Nix: Collision

They split up into smaller groups unintentionally. Tails flew over Twilight as she ran, blasting away several robots with her magic. Knuckles fought next to Applejack and Rarity, the three of them doing their best to repel the threat. Pinkie Pie fought (or rather, she fought while the latter cowered) with Fluttershy near the entrance to the castle. Amy was with them as well. Sonic, meanwhile, somehow ended up with the pony he least expected: Rainbow Dash.

“Take that, you clanking freaks of metal!” Rainbow yelled as she bucked away a Motobug. “I get first swipe at the hedgehog!”

“You’ll have to get in line!” Sonic yelled back, grinning. He jumped up and performed a Homing Attack on three Buzz Bombers Mk. II, bouncing off the three of them and rendering them destroyed. “Ah, I’ve forgotten how satisfying that is!”

He yelped as a Swatbot fired a laser beam at him. He ducked at the last second, the laser knocking away a Caterkiller. “Hey! Not cool!” Sonic Spin Dashed into the Swatbot, kicking its head off with the base of his foot.

There was a gush of air, and Sonic looked up, seeing the trio of flying ponies from earlier. They quickly got to work, whipping up mini tornadoes and destroying several robots in the process.

“The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow exclaimed.

The one called Soarin glanced down, seeing Sonic below. “Er, Spitfire? Shouldn’t we arrest the hedgehog?”

Spitfire barely glanced back down at the hedgehog. “He can wait. Right now, we’ve a city to save.”

She’s got her priorities straight, Sonic thought, grinning as he smashed another robot’s head in.

Rarity was having a bit of trouble with her robots. “Can’t they at least try to avoid my mane?” she complained as she kicked a robot away.

Knuckles grunted back, “They’re kind of dumb, Miss…”

“Rarity.”

“Miss Rarity,” he finished. He uppercutted a Swatbot Mk. II. “They don’t exactly know what a mane is.”

“Hmph!” Rarity huffed, using her magic to lift up a Swatbot’s head and throwing it at a group of Caterkillers. “How rather uncouth of them!”

“They’re robots, Rarity!” Applejack yelled, lassoing up a group of Egg-Robos and throwing them to the side. “They’re not exactly gentlemanly!”

Knuckles grinned. These two were certainly entertaining to watch banter. He glanced over to Applejack. The orange earth pony grinned back at him.

“Look out!” he yelled as an Egg Pawn reached out to grab her. He suddenly used his spiked gloves to tunnel underground, popping up beneath the Pawn. He uppercutted, then grabbed its foot and slammed it to the ground, wrecking its wiring.

“Thanks, pardner!” Applejack said, smiling.

Tails and Twilight were busy repelling the invading robots to the east side of Canterlot. Twilight had managed to get most of the citizens to a safe bunker, while Tails used his twin namesakes to destroy several Badniks.

“Those tails are pretty strong!” Twilight complimented, causing Tails to blush a bit.

“That, or these Badniks are weaker than I thought,” he replied.

Twilight launched a few more bolts of magic at the robots, destroying several. She yelped as large, hammer-wielding Egg Pawn suddenly jumped forward, swinging the hammer down. She jumped to the side, just barely dodging the attack. “Help!”

Tails flew down and pulled out his Magic Hand—a long-range punching weapon in the shape of a punching glove. He shot it forward, and it drilled a hole in the gargantuan Egg Pawn’s shoulder. He pulled out his Energy Ball arm cannon and fired it, taking out the robot’s head.

“You okay?” he asked Twilight.

She took a moment to gather her breath. “Yes, I’m better. Thanks to you,” she added, blushing a bit at the last remark.

Tails didn’t seem to mind. “Good,” he said, nodding. She stood up, facing the onslaught of robots. “Think you can keep going?”

She smirked slightly. “I’ll be fine.”

Towards the entrance of the castle, Pinkie Pie was somehow managing to push away most of the robotic forces. Her party cannon was busy blasting away several of the enemies, and she seemed to be enjoying herself. Amy was swinging her hammer wildly.

“Whee!” the pink pony exclaimed, as she destroyed a Swatbot Mk. II. “This is so much fun! Like that Canterlot Invasion!”

“Please don’t say that,” Fluttershy said quietly, cowering in the back. Her pink mane draped over her eyes, and she was in a state of panic.

“Come on, Fluttershy!” Pinkie exclaimed, turning back to the scared mare. “You have to fight too!”

“Oh, but I couldn’t!” she said back. “I couldn’t stand trying to hurt anypony!”

Pinkie was about to respond, but then a Swatbot shot a laser at her cannon. It blew up into pieces of confetti. “Aw!” Pinkie complained. “I really liked that model!”

“DESTROY. CONQUER. FOR ROBOTNIK,” one robot droned on and on.

“Aw, that’s boring! C’mon, put a bit more life into that!”

“DESTROY! CONQUER! FOR ROBOTNIK!” the robot tried again.

“There we go!” Pinkie clapped her hooves together happily. “I knew you had it in you!”

An Egg Pawn suddenly fired a laser at her. She ducked, but was hit by another laser, throwing her back to Fluttershy.

