Chapter 1: The End of One Conquest and the Beginning of Another
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Chapter 1: The End of One Conquest and the Beginning of Another
Robotnik vs. Equestria
A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Fanfiction
Written by Jade Dawn
“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” is owned by Hasbro. "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" is owned by SEGA, DiC Animation City, and Bohbot Entertainment. I own nothing.
Chapter 1: The End of One Conquest and the Beginning of Another
"THAT'S IT!!! I'VE ABSOLUTELY HAD IT!!!" Doctor Robotnik slammed his fist into the armrest of his throne, shaking the whole room for a moment.
Less than an hour earlier, the evil tyrant's latest scheme to conquer the planet Mobius had been foiled by Sonic and his two-tailed fox companion Tails. It had only been the latest in a long string of defeats for Robotnik, and yet another triumphant victory for the heroic hedgehog and Mobius as a whole.
Naturally, old Robotnik was feeling a little down in the dumps.
Off to the side of the throne room, his robot minions Scratch and Grounder huddled close together in fear, appalled by their boss's latest rant.
"Gee, Grounder," the chicken-like robot whispered. "I've seen Doctor Robotnik get mad before, but never quite like this."
"I know," his drill-armed companion replied. "This is the worst I've ever seen him."
"WHAT ARE YOU TWO DING-BOTS TALKING ABOUT OVER THERE?!" Robotnik screamed, suddenly aware of the mechanical duo's hushed conversation.
Scratch and Grounder jumped, trying their best to feign innocent grins. "Uh, nothing, doctor!" Scratch said. "Just, uh...chatting about the weather–"
"Oh, shut up!" the mad doctor said. He stepped off of his throne and began to pace around the room ranting to himself all the while.
"That stupid Sonic!" He yelled. "Ever since I began my conquest of Mobius, that blasted blue beast has foiled one scheme after another! Lake Robotnik? Ruined! A monument in my honor? Spoiled! A takeover of Christmas? Forget it! Even the Chaos Emeralds! I actually got all four of them, and that meddling hedgehog still beat me! The ultimate power in the Universe was in my grasp, and he STILL! BEAT! MEEE!!!" He sat himself down on the floor and put his head in his hands. "What will it take?! A man should be free to enslave an entire planet without fear of defeat from a blasted hedgehog! What do I have to do to rule!"
"Well..." Scratch began nervously. At Robotnik's irritated glare, he suddenly wished he had kept his metallic mouth shut.
"Yes?" Robotnik growled dangerously. "You sounded like you had an idea. Not that it'll do any good. Nothing you two could come up with could possibly be as brilliant as any of my evil schemes."
"Um..." Scratch began again, sweating as much as cartoon physics would allow. "I-if...if it's so hard for us–for you, I mean–to take over Mobius, then why don't we try another place? I mean, there's got to be another planet where Sonic can't stop us, right?"
"Yeah!" Grounder agreed. "I'll bet there's another place for you to rule!"
"Hmm," Robotnik said, nodding. "You know what I think about that?"
"What?" the two robots asked simultaneously.
"That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard!" Robotnik shouted! "Leave Mobius?! Outrageous! After all the time and money and energy that I have invested, do you really think I would be so stupid as to give it all up and try somewhere else?! What an idea!" He started to head back to his throne, but then froze. He let out a loud gasp, as though a most ingenious idea had popped into his head.
"Scratch! Grounder!" He cried. "A most ingenious idea has just popped into my head! It's like lightning has struck my brilliant brain!"
"Gee, I bet that must've hurt," Grounder said.
Robotnik ignored him, and continued. "I can't believe I haven't thought of this earlier! It's the most brilliant, most logical course of action! I should've done it years ago!"
"What's your idea, you're maliciousness?" Scratch asked excitedly.
"If I can't conquer Mobius...then I shall find another planet to rule over!"
Scratch and Grounder looked confused. "Um," Scratch began. "Didn't we just..."
"Of course! It's so brilliantly evil! Sonic and Tails wouldn't dare to follow me and leave Mobius unprotected! That's what I'll do! Come, you mechanical minions!" he began to make his way to the exit.
"Where are we going, doctor?" Grounder asked, as he and Scratch fell in behind. "I thought we were going to leave Mobius and find some other planet to take over?"
"We will, we will. But first, we're going to need some supplies. And I know just the place to purchase them..."
Three hours and one bus ride later...
As the bus pulled away in a cloud of dust, Robotnik and his two minions stood outside of a large, modern looking shopping mall. The sign on the front denoted it as the "Mobius Mall for Evil Villains".
"Huh," Scratch said. "I didn't think they built places like this."
"You'd be surprised at what they do between episodes," Robotnik replied. "Now let's go get supplies for my latest venture."
