Nix: Collision

Twilight had arrived with Rainbow Dash at Canterlot’s castle. She and the pegasus were waiting for the Princesses, the rulers having checked up on the prisoner below.

“You should have been there, Twilight!” Rainbow was bragging. “He tried to get away, but I pulled off a Sonic Rainboom and smacked him to the ground!”

“That’s nice, Rainbow,” Twilight said, “but don’t you think that was a bit harsh?”

“Harsh?” Rainbow glared at the unicorn. “He killed three ponies! He’s lucky I didn’t do anything worse to him!”

The doors behind them opened up, revealing Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie. “Howdy, everypony!” Applejack greeted. “How’s everypony holding up?”

“We’re fine, Applejack,” Twilight answered.

“Good job on catching the murderer, Rainbow,” Rarity complimented.

Rainbow beamed. “Yeah, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“Ooh! Ooh!” Pinkie exclaimed, jumping around. “I should totally throw us a ‘Caught-The-Bad-Guy’ party later!” She emphasized her point by suddenly pulling out her confetti cannon and firing a few rounds.

Twilight blew away a few pieces of confetti before asking, “Where’s Fluttershy?”

“She said she found some creatures in the Everfree that needed her help,” Applejack answered. “She said she’ll take care of them as quickly as she can, then she’ll meet us here.” Twilight nodded, turning back to the throne.

There was a flash of light, and Luna and Celestia reappeared on their thrones. The ponies nodded to them. “Princess Celestia!” Twilight called. “How is the prisoner?”

“He’s been taken care of, Twilight,” Celestia answered. “But… I still find it troubling how—”

“Don’t worry, Your Highness!” Rainbow interrupted, flying up to the sun princess with an arrogant smirk. “If he tries anything, Rainbow Dash will put him in place!”

“I’m not worried if he tries anything,” Celestia said. “I’m worried about what he said.”

“He said he was involved with that white rift earlier,” explained Luna, “as well as being part of a group of creatures who were attacking a certain Robotnik’s base.”

“Robotnik?” Applejack asked. “Who’s that?”

“From what Sonic said to us, he’s an evil tyrant from where he came from,” answered Celestia. “That white rift was a result of a mechanical failure from wherever Sonic originated.”

“Evil tyrant? Shouldn’t we be more worried about this Robotnik guy, then?” Twilight asked.

Celestia shook her head. “For all we know, Sonic could be lying. And if he isn’t, then Robotnik shouldn’t pose much of a problem. Those creatures Sonic was fighting with were unable to stop him; so we should be able to easily.”

“Should he try anything,” Luna added.

They nodded, though Twilight still felt a bit unsure. She gazed down the hallway leading to the dungeons, wondering about the prisoner below.

***

Sonic stared through the bars of his cell, depressed. The dark bars taunted him with the temptation of freedom. He had tried to Spin Dash through the bars already, but whatever they were made of hindered his spiky backside from cutting through.

He slumped over with a sigh. Just like the time I was in jail, he thought, smiling darkly. Once again, I’m imprisoned for something I did not commit.

He frowned. But who could have killed those ponies? Shadow, maybe? He shook his head. No; Shadow doesn’t do that. He doesn’t kill without a reason.

Suddenly he heard sounds coming from the front of the dungeon.

“Hey! Who gave you two permission to come down here?” a guard exclaimed.

“I did!” a female voice responded. Sonic’s eyes widened in shock at the familiar voice.

“Miss, sir,” the guard said, “I’m afraid I’m going to have to ask you to leave.”

“No way, buddy!” the female said. “Not while you have my Sonic in some nasty cell!”

“Miss, please—” The guard was abruptly cut off by the sound of a hammer smacking a head. Sonic winced. He had been on the receiving end of that hammer many times before, and his heart reached out to the now unconscious guard. At least he only had to face it once…

“Hey, Sonic!” A red echidna stepped into view, smiling at the hedgehog.

Sonic grinned back. “Heya, Knuckles. What took you so long?”

“We had to find a way to sneak past the guards,” Knuckles answered. “We managed not to alert anyone above.” He walked over to the cell. “Here, let me help.”

He winded up his arm, motioning for Sonic to get out of the way. After the blue hedgehog did so, Knuckles launched himself forward, punching down the iron bars. The door clanged against the back of the cell, the sound singing freedom to Sonic’s ears. He grinned at the echidna. “Nicely done!”

