "She’s going to get herself killed!"

For Grubber, he was furious that one of the girls slipped past him and was now fighting the doctor. As much as he wanted to blast her with his weapon, he didn’t want to risk hurting his boss. He did nothing but watched the battle, dreading what the doctor will do to him after dealing with the girl.

As Robotnik fumbled in his ship, Sunset quickly entered the cockpit and then followed up with an uppercut punch, right under Robotnik’s chin. While Sunset isn’t as strong as Applejack or as fast as Rainbow Dash, she certainly knows how to fight. Before Robotnik could recover, Sunset punched him in the face again with her left fist, and then the right.

Before she could strike him again, Robotnik caught Sunset’s hand, and then he struck her in her stomach. As Sunset hunched over in pain, Robotknik quickly grabbed Sunset from under her arms, trapping her in place. He then sneered right in front of her face.

“You’ve been a thorn in my side for the last time, Shimmer!” He spat with wild eyes. “Once I’ll deal with the hedgehog, I’ll find your little horsey-land, burn it to the ground, and make it into my secondary laboratory! Maybe turn it into my very own amusement park just for fun! And I’ll even destroy your friends while I force you to watch before turning you into my lab rat! How’s that sound?”

Sunset was angry enough with this man already after everything he’d done, but hearing what he was going to do with her home world and her friends made her furious. In her blind rage, Sunset tried to struggle out of his grasp, but Robotnik held her tightly. With no other options, Sunset took a deep breath, and then she quickly lifted her knee and struck Robotnik as hard as she could.

Right where the sun doesn’t shine.

“Ow-iiiiiiieeeeeee!” Robotnik exclaimed loudly, instantly letting Sunset go and then clenching where Sunset had struck him. “That was a low blow!”

Seeing Robotnik stunned by her kick, Sunset took the opportunity to punch him square in the face again, causing one side of his face to bruise. In frustration and anger, Robotnik quickly grabbed Sunset by her jacket and brought her to his face.

“You insignificant brat!” He roared. “Just who the heck you think you are!?

Sunset quickly shoved his arms away and punched his face again, causing him to lean back in pain. She then quickly grabbed him and threw him over to the other side of the cockpit, holding him in place. 

With a snarl, Sunset leaned closer to Robotnik’s ear. “I’m the Equestrian Girl you son of a–"

She didn’t even get a chance to finish as Robotnik elbowed her in the face, knocking her back. Robotnik then quickly grabbed his control stick and pulled it, causing the hovercraft to tip over. Sunset wasn’t quick enough to hold on to something as she fumbled out of the cockpit and then fell on the hard ground, landing roughly on her right side.

“Sunset!” The girls screamed as they ran over to her.

Robotnik quickly placed his flight goggles back on his head and adjusted himself back to his seat. "Autopilot, adjust!"

Sunset was groaning in pain from her right side as her friends, the CMCs, and Tempest ran to her side.

“Are you alright, Sunset?" Twilight asked in concern as she gently helped Sunset up.

“Yeah… yeah, I'm okay!” Sunset assured, gritting her teeth from the pain. “I’ve had worse injuries.”

"What you did was reckless, Sunset Shimmer!" Tempest scolded with a frown. "You can't just jump in and attack him without help!"

"Well, I'm not just going to stand by and let that guy hurt Sonic!" Sunset argued.

She tried to go over to Robotnik, but the intense pain from her side prevented her from moving. 

Seeing her friend in pain, Rainbow Dash chimed in. "Don't worry, Sunset. I'll get him!"

Before Rainbow Dash could do anything, however, they heard Grubber's voice again.

"I don't think so!" Grubber snarled, getting their attention. "Don't even try to play hero, girls! Or else your princess friend here gets it!"

To demonstrate his point, Grubber held up his robot arm, revealing that he held a trapped Princess Twilight around his robot fist.

"Princess Twilight!" The girls shouted in concern and fear.

"That rat!" Tempest growled. "He must’ve grabbed her while we ran after Sunset just now!"

"Girls! I'll be fine!" Princess Twilight assured as she struggled from Grubber's grasp. "Don't worry about me! Just stop these guys!"

"Quiet, Princess!" Grubber yelled, squeezing the princess tightly which caused her to scream in pain.

"No! Stop!" Sunset begged. "Don't hurt her!"

Grubber stopped squeezing the princess but still glared down at Sunset. "I'm not messing around! Try anything to the doctor again, or else I'll pop her like a balloon!"

"You cowering scoundrel!" Rarity spat. "Using our friend as a bargaining shield!"

"Well toots, as they say: desperate times call for desperate measures! Gotta keep you, kids, from doing anything rash, especially for the safety of your friend!" Grubber's eyes narrowed. "And don’t even think about using those portals again! If you do…" His robot hand gripped Princess Twilight tightly. "I'll know!"

"How about you drop her and face us, you coward!" Rainbow Dash retorted.

"Take it easy, Rainbow!" Applejack spoke up. "We can't provoke him!"

Pinkie nodded with a fearful expression. "Yeah! If we do that, he'll pop her like a balloon! And that's the one balloon we don’t want to pop!"

"What do we do?" Fluttershy whimpered.

Sunset scowled, unsure what to do to save both Princess Twilight and Sonic.

“I don’t get you, Miss Shimmer!”

Everyone turned towards Robotnik who had a look of confusion and disbelief on his face.

"Why? Why would you throw your life away for this… thing? That's why I don't have friends. Next thing you know, you're somebody's best man, they want to have the wedding out of town... like nobody has anything better to do!” 

“As anyone would ever invite you to a wedding, let alone as their best man!” Rainbow remarked, but Robotnik ignored her.

“Anyway, where were we?” Robotnik pondered loudly before glaring threateningly at the group. “Oh, yes… you were all about to die!"

Everyone tensed in fright as Robotnik was about to hover over them…

…only to stop in his place when a bullet suddenly hits on the side of his cockpit.

Everyone looked over to where the bullet was coming from and was surprised to see Shining Armor standing from the sidelines with his gun pointing at Robotnik and pure rage in his eyes.

“Leave. My sister. ALONE!” Shining growled.

“Shiny!” Twilight exclaimed with relief.

“And her friends too!” Cadence joined in as soon as she appeared and stood by Shining Armor’s side.

“Cadance!” Rarity cried.

“And you will pay for capturing and threatening our students!” Luna added as soon as she joined Cadance and Shining and pointed her weapon at Robotnik.

“Luna!” Tempest called.

"You mess with our fellow Wondercolts and friends, you mess with all of us!"

They all turned towards the school, and to everyone’s surprise, all the students and faculty who were trapped in the school were now standing outside from the sidelines along with Flash Sentry in the lead of the group.

"Flash! And everyone!" Sunset exclaimed.

“And don’t forget about our blue devil!” Lyra ran out from the sidelines and held a chainsaw that she stole from the school’s shed. “Who as everyone can clearly see, that this creature is indeed real and it was not at all made up by me!"

As everyone stared at Lyra awkwardly, Bon Bon casually walked over to her friend and gently pushed Lyra’s arms down.

"Lyra… put that thing away."

"But I was going to use it against that mustached jerk!" Lyra whined indignantly.

Bon Bon glared at her. "No Lyra! You'll only end up hurting yourself!"

Lyra grumbled in annoyance as she dropped her weapon and crossed her arms into a pout.

Rainbow Dash looked back at Robotnik with a triumphant smirk. "Ha! Face it, Ro-butt-nik! You're outnumbered!"

"G-girls?" 

The gang turned to the sound of Fluttershy’s heartbroken tone. Before they could ask what was wrong, she pointed to Sonic’s lying form. As they stared at the blue hedgehog, they realized in horror that he stopped breathing and was as still as a doorknob.

"Sonic?" Sunset called, hoping that her eyes were playing tricks on her. Unfortunately, Sonic didn't respond,  causing Sunset to feel a pit of despair in her stomach.

"No…" Sunset whispered, her eyes welling up in unshed tears.

"It can't be…" Twilight added, tearing up as well.

One by one, the girls have tears in their eyes and looks of pure sadness. The CMCs and Diamond Tiara began to cry over their fallen friend, Pinkie Pie’s curly hair became flat and Spike whimpered sadly in Twilight’s arm. Even Rainbow Dash couldn’t keep her tears at bay as she felt her heart was torn into two. It was as if she has just lost her uncle all over again. She refused to believe that Sonic is gone. 

They promised they’ll have a rematch.

"I don't mean to be indelicate here,” Robotnik interrupted in his nonchalant tone. “But someone should get some ice, keep the body fresh."

His words seemed to snap one of the Equestria Girls as she turned with a look of pure rage in her eyes.

"You… you monster!" Fluttershy screamed, tears pouring out of her eyes. “How dare you attacked him and then think of him like he is some piece of meat! He didn't do anything wrong!"

Many, including Robotnik, were taken aback by Fluttershy’s anger, surprised that a supposed shy person was bold enough to tell the doctor off. Before Robotnik could respond, Pinkie joined in.

"Flutter’s right!” said Pinkie, rubbing her tears away before glaring at him. “He was only trying to live! Trying to be happy! He doesn't deserve to get chased down and then taken out for no reason, you big meanie!" She shook her head. “No… meanie is too good of a word! You’re just evil!”

Robotnik rolled his eyes at Pinkie’s words. "Well, technically, I'm not to blame. The government was the one who sent me to take care of that little blue pest! Not my fault that I was assigned for the job!"

"Even so, you’ve done a lot of heinous acts just to get to him as yer so-called job!” Applejack berated loudly. “You even went too far when you captured our friends and our sisters ya no-good varmint!"

“I concur!” Rarity agreed with an angry expression. "Especially to our dear Cadance and her unborn child, you evil brute!"

Robotnik shrugged. "Not my concern if they were in the way. Whatever happens to them is nothing more than collateral damage."

"Collateral damage!?" Rainbow Dash roared in rage, waving her fist at him. "How about I'll do some collateral damage to your face!"

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack warned.

"I don't give a darn, AJ!” Rainbow Dash screamed. “This man took my uncle away from me, and now he has taken away the most awesome guy I’ve ever met! Heck, his personality almost reminded me of my uncle… that it hurts whenever he called me by that nickname.” 

Rainbow clenched her eyes tightly, but her tears still leaked out down her cheeks. “My only regret… is that I wished I’d gotten along with him sooner!”

The Equestria Girls watched their loyal friend in sorrow and sympathy. Most of the girls had no idea about Rainbow’s uncle and that Sonic reminded her of him. While Fluttershy knew some things about Rainbow’s uncle, she never knew that her missing uncle would affect her that much, especially involving Sonic. Her heart was hurting for her best friend. 

“Dashie…”

"He's just a silly little alien!” Robotnik sneered as if the girls' words were ridiculous. “He didn't belong here!"

"You're wrong!" Twilight shouted in an angry voice. "He does belong here! And him being an alien didn’t change our opinions about him!” 

Ignoring her pain, Sunset slowly stood back up while glaring at Robotnik. "And that little 'alien'... knew more about being human, than you ever will!"

Robotnik scoffed at Sunset’s words, but Sunset kept going.

"His name was Sonic! This was his home... and he was our friend!"

Sunset paused.

"And also… my best friend!"

All of a sudden, as if Sonic heard those words, his eyes flew open and the iris within his eyes glowed blue. Next, his entire body was engulfed in blue lightning and bright light, nearly blinding everyone. Even the ground that was sounding his body was engulfed in blue electricity. They all stood silently, trying to make out what was happening with Sonic with all that electricity. Eventually, the light died down, and to the girls' shock and happiness, they saw Sonic now standing up, all of his wounds had disappeared and blue sparks flew off of his body, and his eyes glowing blue.

“Oh my Faust!” Tempest stammered, couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"He's alive!" Scootaloo cheered. "Sonic is alive!"

The gang was instantly relieved by this, even Pinkie’s hair became curly again.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Sunset smiled, wiping away her tears.

Applejack turned to Rainbow Dash, who still had tears in her eyes. 

"Ah didn't think you cared about dat guy, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow Dash sniffed, rubbing her eyes hastily before glaring at her friend. "Yeah… I do! Got a problem with that?"

Applejack's expression softened. "Not at all, sugarcube."

"That's… that's impossible!" 

Everyone turned towards Robotnik who had a look of utter disbelief.

"How!? How can you possibly survive!?"

"How?" Sonic looked up at Robotnik with a smirk. "Because it was the power of friendship!"

"...I think I just puked in my mouth!" Robotnik gagged.

"Unbelievable!" Grubber remarked with a frown. "This hedgehog is more stubborn than a cockroach!"

Princess Twilight, who was watching from within Grubber's grasp, was fascinated with Sonic's display of power despite her current predicament. "Remarkable…"

"Hey, shorty!"

Grubber looked down at Sonic who now bore a serious expression.

"Let the princess go!"

"I don't think so, hedgehog!" said Grubber.  He raised Princess Twilight again, lightly squeezing her. "One move, or it's 'crushing time' for the little princess!"

Unperturbed by Grubber's threat, Sonic smirked confidently. "Yeah… if you could do that before I grab her!"

Grubber looked nervous for a brief moment before giving Sonic his challenging look. "Well, why don't you give it a try, rodent!"

"Gladly!" Sonic proclaimed.

"Sonic, wait!" Sunset exclaimed, but it was too late as Sonic zoomed towards Grubber with his super speed. As she processed this, Sunset felt another rush of “wind” rush past her.

"Ha! Too slow, hedgehog!" Grubber declared.

He was about to squeeze the life out of Princess Twilight when suddenly, something appeared right in front of his face.

"Hiya!"

"What the!?" Grubber startled.

In front of Grubber was none other than Rainbow Dash, who was looking directly at his face with a cheeky grin.

"He's not the only one who is fast!" Rainbow remarked with a toothy grin.

Grubber swore internally. He was so focused on Sonic, he had completely forgotten about the rainbow-haired girl who somehow still has her super-speed. This would explain why his robot wasn't accessing her ability earlier. 

Before he could do anything, Rainbow Dash thwacked his forehead with her finger, and then she taunted him by stretching her face and sticking her tongue at him.

This causes Grubber to get angry and tries to lunge at her, but Rainbow Dash quickly disappeared.

Only to appear in front of his face again and wiggled her tongue around tauntingly.

With an infuriated growl, Grubber tried to grab her multiple times, but Rainbow Dash keeps on disappearing and reappearing with each failed attempt.

"Stop that!” Grubber shouted as he struggled to catch Rainbow Dash. “Cut that out!"

“Hey! Pay attention to the hedgehog, you nincompoop!” Robotnik yelled.

Grubber’s eyes widened in realization. This was all just a ruse to get him distracted from the hedgehog. By the time he spotted him, he was already too late as Sonic curled up into a ball and then broke into the side of the robot’s chest.

Only to come out from the other side a second later with all the stolen geodes he had taken from the girls.

"I'll be taking these!" Sonic announced loudly.

"No! My geodes!" Grubber cried.

As Grubber was too busy despairing over the loss of the geodes, Rainbow Dash quickly rushed over to one of the robot’s fists and used all of her strength to get the hand open, freeing Princess Twilight.

"And I'll be taking my friend!" Rainbow Dash remarked after freeing Princess Twilight.

In the process, Twilight fell from the robot’s hand, straight toward the ground. Luckily, Rainbow tapped into her powers, causing her wings and ponytail to appear, and dove down after the Princess. As soon as she caught the Princess, Rainbow Dash used her wings to slowly descended, landing safely on the ground.

"Whew! Thanks, Rainbow Dash!" Princess Twilight said gratefully.

"Don’t thank me! Sonic did most of the work!" Rainbow Dash winked before she used her super-speed to get back to the group away from Grubber.

Robotnik, who was watching the whole thing, facepalmed with a long sigh. "You just can't get good help anymore!"

Rainbow Dash appeared before her friends, gently placing Princess Twilight down in front of them. Sonic then appeared before the group, holding all the geodes he took back from Grubber.

“I believe these belonged to you ladies!” Sonic smiled before handing them over to the Equestria Girls.

"Sonic! You got our geodes back!" Twilight exclaimed with a smile.

“I only helped,” Sonic insisted before looking at Rainbow Dash. “She’s the real hero!”

Rainbow Dash blushed from the compliment and looked away. “It… it was nothing!”

"Now we can strike back!" Rarity declared.

"Alright, girls! Let's pony up!" Sunset announced.

Rainbow Dash groaned loudly. "Agh! I thought we agreed that we call them, rainbow las–"

"Now's not the time, Rainbow Dash!" Sunset stated sternly, leaving no room for argument.

Pinkie Pie shrugged. "Face it Dashie, 'Pony Up' sounds a lot more catchy!"

Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to argue. "But–"

"Light em' up, ladies!" Pinkie Pie shouted before she and her friends started glowing.

As soon as Pinkie Pie announced those words, the girls grasped each other’s hands, causing their geodes to glow. Then, a cutie mark appeared on each of the girls’ right side of their cheeks, representing their personalities and abilities. Their entire bodies then glowed into a bright light and then reappeared into their transferred states.

Aside from now having longer hair, pony ears, and wings, each of the girls was wearing new outfits for battle. For Applejack, she still has her cowboy hat and boots but was now wearing a blue denim shirt and red skirt. Fluttershy wore a flowery purple and green dress with pink slippers, and a blue butterfly hairpin, and her hair was made into a braid. Pinkie Pie was now wearing a puffy blue and pink mini dress with blue ribbons and blue high heels. Rarity was dressed in a sparkling blue and purple dress, long blue gloves, golden shoes, and a golden crown. Rainbow Dash was wearing a long blue and red dress with long dark blue pants and a long rainbowed sports wristband and shoes with wings. Aside from her glasses, Twilight wore a sparkling blue and purple dress with purple pants, long blue shoes, a purple wristband, and a purple crown. And lastly, Sunset wore a flaming red dress with light red pants, yellow and black flaming boots, a black sleeve band, and a black headband with spikes.

“Ooooh, nice threads!” Sonic complimented.

Pinkie grinned. “Thanks! This happens a lot!”

“How should we y’all handle this?” Applejack asked, pointing at Robotnik. “We also need to take care of him!”

Robotnik scowled at them from his hovercraft.

Sonic’s expression became serious and determined. “Would anyone minded that I’ll take care of Eggman?”

"He's all yours!" said Sunset. “We’ll take care of Grubber!”