As the trio entered the mall, Scratch and Grounder couldn't help but be astonished at the things they saw inside. All through the mall were shelves and shelves of items for any kind of evil purpose imaginable: disintegrator guns, poison of all effects and colors, freeze rays, mech suits, Sith lightsabers, battle droids, xenomorph eggs, Barbasol cans, kryptonite, symbiotes, Ceti eels, Schwartz rings...and many more things as well. To put it plainly, this place had it all.
The shoppers at the mall were just as interesting as well. Most of them were low-level crooks or fledgling despots, but there were a surprising number of the Universe's most hated villains there as well. They even ran into Pennywise at one point, who gave the trio a friendly "hello" as they made a brief pass through the balloon aisle.
"Wow," Grounder said in awe as they passed more shelves of items. "They have everything here!"
"So, boss," Scratch asked. "What exactly are we looking for?"
"A ship," Robotnik answered. "If we're going to enslave another planet, we're going to need something spaceworthy...ah! Here it is!" They stopped in front of a large set of doors that led to a huge lot outside the mall. Above the doors were the words "Vehicle Lot: All Kinds, Sizes, and Functions!"
"We're sure to find something here that will suit my evil preferences!" Robotnik said hopefully. "Come! Let's find ourselves a vehicle!"
As the trio went to enter the doors, they suddenly heard a voice behind them.
"Well, well!" said the voice in a mocking tone. "If it isn't Robuttnik coming here to buy more toys for his great schemes!"
"Oh, no..." Robotnik muttered. "Not this dolt again..."
The group turned around. Behind them was a tall man with white hair, wearing a blue coat and tan pants. He looked at the group with a cruel, mocking smile plastered on his face. Behind him was a gnome in a green coat, holding on to a shopping cart loaded with spell books.
"Oh, brother," Robotnik growled. "Ignatius Mortimer Meen...we meet again."
"That's 'I.M. Meen' to you!" Meen corrected. "But moving on to my original point...what's an upstanding 'evil genius' like you doing here of all places? I should think that a man with your kind of intellect should be able to create anything they needed on their own?"
"None of your business," Robotnik snapped, starting to move around him toward the doors.
"We're buying supplies so we can conquer another planet!" Grounder announced.
"Yeah! Robotnik is sick of being defeated by Sonic, so we're looking for another place to take over!" Scratch added.
Robotnik winced. He really wanted to move past Meen and get back to shopping, but of course those two mechanical morons had botched things again. He would've scolded them for their stupidity if Meen hadn't started laughing.
"So that's it?" he laughed. "You're giving up?! Boy, I knew you were a pathetic excuse for a despot, but I didn't think you were a quitter! Oh, this is rich!"
"I am not quitting my dreams of tyranny!" Robotnik insisted. "I have simply decided that repeatedly dealing with Sonic is detrimental to my physical and mental wellbeing!"
"That doesn't change the fact that you're quitting," Meen responded.
"Oh...you're just jealous that I've experienced a sudden resurgence in popularity on YouTube while your fad is slowly dying out!"
If Meen was offended by that remark, he did a good job of hiding it. He gave Robotnik a dismissing wave of his hand. "I don't have time to deal with flop-outs like you. I've got things to purchase. Come on, Gnorris!" he said as he began to move away, the gnome pushing the shopping cart close behind.
"Gee, Doctor Robotnik," Scratch said. "I don't think he likes you too much."
"Oh, you think?"
"What happened to get you two so mad at each other?" Grounder asked.
"It's a long story. One that you two wouldn't understand." He made his way back to the doors. "Now come on. Let's find that ship." The trio once again began to make their way toward the lot, when Meen's voice rang out to them once more.
"Wait a moment, Robotnik!" He called from down the aisle. "If you're looking for a planet to conquer, I have a pretty good suggestion!"
"Oh, really?" Robotnik asked, skeptical of this suddenly friendly offer. "And what might that be?"
Meen strode up to them, carrying a book titled "Emperor Palpatine's Guide to the Universe". He flipped through several pages before arriving at the one he wanted. He held the book up to Robotnik, pointing at a label under the "E" section.
"Let me see that," Robotnik said gruffly, taking the book from Meen. He began to read what was written in that particular passage. "'Equestria: A fertile, Earth-like planet located in sector IC-434 of the Milky Way galaxy. It's primary inhabitants are...ponies'?!" he cried. He stared up at Meen in shock. "What are you trying to pull here?!"
"Think about it," Meen said with a smile. "Never been conquered, completely open for anyone who wants the place. They'd be relatively easy to overthrow, and they'd make for excellent beasts of burden. All horses do. How do you think people got around in the Wild West?"
Robotnik thought about this for a moment. Judging from the pictures in the book, it seemed that Meen was right. And yet...
He eyed Meen suspiciously. "There's something you're not telling me, isn't there? What are you hiding?"
"Nothing," Meen answered. "Nothing at all. I'm simply trying to help a fellow villain."
"Says the man who was just mocking me earlier."