“Oh no! Pinkie!” Fluttershy exclaimed.

“No, mom,” Pinkie said, dazed. “I don’t wanna farm the rocks today…”

Amy growled. “Get back, you annoying robots!”

In response, one of the robot shot her in the chest. She reeled from the blow, before another robot shot her hammer. It flew out of her hands, leaving an opening. An Egg Robo then shot her again, and she was knocked out.

The army of robots began advancing on them. Fluttershy looked at them with fear in her eyes, unsure of what to do. She closed her eyes, waiting for the end.

***

J

Now! Nix yelled to me. I nodded, shooting my Grapnel Gun out. It struck a robot in the chest. I activated the Grapnel Boost, accelerating towards the robot at such a high velocity that its censors didn’t pick me up.

I brought my feet forward, and impaled the robot, shooting right through the chest.

“ERROR. ERROR,” it stuttered, before shutting down due to the critical damage.

Fluttershy gasped. “Jared!”

I winked at her. “That’s my name, don’t wear it out!”

Another robot, this time an older Swatbot, stepped forward, pointing its wrist laser at me. Quickly, I darted forward, grabbing the arm. I brought it down as I swung my knee up, shattering the arm where its elbow was. The Swatbot beeped in pain, and I threw it over my shoulder, punching through its visor.

I slipped a hand back into my jacket, pulling out several small smoke bombs. I threw them at the ground, and shortly after, dark plumes of smoke masked my presence. The robots fired randomly, completely missing us as I grabbed Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Amy and grappled away.

I landed at the top of the castle’s balcony, where a few guardsponies met me. “Get the pink pony immediate medical attention!” I ordered. I quickly turned, running outside. Fluttershy tried to call for me, but I didn’t respond.

I flicked my wrist, and summoned my energy sword. The blade was made of pure, blue energy, specially crafted for my use. It was about three feet in length, and little arcs of lightning ran across it.

I leaped over the balcony, diving down with my sword in front of me. With a yell, I impaled an Egg Robo in the chest, knocking away several other robots with the shock wave. I kicked the Robo away, before moving onto the other robots. I swiped and stabbed, all the while dodging beams and blades. My sword easily cut through the metal, pieces of robots flying past me as I performed a spin attack.

You sure you don’t need my help? Nix asked as I sliced off a Swatbot’s head.

Yeah, I think I’ll manage.

“Chaos… Blitz!” I shouted. A shield of Chaos energy surrounded me, and I charged forward, driving away all the robots in front of me. Explosions rocked my sides, but I kept going until the Blitz died away.

I jumped and flipped, landing over where Knuckles and the two other ponies were. “Jared!” Knuckles exclaimed. “There you are!” He punched a robot towards me, and I swiped up from under it, cutting it in half.

“Sorry I was late!” I said, backstabbing another robot. “Had to get Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Amy out of danger.”

The orange pony responded, “Thank you mighty for that, stranger! Wouldn’t want those two to be out of commision!” As she bucked away a Motobug, she added, “Name’s Applejack, by the way.”

She didn’t notice the Buzz Bomber sneaking up on her, but I did. “On your left, Applejack!” I shouted. She looked up, seeing the Bomber about to attack, but had no room to dodge.

I threw a batarang at the Bomber, the object nailing it between the eyes. It fell down, but before it hit the ground, I jumped and grabbed it, throwing it towards another group of robots.

“Thanks for the assist, Jared!” Applejack said. She lassoed up several Motobugs and Caterkillers (I still wondered why Robotnik bothered to still use those), throwing them over her. “Rarity! Heads up!”

The white unicorn, Rarity, turned and bucked the confined robots back into the air. Knuckles dashed forward, and uppercutted them to pieces.

“Nice combo!” I complimented.

Knuckles grinned, but his smiled dropped. “Look out!” he called.

I turned too late, and was hit by a large Egg Pawn with the butt of a giant axe. The blow sent me flying away, landing me some distance from Knuckles. I found myself surrounded by Egg Pawns of various sizes and types.

How about now? Nix asked.

Nah. I’ll be fine.

“Jared!” Knuckles called, trying to push past his own set of robots.

“Stay back!” I yelled back, brandishing my sword. “I’ve got this.”

He gulped, but nodded, much to the chagrin of Applejack.

“What are you doing?” she asked him, confused. “We have to help him!”

Knuckles shook his head. “If Jared says he’s got this, he’s got this.”

“How do you know?” Rarity asked.

“Because he’s—” He cut himself off as I began my attack, the two ponies gasping as they watched.

I swung my sword hard, cutting off the head of the axe of the giant Egg Pawn. I jumped and kicked off its chin, backflipping and down-stabbing another Egg Pawn. I jumped away as it exploded, throwing several more batarangs into their chests. I raised my sword to block a laser, before charging ahead and stabbing through the attacker’s eyes. I ducked as a beam raced towards me, allowing the beam to take off the other robot’s head. I rolled to the side, cutting another Pawn in half.

