> Sonic Adventure in Equestria > by SonvsMar > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Pre-Tumbling Exposition > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonic the Hedgehog, hero of the planet, was doing what he loved the most, running faster than anyone could dream. Granted, his name being Sonic, you would think that he would be pretty fast. Sonic was known worldwide for not only his speed, but for his brave acts of heroism. No matter how big or small a problem may be, Sonic always stopped to help those in need. He was running across the lush green hills of South Island when something appeared in front of him, making him stop, which, while not on a dime, was pretty fast for the speed he was going at. What stopped him was the face of one that Sonic knows all too well... ...But for all of the wrong reasons. The one in question was none other than the infamous Dr. Ivo Robotnik, better known as his nickname Dr. Eggman. Dr. Eggman is an evil scientist who has tried to take over the world countless times, each try being a failure, as Sonic always steps in to stop him. While his plans always fail, one cannot deny that he is an incredible genius, and with an IQ of 300, plus an army of robots at his side, Dr. Eggman always proves to be a fun challenge for Sonic to fight. "Hahahahaha!" Eggman chortled. "What's so funny Eggman? Thought of another evil plan for me to foil?" Sonic taunted. "You're half right my spiky friend. It is another one of my ingenious plans, but this time..." started Eggman before Sonic cut in, "'This time it'll work, and finally me and my mustache will win.'" "Hmph!" Eggman bristled at this mocking of his genious, "You won't be so cocky when I show you what it is!" "Really Eggman? You're going to tell me the plan from the beginning? And I thought I was impatient." Sonic chuckled. "Who said anything about telling you? I'll show you what it is right now!" said Eggman. On cue, a large machine appeared from behind one slightly large hill, and floated towards the two. "Behold, my latest creation, the Egg Tumbler!" gloated Eggman. "Not too shabby looking Eggman. I can already tell that this'll be fun!" said Sonic, preparing for an action-packed fight. "Why thank you, but I'll have you know that this is not a fighting machine. It's a machine that can harness the energy from the Chaos Emeralds without needing the Emeralds themselves. All it needs is to find another set of powerful objects similar to the Chaos Emeralds," said Eggman. "What, are you taking us to Blaze's dimension? Remember the last times you fused both dimensions together with Eggman Nega?" reminded Sonic. "Yes. All too well." Eggman admitted, trying to forget those last two times. "That is why I'm not going after the Sol Emeralds." "Then what do you have planned instead?" Sonic said, tensing up, as he needed to be careful about whatever dimension Eggman was going to fuse theirs to. "Hehehehe... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" chortled Eggman. "This is a dimension filled with those with far less fighting experience than you or the cat." "What place do you have in mind then?" questioned Sonic. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling about it. "Oh you'll find out my friend. It'll surely give you a surprise," Eggman said with an ominous tone. "Whatever! I'm not gonna let you get away with it! This'll be over in a Sonic second!" Sonic stated confidently. Eggman however, was expecting that response, so he already had the activation switch ready. He pulled it before Sonic could make a move, and the Egg Tumbler pulled Sonic and Eggman into an unknown dimension, as well as some of Sonic's friends, who were not expecting a sudden vacation to a new dimension. A dimension that you may know as Equestria. > A New World. A New Adventure > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Meanwhile, in the world of Equestria, Princess Celestia feels a strong presence suddenly appear in her world around morning. ! What is that strange power? It feels familiar, yet... different... the princess thinks. This energy... she concentrates her magic to find the source of the disturbance. ! The Everfree Forest?! This strange energy surge must be investigated, but my royal duties... She pondered on what do do in this situation. Twilight and her friends! They can help investigate! Celestia then began to write a letter to her student, before she remembered, Right, the raising of the sun. Down in a place called Ponyville, a mare named Twilight Sparkle is sleeping in her house, which is also the local library. She is a unicorn pony, which allows her to use magical abilites. She once lived in Canterlot, studying under the teachings of Princess Celestia herself. When she moved to Ponyville, she had gained five friends, knowing from then on that their little group would be inseparable. She is awoken by a ray of light from the sun through her open window. *Yawn* "Another day, another chance to learn more about friendship." she said, half asleep. She walks downstairs to the first floor, not wanting to wake Spike, her "# 1 Assistant," who is also a young dragon, and gets ready to start her day, when Ponyville's local crazy character Pinkie Pie, who is also one of Twilight's good friends, comes bursting through the front door, scaring the sleepiness out of her. "AAAAHHH! Pinkie! What are you doing?!" Twilight screamed. "Sorry Twilight," Pinkie apologized, "but my Pinkie sense has been acting up, and I have no idea what this one means!" Pinkie Pie was a party-loving pony who always seemed too cheery for her own good. Even so, she easily makes friends, and her parties always make other ponies smile. Her pinkie sense was a strange reaction her body would make whenever something was about to happen. Usually, Pinkie knew exactly what would happen, as each reaction was a combination of certain body parts moving uncontrollably. This time, however, Pinkie had no clue as to what this one meant. Twilight remembered the trouble her Pinkie sense caused her before, and wondered what it meant if even Pinkie herself had no clue what it was. "That's certainly strange Pinkie, but why did you come here?" Twilight asked. "Because you're the most smartest most greatest most genius pony ever!" Pinkie complimented. Twilight blushed at the compliment, but replied, "Sorry Pinkie, but I don't know what it could possibly mean. Pinkie frowned at this, and left the library in a noticeably calmer fashion. Twilight felt sad that she couldn't help her friend, but didn't dwell on it, as her assistant Spike had woken up, and handed her a letter from Princess Celestia. *Yawn* "What a wake-up call." said Spike, after being woken up by his unfortunate method of delivering letters, having a letter appearing out of his mouth via burping. "Thank you Spike. You can go back to sleep if you want." Twilight offered. "Thanks." Spike managed to say before another yawn escaped his mouth. "I'll be upstairs if you need me." And with that, Spike walked to his bed upstairs, falling back to sleep almost instantly. Twilight opened the letter from Princess Celestia, wondering what it contained. My Faithful Student, I felt a strange energy enter our world this morning. I have had enough time to track the source of energy to the same location where you and your friends first found the Elements of Harmony. I know the path to it through the Everfree Forest is dangerous, and I would have gone to investigate this disturbance myself, but my royal duties are keeping me from doing so. I am truly sorry my student, but I request that you and your friends should go and investigate in my place. I would not send you six if I did not have full confidence in your abilities. Be careful however, whatever is causing this strange wave of energy may be more dangerous than the forest itself. Be on your guard, and good luck. Twilight shuddered at the thought of going into the Everfree Forest, let alone finding something even more dangerous, but shook it off and went to grab her friends. As she left the library, Twilight thought, I wonder if whatever is in the Everfree Forest is what caused Pinkie's Pinkie sense to go off. Sonic opened his eyes to find out that Eggman's machine worked. He found himself in a location that was unfamiliar to him. He was glad to find out that the switch to another dimension was not as terrible as last time. "Man, this storm is rough! So, then, where's this big energy reaction of yours?" Sonic asked. "It should be around here somewhere." replied Tails."Aha! I'm getting a reading on radar! It's close! Sonic, can you see anything?" "Tails!" Sonic yelled, seeing a strange tornado right in front of them. "According to the radar, it should be over that way." said Tails. "Okay Tails. You keep an eye out, and--" Sonic began, until a lightning bolt struck their plane. "Whoa!" Tails screamed. "What the..?" Sonic said, surprised by the strike. "Aaaah! The engine!" Tails yelled, noticing the engine was struck by lightning, and stopped working. "Tails, do something!" Sonic said frantically. "Easy for you to say! We're going down!" yelled Tails, both of them panicking at the imminent crash into the ocean. They woke up on a beach somewhere. At the island where they woke up, Sonic and Tails met a girl named Marine, who took them off adventuring across the ocean. During their travels, Sonic and Tails met their old friend Blaze the Cat, who told them that they were in her dimension this time. Sonic was certainly glad that this method of transportation wasn't as painful as that. He took the time to survey the area, and found himself in an old building that reminded him slightly of the shrine of the Master Emerald. He tried to find Dr. Eggman, but, as he was expecting, the doctor was out. He wondered how someone so big and slow could pull an escape so quickly. Sonic then decided to leave the ruined building to try and find a civilization nearby. What he met instead was, as Eggman put it, "a surprise." Twilight gathered her friends after leaving the library, and were entering the Everfree Forest, when an orange pony with a cowboy hat spoke. "Are you sure about this