Nix: Collision

When the light had faded, Sonic removed his hand from his eyes. He looked down at the city below, watching as the smoke and ash rose.

He smiled.

There, in the middle of the courtyard, were the remains of the mechanical wolf. Jared and Nix’s Pulses had completely demolished it, leaving behind little trace of its existence. The other mechanical beasts had been destroyed in the resulting explosion, and most of the robotic invaders had simply disintegrated under that much Chaos energy. The two Guardians stood at the ends of the city.

He looked to his side, where Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood. They stared in shock at the aftermath, unable to comprehend the amount of power that Nix and Jared wielded. Sonic looked behind them, where the ponies they had teamed up stood. They, too, had looks of awe and shock on their faces.

Sonic chuckled lightly. I remember when I first saw the Chaos Pulse. I had thought Shadow’s Chaos Blast was powerful up until that point!

“That… that was…” Twilight Sparkle stuttered.

“COMPLETELY AWESOME!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, jumping up into the air. “How the hay did they do that?!”

Sonic chuckled at the mare’s exuberance. He saw that Rainbow Dash was still glaring down at the two in suspicion. They’ll grow on her, he thought.

Knuckles and Tails came over with Amy, the three of them grinning. “I knew they had it in them,” Knuckles said cheerfully, earning a light laugh out of Tails.

Suddenly, the Guardian pair collapsed to the side. Sonic frowned. “Looks like we’re needed.”

He jumped over the railing, and saw that Princess Celestia was following behind. He ran over to Nix and helped the green hedgehog up, while Celestia used her magic to right Jared.

“Urp… Your Highness?” Jared groaned. “Could you… release your hold? I wouldn’t want to… ugh… sully your bubble…”

Celestia caught the hint and released the bubble. Jared turned over and threw up on one of the robotic carcasses. The Princess looked a bit sick at that.

Jared let out a sigh. “Sorry you had to see that… my body isn’t a natural Embodiment of Chaos, so I’m not used to using that much Chaos energy in one go.” He bent over and placed a hand on his head. “Ugh…”

Suddenly, he was enveloped in a light blue light. Sonic and Nix looked over, and saw that Princess Luna had arrived and had cast a bubble spell around Jared. He at first tried to protest, but Luna cast a Mute Spell on him.

She nodded, turning her gaze over to the two hedgehogs. “You two had best follow closely.”

They nodded. Sonic glanced at Nix. “You up to it?”

The green hedgehog smiled slightly. “I think so.”

He closed his eyes and concentrated. A light green aura surrounded him, and he suddenly floated up. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna looked at him in shock.

Nix waved a finger. “Side effect of being a powerful telekinetic, is that you can float yourself with your psychic powers.” Luna and Celestia exchanged a confused look, but nodded anyway. They all made their way back to the castle.

***

“How is the city doing?” Celestia asked one of her advisers.

“The citizens have all been accounted for,” the female pony answered. “Nopony was killed, though several have sustained mild injuries.”

“I see. What about the city itself?”

“Many buildings have been demolished, Your Highness. We’ve numerous reports of shops and business owners having their establishments destroyed from the attack.”

Celestia nodded. “Well, they were just buildings. We should be thankful that none of our citizens were hurt.” The advisor nodded, and was dismissed.

The Princess of the Sun turned her attention back to the creatures that had helped save the city. The Mane Six were up front with her, looking at the six. They stared back, apprehension filling the air and weighing down their throats, preventing them from speaking.

“I suppose a thank you is in order,” Celestia finally spoke, causing the Mobians and human to look at her in surprise. “Thanks to your efforts, along with the six ponies here, none of our ponies were hurt. You have our sincere gratitude.”

They nodded their thanks back.

“But,” she continued, “that does not mean we can truly trust you.” She shifted her gaze towards Knuckles and Amy. “You two not only broke into a place of royal sanctum, but freed a suspected murderer.” Knuckles winced as if in pain, but made no protest; Amy, however, seemed to glower at the princess.