Another large Pawn, wielding a hammer, raced towards me along with the axe-wielding pawn. I jumped back as they swung their weapons, making the earth shake. I raced up the arm of the hammer, kneeing the Pawn in the chin. Before it could recover, I grabbed its head and kicked away, bringing it to the ground. I rolled, launching my feet out behind me, blasting through several other Pawns with a yell.

The axe-wielding Pawn tried to attack me with its stick; I dove to the side as it swiped, knocking away several Pawns and destroying them. I grabbed a batarang and threw it, and it embedded itself in the Pawn’s eye. It began to swing wildly, spinning on its axis as it tried to hit me. I flipped over the stick, landing lightly on it before kicking off of it again. I landed on its arm, and stabbed down, cutting off the circuitry. Its stick-wielding arm lowered, and I leapt over to the other arm, taking it out of commision with a similar strike.  I then hooked my leg around, nailing the Pawn in the chest with the heel of my foot. It fell to the ground with a loud thud.

I jumped onto its chest, raising my sword. It tried to say something, probably an order to attack, but I cut it off by impaling it with my blade. The lights in its eyes dimmed slightly, but I could tell it was still fighting.

“Chaos Bolt!” I shouted.

Above, the clouds suddenly swirled together, and a bolt of blue lightning struck down. I leapt away with my sword as the bolt raced towards me. It struck the fallen Pawn in the chest, completely wrecking its circuitry as well as sending out an electric pulse, disabling the surrounding Pawns. The overcharge of electricity was enough to make the Pawns all explode.

I stood in the wreckage, a bit out of breath, the robots’ dead bodies all around me. Knuckles, Applejack, and Rarity came over, the latter two in awe, while Knuckles just grinned at me.

“How in the hay did you do that?!” exclaimed Applejack.

I was about to respond, when I heard a shout at the east. That’s Tails! Nix realized.

“We’ll have to cut this talk short,” I said, shooting the grapnel gun to the east side of the city. I zoomed away, leaving the two ponies still in shock over the spectacle.

“Just… who is he?” Rarity asked Knuckles.

Though he knew they wouldn’t understand at first, the echidna smiled and answered, “That… is the Guardian of the Omniverse.”

***

“I’ve got your back, Tails!” I yelled as I swung my sword at a Badnik. Tails nodded as he shot out another Energy Ball.

I faced the west, Tails the east, while Twilight faced the south. We huddled together, keeping most of the robots away. I shot out a Chaos Volt at several, paralyzing them long enough for me to stab them away.

“Eggman’s really pulled out all the stops on this, hasn’t he?” Tails commented.

I nodded. “Robotnik’s not playing around.”

“Wait,” Twilight said. “Who’s Eggman?”

“He’s Robotnik,” Tails explained. “We just started calling him that as a taunt. If you see the man, it’s because he’s shaped like an egg.”

Twilight giggled. “That’s a funny name.”

I snorted. “You can blame Sonic for that.”

The ground shook as Robotnik’s largest robot—an Egg Massive—stepped forward. It’s torso was in the shape of half of a hemisphere. Its arms were long and metallic, outfitted with various weaponry. It glared at us through white slits, practically leaking destruction.

I gulped. “So… who calls dibs?”

“I do!” a random voice shouted.

I turned to the source. Some sort of skunk-panda hybrid stood to the side. He was purple and gold colored, with various color streaks in his fur. He seemed like a punk, and he had several rings and piercings all around his body. He wore red and gold flamed velcroed shoes on his feet.

I nodded, not asking for his name. Any potential help was welcomed. I motioned for Tails and Twilight to step back, and they did so, fighting off the robots behind us.

The newcomer ran forward, kicking the robot in the leg. He raised a hand and blasted out a dark beam of energy—I assumed some form of magic—zapping the robot in the chest. I leapt forward, stabbing the Egg Massive in the shoulder. I shot a Chaos Volt through the sword, shocking the arm. The Massive groaned, and threw me off.

The skunk-panda slid under the Massive, facing its back. He shot out another beam of magic, and the Massive staggered forward. I jumped forward, grabbing my sword and kicking the Massive back towards the skunk-panda. He kicked the robot back towards me. I jumped and yelled, stabbing my energy blade through the back of the robot’s head. To finish the job, I called down a Chaos Bolt, completely disabling all the surrounding enemies.

Twilight and Tails walked over, the unicorn looking at me in shock. “You can use Chaos magic?” she asked fearfully.

I shook my head. “Chaos energy,” I corrected. She still looked confused; I mentally decided to explain it to her later on.

I glanced at the skunk-panda, before giving him a brief thumbs up. He nodded, before dashing off to parts unknown.

“Who was that?” Tails asked.

I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know, and I honestly don’t care.”

The fox stepped forward. “Thanks for helping us,” Tails said to me, holding out a hand.

I shook it, smiling kindly. “It was no problem, really. I’d do it again.” I chuckled. “You guys always get into so much trouble.”

Tails chuckled back. “And you always get involved.”

My eyes glinted mischievously. “That’s one of the perks of being the Guardian, Tails.”

Twilight regarded me with a confused look. She was about to ask what I meant, when I heard a certain blue hedgehog’s yelp from the north side of the city. I grinned. “Sounds like trouble for our hedgehog friend.”

