Chapters A Case of Mistaken Identity
Chapter 1: A Spell Gone Wrong
It was a peaceful day in Equestria, as ponies from all walks of life, Earth Pony, Pegasus, and Unicorn, were going about their normal business. It was the case in a town called Ponyville, where there has been much activity, which included attacks in the town. Nopony knew if the attacks were over yet, but at least things would be peaceful, for now. In a castle that was built from the town not too long ago, an Alicorn was reading a book. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, the named Princess of Friendship, and faithful student of Princess Celestia. She was trying to find a spell that allowed her to swap bodies with other ponies because her friend Rainbow Dash, known as the fastest flyer in all of Equestria, bet that she would be a good fit to be a princess. Twilight brushed it off earlier, but Rainbow had been picking on her nonstop until she finally had enough and said that she'll do it, but only for a week. Twilight kept reading, while Rainbow paced the floor, waiting for her time to be a princess. Twilight looked up from her reading, an annoyed look on her face.
"Will you stop pacing, Rainbow?" she asked. "You're making me nervous."
Rainbow turned to her, smirking as she stopped pacing. "What else do you want me to do, egghead?"
"You can go outside, and talk to somepony while you're waiting for me," Twilight replied.
Rainbow just snorted. "Nah, I want it to be done as soon as possible, that's why I'm staying right here."
Twilight groaned. She knew there was no way she was getting out of this, either. She made a Pinkie Promise, in which their friend Pinkie was a witness. If she had broken the promise, she wouldn't be hearing the end of it anytime soon. So she kept reading, while Rainbow kept pacing. Eventually Twilight found the spell. "Here it is, now just give me a few seconds to learn the spell...."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. She was willing to be patient, but that was a while ago. Now she was anxious, wanting to be a princess. She smiled when Twilight said, "Here goes nothing."
Rainbow closed her eyes as she waited for the spell to hit her. She was ready to become a princess when...
"HI, TWILIGHT!" came a very happy Pinkie Pie.
Twilight jolted her head to Pinkie in shock and launched her spell on to her. It missed, but curved upwards to the air. Twilight and Rainbow exchanged glances and bolted outside. They found the spell, but only for a second, as it disappeared right before their eyes. Rainbow looked angry, and when Pinkie trotted along, she glared at the party pony. "Great going, Pinkie. Now we have to do it again."
"Whoops-y. Sorry, Dashie." Pinkie said, looking embarrassed at her mistake.
"I used up quite a bit of energy for the spell," Twilight said. "It'll take awhile for me to do it again."
Rainbow groaned. "How is this day going to be worse?"
Meanwhile, in another world, a blue hedgehog was sleeping in the shady spot of a tree. His name is Sonic the Hedgehog, known as the World's Fastest Hedgehog and worldwide hero. After defeating Dr. Eggman, a mad scientist bent on taking over his world, for the umpteenth time, he had a nicely deserved rest. That is, until his best friend and brother, Tails, who is a genius mechanic with two tails, came running up to the blue hedgehog.
"Hey, Sonic!" he said.
Sonic woke up from his position and looked at his buddy, a smile on his face. "Hi, Tails. What's up?" he asked.
"Would you mind coming to my workshop for a little bit? I want you to see the new plane I just built!" Tails stated. It was clear he was excited to show his best friend whatever plane he made.
Sonic got up from his spot, stretching out before saying, "I don't mind. Let's see what you got." He was about to run with Tails to the workshop when he stopped. "Hey, check that out." he said, pointing to the sky.
Tails looked up and saw what Sonic saw. It looked as if there was a magical beam of energy falling from the sky. Sonic and Tails looked at each other, shrugging in confusion, then looked back up. Then Sonic's eyes widened in shock as he realized the beam was headed straight for Tails. "Tails, watch out!" Sonic shouted, and pushed his buddy out of the way. Unfortunately, he was hit by the beam, and was sent flying for a few meters before crashing to the ground, knocked out cold.
Tails looked shocked, and ran over to Sonic's side. "Sonic!" he yelled in fear for his friend. Then he saw a purple aura coming out of his friend's body and backed up. The same beam of energy that went for him shot out of the blue hedgehog's body and disappeared from the sky, leaving a very confused fox to take care of his friend. He took Sonic by the shoulder and used his twin Tails to propel both in the air, heading straight for his workshop. I hope you'll be okay, Sonic. , he thought.