Suddenly he was tackled by a pink blur. “Oh, Sonic!” Amy cried, hugging him fiercely. “Are you okay? Did those nasty guards do anything to you?” Her eyes flashed fire. “When I get my hands on that horse that capture you—”

“Easy, Amy!” Sonic tried to console her. “I’m fine! Nothing broken!”

Amy eventually broke away, and Sonic stepped out of his cell. “Where’s Tails and Jared?” he asked.

“We must have been separated,” Knuckles answered. “And, seeing as how our communicators are dead, we have no way of talking to each other.” He noticed Sonic’s worried look. “Don’t worry; by now they’ve probably already heard what happened, and are on their way now.” Sonic nodded at that.

“Where do we go from here?” Amy asked.

“Well, first we should probably clear Sonic’s name,” Knuckles suggested. “I assume you have an idea of who would do it?”

Sonic nodded. “I guessed Shadow… but it seems so unlike him.”

Knuckles nodded. “Agreed. But he’s the only other possibility.” He cracked a smile. “Maybe Jared will be able to help with the investigations.”

They began walking towards the stairs. “We’ll have to be careful,” Knuckles advised. “We don’t want to be caught like this, so be quiet.” They nodded, carefully moving up the steps towards the throne room.

***

J

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy gasped as we made our way towards the castle. “How on Equestria did you do all that?”

Hmm… Equestria must be where we are, I concluded. “What do you mean?”

“You were like a detective back there!”

I couldn’t help but chuckle slightly. “It’s nothing, really. One of my many talents.”

We had managed to evade the mass of reporters following my little investigation, and were now calmly walking towards the castle. Most of the ponies spared giving us a look, so we weren’t besieged by questions.

“Where did you learn stuff like that?” Fluttershy asked.

“I’ve been taught by the best in the business,” I answered mysteriously. She seemed satisfied with my answer.

“Wow… I don’t think I’ve met anypony as smart as you or Twilight!” She paused. “Then again, I’ve never met a human before. Are all humans that smart?”

I assumed that by “anypony” she meant “anybody;” it was probably this universe’s language. “Some, yes. A majority aren’t, though. Who’s Twilight?” I asked.

“Twilight Sparkle? She’s a friend of mine. A lavender unicorn. She’s the student of Princess Celestia.”

“Princess Celestia?” Tails asked. “Is she the ruler here?”

“Co-ruler,” Fluttershy answered a bit quietly. “She and her sister, Princess Luna, help rule over all of Equestria.”

I fell silent for a moment, before asking, “Are they reasonable?”

Fluttershy gave me a confused look. “I would think so. Why?”

“If they have Sonic in the dungeon, I would like to reason with them to get him out of there.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll listen. They’re very wise.” I nodded at that.

We resumed some silence, with Tails and I occasionally glancing around. It was no shock to me that we had landed in another intelligent civilization, yet alone another universe, but I knew that Tails still was in awe over it. I smiled a bit at that. I had reacted similarly the first time I ever went through a universe boom; perhaps I even overreacted, as I had landed in Sonic’s universe first.

“You said that you knew who did the crime,” Fluttershy said quietly. “Could you tell me who it was that did it? If you don’t mind,” she added meekly.

I glanced at her. “I’m really hoping I’m wrong on this one; but all evidence points to Shadow the Hedgehog.”

“Shadow? Who’s that?”

“Remember that black hedgehog I mentioned back at your cottage?” Tails said. “That’s him. He was one of our friends who fell through the white rift with us.”

“And you think that he would do something like… this?” she clarified. I nodded. “But… why would he do something like that?”

I sighed. “I don’t know. The next time I see him, I’m going to confront him on the issue.”

We fell into another silence, before Tails spoke up. “Jared, something’s been bothering me.”

“What is it?”

“You said the weapon was some sort of energy spear, right? One that was heated at the tip and quite short?”

“Yes…”

“That sounds like a Chaos Spear. But…”

“But?”

“Wouldn’t that mean that there’s Chaos energy in this place?”

Fluttershy seemed startled at the mention of Chaos energy. I stopped walking, and turned to look at Tails. “… Actually, that makes sense.” I rubbed my chin. “Assuming that Equestria has some Chaos within it, then it would follow that the Chaos Emeralds would land us here. Especially since Chaos energy is attracted to each other.”