I looked back at the two of them. “Are you two good here?” Tails nodded for them.

I pulled out by Grapnel Gun, and zoomed off, leaving the fox and the unicorn to watch over the fallen robots.

“Tails?” Twilight asked. “What did Jared mean by, ‘the Guardian?’”

Tails smiled. “I’ll tell you when this is over.”

***

How are you holding up? Nix asked as I leapt across the rooftops, making my way for Sonic.

Getting tired. Might need you soon, I answered.

You should let me help now, he protested. You can’t do this on your own.

I know what I can do, and I know what I cannot do, I responded.

He was silent at that, and I pursued the conversation no further.

Sonic saw me on the rooftops, and waved to me. I jumped down, landing lightly next to him, sword brandished. “What took you so long?” he asked with a smile.

“Helping the others,” I said tiredly. “How’s Rainbow doing?”

“The rainbow pegasus?” Sonic’s grinned widened even further. “She’s no longer bothering me. Though I guess it’s because those Wonderbolt ponies are here.”

I nodded. “Reminds me a psychological effect called—”

I ducked as a beam shot towards me, Sonic rolling away. I growled. “Wow. That was incredibly rude. I was just about to explain something fascinating to Sonic—”

I was cut off by a missile that flew towards me. Thinking quickly, I jumped back, kicking a foot up. I lightly tapped the missile so that it was flying up. It exploded harmlessly against the sky. I dashed forward and stabbed the robot in the chest.

“As I was saying, it reminds me of a psychological effect called—”

“Hey, egghead!” Rainbow called to me, giving me an annoyed look. “The explanation can wait! Just start smashing those robots!” She yelped as a Buzz Bomber tried to attack her, flying away at the last second. Sonic jumped and Homing Attacked the Bomber, destroying it.

“Got your back!” Sonic called cheerfully.

“H-hey! I was fine!” Rainbow protested.

I stabbed another robot, then was hit in the back by a Swatbot Mk. III. I grunted and rolled away, my jacket burnt slightly. My eyes flashed angrily. “That was my favorite jacket, you buckethead!”

I darted forward, grabbing the wrist cannon and ripping it off. I kicked high, sending the Swatbot into the air. One of the Wonderbolts, a pegasus with flaming orange hair, flew by, knocking the Swatbot away. It recovered, and tried firing missiles at the flying mare.

“Oh no you don’t!” I yelled. I dashed forward and focused my eyes on the missiles. I concentrated, and suddenly the missiles stopped in midair.

“What the—” Rainbow gasped as she and Sonic saw what I was doing. “How’s he doing that?!”

Sonic grinned. “Did I mention that Jared’s a telekinetic?”

I did my best to ignore their talk. The Swatbot seemed confused, as it tried to wave away the missiles. I reached a hand out, and flung my arm towards the Swatbot. The missiles followed, slamming into the bot and exploding.

I fell to my knees. “I’ve… forgotten how tiring that can be,” I said, struggling for breath.

“We’re not done yet, kid,” the orange-maned pegasus said as she bucked away several Bombers. I nodded and managed to get to my feet.

Several Swatbot Mk. II fixed their systems on me, and began firing their lasers. I ducked away, diving behind several Badniks and using them as shields. A laser hit my ankle, and I grunted in slight pain. I kicked a Motobug towards the Swatbots, knocking them off their feet. Before they could recover, I jumped over them.

“Chaos Flare!” I shouted. Fire shot from my fingertips, melting their metallic bodies. I flipped and rolled, punching through another Swatbot. “I really, really hate robots right now!” I yelled.

“What about Mega Man?” Sonic called back as he deftly kicked an Egg Robo.

I paused for a moment after I smashed an Egg Pawn’s head. “Okay, I hate evil robots right now,” I corrected.

We smashed and destroyed nearly all the robots in the area. The lights faded from their eyes, and soon the sounds of lasers faded away, replaced with an eerie silence. The others ran up to us, all looking tired and exhausted.

“Is that it?” Rarity asked.

She was answered with a roar from the north edge of the town.

“Guess not,” Knuckles grunted.

I looked to the edge of the town, where the roar came from. A gigantic, metallic wolf stood at the edge, next to what appeared to be a metallic tiger, a robotic bear, and a metal gator. They eyed us with cold, metal eyes. They began to advance.

I already knew we were in no shape to take them on. But, if I can draw them away…

Nix grunted in affirmation to my idea.

“You round up any citizens you can find, and get them to safety,” I ordered.

They nodded. Sonic asked, “What about you?”

“I’m going to stop them.”

“What?! Are you crazy?!” Rainbow glared at me. “You think you can take them on all on your own?!”

“I don’t think,” I said. “I know.”

“Then we should be allowed to fight with you!” she protested.

The robots picked up their pace, practically running for us.

“This is no time for arguing, Rainbow,” I asserted. “You get those citizens to somewhere safe, then you wait at the castle.”

“No way, pal! I’m not going to let you fight in your own!”

I glanced at them. They had unsure looks on their faces.