Twi? I mean, it's not that I don't trust the princess or nothin', but do ya really think this is a good idea?" The pony in question is Twilight's friend, Applejack, a pony who makes a living growing apples with her family on the farm. She is one of the most honest ponies Twilight has met, and she is glad that she can always rely on her. "I'm with Applejack." a white unicorn pony spoke. "It just does not seem safe to enter the Everfree Forest, what with all of the nasty creatures that live here." Said white unicorn is named Rarity, and is Twilight's very generous friend. She works daily, making fashion designs and dresses, and has a love of gems, even being able to find them underground using her magic. "Come on Rarity!" a rather loud cyan pegasus pony exclaimed. "We've been through this path before! What are you and AJ so scared about?" The loud pegasus is Rainbow Dash, the self-proclaimed fastest in Equestria. She controls Ponyville's weather, and is a very loyal friend. "Oh, I don't blame them," another pegasus replied, this one yellow colored, "this forest is awfully frightening." The yellow pegasus, Fluttershy, was very shy and quiet. She is not very assertive, which makes it hard for her to speak up about anything dangerous that occurs. She is however, very kind, and takes care of all of Ponyville's local animals. "Don't worry Fluttershy!" Pinkie replied, certainly more happy than when she left the library. "You know what I always say to do when your scared!" She inhaled deeply, beginning to sing, before Twilight put a hoof in her mouth, silencing Pinkie. "Yes, we all know what you say to do Pinkie." she said, not wanting her to sing what may be her 50th song since she met the hyperactive pink pony. The group of six traveled through the path they previously trekked soon after Twilight first met them. Thankfully, nothing bothered them throughout their journey to the ruined castle where the Elements once lay. No manticore attacked them. The once rushing river was much calmer, allowing them to cross without any help. The bridge was still fixed thanks to Rainbow Dash's help during their previous trek. When they reached the ruined castle, they tried to go inside, but were greeted by... something... coming out. A blue, two-legged something. > What You See is What You Get > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The blue bipedal creature stared at the six with a look that said, What in the world am I looking at? Each of the six ponies stared back at him with the same look, before each spoke up, all of them reacting frantically to the sight they saw before them. "What is that gruesome thing?!" Rarity spoke first. "I don't know Rarity," Applejack responded, "But that creature is definitely freaky looking!" The bipedal creature looked at her, obviously annoyed by what she just said. "Not him dear, his shoes!" Rarity replied, "His shoes are SO last year!" The creature looked at Rarity, even more annoyed than before. "Oh, that poor animal. It must be so scared and lost." Fluttershy said in a quiet, yet caring voice. The creature looked like it was on the verge of doing a "facehoof," yet instead of a hoof, it was a rather strange looking claw. "Ooh! I wonder if it likes parties!" Pinkie Pie said with a tone of voice that did not fit the situation. "Pinkie, now's not the time!" Rainbow Dash declared to her friend, "This thing is probably what the Princess was talking about! "You're right Rainbow Dash!" Twilight agreed, taking a defensive stance towards the creature, causing everypony else to do the same, with the exception of Fluttershy, "This has to be the cause of the intense surge of energy Princess Celestia felt!" Are they serious? Are they really going to fight me, even though I did nothing wrong? I'm feeling the love guys. Sonic thought to himself. He smirked, then started to stretch, before doing what he does best. Running circles around them. Before any of the ponies could do anything, Sonic ran around them multiple times, causing them to become dizzy and fall down. "What? Is that it? A few laps around you, and you're already dizzy?" Sonic taunted. "Eggman really needs to stop hiring other people to fight me, and just stick to making robots. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pay a visit to the doctor." And with that, Sonic dashed off through the path that the six ponies trekked through. "Ohh my head." Twilight said first, still slightly dizzy. "That thing is fast. I didn't even see him move!" "Yeah! He might even be faster than Rainbow Dash!" replied Pinkie, who was the first to fully recover. "What?!" Rainbow Dash said, obviously infuriated. "There's no way that thing could be faster than me! I'll show you that I'm the fastest thing in Equestria!" And with that, Rainbow Dash flew off after the bipedal creature, more eager to beat it in a race than to capture it for investigation. "Rainbow, wait!" Twilight began, but she knew that she couldn't stop her friend when she was already too far gone. "Uh, Twi?" Applejack began to ask Twilight. "Don't ya find it kinda odd that that blue critter could talk?" "I'm also concerned about this 'Eggman' fellow the creature mentioned." Rarity added. "I'm wondering that too. It seemed as if he thought we knew this Eggman..." Twilight answered. "Pinkie, what do you think?" but received no answer. "Pinkie? Pinkie!" *sigh* "She must've already gone ahead after them. Come on girls, let's go after them!" Twilight and her friends ran back down the path, with Fluttershy thinking, Oh, I hope that poor animal will be alright. It seems so lost, like it's not from this world. Those things sure are boring. I thought Eggman would send something that can at least last five seconds against me. I'd say he's losing his touch, but did he even have it in the first place? Sonic thought, chuckling to himself. "Get back here you copycat!" Sonic heard someone say. "Huh?" Sonic looked back, noticing that one of the ponies was catching up to him. "Well, this'll be more interesting than I thought it would be!" Sonic slowed down a little to let the pony come beside him. "Ha! Looks like I'm still the fastest!" the pony gloated, and sped ahead of Sonic. "Hey, not bad!" Sonic replied before jumping high into the air. The pony looked back, no longer seeing Sonic, before she felt a gust of wind above her, and looked up. "What the-" The pony began, before Sonic used a homing attack to dash towards her, and hit her with so much force that he smashed the pony to the ground. Sonic ran up to where she landed and mockingly asked, "What was that about being the fastest? It seems to me that I'm still the fastest thing alive!" "Ugh. Wha- what are you?" the pony asked, her pride hurt more than anything. "Heh." Sonic chuckled, remembering a time when he was once asked that same question, and answered it the same as last time, "What you see is what you get! Just a guy that loves adventure! I'm Sonic the Hedgehog!" "Rainbow Dash!" Sonic heard someone else yell. He turned around to see that the five other ponies had caught up to them while they were talking, and each of them looked either scared, angry, or a mixture of both. Sonic was about to get ready for another fight before the yellow pony stood between them. "WAIT!" the pony shouted, and then turned to Sonic and the blue pony, saying, "You don't have to run away you poor creature. I know you don't mean any harm, and," she turned toward the blue pony, "I know you were only defending yourself when Rainbow Dash chased after you." So that blue pony is named Rainbow Dash? Weird name, but that doesn't matter. Why is the yellow pony not attacking me? Well, I'm not complaining. I might as well introduce myself. Sonic thought. "Uh... thanks I guess. I'm glad that not everyone here jumps to conclusions. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. Nice to meet ya!" "It's nice to meet you too." the pony said with complete kindness. "My name is Fluttershy, and these," she pointed a hoof to the other four ponies, "are my friends." "It's, uh, nice to meet you Sonic." the purple pony introduced herself. "My name is Twilight Sparkle." "My name is Rarity," The white one started next, "and we need to make you new shoes, because the ones you're wearing don't match at all!" "Uh, that's not necessary. My shoes are fine." replied Sonic. "Oh, I insist!" Rarity replied. "Gosh darn it Rarity, can't ya see that he doesn't want new shoes?" the orange pony cut in, "I'm sorry, but sometimes she can't help but make clothes fer everypony. My name's Applejack! Nice to meet ya Pardner!" "And I'm Pinkie Pie, and let me be the first to welcome you to Ponyville, well, I'll welcome you to Ponyville when we get there, because we need to get out of the Everfree Forest first, but when we do, I'll throw you a welcome to Ponyville party! What do you say to that?" the pink pony fittingly named Pinkie Pie exclaimed in one breath. "Uh... okay, I guess." Sonic replied, walking back slowly from the hyperactive pony. "And I'm... uh... Rainbow Dash." Rainbow replied in a depressed tone. She's obviously hurt that I'm faster than her. Sonic thought, Maybe I can cheer her up. "Hey," Sonic began speaking to Rainbow Dash, "hey, don't be sad that you lost. You might not be faster than me, but you're still probably the fastest thing on this world." "This world?" Twilight Sparkle asked. "Yeah, I'm not from this world. Really, I'm not even from this dimension." Sonic answered. "Then you really were the cause of that energy surge Princess Celestia told us about!" Twilight replied. "Probably not. I guess you're really not with Eggman." said Sonic, "The energy surge you're talking about was probably caused by him. He's an evil scientist from my dimension that tries to take over my world, and is going to try and take over your world too now." "That's terrible! Why would he do such a thing?" Twilight asked. "I don't know. I keep forgetting to ask him after I kick his face in every time he tries to take over the world." Sonic answered. "If that's the case, then we need to tell Princess Celestia about this." Twilight said to nobody in particular. "We need to get back to