The Run
By SmashUniverse64

Disclaimer (in case it needs to be seen again): This work is purely for non-profit purposes and as such contains characters from copyrighted works. Team Fortress 2 is owned by the Valve Corporation. Sonic the Hedgehog is owned by SEGA. My Little Pony is owned by Hasbro.

-The Frozen North-

"Ugh, finally made it."

The mare, scarf around her neck and hood over her head, looked down at a map she had been given. She shivered, a gust of cold winter air whipping through her mane. She gazed into the clearing where the object of interest sat in the middle. A tent sat in the snow, unmoving in the storm, almost as if it had been pasted onto the frozen landscape. The mare cantered over to it, stepping out of the dense forest and onto the trackless snow. She parted the opening of the tent with a hoof, and smiled when warm air suddenly surrounded her. She stepped inside the tent, hearing the warm hum of unicorn magic inside it.

Rainbow Dash pulled off her hood and scarf and set them on a shelf next to the entrance, shaking it a little. Rainbow looked quizzically at a small piece of parchment that fell off the shelf. She picked it up and started to skim it, instantly recognizing the penmanship.

Dear Rainbow Dash,

I hope the tent I enchanted for you is still here and that you got here safely. Otherwise, there's not really a point to this letter is there? Anyway, please be safe when you meet the strangers. Even though they responded nicely, who knows what they could really be like. I'm sure you'll be fine though. You've handled a lot more than the average pony. Have fun with your race, and good luck to you!

Your Friend, Princess Twilight Sparkle

Rainbow smiled at her friend's encouraging words, even if she did worry a little too much about all of this. She was just meeting some new friends, even if they were from across the dimensional space. Rainbow half expected Twilight to included the entire itinerary with her little note. She put the note back on the table, rattling it a little more. Suddenly another piece of paper fell off the shelf.

"What the?" Rainbow picked up the paper... and immediately had to resist the urge to facehoof.

P.S. Make sure you remember that the other worlders are supposed to arrive 10 minutes after you arrive, exactly at 3:00. The portals aren't supposed to be open for more than 2 hours, so get your race done and get them back through. They've already sworn to secrecy about this whole thing, so they only thing you have to do is meet them when they come through. Also, try not to be to so brash with these two. We don't want to make these other worlders angry, as we've already dealt with potential off world invaders in the past, and these two definitely have a rogue's gallery back home. Plus, you might actually have a real challenge for a change. Oh, and again, have fun!

"Just when I had thought you were less of an egghead, Twi..." Rainbow chuckled as she dropped the paper and stepped over to the mirror-like contraption at the center of the tent. She moved behind it and, like Twilight had instructed, turned on the magical apparatus. The humming grew to a electric crackling as the mirror began to glow, pure magic bursting out. She checked the clock that Twilight had put on the apparatus.

"2:53, huh? Got a little bit longer to wait then." Rainbow sauntered over to the front of the machine and sat down on her rump. She began to ponder what her opponents would be like. Will they act like me? Will they be friendly? Her wings flared involuntarily, a slow grin forming as the light grew in intensity. Maybe the most important question is...

Will they be able to match me?

Meanwhile...
-Ponyville, Equestria-

Twilight Sparkle sat in the library's main room, casting nervous glances at the clock on the wall. Sweat was starting to bead down her face when Spike entered the room, looking over Twilight and rolling his eyes at her behavior.

"Let me guess," said Spike as he approached her. "You're worried about Rainbow and that whole race thing, right?"

"Yes!" Twilight shouted back with more than a little bit of worry. "What if those two are really evil and they kidnap her or WORSE?" Spike rolled his eyes, having expected this from his worry wart of a caretaker.

"She'll be fine. Those smart guys you talked to seemed trustworthy enough. If anything, I'm a little bit jealous of Rainbow right now." Twilight stared at him, a little confused.

"What? Why would you say that, Spike?" Spike lifted up the comic he was holding in a claw.

"Why? 'Cause this whole thing is so awesome! Like I said yesterday, this is like a story right out of a comic book!" Spike posed dramatically, his voice resembling that of a movie narrator. "Three speed demons from three worlds competing in the ultimate showdown! And best of all, it's all real! This is writing gold!" He suddenly took off up the steps, Twilight hearing him saying something about writing this all down for his masterpiece.

Twilight couldn't fault her assistant's logic. After all, it was pretty exciting to think that she had made first contact with two new worlds! The two other worlders she had conversed prior to this arranged meeting were very pleasant to speak to. One a male voice who had an accent similar to Applejack's, and the other a young colt who definitely was a genius for his age.