Celestia looked at Sonic. “And you are still under suspicion for those murders, Sonic.”

“Your Highness,” Jared said. “I’ve already established that Sonic could not have done those murders. I’ve given a highly likely suspect—”

“Your conclusions have been noted,” Celestia interrupted, “however, I have to take into account the fact that you are friends with Sonic. You could be trying to trick us into letting him go.”

“So you’re saying I would be biased in favor of Sonic?” Jared shook his head. “Of course I would be biased. He’s my friend and my personal hero. Why wouldn’t I?” He glanced up at Celestia. “If I told you that your sister killed five of my people, how would you approach it? Would you instantly give her up, or would you defend her until irrefutable evidence has been presented?”

“I hardly see why that matters—”

“And irrefutable evidence has been submitted,” he pressed. “Sergeant Bullock assisted me in my investigation. I’ve determined that the cause of death could not have been by Sonic’s hands nor quills.”

“But you keep saying that this Shadow used a Chaos Spear to kill them,” Celestia argued. “How do we know that Sonic can’t utilize the same attack?”

“Why don’t you ask him?” Jared suggested, gesturing at Sonic. “Sonic, show them your best Chaos Spear.”

Sonic started, but nodded. He flicked his wrist and shouted, “Chaos Spear!”

Nothing happened. “Are you sure you know how to make a Spear?” Jared asked.

Sonic shook his head. Jared turned back to the princesses. “Only certain Chaos users are able to morph the energy into weapons or objects. Sonic here, despite being an Embodiment of Chaos, is unable to generate the amount of power needed to create such weapons.”

To demonstrate further, Jared flicked his wrist and shouted the same shout. A small spear appeared in his hand, before dissipating. The princesses looked at him, slightly worried. “As you saw just now, I have the ability to generate certain weapons and objects. However, I do not specialize in utilizing these Chaos attacks.”

“What’s to say that you didn’t kill the ponies?” Rainbow tried to argue.

Jared glared at her. “Seriously? We’ve confirmed it was a hedgehog, not a human.”

“W-well what about that green one?” She pointed at Nix, who raised his hands in slight alarm.

Jared simply sighed. “Nix could not have been there. At all. It is impossible for him to do that unless there was some other force at work.”

“Why is that?” Luna asked.

“I am connected to Jared,” Nix answered, stepping forward. “Literally. My soul is entwined with his.” And I do mean literally. “We cannot be separated unless Jared allows me to.”

“That casts suspicion on Jared, then,” Luna said.

“What would I have to gain from killing three ponies?” Jared asked.

Admittedly, no one could answer that question. Jared sighed. “The same question can be applied to Shadow.” He turned to Sonic and the other Mobians. “Was there something up with Shadow during my absence? Any signs of a break in mentality?”

“I don’t think so,” Tails answered. “Sure, he was always a loner, and had an angry streak, but he never acted like this.”

Jared nodded at this information. “I told Sergeant Bullock to have the police be on the lookout for Shadow. The Royal Guard should do the same.”

They all fell silent as they took this in. Jared had somehow managed to assert himself as the natural leader, already giving out orders for the police and now the princesses. Celestia couldn’t help but be slightly impressed at how the human carried himself, despite him knowing that there was a ton of suspicion hanging over them.

Jared winced as a jolt of pain shot through him. He glanced down at his right arm, seeing a trail of blood running down the side. Fluttershy also noticed. “Oh, you poor dear,” she cooed, walking over. “Let me help with that—”

Jared shied away, surprising the butterscotch pony. “No, it’s okay. I heal fast.” He slipped his arm back into his jacket.

“… Regardless of whether or not Sonic killed those ponies,” Celestia said after some time, “I still cannot fully trust him to be on his own.” She looked at the hedgehog. “We still have our suspicions about you, Sonic.”