Sonic nodded and made his way over to Robotnik.

Twilight then handed Spike over to her counterpart. "Please look after him."

Princess Twilight beamed, hugging Spike affectionately. "Don't worry, I'll protect him with my life!"

"Please be careful!" Spike pleaded with a worried expression.

Sensing a fight was about to happen, Tempest spoke up to the crowd. "Get back, everyone!" She turned to CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Princess Twilight. “You girls, come with me!”

Reluctantly, they quickly followed Tempest, getting Grubber's attention.

“Hey, you’re not going anywhere!"

He was about to use his robot gun at the fleeing group, but his gun was blasted away from Pinkie’s magical exploding candies.

“Sorry! You’ll have to go through us first!" Sunset retorted.

The Equestria Girls floated over to Grubber, glaring daggers at him. This caused Grubber to laugh nervously, sweat dripping from the sides of his head. 

"Uh, hehehehe… let's not get hasty girls!"

"Grubber," Twilight boomed, pointing at Grubber. "You were misusing and abusing our magic you didn't understand, including threatening and harming others!"

"And now, you shall pay for your evil deeds!” Sunset added with a frown. “And may our power of friendship have mercy on your soul!”

Grubber gulped.

Meanwhile, Sonic stood in front of Robotnik, glaring up at him as blue electricity sparks danced around his body.

"Eggman!" Sonic declared, eyes glowing blue again. "I think you have something that belongs to me!"

With a clench of his fist, lightning struck him, and then electricity shot across his body and attached his quill to Robotnik’s machine. An alarm blared loudly as the energy began to drain from Robotnik’s machine at a rapid pace. Robotnik desperately tried to salvage the situation, but all the power that was in the quill was instantly gone and was transferred over to Sonic.

With the rest of his power now in his possession, Sonic glared at Robotnik again with glowing blue eyes. Long ago, he ran away from people like Eggman because of Longclaw’s order and to protect himself while not getting anyone involved hurt. But after spending time with those girls and remembering Rainbow Dash’s advice the other night, he has made a decision on what to do with his “curse”.

"This is my power!” Sonic declared. “And I'm not using it to run away anymore. I'm using it to protect… my… friends!"

“Yeah! You tell him, Sonic!” Rainbow cheered.

Gritting his teeth, Robotnik slowly lowered his glasses, and slightly urged the blue hedgehog to “bring it on”.





With a push of a button, Robotnik activated multiple rockets out of his hovercraft, aiming at Sonic. Multiple red scanning lasers then turned on and they all landed on Sonic’s body, targeting and locking on to him. Unfazed by all of Robotnik’s lasers, Sonic calmly brought himself into a starting position, leaning his body forwards and placing his two outstretched fists in front of him while squaring his shoulders. He then kneeled one of his knees back a bit on the ground while keeping his other knee up forward.

Everyone watched intensely from the sidelines with silent anticipation, with the Equestria Girls facing off with Grubber and Sonic facing off with Robotnik. Two groups stared down intensely, waiting for the other to make their first move. Grubber put on a poker face, but he was sweating profusely as his thumb hovered over a fire button from his controls. Meanwhile, Robotnik was gritting his teeth, but he felt confident in taking out the hedgehog. His screen showed that he was locked on to his target, and his finger was floating over the fire button, waiting for the right move.

After a minute of staring down between the two groups for what felt like hours, both Robotnik and Grubber made their first move.

They both pushed the fire button on their machine with Robotnik launching multiple rockets at Sonic and Grubber shooting scattered lasers at the girls. But both Sonic and the girls dodged easily before any of their weapons could hit them.

Sonic ran forward towards Robotnik at high speed, dodging all the rockets with ease. When he was close enough, Sonic jumped towards a school sign, landing and sliding on it briefly with his feet, and launched himself towards Robotnik. This resulted in him curling up into a ball and hitting the side of the cockpit of Robotnik’s hovercraft. Sonic headed towards one of the trees, and then he bounced himself back towards the hovercraft and hit it again. He flew towards a nearby car, and then he ricocheted back to Robotnik and hit him again.

Sonic repeated this pattern again and again. His speed increased at each strike toward Robotnik’s ship, not giving the doctor a chance to fight back. He hit Robotnik’s ship so many times so fast to the point that it almost looked like a light show due to the electricity off of Sonic’s body. Robotnik tried to keep himself together from the hedgehog's attack, but Sonic was too much for him to handle.

Meanwhile, the Equestria Girls counterattack against Grubber after dodging his lasers. Rainbow Dash rushed towards the Grubber’s robot and ran around over and over until a rainbow tornado appeared, trapping him. Before Grubber could do anything, Twilight lifted him up using her telekinesis and lifted him in the air. When Grubber was high enough, Applejack swooped down from above him and slammed him toward the ground.

Grubber landed roughly on the ground, but he quickly got himself back up and shoot those three girls with his laser gun again. Before any of the lasers hit Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack, Rarity quickly stood in front of them and used her diamond shield to protect themselves. She then used another diamond shield for Pinkie to ride herself toward Grubber like a hovercraft. As soon as Pinkie was close to Grubber, she threw dozens of candies from out of nowhere and hit Grubber’s robot, which immediately exploded afterward. 

With an angry growl, Grubber aimed his weapon at Pinkie Pie, only for Fluttershy to float right in front of him with her signature "stare". Grubber observed Fluttershy for a moment before he let out a chuckle.

"What girlie? You think you could stop me with that little stare of yours?" He mocked.

"No, but this will!" Fluttershy retorted before she let out a loud whistle with her fingers.

Within seconds, many various animals appeared behind Fluttershy, glaring and growling at Grubber menacingly. From what Grubber and everyone could see, these animals, big and small, came from either the woods or from the town's zoo that Fluttershy befriended.

Including a lion, a tiger, and a bear.

"...oh my!" Grubber uttered.

Fluttershy's eyes narrowed. "Animals, unite!"

The animals immediately pounced at the evil man.

The big and medium-sized animals tackled and attacked the body and legs of the robot, while the smaller and winged ones simply climbed and flew their way up to the cockpit and attacked him to the face. Grubber struggled and waved his hands wildly, trying to protect himself from any animals attacking him.

"Stop, stop!" Grubber screamed. "Get off of me!"

While he was distracted, Sunset jumped towards Grubber and then she performed a sidekick right on the side of Grubber's head. As Grubber was dazed by Sunset’s attack, Rainbow Dash appeared and kicked him on the other side of the head. On top of that, Twilight threw a car from behind Grubber and hit the robot's back, followed by an uppercut from Applejack. For good measure, Pinkie and Rarity shot him in the chest with diamond spears and exploding candies respectively.

After getting hit so many times, Grubber has reached his limit.

"Enough!" He roared.

He activated an energy shield from his robot, pushing everyone, including the animals away from him. The girls groaned from the ground as Grubber sneered down at them.

“You pony-powered girls have tested my patience long enough! Time to end this!”

Grubber pressed a huge red button on his controls, which caused a huge cannon gun to pop out from the robot’s chest.

"Your fancy weapon won't hit us!" Sunset yelled. "We can easily avoid that!"

Her friends nodded in unison.

As his weapon was charging, Grubber chuckled darkly. "Oh, I'm not going to use it on you… I'm going to use it on them!"

Grubber quickly turned around, facing the school where the students and faculty were standing.

Sunset’s eyes widened. "No!"

Sunset and the girls rushed over toward Grubber to stop him, but it was too late as Grubber’s weapon was now fully charged.

"Bye-bye!" Grubber laughed evilly as he pressed the fire button.

At first, the cannon was about to fire as the cannon itself glowed brightly. But within seconds later, the cannon just stopped working and the light died down rendering the weapon useless.

This caused everyone to stare at the weapon in confusion. But in Grubber's case, in total disbelief.

"W-what the heck!" Grubber shouted, banging on his controls. "What happened, why did the cannon stop working?"

"I wonder!"

Grubber and everyone else looked at Tempest as she began to speak.

"As I held on to you for my dear life during our struggle, I accidentally took something from the controls as I placed my bomb from earlier," Tempest spoke casually as she took out something from her pocket.

The item she had looked like it was some sort of a fuse bulb, assuming it was a part of the robot.

Tempest smirked. "I didn't think much of it, so I put it in my pocket for safekeeping. I hope it's not too important!"

Grubber's eyes widened in shock and then gritted his teeth in anger. "You… witch! You'll pay for–"

Suddenly, shadows cast over him, stopping his monologue. With a gulp, Grubber nervously turned his head around to see the Equestria Girls crossing their arms with unamused faces.

"Ehehe… it was a joke!" He squeaked. "A harmless joke! I‐I would never actually hurt your fellow students and teachers!"

The Equestria Girls narrowed their eyes, clearly not buying his words.

Grubber gulped. "Um… mercy?"

The Equestria Girls looked at each other.

"Rainbow lasers?" Sunset suggested.

Rainbow Dash grinned. "Rainbow lasers!"

The girls nodded and Grubber was shaking in fear.

One by one, the girls summoned their magic and transferred them over to Sunset in a form of a laser beam.

Fluttershy shot her yellow beam from her right arm. Rainbow Dash shot her blue beam with her right leg. Applejack shot her orange beam with her left arm. Rarity shot her cyan beam by blowing a kiss off of her right hand. Twilight and Pinkie Pie shot their purple and pink beams with both of their hands. 

Sunset absorbed her friends’ beams to the point that her eyes glowed pure white. With a smirk, Sunset opened both her palms toward Grubber and launched a powerful white beam at him.

“No, No!” Grubber shouted, trying to shield himself.

Unfortunately for him, it was all for naught as Sunset’s white beam easily overpowered and engulfed him in the light.

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

His scream echoed as the beam consumed him and his giant robot completely evaporated into the light. The bright beam of light caused everyone to go blind for a moment until the light died down. All that was left where Grubber was standing was a huge pile of metal debris belonging to that once giant robot that Grubber was on.

Rainbow Dash let out a huge toothy grin. "We did it! We won!"

The Equestria Girls let out a loud cheer but were interrupted by Sunset.

“Don’t celebrate yet, girls! We still have one rotten egg to take care of!”

“I don’t think it was necessary, Sunset!” said Twilight, pointing towards the direction behind Sunset.

Sunset turned around and was surprised that not only Sonic was holding on his own against Robotnik, but he was also super fast at a literal speed of light. And each of Sonic’s strikes on Robotnik’s flying craft is becoming more like scrap metal by the second.

“Whoa! Sonic is kicking butt!” Rainbow Dash shouted excitedly.

"Go Sonic!" Pinkie Pie cheered.

Sonic continued to bounce on Robotnik’s ship like a game of pinball, damaging more of Robotnik’s ship. Robotnik helplessly flung around within his own ship at every strike, unable to defend his ship. Sonic eventually stopped hitting him and landed on the ground several feet from Robotnik’s ship. Recovered from all the hits, Robotnik glared at the blue hedgehog, gritting his teeth in anger.

"Agh! Now, you've done it!" Robotnik growled.

"Guess what, Eggman?" Sonic declared, eyes glowing blue, and electricity sparked from his body. "I'm not leaving Earth... you are!" Sonic then glanced at Sunset.  "Equestrian Girl?"

Sunset nodded, getting the message. She closed her eyes, picturing all the details about the mushroom planet Sonic talked about earlier at the motel. Once she has a clear picture, Sunset took out one of the rings from Sonic’s bag, pulled her arm back, and then threw the ring behind Robotnik. The ring then grew bigger into a portal, revealing an image of a mushroom planet in the center of the ring.

Without any hesitation, Sonic jumped toward Robotnik, curled himself into a ball, and gave one last hit right in front of Robotnik’s ship, critically damaging it,

As Robotnik felt being thrown backward by Sonic’s attack, he quickly glanced behind him, realizing where he was heading.

“No!” He cried.





Robotnik slammed the emergency button with his fist, activating the booster thrusters behind his ship to keep him away from the portal.

“I… refuse… to yield!” he roared, his face twisted into fury.

“Guess again, Robotnik” Sunset retorted. “Everyone, with me!”

With many nods from others, the Equestria Girls zoomed in on Robotnik and gave him an all-out attack. Applejack rapped punches with her bare hands and Rarity shot her diamond fragments at the front of Robotnik’s ship. Pinkie Pie threw an endless supply of exploding candies and Fluttershy silently commanded the birds to attack both sides of the ship. Both Sunset and Twilight shot their magic beams at Robotnik to damage the ship further and push him back toward the portal.

Robotnik struggled to push back against the attack as many alarms blared that his flying craft was in critical damage. Despite those setbacks against him, Robotnik refused to let these girls beat him, determined to overpower and then destroy them. Robotnik was so focused on the girls' attack, he failed to notice one more girl who wasn’t among the group.

“Hey, Ro-butt-nik!”

Robotnik looked up from the voice calling him just in time to see Rainbow Dash flying right toward him with her right arm far back.

“This… is for my uncle!” 

With a loud battle cry, Rainbow Dash delivered the final blow by punching Robotnik square in the face, damaging his flying goggles, and letting go of his controls in the process. With his last loud scream, Robotnik was seen hurdled into the world of mushrooms before the portal closed in on itself, sealing him away for good.

“See ya never!" Rainbow Dash remarked playfully with a salute.

“We did it!” Sunset cheered.

This caused her friends and everyone who was watching the battle to cheer loudly, happy to see their heroes prevail and get rid of the evil man for good.

"Yeah, that's our girls! Woo hoo!" Spike cheered, causing Shining Armor who was standing near him and Princess Twilight, to jump in surprise.

"Spike!? Did you just talk?" Shining exclaimed, before blinking. "That was weird!"

Spike gave him a deadpan look. "Seriously!? The talking dog is the weird thing about all of this!?"

"...good point," Shining conceded as he and Princess Twilight walked over to Sonic and the girls with the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, Cadence, and Tempest in tow.

The Equestria Girls landed in the center of the school grounds with Sonic joining them. Seconds later, their Equestrian magic wears off, reverting them back to normal and wearing their normal outfits again.

"You were awesome, Sonic!" Sunset praised.

Sonic grinned. "We are awesome!"

In response, Sunset raised her hand for a high-five with a smile with her friends joining in. With an excited gasp, Sonic laughed happily as he runs around in a circle at a high speed before he jumped up and gave each of the girls high-fives. After giving Sunset a high-five for last, he landed on the ground, looking at his hand fondly before he looked back up at Sunset with a huge smile with Sunset smiling in turn.

The moment between the two was interrupted when Rainbow Dash interjected.

"I gotta say, you're not too bad… Sonic," Rainbow Dash commented with a grin.

Sonic grinned back. "Thanks! You're not bad yourself… Skittles."

With fond smiles, the two of them gave each other fist bumps, sealing their friendship and respect for one another.

"Aw, you two got along!” Fluttershy cooed. “So cute!"

This caused the two of them to splutter from Fluttershy’s comment.

"W-what? No! We're not cute!" Rainbow Dash denied with a blush on her cheeks.

Sonic nodded frantically, his fur almost red in embarrassment. "Yeah! We are a couple of loose cannons just living by our own rules."

"Sure you were!" Pinkie said with a toothy sly grin.

"Look, we have our own thing, okay?" Rainbow Dash squeaked, desperately trying to end the conversation.

"And our rules include expressing our heartfelt emotion," Sonic added, wanting to end the conversation as well.

Applejack crossed her arms with a teasing look. "Uh huh… whatever ya say!"

Shaking her head amusingly, Sunset tossed the ring bag over to Sonic. "I believe these belonged to you!"

Sonic caught the bag with a grateful look. "Thanks, Equestrian Girl!"

Sunset nodded before giving Sonic a stern look. "But next time, don't push people off of buildings!"

"I concur!" Rarity added, frowning from the memory of falling to their near doom. "Give a lady a warning before you do something so drastic!"

Sonic shrugged. "Hey, you know I can't promise that."

Sunset sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "You're impossible!"

"Wait, what’s this about being pushed off a building?" Shining Armor asked as soon as he and the others joined the group.

"Actually, Sonic knocked us off the roof after Robotnik dropped Cadance, CMCs, and Diamond Tiara a thousand feet from the ground," Pinkie said with a chirp, not helping the situation.

"What!?" Shining shouted with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Shining! We're okay!" Cadence assured soothingly. "Sonic managed to save us before we were flattened."

"Oh!" Shining uttered, before looking awkwardly at Sonic for the first time. "Um, thanks… for saving them, Sonic."

"It was nothing!” Sonic replied.

Shining’s eyes narrowed. “But don’t push them off the building again!”

Sonic gave him a thumbs up. “Understood, Donut Cop!"

Shining blinked. "Donut Cop?"

"Let me guess! It was because you saw him eating donuts?" Scootaloo guessed.

"Well, it makes sense since cops love to eat donuts!" Sweetie Belle added.

“Kinda standard if ya ask me!” said Apple Bloom.

"Actually, it was because I saw him by himself talking to donuts and then he eats them when they're out of line," Sonic explained, causing everyone to stare at Shining who was petrified by the statement. 

"What!? Why were you talking to donuts?" Rainbow asked, trying not to laugh.

“Yeah, I would like to know too!” Cadence added with a smirk on her face.

Shining stood silently for a moment before he let out a long sigh with a resigned expression. "...I was bored one day, so I 'talk' to it to entertain myself."

This caused everyone to snicker while Rainbow Dash, Pinkie, the CMCs, and Diamond Tiara laughed hysterically at him. Even Tempest, who was trying to be stoic, couldn’t keep the smirk off of her face in amusement. Shining’s face turned red in embarrassment, mentally cursing himself and that creature for seeing him alone in the parking lot that one time.

"A-anyway!" He spoke suddenly, desperately trying to move things along. "How were you end up captured by Robotnik in the first place?"

Cadence frowned at the memory. "We ended up in Dr. Robotnik's clutches after Spoiled Rich made a foolish decision to–" Her eyes suddenly became as wide as dinner plates in realization and she let out a gasp. "Oh my gosh! Spoiled Rich! She's still back at the house!"





Spoiled Rich was not happy, to say the least.

After she opened the door in hopes to see the cops, some robot electrocuted her until she was unconscious. By the time she woke up, she was once again tied and bound to her chair and everyone was already long gone, leaving her alone in the dark of an empty cold house with no front door to her now-ruined summer home. Her body was burned, her face was covered in black soot, and her hair was all frazzled due to being electrocuted by a robot from earlier. She only stared silently at nothing with a sullen expression, listening to the clock ticking in the background.