I turned away. “Please, go. I’ll be fine. I have a friend who’s coming to help.”

Sonic started. “You mean he’s—”

“Yes.”

Sonic looked at me. He knew that, with Nix by my side, I would be okay. “You heard him,” he said to Tails and Knuckles.

They nodded, and raced off to help any citizen they could find. Spitfire turned to the ponies. “Let’s do this.” They raced off, with the ponies following behind.

Twilight and Rainbow, however, had not left yet. “Go,” I ordered.

Twilight shook her head. “We’re not leaving a friend to fight alone.”

“It’s a bit too early to call me a friend, Twilight,” I said, my fists clenching as a wave of unease passed over me. “And, I’d like you all to survive long enough for me to call you that.”

I turned to face them, trying to look confident. “I’m telling you, I can handle myself. I’ve a friend, remember?”

“What makes you think that you can take them on?” Rainbow asked crossly.

I didn’t answer at first, turning away. The robots were much closer, and I could hear them snarling at me.

“Because, Rainbow Dash,” I said quietly, “I’m the Guardian of the Omniverse.”

Twilight, seeing that I had no intention of leaving, lit her horn. Rainbow’s protests died away as they teleported to safety.

I clenched my sword tightly, my knuckles turning white. My heart raced, and my breath quickened as adrenaline shot through me.

Are you ready? I asked Nix.

Are you? he responded.

I nodded at his response. Good answer.

The robots advanced towards me, baring their teeth. I narrowed my eyes at them, raising my sword. “You want me? Come and get me.”

My roar mingled with theirs, and they began to attack.

***

Are you sure you’ll be able to be summoned? I asked Nix, just barely dodging the wolf’s swipes at me.

There’s enough Chaos energy for you to use lighter Chaos attacks, as well as for me to talk to you, he answered. I think I’ll be fine. Dodge left.

The last remark was directed as the bear robot swung its hands down. I dove to the side, the earth cracking beneath the weight of its hands. I turned and shot my Grapnel Gun at it; it turned quicker than it should have, and caught the hook in its hands.

“Oh, that’s not good,” I said.

The bear threw its arm, throwing me with the hook. I crashed against the side of a house with a grunt. I rose in a daze, the tiger jumping for me. I ducked under, elbowing up as the tiger’s claws raked the building. It growled in pain, and I rolled under it.

The wolf snarled at me, before launching itself towards me. I tried to jump to the side, but the wolf caught my body in its grasp. It swung me to the ground, cracking the earth, and leaned down and roared in my face.

Did Robotnik program this thing to have saliva glands? I thought as I felt what seemed like spit hit my face.

I summoned my sword, and crashed the butt end on the side of the wolf’s face. It howled in agony. I pulled my feet back and kicked forward, knocking it off of me.

I didn’t have much time to recover, as the tiger had gotten to its feet. It swiped at me, cutting my chest with its claws. I yelped in pain, backflipping away.

Pain exploded in my left calf, and I looked down, seeing the metal gator clamping its jaws on my leg. I hit it repeatedly at the top of its head with my sword’s handle, and it finally released me after a few blows. I kicked it away with my good leg.

Suddenly, something grabbed me from behind. It was the robotic bear! It held me in the air, poised above its mouth. Panic flooded within me as it suddenly made to drop me into its maw. Thinking quickly, I shot my legs out, stopping my fall by planting my feet at the edge of its mouth.

A bear’s bite is extremely strong! Nix reminded me. You won’t be able to hold out in that position!

“Chaos Bolt!” I shouted, managing to jump clear as the lightning struck the beast. I landed on my feet, but collapsed onto a knee.

The bear roared in pain. The bolt had blasted away most of its face, leaving behind its endoskeleton frame. It glared at me through its one working eye, and while it did not speak, I already knew its intent.

I looked around, seeing that the other mechanical beasts had surrounded me. They glared at me, teeth bared, and slowly began advancing upon my position.

***

Sergeant Justice Bullock had seen a lot in his work. He had seen muggings, burglaries, even the occasional murder.

None of that compared to what he witnessed today.

Canterlot, despite the best efforts of the heroes, was in ruins from the robotic attack. Buildings were broken, sidewalks cracked. The very earth looked unstable from all the blows the ground sustained.

He and his cadets stood at the castle’s balcony, rescued by Rainbow Dash and the Wonderbolts. Glancing around, he noted that the Princesses, the Bearers of the Elements, and several guardsponies were with them.

A yellow, fox-like creature stood next to a red echidna, watching over a pink, female hedgehog with short spikes. Bullock learned that they’re names were Tails, Knuckles, and Amy, respectively, the latter having been slightly injured by one of the robots. Tails and Knuckles were busy treating her injuries, and Amy seemed appreciative of their help. Pinkie Pie was also doing much better, back to her normally exuberant self.

There was a gust of wind as a blue blur raced up the steps, delivering one final citizen. “The city’s been cleared,” he said. “The citizens are either in their protective bunkers or here in the castle.”

Celestia nodded at that, saying nothing.

One of Bullock’s cadets started. “Sir! That’s the hedgehog we arrested!”