"My dear Doctor Robotnik," Meen said, his voice irritatingly polite. "I make it a point to be as honest as I can with people." He gave him a mischievous grin. "Especially the ones I don't like. You ought to know that by now."
"If these ponies are as easy to subjugate as you claim, then why haven't you tried enslaving them?"
"Because I'm running a pretty good racket trapping little children in my labyrinth. Unlike some people, I don't like to change trades when I've got a thing going."
For a moment, Robotnik was silent as he pondered Meen's unusual offering. Finally, he took out a notepad and pen, and began jotting down the coordinates of the planet from the book. "Fine. We'll give this 'Equestria' place a try." He finished writing, and turned back to Scratch and Grounder. "Alright, you two nincombots! Snap to it! We've got a ship to buy and a planet to conquer!"
"Coming, Doctor!" the two robots said in unison.
I.M. Meen watched as the trio made their way out to the vehicle lot, a devilish grin on his face all the while.
Gnorris came up to him. "Uh, Boss? You didn't really explain to him why nobody's conquered Equestria yet." he pointed out nervously.
Meen chuckled. "Oh, Gnorris...now why would I tell him that?"
One hour and a little over $700 later...
In the end, Robotnik had purchased a used Martian flying saucer for his spacecraft. It turned out to have a pretty decent engine system, and even came with a laboratory and a laser cannon.
Even better, he had purchased it for practically nothing. They had discovered that they were selling miniature Death Star super-laser tech for a special Buy One Get One Free sale. So he had bought the super-laser, and ended up using the Get One Free part on the saucer. A pretty good bargain, all things considered.
Now they were back at Robotnik's fortress, packing whatever they could for the long trip ahead of them. Scratch and Grounder were loading food and whatever personal wares they had, while Robotnik busied himself with shrinking his throne and lab equipment with a shrink ray he had bought, packing the items into various suitcases.
He was just about finished and was watching Scratch and Grounder load everything into the saucer when Coconuts, an earlier robot shaped like a monkey with a siren on top of his head, came running up to him
"Boss, boss!" he asked. "Is it true? Are you really giving up trying to take over Mobius?"
"That's correct, Coconuts," he answered. "Me, Scratch, and Grounder are going to find a new world to subjugate."
"But what about me? Am I coming too?"
"No." Robotnik answered flatly. "You're staying here. There's only so much weight that the ship can take."
"W-what?!" Coconuts said, aghast. "Well, do I at least get to keep the fortress?"
"Oh, fine," Robotnik said, handing him a set of keys. "Here. Take it. It's all yours now, I don't care what you do with it."
Coconuts' attitude cleared up instantly. "I get to keep the fortress! The whole thing, all to myself! Woohoo!!!" he shouted as he ran off.
"Doctor Robotnik!" Scratch called from inside the saucer. "We're ready to go when you are!"
Robotnik smiled and clapped his hands together. "Excellent! Let my new mission of conquest begin!" he said as he ascended the boarding ramp of the saucer. He made his way to the pilot's seat, and began setting the controls to initiate the takeoff sequence.
"Wait a minute," Grounder asked. "Isn't Coconuts coming?"
"Of course not, you bolt-brain!" Robotnik snapped back. "I'm already taking you two along; no need for any other klutzy minions."
"But I thought you were going to rig the fortress to self-destruct so Sonic couldn't find all of your secrets!" Scratch protested.
"Coconuts is a pretty resilient robot. He'll be fine." Robotnik said. He pushed a button, starting the engines.
Outside, the edges of the saucer began to rotate, slowly at first, but gradually picking up speed. Finally, the craft lifted up into the air. It flew over the landscape for a while, before finally ascending into the cold, dark reaches of space on it's voyage to conquest.
Or so Robotnik hoped.
A few minutes later...
A few miles away from Robotnik's (former) fortress, a cloud of dust was raised on the sandy road as Sonic sped forth, his pal Tails hovering a few feet behind him.
"Are you sure those UFO sightings have something to do with Doctor Robotnik?" Tails asked.
"I'm positive, Tails," Sonic answered. "Whenever something strange and eerie happens around here, Robotnik's usually behind it. We should be coming up on his fortress right about now."
As the approached the fortress, the duo slowed to a halt. The building, with its tall structure and giant, golden Robotnik statue, loomed above them.
"Now let's see what Robotnik has planned this time," Sonic said.
"Sonic, look!" Tails exclaimed, pointing. "There's a note on the door!"
And so there was. Sonic took it off and began to read what it said:
"Dear pesky hedgehog,
I'm done. I've had enough of you constantly fouling up my plans to rule Mobius.
Me, Scratch, and Grounder are leaving to find another planet to takeover.
I wish you the absolute worst of luck.
Sincerely, Doctor Ivo Robotnik
P.S. This fortress will self-destruct around the same time that you finish reading this letter. Consider it a parting shot."