Back in Ponyville, Twilight, Rainbow and Pinkie were waiting for something to happen because of the magical beam that Twilight shot. Both Pinkie and Twilight had looks of concern, while Rainbow looked annoyed. "We've waited long enough. Let's go and do it again, already." the cyan Pegasus stated.
"It's only been a minute, and you still want to be a princess?" Twilight replied. "Can you at least wait another minute? Something will happen, I'm sure of it."
Rainbow groaned. She hated waiting, but at least nothing could go wrong, right? Sure enough, the beam came back from the sky, and it was headed straight for Twilight. She looked up, but it was too late to do anything, as she was hit by the beam, sending her flying until she crashed, knocked out cold.
Rainbow and Pinkie looked at each other in shock, then rushed over to Twilight's side. "Twilight!" they shouted in unison. Rainbow picked up the passed out alicorn and looked straight at Pinkie. "Go get the others. I'm taking her to our castle."
Pinkie nodded. "Right." she said and galloped to get her friends. Rainbow took her friend by the shoulder and flew to the castle, straining with the effort. "My gosh, you're so heavy!" she said to herself. This is how today gets worse? , she thought.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Chapter 2: "Who Are You?"
Sonic woke up from a bed. He didn't know what had happened a few minutes ago, but he knew something bad went down. It took a moment to find his surroundings, and when he did, he found himself in a large room that had darkened walls, a few beds and... ponies? He cocked his head in confusion, wondering why there would be ponies where he was. He expected Tails and the rest of his friends to be there, but these ones looked concerned. He took note of what type of ponies they were. Two of them looked like average ponies, another two had wings, one of them had a horn, and the last two had both wings and a horn each. He didn't know what to make out of this, so he kept silent.
"Are you alright, Twilight?" the tallest pony in the group asked.
Sonic looked dumbfounded. Who was this Twilight? Was he this Twilight? One look at his new body proved it. His eyes widened in shock and he screamed, making the ponies cover their ears. He then sent out rapid-fire questions and statements. "Wh-wh-who are you?! What is this place?! Am I stuck like this?! Please tell me I'm not stuck like this! Where's Tails?! Where's Knuckles?! Where's-"
"ENOUGH!" the cyan Pegasus shouted. "It's clear she's not Twilight, girls. So I have some questions for you."
Sonic had a look of disbelief on his face when he turned to the cyan Pegasus. "Uh, I don't even know who you are, ma'am. So how do I know I can trust you?"
The tallest pony nodded to the second tallest pony, who levitated an assortment of necklaces and a tiara. "Because of these, my little pony. The Elements of Harmony." she said.
Now Sonic knew he was in another world. He tilted his head in confusion. "Um, sorry, what? First of all, why did you call me a 'little pony'? And second, what the heck are these 'Harmony Elements'?"
Everypony giggled at Sonic's expense, which made him look very annoyed. Once the giggling died down, the darker colored pony approached Sonic. "She is used to calling her subjects 'my little pony'. I do it sometimes, but not as much as she does. Also these are called the Elements of Harmony because they"- she pointed to the five ponies with the taller pony- "As well as the former host of thy current body are what keep friendship intact here in the land of Equestria."
Sonic looked to the side, putting a hoof near his mouth and broke the fourth wall. "Yeah, I'll just stick with Harmony Elements if that okay with everybody." he said, clearly not caring about the others hearing him.
The ponies looked confused, except for the pink pony, who giggled madly. "You break the fourth wall, too? Did you know that a crossover between us would happen?"
Sonic looked at the pink pony, then let out a smirk. "Yeah. I knew it would happen. We should work together and demolish it some time."
Both of them giggled, while the rest had looks of concern. Two ponies who knew how to break the fourth wall? That was troubling. Then the pony with a cowgirl's hat and ponytail spoke up. "I guess we should introduce ourselves to, uh, whoever the new girl is. My name's Applejack."
"I'm Pinkie Pie." the pink pony stated happily.
"I'm Fluttershy." the yellow Pegasus said rather quietly.
Sonic didn't pick it up. "Uh, I'm sorry. What was that?"
"Her name's Fluttershy. She's the quiet one of us." the unicorn said. "I'm Rarity, by the way."
"Name's Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in all of Equestria!" the cyan Pegasus proclaimed. Sonic raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued.
"I am Princess Celestia, but you just call me Celestia." the tallest pony said.
"And I am her sister, Luna," the darker pony said with a warm smile. "Who are you, my friend?"
Sonic gathered himself, and said, with a smile and a hoof in the air, "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog."