-Ponyville, One Day Prior-

The sounds of tinkering and power tools could be heard in the library as Twilight rigged up a power source to the mirror-like device sitting in the corner of her lab. She had pumped the battery with a very large portion of her own magic, perfect for keeping a portal open for a long prior of time. She glanced over to Rainbow Dash, who now snoozing on the floor. Twilight rolled her eyes at Dash's predictability and continued installing the battery.

The experiment was simple at first. Celestia had given Twilight one of the mirror portals, one that didn't have a predetermined world to travel to. Twilight thought it to be an interesting experiment to try to open new portals to new worlds. It just happened to be one of those days that her friend and fellow Element of Harmony, Rainbow Dash, would crash right through her window asking for a favor.

Rainbow had been thinking about her status as "The Fastest Flyer in Equestria." Even with her silver medal at the Equestria Games, Rainbow had admitted that she had deliberately held back against Spitfire in the aerial relay to let her idol have all the glory. Rainbow had said that nopony was a challenge at all anymore. That's when Twilight suggested the possibilities of the portal.

"Just because you are the fastest thing alive in this world, doesn't necessarily mean you are unchallenged elsewhere!" Twilight had said, prompting Rainbow to challenge any beings that Twilight met to a race.

And now she was sleeping out of impatience. Twilight's patience, however, had actually paid off as she had now perfectly rigged the magical battery to the portal.

Now to test this thing out. Twilight turned around and trotted over to Rainbow, lightly stirring her out of her nap.

"Ugh... What is it, Twi?" Rainbow said groggily as her blurry vision glanced over Twilight's watching form. "Is it finished?

"Well, yes it i-"

"Yes!" Rainbow, without warning, leapt from the from floor, slapping Twilight in the face with a powerful flap of her cyan wings. Rainbow a small loop and landed gracefully, noticing Twilight laying on the ground, hooves covering her face. "Come on, I just got done with my nap. This is no time for you to start napping!" She started bouncing up and down with excitement. "I wanna see what competition I can get!" Twilight managed to stand, still gripping her head, and glared at Rainbow.

"Look, I know you're excited, but please let me do the talking." She walked to the portal, looking it over for a final check. "No offense, but your first impression of creatures different than ponies isn't exactly flattering." Rainbow sighed, indignant.

"Is this about Zecora?" She walked in front of Twilight, blocking her from the machine. "You didn't react very well the first time you saw her in the forest either, you know."

"At least Zecora's body type is very much like a pony's." Twilight brushed past Rainbow and finished her check of the machine. "Did I ever tell you about the other world I visited when I went after Sunset Shimmer and the Element of Magic?" Rainbow shrugged.

"Probably. I wasn't paying attention if I had to guess." Rainbow tilted her head, remembering something about that time. "Speaking of which, what was up with you and that guard at the Crystal Empi-" Twilight's eyes widened and she slapped a hoof over Rainbow's mouth.

"Nothing!" Twilight replied a bit too loudly, a blush very evident on her cheeks. Rainbow chuckled, seemingly catching on.

"Riiiiight." Twilight scoffed, and began to boot up the machine. The door on the top of the lab staircase creaked open, a small figure poking its head through. It scanned the level below, and then slowly creeped down the stairs, a slight rustling in its movement.

Twilight perked up, her powerful magical sense indicating somepony entering the room. "Spike?" A voice yelped followed by crashing down the stairs, making Twilight and Rainbow whirl around, seeing the purple dragon at the bottom of the stairs. Covered in popcorn. He scrambled to his feet.

"Oh my gosh, Twilight, I'm sorry! I just wanted to watch you do this because it sounded so awesome and, and..." Spike hung his head, expecting Twilight to scold him. "I'll pick up the popcorn and go upstairs..." Twilight simply smiled.

"Oh, Spike. Of course it's ok if you stay and watch." Twilight picked up all the popcorn with her magic and put in back the bowl that Spike had dropped. Spike grinned widely. "Just make sure that you let me handle talking to the other worlders."

"Gotcha." Spike sat down, whipping out a pair of 3D glasses with his popcorn in his lap. "This is gonna be so cool! It's like that one comic I read." Rainbow approached him, idly grabbing a piece of popcorn.

"Hey, I think I know which one you're talkin' about. Those Neighponese comics you let me borrow about that pony who could dimension hop." Spike nodded, shoving another lawful of popcorn down his throat.