Ponyville. Sonic," she turned to Sonic, "would you please come with us? The princess would probably like to hear about your world as well." "Well, I guess. As long as nobody else tries to attack me." Sonic joked. Twilight chuckled, "I'm sure they won't. They'll probably run around Ponyville, screaming their heads off." The group laughed, and started walking back to Ponyville, where Sonic's next adventure was really about to begin. > Robot Rush > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sonic and the ponies were jogging through the path out if the forest, questions still roaming in each of their minds. "So, uh, Sonic," Twilight asked with an uneasy expression, as she was still not used to seeing a giant talking hedgehog. "who is this Eggman you were talking about, and why did you think we worked for him?" "Dr. Eggman is an evil scientist with a big gut, and a mustache the size of his ego. I already told you that he's probably trying to take over this world right now, but I bet you want more information than that huh?" "That would be preferable, yes. Twilight replied. "Okay." Sonic replied with a smirk, "Where to start... oh I know! He kidnaps small woodland creatures to be power sources for his robots." "He does what?!" Fluttershy screamed in an unfitting pitch for one such as herself. "How could anypony do such a thing?!" "Well, he used to," Sonic replied, "Nowadays he just uses some other power source. I'm not sure what though. I'm not exactly a science guy. Tails probably knows." Sonic trailed off during the last sentence. "Anything else?" Twilight asked after a couple of seconds, looking concerned when he wouldn't continue. "Oh, sorry. Yeah, he also tries to take over the world using the seven Chao-" "We're here!" Pinkie yelled with a huge smile, interrupting Sonic. "Wha-? Pinkie, what are you-? ...Oh! You must mean we're out of the forest." Twilight responded, and, sure enough, they were out of the Everfree Forest, and were finally at Ponyville to see many familiar faces. The ponies saw Lyra, Big Macintosh, Bon-Bon, Ms. Cheerilee, a bunch of robots rushing the town... "Egg Pawns!" Sonic exclaimed when he saw the metallic beings. "Stand back everyone, I'll get 'em!" And with that, Sonic sped off after the incoming robot mob heading towards Ponyville. "Sonic, wait!" Twilight yelled after him, but for the second time in that day, he ran off too far for her call to reach him. Twilight got a good look at the robots, noticing their round bodies, and the weapons they each held in one hand. Some were lances, a weapon that some Canterlot guards used, and others had a strange device instead. When the citizens of Ponyville saw the incoming swarm of Egg Pawns, they all ran around screaming, hiding in their houses, and taking their doormats with them. Sonic was pumped, glad to finally be able to get some real action in this new world. "Alright Eggman, let's see what these robots can do!" The Egg Pawns in the front had guns to shoot the hedgehog with. They fired at him repeatedly, but he was too fast for their bullets to hit him. Sonic jumped up into the air, and let loose a homing attack on the Pawn first in line. He bounced off of it, turning it into a pile of scrap metal. Sonic continued to use the homing attack on many more robots in succession, pulling off stylish tricks in the air after bouncing off of each. Sonic then stomped on a small group of Egg Pawns, sending each a small distance away, breaking them. Sonic continued to use these two methods of attacking on the group, avoiding gun fire and swings from the lances, but some were getting past him, and started to rush the nearest buildings. "Uh-oh! Gotta speed up!" Sonic got ready, and preformed his signature sonic boost, breaking the sound barrier, and allowing him to ram into the robots rushing towards the buildings, utterly destroying them before they could reach a single house. Sonic stopped, almost on a dime, and turned back towards the rest of the rushing group, and boosted into them, knocking them all down like bowling pins. "Yeah! This is happening!" Sonic exclaimed with excitement as he smashed into the robots. He left one robot standing, and finished him off with a roundhouse kick to the face, sending it into the air. The head then landed in Sonic's palm, when he said, "Too easy! Piece of cake!" *BOOM* "What was that?!" Twilight yelled in fear. "I don't know darling, but it was terribly loud!" Rarity answered with her eyes almost as small as the eye of a needle. "Woo! Sonic sounds like he's having fun! Pinkie exclaimed, her smile growing ever larger. "I.. it k... kinda sounds l... like Rainbow's Sonic Rainboom." Applejack said shakily. "That was Sonic?! There's no way he could do that!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I'm the only one who can do that!" *BOOM* "It sounds like he did another." Twilight said more calmly after hearing the second one. "No way he's doing one! Nopony can do a Sonic Rainboom that much that quickly! It can't be true!" Rainbow said, scared to see the truth that she truly wasn't the fastest thing alive. When Twilight could see no more robots, she suggested, "Let's go into town and see what happened." The six walked to town, and looked at the carnage. They saw a bunch of scrap metal in piles, covering a large area. "Wow! That varmint sure can bust these dew-hickeys!" Applejack said in awe. "Where is that jerk! He's totally stealing my style!" Rainbow Dash said, her face showing even more anger than her voice gave off. "Yeah, where is Sonic?" Twilight repeated, ignoring Rainbow's anger. The six saw Sonic holding the decapitated head of one of the machines, talking to it. "You see what happens when you mess with innocent people? Maybe next time, you'll think twice before attacking a town, if you even get a next time." Sonic ended the speech by throwing the robot head behind his back. "Umm, Sonic, were you just talking to that thing?" Twilight asked with a face that said, Were you really doing something as stupid as that? "Err... maybe... But that's not the point. The point is that everyone's fine.", Sonic then turned to the buildings and yelled, "Hey, everyone! You can all come out now! The robots have been destroyed! Please, no applause, your safety is all that matters!", Sonic then lowered his voice slightly, "Well, maybe a little applause would be nice." The citizens of Ponyville opened their doors slightly, only to slam them shut again after seeing Sonic, screaming yet again. "Gee, thanks. I'm really feeling your appreciation." "They'll get used to you eventually." Twilight said to him. "I just hope that they'll get used to robot attacks. That mob of Egg Pawns is probably not going to be the last one to hit this place." Sonic replied with a concerned expression. "I hope you're wrong." Twilight shared his concern. "Oh well. Let me see if I can convince them to come out and thank you properly." "Sure." Sonic replied, and walked towards the other five ponies to chat while Twilight got the citizens out of hiding. "So, do you like the new decorations I made for the town?" he joked while waving a hand to the broken pieces of metal on the floor. "That's gonna need some cleanin' up." Applejack chuckled at the joke. "Heh. I could probably get that junk up and out of here faster than you can say-" "Spotlight stealer!" Rainbow interrupted, her face seething with rage. "I could've taken down those things in ten seconds flat! You just stole my thunder when I wasn't ready!" "What are you talking about?" Sonic asked, obviously annoyed. "You've never fought those things before! You could've gotten hurt! You all would've gotten hurt if I wasn't here to help you! And what do you mean by 'spotlight stealer'? You mean you were gonna destroy a bunch of robots that could shoot you out of the air? I really doubt it!" If looks could kill, Sonic would have blown through ten extra lives, plus a continue, because Rainbow Dash was looking at him with more anger than she's ever had before in her life. "That's it! You and me! A race! Right now!" "No way." Sonic replied, turning his back on her. "What?! Why not?!" "Because I don't feel like it." He replied in a voice that almost completely contrasted Rainbow's. "What's going on here?" an unfamiliar voice said. The voice actually belonging to Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. "What is this blue creature?" "Well, he's a-" Twilight walked up to them and began speaking, before being interrupted by the rest of the Ponyville citizens who finally came out from hiding. "What is that thing?" "Why is it blue?" "Does it eat ponies?" "Why is Rainbow Dash so angry at it?" "What's with its mane?" "Why are its eyes green? That looks terrible!" Sonic had enough of the questions, and decided to answer them all in his own way. "I have a name you know! Sonic's the name," Sonic began break-dancing, and after spinning a few times, he ended the dance with a back-flip, and gave a thumbs up to the crowd, "and speed's my game! I'm the fastest thing alive!" "Oh, I doubt that." Mayor Mare replied with a chuckle, "Rainbow Dash is the fastest. There's no question about it." "I can vouch for him." a voice familiar only to Sonic replied. "Trust me I've seen his speed firsthand plenty of times." "Well if it isn't Baldy McNosehair." Sonic said with a smirk. Dr. Eggman hovered above the crowd in his Eggmobile, scaring the crowd of ponies in the process. "How did you like your nap, hedgehog?" Eggman said with an evil grin. "I've had worse. What are you doing here Eggman, and what's your beef with the townsfolk?" "Oh, I have no problem with the townsfolk, just as long as they agree to bow down to me!" Eggman said, his grin becoming wider. "And what makes you think we're gonna do that?!" Rainbow Dash replied, and flew at his ship, only to be pushed back by its invisible force-field. "Because if that's the best you've got, then you really have no other choice than to do as I say!" "Hey McNosehair! Did you forget about me already?" Sonic yelled from behind Eggman, and boosted in the air into his Eggmobile, breaking the forcefield. "Ugh." Eggman groaned, as his ship had flipped multiple times, "You