Sonic's eyes went wide. "RUN!" he shouted, grabbing Tails by the arm and speeding off as fast as he could. An instant later, the entire fortress exploded into a brilliant blast of fire and destruction, sending a loud boom across the land.
Sonic and Tails skidded to a halt a safe distance away. They watched in a kind of shocked silence as the remains of the fortress began to burn, flaming remains falling to the ground all around them.
Suddenly, Coconuts, wearing the charred remains of a bathrobe, landed with a thud a few feet away from them. Sonic and Tails paid him no mind, continuing to watch the conflagration.
"Wha–what happened?" Coconuts asked, sitting up and shaking his head in a daze.
"Robotnik self-destructed the fortress," Tails answered numbly.
Coconuts joined them in looking at the wreckage, his jaw dropping. For a moment, he said nothing.
Then, with a sudden fury, he pounded his fist into the ground.
"I'VE BEEN STIFFED!!!"
The Castle of Friendship, Ponyville, Equestria
Yawning heavily, Spike opened the door to the castle's outside balcony. On the edge, near the railing, Princess Twilight Sparkle was gazing at the stars through a telescope, occasionally stopping to jot down notes.
"Twi?" Spike asked, shuffling his newly-grown wings a little. "Are you coming to bed soon? It's almost midnight!"
Twilight turned. "Oh, sorry Spike. I heard from Astronomy Weekly that there's going to be a meteor shower tomorrow night. If it comes over the area at the time that I estimate it will, it should add a some extra flair to Coloratura's concert tomorrow evening."
Last week, Coloratura had announced that she would be stopping at Ponyville as part of her latest tour. The entire town had been excited, and preparations had been going on for the past few days. Already, the lights of the stage were burning brightly just outside of town.
"I'm glad she's gonna be coming back," Spike said. "And I'm really glad that she's been doing better since we got rid of that manager of hers."
"Yeah, she's been doing real well since then," Twilight agreed.
Spike came up beside her and looked up at the night sky. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "Whoa. I think that meteor shower might be coming a little bit early."
"Huh?" Twilight said, confused. "What do you mean?"
Spike pointed, and Twilight followed the indicated direction. And then she saw it: a large, bright red spot of light whizzing across the sky at breakneck speed. It seemed to slow down as it passed over the Everfree Forest, and then disappeared behind the treeline.
"What was that?" Spike asked. "A meteor? Do you think it landed in the Everfree?"
Twilight shook her head. "No. We would've heard it. I don't know what that was."
At that time, none of them had any clue what they had seen.
But they soon would wished that it never came.
Author's Note
And so begins the first chapter of my latest writing venture. And it's gonna be a wild one, I'll say that much.
Now, I've got to be perfectly honest with you: I've never actually played any of the Sonic games. But I do love the Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog show, and that's what this story is based off of. If any of you are familiar with YTP, you'll know which one I'm talking about. Anyways, I hope you enjoy, and I hope to add more soon! :)
P.S. The saucer that Robotnik ends up buying is from Mars Attacks!. Just thought I'd put that out there since it wasn't immediately obvious in the text.
So it basically looks like one of these.
Chapter 2: Snooping (and kidnapping) as Usual
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Chapter 2: Snooping (and kidnapping) as Usual
Robotnik vs. Equestria
A “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” Fanfiction
Written by Jade Dawn
“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” is owned by Hasbro. "Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog" is owned by SEGA, DiC Animation City, and Bohbot Entertainment. I own nothing.
Chapter 2: Snooping (and kidnapping) as Usual
The Castle of the Two Sisters
It had taken a few hours for Dr. Robotnik's flying saucer to cool off after entry into Equestria's atmosphere. But now at last, the ship had cooled enough for its three devious occupants to venture outside and see the world which would be the target of their hostilities.
Slowly, the boarding ramp uncoiled from the saucer like a giant tongue, and the door opened up shortly afterwards. Robotnik descended the ramp and paused, taking in a view of his surroundings.
They had landed in a clearing in a large, forested area. Behind the saucer were the ruins of what once might have been a castle, with a large moat and rickety-looking bridges connecting to it. The trees all had strange, curved looking trunks, looking for all the world like something out of a fantasy novel. Birds were singing happily, and the sun shone down upon the flying saucer, reflecting off of its silver hull in a brilliant yellow haze.
Robotnik took a deep breath of fresh air. "Look at this," he said happily, gesturing at the landscape around him. "So peaceful. So tranquil. So...completely unsuspecting of my diabolical plans for its destruction! MWAHAHAHAHAHAAA!!!" He laughed loudly, then turned back toward the entrance to the saucer. "Scratch! Grounder! Where are you two bolt-heads?"
There was loud crash from within the ship, which Robotnik could only assume was some piece of equipment knocked over by the two bumbling bots. An instant later, the duo were at the entrance, saluting their creator.
Scratch spoke up first. "You called us, your..." he trailed off as he got an eyeful of the world around them. "Whoa! This place looks amazing!"