“Brilliant work, detective,” Bullock said dismissively. “Listen, Mr. Hedgehog—”

“The name’s Sonic, dude,” Sonic said jovially.

“Mr. Sonic, we—I—owe you an apology.” Bullock rubbed the back of his head. “We arrested you for a crime you didn’t commit. I swear, if that bipedal, hairless ape friend of yours didn’t come around, you’d have been sent to the gallows for sure.”

Sonic chuckled. “It’s not a big deal, really. Jared has to get me out of trouble often, anyway.”

“Trouble, eh? That does seem to follow you around.”

“What can I say? Trouble is my middle name!” The hedgehog leaned in close, and whispered under his breath, “Actually, it’s Maurice; but don’t tell anybody.”

Bullock smiled at that, but his smile fell as he remembered something. “Say, where is Jared?”

Sonic’s look grew darker, and he sighed. He pointed wordlessly to the center of Canterlot. Bullock looked to where he pointed, and saw the human fighting a group of animal-like robots.

“He’s taking them all on? On his own?” he cried incredulously.

Sonic nodded. “Yeah. He made us get the citizens to safety while he held off the robots.”

“But the citizens are all safe now! Shouldn’t you be out there, helping him?”

Sonic, however, noticed something in Jared’s eye. It was something familiar, a glint of confidence in the face of certain doom. It was a look that always preceded Jared utilizing a daring plan; and, in Sonic’s experience, that look meant that Jared already knew the outcome of the battle.

He found himself smiling. “I don’t think we’ll need to.”

Bullock looked at him in surprise, but then shook his head. He didn’t know much about Jared, but from the little that he knew, he figured that the kid could hold his own. He and Sonic continued watching the battle in silence.

***

What’s this? Shadow asked from the back of the throne room. My allies are siding with these ponies?

He shook his head at the incredulous idea. No… there’s no way they would side with tyrannical leaders. Jared would never let that happen.

He pondered the situation for a moment. Perhaps they’re biding their time, waiting for the moment to strike. He nodded at the possibility. A worthy tactic. No doubt they’re planning on overthrowing those two.

Gripping the Chaos Emerald in his hand, Shadow whispered, “Chaos Control!” and teleported away. He landed in a small chamber, where the artifacts he had come to retrieve lay.

Discord had spoken of these “Elements of Harmony” as if they were something to be feared. The sisters had used them to usurp Discord’s rule and banished the former king from his kingdom. As Shadow looked over the artifacts, however, he couldn’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed. Five of them were in the shape of golden necklaces, while the sixth was a golden tiara.

Shadow stepped forward, and grabbed the tiara. Discord had not specified which one to grab, but, as he had told Shadow that the Elements needed all six in order to work, the hedgehog decided that any artifact would do. He held it lightly, feeling a bit of power flow through it, reminding him of the power that the Chaos Emeralds wielded.

The sounds of the battle outside raged on, and Shadow distinctly heard Jared shouting out Chaos attacks on the go. He smirked; Jared, despite not being a natural Embodiment of Chaos, was still among the most powerful Chaos users that Shadow knew. This battle will be over soon.

He glanced back at the Elements. There was no physical way he could carry them all; Discord would have to be satisfied with just one for now. He gripped the Emerald once more and, after a moment to make sure no one was watching, teleported away.

***

J

Have you identified their structural weaknesses yet? I asked Nix.

Almost there! he responded.

Well, hurry up! I don’t think I can keep dodging for long—

“Agh!” I shouted as the wolf’s claws sliced my back. I rolled forward, ending up at the base of a tower. Nix, come on—

Got it! he shouted.

I grinned. Alright, let’s do this.

The robots advanced, and I could have sworn I saw what seemed to be confidence in their features. Their teeth were bared, ready to move in for the kill.

I stood, rising to my feet. I concentrated, feeling the wind pick up around me. Rocks, pebbles, and dust flew around me, creating a light veil that masked my confident smile.

“Gotcha,” I said, as the Chaos energy I needed flowed through me.

“Chaos… Control!” I shouted.

A giant bolt of lightning suddenly struck me, flashing every color. The bolt’s blow pushed all the robots back, and their systems beeped in confusion. The light completely enveloped everything, creating a bubble of Chaos energy around me. My eyes flowed pure white, as my yell morphed into two distinct voices; one, foreign, slightly higher in tone than the other, familiar one. The light expanded, casting overhead all of Canterlot, as the last of the Chaos energy was absorbed and released.

When the light finally faded, what stood next to me would come as a total shock to the ponies.

An anthropomorphic hedgehog, of my height, stood to my right. He was dark-green, with darker blue streaks at the top edge of his quills. His blue eyes darted around, carefully analyzing the robots. A pair of white gloves covered his hands, and he clenched them tightly. A pair of lighter blue, smooth shoes with a single green stripe on each covered his feet. Arcs of miniature lightning bolts raced around him, and his eyes glowed with electric intensity.

He glanced at me, and smiled. “It’s nice to see you again, Jared.”

I smiled back. “Good to have you back, Nix.”