"Indeed." Spike stood and bowed to Rainbow. "You have learned well, Dashie-chan," Spike said with terrible Neighsian accent, making him and Rainbow to burst into laughter.

"You two might want to pay attention. The portal's opening!" The magical battery sparked, fueling the portal and making the mirror-like opening glow pulsate with energy and light. Rainbow and Spike stared in awe, while Twilight stood with a smug grin, all her calculations working out perfectly. Then, of course, something unexpected happened. The portal's light shifted, appearing to the onlookers that it was splitting in half. The energy levels spiked, a loud roar sounding out from the lab. Spike had to yell to get Twilight to hear.

"Twilight! Is this supposed to happen?" He asked frantically. "PLEASE tell me this is supposed to be happening!" Twilight shook her head, drips of sweat rolling down.

"I don't know, Spike!" The portal suddenly released energy, the wind blowing back Twilight and Rainbow's manes and tails. "It looks like... That three magical points have met in the middle! Two other portals are converging at the same point we are!

-A Universe Away-
-Teufort, New Mexico-

"Damn it, boy, stay away from that teleporter!" The shorter man reach a gloved hand out and grabbed the tall boy's shoulder. The boy knocked his hand away, looking angry.

"What the hell, Hardhat? What do ya mean, stay away? It looks just the same as the normal freakin' teleporter." The boy then got a good look at what the hard hat-wearing man was referring to, and his jaw dropped.

The modified chassis of the teleporter was programmed and designed to open a single and direct line of teleportation. This teleporter was built for long-distance, without the need for a second node to transfer one of the mercenaries across a strategic distance. Two points of light had manifested in the center of the larger teleporter, steadily growing bigger as the machine hummed, it's blue glow lighting the dark floor of the abandoned Teufort base. The boy shuddered and tapped the hard hatted man, who continued to stare intently behind his thick welding goggles.

"Uh... Engi? This wasn't the plan was it?"

"No. But ah think things are about to get real interestin'." He reached down and got ready to draw the small pistol in the holster as the portals continued to grow in size.

-A Universe Away-
-Mystic Ruin, Uncharted Territory-

The small fox worked furiously to try and adjust the amount of chaos energy the emeralds were put out but to no avail.

"Tails! The portals are getting bigger!" The fox heard his friend say as he checked his calculations. Everything was right. The Chaos Emeralds as a power source. The device tested perfectly multiple times in small experiments. Then of course, something or someone had tapped into the same chaotic frequency of the Chaos Emeralds at the same time.

I hope Eggman isn't involved or this may get messy. He checked his monitor expecting the two frequencies to erupt out of control. But, the fox was surprised to see that monitors were now showing normal behavior.

"The energy levels. They're stabilizing." The two portals, now rather large in size, started to show images. Blurry ones, but still, the fox recognized that two other worlds and his own had just crossed paths at a single point in space. This was absolutely incredible! The fox ran out of his control room and onto into the test chamber where his friend stood in awe.

The colors in the orbs of light swirled about, purple and light blue prevalent in one, and the other a darker blue with black. The blue hedgehog crossed his arms, regarding the portals with dark and serious apprehension.

"I don't like this. Reminds too much of the mess we got into with the Time Eater." The fox couldn't help but agree, but he doubted that whoever had intercepted the frequency had done so on purpose.

"Let's just hope that whatever is on either side won't try and kill us," the fox replied, his twin namesakes twitching slightly as the portal images became clearer and clearer.

-Ponyville, Equestria-

Twilight, Rainbow, and Spike stared in horror, shock, and curiosity as the images were starting to become coherent. The one on the left began to resemble the inside of a building, grey stone walls manifesting around the outsides of the portal. The one on the right cast the glow of another sun, surrounded by a tropical ocean backdrop.

Twilight stood, mouth agape, as the portals images seemed to unfold like a scroll. Eventually, the two portals were as clear as looking through a window. A purple unicorn, an overall wearing man, and a two-tails fox stared at each other, now contemplating what they were going to say to each other. Whatever was said now could completely change the course of history of three worlds.

"Oh my God! Pony's hair is made of rainbows!" The skinny human yelled.

"Is that a hedgehog standing on two legs?!" Rainbow Dash screamed.

"Ah! That human has a gun!" The hedgehog-like creature exclaimed.

Well, it could have gone better. The three blue offenders ran out of sight, Twilight watching Rainbow fly out through the lab door. The geniuses (and Spike) resisted the urge to face palm, claw, and hoof at the same time.