"Yeah!" Grounder agreed. "There were never this many trees back on Mobius."
"Yes, yes, more oxygen being pumped into the air. Big deal," Robotnik said sarcastically. "Now–"
"And look at that!" Scratch pointed upward at the sky above them, which was strikingly monochromatic compared to Mobius's typically multicolored sky. "The sky is blue!"
"Oh, shut up, you ding-bots!" Robotnik chastised. "We're not here to admire the scenery! We're here to make this planet my domain, remember?"
"Oh, yeah!" Grounder replied. "Yes, of course, your maliciousness!"
"That's better. Now...for our first act of conquest." He pointed at the castle. "With a little fixing up, these ruins could serve as a perfect foundation for my new base of operations. I shall remain here and begin moving our wares in. While I am engaged with that, I have a job for you two."
"What do you need?" Grounder asked.
Robotnik pointed to the forest. "The ship's sensors detected a settlement to the southwest as we came down. I assume this is where these so-called pony creatures live. I want you to go to that town, capture one, and bring him or her back here for interrogation. I want to know as much as I can about how their society works before I start my takeover."
"But didn't that I.M. Meen guy say they would be easy to overthrow?" Scratch asked.
"Now, look," Robotnik replied. "I know he gave us a pointer to an ideal planet at least, but that doesn't mean that I trust the man. Me and Meen have a rather rough history between us, and if this is some kind of practical joke, I want to know as soon as possible. I didn't come who-knows how many lightyears just to get stiffed by that annoying, child-snatching magician." He pointed again. "Now get to it!"
"Right away sir!" The robotic duo said, as they moved forward to embark on their assignment. But then they suddenly stopped. "Uh..." Scratch began.
Robotnik sighed in annoyance. "What?"
"How exactly are we supposed to catch one of these ponies?"
Robotnik groaned. "I don't know! Offer it a carrot or something! I didn't spend my childhood studying up on multicolored equines! I spent my childhood learning how to be an evil genius! Now get a move on so I can start making that happen!"
The two saluted, and went off into the forest. Soon, they had disappeared amongst the trees in the direction that Robotnik had pointed them in.
Robotnik turned and went back into the ship's interior, and began to unpack the various pieces of equipment that they had brought. Those two nitwits had better not bungle this up, he thought to himself as he worked. Oh, who am I kidding? It's Scratch and Grounder. Of course they'll do something wrong.
Ponyville
"...no, no, a little more to the right. A little more...a little more...there, that's it! Well done, everypony!" Twilight said as the volunteers set the last of the stage lights into place, while she hovered a few feet of the ground. She smiled as she surveyed the stage that was being set up for Coloratura's concert that night, visualizing how it would look when evening came.
In her mind, it was a thing of beauty. It was going to be the best concert since Songbird Serenade's at the Friendship Festival.
She alighted down to the seating area, where Applejack, Rarity, and a few other volunteer ponies were busy setting up the seating and decorations and such. "And how are things going with the seating arrangements?" Twilight asked cheerfully.
"About as well as it can be," replied Rarity, who was occupied with placing cushions on the seats. She took a look "And you've been doing a wonderful job here, Twilight. This concert is going to be simply fabulous!" she said, dramatically gesturing at the surrounding area with a hoof.
"Yeah, it sure is gonna look good," Applejack agreed, coming up to the other two. "Although, if ah'm bein' perfectly honest with y'all, I just can't wait to see Rara again."
"Did somepony call my name?"
At the sound of the all-too familiar voice, the three turned around...and there was Coloratura, smiling warmly at the trio.
"Rara!" Applejack exclaimed happily. She ran over to Coloratura and pulled her into a warm embrace. "It's so great to see ya again!"
"It's good to see you two, AJ," Coloratura replied. As she pulled herself out of the hug, she looked at Twilight and Rarity. "And it's nice to see you again, Princess Twilight. And, um...Rarity, was it?"
"Yes, that would be me," Rarity affirmed. "I must say, you entrance this time around was much less...extravagant than last time."
Coloratura nodded. "It's part of the new theme: 'Just a Pony'. Not to much fanfare or anything like that; just trying to remind Equestria that, except for the career, I'm just like the rest of you."
"Nice," Twilight said. "You even kept the outfit from that night."
"Yeah," Coloratura replied, looking down at the simple black shirt and skirt that she wore. "The audience seemed to like the new look. I do too." She grinned. "It also takes a lot less time to put on than the other one."
The four shared a laugh.
"Anyway," Twilight continued. "I was hoping to go over the musical selection with you. Do you think we could do that?"
"Could we put that on hold for a minute?" Coloratura asked. "I was gonna go to my trailer and freshen up a little before we start."
"That's fine," Twilight said with a nod. She began to head back toward the stage. "Meet you in a minute or two."
"I won't be long. Be right back," Coloratura said, giving a brief wave to Rarity and Applejack before she began to head to her trailer, which was parked a little ways behind the stage.