The beasts recovered, and snarled at us. Nix smirked. “They’re awfully rude, aren’t they?” He flicked his wrist, and his own variant of the energy sword appeared in his hand. “You up for a bit more smashing?”

I raised my own sword. The Chaos energy had rejuvenated me, and I was ready to fight. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

N

Jared always had an arrogant streak to him. Usually that overconfidence was well-justified; we were among the most powerful Chaos embodiments, after all, and most challenges could be easily contested and conquered.

Unfortunately, sometimes Jared didn’t think he needed help, and often that illusion of independence would land him in a heap of trouble.

I reflected on how Jared had acted when we first arrived here. I couldn’t directly speak to him, as our synchronization had been messed up, but I could at least observe his actions. I understood that the way he acted towards the police and reporters—confident, cold, and calculating—was necessary, but I still believed that it would have been better to have acted more kindly towards them. After all, they had no experience with Sonic; and, if you were asked to apprehend a hedgehog creature, would you really question which one?

I suppose I can thank Fluttershy for making a good first impression, I thought as we stared down the beasts. Had it been that Rainbow Dash pegasus, Jared would have been less eager to help out.

I smiled slightly. How ironic that someone as arrogant as Jared disliked arrogance from anyone. He always said that arrogance should be justifiable; and if it wasn’t then you were a fool.

Perhaps that was why he often was in a state of self-loathing…

I snapped out of my thoughtful daze as the tiger lunged for me. I jumped to the right, avoiding the creature, allowing it to smash into the base of the tower. The gator tried to attack Jared, but he jumped and bounced off of it, landing behind the metallic reptile.

“I guess I’ll get the left, you get the right?” he called, facing down the bear.

“Looks like it,” I responded, lifting my sword. “Aim for the joints!” I added. He nodded and took off.

The tiger growled and pulled its head out of the wall. It turned to face me, eyes flashing with hatred. The wolf approached from my right, intending to cut me off.

They both charged at me, pawing at the ground and snarling so as to disorient me. I quickly jumped up and back, making the two collide face first. I launched a few Chaos Volts at the two; since I was more adept with Chaos-based attacks than Jared, the Volts were much stronger, short circuiting one of the tiger’s eyes. The wolf, strangely enough, seemed slightly unfazed, but was still blown back.

The tiger roared in pain, swiping blindly at me. I used my blade to deflect one of its attacks, then palm heeled it straight in the snout. It reeled back, and I drove my sword through its neck. Its cry caught in its throat, and it weakly pawed at me, trying to push me off.

I was hit from behind by the wolf’s tail, throwing me from the wounded tiger. I rolled and turned, facing the metallic canine. I dropped my sword and revved up into my own Spin Dash variant, becoming a green and blue ball of spikiness. I shot off, dodging the wolf and striking the tiger. I easily cut through the tiger’s rear legs, effectively paralyzing it.

The tiger roared in pain as it’s legs were rendered as stubs. It actually whimpered a bit, and a bit of guilt crept up my throat. It’s just a robot, I tried to reassure myself.

I turned and dashed for the tiger, my sword pointed ahead of me. I drove the blade through the tiger’s head, cutting off its cry.

“Chaos Blast!” I shouted.

The tiger’s body suddenly exploded as the Blast engulfed it in an orange ball of fire. I jumped away, landing back at the tower. Bits and pieces of the tiger flew across the courtyard, landing with quiet thunks.

“One down,” I muttered.

I saw out of the corner of my eye Jared fighting both the gator and bear. He drove his blade through the bear’s knee, twisting it so as to completely destroy the leg. The bear howled, taking a swipe at Jared with its massive paws. He ducked, making the bear hit the gator.

Jared launched his Grapnel Gun at the gator, impaling the hook in its eye. He Grapnel Boosted towards it, slamming his feet into the gator’s eye socket, knocking off half of its head. Before it could recover, he reached down and took hold of its chin, flipping over and throwing it on its back. He swung his sword at the gator’s neck, shouting as he did so, “Chaos Slash!” His sword glowed a bright red-orange, easily slashing through the gator’s neck like it was butter. The gator let out a gurgle, then suddenly stopped as oil sloshed out of its dismembered head.

Jared stood over the dead robot, grinning madly. The bear suddenly punched him forward, and he was tossed back to me, landing at the base of the tower.

“Ugh,” he groaned, getting to his feet. “Still, though, that makes two down…”

“Two to go,” I finished for him.

The wolf and bear stepped towards us. We stood back-to-back, hands and sword raised, ready.

I’ve an idea, Jared said to me.

Let’s hear it.

When he spoke it to me mentally, I nodded. Good call.

“Chaos Flash!” I shouted, bringing my hands to the side of my head. A flash of light shot out, blinding the wolf and bear.

Jared threw his sword in the air, before leaping over me towards the wolf. “Now, Nix!”

I jumped up and flipped over, kicking the sword with the back of my foot. It shot straight for the bear, impaling itself in the chest, making it roar. Jared, meanwhile, grabbed one of the wolf’s paws and twisted it, ripping apart the wiring as it yelped in pain. The bear roared again, and I ran straight for it. I jumped and kicked the sword in even further, shooting it through the bear’s back.