I noticed Fluttershy’s scared look. “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I-it’s just…” She let out a slow breath. “We… haven’t exactly had good experience with chaos before…”

I nodded knowingly. “That’s okay. Chaos by nature is unstable. However, it is up to the user to decide how that Chaos is used.”

She nodded at my explanation. I tilted my head at her curiously. “Did something involving Chaos go wrong?”

She blew a strand of pink away from her face. “You could say that. It’s a long story, though; and right now, we have to help your friend.”

I smiled a bit. “Then you’ll have to tell me later, won’t you?” She smiled back slightly, and we continued towards the castle.

It didn’t occur to me to look to the sky, where several pods were descending from an unknown location.

***

Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy had nearly gotten out without a hitch. Not a single pony had met them, and Sonic’s freedom was just within their reach.

Until they were met by a bat pony.

The vampire-like equine stared at them from the darkness, analyzing. He had been watching when the hedgehog had been thrown into the dungeon. While his fellow guardsmen were away, he had taken it upon himself to watch the prisoner, should anything go wrong.

He was slightly unnerved at the prospect of fighting two more creatures. He was fairly certain he could take on the hedgehog; but with the echidna and now pink hedgehog around, he was unsure.

Apparently his nervousness was able to penetrate the subconscious, for Sonic suddenly asked, “Is something watching us?”

Knuckles gazed at the spot where the bat pony stood, though he saw nothing. He stepped forward, intending to examine it up close.

The bat pony cursed his luck. Of course they had to be able to see through his darkness!

He threw his wing out, startling the echidna, before suddenly hitting him in the face with his hoof. Knuckles reeled back in shock.

“Gah!” Amy yelled, drawing her hammer. The bat pony eyed the weapon with unease. “A vampire!”

“Hey, wait—” Before Sonic could continue, Amy swung wildly. The bat pony flew up, dodging her strike. He then slapped her across the face with his wing, stunning her. He turned and bucked her with his hooves, sending her flying into the side wall.

Knuckles got to his feet, groaning. “Of all the miserable luck,” he grumbled. He ran forward, catching the bat pony off guard. He delivered a feint to the side, then uppercutted, launching the pony up.

“Knuckles! Stop—” Sonic yelped as the bat pony suddenly flew towards him. He curled up, just barely dodging the attack. Knuckles leapt over him, going for the pony. “Hey! Everybody just calm down!”

No one would listen. Amy got to her feet, swinging her hammer, the side glancing off of the bat pony’s head. He rolled with the blow, vanishing into the shadows. He reappeared behind her, bucking her once again into the wall. Knuckles swung his arm, catching the pony by the neck. He slammed him against the wall, shaking the foundations of the building.

“Knux! Please! We’re going to get caught!” Sonic tried to say.

Suddenly, down the corridor, a group of guards rushed forward, brandishing their spears. “Halt!” the one in the lead ordered. “Cease this conflict!”

The trio backed up against the wall, while the guardsponies with horns glowered at them.

“Is it too late to cancel my tour of the castle?” Sonic said weakly.

The horns all lit up, charging a beam.

“Guess so,” Knuckles murmured.

They were suddenly blasted through the wall, ending up in the throne room where the Mane Six and the sisters were. The ponies stared at the fallen trio in shock, while guards from everywhere filled in.

Sonic was the first up, looking at his surroundings sheepishly. “Uh… sorry for the rude entrance—”

He was suddenly tackled by Rainbow. The cyan pegasus glared at him angrily. “And just what do you think you’re doing, Fuzzball? Are you trying to break out of here?”

“Hey! Get off of him!” Amy got to her feet, eyeing the pegasus with hate in her eyes. She swung her hammer, and Rainbow yelped and flew away, landing back with her friends. The Mane Six stepped forward, as did Luna and Celestia, glaring at the trio.

The three stepped closer to each other. Sonic didn’t want to fight, but Knuckles had his hand raised and fists clenched, and Amy had her hammer held up high. They stared back at the ponies, unsure whether to attack or to remain silent.

***

The pods began to fall, landing on the outskirts of city. Robots of various types stormed out, beeping and looking at the town with red eyes.

They moved forward, keeping to the city’s edges, remaining in the dark. None of the citizens noticed them. When their master gave the order, they would fulfill their one objective:

DESTROY.