She smiled as she walked. It felt good to be back among the ponies that had helped put her back on the right path. Or rather, had removed the disgusting, contemptible bully of a manager that had knocked her off the right path in the first place. Either way you put it, they had helped.
But that feeling soon began to dissipate as she neared her trailer, and saw that the door was open ajar. She couldn't remember if it had been locked, but it definitely wasn't supposed to be open like that.
And then she heard the voices. Two of them, both male. Coming from inside the trailer.
Something resembling dread settled upon Coloratura's consciousness as she gingerly stepped up to the trailer, carefully opened the door, trying to avoid making a noise, and stepped inside.
To her left were two of the strangest excuses for living beings that she had ever seen. One of them was a tall, chicken-like creature with a body coated in some kind of armor. The other was a short, fat, metallic creature with drills for hands, treads for feet, and gauges for eyes. They stood before a bowl of candy that was on a table before them, arguing with each other.
"See, Scratch?" the short one said. "I told you they could eat candy! This'll be perfect as bait!"
"Okay, okay, I get it, Grounder," the chicken thing retorted, waving his arms in a defensive manner. "So they can likely digest candy without dying. Unless the one who lives here is suicidal or something. But even so, if they're anything like people back home, then their mothers would probably have given them the whole "stranger danger" speech."
"Why would they need to worry about strangers?" Grounder asked.
"For all the some reasons that they're going to worry about Doctor Robotnik. Now we can't stand around here arguing. Somebody's liable to hear us. Now let's go back outside, and–" he stopped mid-sentence as, while turning to head back to the door, he and his companion caught sight of Coloratura watching them.
"Oh, look!" Grounder said. "It's one of those pony-things." He gave a cheerful wave. "Hi there!"
For a moment, Coloratura said nothing. She just stood there, staring at the two robotic intruders with shocked, mind-blown eyes. She had expected to find over-eager fans or worse, but this...this was on a whole new level of awkward.
Finally, she slowly lifted a hoof and pointed at them. "What...the hay...is going on here?"
Grounder started, as if suddenly remembering. "Oh! Well, uh...you see..."
"I'll handle this, Grounder!" Scratch interrupted. He cleared his throat, and took a step forward. "Miss, we're sorry-not-sorry to inconvenience you like this, but..." he suddenly raised his hands menacingly, and Grounders drills retracted into his arms, being replaced by a butterfly net and a pair of handcuffs. Evil smiles suddenly stretched across their faces. "...you're coming with us. Come quietly, and we won't hurt you."
It didn't take too long for Coloratura to figure out what they wanted.
Not good. Not good at all.
Coloratura whirled for the door, but Grounder got their before she did, and slammed it shut, blocking it with his body. "Going somewhere?" he taunted.
Coloratura backed away. As she did, the two metallic mooks advanced on her.
"W-what do you want with me?" she asked.
"That's for us to know, and you to find out," Scratch answered. Coloratura had backed up against the wall of the trailer, and Scratch loomed over her. "Now, look. Our boss really needs one of you ponies, so if you'd just–"
He never got to finish.
A word of note here: Coloratura wasn't exactly an expert on combat. She wasn't into martial arts (although she was seriously considering taking lessons after an unfortunate incident with an over-eager fan) or anything like that. But she had a pretty decent kick. Not as powerful as the ones she'd been told that AJ could deliver, but she was a pretty doggone good kicker.
Scratch found this out the hard way.
Her kick hit him square in the chest, and he flew across the room with a loud yelp of pain, crashing into the opposite wall and sliding to the floor.
"Hey!" Grounder shouted as he charged forth. "You can't kick Scratch around like that! Only us and the boss are allowed to YOW!!!"
Coloratura had managed to duck behind him and kick him in the back, hurling him straight into a tall lamp in one of the corners of the trailer, sending it wobbling. Grounder fell to the floor with a groan.
Coloratura dusted herself off. "Alright, you creeps," she said as she once again headed for the door. "I'm gonna report you two to Princess Twilight, and then–"
THWACK!!!
The lamp, which had finally lost it's balance and fallen over, crashed against the back Coloratura's head. She slumped to the ground, and lay still.
Grounder slowly righted himself. "Wha...what happened?"
After getting back onto his own feet, Scratch went over to Coloratura's motionless form. He felt for a pulse. "I think she got knocked out by the lamp."
"Does...does that mean we won? Does that mean we caught her?" Grounder asked hopefully.
"Yeah...yeah! We did it!" Scratch exclaimed joyfully. "We caught one of those pony things! C'mon, Grounder! Let's get her back to Doctor Robotnik!"
Outside the trailer
While all of this mayhem was going on, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had decided to pay Coloratura a little visit. It would be nice, they had said to each other, to thank her again for allowing them to sing with her last time she had been to Ponyville.