"Note to self: make the Rainbooms and those little brats pay for all this… in detention!" Spoiled muttered in bitter anger. She then glanced at her tied hands with a long depressing sigh. "But first… I need some serious perm and a manicure!"





Diamond Tiara groaned in distress and buried her face in her hands. "Oh boy… my mom will be so mad for being left behind!" She paused. "Oh, and I hope she's alright too, I guess?"

"Knowing her, yer mom will blame us despite her being the one who led Robotnik to us!" Apple Bloom remarked, rolling her eyes.

"Don't worry,” said Tempest. “We'll have someone to go retrieve her and won't let her bring you any trouble."

Scootaloo had a huge grin on her face. "Oh sweet! No detention for us!"

"Not so fast, sugarcube!" Applejack stated sternly. "You three are still in trouble for sneaking into our bus without our knowledge."

Scootaloo crossed her arms with a pouty expression, while her friends sheepishly patted her back in comfort.

Princess Twilight approached the group with a warm smile. "Thank you all so much for saving me! I'm forever in all your debt!"

"There’s no need, Twi!" Sunset smiled. "You are our friend. Of course, we will save you!"

The Equestria Girls nodded in unison, agreeing with Sunset.

Princess Twilight then turned her attention to Sonic. "And you must be this 'Sonic' creature I heard so much from Sunset!"

Sonic blinked with a surprised expression. "Sunset told you about me?"

Princess Twilight nodded. "Yes. She said that you are a blue hedgehog who is really fast like Rainbow Dash and has a heart of gold." She then added with a warm smile. "And a good friend."

Embarrassed, yet humbled, Sonic rubbed his nose with a smile.

Princess Twilight then frowned. "Sunset also mentioned that you just wanted to find a good home since you were born and didn't want to get chased around by everyone who wanted your power."

When Sonic turned towards her for an explanation, Sunset sighed as she knelt in front of him so they were at eye level.  

"I… accidentally overheard your conversation with Rainbow Dash about everything you've gone through," she confessed. "So on that night, I messaged Princess Twilight with a proposal that in case your plan to live in a mushroom world didn't work out… you can live in Equestria where everyone accepts you without worrying about people coming after you." Her eyes were then downcast. "Please don't be mad."

"No, I'm not mad at all," Sonic assured. "It was very thoughtful of you, but why didn't you tell me?"

Sunset looked away, rubbing her arm. "I… thought I lost that right to ask after… our argument."

"I told you, I forgive you!" Sonic smiled before frowning in guilt. "I haven't been very honest with you either.” He then stuck his hand up. “So, maybe we can… start over?"

Sunset smiled as she gently pushed Sonic’s hand away and brought him into a hug. "I would like that."

Sonic smiled as he leaned into her hug.

They suddenly heard a sniff. The two turned to see Princess Twilight with a few tears in her eyes. "Oh, sorry! Don't mind me! The exchange between you two is so heartwarming!"

Sunset smiled as she stood up. "Well, what can we say?" She glanced at the blue hedgehog. "He's my best friend!"

Sonic beamed at her with unshed tears.

"How sweet!" Princess Twilight said warmly before addressing Sonic again. "Anyway, how about it, Sonic? Will you accept my proposal?”

Sonic paused for a moment. The Princess’s offer sounds rather tempting. He could finally be living in a world in peace and potentially make friends who are also creatures. And best of all, he won’t have to worry about those who come after him for his power. 

But then he glanced at Sunset, the girl he admired the most and she cared and accepted him for who he is. He then glanced behind towards the gang who he just spent time with and also accepted him with open arms. Longclaw once told him how risky it is to interact with others and that it was for the best to stay hidden. But now?

Sonic turned to Princess Twilight and shook his head. "Thanks, Princess. It was a generous offer… but I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass."

Princess Twilight blinked. "Oh? May I ask why?"

Sonic smiled. "While it was a tempting offer to live somewhere peaceful without any worries, but Canterlot City always felt like home to me. And besides…"

He then turned towards the gang. "I made too many friends to leave behind."

Everyone smiled at him in response. Some even shed a few tears at his words.

Princess Twilight beamed. "I see. Then I have no problem with your decision. But just know that you are always welcome to come to visit Equestria to see me and my friends at any time, especially Sunset Shimmer now that she wants to join me after her graduation!"

Sunset glanced away awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "Actually… I changed my mind."

Princess Twilight, as well as her friends, turned to Sunset in shock. 

"What?" Princess Twilight uttered.

Sunset sighed through her nose before looking directly into the Princess' eyes. 

“I’m sorry Princess Twilight, I took your offer because I was so uncertain of my future in this world… and I was also feeling guilty for bringing magic here at the time. Since we may go our separate ways after graduating… I thought it was for the best if I stay in Equestria forever. But now, I realized… it was because I’m scared to be alone again. I was only trying to run away from my problems like last time... but I don’t want to do that anymore.”

Her expression became resolved. "I'm still a little scared and uncertain about what the future will bring. But what I do know is that I can't see myself in the future at any place other than Canterlot City.” She then smiled. “Especially with my friends."

Princess Twilight only stared silently at the moment, making Sunset nervous. Sunset thought she had made her friend angry until the Princess gave her the warmest of smiles.

"Sunset… I'm so proud of you!" she said.

Sunset blinked, not expecting this reaction. “Y-you are?”

Princess Twilight nodded. "When we first met, you were a very different person. Not caring about friendship and wanting to be on the top due to your ambition. But now I see a girl– no… a young woman who cares for everyone and will fight for her friends. I couldn't ask for a wonderful friend like you!"

Sunset teared up before bringing the Princess into a hug. "Thank you Twilight… that means a lot to me!"

Princess Twilight hugged back. “Of course Sunset!”

"Don't forget us, Sunny!" Pinkie chirped, joining in the hug.

"You are our friend too, Sunset!" said Twilight.

One by one, all of her friends joined in the group hug, including the CMCs and Diamond Tiara too. Sonic meanwhile just stood on the side, thinking that this was between Sunset and her friends and that he shouldn’t intervene.

"Hey! Get in here, Sonic!" Rainbow Dash hollered.

Sonic blinked. “Wha–”

“Yeah! You're part of this too, silly!" Pinkie chirped before pulling him into the group hug.

As he was pressed into a hug by everyone, for the first time since Longclaw, he knew what it was like to be loved by everyone, enjoying the warmth from their bodies. He let out a hidden smile.

Heh. I'm not going to admit this, but… I could get used to this!

Suddenly, several black vans were pulling into the school from out of nowhere, startling the group out of their hugs. Seconds later, all the doors from each van slides open, with multiple G.U.N. agents running out with their weapons and gears.

"Alright! Let's move!" One shouted.

As the agents were coming their way, the group tensed.

"Oh, crud! More of them!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"Stand your ground girls!" Sunset declared as she and everyone else stood ready to fight them off.

But to everyone’s surprise, the agents ran past them, as well as the students and faculty, and continued running towards the school.

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Wait… am I missing something?”

"They're not after us this time!" said Twilight with a surprised expression.

“Then who?” Fluttershy asked.

Meanwhile, from the rubble where the robot once stood, the pile began to shift. A few moments later, Grubber’s head popped out, gasping for air. As he was recovering, he heard a commotion from behind him. He turned his head around to look, only to freeze in place when he spotted many G.U.N. agents crawling all over CHS looking for him.

"Oh… boy,” Grubber gulped. “I gotta get outta here!"

Trying to be as stealthy as possible, Grubber silently climbed down the rubble and then crawled his way out of the school grounds towards one of the bushes to hide. He was just a few feet away from the bush when a pair of feet suddenly blocked his way. He looked up and his hopes to escape were dashed the moment he saw a recognizable face who was wearing a G.U.N. uniform.

"It's over, Grubber!" she said. "Your days are over!"

With a groan, Grubber slumped in defeat.

The gang looked over just in time to see Grubber taken away by G.U.N. agents. But they were very surprised to see a familiar person who was currently leading the group.

"Principal Celestia!" Sunset exclaimed in shock.

"Whoa! Nice suit!" Rainbow Dash complimented.

"I concur!" said Rarity, admiring Principal Celestia’s uniform. "The suit just screamed 'authority' and it matches your eyes!"

"Um… thanks," Principal Celestia said awkwardly.

Tempest cleared her throat. "It's about time you showed up, Celly!"

Principal Celestia grinned. "Nice to see you too, Fizzy!"

Tempest winced from that name in embarrassment and anger. "I told you to not call me that!"

"Even after you change your name, you will always be 'Fizzy' to me!" Principal Celestia smirked.

Tempest simply glared at Principal Celestia in annoyance. "...you are such a troll!"

"Sister!" 

They all turned towards the new voice just in time to see Vice Principal Luna joining the group.

“Ah, Luna!” Principal Celestia greeted. "Are there any more of those rogue G.U.N. agents who have you and the others hostage?"

“They’re still inside the school, lying on the gym’s floor… after I took care of them,” Vice Principal Luna replied casually, surprising the Equestria Girls and the middle scholars.

Principal Celestia let out a sigh.  “Honestly, Lulu! Did you have to rough them all up?”

“Hey, when these guys wanted to throw their fists at me, I can’t hold back!” Vice Principal Luna shrugged. “Besides, they deserved it after threatening and hurting our students!”

Principal Celestia cocked an eyebrow. “Now I never said they didn’t deserve it.”

Rainbow Dash blinked in shock. “Wait… Vice Principal Luna took out those agents!?”

“I have a hard time believing that!” said Fluttershy with wide eyes.

“Oh, you have no idea!” Shining Armor muttered.

Noticing the students and their faculty still watching them, as well as some other random strangers in the neighborhood, Vice Principal Luna loudly clapped her hands. "Okay, everyone! Nothing to see here!" she announced. "Everybody go home! This is just another typical day here in Canterlot City!"

As everyone obeyed, Lyra had a look in disbelief. "Typical day!? You call getting kidnapped and then watching a fight between magical girls, an intergalactic space rodent, a robot with a doctorate, and another robot with some midget a Typical Day? This day is more bonkers than even our usual standard weirdness if ya ask me!"

"Don't get smart with me, young lady!” Vice Principal Luna chided. “Just head right home!"

With a grumble, Lyra began to walk towards home with her friend Bon Bon in tow. As they were walking away, Vice Principal Luna noticed something at the last minute and gave chase of the two girls.

"Hey, Lyra, give me that chainsaw! That's school property!"

Meanwhile, Grubber was led away by a couple of G.U.N. agents in handcuffs. He had a miserable look the entire way, thinking how much of a failure he is and that nothing good would ever come his way. As he was about to be loaded into one of the vans, they were stopped by Tempest.

“Hold on second boys!”

As the two agents stood by as requested, Grubber rolled his eyes with a sigh. “What do you want, Tempest? Come here to gloat?”

Tempest shook her head. “No. I just wish to talk to you.”

Grubber scuffed and looked away. “Well, forget it! I don’t want to talk to you!”

“Then you can just listen then!” Tempest stated before letting out a long sigh. 

“Listen… I know my words may mean nothing to you, but I’m very sorry for how I treated you. I was never any good at socializing with others and people have used me in the past. So I thought I should just keep my distance.” Tempest's expression became downcast, feeling ashamed for her own actions. “But that’s still no excuse for treating you like a servant, rather than being equal. For all that’s worth… you’ve been an excellent partner.”

Grubber was silent for a moment in deep thought, conflicted by Tempest's words. After what felt like a minute, Grubber opened his mouth to speak.

“I… appreciate your words and your apology," he said before sighing. “But I’m afraid you’re too late. I’m far beyond a point of no return.”

“Not necessarily,” Tempest disagreed. “While you almost killed us, no one got seriously hurt. Which is why I will personally be in charge of your rehabilitation.”

Grubber blinked in surprise, couldn't believe that despite everything he’d done, Tempest was willing to help him. His surprise wears off immensely as he begins to chuckle at the absurdity.

“You think you could reform me!?” He laughed, before glaring at her with skepticism. “You think it’s so easy to forget everything that happened between us?”

“I know that we can’t forget this and that it won't be easy, but we can both learn from it and be better together!" Tempest gave Grubber her hopeful expression. "Will you accept it… and maybe be my friend for real?”

Grubber frowned, feeling conflicted by Tempest's offer. “I… don’t know. I’m still hurt by how you treated me all this time as partners.”

“I’ll bring you a sponge cake with every visit!” Tempest smirked playfully.

“...only if it's from Sweet Shoppe and I'll consider it.”

With that, Grubber stepped into the van without another word. As soon as one of the agents shut the van's door, the van took off down the road, taking Grubber back to the G.U.N.'s headquarters.

"I will make this right, Grubber," Tempest called out. "I promise."

From the other side of the school’s yard, Shining Armor was talking to one of the agents, filling in what happened during his capture. He was suddenly interrupted when his younger sister approached him with an apprehensive expression.

“Um, Shining Armor?”

Shining frowned. Just by observing the way Twilight spoke and her body expression, he knew what it was all about. While he was anticipating this since the phone call with Robotnik, he was also worried about how she will react and take this knowing that she was actually his step-sister. Knowing that he has nothing to hide anymore, he decides that Twilight deserves the truth, despite his parents’ wishes.

With a redundant sigh, Shining Armor excused himself from the agent before facing Twilight.

“So…” He began awkwardly. “What do you need, Twilight?”

Feeling anxious, Twilight breathed through her nose to calm herself before speaking. “It’s… it’s about what happened over the phone.”

Shining nodded, anticipating this.

Twilight swallowed, almost afraid to ask the most obvious question. “And about what Robotnik said…” Her eyes teared up. “Is what Robotnik said true? Am I really adopted?”

With a heavy heart, Shining closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. “Yes, Twilly… I’m afraid it’s true.”

“...how long?” Twilight sniffed, letting a few tears leak from her eyes. “How long have you known? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you ever going to tell me or are you just going to continue to lie to me for the rest of our lives!?” she half yelling and half sobbing. “Answer me!?”

Shining Armor was silent for a long time, upsetting Twilight a lot further. Before she could start yelling again, she paused when she suddenly saw tears coming out of Shining’s closed eyes.

“Twilly, I… I’m so sorry,” he choked before opening his eyes which were full of tears and remorse. “I’m sorry that you have to find out that way. I wanted to tell you so badly over the years, but mom and dad made me swear to never mention it to you, even after they’re… gone.” 

With a sad sigh, Shining wiped his face with a sleeve to get rid of the tears. “But even so… that’s no excuse. I felt so awful hiding this for so long, and even more so since that phone call. I hope you can find it in my heart to forgive me.”

While Twilight was still upset with him, she felt empathy towards Shining, realizing how much it tore him apart for keeping this hidden for so long. He always took care of her, sacrificed a lot for her, and even loves her like a sister or even a daughter to him. She could never hate him for that.

While she had forgiven Shining and wanted nothing more than to hug him, there was still something she really needed to know from him.

“Did… mom and dad ever mention where I came from," Twilight asked quietly. "And… who are my real parents?”

“They never said,” Shining answered with a sigh, looking away. “All I got from them was that they wanted to get you away from some ‘awful place’ and then raise you as their own as a way to 'payback for their sins'... or so they say.”

Twilight furrowed her brows, feeling worried and confused by this revelation. “W-what were those ‘sins’?”

“...I’ve never asked,” he responded with a look of regret. “At the time… I’m ashamed to say that I was too scared to know… nor do I even want to know what they meant.”

He then gently placed both hands on each of Twilight’s shoulders, looking directly at her eyes. “But what I do know is that they didn’t raise you because they were obliged to… they raised you because they love you… and I do too.” He gave her his most tender smile. “No matter what, even if we aren’t related by blood… you will always be my baby sister… my LSBFF!”

Twilight’s eyes were filled with tears, but this time out of happiness instead of sadness. “Oh Shining… I love you too!” She then hugged him tightly. “...My BBBFF!”

With tears of his own, Shining hugged her back, refusing to let her go.

“And Shining?”

“Yeah?”

“...I forgive you.”

Shining smiled, hugging his sister tightly.

From the sidelines, the Equestria Girls watched the scene with smiles on their faces, happy to see their friend reconciled with her big brother.

Applejack let out a sigh. “Whelp, Ah’m certainly glad dat’s over!”

“Me too! I’m pooped!” said Sunset, before frowning. “It’s a shame that we never get our mini vacation as we wanted.”

“Don’t remind me, darling!” Rarity pouted. “I’m still upset that we weren’t able to go to any of those fancy stores in Manehatten for my possible dress ideas!”

“Don’t worry, Rarity," Fluttershy assured softly. "I’m sure that we can do that another time. We just need some rest.”

“Hey, I have an idea!” said Pinkie, appearing upside-down in front of Fluttershy. “How about we have a sleepover and watch some Hayflix at my house.”

"Oh, I'm down for it!" Sonic grinned, before giving Pinkie his meek expression. "Um, that is if you don't mind me joining in."

"Of course, you can join silly!" Pinkie chirped. "Only this time, you can hang out in the living room, instead of outside in front of my window every other night."

Sonic blinked in surprise. "Huh!? How did you know I was in front of the window? I was well hidden."

"Just a hunch," Pinkie responded slyly with a wink before addressing the CMCs. "And you girls can come too!"

"Oh, sweet!" Apple Bloom cheered excitedly before giving her sister her pleading expression. "Can we go too, Big Sis?"

Applejack shrugged with a grin. “Sure, why not? We could all use some relaxation after saving the world from an evil doctor.”

Fluttershy had a worried frown. “Do you think that he may come back?”

“I’m sure he won’t, Animal Girl,” Sonic reassured with a smirk. “We pretty much sent him a one-way ticket to another planet which is far from here!”

“He has a point Fluttershy,” Twilight joined in after her conversation with her brother. “Since the mushroom planet is pretty much a million lightyears away from home, chances of him coming back from that are… pretty much zero!”

Fluttershy tilted her head. “So the bad doctor is trapped for good?”

“Fine by me! Then I say good riddance!” Rainbow Dash interjected, happy enough that she won't see that mega jerk ever again. She then addressed Sonic. "Hey, Sonic? You're still up for our race? We still have a score to settle after all!"