need to at least be as good as him to beat me." *urp* "By the way Sonic, I forgot to give you a present for your birthday." Eggman threw a sparkling green gem at Sonic, who caught it, looking completely baffled by Eggman's sudden generosity. "What's the deal Eggman? Why did you just give me an emerald?" "Because I need to put the blame on you. Happy belated birthday!" Eggman said before zooming off in his Eggmobile. "What did he mean by that? And why did he just hand me one of the emeralds?" Sonic wondered out loud. "Dear, if you don't want it, then I'll be glad to take it for you." Rarity said, her face lit up at the glimmer of the emerald. "No, I want the emerald. In fact, I really need it. But what does this all mean?" Sonic scratched his head in confusion. "Citizens of Ponyville! Do not be alarmed! I'm here to handle this!" an unknown voice yelled from above. "Princess Celestia! You're here!" Twilight said with excitement and happiness as the princess of Equestria flew down and landed by the crowd of ponies. All of Ponyville's citizens bowed down before the princess, and the only people still standing upright were the princess herself, and Sonic. "So, this place has a princess? I guess that makes sense for this kind of place." Sonic said with a serious face, not in anger, but respect. "Are you one of those creatures that recently attacked Ponyville?" Celestia asked, prepared to take action if she believed Sonic was hostile. "No, I'm the guy that saved this place. I'm Sonic the Hedgehog." "It's true, princess! He destroyed every single one of those things, and saved Ponyville!" Twilight vouched for him. "Hmm... In that case, you have my thanks, however, you are obviously not from this world." "Wow! Right on the first guess! How did you know?" Sonic replied grinning. "Because the energy that I felt is coming from you. More specifically, from that gem you're holding. What exactly is that gem?" "You can sense the energy of the emerald? That's strange. Anyway, this right here is a Chaos Emerald." "I knew it! I thought the energy felt familiar! It's energy given off by chaos!" Celestia exclaimed, her stance returning to a defensive one. But why then, does it feel so different at the same time? she thought. "Heh. Don't jump to conclusions now." Sonic chuckled, "The Chaos Emeralds aren't evil." "There's more than one?!" Celestia asked, her face in shock. "Yep. There's seven in all, and depending on who's holding them, they can either save the world, or destroy it." Everyone gasped in fear at the last bit. "The fat guy with the ugly mustache is called Doctor Eggman," Sonic turned to say to the crowd of frightened citizens, "and he's tried countless times to take over my world using the Chaos Emeralds. Each attempt proved to be deadlier than the last, but as many times as he used them for his evil plans," Sonic wagged his index finger, "I've used them to stop them." "Hmm... I can tell that you are a great hero from your world. Nevertheless, I can't allow these emeralds to be very close to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony." "The what's of what?" Sonic asked, puzzled. "The Elements of Harmony are six objects that keep order in Equestria. They are made up of kindness, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, and magic. Twilight and her friends bear the Elements, and they have used them twice before. The Elements were once used on a being named Discord, who tried to plunge Equestria into total chaos. This is why I am apprehensive of the Chaos Emeralds. I do not doubt the possibility that they were used for good, but I cannot take the risk of the chance that they could corrupt Twilight and her friends, or even destroying the Elements themselves. I'm sorry. I hope you understand." Celestia explained. "No problem. I can go and look for the emeralds myself, besides, these six would be in danger if they went with me anyway. Eggman's probably sending his robots to search for the emeralds, and I doubt that they could fight them." "I'm glad you understand. I will try to help you look for them to the best of my abilities." "Thanks, and if you see anything else out of the ordinary, call me fast, and I'll respond faster." Sonic ended with a thumbs up to Celestia. "I will. Now about a place for you to stay, I believe that my student Twilight may have room at her house for you to live in during your stay in Equestria. I'm sure that she and the other bearers of the elements will be fine as long as they don't interact with the emeralds." "Thanks Princess!" Sonic responded gratefully. After that, Princess Celestia flew back towards her palace in Canterlot. "So, it looks like you'll be staying with me." Twilight started after the princess left. "Looks like it." Sonic smiled at her, "So, where do you live anyway?" "I'll take you there. We need to go there right now anyway." Twilight answered. "Why's that?" "You'll see." Twilight said with a small smile on her face. Sonic followed Twilight to her house, and entered it to find a huge party starting, with Pinkie Pie coming out of the door to greet Sonic, who was the guest of honor. "Hiya Sonic! This is your welcome to Ponyville party, and your thanks for saving the town party at the same time! Were you surprised? Were you? Were you? Huh? Huh? Huh?" Pinkie said, extremely overenthusiastic. "Uhh... Yeah. I was." Sonic backed away from the hyperactive pink pony, 'Weren't you with us outside?" Sonic asked, but Pinkie ignored him, and pulled him and the rest of the ponies into the house, truly beginning the party. "I've learned not to question Pinkie Pie." Twilight answered to Sonic. "Well, can't say I haven't seen weirder. Where's the cake at?" Sonic said, getting into the partying mood. Meanwhile, Doctor Eggman watches the party on his surveillance monitor in the safety of his hidden ship, the Egg Carrier Mk. 3, seething with anger. "Darn it all! My plan should've been a success! The princess should've locked that hedgehog up when she saw the Chaos Emerald! Instead, she's all buddy-buddy with him! I gave him a Chaos Emerald for nothing!" "Well, next time you'll know not to do that." a red, orb-shaped robot replied to him. "Grr... Shut up Orbot!" Eggman said, punching the robot across the room. "Oww. Why did you build me with pain sensors?" Orbot asked. "For when you backtalk me like that." Eggman replied, his anger rising. "Now, now, sir, you shouldn't get so angry. You can just think of another plan. We can still find the rest of the emeralds." "Hmm... Yes, that's correct. Very well. Send in the Badnick squads to search for the remaining six emeralds." "Right away sir!" and with that, Orbot left the room. "You may have won them over, hedgehog, but don't think that you can win so easily this time. I have big plans for the emeralds, and whether I find them first, or you do, I'm sure to win anyway. Muahahahaha! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" > Island in the Heavens > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Before Eggman's machine teleported Sonic to Equestria, Sonic's friends were doing their normal routines. Knuckles guarded the Master Emerald, as always, on the floating island named Angel Island. Angel Island floated, not in the ocean, but in the air, thanks to the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald was an ancient gemstone that had the power to neutralize the power of the Chaos Emeralds. It was Knuckles' duty to guard the Master Emerald with his life. If the Master Emerald were to be taken off of Angel Island, or broken into pieces, the island would fall into the ocean. Knuckles has been guarding the Master Emerald for his entire life, but it has been stolen and broken many times before. Knuckles was sitting by the shrine of the Master Emerald, his eyes closed, but he was wide awake. He was thinking to himself, wondering about his life's purpose, thinking about the times when he could leave the island and enjoy himself. I keep thinking, why was I given this job, this duty, to guard the Master Emerald? Ever since I was born, I've had to guard the emerald, not having a clue about the outside world. That first time when Dr. Eggman stole the Master Emerald was the turning point in my life. Ever since Sonic helped me save the emerald, as well as Angel Island, he and I have been great friends. Ever since then, I've been on many adventures around the world. The adventuring life is great, but my duty still takes top priority. I must keep the Master Emerald safe, no matter what. It wasn't too long ago when I left the island to go to Sonic's birthday party. The party itself was extremely fun, and I had a great time, not having to worry about the Master Emerald. Too bad Eggman decided to ruin it. Oh well. I had fun anyway, but after being frozen in time and space, I'm glad to be back home guarding the Master Emerald. Suddenly, the Master Emerald radiated energy, as if it was calling Knuckles. Knuckles, who is able to sense the Master Emerald's energy, quickly opened his eyes, got up, and ran to the Master Emerald. "What's going on? What is the Master Emerald doing?" The Master Emerald glowed for a bit, before showing an image inside of it. The image showed the seven Chaos Emeralds sitting next to five necklaces with bizarre images on them, and one crown with yet another strange image. "What in the world is happening? ! The Chaos Emeralds!" Knuckles pulled out a grey emerald, remembering that he found it on the island when he returned from Sonic's birthday party. "What does this mean?" Just then, a bright light shone in the distance. The light grew in size and brightness, and when Knuckles finally noticed it, he and the entire island were engulfed in the light. The entire floating island was gone. Knuckles woke up, his head throbbing in pain. He looked around, noticing that he was still on the island. "The Master Emerald! I need to check if it's alright!" Knuckles ran towards the shrine of the Master Emerald, and found it sitting in it's altar, as usual. "I don't know what just happened, but I do know that I must protect the Master Emerald," Knuckles stood by the Master Emerald, curling his fists, "now