"It feels lahk it's been forever since Coloratura came here last time," Apple Bloom said.
"I know, right?" Scootaloo replied. "That last concert was awesome! I'm really glad she's kept the new style."
"Do you think we'll get to sing with her again?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Maybe." Apple Bloom answered. "We'll just have ta' what an'..." she suddenly paused. "Wait a sec, y'all."
Sweetie Belle looked confused. "What's the–"
"Shh! Into those bushes over there!" Apple Bloom whispered, diving into the aforementioned bushes that were conveniently growing a few feet a way. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle quickly followed suit.
"What's going on?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Apple Bloom pointed at Coloratura's trailer, which was a few yards ahead of them. As they watched, the door opened slightly, and–much to their surprise–a chicken-like head poked out of the resulting crack, and peeked around.
Scootaloo was suddenly aware that her two friends were giving her an odd look.
"What?"
Apple Bloom shook her head. "Nuthin'," she said, then turned back to look at what was going on.
After a moment, the chicken head ducked back inside. Immediately afterwards, the door opened. A short, green creature with treads for feet and drills on its arms came out first. The chicken thing came out next. It was much taller than the other creature, and in its arms was–
"Oh, sweet Celestia," Sweetie Belle gasped.
The thing was carrying Coloratura in its arms. Her forelegs were tied against her body, and it looked like she was unconscious.
From the safety of the bush, the Crusaders watched as the two went off, apparently making an effort to keep themselves as quiet as possible. None of the fillies dared to move. They simply stared as the creatures disappeared into the tree line that marked the beginning of the Everfree Forest.
The Crusaders remained silent long after the strange creatures and their captive had disappeared into the forest.
Finally, Scootaloo spoke up.
"Well...uh-oh."
"This is terrible!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed. "What are we going to do?"
"We gotta find Princess Twilight an' tell her what happened!" Apple Bloom answered. She pulled herself out of the bush and launched into a run. "C'mon! We might not have much time!"
Somewhere in the Everfree Forest
"Let me go!" Coloratura yelled, kicking and squirming against her ropes. "I demand you set me free right now!" She gave Scratch another kick in the stomach.
Scratch yelped and struggled to keep his balance. "Will you please–OW!–quit moving a–YOW!–around so much?! You're not–AH!–making this easy–GAH!–for any of us here!"
"That's kinda the idea, bird face," Coloratura hissed.
"Look, we're almost back to the boss," Grounder said. "You might as well–OW!" He cried out in pain as Coloratura landed a kick on his drill nose, bending it. "My nose!" he exclaimed, rubbing the aforementioned drill.
"How is that even hurting you?" Coloratura asked. "You're robots. Robots can't feel pain."
"Doctor Robotnik calls it 'cartoon physics'. He says it's some logic bending force created by a mystical being called 'Aw-Ther' or something."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"Neither do I. Now will you please stop kicking me so we can get this over with?"
The only response he got was a kick in the face.
"I'll take that as a no."
As they continued forward through the forest, Coloratura suddenly recognized their destination as the Castle of the Two Sisters. Her attention was drawn to a massive, silver flying saucer parked on crab-like landing gear outside the moat of the castle. It looked like something out of a comic book.
So they're aliens, Coloratura thought. That explains a lot.
Finally, after more walking (and a bit more damage to Scratch's already battered torso), they came to the throne room. Many of the old banners and carpets had been torn away and laid in a pile off to the side. Pieces of scientific equipment that Coloratura didn't recognize were scattered around the room.
But what drew here attention most was the being that she assumed was her captors' commander. A fat, mustached creature on two legs wearing a red and black suit was busy carving Celestia and Luna's old thrones in half with some kind of laser gun. When he finished taking the left and right sides of each throne, he pushed the two together, and then wielded the two pieces together with the laser.
"There!" the creature said. "That should do very nicely as a temporary throne. Now, where are those two bolt-headed..." He paused as he turned around and saw the newcomers. "Ah! Scratch and Grounder; you're back." He caught sight of Coloratura. "And, lo and behold! You actually managed to bring a guest back with you."
"Yes, sir!" Scratch replied, as he sat Coloratura down on the ground in front of him.
"We did good, didn't we, Doctor Robotnik?" Grounder asked.
"Yes, yes, good job. Whatever." He came up to them and gave their "guest" a look over. "What a garishly colored animal," he said to himself.
Coloratura considered retorting that this Doctor Robotnik guy should probably lay off every food item known to sentient life to bring his diameter back to an acceptable width, but she stopped herself last second.
"Now, then," Robotnik continued to his two minions. "You didn't make any mistakes in bringing this pony here, did you?"
"Oh, they did a great job," Coloratura snarked. "Aside from...oh, I dunno...hitting me with a lamp and dragging me away from the concert I was supposed to be in! Now I demand that–"
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait," Robotnik interrupted. Then, very slowly, he asked, "What do you mean by 'concert'? Were you a backstage helper, or..."