Sonic gave Rainbow Dash a challenging, but friendly smirk. "I thought you'd never ask, Skittles!"

"While Ah'm happy you two got along now, but try not to abuse our magic again, Dash!" Applejack said sternly.

"Yeah, yeah, I won't! I promise!" Rainbow Dash assured with an eye roll before smirking at her rival. "Last one back at Pinkie’s is a rotten egg! Go!"

Within seconds, Rainbow Dash used her super-speed and ran down the neighborhood.

"Hey! No fair!" Sonic cried before he used his own super-speed and chased after Rainbow Dash.

Applejack let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head. "Those two! Ah swear…"

Pinkie giggled before turning to Princess Twilight’s hand. "C'mon Princess Twilly! You're invited too!"

Princess Twilight blinked. "Wait, you're inviting me too?"

Pinkie nodded with a toothy smile. "Yeah, you're our beastie too! So will you come?"

Princess Twilight pondered for a bit and then she smiled. "Sure, why not? It's been a while!"

"Weeee!" Pinkie cheered as she took hold of Princess Twilight’s hand before she and the others walked off toward Pinkie’s house.

Before Sunset followed her friends, she noticed from the corner of her eye that Principal Celestia was privately talking to Vice Principal Luna. Remembering what she learned from Tempest, Sunset realized that she still needed answers from their whole "trip". With a determined expression, Sunset made her way over to the older woman. 

Just as she saw Principal Celestia finish her conversation with her sister, Sunset quickly called out to her before she could walk off.

"Principal Celestia!"

Principal Celestia stopped in her tracks and turned towards Sunset. 

“Oh, Sunset Shimmer!” Principal Celestia greeted with an apologetic expression. “I’m sorry, my hands are full at the moment. Can we talk another time?”

Sunset shook her head. “I’m afraid this can’t wait, Principal Celestia. Or should I say… Commander Celestia?”

Principal Celestia blinked in surprise. “Well, technically… it is not my official title.”

“Don’t dodge the subject!” Sunset said impatiently, narrowing her eyes. "Why? Why didn't you tell me that you were an ex-agent in G.U.N.? Let alone a former commander?" Sunset’s voice was starting to rise in anger as she continued to speak. "And couldn't you give me a heads up that Tempest is not our enemy!? You could have trusted us!"

Principal Celestia frowned in guilt. "I'm sorry, Sunset… I didn't want you girls involved. I thought it was best that the less you know the better. And you girls are burdened enough as it is with wild Equestrian Magic and a baseball field mystery." She let out a long sigh. "But I suppose that I could have informed you all better so that one’s on me."

"But that doesn't explain why you never mention that you were a former G.U.N. agent and why did you leave G.U.N. until now?" Sunset yelled. "Just what other secrets were you hiding? I'm sick of being kept in the dark by you!?"

Sunset glared furiously at Principal Celestia, breathing heavily. For a brief moment, she saw a double image between Principal Celestia and her former mentor, Princess Celestia with stunned expressions. Her anger quickly diminished when she realized what she had done, feeling incredibly guilty for letting her anger get the best of her. 

"I'm… I'm so sorry!" Sunset Shimmer uttered in remorse. "I… I didn’t mean–"

"No no… that's alright, Sunset," Celestia interrupted softly, not offended by Sunset’s anger. "I understand your frustrations after everything you all went through. And me not answering your questions after finding out everything certainly didn’t help… I take that this is what your Celestia did to you before you came into this world, right?"

Sunset said nothing, but she nodded.

"...I thought so," Principal Celestia sighed before giving Sunset a soft look. "Look… I'm very sorry that I'm not giving you straight answers right now, but… I can’t answer at this time. But when the time comes… I promise that I will explain everything! You just have to trust me and be a little more patient. Can you please do that?"

Sunset was quiet for a moment, staring at Principal Celestia. Once again, she felt like she was talking to her former mentor days about being patient before she traveled through the mirror to the human world. It was a very strong sense of Déjà vu for her, only she was talking to her mentor’s human counterpart. 

If she was the same Sunset Shimmer in the past, she would have easily dismissed her warnings, believing that Celestia was only making excuses to avoid the topic or wrongfully not getting what she deserved. But now, while she still thinks Principal Celestia was hiding something, Sunset realized that Principal Celesia had a very good reason for not revealing everything to her yet and giving her a chance to wait longer. As much as she despite this, Sunset didn’t want to make the same mistake she made with her former mentor, so she decided to hold off on her question and put her trust in Principal Celestia for the time being. 

"Very well. I will let this one slide… for now!" Sunset sighed before she narrowed her eyes. "But you better hold on to that promise!"

“...thank you, Sunset,” Principal Celestia smiled as she turned away.  “And don’t worry, I always keep my promises… even for you.”

With that Principal Celestia walked away, heading to her car.

Sunset stood silently with a frown, watching Principal Celestia leave the area. I know she said that she’ll eventually tell me everything... but just what are you hiding, Principal Celestia?

Just as she was pondering her question, someone was calling out to her.

"Hey, Sunny! We're going to my place for our slumber party!” Pinkie hollered. “You coming?"

Sunset sighed and lightly shook her head. Principal Celestia can wait for another time. For now, it was definitely time for a much-needed R&R… with my friends!

Sunset turned towards Pinkie with a smile. "Yeah, Pinkie! Be right there!"

Sunset immediately ran off to catch up with her friends, failing to notice Agent Stone, who was hiding from within the shadows watching them.

“Don’t worry doctor,” He whispered with a determined expression. “I shall follow your preparations until your return… and keep a special eye on these girls!”
> Epilogue - Welcome Home
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------





It has been two days since the final battle against Dr. Robotnik near CHS, and everything is slowly back to normal in Canterlot City. Much debris was cleaned and picked up from the roads, the students and faculty were safely back home from Robotnik’s capture, and the military left the school grounds almost without a trace.

News spread around about the events at CHS like wildfire. The people who were involved in holding people hostage are now arrested and currently on trial for the attempted coup of the government. But when they were questioned about the events on the night of the arrest, the government either responded there was an “unexpected explosion” from their untested weapon or kept silent on the matter, all to cover up about the Equestria Girls and the mysterious blue hedgehog.

Speaking of our heroes, the false charges against the girls were dropped by the government due to a "misunderstanding". And true to Tempest's word, they restored their personal records so they can keep their part-time jobs and stay in school, much to Spoiled’s chagrin.

While the school is still closed for the time being, the girls and Sonic have their much-needed time off after two days of running almost the whole country. On the night of their sleepover, they all watched a movie together on Hoofflix. For the very first time, Sonic didn't even have to watch from the window. He is now sitting by the couch, along with everyone else in the same room… and he loves this feeling of being included and doesn't want to let go of that feeling.

The movie they all ended up watching was a brand new animated movie about colorful ponies who were divided by their race and a small group was on a journey to unite them all. While the movie wasn't Sonic’s cup of tea, he liked the music, smooth animation, and appreciated the morale. Although for some odd reason, the voice actor who plays the yellow pony as the sheriff sounded very familiar to him.

Today, the girls were hanging around at Twilight’s home in her dining room and kitchen, fixing all the damage from Robotnik’s robots with spackle and paint. Princess Twilight, however, had to go back to Equestria to continue her role as the princess, but she wished her friends the best and promised to visit them again. Cadence was out joining Vice Principal Luna at CHS to help her talk to the press and the school board about the incident, while Shining Armor was busy with the force with the “ongoing investigation” on Robotnik.

Twilight had just finished one of the walls with her brush, wiping some sweat right off of her forehead. “Thank you all so much for helping me fix up my house,” Twilight said gratefully. "You know that you girls didn't have to do this."

“Of course, we like to help out, Twilight,” Sunset insisted kindly with a sheepish grin. “And besides… we played part of this damage too, so it’s the least we can do.”

“And I, for one, think that this dining room and kitchen needs a little remodeling anyway," Rarity added as she dipped her paintbrush. “And this new paint color will help brighten up the rooms.”

“Of course, we have to repair all the holes in the walls first,” said Applejack as she painted the ceiling with the paint roller. “And Big Mac and Ah will build ya some new furniture to replace the ones that were ruined and destroyed.”

“You don’t need to do that,” said Twilight.

“Ah, insist!” Applejack assured with a smile. “Plus, that'll be a good excuse for me to do mah DIY video on HoofTube!”

Rainbow Dash huffed, spreading some spackle in a wall in a pout. “While I’m for helping a friend, it still stinks that our tour is canceled and our bus is destroyed.”

“Cheer up, Dashie!” Pinkie chirped as she painted the ceiling while hanging upside down on a chandelier. “We can make a party out of this! And at least we have fun during our adventure.”

“I doubt getting chased by the government and having some near-death experiences were considered fun," Fluttershy whimpered with a shudder as she painted the walls and corners.

“At least it’s over, Darling,” Rarity soothed Fluttershy before addressing Rainbow Dash. “And we can always have another tour at another date.”

“If there’s going to be another one after graduation!” Rainbow Dash remarked.

Rainbow Dash's eyes immediately widened after realizing what she just said. But she noticed too late as the room became tense in silence. Everyone stopped doing their work briefly as they stared at their friend worriedly, specifically at Sunset. With her hair blocking her eyes, Sunset let out a long sigh, placing her paintbrush down.

“I’m… going to get another can of paint,” she said quietly as she made her way out of the room.

The girls watched in concern as Sunset left the room. Everyone then looked at each other, having a wordless conversation as to who to check up on their friend. They didn’t have to wait long before Twilight was the one who spoke up.

“I’ll go check up on her,” she said as she followed after Sunset.

Twilight made her way into the living room to catch up to Sunset, who was absentmindedly staring at some painting supplies.

“You okay, Sunset?” Twilight asked softly.

Sunset sighed as she faced Twilight. “Yeah, I… I’m still nervous about our upcoming graduation,” she admitted. “Once that happens… we don’t get as much free time as usual and be busy with our lives.”

Twilight nodded in understanding. “I’m sure we can find the time to see each other. Our friendship is just too strong to be separated forever. You just got to believe in us.”

“...I know,” Sunset gave Twilight a small smile, though her tone suggested she was still a little unsure about their future.

“You know… I’m still surprised that you turned down the pony me’s offer to go back to Equestria,” Twilight tilted her head. “While I’m happy that you’re staying, but… what are you going to do now?”

Sunset was silent a moment, furrowing her brows. "Well, I've been thinking… the Equestrian Magic will keep coming to this world probably for a long time, and someone has to watch the portal so that no one with evil deeds will ever think of misusing it for themselves to harm this world and Equestria. And with everyone doing their own thing after graduation… I think I'll stick around and keep an eye on the portal, as a guardian."

Twilight blinked, surprised by Sunset’s answer. "So you want to sacrifice your future to keep watch of the portal? But you have a life too Sunset! Surely there is something you want to do after graduating high school other than watch the portal, do you?"

Sunset looked offside away from her friend with a longing expression. "To be honest… I was thinking of being a teacher, or maybe a guidance counselor for the kids to help and teach them about friendship and dealing with their struggles like I did." She then frowned, looking back at Twilight. "But that doesn't matter. As I said, Twilight, with me as an illegal alien to this world, I doubt I'll ever get a career of my own. And Principal Celestia can only help me so much with my living situation as is. I can't keep relying on her forever, so I may have to eventually move out of my apartment."

"But what will you do?" Twilight questioned. “Where will you go?”

"...I'll think of something," Sunset answered, despite feeling unsure herself.

Twilight furrowed her brows in concern. She thought for a moment, quietly debating herself before she spoke up. "Have I mentioned to you that I got accepted to a university?"

Sunset blinked. "You did?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. Thanks to much of my research, I've pretty much set myself up to be one of the best universities focusing on my scientific career."

"Wow, that's amazing! Congratulations, Twilight!" Sunset praised. "I bet you are very excited about this, huh?"

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Actually… I turned that down."

Sunset was taken aback by this revelation. "What? Why? I thought that is what you wanted."

"It was… at first. I thought getting myself into an advanced science university would help further my career,” Twilight frowned, looking downwards. "And while I'm still interested in science, I didn't want to become the very best… just to show off my skills to others' expense and to use my skill to do harm to the world."

"...you're thinking about Robotnik, aren't you?" Sunset asked, but more of a statement.

Twilight looked away, but she nodded.

Sunset frowned, worried for her friend. "Twilight… while that man may be 'related' to you, you are your own person! You will never do what he does!"

"...I know that," Twilight said quietly. "But like you, I rather use my skills to help people and to teach others how to use their knowledge and skills to do good instead of selfish gain and harm to others.” She then looked back at Sunset with a small grin. “Which was why I decided… I should become a teacher instead, for science."

"If that's what you want, then you have my support!" said Sunset, smiling admirably at Twilight. "I think it was pretty awesome that you wanted to help people with your science, Twi."

"It's more than that," Twilight added. "It's also to teach people about friendship and to help one another. This brings us to this point."

Sunset blinked when Twilight grabbed her hand with two of hers and looked her directly in the eyes. "Sunset, I may have to move to a dorm at that university someday for a teaching degree. And since you're thinking about teaching too… I propose we both travel there together as roommates and help each other."

"W-what?" Sunset sputtered, not expecting Twilight’s proposal.

"As you said, we can't always keep relying on Principal Celestia, especially once we graduate. And we both know that your sushi job won't be enough to keep up with your rent. So I propose, when the time comes… you can move in with me and then we'll both go to the same university together?"

Sunset stared at Twilight with wide eyes, couldn’t believe what her friend was offering. "Twilight! I… are you serious?"

Twilight nodded. "I am! I've never been more serious about this."

While Sunset felt touched by her friend’s kindness and generosity, a small part of her was still holding her back.

"W-what about Shining and Cadance? I don't want to impose."

"I've already discussed it with them, especially Shining Armor,” Twilight answered. “They are more than happy for you to move in!"

Despite Twilight’s assurances, Sunset still couldn’t believe her friend was willing to take her in, nor did she believe she deserved it. "Twilight, I… why? Why did you–"

"Because you were always there for me since the Friendship Games and helped me without asking for anything in return,” Twilight replied with a smile, grasping her friend’s hand a bit tighter. “So now… I want to return the favor. And you're my best friend, Sunset. I wanted to be there for you… as you are for me."

Sunset felt a lump in her throat. There were so many emotions swirling from within her as she stared into Twilight’s eyes; happiness, gratitude, admiration, warmth, and so much more. Words failed to comprehend her, but Sunset still tried to speak up.

 "T-Twilight… I–"

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door, startling the two girls, and broke out of their trance. The knocking also caught the attention of the rest of the gang from another room with surprised expressions. Everyone slowly turned to Twilight with concerned expressions.

“Twilight… did you know someone is coming?” Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. “No… I don’t.”

They heard a second knock on the door, making everyone more nervous.

“Twilight… please tell me that was Shining or Cadance coming home early!” Fluttershy pleaded nervously.

Twilight bit her lip, confirming Fluttershy’s fears.

Then they heard a third knock on the door. Whoever it was behind the door, it sounded like they won’t leave until someone answered it, but they had a slight feeling as to who was behind the door. With a small gulp, Twilight slowly made her way to the door with Sunset in tow. After a slight hesitation, Twilight slowly opened the front door.

As they had expected, many special agents were standing outside on Twilight’s front lawn. Some were watching the group intensely as if waiting for their every move. The other group was guarding some kind of big mysterious thing that was hidden underneath the tarp. But what got the most attention from the group were the two people standing in front of Twilight’s door. One was an older man, who they did not recognize, who was wearing a high-ranking uniform with metals all over it. And the other person who was standing next to him was…

“Greetings, girls!” she greeted professionally.

“Tempest!” Twilight exclaimed with a smile. “It’s good to see you!”

Tempest only nodded in response.

Twilight then addressed the older man uncertainly. “And… you are?”

“Commander Walters, at your service!” He greeted with a slight bow. “I take that your Twilight Sparkle?”

Nervously, Twilight nodded. "Y-yes?"

Seeing her friend’s nervous state, Sunset stepped in. “And what do you want with her, sir?”

Walters's eyes brightened the moment he noticed Sunset. “Oh, and you must be Sunset Shimmer!”

As Sunset was taken aback by this, the rest of her friends showed up at the door.

“And the rest of your friends are here too!" Walters added. “Wonderful! Saved us a lot of time to find you, girls!”

The girls glanced at each other nervously before addressing Walters.

“W-what do you want, sir?” Rarity asked.

“You’re not here to arrest us, are you?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Oh, goodness no! Far from it!” Walters assured. “We're here for a completely different occasion.”

The girls were confused by this.

“Then… what is it?” Sunset asked.

“Dad, tell ‘em! You’re making them nervous!” Tempest chided.

Dad!? They all thought in unison as Walters cleared his throat.

“Right…” He said sheepishly before taking a small envelope from his inner jacket pocket and presenting it to them. “As a token of appreciation for your government for keeping quiet about recent incidents which never occurred.”

The girls' eyes were as wide as dinner plates.

“Wait, seriously? We’re getting a prize!?” Rainbow asked excitedly.

“In a sense,” Walters answered vaguely before giving the envelope to Twilight.

“Oh my, I wonder what this is?” Rarity asked.

“Money to fix the house?” Twilight guessed.

“Or the letter from the president?” Sunset added.

“Or maybe a letter of recommendation to our colleges?” Fluttershy chimed in.

“Or perhaps for our careers!” Rarity gasped in delight.

“Or promotion for our band!” Rainbow Dash whooped with a huge grin.

“Or maybe years' supplies of delicious cupcakes!” Pinkie chirped with a drool.

Her words only made the girls look at Pinkie strangely.

“Yeah… I doubt that.” Rainbow Dash said dryly, rolling her eyes at her friend’s randomness.

Walters chuckled in amusement. “Well, why don’t you all open it and find out?”

Rainbow Dash let out her big toothy grin. “Oh boy!”

Rainbow Dash yanked the envelope from Twilight’s hands, much to Twilight’s annoyance, and she hastily opened the envelope. She frowned in confusion when she saw a small cardholder. When she opened the card, it was revealed to be a fifty-dollar gift card for a certain restaurant, much to the girls’ dumbfoundedness, Rainbow’s annoyance, and Pinkie’s excitement.

Rainbow looked at Walters with a deadpan expression. “A Grape Garden gift card? Really?” she remarked before she was elbowed harshly by Applejack.