***

J

“Could you let us through?” Tails asked the guards up front. “It’s urgent that we see the Princesses.”

The guard pony shook his head. “Sorry; no citizens can enter the castle without permission.”

“Are you sure?” Tails still tried. “It’s really important.”

The guard emphasized his point by locking his spear with the other guard, crossing the two weapons in front of the door.

Tails sighed. He walked back over to us, at the bottom of the stairs. “Looks like we’re not getting in the traditional way.”

I was about to respond, when I heard an enraged voice shout out.

“First you kill three ponies; and now you try to break free?! We should banish you to the sun for your impetuous attitude!”

Fluttershy cowered under the voice. “That’s-that’s Princess Luna!”

“They’re probably talking about Sonic,” I reasoned. I sighed. “Knuckles and Amy probably went to break him out, but now they’ve been caught.” I shook my head. “So much for my wishes for a reasonable entrance.”

“What are you going to do now?” Fluttershy asked.

I thought for a second. “Both of you. In the air,” I ordered. They gave me confused looks, but nonetheless flew up. “Follow my lead.”

I took the Grapnel Gun out of my jacket, calibrating it. The guards noticed the action, and gave me confused looks. I pointed the gun out, just slightly above the doors.

They did not like the action, and moved to brandish their spears.

“Now!” I shouted. I pulled the trigger, and the hook shot out. It latched neatly into the ledge. With a press of my thumb at a side button, I activated the Grapnel Boost. The line reeled towards the hook quickly, shooting me off my feet. Tails and Fluttershy followed closely as I accelerated.

Just as I approached the doors, I made the hook let go. I stuck my feet out so that the soles would hit the doors first. The guards looked up at me in shock.

My feet connected with the door solidly, and a second later I had kicked the doors away, swinging them open. Sunlight shone through the opening, casting our shadows. I fell and rolled, landing in a crouched position. Tails and Fluttershy were at my sides.

I saw a lavender unicorn—Twilight, I assumed—standing next to an alabaster unicorn and an orange pony. A pink pony stood next to that one, with a cyan pegasus flying above. A white pony with a horn and wings stood up front, next to a smaller, dark-blue pony with the same features.

“Ooh, look!” the pink pony exclaimed. “More creatures!”

Everyone else in the room looked at us in shock, before Sonic cracked a grin. “Tails! Jared!” he greeted. “What took you so long?”

“I was busy clearing your name,” I answered, placing the Gun back in my jacket. I noticed that Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy were surrounded by guards. I smirked. “Couldn’t even wait for me before getting into trouble?”

He chuckled at that. “What can I say? Force of habit.”

“What the—” The cyan pegasus fixed a glare on me. “Hey! What the hay are you doing here?”

“Well, I was hoping I could talk to the rulers of this place.”

“As if!” She pointed a hoof at me accusingly. “You’re here to free that hedgehog creep!”

“Yes. That too.”

She seemed caught off guard by my blunt statement. “W-well, if you think you’re going to get away with that, then you’re dumber than you look!”

“Rainbow!” Fluttershy scolded. “That’s no way to talk to somepony!”

“Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “What are you doing with those two?”

“They were the critters I found in the forest, Twilight,” the butter-yellow pegasus answered. “They fell from that white rift that we all saw.”

“Fluttershy! Get away from them!” Rainbow exclaimed. “They could be dangerous!”

“No!” Fluttershy planted her hooves. “They really aren’t that bad! I mean, I get that Jared is a bit odd looking, but he’s not a bad person!” A bit of guilt poked out of my subconscious at the last part, but I fought it away. “And neither is Tails! They said that Sonic didn’t kill those ponies!”

“And you believe them?!” Rainbow cried incredulously.

Fluttershy looked away for a second, then looked at Rainbow with a strong gaze. “Yes,” she answered simply.

The cyan pegasus was rendered silent by her friend’s response. I decided to speak up. “Princess Celestia?” The white, larger pony looked up at the mention of her name. That makes the dark-blue one Princess Luna. “That white rift you saw earlier was a result of a mechanical failure in Sonic’s universe.”

“Universe?” Twilight asked. “You mean… you’re from an entirely different universe?” She seemed excited at that.