"You're who now?!" Amy yelled. She couldn't believe what she was hearing out of Twilight, who had a look of concern on her.
"I'm Twilight Sparkle. Please, calm down, Amy. It wasn't my fault that this happened."
Earlier, Twilight woke up seeing two hedgehogs, an echidna, a two-tailed fox, and a bat in an unfamiliar place. After screaming when she realized she didn't have her old body, and checked out her newly-found hands, earning chuckles from the group with her, she asked for their names, and gave hers back, even though they didn't believe her. Amy was having fits, Shadow rolled his eyes, Knuckles looked bored, and Rouge and Tails looked curious.
"Can you tell us what had happened that caused you to be in Sonic's body?" Tails asked.
Twilight nodded. She didn't know who Sonic was, but at least she'd give out info on what happened. "Yes. Earlier I was trying to find a spell that allowed me to switch bodies with anypony I wanted..."
"Hold it right there." Shadow said, annoyance in his voice. "Did you just say, 'anypony'?
Twilight looked offended. "Yes. The world I came from its population is mostly ponies. So I'm used to saying anypony. Is that a big deal?"
Shadow shook his head. "Nope. Continue."
"Thank you. So the spell I was looking for would let me switch places with my friend Rainbow Dash, who is the fastest flyer in Equestria. She bet me that she'd be a good fit to be a princess, though I know that she wouldn't. I had found the spell and was about to cast it when my other friend Pinkie Pie, who a very happy party pony, burst through the doors of my castle. I looked at her in shock and accidentally released my spell on to her. It missed, but I guess it ended up in this world and... well, you know the rest."
"So that's what happened, huh?" Sonic said to Rainbow Dash, who explained what had happened before the swapping occurred.
"Yep," she replied, "now we just have to wait for your friend, Tails or whoever you said was a 'genius mechanic' to build some portal or what-not to come here, and find a way to get you back in your body."
"But first, she needs to learn how to cast spells." Celestia said.
"Not to be rude, Tia, but I'm a 'he', not a 'she'." Sonic said, annoyed.
Luna shook her head. "I'm the only one who calls my sister by that name, Sonic."
Sonic raised an eyebrow. "Is that a problem?"
Celestia giggled. "I see no harm in him calling me Tia."
"But now we have a problem," Applejack said. "He calls himself a 'he', but he's in a mare's body."
"I guess I can be a 'she' for now." Sonic said, answering the question before it could be even asked.
The girls nodded in agreement, as Sonic got up from his bed. He instinctively started walking on two hooves, but ended up face-planting to the floor. Rainbow Dash laughed at his expense, but one glare from the small alicorn stopped it. "It's a learning process, Dash. I'm still in disbelief at the fact that I'm a pony."
"Not just any pony, Sonic." Celestia stated. "You are the Princess of Friendship."
Sonic's pupils shrank to the size of peas. "WHAT?!"
"You're a Princess? Sounds interesting." Rouge said. "What's it like to be one?"
"Well, It's only been a month or so, but having to share the weight of Equestria with the hooves- uh, hands of other Princesses is hard. But my friends and I have banded together and are tasked with solving friendship problems throughout Equestria." Twilight said.
"That's all well and good, but what are we going to do about getting your body back to where it was?" Amy said, crossing her arms.
"I'll work on creating a portal to Equestria, while the rest of you teach all of Sonic's moves and speed to Twilight." Tails stated.
"Wait, speed?" Twilight looked confused.
"Yeah, you have the body of the world's fastest hedgehog." Knuckles said.
Twilight looked scared. "I'm not sure I can handle his speed, but okay."
She got up from her resting place, and instinctively started walking on all fours. Shadow, looking annoyed, grabbed Twilight by the arm and lifted her up to her feet.
"You're not a pony anymore, Faker. You can walk on two feet." he said.
"Um, thanks?" Twilight said, confused. Then realization came to her and she looked mad. "Hey! Why did you call me Faker?! If anything you could be the faker!"
Shadow smirked. "Sonic and I have a friendly rivalry between each other, which is why I called you Faker."
"Okay, but I'm not Sonic, so you have no right to call me Faker." Twilight shot back.
Shadow just nodded in understanding. Twilight then turned to Tails. "So, how long will it take for the portal to be made?"
Tails thought for a moment. "It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks, barring anything bad happening. We just need to keep the Chaos Emeralds with us, we need them to teleport Twilight to her world."
Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "What are Chaos Emeralds?"