“Please excuse our friend!” Twilight said hastily. “We, um… appreciate the gesture, but… we thought it would be something better than… what we said.”

“Have you tried their 'Never Ending Pasta Bowl'?” Walters asked. He briefly looked around before he leaned forward and whispered, “It never ends!”

“I know!” Pinkie exclaimed. “That’s what I keep saying!”

Rainbow Dash groaned, face palming before shaking her head. “...I give up!”

“Well, that was… nice,” Sunset said with a strained smile. “We thank you for the gift!”

“So, does that mean you won’t be chasing us anymore?” Twilight asked with a hopeful tone.

Walters leaned back, clearing his throat. “We were well informed of your… magical abilities, but considering that girls have been using them responsibly and saved the world… we decided to let you all be, as long as you keep it discreet and don’t cause any trouble that is.”

“Trouble? Us?” Rainbow questioned sarcastically before she was elbowed by Applejack again.

“We won’t, sir!" Sunset assured. "We won’t abuse our powers in any way except by helping people! We promise!”

Walters nodded, satisfied with the answer.

“Oh, and uh… Ah suppose we can close the file on that Robotnik feller, huh?" Applejack asked with an uneasy grin. 

"Yeah! He just… poof! Vanished!" Pinkie added.

“I'm sorry, but no such person exists or ever has existed,” Walters stated with a stoned expression.

“If only that was true,” Fluttershy muttered quietly.

“You girls haven't, by any chance, been in contact with a certain alien creature since the incident, have you?" Walters asked. "Uncle Sam would love to have a chat with him. Very casual! Brunch, perhaps?”

The group was quiet for a moment, but Pinkie spoke up.

“Oh! You mean that little blue guy?” Pinkie suggested, gesturing with her hand. “This high, wearing white gloves and red shoes, has green eyes, looks like a hedgehog, and runs really really fast?”

Walters nodded.

Pinkie then shrugged. “Nope! Haven’t seen him since yesterday!”

“Yeah, he was long gone!” Twilight added.

"For sure!" said Applejack.

"A shame really!" Rarity nodded solemnly.

“Doubt we’ll ever see him again!” Sunset remarked.

“Yeah, totally!” Rainbow Dash commented.

"Cute creature though," Fluttershy grinned.

“...I see,” Walters' eyes narrowed, studying the group before shrugging. “You know, despite our agreement to leave you all alone, perhaps you girls might consider working for us after graduation?" He offered. "The government could use your talents to help our country to keep our citizens safe. Excellent pay and benefits, I can assure you.”

Sunset turned to her friends, looking them in the eyes. Even without words, she can tell from their expressions that they're thinking of the exact same thing. With a knowing look, she turned back to Walters.

“Thank you for the offer, Commander… but we have to politely decline. We have our own futures to look forward to and like to help people in our own way.”

“...very well then," said Walters with a bit of disappointment in his voice.

Tempest cleared her throat. “Father? Let me handle the rest. You just wait in the car.”

Walters blinked. “Oh, r-right! I need to make a phone call anyway.”

With a final glance at the girls, Walters left the porch and made his way to his car.

Once she was sure her father was completely out of hearing range, she addressed the girls again. “Alright girls, tell me the truth. He’s still here, wasn’t he?”

The girls froze from her matter-of-fact tone, pretty much confirming Tempest’s suspicions.

“Don’t worry! I’m not going to take him away or tell anyone about him, I promise!” Tempest assured, much to everyone’s relief. “Celestia specifically asks me to keep you seven and the blue hedgehog safe while keeping G.U.N. at bay, but I can only do so much.” Her eyes narrowed. “You may continue your lives at is, including using your magic, but only in case of an emergency, and do try to keep him and yourselves out of trouble. Understood?”

The girls nodded vigorously, getting the message.

“We understand!” Sunset spoke for the group before her expression softened. “And… thank you for all your help!”

Twilight nodded with a grin. “Yeah, we appreciate everything you did to help us!”

Tempest cleared her throat, not used to all the praises. “No thanks are necessary,” she said modestly, looking away with a blush. “Just doing my job!”

“Will we see you again?” Rarity asked.

“Who knows?” Tempest shrugged as she faced the group with a knowing look. “I was ordered to be relocated to Canterlot City to ‘keep an eye’ on all of you. Chances are… you may see me around.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful news!” Pinkie explained happily. “As soon as you moved to Canterlot City, we’ll throw you a House Warming Party! I’ll even bake you some berry cupcakes!”

Tempest blinked. “I’ll… take a raincheck on that.” She then smirked. “Oh, before I forget… I have a surprise for you girls!”

“Please tell me this isn’t another one of Grape Garden’s gift cards!” Rainbow Dash begged with a groan.

Tempest chuckled. “Don’t worry. Unlike my father’s, this one is more meaningful. And you can think of this as a ‘thank you’ gift for saving the world.”

Tempest turned towards the small group of agents where they were guarding a hidden item under the tarp and nodded.

Getting the signal, the agents grabbed one side of the tarp and pulled it off, causing the girls to gasp loudly in shock and delight.

“No way!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with a huge grin.

“It’s our tour bus!” Applejack cried. “And it looks as good as new!”

Indeed, it was their tour bus that was hidden under that tarp. But instead of looking like a huge scrap metal after their battle against one of Robotnik’s robots, it is now a full bus again with the exact same color schemes and design. The most amazing thing of all was that the bis looks brand new, almost as if their run-in with the doctor on the highway never happened.

“How?” Twilight wondered loudly, but with a smile on her face. “How did you do all of this?”

Tempest smirked proudly. “I’ve hired some of the best mechanics in our team to rebuild what was left of that bus. And I made sure that the bus is exactly how it was before it was destroyed with only a few improvements.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow Dash shouted with stars in her eyes. “Can we check it out!”

“Knock yourself out!” Tempest allowed.

With excited cries, both Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie ran towards their now restored tour bus. 

“Our sweet bus, how I’ve missed you!” Rainbow nearly wept in joy.

“Slow down, Dashie!” Fluttershy chided, following her friend. “You’ll hurt yourself!”

“Actually, I would like to check out our new bus too,” said Twilight before joining Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. 

“Ditto! Ah’m just curious about some of the improvements she mentioned,” said Applejack as she and Rarity. Followed after Twilight.

Sunset Shimmer was the only one who remained on the porch with Tempest.

“Thanks for doing that,” she said with a warm smile. “You have no idea how much this means to my friends.”

“Don’t thank me yet, Sunset Shimmer,” said Tempest as she dug into her jacket. “I also have a special gift for you!”

She took out a manilla envelope from her pocket and then handed it over to Sunset. Curious, Sunset took the manilla envelope from Tempest and examined it.

“What’s in this, another Grape Garden gift card?” Sunset joked.

Tempest rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Just open it!”

Curious about what was in the envelope, Sunset complied with Tempest's request. As soon as she opened the envelope, her brows furrowed as she took out the contents and went through with them. She then became stunned as she went through one item after another, which were all containing her name and information about her. There was even some info about her that she could have sworn she never filed before.

Sunset slowly looked up at Tempest, her body shook in emotion as she did so. “Wha… what is all of this?” Sunset asked shakily, despite already knowing what those are.

“Those are all the official ‘legal’ documents about you,” Tempest replied. “Birth certificate, Social, Passports, you name it. All those papers you have in your hands are everything you need to get by in this world.”

Shocked, Sunset looked down at her now official documents and then back up to Tempest.

“I… how?” Sunset stammered.

“I have to pull a few strings,” Tempest said with a small smile. “But you are now a legal citizen of our country. You are even legal to apply to any university and career you wish.”

Sunset has no words. Just moments ago, she accepted the fact that she would never live her life normally like her friends because she was from another world and it was impossible for her to get into whatever college she wanted, let alone a job. But with these papers she has now in her hands, she can have her future… along with her friends. 

She felt her throat tighten and her eyes welled up in tears, feeling very emotional. Sunset quickly wiped her unshed tears away with her arm before looking at Tempest with her shaky, yet grateful smile.

“T…thank you,” Sunset croaked. “I-I don’t know what to say!”

“It isn’t me you should be thanking,” Tempest stated, but with warmth in her voice. “It’s your Principal Celestia you should be thanking!”

Sunset blinked, surprised by this revelation. “I… I’m grateful for what she did, but why? Why go through everything for me?”

“...it’s not my place to say,” Tempest replied, dodging Sunset’s question. “But let’s just say she thought very highly of you, Sunset Shimmer.”

Before Sunset could press on the issue, all of her friends returned to the porch after checking out the restored tour bus.

“We’re back!” Applejack announced before she and the others walked past Tempest and re-entered the house.

“I gotta say, Tempest, you’re not kidding that you got the exact same details as our old bus!” Rarity complimented, clearly impressed with the work.

“Yeah! There's even one of my stickers on the back of one of the seats on the exact same spot!” Pinkie agreed with a wide smile.

Tempest smirked. “I take that you’re all satisfied with the bus?”

“We are more than satisfied!” Rainbow Dash grinned excitedly. “Now we can tour on our bus again!”

“After we made sure it functioned properly,” Applejack added, causing Rainbow Dash to pout.

Twilight smiled. “Thank you again for doing this, Tempest!”

“Like I said, just doing my job!” said Tempest as she began to walk away. “Well, best I’ll be off before my dad comes back and bugs you again!”

“See ya again soon, Fizzy!” Pinkie hollered, waving her hand wildly.

Tempest paused, before looking back at the group with a small smile. “Yeah… see ya!” She waved briefly before heading to her car.

As the rest of the agents headed to their own cars and drove away, Twilight closed the front door. “That was awfully nice of them to rebuild our bus!”

“Totally!” Rainbow Dash smirked. “It was way better than some stupid gift card!”

“Actually, maybe we can use that gift card as a celebration for saving the world!” Twilight suggested with a smirk. “After all, it is on them!”

“Ooh ooh, I game!” Pinkie agreed with a huge grin.

“Seriously!?” Rainbow exclaimed with a frown. “I’m all for celebration, but we can go to a much better place than Grape Garden! Right, Shy?”

“Actually… I don’t mind going to the Grape Garden,” Fluttershy said quietly with a sheepish grin.

“What!? C’mon Shy!” Rainbow shouted before turning to Applejack and Rarity. “What about you two?”

“While the Grape Garden isn’t exactly my kind of dining, I suppose we can’t let that gift goes to waste,” said Rarity.

Applejack shrugged. “Ah don’t care what we eat. Grub is grub!”

Feeling desperate, she turned to Sunset with pleading eyes. “Sunset, help me out here! Surely you got some sense in ya, right?”

Sunset crossed her arms with a smirk. “Not gonna lie, but I’m actually pretty excited about the pasta bowl too.”

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Oh no, not you too, Sunset!”

Pinkie gently patted Rainbow Dash’s head. “Sorry Dashie, it’s six against one!”

Feeling outnumbered, Rainbow Dash huffed loudly in defeat. "Fine! But we're going there tomorrow!" She stated as she and the others headed into the media room where the CMCs and Spike were hanging out near the TV. 

Apple Bloom noticed their arrival and turned to them. “So, are they gone?"

Applejack nodded. “Yes, they're gone, Apple Bloom!”

Just as Applejack said those words, a certain blue hedgehog’s head popped out from behind the couch, who was hiding there this whole time.

“Whew, I thought those guys would never leave!” Sonic exclaimed. “So, do you all wanna watch a movie or what?”

“We were thinkin' about watching Daring Do: Shattered Crystal when Daring Do has to collect all the mysterious crystals before the evil Dr. Caballero,” Apple Bloom proposed.

“While I am not a big fan of Daring's new scarf and bandages, the film was pretty solid,” said Scottaloo.

Sweetie Belle shrugged. "Eh. I heard its sequel, Fire & Ice is slightly better.

Twilight shook her head but smiled. “Sorry, girls, but It's a school night. It's time for Sonic to go back to his cave.”

“What?! Already?” Sonic exclaimed as he jumped over the couch and landed on it, waking Spike up in the process.

“But it's three in the afternoon!” Apple Bloom complained.

“And we just got here!” Scootaloo added.

“Can he stay longer?” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

Applejack shook her head. “Sorry girls, but rules are rules!”

“And besides, you know how you get when you're tired,” said Sunset, staring at Sonic sternly. “Now come on, Sonic.”

“Me? I'm not like anything!” Sonic argued, but the Equestria Girls’ unrelenting expressions caused Sonic to let out an exasperated groan. “Ugh, you girls are so uncool!” He turned towards the CMCs. "Was it always like this with your siblings?"

"All the time!" Apple Bloom huffed, with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodding in the background.

With a sigh, Sonic got up from the couch and made his way over to the front door. But just as he was reaching for the doorknob, Pinkie stopped him.

"Hey, where are you going, silly?" Pinkie Pie asked.

Sonic turned towards Pinkie and the gang with a confused expression. “You said I have to go back to my cave.”

Sunset and the gang looked at each other with knowing grins before addressing Sonic.

"We did!" Sunset smirked.





A short time later, the gang arrived under the attic's door and Twilight pulled the cord to open the hatch and stairs. With encouraging smiles on their faces, they silently gestured to the blue hedgehog to go up to the attic first. Sonic took a glance at the CMCs and they too were gesturing for him to go up with encouraging smiles.

Curious, Sonic quickly went up the stairs and took a peak into the attic. As soon as he did, his eyes were wide as saucers. He was very surprised to see that almost all of his possessions that were originally from his cave are now here, sitting in the attic. His beanbag, his comics, his tire swing, his signs, his boombox, even his empty tv set along with some old black gaming console with two controllers. The only thing that was new to him was a bed that looked like a red racecar with two white stripes.

He was so engrossed in what he was seeing, he was barely aware of a loud party horn and some confetti shooting out of two smaller canons, courtesy of Pinkie Pie.

"Surprise!" Pinkie shouted with a huge smile. “You are now officially ‘Sonic-Is-Moving-Into-the-Sparkle-Household’ party! Woo hoo!”

Sonic felt his jaw drop. "Oh, my– Are you kidding me? I can't believe it! How did you all– It's– it's all here!"

Sunset let out a huge grin. "The girls and I spent half a day gathering all of your things from your other cave and placed them here."

"Not including some old junk you don't need of course," Rarity added.

"Though it was a pain to carry all your things," Rainbow Dash said casually before grinning. "But it was worth it!"

Within seconds, Sonic’s face lit up with a huge grin like a kid who woke up on Christmas morning. 

"No way!" 

He then zipped all around the room, checking out his things. "Look at this! Are you kidding?! And the beanbag?! No way! How did you even get this?! And you got it all the way over–"

The girls laughed at Sonic's excitement before he appeared on his new bed, doing the funny dance. 

"I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!" He chanted happily, jumping up and down his bed.

He then sat on his bed with a happy sigh as the rest of the gang joined in.

“So… you really don't mind if I stay here?” Sonic asked a bit quietly.

Twilight sat down next to him with a gentle smile. "I spoke to Shining and Cadance and… I convinced them to let you stay in our attic since it's never used."

Sunset also sat down on the bed by Sonic’s other side. "And we all discussed that aside from here, you can also come over and stay over at our homes at any time."

"Yeah, it'll be like having a sleepover with each of us every day!” Pinkie chirped. “And we can do a lot of fun things together!"

"And you can join in on all of our family events too!" Applejack smiled.

Apple Bloom nodded eagerly. "Yeah, like our annual Apple Family's Apple Harvest for our famous apple cider!"

“Or more movie nights!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Or even the holidays!” Scootaloo grinned.

“Or we can just simply do our everyday activities,” Fluttershy suggested gently. “Like watching a tv, reading a book…”

“Or play some video games and do some insane sports!” Rainbow Dash interjected with an excited grin, causing others to chuckle.

“Or you can pose for my next fall lineup for the kids' fashion department,” said Rarity with a huge smile and stars in her eyes. She paused when she noticed her friends staring at her strangely. “What!? He’s the perfect size for that!”

Sunset shook her head before looking Sonic in the eyes. “Regardless of what we’ll do, we want you to be a part of our lives as we did to each other… because you’re already part of our family. And you don’t have to run away and be alone anymore.” With a warm smile, Sunset placed her hand on his shoulder. "I guess what we're all trying to say was…"

“Welcome home, Sonic!” They all chorused.

Sonic felt a huge lump in his throat. All this time, he always yearned to be part of this group, but to finally be their friend, let alone becoming their family is a dream come true. Sonic quickly wiped whatever unshed tears off his eyes and gave them all his most heartfelt expression.

“Thank you all… so much,” he said quietly.

With caring smiles, they all surrounded the blue hedgehog in a group hug, with Sonic hugging them back with his most happy expression.

“Hey! Don’t forget about me!” Spike barked, rushing towards Sonic.

With wide eyes, Sonic tried to back him off. “Oh, no, you don't! No second-best animal friends allowed in my room!”

Spike stopped near Sonic’s bed. But with a sudden mischievous glint in Spike’s eyes, Spike takes a leap on the bed in front of the hedgehog, which causes the girls to back away and give access to Sonic.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Sonic said fearfully, backing away slightly, only for Spike to step closer.

“Stay away from me!” Sonic warned, only for Spike to come closer. “Stop it! I'm warning you, I've got nunchucks!"

Unfortunately for Sonic, Spike did not back down. Before the hedgehog could react, Spike leaped towards Sonic’s face, locking all over it.

“Hey, stop!" Sonic laughed, tickled by Spike's tongue. "Okay, you can stay!"

The girls laughed at the display, and Sonic laughed along with them.

They are now his family.

And he truly felt like he was home.





Somewhere outside of Twilight’s house, Commander Walters was sitting at the back of his car, dialing a number on his cell number. As soon as he punched those numbers, his phone began to ring, waiting for the person he wanted to talk to pick up. After about three rings, he heard a click and the person from the other end began to speak.

"Hello?"

Walters breathed through his nostrils. "Celestia… it's me."

"Walters," said Celestia with a cool tone. "To what reason are you calling me?"

Walters frowned. "Can the reason be simply because I want to check up on you?"

"You and I both know that isn't true!" Celestia alluded. "It's about the girls… isn't it?"

"Not the main reason… but yes," Walters sighed. "I know you said that they are good people and you vouch for their morals, but I'm still deeply concerned about their magical powers. I even offered for them to work for us, but they turned me down."