“So what are you going to do?” Jared asked.

Celestia pursed her lips but said nothing, looking at the creatures with uncertainty. The silence that followed was mind-blowing. Jared blinked in shock, unable to comprehend that Celestia still had not decided what to do.

He tapped his foot impatiently, crossing his arms and letting out an annoyed snort. Celestia still remained unspoken, as did Sonic and the others, who looked on with anxious looks.

I am unsure if I can trust these creatures, Celestia thought. My instincts tell me that they can be trusted… but the fact that they can wield the monstrous Chaos as weapons makes me pause in decision.

Jared finally let out an angry sigh, throwing his hands up in the air. “Fine! Ruminate all you want; right now, I can’t be bothered to wait.” He briskly turned and shot the Grapnel Gun outside, shooting off into the distance, leaving the creatures stunned and confused.

N

As soon as Jared had vanished outside, I stepped forward. “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna?” I addressed. “I’m… sorry for the way Jared acted.”

They looked at me in surprise. “That’s… very kind of you, Nix,” Celestia said.

“May we inquire as to why Jared acted as such?” Luna asked, a bit angry.

“Jared never trusts any form of governmental authority completely,” I explained carefully. “Even the most reasonable ones he regards with distrust until proven otherwise.”

“Why is that?” Celestia asked.

“We’ve had some… bad experiences with governments in the past,” I answered, rubbing my neck nervously. “Jared’s universe’s government tried to subdue both of us the first time we revealed ourselves. That didn’t end on a happy note for any of us.”

“Why was he so impatient in waiting for my judgement?” Celestia asked. “Could he not consider everything at stake?”

“On the contrary, Your Highness. He already considered everything.” Seeing their confused looks, I continued, “In the time that it took you to address Knuckles, Amy, and Sonic, Jared had already looked at the possible sentences that you could give to Sonic and evaluated which ones were logical and reasonable. What made him impatient was that you hadn’t seemed to do the same.”

“What do you mean?”

“Jared works fast in his mind. And he often expects others to do the same.” I shook my head. “He thinks that regals such as yourself should be able to think and consider everything efficiently, with little pause, and easily grows impatient when none in the room ‘see’ as quickly as he can.

“Furthermore, Jared finds it somewhat hard to believe that not every creature has his skills of investigation.” I looked at Fluttershy and Tails. “You two saw how he talked to Sergeant Bullock. With restrained impatience. He already determined the cause of death as well as the weapon, yet was appalled to see that the police—the very force that should have solved these murders—was working on flimsy evidence.”

I faced Celestia and Luna. “Jared believes that investigative skills of his caliber are necessary to every creature. But he refuses to teach anyone how to achieve that level, as he believes that the individual should seek out how.”

I looked down, feeling a bit of guilt creep up my throat. “I would guess that Jared is unsure of what to make of you ponies, because you had missed what he considers the obvious and important details.”

Once again, the room fell to silence. While Sonic and the Mobians were accustomed to Jared’s quirks, I knew that the ponies would be surprised, if not a bit shocked at them. I considered waiting for Celestia’s decision, but a part of me wanted to get this over with as soon as possible so that we could help out the city.

Thinking quickly, I faced the other princess in the room. “Princess Luna, what do you think?”

Princess Luna blinked, caught off guard by my question. “Er…” She narrowed her eyes and looked down, thinking. “I… I think we should forego giving Sonic a sentence until after we’ve helped the city recover.” She looked back up, and her eyes carried with them her authority. “Twilight, have your friends help these creatures of Mobius in reconstructing the city.”

They were a bit shocked at the command, but Twilight nodded anyway. Quickly, we made our way outside to assist the city in rebuilding.

***

J

Several ponies glared at me as I moved several broken pieces of wood from the wreckage site. No doubt they blamed me for the destruction caused, but I ignored their stares, focusing on the task at hand.