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Chapter 3: Trial and No Error
It had been a few hours since the accident between Sonic and Twilight, and already the two are starting to get used to the worlds they're in. Sonic was shown around Ponyville, where each of his new-found friends showed their respective areas. When the tour was finished, Rainbow Dash decided to teach him how to fly. It started with a little basic premise, flapping his wings up and down to gain height. Sonic was testing it out for a while when he put on his game face and started bolting around, to Rainbow's surprise.
"YAHOO!" he exclaimed as he flew around Ponyville. "I'm already liking this new body!"
Rainbow paused for a moment, then let out a grin, taking off and flying over to the alicorn. "Wow, you're getting this down faster than Twilight."
Sonic smirked. "Thanks. I am a fast learner, after all. Watch out for that tree."
Rainbow looked, but too late, she crashed straight on to the tree. Sonic fell down laughing, and Rainbow got up with an annoyed look.
"Gotta have better reflexes, Dashie." he stated.
Rainbow flashed a devious smile. "Oh, really?"
She charged at Sonic, who looked, but it was too late, as they started rolling back to Ponyville. After the rolling ended, the two laughed together laying down.
"Now who needs better reflexes, Sonic?" Rainbow said.
Sonic smiled. "I guess we both do."
They continued laughing, then looked to see Applejack heading towards the two. "Looks like you two are having fun," she said. "While that's all well and good, we need to head to Canterlot for your session in using magic, Sonic."
Sonic looked ready for it. "Good. I can't wait to see the look of Twily's face when she sees my magic skills."
Rainbow chuckled. "Don't get your hopes up. I bet she expects you to learn magic so that you both can swap bodies again."
Sonic nodded. "Oh, well. Let's go then."
They hurried to the train station to meet up with the others so they can head for Canterlot.
Meanwhile, Shadow was teaching Twilight all of Sonic's abilities. They started with some of the basics, per Twilight's request, so that she could build up to Sonic's speed. Right now, Shadow was showing how both he and Sonic could Spin Jump.
"That's amazing." Twilight said. "Sonic has an amazing jump ability. I need to know more of what he can do."
"Oh, there's more to it than just jumping." Shadow replied. "Try and keep up."
He then took off in a direction, while Twilight, looking shocked, started to run in his direction. "Wait up!" she shouted. But Shadow didn't listen. He started running rather slowly then picked up the pace. Twilight saw him do that and tried to pick up the pace as well. At about half speed for both of them, Twilight finally realized why he told her to keep up, and started running faster. Shadow saw this and kept pace with her throughout the running. Twilight was smiling at the speed she was going. "Wow! I'm starting to like Sonic's body!" she said, her head turned to Shadow.
"Good on you," Shadow replied. "Now watch where you're going."
"Huh?" Twilight said before she ran into a tree. Shadow gave a look of pity to the blue hedgehog, and helped her up.
"In this world, there's a saying called: Keep your eyes on the road at all times." he said.
Twilight gave him an annoyed look, but she nodded. "I'll keep it in mind next time I start running. But sweet Celestia, I've never felt so... so free in my life! This is how Rainbow Dash feels when she's flying? I've never felt the feeling. I've been accustomed to reading books all day."
"It's nice to read some books every once in a while, but why exactly do you read books?" Shadow asked.
"I like to study a lot." Twilight explained. "You see, I'm Princess Celestia's most faithful student, and I try to the best of my ability to make her proud. I hope that Sonic can impress her as much as I can."
"From what I've heard, he's a fast learner, so he shouldn't have a problem with that." Shadow replied. "Besides, I think he's game for a little challenge."
"Magic is complicated to learn. That's a challenge unlike anything Sonic has wither witnessed or done. If he does well, he has my approval." Twilight said, giving Shadow a thumbs up.
Shadow smiled. "I can imagine it being a challenge. But for now, let's go to Angel Island, a floating island where Knuckles lives and protects the Master Emerald."
Twilight nodded. She wanted to see the island for herself, more specifically, this Master Emerald that he was talking about. Shadow approached her, took out an emerald, and chanted, "CHAOS CONTROL!" and the two vanished.
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Chapter 4: Magic Lessons
Sonic and the Mane Five have boarded the Ponyville train headed to Canterlot, after Sonic agreed to take magic lessons from Princess Celestia. While on the train, the group had discussed what had been going on in their respective worlds, which included topics like Dr. Eggman originally kidnapping innocent animals and turning them into evil robots, to which Fluttershy looked shocked and upset at the notion.
"W-why would he do such a thing?" she asked.
Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. He doesn't do it anymore, but still, it sucks to be trapped inside a robot, especially one that does nothing but destroy things."
"I think he didn't have a good foal-hood to be wanting to take over your world," Appleack said. "But still I wanna know why he would?"
"Again, I dunno. His intentions are to build some 'Eggmanland' or some kind of amusement park, which doesn't sound bad at first, but the way he's going by doing it doesn't make any sense." Sonic stated.
"I would've done the same thing you did, Sonic," Rainbow said. "Anypony who tries to take my home is gonna get it, the hard way!"
"How brave of you, Dash. But try to take care of his robots while you're at it." Sonic looked out the window. "Wow! So this is Canterlot?"
The group could now see the city of Canterlot as the train made its way to the station. Sonic was in awe, but he agreed to keep his composure throughout the time walking to Celestia's castle. As he was in Twilight's body, the other ponies think that he knows the city. As they strolled through the city, Sonic walked straight ahead, not paying attention to the other ponies. When the group reached the castle, the guards stationed there bowed to them, letting the doors open for their access. Once they went inside, they could see Celestia and another alicorn, this time more pink, and a unicorn, who had an all-white coat just like Rarity. They turned to see the group just arriving at the castle.
"Hi, everypony!" the pink alicorn said. "Twilight!"
She approached the small alicorn and, with no hesitation: "Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Sonic looked very confused. "Uh, what are you doing?" he asked.
The pink alicorn got up from her stance and giggled. "Sorry. That's what me and Twilight have done since she was a filly. I'm Cadence, by the way."
Sonic nodded slowly. "I'll take your word for it." He approached the unicorn. "Hi. What's your name?"
"My name is Shining Armor, and I'm Twily's big brother," the unicorn said. He motioned to Cadence. "She's my wife."
Sonic nodded again. "Cool." He turned to Celestia. "I'm ready when you are."
Celestia nodded as well. "Then let us go, Sonic." She led the former hedgehog deeper in the castle while the rest dispersed from the castle.
Celestia opened the door to the same room where Twilight got her cutie mark. Sonic grinned as he saw the layout of the room. "Pretty nice room. So this is where Twilight got her cutie mark?"
"Indeed, Sonic." Celestia replied. "I shall assume your new friends told you about cutie marks, right?"
"Not really. Somepony by the name of Cherilee did so."
"Oh. And I am surprised that you are getting our terminology so quickly." Celestia stated.
Sonic smiled. "I am a fast learner. Just like me making that book float."
He pointed with his hoof to the floating book. Celestia looked surprised. "I must say, your magic skills are higher than I had anticipated."
Sonic shrugged. "Again, I'm a fast learner." He put the book back to where it was on the shelf it came from, then turned to Celestia. "So, what are you going to teach me first?"
Celestia smiled. "That was actually the first lesson I was going to teach you, but it seems you have got it. Your first actual lesson is to cast a spell from a book." She took out the same book that Sonic levitated onto a table for him to read. "It is best to start with beginner spells before moving to the more advanced spells."
Sonic read the book, looking for any beginner spells that had his interest. He had found one, and made his horn glow. When the magic from his horn reached its peak, he cast the spell on an object. Celestia smiled, as she thought that this was going faster than what she anticipated. "You are doing well, Sonic. Let us go into the next lesson."
A Case of Mistaken Identity
Chapter 5: Speed and Chaos
Twilight and Shadow had reached the area where Knuckles guarded the Master Emerald. Once they reached the top, Twilight's eyes were sparkling in awe of the powerful gem before her. "Wow! So this is the master emerald?" she asked.
Knuckles woke up from his little nap, seeing Twilight and Shadow. He got up and approached the two. "Yes, it is," he said. "It contains immense power that is not to be trifled with, even for a princess like you."
Twilight looked stunned. "I-immense power? How immense is it?"
Knuckles grinned. "It's the only power source that lifts this island literally in the air. It's the only thing that can deactivate the Chaos Emeralds as well, as we need to if they're used the wrong way."
Twilight put a finger on her chin, thinking for a few seconds. "Are you the only one who can control the Master Emerald, since you're its guardian?"
Knuckles nodded. "Yep. I have to protect it, or else not only does this island fall onto the ocean, but the entire world is at risk of being taken over or destroyed."
Twilight gasped. "That's terrible! Who in their right mind would try to take over or destroy a world?"
"Somebody who doesn't have a right mind-set..." Knuckles looked up, then pointed to the sky. "...like Dr. Eggman."