"They're just teenagers, Walters!"

"They won't be teenagers much longer!"

"That doesn't matter!” Celestia retorted. “They shouldn't be monitored like they're criminals!"

"Listen, we're just being cautious,” Walters soothed gently. “We're not going to make any hasty decisions."

"Funny since you sent Robotnik!” Celestia snapped. “Despite all of my warnings about that man, you still sent him to my school, only for him to went after the girls and made them into the ‘Most Wanted’ list! I had to come over to you to finally show you the damage he caused!"

"...to be fair, I've sent him to go after the creature, not those girls,” Walters defended meekly.

"Well, regardless, this shouldn't have happened in the first place!" Celestia scolded. "These girls were almost killed a few times! What would've happened if they did? Will you also sweep their deaths under the rug as you did to others in the past!?"

"Celly…"

"Don't you 'Celly' me!" Celestia yelled. "I don't trust you! And I won't make that same mistake… not again!"

Walters sighed somberly. "Look, I’ve made a mistake… a lot actually. But I promise you that it won't be like last time!" His expression became determined. "Which is why I'm thinking of making G.U.N. more public and official, instead of working under the shadows."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone before Celestia responded in an angry tone.
"Are you serious!? That goes against everything what G.U.N. originally intended. You can't just–"

"I'm still in command, Celestia!" Walters stated firmly. "After what that creature did in Manehatten and that blase-headed girl that you are so fond of is from another world, we need to protect our home and this planet now more than ever!"

"...was it really just for ‘protection’ or was it for more ‘power’?" Celestia stated.

Walters said nothing, giving Celestia a chance to speak again.

"And don’t forget, Robotnik was the one who caused damage and he's still out there!"

Walters’ eyes narrowed. "Robotnik’s gone! Off to another planet! He's no longer of any concern to us!"

"You shouldn't underestimate him!" Celestia advised. "He's smarter than all of us! I just know he'll find a way back!"

Walters huffed. "Listen, Celestia, you just worry about your job, and I'll do mine!"

“...fine!” Celestia conceded with a huff. “But I’m warning you, if you mess with those girls again, we’re having another talk! Are we clear?”

“...crystal!” Walters responded with a gulp. "Speaking of which, I never expected you to rejoin G.U.N. again. You swore to never return years ago, but you came back. Why now?"

"Let's just say that I have my own secret agenda!" Celestiaanswered vaguely. "Besides, I only rejoin and work in the archives department under the condition that you get those kids off of the most wanted list, allowing Sunset to become a legal citizen, and to leave them alone."

"Unless they choose to join," Walters added. "But yes… that was the deal. But I expected you to become the commander once again."

"Those days are behind me!" said Celestia. "And even if I am… I doubt that I would stop you."

Walters frowned, but a bit more sadly. "I'm telling you, Celly, I'm not like that years ago. I ask you to give me a chance.”

"...we shall see," Celestia responded after a slight hesitation. "Anyway… if that's all you wanted to say to me, then we're done here. Talk to you soon, Walters."

Walters cocked an eyebrow. "Still ‘Walters’? C'mon, Celly, you know that I'm your–"

"You still have a long way to go to earn that title!” Celestia said coolly. “Until then, that's what I'm calling you."

"...fair enough," said Walters. 

"Take care, Walters," said Celestia before she hung up on her end.

Walters released a defeated sigh and looked out the window with a longing expression. "You too… my daughter."





From within the run-down area of Canterlot City, someone was sitting in a small living room, watching miserably at a small run-down television.

Ever since the most recent “events”, that person has lost everything. Their career, respect, reputation, and everything that this person had was now in shambles. They weren’t able to apply to any jobs within their field, or any type of jobs for that matter when word got out for the “misdeeds” they’ve done. And as a result, no one wants to hire them. And with little money they have left, they moved into this cheap, dirty apartment and lived there since.

And it was all because of those Canter-Brats and that girl that led them into the situation they’re in now.

Their eyes burned with hatred, not even paying attention to whatever show it was on right now. Their mind lingered on the memory of them ruining their image and causing them to not only become the laughing stock but also disgusted by the higher-ups when they brought up “magic”. Those higher-ups were utter fools to turn the other way and made them “step down” when they should’ve been praised for their efforts. That person swore that if they had the chance, they will make those girls and everyone at CHS pay for wrongly punishing them for doing what they thought was the best for everyone.

If that was even possible.

Suddenly, they heard a phone ring from the other side of the room. The person was curious as to who was calling them at this time. The thought of someone calling back for the new job was wishful thinking, so they only assumed that it was nothing more than a scammer call like dozens of others from before.

And that was all from today.

With an irritated sigh, the person left their chair, walked over to the phone, and answered it.

“Whoever this is, I’m not interested in whatever you’re selling!” The person stated as they did before.

“Don’t worry, I’m not here to sell you anything,” said some mysterious voice that the person didn’t recognize. “I’m here to ask for your assistance.”

“I don’t know who this is, but I’m afraid that I can’t help! I was fired from my previous–”

“No. I don’t mean with that!” The voice interrupted. “I mean that I need your help to prepare for my boss’s return!”

The person cocked an eyebrow. “And… who is your boss?”

“...Robotnik.”

The person’s eyes widened, then seethed in anger. “No! I will not be involved with that man! I spent years trying to keep my distance from him! So why should I help him!?”

“If you help me do the things I need, then in return… I can help you!” The voice offered.

The person huffed. “And just what can you do to help me exactly?”

“You can have your chance for revenge… against those girls at CHS.”

The person paused. Surely they didn’t hear that right. They would actually get the chance to get back on those girls and everyone at CHS for wrongfully casting them aside? This all sounded too good to be true.

The person’s eyes narrowed. “What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch!” The voice insisted. “You only need to do the things I asked and you can even use the funds I sent you– untraced of course, to buy specific items I asked for while keeping everything hidden from the law. And I in turn will assist you with whatever scheme you want against the people who wronged you.”

As the person still processing all of this, the voice repeated the question. “Well, how about it? Will you help me?”

“...what exactly do you need help with?”








Somewhere on Mushroom Planet…




Robotnik has been trapped in this fungi world for quite some time ever since his battle against that blue hedgehog and those magical girls. Most of his technology became scrap metal, he had no communication to home, and it would seem that there was nothing on this planet that could use to leave this planet. 

But that won't stop him from trying.

Robotnik was currently busy shaving his hair off of his head, using a makeshift razor out of rock and a pond of water as a mirror. Once he was finished, he took a good look at himself. Aside from his now bald head, his suit and goggles were damaged due to the aftermath of the battle. Some of the bruises were on his face after he received several punches from that pony girl, which made him seethe in anger every time he looked at them. But the most noticeable difference was that his mustache grew bigger and longer due to the time he spent on this new planet.

"My grasp on sanity remains... absolute," he muttered to himself before he then turned his head around. "Isn't that right, Agent Stone?

However, the one he was talking to wasn’t Agent Stone. It was only a rock in the shape of Stone’s head. Where and how he found a rock that looked like his minion's likeness was anyone’s guess.

With a scoff, Robotnik went over to the rock to pick it up. "Why don't you get a head start?" He grunted as he lifted the rock before throwing it. "Do some Rock-Connaissance!"

He then let out an insane laugh before he turned towards one of the mushrooms. "Rock-Connaissance! Come on, that's hilarious!" He said angrily before striking the mushroom. "What's the matter with you?!"

He went over to pick up his bracelet so he can record his daily audio log, which said “DAY 87” on the screen. As Robotnik was putting the bracelet on, he began the recording.

"Here's the sitch," He stated as he was putting on his huge backpack behind his back. "Uninhabited planet, no resources, no supplies, no apparent way home... a lesser man would die here." 

With a sinister grin, Robotnik held up a small canister with Sonic's glowing quill inside. "I'll be home by Christmas."

With a glint in his eye, Robotnik also took out a familiar few strands of hair out of his pocket that he took during the scuffle on his ship between him and the pony girl.

"Or perhaps… by Thanksgiving!"
> ???
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

From the outskirts of Canterlot City, was a rock cliff with a beautiful view of trees and Canterlot City with a sun setting in the background. No creature was around the area except for a few birds chirping from within the trees. There was even a gentle breeze, causing a few trees to sway with the wind. 

All seemed peaceful.

Suddenly, the wind is picking up, causing the leaves that were on the ground to rustle and then lifted into the air. The leaves then spun around into a mini makeshift tornado, spinning faster and faster. Then, with a sudden sound of a ‘dink”, the ring suddenly appeared and grew into a large portal. The portal lingered for a few seconds longer before a mysterious small creature leaped out of the portal and then landed on the cliff of Earth with his two feet.

That mysterious creature in question looked like a tiny golden-yellow fox with blue eyes. But he’s no ordinary fox. He was also wearing a pair of white gloves, red shoes and he even has a yellow backpack strapped on his back. He even has two tails instead of one like all the other foxes.

The small fox then took out a small yellow device from his backpack and used it to scan something, or someone, from within the nearby town. “If these readings are accurate, he's here,” the Fox muttered. “I found him! I just hope we’re not too late.”

As the fox said those lines, someone else also stepped through the portal and stood behind the fox. Unlike the small fox, this person is actually a different species, specifically a male human. He stared out towards Canterlot City with a thoughtful expression on his face.

“So… this is Earth, huh?” He hummed, studying the area. “This place is actually more beautiful than I thought.”

The fox glanced slightly toward his companion. “You know, you don’t have to help me find him,” he offered. “I can just drop you off somewhere so you can find your family.”

The human shook his head. “It’s okay… they can wait.” He flashed the fox his smile. “Besides, I promised that I’ll help. And I don’t leave anyone hanging who asks for help.”

“Well, if you say so, but I appreciate it!” the Fox smiled before facing the town again. “Anyway, he’s somewhere in this town, so let’s go!”

The fox twisted his two tails and then he spun them around like a helicopter. The fox slowly lifted himself off of the ground while keeping his tails spinning. With a determined expression, the fox zoomed toward the town at high speed to get to his destination.

The human lingered behind as he took out an old photograph from his pocket, staring intensely at it. It was a picture of a little girl with rainbow hair, wearing blue overalls with a smile on her face. 

The man has lost his memories from long ago and he didn’t even know who he is or his past. All he remembered was that he used to live on Earth and that he knew this little girl only by a certain name. He doesn’t know why she was on his mind a lot despite having no memories, but what he does know is that she is very important to him and that he needs to find her. 

But that search can wait for the time being.

“Just wait for me a little longer, kid,” He whispered, rubbing the photo gingerly. “I’ll see you soon… Skittles.”

He carefully placed the photo back into his pocket before activating his jet pack, which was hidden in his backpack. He lifted himself in the air before he followed the fox to resume their mission to find this specific person.

Whoever this “person” is, they need to find him, and they need to find him soon!

…

…

…

…

…


Sonic and the Equestria Girls will return in Equestria Girls: Sonic the Hedgehog 2!


> Bloopers & Gag Reel
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Word?" Sunset asked in her confused tone.

"...to the mother!" Robotnik finished in his serious tone.

All of the sudden, everyone burst out laughing.






Equestria Girls: Sonic the Hedgehog - Bloopers!






Satisfied with what she wrote, Sunset placed her letter into an envelope which said "Sonic" on it and then approached the back of the bench where a huge stone was placed. She lifted up the stone.

Only to see a note which said, "DASH WAZ HERE!"

Sunset frowned and looked up at the gigging Rainbow Dash from off-screen.

"Very funny, Rainbow Dash!" Sunset deadpanned.





Mrs. Cake eventually returned with Lyra’s milkshake. Without a thank you, Lyra snatches her drink and chucked it down in one go, making the others feel uneasy.

Unfortunately, Lyra drank too fast to the point that she nearly choked and spilled some milkshake on her shirt, causing everyone to laugh.

“Lyra? Are you okay?” Bon Bon asked in concern, but chuckling somewhat.

“I’m fine. I’m fine!” Lyra assured with a gasp, whipping her lips with the back of her palm. “This is a lot harder than it looks!”

“Could someone give Lyra a napkin and a new shirt?” Sunset asked loudly toward the studio.





“The Blue Devil is a mysterious creature who lives in the woods just outside of this very city!" Lyra began in a grave tone as if she was telling a scary campfire story. "I first saw that creature myself when I was in second grade. I was waiting for my best friend in the town park near the playground when I saw something from the bushes. At first, I thought it was some… thing that looked like a rabbit. But it was actually some cute weird creature thing that you only see in anime or… from a video game. And he wears gloves and shoes for some old reason… and he’s blue! Dubba-dee Dubba-die!”

Everyone began to chuckle.

“What the heck was that, Lyra?” Bon Bon laughed.

“I’m sorry!” She chuckled sheepishly. “I forgot my lines halfway through! So I tried to improvise!”





"I said no such thing," Twilight said simply as she placed her bag near the bushes. "If you recall, I was actually investigating the area so that I can find a logical explanation of why we thought we saw a sea monster." She pointed at the center of her camp. "It's the same thing here! While I also believe Lyra's story was farfetched, but it still fascinated me because of how mysterious it sounds. Not to mention, I’ve done a little research last night and I noticed that the… um…”

Twilight stared blankly before facing the set.

"Line?"

"Wind capacity at certain parts of this city increased significantly for the past decade!" One of the stage staff answered.

Twilight blushed. "Right… thanks!"

Sunset giggled.

*BLOOP*

"Not to mention, I’ve done a little research last night and I noticed that the… the…”

Sunset gave Twilight a knowing smirk. “You forgot your lines again?”

Twilight blushed sheepishly. “Yeah… sorry about that! Let me try again!”

*BLOOP*

"Not to mention, I’ve done a little research last night and I noticed that the… the…” Twilight threw her hands up. “Dangit!”

Everyone laughed at her expense.

“Okay, okay… one more time!”

*BLOOP*

"Not to mention, I’ve done a little research last night and I noticed that the… the…”

“Wind capacity at certain parts of this city increased significantly for the past decade?” Sunset said helpfully.

“Er… exactly!” Twilight cried, causing everyone including herself to laugh loudly.





Twilight ran as fast as she could to chase after that blue blur…

Unfortunately, Twilight tripped and landed almost face-first on the ground.

"Oh shoot, you okay Twilight?" Sunset cried loudly from off-screen.

The whole filming crew's worries were eased when Twilight gave them a thumbs up with a chuckle.





"Yoink!"

"Hey! Give those back!" Sunset shouted as she tried to take her letters.

But Rainbow Dash used her speed ability to move further away from Sunset as she was reading her letter.

"Hey check this out!" Rainbow Dash announced with a cheeky grin, ignoring Sunset's death glare at her. "Hey Sunset, just the other day, I saw you wearing your new outfit and I think you look really cool with it! I also saw Rainbow Dash wearing a pink tutu and dancing follically into the meadows– Wait, what!?"

Everyone, including the studio staff, laughed at Rainbow’s bewildered reaction.

"Alright, who did this!?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

Pinkie laughed, raising her hand. "Guilty!"

"Pinkie!"





At the same time, the lights suddenly went out. Their geodes were the only thing that illuminated most of the room. After a few seconds, their geodes stopped glowing.

All except for the blue geode, which only blinked rapidly.

"Uh, guys? My geode is acting weird again!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Cut!" The director shouted. "Someone check her geode and maybe put in a new battery, please?"





“Are… you two from the military?” Sunset asked after she finally found her voice.

“You could say that,” said the girl as she fished her badge from her pocket. “Name’s–"

Unfortunately, as she took out her "badge", half of it flew off from the case, causing everyone the three of them to jump. Everyone began to laugh and Tempest blushed in embarrassment.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" She blurted. "Can we try this again?"





Trixie quickly jerked away before an agent has the chance to grab her. “Hey! You have no right to touch Trixie! We have every right to be here! While those two imbeciles were here for their own childish antics, The Great and Powerful Trixie, is–”

"Cut!" The director shouted.

"What?" Trixie blinked. "What did I do wrong?"

"You didn't do anything wrong!" The director assured. "Except you're supposed to say Great and Concerning Trixie!"

"Oh, oops!" Trixie blushed. "Sorry, I used my catchphrase so many times it became a habit!" She breathed through her nose. "Okay, 'Great and Concerning'. Got it!"

*BLOOP*

Trixie quickly jerked away before an agent has the chance to grab her. “Hey! You have no right to touch Trixie! We have every right to be here! While those two imbeciles were here for their own childish antics, The Great and Powerful Tri–"

Trixie stopped, groaning that she made a mistake again. "Oh, shoot! I said it again, didn't I?"

Everyone chuckled as Trixie sighed.

"Okay, okay! From the top!" She muttered.

*BLOOP*

Trixie quickly jerked away before an agent has the chance to grab her. “Hey! You have no right to touch Trixie! We have every right to be here! While those two imbeciles were here for their own childish antics, The Great and Concerning Bixie, is– AGH!"

Trixie shouted in frustration, causing everyone to laugh. 

Trixie threw her arms before marching off the set. "That does it! Trixie's going to her trailer!"





“You're using Fluttershy’s tranquilizer gun!?” Sunset exclaimed. “Twilight, that thing was for bears, not a human being!”

“I'm not going to shoot 'em,” Twilight reassured as she was assembling the gun.

Unfortunately, the “gun” came apart immediately, causing everyone to laugh.

“Oh, shoot!” Twilight cried. “A little help here!”





Suddenly, the lab door threw open, startling the blue hedgehog, and two girls and a dog rushed in.

"Freeze bus–”

Sunset’s words were interrupted when the door bounced from the wall and then closed on Sunset and Twilight, causing everyone to laugh and Sunset to sigh from the other side of the door.

*BLOOP*

Suddenly, the lab door threw open, startling the blue hedgehog, and two girls and a dog rushed in.

"Freeze buster!" Sunset shouted while waving her flashlight around to search for the intruder.

"Hands in the air an– EEP!” Twilight shrieked when her “gun” came apart again, causing everyone to laugh and Twilight groaned in exasperated.

“AGH! Can someone get me a different prop gun!?” Twilight huffed.





Dr. Robotnik hummed as he eyed the rest of the girls.

“And the rest of you…”

“Sunset Shimmer,” Sunset greeted curtly before glancing at her friends. “And I see that you’ve met Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and–” Sunset blinked when she realized one of their friends was missing from the group. “Hey, where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“OH MY GOSH!”