I nodded. “An evil doctor, named Robotnik, created a machine that would allow him to conquer another universe. We tried to stop him, but—” I looked away slightly, feeling a bit guilty, “—thanks to my carelessness, we disrupted his machine. We were launched across space-time, and ended up landing here.”

Celestia looked at me with growing curiosity. “Interesting,” she said. “That’s the same story Sonic was saying earlier.”

Luna, however, regarded me with a cold gaze. “That still does not explain the hedgehog’s actions.”

“You mean the murders?” When she nodded, I smirked slightly. “He didn’t do them.”

The ponies protested against my claim. I calmly reiterated my analysis of the crime, as well as my conclusion.

“If what you say is true,” Celestia said, “then who killed those ponies?”

I hesitated, still unwilling to believe it. Yet all evidence pointed to him, and him alone. As much as I hated to admit it, it was the biggest possibility.

“The killer is one of our team. His name is Shadow the Hedgehog. He looks very similar to Sonic, which explains why you arrested the first hedgehog you saw.”

“Ha! An evil twin?” Rainbow glared at me. “As cool as that sounds, I don’t buy it!”

I ignored her outburst. “Furthermore, since we landed in this universe, that means Robotnik has likely done the same. No doubt he plans on taking over Equestria.”

“What makes you think he’d do that?” Twilight asked.

“Because he’s an evil tyrant bent on ruling the world,” I answered, “and this fits his parameters for conquest.”

There was a moment of silence as the ponies took this information in. They glanced at us, then back at Sonic, then at each other.

I thought I heard something, like a hum, from behind, and I turned my gaze briefly. Tails noticed the sound as well, and moved his head slightly.

Look out, a voice suddenly spoke in my head.

I was caught off guard by the sudden reappearance of my friend. Nix?

He didn’t get a chance to respond. Sonic was watching us, when he suddenly saw what was making the hum. “Watch out!”

Tails and I quickly saw the source of the hum, and the fox dove to the side as a laser beam suddenly shot at him. Another beam aimed for Fluttershy, the pegasus caught off guard by Sonic’s cry. I dove for her, tackling her to the side, the laser burning my jeans. I rolled with her, shielding her form with my body.

I glanced over my shoulder, and saw an advanced model of Robotnik’s Buzz Bomber staring back at me. It didn’t take long for me to realize what was happening.

“We’re under attack!” I yelled. The Bomber shot another laser at me, and I managed to dodge it. I quickly shot my Grapnel Gun to the ceiling, and shot off, avoiding another beam. I landed next to Twilight, gently releasing Fluttershy. Before the lavender unicorn could say anything, I rolled away as another beam shot for my face.

Everyone else were still caught off guard by the sudden attack. They were slowly beginning to recover, but I knew they wouldn’t recover fast enough. I slipped a hand into my jacket, pulling out one of my batarangs.

“Hey, Buzz Boy!” I taunted, catching the robot’s attention. “Over here!”

It buzzed at me and fired several more beams. I ducked under one and dove over the other, rolling and getting to my feet. As it launched another laser, I jumped and flipped over. Before I landed, I threw my arm across, releasing the batarang. It struck the Bomber between its eyes, and it hissed in pain before exploding into pieces.

“What was that?” Celestia asked.

I looked outside, and caught my breath.

An army of robots were marching in from all sides of Canterlot, posing an enormous threat to the citizens. “Celestia!” I ordered. “Gather any guards you have!”

“What?! Why?” Luna asked.

I turned back at them, and there was a slightly perturbed gleam in my eyes. “Because this place is under attack by Robotnik!”

Sonic smirked. “Eggman certainly knows how to make an entrance!”

“No time for banter!” I commanded. “Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy! You know what to do!” They nodded. Sonic, Knuckles, and Amy raced past the guards, while Tails flew out of the castle.

“If any of you can fight, please! Do so to protect the city!” I yelled. Twilight and the other ponies shared a brief look, before nodding. They raced out, though not before Rainbow gave me one last stinkeye.

Celestia ordered her guards out, as did Luna, the ponies quickly stampeding outside. The Princesses gave me a worried look. “What about you?” Celestia asked.

I smiled grimly. “I’m going to fight.” With that, I ran outside and launched the Grapnel Gun forward. I pressed the Grapnel Boost function, and zoomed towards the battlefield. Celestia and Luna watched me go, confusion and worry in their eyes.