Twilight and Shadow turned to seethe Egg Carrier heading straight for Angel Island. Twilight's eyes widened in horror, while Shadow harrumphed. Knuckles crackled his fists, getting ready for the usual fight, while Twilight looked at the two, shocked at what she was seeing. "How can you two be so calm at a time like this?!"
"This happens all the time. We're used to it by now," Shadow replied. He put a reassuring hand on the blue hedgehog. "Have some fun with Eggman's robots. According to Sonic, his Egg Pawns are nothing."
By that time, the robots landed on the Island. The ones surrounding the three pointed their weapons at them, while the three took defensive positions. Twilight looked nervous, wondering how in the heck she'd be able to take down these robots, when Shadow answered that question for her. She saw him take the first strike by using a Homing Attack on the nearest robot. That made the robots fire their weapons, and made Twilight dodge frantically. Knuckles struck with a few punches that tore holes on the robots he was facing, while Shadow continued his assault with his Chaos Spear. Twilight didn't know what to do, until she realized that Shadow and Sonic were about the same, except with Shadow's Chaos abilities. She tightened her fists, then struck with her own Homing Attack on a robot. The robot blew up a few meters from the force of the attack, and she was wide-eyed. She then smiled menacingly, and started a chain of attacks of her own. Out of the corners of their eyes, Shadow and Knuckles watched her while taking care of their own robots. Once the robots were finished, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief from all of what was happening. Knuckles walked up to her and grinned. "Not bad for a starter, Princess."
Twilight blushed. "Thanks."
"All well and good," Shadow said. "Bet we've got one more problem on our hands."
Sure enough, Dr. Eggman landed on the island, piloting a giant mech. Twilight grew a serious expression on her as she said, "Dr. Eggman!"
"Oh, ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho!" Was the usual laugh from the doctor. "Hello, dear friends. If you would so kindly let me-" He then stopped as soon as he thought about the unusually serious expression from his eternal nemesis. He placed his hands on his console as he leaned closer. "Sonic? Is that you?"
"Not anymore," Knuckles said. "Due to some unfortunate mishap, he's now Princess Twilight Sparkle."
Eggman just stayed there for merely a few seconds, then he erupted into laughter. He just couldn't believe what he was hearing. "'Princess Twilight Sparkle. What a classic! Pardon me, your highness," he said sarcastically, and bowed to her, "but this is no time for tea talk with all sunshine and rainbows. All I need is to borrow the Master Emerald for my own-"
"No." Was the response from the princess. She got furious as soon as the doctor mentioned tea with sunshine and rainbows. "You will not touch the Master Emerald."
Now the doctor grinned at the blue hedgehog. "And just how are you going to make me, Princess? You don't know any of Sonic's moves!"
As the doctor laughed, Twilight stood up and grinned. She then charged up a powerful Spin Dash and, once it was fully charged, she got herself in an athlete's starting position. "Ready..."
Eggman stopped laughing and looked at what was happening. "WHAT?!"
But it was too late, for as soon as Twilight yelled, "GO!" the Spin Dash, combined with Shadow's own, tore through the robot, making an explosion behind them. As a result, Eggman got blasted to the sky and onto the Egg Carrier. The resulting damage made the carrier retreat to the horizon, per Eggman's command. Twilight and Shadow then ran back to Knuckles, where he said as soon as they arrived, "Never underestimate a princess. Especially if she is in Sonic's body and is a quick learner. That was pretty good, I'll admit."
Twilight blushed again. "Aww. Thanks, Knuckles." She then grew serious. "Is he going to come back?"
"Count on it." Shadow said. "He's gonna keep trying to take over this world no matter how many times we beat him."
Twilight growled. "He needs to learn the Magic of Friendship, then."
Knuckles laughed. "Slow down there, Princess. First of all, he's not going to learn this 'Magic of Friendship' any time soon. Secondly, if you try to change his mind, what's Sonic gonna do for the rest of his life? Run away from Amy? He needs someone to keep him running, and Eggman's the perfect candidate for it."
Twilight looked shocked. "But, if he learns it, peace will come to this world."
"Sonic wants adventure. He's gonna keep running regardless. If there's no adventure, we all turn into washed up heroes. Sonic hates that, so he needs Eggman to keep him running." Knuckles continued.
Twilight slowly nodded in understanding. "I understand. If that's what he wants, then I won't stop him from running."
Shadow and Knuckles nodded. "Just be sure to keep Eggman at bay whenever he attacks." Shadow said.
Twilight nodded. "So what's next?"