I grabbed its neck and flipped over it, using my momentum to bring the bear to the ground with a heavy thud. Before it could swipe at me, I revved up into a Spin Dash and spun straight into its chest. Its cries grew more and more quiet as I completely demolished the insides, and the last of its life left is glass eyes. A pang of regret rang through me as I remembered that I never liked this particular attack; it was always a bit too brutal for me.

I hope I never have to do this to a living being, I thought, getting up and looking at the mess. The bear’s head had lolled back, the eyes peering away, the light gone.

“Chaos Flare!” Jared shouted, shooting fire at the wolf.

The beast seemed to grin, as the fire didn’t do anything. Jared gave a confused look. “What the—”

He tried again. “Chaos Flare!”

Again, the wolf seemed to absorb the fire. It stepped forward, growling at Jared.

“What the hell?!” Jared shouted as the wolf lunged for him. He dove away, landing next to me. “Seriously, what is that thing made of?! Why is it absorbing all of my attacks?!”

He began to get frustrated, and a somewhat red aura surrounded him. I noticed this and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Jared, calm down.” He glanced at me, and nodded, the red aura fading somewhat.

The beast charged once more, and we split. The wolf suddenly swung its tail towards Jared, knocking him back to the tower with a low grunt. The wolf turned to me, baring its teeth.

I had a hunch as to why it managed to absorb Jared’s Chaos attacks, but I needed to make sure. As it lunged for me, I accelerated towards it, summoning Chaos energy to my side. I boosted, a faded green cone suddenly appearing in front of me, seemingly cutting through the air. We collided, and a shockwave shot out, cracking windows and the earth. The wolf somehow managed to keep me at a stalemate, with neither of us moving the other.

I reached a hand under, placing it on the wolf’s chest. A small ball, similar in shape to the one that I had made with the Chaos Blast, appeared in my palm. The ball suddenly expanded, completely covering the wolf’s chest. It looked at me in confusion.

“Chaos Boom!” I shouted.

The ball exploded, enveloping the entire city in an orange light. The entire city shook under the immense power that the Boom gave off. The buildings’ windows cracked, and the sidewalks turned to little more than dust. The earth shattered, revealing the pipework below Canterlot. A storm of rock and dust blew to the south, vanishing into the horizon.

The palace’s walls cracked and groaned under the strain, and Sonic and the others ducked for cover. Celestia used her magic to shield them all. Through the shield, she looked at us in complete shock, in awe of the amount of power I had just unleashed.

I was launched way back, to the edge of the city. Jared still stood at the base of the tower. I rolled and skidded, coming to a stop nearly fifty yards away from where I had set off the explosion. A cloud of dust rose up behind me.

I groaned, before unsteadily getting to my feet and viewing what lay ahead.

The wolf’s body had been torn away, leaving only the metal endoskeleton to view. Its face had been wiped away, leaving only one orb for viewing. In its chest was a large, jade ball, and it glowed with energy. It seemed dazed after being exploded, and managed to glare at me through its one good eye.

As I suspected, I said to Jared. That’s a—

—Chaos Syphon, he finished with a nod. And, by the looks of it, a more advanced model. That explains how it was able to absorb my Chaos attacks.

It can’t absorb all of it, though.

Right. Let’s supercharge this bad boy.

The beast snarled at me, and started making its way towards me. I closed my eyes, summoning the surrounding Chaos energy around me. I placed my hands on top of each other, wrist to wrist, and placed them at my hip. A ball of electric-blue-gren energy slowly formed, growing bigger and bigger each second.

The wolf picked up its pace, running towards me at breakneck speed. Its cries seemed desperate, crazy, as it gunned for me.

“Chaos…” I muttered. Lightning suddenly appeared around the ball.

I heard Jared mutter the same thing, and felt a bit of Chaos energy gravitate towards him. I swore I even heard Sonic whistle as he saw what we were about to do.

The wolf had nearly reached me. I could practically fear its spit hitting my face.

My eyes shot open. They glowed pure white, and several rings of lightning rose around me. My quills waved in the wind as I brought the summoned Chaos energy forth.

“Pulse!” I shouted with Jared, shooting my hands out with the fingers curled back.

Two gigantic beams of Chaos energy shout out from our hands, colliding with the beast with a solid boom. My beam, blue-green in color, had several arcs of lightning racing around it, and struck the Chaos Syphon in the front. Jared’s was a lighter electric-blue, and hit the Syphon in the back. Both Pulses radiated lightning and electricity, shocking the wolf. We blasted it with all our might, the Pulses slowly eating away at the endoskeleton.

The jade ball could only absorb so much energy before it began cracking. At first, only a few, small cracks appeared; but they grew larger, spreading throughout the ball. Finally, the orb was completely demolished, as the two Pulses punched through it.

Did we get it? Jared asked.

Yeah, I think we did—

Our mental talk was cut short. When our Pulses collided, there was a huge, blue-green explosion. Teal and neon-green light enveloped everything, blinding everyone in Canterlot. The wolf’s roar was rendered silent by the explosion, and our own cries were deafened.