As I worked in silence, my mind spoke in volumes. I found myself thinking about my sudden departure and attitude towards the princesses. I at first thought that my surprising callousness was due to the adrenaline rush that I had felt in the fight; but remembered one crucial detail.

I had never felt like this before. I was never this callous, this impatient and weary. At least, not before my death…

I shook my head, forcing that thought aside. I couldn’t bring myself to remember that; the memories were too painful.

My thoughts drifted over to Fluttershy. I appreciated her hospitality and kindness towards Tails and I, even though we were from another universe. Her kind demeanour nearly brought a smile to my face. I was uncertain, however, of what to make of the other ponies. Those five seemed drastically different from Fluttershy, and I had no idea if I could fully trust them.

I sighed. It was inevitable that, at some point, we’d be forced to get to know each other very soon, thanks to Robotnik getting involved. Nervousness erupted in my heart, and I suddenly felt afraid that I would have to reveal more than I wanted to. I fought this feeling down as best as I could, though remnants still lingered.

I glanced around, looking at all the destruction. Robotnik certainly sent in quite the army, I reflected. He wouldn’t waste his machines on simply destroying a city, however; he’s smarter than that. So why would he attack with such a huge force?

Perhaps he thought something worth taking was here?

I decided that I would have to ask the princesses about this matter later on, and shook the thought out of my head for the time being.

I heard the clip-clop of hooves, and glanced over my shoulder to see a familiar butterscotch pegasus walk over. I waved at her, and she approached, a bit cautious; no doubt still a bit surprised at my callousness. We got to work, carefully putting a building back together as best we could. I used my telekinesis to place several boards back in place, while Fluttershy flew up and got to work patching up the roof.

“All this destruction,” Fluttershy said quietly, causing me to look up at her. “All this carnage…” She looked down at me, her blue eyes filling with empathetic tears. “Jared… why would Robotnik do all this?”

I shook my head. “I have no idea. I thought it might be because he was after something here—”

“No, I mean… why would he want to destroy anything? Doesn’t he see that it’s wrong?”

I placed another board on the building, letting out a slow sigh. “That’s a question Sonic and I have asked for years now. We never truly understand why Robotnik does what he does.” I stepped back, looking at the building. It was now partially reconstructed, though the windows were still shattered. “If I had to guess… it’s due to the issue of truth verse ideals.”

“Truth verse ideals?”

I gazed up at her thoughtfully. “It’s a constant issue between what we consider good and evil. Is there a good and evil—a true sense of morality? Or is that just our idealism, our rationalizing, our justification or condemnation of ideas? Robotnik wishes to have a world that he can rule over, because he thinks he can do better than the existing governments can.”

“But that’s absurd!”

“Is it?” I frowned, rubbing my chin. “The doctor is a genius, able to create such amazing robotic pieces. If he wanted to, he could have easily made the world a better place with his creations.”

“So why didn’t he?”

“Perhaps he thought that the world was beyond his saving. In a place where there is war over petty things, perhaps he reasoned that his creations would be wasted on such a broken planet.” I sighed. “And in a way he’s right. Sonic’s world is much like mine; our governments and countries are imperfect, nearly on the verge of war over small matters.”

“You’re not from Sonic’s world?”

I winced as I realized I had slipped up. I chose to ignore the question and continue on. “So, to ‘save’ the world, perhaps Robotnik figured that the only thing to do was to take over and remake the world with his ideals and truths in mind.”

“But no one pony has the right to take over! What about the good ponies that try to not create conflict between each other?”

“I don’t think Robotnik could see that. He was too busy looking at the big picture to consider the smaller images. To him, good and evil are ideals that cannot be fulfilled unless someone is in control of them.” I sighed. “And he’s right. Laws were created in order to differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. And people in power made those laws for us.”

She flew down to me, looking at the building as we finished up. “So he thinks he’s doing the right thing?”