Pinkie Pie, who just appeared from the front door, suddenly shouted in excitement the moment her eyes landed on Robotnik, aka Jim Carrey. She rushed over to him with stares in her eyes.

“It’s you! Jim Carrey!” Pinkie squealed like a fangirl. “I am a huge fan of yours! And I’ve seen all of your movies! I love your performance in The Mask, they were hilarious! And also in The Grinch! I’ve watched that every holiday! And your facial expressions in Liar Liar were so silly and funny, it inspired me to make some for my own acting. Heck, even in Ace Ventura, you–

“Pinkie!” Twilight scolded. “We’re trying to film a movie, and you’re bothering Jim!”

Pinkie laughed sheepishly. “Eheheh… whoopies! Sorry, Jimmy… I didn’t mean to bother–”

“No, no. It’s fine, Pinkie,” Jim assured with a modest smile. “I always like meeting new fans. If you would like, we can talk some more over lunch later.”

Pinkie gasped excitedly. “I would love that!”

Sunset giggled. “I’m happy for you Pinks, but we really must get back with the filming.”

“Right! You got it, Sunny!” Pinkie saluted before restarting her position. “From the top!”






Dr. Robotnik quickly glanced up to see the last of his drones successfully entered the window of the teen’s house before explaining further.

“Twenty minutes ago, I tracked a sour– ah, sour patch kid.”

Everyone laughed loudly at Jim’s botched line.

*BLOOP*

“And the only house within the radius of that pulse–” Robotnik dramatically pointed towards a house number next to the front door. “Is fifty-five Golden Oak Drive!”

Sunset let out a suppressed laugh. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry… his facial expression made me laugh!”

*BLOOP*

“It’s fifty-five…” Jim said in a much sillier tone this time. “Golden… Oak Drive!”

Sunset laughed again. “Sorry!”

*BLOOP*

Jim wasn’t even trying this time as he was just making silly sounds as he danced towards Twilight and Sunset while giving them his silly expression.

This time, everyone laughed at his antics.

“Stop, stop! I can’t!” Sunset laughed, barely able to breathe. “Cut!”





“Quick, this way!” said Sunset before opening the door.

She immediately froze in shock and fear when she saw Agent Tempest Shadow just outside the door who had a goofy expression.

"Heeeeere's Johnny!" Tempest said dramatically, causing everyone to laugh.





Without speaking a word, Sunset glanced back at the girl's, silently asking for her assistance. Taking the message, both Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached the case and stood by Sunset while the rest of the gang stayed behind in caution. With nods between the three girls and mentally preparing themselves, Sunset took a deep breath and threw open the case.

Suddenly, Tempest popped out of the case. "Hi again!" She said with a goofy face.

Everyone laughed at her antics again.





“Look, this is the worst possible time for us to get ourselves into trouble, okay?” Rainbow growled in anger. “We were trying to make our brand a name for ourselves and you–"

"Cut!"

Rainbow Dash looked towards the set in confusion. "What? What'd I say?"

*BLOOP*

“Look, this is the worst possible time for us to get ourselves into trouble, okay?” Rainbow growled in anger. “We were trying to make our brand a name for–"

"Rainbow Dash, you said it again!"

"Oh, oops! Sorry!"

*BLOOP*

“Look, this is the worst possible time for us to get ourselves into trouble, okay?” Rainbow growled in anger. “We were trying to make our brand band the–"

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened and the girls laughed at her expense.

"Well, Rainbow Dash. Having trouble with yer lines?" Applejack smirked.

Rainbow Dash blushed with a scowl. "Shut up, AJ!"





"Yeah, while you do that AJ, I'll play us some tunes while we're at it!" said Rainbow Dash as she got up from her seat.

She made her way to the radio at the front of the bus and turned it on. As soon as she hit the switch, a loud peppy music played through the speakers.

"I'm a Barbie girl! 🎵 
In a Barbie worrrrrlld!" 🎵 

"Huh, what the–" Rainbow Dash exclaimed, causing everyone to laugh.

"Okay, who switched the song?" Rainbow demanded.

Pinkie raised her hand, giggling uncontrollably.

"PINKIE!"





"That's not all though," Twilight continued by the fire. "He tried to build his own amusement park, only it was shut down due to… uh, many burnt churros!” Twilight finished, forgetting her lines.

“That fiend!” Pinkie cried, playing along before she and the others burst out laughing.

“Sorry, sorry!” Twilight chuckled.





Rainbow Dash had a look of disbelief. “Patient? Newsflash Sunset: we don’t have time to be patient, especially while we’re on a run by the government! Besides, patients are for hospitals!”

Sunset then laughed.

“Wha– Sunset! You’re not supposed to laugh!” said Rainbow Dash in a bewildered tone.

“I’m sorry!” Sunset wheezed, trying to suppress her laughter. “That line was ridiculous! And you’re silly facial expression didn’t help much!”

“My face was not silly!” Rainbow shouted indignantly.

“Your face was kinda silly, Dashie!”

“Shut up, Pinkie!”

*BLOOP*

Rainbow Dash had a look of disbelief. “Patient? Newsflash Sunset: we don’t have time to be patient, especially while we’re on a run by the government! Besides, patients are for hospitals!”

Sunset broke into laughter again.

“Sunset! C’mon!” Rainbow complained.

“Sorry, sorry!” Sunset giggled. “One more time, I swear!”

Rainbow Dash let out an annoyed sigh.

*BLOOP*

Rainbow Dash had a look of disbelief. “Patient? Newsflash Sunset: we–”

Sunset broke into a fit of laughter much earlier this time, causing Rainbow Dash to throw her hands up in frustration.

“That’s it! I’ll be in my trailer!” Rainbow Dash stomped away. “Call me when she’s got it all out of her system!”





"Fine! Have it your way... Skittles!" A voice fill-in person spoke from behind the Sonic dummy.

Rainbow growled angrily, "I told you to knock it off!"

"Hey! You called me a 'creature', 'thing', 'rodent', and a 'freak'! It's only fair that I called you 'Skittles'!"

"Stop that!" Rainbow shouted.

"What's wrong? Are you gonna cry Skittles if I don't?"

Rainbow Dash's face turned red in anger. "I'm warning you!"

"Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles, Skittles…"

Rainbow then stood in front of the dummy and brought her face so close to it. She narrowed her eyes. "Call me 'Skittles'... one more time!"

"Skittles… taste the Rainbow!"

Rainbow Dash broke character and laughed along with the others. “Oh, man… this feels so silly yelling at a dummy!”

“Hey, at least you’re not yelling at a pile of rocks!” Pinkie pointed out with a giggle.





Sunset in particular was beyond furious with that man as she picked up the phone and brought it to her ear.

“Hey! You leave my friend alone, you dirtbag!” Sunset shouted in rage. “If I ever see your face again, I’ll– I'll… slap you silly!"

Everyone laughed at her botched line.

"Sorry, forgot my line!" Sunset said sheepishly.

*BLOOP*

“Hey! You leave my friend alone, you dirtbag!” Sunset shouted in rage. “If I ever see your face again, I’ll ah– bla bla bla."

Sunset sighed for messing up her line again. "Sorry!"

*BLOOP*

“Hey! You leave my friend alone, you #@%*^!” Sunset shouted in rage and then her eyes widened in shock.

This caused everyone to laugh loudly and Sunset to blush in embarrassment.

"Whoa, Sunny!" Pinkie exclaimed with a giggle. "You can't say that! This is a family movie!"

Sunset awkwardly cleared her throat. "Sorry… got caught up in the moment."





Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, what do ya expect Rarity? This is a convenience store, not a four-star restaurant. We can either take–.”

“Five-star!” Yelled a crew member.

“Er, five-star! Sorry!” Applejack apologized sheepishly.

 *BLOOP*

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, what do ya expect Rarity? This is a convenience store, not a three-star restau–.”

“Five-star!” A crew member yelled again.

Applejack groaned. “Sorry about dat! Five-star, got it!”

*BLOOP*

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Well, what do ya expect Rarity? This is a convenience store, not a six-star–.”

“Five!” A crew member yelled loudly this time, causing Applejack to groan and everyone else to laugh.

“A FIVE star!” A crew member shouted again. “Number five! Five!”

“Alright, alright! Five! Five-star! Ah get it!” Applejack retorted.

Rainbow Dash gave Applejack her cheeky grin. “What’s wrong AJ? Forget how to count?”

Applejack growled. “Shut it, Rainbow Dash!”





“Yeah, Missy!” Agent Grubber retorted while putting so much emphasis on the S's due to his lisp. “I’m maybe small, but I’m the guy you do not want to mess with… with…” He turned towards the set. “Uh, what’s my line?”





"Wha… When did this happen!?" Tempest demanded, nearly shouting.

Grubber shushed her. "It was shortly after you and those girls left town that Robotnik deemed them as a… a…" He quickly turned towards the set. “Line?”





"Indeed I am!" Grubber confirmed with a toothy grin. "Despite that I'm working 'with' you, I'm actually working for the doctor as his double agent. He wanted me to report everything you've been… been…” He let out an exasperated shout. “I’m so sorry, everyone! I forgot my lines again!”

“That’s okay, Grubby! Keep trying!” Pinkie encouraged.





"Come on, Sonic," Sunset muttered as she rushed out of the bus and towards the mansion. "You're gonna be alright. You'll be alright," she assured, both to Sonic and herself.

By the time Sunset caught up, Rainbow Dash had already rung the doorbell. They waited for a moment before the door opened. The girls, especially the CMCs, were surprised to see who was on the other side of the door.

“Guess who?” Tempest announced with a silly expression, causing everyone to laugh again.





“You girls enjoying a clam chowder?” Jim Carrey as Robotnik asked in a silly voice, causing everyone to laugh.

“Okay, that was weird!” Jim remarked.

*BLOOP*

“You girls enjoying a clam chowder?” Jim paused for dynamic effect. “You must order the bread bowl. It practically eats itself!”

They all paused for a moment before everyone broke into a laughing fit.

“I don’t even know what that means!” Jim admitted with a sheepish look.

“I don’t know, but it’s funny!” Pinkie laughed.

“And makes me hungry,” Fluttershy added with a grin.





As a result, the CMCs, Diamond Tiara, and Cadance began to fall while screaming in terror.

As they were "falling", the background all of a sudden started glitching before it was switched to a green screen.

Everyone paused their screams and then looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Huh… dat happened," Apple Bloom remarked.

"Kinda anticlimactic," Scootaloo added, with Sweetie Belle and Diamond Tiara nodding in agreement.

Cadance turned towards the set. "Is there anyone here who can fix this?"





The gang groaned after landing in a huge stack of hay, slowly recovering after nearly having a death experience of falling from a thousand-foot-tall building.

“Hay!” Applejack announced.

Everyone who was in the hay stared at Applejack with confused expressions before they slowly realized her joke and laughed out loud.





"We've been hit!" Sunset screamed.

"Hang on!" Tempest shouted while trying to turn her wheel.

The girls screamed as they continued to spin around out with Tempest losing control on the road.

Déjà Vu!  🎵
I've just been in this place before! 🎵
(Higher on the street!) 🎵
And I know it's my time to come home! 🎵

Everyone quickly turned towards the source of the music, only to see a giggling Pinkie holding her phone with the music coming out of it.

"Agh! Really, Pinkie!?" Rarity exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "That meme was so 2016!"





Rainbow Dash slowly opened her eyes and she saw that she wasn't falling at a fast pace anymore. Instead, she was falling at a slow pace along with everything around her. Even Sonic was slowing down in front of her. That was when Rainbow Dash had an astonishing realization.

‘I'm… I'm in a slowdown… just like Sonic!’ Rainbow let out a toothy cheerful grin. “Yes! Thank you, harmony!”

Her cheers were short-lived when one of her ropes suddenly snapped, causing her to hang around in an awkward position.

“Hey! Get me down from here!” Rainbow shouted.

As a few crew members ran to Rainbow’s aid, Pinkie spoke up.

“Don’t worry, Dashie, we’re coming! And don’t wiggle around too much! I made that mistake the last time during our filming in Friendship Games!”





Rainbow Dash and Jim Carrey, along with many filming crew, were on Manehatten street, ready for shooting.

"And… action!" The director shouted.

Rainbow Dash turned towards a stand-in tennis ball, which represented Sonic, nodded, and then turned back at Robotnik with a scowled expression.

"All right, Eggman," one of the crew members cued. "You wanna get fast?"

"Then let's get fast!" Rainbow Dash finished.

Suddenly, a cell phone rang.

Everyone was confused for a moment before Rainbow Dash realized it was coming from her cell phone. With an apologetic expression, she took out her phone. She let out an annoyed groan when she saw who was calling her from a caller ID and answered it.

"Mom, we're filming a movie right now! Call me back later!" said Rainbow Dash.

Everyone watched as Rainbow Dash was listening to whatever her mother was saying to her right now, who was getting more annoyed by the second.

"Mom, I told you this morning!" Rainbow Dash huffed. "We're filming the Equestria Girls and Sonic the Hedgehog crossover movie today and I'm in the middle of a scene with Jim Carrey right now! Now please call me back later!"

Everyone kept watching as Rainbow Dash listened to her mother's response. Rainbow Dash's eyes suddenly went wide in horror.

"NO! You can't talk to Jim Carrey!"

Everyone laughed at Rainbow’s response, who tried desperately to persuade her mother.

"No, you really can't bother him, mother! Mom!?"

With a distressed moan, Rainbow Dash handed her phone to Jim, who was sitting in his vehicle with an amused expression.

"I'm so sorry, Jim!" said Rainbow Dash with an embarrassed expression."My mother is very difficult to explain–"

Not bothered by the slightest, Jim silently gestured to Rainbow to give him her phone. Once he had Rainbow’s phone in his possession, he answered it.

"Hello? I heard some lady is interrupting our movie?" He joked, causing everyone to laugh.

Jim sat listening to Rainbow Dash’s mother's response. "Oh, you're sorry! You're wasting our film!"

Everyone laughed again.

"I'm only kidding ma'am," Jim assured. "Your daughter is in safe hands!"

Rainbow Dash sighed. While she was glad that Jim got a good laugh out of this, it was embarrassing to her that her mother called despite telling her many times not during filming. At least it couldn't get any more embarrassing.

"Oh, alright I'll tell her," Jim said on the phone before looking at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow Dash, your mother wanted me to tell you that your tortoise plushie is now clean from the wash so you can cuddle it later tonight."

Jim’s words only made Rainbow Dash's face turn red in embarrassment.

"MOM!" Rainbow Dash shouted, causing everyone to howl in laughter. 





Jim Carrey, as Robotnik, was riding in his “vehicle” during his confrontation with Sonic and the girls.

“Sometimes you gotta stop and smell the pork–” 

Jim stopped and everyone laughed at his botched line.

“Ah, this might smell the portal!” Jim corrected with a sheepish expression.





She didn’t even get a chance to finish as Robotnik elbowed her in the face, knocking her back. Robotnik then quickly grabbed his control stick and pulled it, causing the hovercraft to tip over. Sunset wasn’t quick enough to hold on to something as she fumbled out of the cockpit and then fell on the hard ground, landing roughly on her right side.

“Oohh… I hope the Danger Pay from this movie is much more than the last time I did this!” Sunset remarked, clutching her right shoulder.





“Oh my, I wonder what this is?” Rarity asked as soon as Twilight took the envelope.

There was a pause, as everyone looked at Twilight expectedly, to which she got the message.

“Oh– I mean, money to fix the house?” Twilight guessed, feeling embarrassed.

“I mean, something like… a line?” Sunset joked, causing everyone to laugh.

“Sorry!” Twilight giggled.

*BLOOP*

"Oh my, I wonder what this is?” Rarity asked as soon as Twilight took the envelope.

Everyone paused, waiting for someone to speak.

"Psst! That's your cue, Twily!"

Twilight’s eyes widened. "Oh, wait! It is?"

Everyone laughed again.

*BLOOP*

"Oh my, I wonder what this is?” Rarity asked as soon as Twilight took the envelope.

There was a short pause.

"Money to fix the house?" said Sunset, looking directly at Twilight.

Twilight nodded, acting along. But then her eyes widened in realization.

"Oh wait! That's my line?"

Everyone laughed while Rainbow Dash groaned.

"C'mon! Twilight!"





Jim Carrey, who had just finished with a movie scene for the day, was heading towards his trailer. As he was walking he noticed Pinkie Pie was near a craft service table, assuming for lunch. Jim waved Pinkie over as soon as he was close to her.

"Hey Pinkie, great job with the scene earlier!" Jim complimented. "Your acting was top-notch!"

Pinkie smiled at Jim’s compliment. "Thanks, Jimmy… but I wasn't on the set today."

Jim blinked in confusion. "What do you mean? I just saw you on set two minutes ago."

Before Pinkie could answer, another Pinkie Pie showed up from behind Jim.

"Hey Jimmy, you were awesome today! The way you did during our rooftop scene sent chills down my spine!"

Jim blinked at the second Pinkie before slowly turning to the first Pinkie who simply waved at her. 

He turned back to the second Pinkie.

Then back to the first Pinkie again.

Jim stood in a daze as if he was losing his sanity for a moment before he let out a brief chuckle. 

"Oh, of course… a stunt double!" He laughed nervously. "Silly me…" He then placed his palm on his forehead. "Maybe I should take a break in my trailer."

As Jim Carrey slowly walked away towards his trailer, both Pinkies looked at each other.

"Should we tell him that I'm actually the pony Pinkie from another dimension?” the first Pinkie Pie asked.

The second Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Nah, it’s probably for the best that we didn’t… for the sake of his sanity.”

The two Pinkies nodded in unison.
> Deleted Scenes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------



As promised, here are some deleted scenes/ideas I almost wrote into the story, but then they were removed/changed for various reasons. The list of why they were removed will be explained in the author's note below.

Enjoy!



They soon arrived at Canterlot Park and there were only a few people around. Some were either jogging, walking their dogs, or just resting on their benches. As for Sunset and Twilight, the two of them were simply strolling through the park, enjoying the scenery around them. At some point, while they were walking through the park, Sunset noticed that they were approaching her usual bench. As Twilight got closer to it with each step, Sunset began to get worried.

Did Twilight find out about my letters? Sunset thought nervously.

Just as they were getting closer to the bench, Sunset squeezed her eyes shut and shout, “STOP!”