more than ever!" Back to the present, Sonic and the ponies had finished the party, and everyone but Sonic, Twilight and her friends left. "That was some party, Pinkie!" Sonic said, a smile on his face. The ponies returned the smile, put Pinkie's was as huge as ever. "Thanks Sonic! It's the least I could do for someone new to Ponyville!" Pinkie replied. "It's too bad you really need that emerald," Spike said, already acquainted with Sonic during the party, "I sure could go for a nice, tasty gem right about now." "Heh. Sorry pal. This is too important. Hey, maybe I could bring you some normal gems that I might find while searching for the rest of the emeralds." "Really! That'd be great! Thanks!" Spike said, already becoming great friends with the new guy. "This'll be grea- urp. Ooh." "Sonic, back up!" Twilight quickly stated. Sonic jumped back before Spike burped flames, a letter appearing from them. "Uhh..." Sonic started, clearly freaked out about what just happened. "That's how I receive letters from Princess Celestia" Twilight answered his unasked question. "But... how in the- You know what? Nevermind." Sonic managed to say, dumbfounded. "I wonder what the princess is writing to me for this soon?" Twilight wondered out loud. She opened the letter and started to read. My faithful student... "Princess Celestia!" a royal guard came into the throne room yelling. Princess Celestia knew that something was wrong, and feared for what might be happening. "What is the problem?" Celestia asked. "The royal guards have discovered an unknown island over the nearby ocean in the east!" Princess Celestia calmed down at that, and calmly told the guard, "What is so urgent about an island in the ocean? It does no harm to Equestria, and is certainly not a big deal." "No your highness, the island isn't in the ocean, it's floating above the ocean! In the air!" the guard replied. "In the air?!" That's not possible. I must see for myself." Celestia teleported to her lookout, where she focused to the direction where the guard said the island was at. Sure enough, Celestia found the island, floating above the ocean. "Whatever this is, it must have something to do with Sonic or his world. I must contact Twilight Sparkle and inform her and Sonic about the floating island." Celestia teleported back to her throne room, and proceeded to write a letter to Twilight. I can only conclude that this island must come from Sonic's world, and that the island be investigated. Sonic may know more about this island, so he may be able to give you more information about it. If you would, please investigate this island. I will send a carriage for you all to go there. I wish you the best of luck. "Sonic, do you know anything about this?" Twilight said after she finished reading the letter to the group. "Yeah. That's Angle Island. One of my friends lives there, but I don't know why the island was brought to this world. Me and Eggman were nowhere near it when he took us to this world, so why is it here?" Sonic wondered, his confusion from previous events that day steadily rising. "I need to go there and check it out. I guess you all have to go too, seeing as how your princess wants you to." "Miss Twilight Sparkle, the princess has asked us to take you and your friends to the newly discovered floating island. Please get ready swiftly, so that we may leave for the island." a voice said from outside of the front door. "Well, everypony ready?" Twilight asked the group. "You bet!" they answered in unison. "Alright everypony, let's go!" Twilight opened the door, and the group exited to the carriage. Sonic entered the carriage last, and stood up in his seat, rather than sitting down. "Sir, we request that you sit down during the flight so that you will not fall of." one of the carriage pullers explained. "Don't worry about it. I'll be fine, I'm used to this. Just go. We need to get to the island as fast as we can!" Sonic replied. The carriage pullers flapped their wings, and took off towards the island. Sonic couldn't help but wonder about his friends during the trip. I wonder... If Angel Island is here, does that mean Knuckles is here too? In that case, is Tails here? Are the rest of my friends here? I guess I'll find out as time goes on. Still, this isn't right. When me and Tails were taken to Blaze's dimension, nothing else from our world was taken there too. Only me, Tails, and the Chaos Emeralds were taken there. The same thing goes for when Blaze was taken to our dimension. Why is it that Angel Island came to this world? Could it have something to do with the emeralds? Maybe even with the Master Emerald... "We've arrived." a carriage puller interrupted Sonic's thoughts. Sonic noticed that they were, indeed, on the island. "Thanks for the ride guys." Sonic said to the pullers, jumping out of the carriage. "Come on everyone, I'll lead the way to someplace important on the island. It's not too far from here." Sonic ran toward what he knew as the path to the shrine of the Master Emerald, where he hoped Knuckles would be. The six ponies followed Sonic through a cave, where they noticed a door made of ice, and a pedestal with a blue key-like object inside of it. Through the door was a hall filled with ice. Twilight wondered how only that room was covered in ice, and not the rest of the surrounding area. Twilight shook the thought away as they reached the end of the cave, and arrived outside, where they saw another floating island, this one smaller than the rest of the island, with a bridge connecting it to the main island. Sonic rushed towards the small island, with the ponies running after him. They managed to cross the bridge to a ruined altar. Seven broken pillars surrounded a center shrine, where a giant emerald shone bright. Next to the emerald was a red figure that looked similar to Sonic in form. "Hey, Knuckles! Glad to see you're okay!" Sonic yelled to the red figure. The figure jumped down to Sonic, and greeted him. "I was wondering when you'd show up. The Master Emerald has been acting odd, and I feel like something strange is going on. The island is the same, but I feel like the rest of the world isn't. Sonic, do you know what's going on?" "I sure do," Sonic pulled Knuckles away from the shrine to explain the situation. While Sonic talked to Knuckles, Rarity decided to take a closer look at the giant emerald. "Oh my! Such a huge hunk of an emerald! It just doesn't fit here in this dreadful place! I'll have to take it home with me, where it will fit in much better. It's too big to carry on it's own, so I'll just break it into equally-sized pieces, and take them home with me." Rarity levitated the emerald into the air, and used her magic to try and break it into pieces. "So, let me get this straight, Eggman teleported us into a new dimension full of multicolored talking ponies?" Knuckles asked Sonic. "Yep, and now that you're here, we can look for the emeralds together." Sonic replied. "Sorry Sonic," Knuckles turned back to the altar, "but I need to protect- THE MASTER EMERALD!!!" Knuckles noticed Rarity levitating the emerald into the air. He ran towards her to try and stop her, but when he got close... *SMASH* The Master Emerald was shattered into pieces, and each piece flew across the planet, as it did so twice before. "Oh my! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Rarity exclaimed in shock. "You! YOU! I'M GONNA-" Knuckles started to rage at Rarity, before the island began to shake. "Oh no! Without the Master Emerald, the island will fall into the ocean!" Knuckles exclaimed. "Knuckles, you can glide off the island. Follow us to a big tree. We'll talk there!" Sonic yelled to his friend. "As for you six," Sonic quickly turned to the ponies, "we need to get you back to the carriage! Let's speed up!" Sonic then picked all six ponies up in a rather goofy looking way, but he managed to get them all to the carriage in record time, and got each of them on, jumping on last. The pullers flew off the island quickly, before it fell into the ocean with a huge splash. The carriage flew to Twilight's house, with Knuckles gliding behind them. When they landed, the group of seven jumped out, and the pullers flew back to Canterlot. Knuckles landed right beside them, fully engulfed in rage. "You idiot!" Knuckles yelled at Rarity, "You shattered the emerald into pieces! Count yourself lucky that I can sense the pieces, and that I can restore the Master Emerald as well, otherwise, I'd bury you alive!" "Come on, Knuckles, she didn't know." Sonic tried to calm down his friend. "Too bad! She should know better than to try and steal a giant gem that obviously belongs to someone! Unless you want me even angrier, I suggest you just leave me alone, so that I can find the pieces of the Master Emerald." "I can help Knuckles. We can work together to find them!" "Sorry Sonic, but only I can sense the Master Emerald. Only I could find them. I'll have to do this on my own." Knuckles said, calming down. "Okay then. Good luck." "Thanks, and Sonic, take this!" Knuckles threw the Chaos Emerald that he had to Sonic, who caught it with ease. "Thanks Knuckles! Call me if you find any more!" Sonic called to Knuckles, who started to run off, looking for the Master Emerald shards. "Sure thing." Knuckles replied, before he was too far to be seen. "What a brute!" Rarity said when he was gone. She received many frowns at that statement, to which she replied, "What? He is." "Ugh, nevermind. It's getting late." Twilight replied as she looked at the sky. "Sonic needs to rest up if he's going to search for the Chaos Emeralds." "Yeah." Sonic agreed, "I'll see you all in the morning before I leave, okay?" "Sure." Twilight's friends replied. They bid each other a good night, and headed towards their own homes. Twilight and Sonic entered Twilight's house, and got ready to sleep. Twilight offered her spare bed for Sonic to sleep on, which he gratefully took. They all got a good night's sleep to prepare them for the next day. > Rival(?) Battle: Rainbow Dash > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editor's Note: Sorry this took so long. I've been busy with the rest