"Lead singer. It was kind of my concert charity event."
Robotnik said nothing. He looked up at Scratch and Grounder.
Then, very, very slowly, he closed his eyes, raised a hand to his head, and sighed.
"Uh, boss?" Grounder asked nervously. "We...we did a good job, right?"
Robotnik shook his head, his hand never once leaving his forehead. "No, Grounder," he said. His voice was unusually calm. Dangerously calm, in fact. "You did not do a good job."
Scratch's face fell. "But...but you told us to get one of those ponies. Isn't that what we did?"
And just like that, Robotnik exploded. "You were supposed to nab a pony that they wouldn't care to search for! Somebody that we could take without them noticing! And of all the ones you could have grabbed, you took a STUPID CONCERT PERFORMER!!! Don't you know what will happen now?! They'll come looking for her, and then they'll find us you...you NINCOMBOTS!!!"
He stopped to take several breaths. Scratch and Grounder were huddling each other in terror, and even Coloratura looked up at Robotnik with wide, fearful eyes.
"But..." Robotnik began again. "I suppose she'll do for now. If she's a traveling singer, she's bound to have been around a lot. In the meantime, I want you two clods to go outside and patrol the area. It's the least you can do after bungling up the way you did. Now get to it!"
"Yes, sir," the two said in unison, and rushed off before he could yell at them anymore. As they left, bits of their conversation could be faintly heard.
"Man, she really banged me up...I thought these ponies were gonna be easy to conquer."
"Well, look on the bright side, Scratch."
"Is there a bright side?"
"At least it wasn't Sonic we were dealing with. By this time, he usually would've done much more to us."
"Hm. Good point."
Robotnik watched the two robots walk off. "What a pair of bumbling idiots," he muttered. "One of these days I'm going to start over and build minions that are actually competent. After Scratch and Grounder finally left, he looked down at Coloratura. "Now as for you–"
"No," Coloratura interrupted, trying to sound as brave as she could. "Whatever it is you want from me, I won't do it."
Robotnik stomped the ground "Don't interrupt me!" He shouted. "Look, I have a very specific way of announcing my diabolical intentions to people, and now you've just thrown off my whole speech plan! So thank you very little."
"Oh, go ahead," Coloratura said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like I can stop you or anything."
"That's better. Now..." he clapped his hands together. "We can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. I want you to tell me every last relevant piece of information regarding your kind's society; defenses, government, currency, fads, that kind of thing. I want to know it all."
Coloratura cocked her head. "Why? So you can take over the world?"
"No," Robotnik replied sarcastically. "I'm just asking because I have a bad case of extreme curiosity." He suddenly reverted back to his usual self. "Of course it's so I can take over your world!"
"Forget about it," Coloratura snarled. "I'm won't tell you anything." Her bravado faded a little as a new thought occurred to her. "I don't suppose you're gonna tell me that you have ways of making me talk, right?"
A wicked grin crossed Robotnik's face. "Actually...I do."
Coloratura gulped.
"Oh, don't worry. It's not like I'm going to torture you or anything. I'm simply going to probe your brain and look through every relevant piece of information that I might need."
Coloratura breathed an internal sigh of relief. "Okay. For a minute there...wait. What?"
But Robotnik had already turned away, and was beginning to unpack several items from a large crate nearby. Coloratura watched as he pulled out a kind of chair with straps on it, something that looked like a colander, and various machines and wires. She didn't like the look of any of it.
"Now, if you'll give me a few minutes, we can start rummaging through your mind in–"
"DOCTOR ROBOTNIK! DOCTOR ROBOTNIK!" Scratch and Grounder's all-too familiar (and annoying) voices suddenly echoed down the halls. The two burst back into the throne room, skidding to a halt before their creator.
"B-boss..." Scratch panted, clearly out of breath. "We-we've got something..."
"Not now," Robotnik said, never once turning away from his work. "I'm busy."
"But boss!" Grounder started.
Robotnik whirled on them angrily. "I said not right now! Can't you see I'm trying to go through this young lady's most private mental information?!" He paused briefly. "You know, that actually sounds pretty terrible when you say it out loud..."
"But boss!" Scratch interjected. "Some more of those ponies just showed up outside! I think they're coming for us!"
Author's Note
Voila! A new chapter is up! I had hoped to get it posted last night, but I ended up delaying it until tonight so I could add a little more.
So now things are starting to pick up a little. Robotnik and his minions have made their first disastrous move, and they've clearly stirred up some negative attention. A battle is on the horizon. Will the ponies manage to defeat him? Or will Doctor Robotnik completely obliterate their mostly peaceful society? So many questions, so many possibilities! (insert tense music here)
P.S. I do have to admit: I'm a little concerned that I might be portraying Robotnik and the others as a little bit too menacing. They did have some moments in the show, but overall, they were mostly comical. What do you think? Lemme know in the comments.