"Well," Twilight began, her nervousness evident on her sweaty face. "Hello, other worlders! If you can understand me, my name is Twilight Sparkle." She turned to Spike, who was still watching the portals with great interest. "And this is my assistant, Spike." Spike jumped up from his spot and approached the portals, a wry smile on his face as he sized up the other worlders.

“Hey. We come in peace and all that jazz.”

The man with the blue shirt and overalls chuckled, any semblance of suspicion lost in his amiable smile.

"Ah suppose ah should introduce myself, too. Name's Dell Conagher. My co-workers call me Engineer though." He tipped his yellow hardhat, Twilight and the fox both smiling at his friendliness. "Pleasure to meet y'all."

The fox bowed, Twilight taking note of his two tails as stood straight. "I'm Miles. Miles Prower. Most of everyone who knows me calls me Tails." Engineer darkened slightly when introductions were finished.

"Well, ah sure am glad that we all speak with each other, but Ah need to know how this happened." He looked around the dark building he was in. "This was supposed to be experimental test of my long range teleporter, but mah coordinates were hijacked." Tails nodded and spoke up.

"Oh! A similar thing happen with me here. I was testing the effect of using Chaos energy for teleportation. After some analysis..." He pulled out a tablet-like device and displayed a graph of some sort. "The teleporter had locked onto to other energy signatures at the same time I did, even across the entire multiverse." Twilight raised a hoof.

"And that would mean that our portals diverged on the same point in each other's respective worlds!" The three other worldly scientists mulled it over in their heads.

"Ah reckon that makes some amount of sense." Engineer concluded. The other two nodded their heads, satisfied with the explanation.

"So..." Spike piped up in the back of the library. "What do you three do now?" Twilight turned around.

"Well, I'd imagine that we would close the portals and mayb-"

"Wait a minute," Spike interrupted. "You just met two geniuses from across the whole multiverse, literally, and the first thing you want to do is cut off your connection?"

"He's got point, Twilight." Tails remarked.

"You have to take into account how dangerous this is though," Engineer said. "We have a lot of evil people in this here world. You never know who might want to take your worlds for their own." Twilight and Tails both cringed. They hadn't thought about that.

"Why not keep it a secret?" Spike suggested. "No one good or bad will be able to have influence on any other world besides you guys. Think about it! All the scientific discoveries to be made, the sharing of culture! It would all go to waste if you shut this down!" Twilight's eye twitched.

"Spike. That's absolutely genius. How did you know to do that?" Spike shook his head, suddenly becoming bashful.

"Well, to be honest that wasn't me talking." He scratched the back of his head. "That's kinda the plot of that comic I let Rainbow borrow."

"Oh." Twilight sighed, Engineer and Tails laughing behind them.

"Well then," Engineer said. "Ah have no objections. Nobody will know about this on mah end." Tails nodded.

"Gotcha. Guess I can keep this a secret here, too." He looked at Twilight quizzically for a moment. "I have a question for you though, Twilight. Why did you use the teleporter in the beginning?"

"Well, I have been experimenting with alternate dimensions. I have visited two already. This time was different." She gestured downwards to the mirror-like machine. "This was the first time I've been able to open a portal to another world myself. The other portals I have used were linked to set locations in the multiverse." See pointed to the door on top of the stairs. "My friend is also having some ego problems, so she wanted to find somepony across the multiverse who was worthy enough to challenge her." Engineer and Tails both looked at each other at that phrase.

"Let me tell you what my hunch is," Tails said. "You also happen to have an impulsive, impatience, egotistic prankster who happens to be the fastest thing alive." Twilight and Engineer looked at each and both looked at Tails incredulously.

"Yup." They both said.

-Present Day-
-The Frozen North-

The portal blew back her prismatic mane as Rainbow Dash stood, a cool look of confidence adorning her face. 2:59. The light split into two, the portal emitting the sound of pure magic. Rainbow watched as two shadows steadily advanced from the portals. She eyed the countdown clock, which was rapidly ticking down from

10
9
"I'll bring back the gold, hardhat! There ain't enough crits in the multiverse to kill me!
6
5
"This'll be a piece of cake. Haven't had the time for a little leisurely jog in a while."
2
"I'll kick your flanks to the moon by the end of this!" Rainbow taunted.
0

Author's Note

I really have no idea how this went... As my first crossover, this one will probably end up being short(ish). If you think it's good, cool. If you notice a problem, please tell me. It will definitely help me continue to write this story. K thx bye.