of my life, and I haven't really been interested in writing. I'm still going to take a while with this, as I'm planning on including some of the upcoming episodes into the story. But, without further ado, let's continue on with the story. Sonic woke up feeling much more refreshed than when he woke up in the strange shrine. When he checked around the room, he noticed that Twilight and Spike were still asleep. Not wanting to wake them up, Sonic quietly walked downstairs and out the door, before speeding off wherever he felt like going. He planned on exploring the area around Ponyville, but not straying far from it, as he had promised to tell Twilight and her friends that he would be leaving for a while to find the next Chaos Emerald. He first explored the town, which was still covered in scrap metal after the beat down Sonic gave the robots. Nobody was out of their homes, and it seemed as if everyone in town was asleep. What Sonic did not notice was a small cloud floating behind him, and chasing him wherever he ran. What was piloting the cloud was none other than Rainbow Dash, who was still angry at Sonic for not only stealing her style, but also denying her a race. "That coward knows that I'm faster than him!" she whispered to herself, " I bet he's not even a real hero. He's just making up stories! Let's see how cool he acts after a little shock!" With that, Rainbow Dash struck the cloud with considerable force, causing a huge lightning bolt to form, and fire at the seemingly unsuspecting hedgehog. The loud noise that also erupted from the cloud alerted Sonic, and woke up every citizen in town. "What the-!" Sonic yelled, looking back just in time to see a lightning bolt heading towards him. Sonic quickly sidestepped to the right to avoid the bolt. He stopped running, and turned around to mock the failed attempt of an attack. "Alright, who had the bight idea to try and attack the fastest thing alive?" Who he saw was both surprising, yet not surprising at the same time. "What's your problem?! I thought we were all friends here?!" Sonic asked Rainbow. "My problem is you! You're too chicken to race me, because you know I'll win!" Rainbow replied with yet another angry look on her face. "So because I don't want to race you, you decide to attack me?!" "Yeah, because you're too much of a chicken to do anything about it, let alone race the real fastest thing alive!" "If that's how you're gonna be, then fine! Come down here and we'll race! I'll even let you decide the racetrack." By now, everyone was fully awake, and circled around the two, wondering what was happening, including all of Sonic's new friends. "Sonic, Rainbow Dash, what are you two doing?" Twilight asked them, still a bit tired. "I'm about to beat this spotlight stealer in a race!" Rainbow smugly replied. "Twilight, is she normally like this?" Sonic asked. "Well, sort of, but not usually to this extent." "Well I feel so special that I'm being treated with enough attention to have a lightning bolt thrown at me!" "What?!" Twilight gasped in shock, "Rainbow, is this true?!" "Yeah! How else would I get him to race with me?" "You could've tried asking me nicely at first instead of yelling in my face, demanding that I race you, then throwing a lightning bolt at me when I wouldn't!" Sonic sarcastically answered her question. "Whatever. You and I are going to race through the path of the Running of the Leaves! The path is still set from the recent race!" "I don't know what the Running of the Leaves is, but whatever. I'll beat you in this race, and maybe then you'll have some common sense." All of the citizens, plus the two racers went to the starting point of the Running of the Leaves track. Most of the ponies were rooting for Rainbow to win, but Twilight and her friends were wondering what was up with Rainbow Dash. "This is really weird." Twilight pondered, "Rainbow wouldn't go as far as assaulting somepony who she wanted to race with, right?" "I don't know Twilight." Applejack responded, "She certainly loves boasting about her speed. I makes sense that she'd try whatever it would take to race somepony who says their faster than her." "Oh dear. I hope those two will be okay." Fluttershy said, but was unheard thanks to the roaring crowd, and Pinkie Pie's sudden announcing over a microphone. "Fillies, and gentlecolts, I give you the most epicest of epic races you've ever seen occur since the Running of the Leaves Race between Applejack and Rainbow Dash! Get ready to see the latter mentioned pony, ready for a one-on-one race with her newest competitor, the tall, the blue, the new guy in town, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Pinkie yelled to the crowd in a hot air balloon. The crowd went wild, cheering for Rainbow Dash, as she and Sonic got ready for the race to begin. "On your marks... get set..." "GO!" The two racers sped off into the woods, both of them going at the same speed. "Get ready to cry, spotlight stealer." Rainbow Dash said with a cocky tone. "Now, how could I steal a spotlight that was meant for me in the first place?" Sonic replied with a smirk. Rainbow Dash frowned at that, expecting him to lose his cool. "Whatever! You'll see who it was meant for once I win!" she replied angrily, and then sped off ahead, thinking that she had seized victory from that moment, when suddenly a voice on her right said... "Not a bad looking forest. What's with all of these leaves on the ground though? Is it Fall? It's not even that cold out here." Rainbow Dash looked to her right to see Sonic running beside her like before, with a smug grin that made Rainbow Dash even angrier. "See if you can keep up with me after I go faster than this!" she said confidently. She flapped her wings even faster, and once again, dashed ahead, but Sonic just as easily caught up with her once more, faking a yawn when he got beside her again. "Grr! What's with you?! How are you able to keep up with me?!" "Wow, you really don't listen well, do you? If you don't pay attention the first time, then I won't explain a second time. You'll just have to be left in the dark." Sonic replied, mocking her as he usually does his enemies. "And you'll be left in the dust, because this race will be over when I do a sonic rainboom!" Rainbow boasted with a confident look. "Really now? We'll see about that." Rainbow Dash flapped her wings as fast as she could, causing a cone to surround her. In a few seconds, she boosted ahead one last time, creating a sonic rainboom, which caused Sonic to get pumped, and finally get into this race. "Yeah! Now we're talking! Here we... GO!" Sonic yelled, and preformed his signature sonic boost, breaking the sound barrier with no effort. He easily caught up to Rainbow Dash, and was neck-and-neck with her on a straight path to the finish line. "WHAT?! HOW DID YOU CATCH UP TO ME?!" Rainbow asked Sonic once more, an exasperated, worn-out look on her face. "I know I said I wouldn't explain again if you didn't listen the first time, but I'll make an exception for you." Sonic replied, looking as energized as when the race started, "I'm the fastest thing alive, and you just lost this race!" Sonic sped ahead of Rainbow Dash this time, as he crossed the finish line seconds before she did. "Wha... How... Why..." Rainbow Dash tried to speak, but couldn't, due to her being out of breath from flying so fast, and the fact that she lost a race at full speed. "Nopony is that fast!" The crowd, after being silent due to Sonic actually winning the race, finally came back to their senses, and agreed with Rainbow Dash. "Well, you never said anything about hedgehogs." Sonic replied with a grin, not even tired from running. "No... No! No! No! How could I lose?! I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria! I can't lose! I just can't!" Rainbow screamed, and flew off to her home. "Hey, will she be alright?" Sonic asked Twilight, concerned for Rainbow Dash. "She'll get over it eventually. I can't believe you actually won! How were you able to go that fast without wings?" she replied. "I was just born like this. It's not that big of a deal." "Considering you beat Rainbow, I'd say that is a mighty-fine big deal." Applejack spoke up. Sonic just smirked at this, and turned to wave to the crowd... only to discover that they were only interested in Rainbow Dash winning the race, and left after she did. "Gee, this sure is a great morning so far." Sonic said sarcastically. "Oh, that's right! We were going to send you off this morning so you can go find the Chaos Emeralds." Twilight remembered. So sonic and the five ponies bid farewell for now, as Sonic used the emerald he acquired from Knuckles to search for the next one. Little did he know that he would be returning to the most dangerous forest in Equestria: The Everfree Forest. > Chaotic Duel > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Alright, time to find the next emerald." Sonic said to himself. "Hmm... It looks like I'm heading," Sonic looked towards the forest that he woke up in, "back into the forest." Sonic dashed off, following the trail leading through the forest. When he got deep into the forest, he noticed some familiar robots that were attached to some of the trees. Robots that he didn't see a few seconds ago, and were shooting orbs of energy at him. "Huh. These guys? C'mon Eggman. Don't you have something new for me to fight? Why have you been going back to badniks recently?" Sonic questioned, faking a yawn before jumping and dashing towards each of the badniks, destroying them in the process. "Alright, who's next?" As if on cue, warthog-like badniks appeared from behind a nearby bush, and charged at Sonic. Sonic jumped before they could hit him, and landed on one of them, destroying it as he bounced off of it. Using that bounce, he aimed at the second one, and jumped off of it, causing it to explode as well. "Round three anyone?" Sonic said with a smirk. Once more another set of badniks appeared, these ones having the shape of monkeys, and each of them holding a bomb in their hand. "Now it gets interesting!" Sonic said, as each monkey threw their bombs at him. Moving swiftly, Sonic picked up