“A long time ago, he did. But now? Now he’s broken and obsessed with conquering the world. Whatever good intentions he had in the past, if any; they’re all gone now, replaced with a man bent on total annihilation and conquest.”

“And you and Sonic fight against him?”

“Mostly Sonic. I’m… usually busy doing other things. But yeah, we do fight against him.”

“Do you… do you think that he could come back from this way? Come back to those good ideals that he had long ago?”

I stared at her for the longest time, mulling over the question. “… I am not sure, Fluttershy. I don’t know if anyone can come back from the brink.”

She nodded, though she didn’t seem satisfied with my answer. We moved on to another building, getting to work.

I rolled up the sleeves of my torn jacket, and caught Fluttershy looking at my arms. She gazed at me in surprise. “You were right; you do heal fast. Faster than any normal creature I’ve seen.”

I am no ordinary creature. I nodded in silence, and turned away. I could still feel her questioning gaze boring into the back of my head.

***

Rainbow and Twilight were near the castle, working on the nearby buildings. While Twilight helped organize several ponies into relief and aid groups, Rainbow quickly flew around the buildings, doing her best to remove the rubble and replacing broken boards. She flew down to Twilight, the two of them gazing out over the courtyard. Their eyes landed on the Mobians working.

“Twilight,” Rainbow said, “I really don’t think we can trust these Mobians.”

“Why is that?” she asked.

“We don’t know what kind of power we’re dealing with here. You saw that monkey thing; he has Chaos powers!” She flew up, crossing her front hooves. “And that blue hedgehog… I still don’t trust him.”

Twilight let out a sigh. “I have to admit, I’m unsure of what to make of them. But,” she added, fixing a stern look at the pegasus, “we have to work with them through this mess. Between that Shadow character killing those ponies, and this Doctor Robotnik’s attack, they could be our best hope at understand what is really going on.” She shook her head. “I don’t think we should trust them fully, either. But I do think we should give them the benefit of the doubt.”

Rainbow didn’t say anything, still glaring at the Mobians with distrust.

Sonic and Nix were working together on a small shop. Their super speed garnered a lot of attention from the locals, several commenting on how fast they were. Sonic took this with pride, while Nix simply nodded. They quickly removed all the rubble, and did their best to repair the walls and floor.

They talked for a bit, discussing their next course of action. “I guess we should focus on one, clearing your name once and for all; two, finding Shadow and discussing why he killed those ponies; and three, stopping Robotnik from taking over,” answered Nix.

Sonic nodded. “That sounds good to me.”

Tails flew over and helped replace several shingles from the roof. “We should also be on the lookout for the Chaos Emeralds,” he advised. “Robotnik’s going to be looking for them as well; it would be good if we found them all first.” Sonic and Nix nodded at his suggestion.

“What about the ponies?” Sonic asked.

“What do you mean?” asked Nix.

“What do you make of them?”

Nix looked over at Twilight and Rainbow, regarding them thoughtfully. “… They probably don’t trust us completely. And I think we should act the same for them. However,” he added, looking back at the hedgehog and fox, “I think we should give them the benefit of the doubt. Try to trust them.”

“That won’t be easy with Jared,” Sonic commented.

Nix shook his head. “It never is. Hopefully he’ll grow to trust them as well.”

Tails smiled. “I’m sure he will.”

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Amy were by the west side of the city, helping replace several broken structures.

“I still don’t completely understand why you were extremely aggressive towards that cyan pegasus,” Knuckles commented as he hefted a large board.

“Are you kidding? She was going to hurt Sonic! My Sonic!” Amy protested. “I was only protecting that which I hold very much close to me!”

Knuckles sighed as he placed the board down. “That may be true, but I’m certain that anyone would have reacted as Rainbow reacted.” He looked knowingly at Amy. “We were attempting to free a prisoner, after all. It was only natural that the guards and the other ponies would react with hostility.”

Amy snorted. “Please! That still doesn’t make her aggression any less distasteful.”