Twilight stopped in her tracks and turned to her friend with concern. Before she could ask, Sunset spoke.

“How long?”

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. “How long what?”

Sunset frowned. “How long did you know?”

Twilight blinked. “How long did I know… what?” 

“Twilight… please don’t play games with me,” Sunset shouted, not sounding a little upset. “If you are going to tell me about this, then please tell me now, but I rather you not mentioning to our friends!”

“Sunset… what are you talking about?” Twilight asked, now becoming worried for Sunset.

Sunset paused, also feeling confused. “I was talking about my bench?”

“Bench?” Twilight turned towards the bench in question. “You mean… that bench?”

Sunset blinked. “You… were not taking me to that bench?”

Twilight shook her head. “No. I was going to take you to the woods behind that bench.”

“Oh…” Sunset drooped, both in embarrassment and feeling foolish for jumping to conclusions.

She looked up when she felt a hand touch her shoulder and looked right at her friend’s worried expression.

“Sunset… is there something wrong?” Twilight asked softly. “And why are you so nervous about this bench?”

Realizing that she practically exposed herself and didn’t want to worry her friend some more, Sunset decided to tell Twilight the truth. She let out a heavy sigh.

“Do you promise you’ll keep this between us?” she asked quietly. “It’s nothing serious, I promise!”

Twilight nodded. “Of course Sunset!”





The trio quickly ducked behind the bushes and listened to the exchange between The Equestria Girls and the scarred lady. They began to panic when they heard the scarred lady’s demand to surrender themselves for her, presuming for Twilight’s safety as an exchange.

"Oh man, this is bad girls!” Scootaloo whispered with an alarmed expression. “Our sisters and the others are in trouble!"

"What should we do?" Sweetie Belle inquired, fearing for her sister’s safety.

Scootaloo thought for a second, trying to find the best way to help both their sisters and Twilight from danger. Then an idea came to her. She quickly turned to Apple Bloom.

“Apple Bloom, do you still have those fireworks on you we bought from Trixie for Rainbow Dash’s birthday party a while back?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom gave Scootaloo a flat look. “Ah did… Ah remembered Ah got grounded fer possessin’ them. Why?”

Scootaloo motioned her friends to come closer to her and then she quietly explained her plan to them. When she was finished, her friends stared at her as if she had just grown a second head.

“Scoots… are ya crazy!” Apple Bloom exclaimed but kept her voice down. “It’s too risky! What if we hit Twilight by accident? Or even our sisters?”

“Not to mention, this is Trixie’s fireworks!” Sweetie Belle added with a squeak. “We don’t know if they’re reliable!”

Scootaloo pointed at Twilight and the scarred lady. “That scary lady is holding Twilight hostage and our friends couldn’t do anything while holding her, so we don’t have a choice!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle exchange each other’s looks, still feeling conflicted. Despite how crazy Scootaloo’s idea was, they were more worried about their sisters, not wanting that lady to take them away. With a silent nod of agreement, the two turned their sights on Scootaloo again.

“Fine, we’ll do it… but Ah need help to set up and to aim!”

The trio quickly got to work as they pulled Trixie’s firework rocket from Apple Bloom’s backpack and set it up. They knew that they were running out of time, so they need to set this up as fast as they can. As they put they were putting together the set, they heard a slight commotion behind them, coming from Rainbow Dash. They began to feel nervous when they heard the scarred lady telling them to come quietly again.

Thankfully, the CMCs finished setting up their rocket in record time. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle pointed the rocket towards the lady while Scootaloo took the match that was for the firepit out of her pocket, preparing to light it. They only have one shot at this and it had to be accurate.

“On mah mark…” Apple Bloom muttered, still adjusting the aim of the rocket.

Scootaloo lit up the match and hovered it over the line, getting into position. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were finally on set with their aim just as Sunset was about to answer the scary lady’s demand.

“Fire!” Apple Bloom shouted.

Scootaloo lit up the line and then the rocket took off.





Tempest stepped inside Zappers and surveyed the area. Once she spotted a certain teenage group, she walked right over to them.

"Hey!" Tempest announced, getting the Washouts' attention. She then showed them a photo of the Equestria Girls "A little birdie told me that you three confronted a certain group of girls and knew the last of their whereabouts. 

Lightning Dust just stared blankly at the picture before she turned away. “Never saw them before in my life!”

Tempest's eyes narrowed. “You’re lying!”

“Hey!” Rolling Thunder retorted. “The boss told you all she knows. Now you could either thank her and get out, or me and my partner here will show you the way out!”

Short Fuse simply grunt and cracked his knuckles.

Tempest smirked. “Well… maybe you and your friend are the ones who need to leave!”

“Oh, is that so?” Rolling Thunder sneered before charging at Tempest. “Well, I’ll show you, you dirty little–”

Before Rolling Thunder could land a punch, Tempest swept her leg and kicked Rolling Thunder’s legs, causing Rolling to trip and fell behind the food counter. Tempest then quickly performed a round-house kick and kicked Short Fuse away from her, broke through another window, and landed roughly outside.

Tempest slowly faced Lightning Dust who had a look of shock and fear.

"Now, I’ll ask you again… where did they run off to?" Tempest growl.

“E-East!” Lightning answered quickly, cowering away from Tempest. “T-they were heading in the east direction towards Manehatten! T-that’s all I know! I swear!”

“...much obliged!” Tempest nodded as she slowly turned around and headed to the door. Lighting let out a sigh of relief until Tempest called her again.

“Oh, and one more thing!” she added. "...I would like to borrow your bike!"





“Sorry to interrupt,” Sonic spoke up suddenly with a disgusted expression. “But pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough?”

“What? It was the most awesome meal on the planet!” Rainbow Dash said indignantly.

Sonic gave Rainbow a skeptical look. “That’s a bit of a stretch. I highly doubt it was editable.”

“Says the hedgehog who spends his time eating garbage!” Rainbow retorted, only to wince from her words. “Er… no offense.”

“...none taken,” Sonic sighed.





“Oh, no, they’re coming!” Micro Chips screamed in a panic.

“Go send your message Officer Armor! We’ll keep them busy!” said Flash.

With a nod, Shining Armor rushed into the room, locking the door while the three boys stood outside.

When the three agents finally caught up to them, the leader glared daggers at them.

“Alright kids, step aside and let us into that room!” An agent threatened.

“Well, you wanna get in there, you’ll have to get through us first!” Flash declared.

Sandalwood nodded with a determined look. “Yeah!”

“Well… mostly them,” Micro Chips added meekly, pointing at his friends and receiving looks from his friends.





"Next!" An officer watching over the traffic for the day hollered.

He blinked when a bus, or at least what was left of it, came up with seven people wearing fedora outfits and mustaches. One of them looked blue for some reason.

"Uh… license?" He asked.

The one with the cowboy hat handed over her license (which was fake). 

As he studied the license, he glanced up at the group. "What's up with your bus?"

The one with the curly pink hair answered. "Oh, we picked this up from a nearby junkyard. We are hoping to fix this up so we can use it for our circus performance tonight!"

"...makes sense to me!" The man said with a shrug before he gave the license back to the driver. "Be careful on the road, and welcome to Manehatten."

The driver nodded. "Thanks! Have a nice day!"

As the bus drove away from the guard, Sunset, still wearing her disguise blinked in disbelief.

"I can't believe that actually works!"

Pinkie smirked. “Never underestimate the power of mustache!”





Despite struggling with the unknown magic, Tempest simply stared at Grubber, feeling betrayed by her partner. "You… you worked for Robotnik all this time?"

"Indeed I am!" Grubber confirmed with a toothy grin. "Despite that I'm working 'with' you, I'm actually working for my uncle as his double agent!”

Robotnik scowled. “How many times I have to tell you not to call me ‘Uncle’!” His eyes narrowed. “How would you like it if I call you by your real name, ‘Snively Grubber Robotnik’?

Grubber cringed at the name. “Alright, alright! Just… please don’t call me Snively!” He shivered. “I’ve been bullied all my life because of that cursed name!”





Spike narrowed his eyes at the mean man before turning his gaze onto his right arm. Just as Princess Twilight was about to spill the beans, Spike leaped down from where he was standing and gave Grubber a huge bite on his arm.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!” Grubber screamed in pain.

He then tried to shake Spike off of his arm, but Spike held on to his arm tightly with an iron grip.

“Let go!” Grubber shouted, shaking his arm. “Let go of me you stupid dog!”

By that point, the other Twilight and the rest of the gang eventually caught up to them and Twilight let out a loud gasp.

“Spike!”

Having finally reached his boiling point, Grubber waved his arm so hard, he threw Spike off of him and he landed on the console. Before Spike could recover, Grubber held Spike in place, glaring at him with rage.

“I have enough of this!” He spat as he held his stun gun at Spike. “Time to become mincemeat!”

Spike whimpered and shut his eyes, expecting Grubber to do his worst to him.
> Bonus Chapter - Speed Me Up!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------




-One Week Later-




From within the University of Manehatten’s auditorium, everyone from local and Canterlot waited eagerly in their seat for the show to begin. As the crowd chattered excitedly among themselves, Rainbow Dash peaked through the curtain from backstage, surveying their audience. With a huge grin, Rainbow Dash turned towards her friends.

“This is it, everyone! We’re finally going to perform outside of Canterlot!” Rainbow Dash squealed. “If this keeps up, we may perform in different parts of our country! Maybe even the world!”

“Now settled down there, Dash!” Applejack said sternly but chuckled at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Yer getting ahead of yerself!”

“She’s right, Rainbow Dash,” Sunset added with a smile. “As cool as that sounds, let’s focus on tonight’s performance first!”

“Hey, I can’t help it that I’m excited!” Rainbow Dash defended good-heartedly. “We all gonna start somewhere, right?”

"Well I, for one, am glad to be here!" Rarity gushed. “Not only it was great to be back in Manehatten, but we also get to perform!”

“And there will be no danger… for once,” Fluttershy added quietly.

“But a little danger is what makes our adventures so fun!” Pinkie chirped with a huge grin.

“I’m with Fluttershy on this one,” said Twilight. “While our– ahem… ‘adventure’ to Manehatten was fun, it was nice that we didn’t get chased here this time around. We can all use a break.”

Sunset smiled. “After this is over, maybe we can spend time in the city afterward?”

“What a lovely idea, Sunset!” Rarity said cheerfully. “We can go around enjoying the sites, go shopping–”

“Eat some ice cream!?” Pinkie squealed excitedly.

“...yes. That too,” Rarity conceded with a grin.

“Oh, I’m down for some sundae, too!” Sonic added, who zoomed into the backroom suddenly. “Running around the city really builds up an appetite!”

"We'll go out for some ice cream later," Sunset promised before looking at Sunset sternly. "But as long as you wear your disguise. We can't let anyone in Manehatten know you're here."

"They won't know as long as they don't see me," Sonic said slyly. "I'm too fast for them!"

Sunset narrowed her eyes, causing Sonic to chuckle nervously.

"Don't worry Sunset, I'll make sure he does as you asked," Spike assured, who just walked into the room.

Sunset smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Spike!"

"...as long as you get me some desserts too!" Spike smirked.

"Spike!" Twilight said sternly, causing everyone to laugh.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" The announcer spoke over the loudspeakers. "Put your hands together for this awesome band who came all the way from Canterlot City… the Rainbooms!"

Hearing the crowd wailing in excitement, Rainbow whooped. “This is it, everyone!”

With excited chatter, the Rainbooms made their way toward the stage.

“Woo-woo! Good luck girls!” Sonic cheered.

“Yeah! And break a leg!” Spike exclaimed before quickly adding, “But not literally!”

As soon as the girls stood in their positions, the curtain raised, revealing the screaming and exciting crowd cheering them on.

"Hello, Manehatten!" Rainbow Dash shouted into the microphone with high energy. "Are you all ready to rock?"

The audience cheered loudly in response.

"Our first song is a tribute to our new awesome friend!" Sunset added. "Hope you all like it!"

The girls picked up their instruments and Pinkie began counting down by tapping her drumsticks.

"One!"

"Two!"

"Three!"

"Hit it!"





The Fastest Thing Alive (feat. Narcissa) - Powerglove



As soon as Pinkie shouted those words, the girls began to play their first song, which was written by Fluttershy.

Rainbow Dash immediately strummed her guitar so fast, you could barely see her fingers. Rainbow sang the first few lyrics, describing how cool and awesome her friend is with high energy and enthusiasm. Sunset sang her lyrics next, emphasizing just how fast Sonic is to everyone. Then the two of them sang together as they say Sonic’s name three times before Rainbow shouted "fastest thing alive" and then she rifts on her guitar as fast as her fingers could play.

Twilight began to sing the next set of lyrics with Rarity and Fluttershy singing in the background; warning anyone that Sonic shouldn’t be underestimated and that he won’t back down from a fight, especially to do what’s right. As she sang, wings and pony ears magically appeared on her and her friends. Many people in the audience believed it was all part of the effects, but the CHS knew it was all due to Equestrian Magic when the girls put their hearts into the music. Twilight sang Sonic’s name three more times before Rainbow Dash went into a breakdown with her guitar and Pinkie Pie wildly beat on her drums in the background.

Meanwhile, Sonic stood on the sidelines feeling giddy and excited from the song. At some point, he played an "air guitar" alongside Rainbow Dash because of how cool it sounded. He was even touched that they wrote a song after him, which was something he never thought could happen before befriending all of them. While he was lonely years before and their first meetup was messy, he wouldn't trade those moments for anything and was glad he was with them for real.

Once again, Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Sunset sang Sonic’s name three more times before Sunset repeated the lyrics, “he’s the fastest thing alive” three times before they conclude the song.

The crowd roared into applause, allowing the girls to pause for effect for a moment. Once the crowd died down a bit, Rainbow Dash spoke.

“Here’s another song that is based on our recent experience and facing our lives,” said Rainbow Dash before facing Sunset. “Ready, Sunset?”

Sunset nodded with a grin. “Always, Rainbow Dash!”

Both Rainbow Dash and Sunset faced the crowd and started playing the next song.






Endless Possibility - Sonic Unleashed [OST]


Rainbow Dash began playing her guitar, rifting quickly on the strings. Sunset Shimmer joined in, playing her guitar as well. Soon, the rest of the girls joined in, blaring the stage with upbeat music, causing everyone in the audience to dance along.

Rainbow Dash began to sing her first set of lyrics about running and going where no one has gone before while never looking back and without any regrets. Sunset sang the pre-chorus lyrics next that despite not knowing how to get there, they got to start somewhere with never-ending possibilities.

The two girls sang the chorus together, singing how they can do anything if they put their minds to it no matter what life throws at them, especially with their friends on their side. This motivated the other girls to put everything into their performance, feeling the same level of high spirits as Sunset and Rainbow Dash. 

Sunset sang the next set of lyrics this time, about carrying on and that their time will come just as fast as they can go. Rainbow Dash then sang that despite feeling like a dream, they knew it was finally their time and that the possibilities are endless. Once again, both girls sang the chorus together, putting their hearts into the song. The rest of the girls, even Sonic, Spike, and the audience felt their vibe, as they bobbed their heads or swayed along with the music with huge smiles on their faces.

They suddenly changed the tones of the guitars, making the next part of the song tense. They sand how at one part when things were tough for them like when they lost their magic and lost a friend. But despite all that, they never give up on themselves and they fought back with the magic of friendship. 

Rainbow Dash then went into a guitar solo, shredding her guitar like there’s no tomorrow and giving everything she got for the performance. The Equestrian Magic radiants off of the girls as the magic of music flowed throughout the stage, spreading their fun and joy to the audience, including Sonic and Spike. Sunset and Rainbow Dash each sang the chorus of the song again before they sang the chorus again together for the final time before ending the song on an epic note.

The crowd cheered loudly with a standing ovation, thundering the room with endless clapping. Sonic and Spike asl did a standing ovation from the sidelines, enjoying the girls’ performance as much as the audience’s. The girls smiled at one another before Sunset raised both hands to quiet the crown.

“Thank you! Thank you!” Sunset said with a smile into her mic before letting Rainbow Dash speak next.

“And now, for the finale!” Rainbow whooped, causing everyone in the audience to scream in excitement. “And our special guest for this song is our pal, DJ Pon-3!”

The back curtain behind them raised up and smoke appeared for a brief moment, revealing a girl with wild blue hair, headphones, and purple shades with her trusty DJ mixer.

“Hit It!” Rainbow shouted.

Both Pinkie and DJ Pon-3 gave her a thumbs up with a smile and start the song.






Speed Me Up - (Wiz Khalifa Lil Yachty TY Dolla $ign Sueco the child


Pinkie began to beat her drums again, starting the song with DJ Pon-3 including some ring sound effects with her mixer. Rainbow Dash began to sing her lyrics, following the beats. Sunset then sang the second lyric before she and Rainbow Dash sang the same line before the rest of the girls joined in and sang the chorus two times.

Pinkie Pie then speed-sang the main lyrics of the song at a fast pace that even Sonic was impressed. Even after all the times, Pinkie had done the speed-rapping before, to this day the girls were wondering how their friend was able to sing so fast without her face turning blue. At one point in the song, Pinkie sang “best friend named, Tails”, making the gang confused briefly. The girls asked Pinkie earlier who this “Tails” she spoke of, and Pinkie’s only response was, "just wait for the sequel" with a knowing smile. In the end, the girls decided to drop that subject, concluding that Pinkie was just being Pinkie.

As soon as Pinkie finished the major part of the song, the girls broke into a chorus again and repeated it two more times. It was Sunset who sang the main lyrics next. While not as fast as Pinkie Pie, she sang well in her own right. It was then switched to Twilight, and she too sang some brief lyrics at a semi-fast pace. Rainbow Dash took over and she sang the last set of lyrics the fastest out of the three of them, but still subpar to Pinkie Pie.

As soon as the girls sang the last set of the chorus, Sonic, feeling hyped up from the song and couldn’t stand still anymore, did some break dancing and ran around the backroom, causing Spike to feel dizzy. Before Spike had a chance to stop him, Sonic zoomed past him and ran toward the center of the stage with the girls. Just as the girls played their last note, for a brief second, everything was in slow motion as Sonic briefly stood next to the Equestria Girls.

Both Sunset and Sonic glanced at each other and then winked.