each bomb, and threw them back at the monkeys, blowing them up as the bombs reached them. "Or, maybe it doesn't get interesting. Thanks for proving me wrong guys." After waiting a few seconds to see if any more badniks would appear, which they didn't, Sonic pulled out one of the emeralds to see how far he was from the next one. He was still a bit far from it, and was about to continue his trek through the forest, when something in the pile of badnik scrap caught his eye. He went over to see what it was, and saw that it was a shard from the Master Emerald. That robot must have thought it was a Chaos Emerald, and picked it up to take to Eggman. I've got to find Knuckles. Sonic thought to himself. Knuckles himself was busy searching for the shards of the Master Emerald himself, but to no avail. If only that horse didn't destroy the Master Emerald, I wouldn't be in this mess. Knuckles thought to himself, his anger steadily rising. I have no knowledge of this world, so finding the shards will be more difficult than it should be. I never asked for this. I just want to return to my island. Knuckles let out a sigh, and stared at the direction he came from; A mountainous region near the town of Ponyville. He then turned to the direction he was heading; A forest beside the mountains. Knuckles let out another sigh before running off into the forest, hoping that he would finally find even one piece of the Master Emerald, just to give him hope. Almost as soon as he entered the forest, he felt the familiar energy that radiated from the Master Emerald. "Finally, something to look forward to!" Knuckles said with relief, as he dashed towards the source of the energy. When he reached it, he looked around him, and saw nothing on the ground. He looked up at the closest tree to find a shard wedged into it high up. Knuckles climbed the tree, and punched the surrounding area where the shard was lodged into, allowing him to pull it out with ease. "Alright, one down," Knuckles jumped off onto the ground, a satisfied look on his face, "a bunch to go." Almost immediately after landing, Knuckles felt the presence of another shard nearby, this one getting closer to him. "Looks like my luck is changing for the better." Knuckles readied himself for anything that could happen, which turned out to be a few badniks in the shape of wasps. "One of the shards must be in one of them. I'll have to bust them all open to find it." Knuckles said as he charged at them, fist raised. The buzzer badniks all fired at him at once. Knuckles jumped into the air to dodge the easily avoidable projectiles, and used his gliding technique to ram into most of the badniks, fists first. With their numbers diminished to only two, they turned around to try and fly away from Knuckles, but were too late, as he had already charged at them to punch them to the ground, blowing them up. Knuckles searched the piles of metal to find his second shard of the Master Emerald. "Alright. If we can keep this winning streak going, we can end this search in no time." Knuckles said with confidence. Knuckles could no longer sense any shards, so he decided to go deeper into the forest to try and find another. This is odd. Knuckles thought. Forests as large as this should have some sort of wildlife, but I don't see any. I guess Eggman's robots must have scared them into hiding. Knuckles was so lost in thought, that he didn't notice the faint sense of energy from a nearby shard. It wasn't until he got closer that he finally noticed it. "A third shard already! It's like they're just being handed to me at this point!" he said with anticipation. He ran to the source of energy to find Sonic looking over a pile of metal in thought. He sensed that the energy from a shard was coming from him, and he saw one right in his hand. "Hey, Sonic!" he yelled to him. Sonic turned to face him, breaking away from his thoughts, and smiled at his friend. "Hey Knuckles! I was just about to go looking for you." said Sonic. "Let me guess. To give me that Master Emerald shard?" Knuckles questioned. "What do you know. He actually learned to ask first, and not throw punches this time." Sonic said with a taunting smirk. "Ha ha. Very funny. You still won't let that slide?" Knuckles asked, irritated. "That was the second time, almost in a row, that Eggman fooled you. What reason would I have for taking the Master Emerald shards anyway when I helped save it, and you, from Eggman and his robots twice?" Sonic questioned Knuckles' logic. "Just shut up and hand me that shard." Knuckles cut in, his irritation growing. "Whatever. Catch." Sonic threw the shard at Knuckles who just barely managed to keep hold of it. "Thanks. Is that the only one you had?" "Yeah. If I ever find any more, I'll try and find you." "Thanks. I'll see you later." Knuckles turned to search for the rest of the shards before Sonic stopped him. "Wait Knuckles. Have you seen a Chaos Emerald around here?" he questioned. "No. Sorry." "Hold on, Knuckles. I helped you out, so how about you help me?" Sonic pointed out. "I'm grateful that you gave me the shard, but I need to look for the rest. You need to search for the Chaos Emeralds on your own." Knuckles replied bluntly, and tried to leave again, before Sonic ran in front of him. "Come on, Knuckles! You know as well as I do, that we need the Chaos Emeralds as much as we need the Master Emerald. I told you Eggman used them to send us here, and we need them to get back!" "Hm... You do have a good point." Knuckles thought about whether or not he should help Sonic. "Alright, I'll help you out. Besides, I might find more of the Master Emerald shards." "Glad to have your help, pal!" said Sonic, giving his friend a high-five. "Let's see where the next emerald could be." Sonic pulled out an emerald, and saw that its glow, that was once shining a tad brightly, was now very faint. "What the-? What happened to the next emerald? It just got further away!" "From what I can tell, someone or something has it, and it's traveling through the forest, and I doubt it's a forest animal, because I haven't seen one animal in this entire forest. Only Eggman's robots." Knuckles tried to figure out why the next emerald moved away from Sonic's location. "You too? You think it might be Eggman?" "It could be. The only way to find out is to catch up to it." "You're right. Let's go!" And Sonic and Knuckles dashed off to locate the next emerald. Little did they know, that the emerald was not held by Eggman, but rather, a pony. A pony who was on her way to Ponyville for revenge. Meanwhile, in Ponyville, Twilight was practicing her levitation spell on Fluttershy's animals, much to the latter's dismay. She used her magic to fly the animals around in the sky with grace, and slowly eased them towards the ground, where they showed clear enjoyment from the ride, wanting to go again. "That's all for now, little ones." said Twilight, worn-out by the extensive use of magic. "Maybe we can practice again later, if Fluttershy says it's alright." looking at her friend, as the animals ran to Fluttershy to supposedly ask for another go, however, Fluttershy was busy shielding her eyes from what she believed to be a terrible occurrence. "Your magic has really improved since we came to Ponyville, Twilight!" Spike said, noting her amazing magic. "Princess Celestia's gonna love it!" "Thanks, Spike. I have to be at my best when she arrives with the delegates from Saddle Arabia. I can't believe she's trusting me with the entertainment!" Twilight said with anticipation. Suddenly, a rainbow blur charges into Twilight, showing itself to be Rainbow Dash, who wasted no time in explaining to Twilight about trouble in town, all with an extremely worried look on her face. "Twilight, come quick, it's an emergency!" she practically yelled to Twilight. Twilight, Spike, and Rainbow Dash arrived in the middle of town to see Rarity, fainted and being carried by Applejack, with Pinkie Pie following them, a worried look shared between her and Applejack, as well as the entirety of Ponyville. "What's going on here?" Twilight asked, puzzled. "Well, well, well. I it isn't," a cloaked pony began, before removing her hood to reveal somepony familiar to the town of Ponyville, "Twilight Sparkle." Twilight and the entire town gasped. "Trixie!" She said, her face changing to anger. "What's she doing here?" Spike added, also with the face of one who is enraged. (What did I just write?) Rainbow Dash flew towards the antagonistic pony, saying, "You call that 'great and powerful'? Trixie's simply stood still and used her magic to enlarge one of Rainbow Dash's wings, causing her to flutter off uncontrollably. The crowd ran from the unstable Rainbow Dash, except for two young unicorn children who enjoyed the show Trixie gave them; That is, until Trixie turned to them, and unleashed her magic on them, causing them to be fused together by their horns. The two ran off as Twilight turned to Trixie, furious at her actions. "Stop picking on my friends, Trixie!" she said. "You and I have some unfinished business." Trixie said in a boastful voice, "My magic's gotten better since I was here last, and I'm going to prove it; Me and you; A magic duel. Winner stays, loser leaves Ponyville. Forever!" "Forget it." Twilight replied. "I'd never make a deal like that!" Twilight turned to walk away, when Trixie levitated Spike, and turned him into a living basketball to bait Twilight into dueling her. Not feeling it was enough, she ripped Pinkie's mouth off, and turned Twilight's house over until she agreed to duel Trixie. This turned out to be a hopeless effort, as for each magic spell Twilight conjured, Trixie would use a more powerful one, without even breaking a sweat, until she pulled off an age spell; A most difficult magical task, that not even Twilight could do, causing her to lose the duel. With an evil laugh, Trixie threw Twilight out of town, and created a giant glass dome to cover it, making sure nothing could get in, or out. Twilight ran towards the Everfree Forest, hoping to find a way to set things right. Meanwhile, Sonic and Knuckles were running through the forest in the direction that