“I could say the same about you,” he muttered under his breath.

“Did you say something?”

“Er… nope.”

They continued working for a bit, before Amy looked up and saw Sonic relaxing with Nix and Tails. “Looks like they’re done over there. I’m going to go make sure Sonic’s okay,” she said, leaving Knuckles behind.

“The guy’s fought literal demonic earth gods and watery monsters,” Knuckles muttered as he watched her go. “I doubt that a pegasus would do any harm.”

He got back to work, using his impressive strength to replace several brick walls. He glanced over his side, and saw that Applejack was approaching him. He cracked a smile. “Hey.”

“Heya,” she greeted, smiling back. She helped him transport a few more bricks. “Ah hope you don’t mind, but Ah was kinda listenin’ to yer conversation with that pink girl.”

Knuckles chuckled. “Yeah. She’s quite the hassle, I’ll admit.”

Applejack fixed her cowboy hat. “What you said to her though? That was mighty wise.” She cracked a grin. “I didn’t peg you for a philosopher or somethin’ like that.”

It was a compliment, and Knuckles was quick to realize this. “And I didn’t figure you to be a strong pony,” he shot back. He looked away, slightly blushing. “Truth be told, though… in the past I probably wouldn’t have said those things.” He glanced up, where Jared and Fluttershy were. “Jared has taught me a bit on how to be wise…”

Applejack looked at where he was looking. “He seems different from the rest of y’all. No offense,” she added quickly.

“None taken. It’s true; he is different.” He glanced back at Applejack. “But I still respect him anyway.”

She nodded, and they continued working.

***

Rainbow flew over to where Fluttershy and Jared were. She noticed Jared sifting through rubble, while Fluttershy was beside a crying filly. The filly’s parents were behind her, concern in their eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Rainbow asked the fellow pegasus.

Fluttershy looked up. “This poor filly lost her favorite doll in the attack.” She turned back to the filly. “Shh… it’s okay, it’s okay. Could you tell me what it looks like?”

The filly described the doll as small, and in the shape of a small rabbit. She said that it was a light blue, and had a tear in its left ear. “Have… have you seen it?” she asked Fluttershy tentatively.

Fluttershy sadly shook her head.

The filly sobbed louder into Fluttershy’s mane. She tried whispering more kind words to her, and the parents eventually intervened and took their child away. They whispered their thanks to her, though she still felt a bit sad.

Rainbow glanced back at the hunched over human. “What’s his problem?”

“What do you mean?” Fluttershy asked.

“Why wasn’t he helping you take care of that filly?”

“Because… he was busy removing wreckage?”

“Exactly!” She glared at Jared. “What kind of pony puts sorting through trash above comforting a crying child?”

Fluttershy couldn’t answer that question, nor did she want to. She watched Jared silently toss more rocks and rubble away. His eyes were narrowed in concentration, and he seemed to not have heard Rainbow’s conversation.

Jared’s wiser than he looks, Fluttershy thought. There’s no way he didn’t hear that filly’s cries. There’s got to be a reason why he didn’t help comfort her…

“C’mon, Fluttershy,” Rainbow grumbled, gesturing back to the courtyard. “Let’s just leave this dude here.”

“But… but what if he needs help?”

“Trust me; he’s beyond helping.” Fluttershy glanced back at Jared. He seemed to have slightly flinched at Rainbow’s words, though he said nothing. His actions, however, became more subdued, as if he was hurt.

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scolded. “That is not a nice thing to say!”

She shrugged. “And he doesn’t seem like a nice guy.” She flew off, leaving Fluttershy behind.

She glanced back at Jared, and he finally spoke up. “… You can go. I’ll catch up in a bit.”

She nodded, a bit unsure, but flew off to regroup with the others.

***

Princess Celestia and her sister had flown down to the center of Canterlot to meet with the ponies and Mobians. She noted that Jared appeared absent; a quick scan around revealed that he was still in the same spot, sifting through the wreckage.