the Chaos Emerald was leading to. During their trek, they came across a rather large, heavily-armored robot. Sonic looked to Knuckles, who looked at him and nodded. Sonic then charged a spindash, only for Knuckles to jump above him. As Knuckles got close, Sonic let loose, and charged Knuckles high into the air, who dive-bombed the robot fists-first, tearing through it's armor, and completely destroying it. "Nice one, Knuckles!" Sonic smiled at his friend, and gave him a thumbs up. Knuckles returned the gesture, and said, "Thanks. Let's keep moving, though. We don't want to lose that emerald!" Before they continued, they were stopped by a zebra speaking in rhymes. "Stop right now, for I must speak. The forest today is looking bleak. You destroyed that machine. I'm very happy, But are you with, or against, my friends and me?" "Uh..." Sonic tried to find the right words to react to what he just heard, but Knuckles spoke before he could respond properly. "I'm Knuckles, and this is Sonic. We aren't any enemies of yours. We're just passing through." "Yeah. Have you seen anyone with a glowing gem like this?" Sonic followed, showing the zebra the Chaos Emerald. "Yes. I have seen one like it pass by. It's holder ran faster than I could ever try. It was placed in a necklace, and felt powerful. Evil actions will occur; of that, I'm not doubtful. It's holder ran to Ponyville. It's not too far from here. I'll lead you there, for the forest has much to fear." "Uh... thanks." Sonic managed a second word this time, as they followed her through the forest. "Before we leave, we must stop at my hut. I must care for some things, so it may be in a rut." "It better not take long." Knuckles replied. "We really need to get that other emerald. Twilight was bust practicing the age spell on a flower, but failed to keep it as a bud. "It's impossible!" she said in anger, "How could Trixie know such advanced magic? Without Spike, I can't get a message to the princess in Saddle Arabia, so who else do I know, who understands strange and powerful magic?" After saying this, Twilight got an idea, and took off to her friend Zecora. When she arrived, she saw Zecora with Sonic and Knuckles, who were getting ready to go as Twilight came in. "Oh! Sonic! And... Knuckles, right?" Knuckles nodded at her, and Sonic said, "What's going on, Twilight? You look kinda distressed." Twilight told the three about what happened in Ponyvile, causing herself and Zecora to discuss a way to beat her, as Sonic and Knuckles listened intently. When neither of them could find a way to beat Trixie, Sonic thought of a similarity between Trixie and the cloaked figure that Zecora saw while in the forest. "Hey, Twilight, was this Trixie wearing an amulet with a gem in it?" he asked her. "Come to think of it, yes she did! A red one." "That must be the same pony as the one holding the Chaos Emerald!" Sonic exclaimed. "Zecora, can you take us to Ponyville right now? I know how Twilight can beat her, AND how we can get the Chaos Emerald!" Zecora nodded, and the group quickly left the hut, and ran towards Ponyville. When they arrived, they saw that a dome was indeed surrounding the town. Knuckles and Sonic both tried to destroy the dome, but merely bounced off of it. "It's no use. I don't think the dome will break, you two!" said Twilight, her hope fleeting. "If we can't go through it, then I guess we'll just have to go under it!" Knuckles replied as he pulled out his shovel claws. He then dug a pathway under the dome, as Sonic, Twilight, and Zecora followed suit. Almost immediately, Trixie appeared on a carriage, being pulled by the two unicorn children. "I knew something was up when my alarm went off!" She said triumphantly. "Who are you two strange creatures, and how did you get past my barrier with-" she cut off after seeing Twilight, "YOU! You lost the duel! You are exiled, and you know it!" "What I DO know, is that you cheated! You didn't use your own magic! You're using the energy from that gem!" Twilight replied. "Even if I did, you're too weak to do anything about it." Trixie's eyes began to glow red as her horn started to swell with chaotic energy. "Maybe if she had her own gem, you'd see what she can really do!" Sonic said as he handed his Chaos Emerald to Twilight. "Wha-?! Sonic! Princess Celestia told you to keep these things away from us! I'd be corrupted like Trixie!" Twilight exclaimed with total fear in her eyes. "Trust me, Twilight. If your friends believe in you, then the emerald won't corrupt you." Sonic calmly explained. "But! The princess!" Twilight tried to explain, but Sonic began to talk to Trixie again. "Trixie, if you really think you're the best, then prove it by dueling Twilight again, and make sure everyone in town can see it." "Fine. Trixie will allow this, for Trixie is feeling very generous at this moment. Soon, Trixie had gotten everyone in town to gather around for another duel. Trixie looked ready to destroy Twilight, who was feeling more terrified by the Chaos Emerald than Trixie herself. "Let's skip the age spells, and go straight to the duel!" Trixie said before firing a powerful beam at Twilight, who put up a shield spell, only for it to shatter from the attack. Twilight flew back towards the crowd, who suddenly began chanting her name. "What are you all doing? You all know that Twilight Sparkle would lose this from the beginning! You should all be chanting Trixie's name!" Trixie boasted, before Sonic suddenly said, "Twilight! Now's your chance! Stop her in her tracks!" Twilight did as instructed, as she used her barrier magic to surround Trixie. "Ha! How pathetic. Trixie will just simply break this one as well!" Trixie said as she fired another beam, only for it to rebound off the inside of the barrier, back at her, causing severe damage to her. After the dust settled down, Trixie was shown to still be standing, a look of absolute fury on her face. She fired another beam at Twilight, only for Twilight to fire a beam of her own right back at her. The two lasers collided, causing them to to be in a struggle to see which beam would overcome the other. When the entire crowd's chanting grew louder, Twilight's beam became stronger, as it overpowered Trixie's beam, and headed straight for her, only for Twilight to diminish it at the last second. "Wha?" Trixie stared at Twilight, her mouth agape, before suddenly smirking, and saying, "Ha! You couldn't keep the beam going! How pathetic!" "Actually, Trixie, I stopped it before it could hit you, because I don't want you to be in even worse condition than you are now." Twilight calmly replied. "What?! Well in that case, your gem must clearly be the superior one, Which means that it's for Trixie's hooves alone!" Trixie exclaimed as she ripped of her amulet containing the Chaos Emerald, as she used her magic to take Twilight's emerald, only for Sonic to speed by and snatch the emerald from the air, and then grabbing the emerald in the amulet. "Hey! Give both of those back! They belong to Trixie!" "Yeah right! You're not touching either of these! They're staying with me! Neither of these emeralds are stronger than the other." He replied with his usual grin. "But- How could someone like Twilight Sparkle use much powerful magic than me with the same kind of gem as me?!" "Because Twilight had the support of the entire town. The emeralds are powered by positive and negative energy. If you use the negative energy, you become corrupted, but if you have the support of your friends, the positive energy will overpower the negative. So, I just got the crowd to cheer for Twilight, and the duel was pretty much over from then on." Sonic explained. Trixie began to feel the weight of the wrong she had done, and was feeling incredibly guilty. "Trixie is very sorry for all that she has done. I was wrong to use that gem's power for revenge. Before I knew it, I was corrupted by it's power, and I couldn't control myself. Can you ever forgive me?" "Hmm..." Twilight thought, before smiling and saying, "Sure." "Oh, thank goodness. Don't you think the Great and Apologetic Trixie is the most magnificent, humble pony you've ever seen?" Twilight simply shook her head, and rolled her eyes at that. Trixie then threw a smoke bomb, before running out of Ponyville. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash flew up to Sonic, an apologetic look on her face as well, and said to him, "Seeing what Trixie did today showed me how wrong it is to try and get revenge on someone just because they're better than you. I shouldn't have attacked you, and forced you into a race today. I'm sorry, Sonic." "It's okay. I had fun racing you anyway!" Sonic replied with a smile. "Really? You're not mad?" Rainbow Dash said with a flabbergasted look. "I'm not exactly the kind of guy to dwell on the past." Sonic joked. "Really? Still making fun of me for being fooled by Eggman seems like dwelling on the past to me!" Knuckles replied. "Well, you're an exception!" Sonic said as the whole group laughed. "That was interesting, Sonic, but I've got to keep searching for the pieces of the Master Emerald." "Good luck, Knuckles. See ya' later." Sonic replied as Knuckles ran off to continue his search. At the end of the day, Twilight preformed her amazing magic show to the princess and two horses from Saddle Arabia. After a long explanation as to why Sonic had given Twilight a Chaos Emerald, even though Celestia told him specifically not to, Celestia finally understood, and continued to enjoy the rest of the magic show. Meanwhile, on the Egg Carrier, "Orbot! Are there any updates on the Chaos Emeralds?" Dr. Eggman called for the small robot. "Well, sir, I have bad news and good news." Orbot replied. "What's the bad news?" The doctor awaited, ready to yell at his robot. "The bad news is, Sonic has obtained two Chaos Emeralds since we last gathered intel." "WHAT?! TWO?! ALREADY?!" Eggman rose from his seat, ready to stomp the robot, before Orbot quickly stated, "Thegoodnewsisthatthebadnikshavereturnedwithoneemeraldoftheirown." "They have?! Good!" Eggman calmed down, and returned to his seat. "Mark my words, hedgehog; This is only the beginning!"