The Mobians and the ponies were evidently tired out by all the work. They had dust all over them, and were hunched over slightly, breathing heavily. “Most of the buildings have been repaired as best as they could,” Nix informed her. “We’ve also managed to remove most of the robots from the area.”

Celestia nodded. “Good. Let’s hope we never have to suffer another attack.” They nodded solemnly at that, and turned their gaze to where Jared still worked.

A few Canterlot ponies trotted up, eyeing the human with distaste. “I say, what a positively revolting creature,” one stallion commented. “Sullying his hands and dirtying his clothes? How positively uncouth!”

He turned and saw that the Mobians and the Mane Six looked similar. “How can you possibly go out looking like that?”

“We were busy helping reconstruct your city,” Knuckles growled.

“I see… well, you certainly did a number on our fair city.” He snorted in disdain. “Still, though, would it be so much trouble as to take a bath? I can smell the commonness coming off of you!”

Nix smirked tiredly. “That may be the princesses you’re referring to.”

The stallion looked up, and saw the stern gaze of Princess Celestia boring into him. He made a sound that sounded like a squeak and an apology, before scampering off.

She returned her gaze back to Jared, and it morphed into one of confusion. “What on Equestria is he doing? That rubble has been sorted and removed already…” Luna nodded her confusion.

Jared abruptly stood. His jacket and clothes had been completely covered in dust and ash. His black hair mingled with the particles in the air, and his skin had been tinted a light grey. On his knuckles were several scrapes that revealed the strenuous activity of removing rock and stone. He did not seem tired, but breathed slowly.

In his right hand was a small object. Fluttershy gasped when she saw it. It was a light-blue doll, in the shape of a rabbit, with a tear in its left ear. She glanced at Rainbow, and saw that she had her mouth open in surprise.

Jared walked over to where the filly and her family rested, the doll in hand. He knelt down and presented the object to the filly. Her eyes lit up in surprise, looking down at the doll then back up at Jared. No words were spoken, and the parents looked at him in complete shock.

He smiled kindly as she took the doll in her hooves. Her eyes filled with happy and surprised tears. She suddenly leaped forward and hugged him, wrapping her hooves around his body. He hugged her back, eyes closed, as the filly sobbed happily into his jacket. The parents had tears in their eyes, and mouthed their thank yous to him. He waved off their thanks with a shake of his head, implying that it was no problem.

The filly eventually released him, and happily galloped off with her parents. She waved a final farewell at Jared, which he returned.

He walked over to the group, his smile fading as a look of seriousness took hold. He noticed that Nix was smiling, while Fluttershy was absolutely beaming. The others had looks of shock and awe at his display. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna regarded him with curiosity, but said nothing.

He glanced at Rainbow, and the two shared a look. Rainbow looked sheepish and yet somewhat impressed; Jared looked tired and more resigned. He nodded to her; a brief gesture, but it spoke volumes as to what he was implying. The cyan pegasus looked away, turning red with embarrassment.

He heard everything, Fluttershy realized, her smile faltering. Oh, Rainbow…

Jared looked at Celestia and Luna—and bowed respectfully. “The city’s been mostly restored,” he said quietly. “It should only take a few days for the city to recover.”

Celestia nodded her thanks. “There’s still one other matter, though,” he added, looking back up.

“Yes,” Luna said. She looked at Sonic. “We’ll discuss this inside. After all of you have been properly cleaned and taken cared of,” she added, gesturing to their dirty forms.

They nodded tiredly, and together made their way back to the palace. Jared walked with Fluttershy in the back. She gazed at him for a moment, before suddenly hugging him. He gasped in surprise but, after a moment of hesitation, hugged her back.

“I’m sorry about Rainbow,” she said quietly.

“Don’t be; she’s right,” he said vaguely, earning a look of confusion from the yellow pegasus.

They walked inside, the palace doors shutting behind them securely.