Sonic Adventure: Equestrian Styleby Someguy458ChaptersIntroBig's Story"Tails" Prower's StorySpike the Dragon's StoryPrincess Luna's StorySilver the Hedgehog's StoryIntroAlarms blared. Turrets fired. A microwave beeped. Yep, just another Tuesday in Eggman's Lair. Orbot warily watched the surveillance feed, helplessly witnessing a group break through the defenses. "Uhm, Boss?" "I only need another minute!" The devilishly charismatic, mustached man known as Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was rapidly typing on a computer, desperately trying to finish the initiation sequence for his latest plan. A flash brought the robot's attention back to the cameras. "Silver and Blaze are with them, too..." Eggman only grunted in response, typing as fast as he could. Cubot entered the room, slightly smoking. "Boss, the Chaotix are here, too!" That really threw the scientist for a loop. "But how?! I sent them on that wild goose chase!" Before Cubot could even respond, there was a metallic thunk as an air duct was forced open above them. The trio looked up in horror as a familiar treasure hunter fell into the room, landing gracefully. Rouge regarded them with a sly grin, "Greetings, Doctor." Instinctively, Orbot lunged towards Rouge, but she was able to dodge and detain him with ease. However, this momentary distraction provided Eggman enough time to finish the startup sequence. With a press of the enter key, the code began to run, and the large device in the middle of the room, fueled by the Master Emerald, began to whir to life. Not a moment later, the heavy metal door to the room blasted open, and there stood thirteen familiar faces. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Shadow, E-123 Omega, Amy, Cream, Big, Silver, and Blaze stood in the threshold, glaring angrily at the Doctor. Eggman, however, cackled. "Too late, rodent boy! I've already activated the device!" With that said, he pressed a button on the console, and a glass pod began to enclose him. "Give back the Master Emerald!" Knuckles screamed, lunging forward to try and rip the precious jewel out from its container. He didn't even make it halfway before Cubot intercepted him, knocking him off course and causing him to crash straight into a wall. Eggman taunted the echidna with an akanbe. "Nope! You've been slacking on your duties too much; it was so easy to just grab it!" "This ends here, Eggman," Sonic declared confidently. Tails, Shadow, Amy, Big, Espio, Silver, and Blaze each took out the Chaos Emerald they were carrying, and Sonic began to call upon their powers. But instead of being scared, like Sonic had expected, Eggman looked... Cunning? The Doctor brought out a remote and pressed a button, which caused a hatch to open in the wall. From within it came a fierce metallic blur, which rammed into Sonic before he could finish turning Super. The blue hedgehog skidded to a stop some ten feet away from where his robot duplicate had hit him. "I see you've got Metal Sonic working aga—" Whatever one-liner he was about to spurt out was quickly silenced by a metal fist in his face. Sonic flew across the room and hit the wall, rings spilling out all over the place. The rest of the group prepared to charge, but before they could, the device fully activated. A shockwave rippled through the complex as a pinprick-sized light formed between two emitters, which then quickly began to expand. "Bye-bye, you pesky blue rat!" Eggman cackled as the vortex grew, sucking more and more towards it. Sonic's friends tried to get away, but the forces quickly became too much to overcome, and they started to get sucked in. Then Tails had an idea: go for Eggman instead of the exit. He quickly turned on the spot, using the pull of the device to launch himself towards Eggman's glass pod. With one swift kick, the glass shattered, and Eggman began to feel the suction. "Blast it!" He managed to cry before the vortex sucked everyone in. Big's StoryBig the Cat woke up in a nice-looking forest. He briefly considered the fact that he wasn't home, but shrugged it off. It wasn't the weirdest place he'd woken up in; he remembered one time he woke up in a helicopter with Sonic. "Good morning, Froggy," he chirped in his usual slower speech pattern, looking down to his— Wait a second, Froggy wasn't there. "Froggy? Where are you? Did you run away again?" Aw, chum-sticks. Why did Froggy keep running away? Big always did his best to make sure Froggy was well-cared for. Big sighed; sitting here and moping wouldn't help. So the cat stood up, grabbed his fishing rod, and walked off towards the nearest town to search for his Pollywog Pal. Strange, this place didn't seem like Mobius. For one thing, there was an awful lot of ponies. And what's more, they weren't walking like a Mobian; they were on all fours, like ordinary ponies. Big considered this for longer than last time, but he once again just shrugged it off. It certainly wasn't as strange as him waking up on the Space Colony ARK. So the big purple cat toddled down the street, drawing as much attention as you'd expect. They were staring with interest, parting to let him through, and one of them even fainted. Such a nice town, Big thought. He should introduce himself. "Hello," the large purple cat announced to the crowd, "I'm Big." "You sure are, mister!" Big took a moment to register where the speaker was: directly to his left. He turned to the source and found a pink pony with curly pink hair, bright blue eyes, an image of balloons on her hips, and a wide grin on her face. She giggled, "I couldn't help but notice ya walking into town. Are ya plannin' on staying for a while?" Big shrugged, "Depends on how fast I can find Froggy." "Oh, you're looking for a friend? I'll help you." The big cat couldn't help but give a dopey grin. "Thank you kindly, Miss." "No problem-o! I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way!" "I'm Big the Cat." "You're certainly the most interesting cat I've ever met!" "And you're the most interesting pony I've ever met." She giggled to herself, "That's an understatement and a half! Now, come on; let's find your friend!" And so, two new friends walked off to try and find Froggy. "Froggy? Froggy??" About an hour later, they weren't making any progress. Pinkie was busy scouring a dressmaker's shop, while Big was searching the local bakery. He was about to give up when he noticed something. There, in the corner of the bakery, was something green and bug-eyed. "Froggy, my Pollywog Pal! I found you!" The fisher-cat scooped up the creature and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much, friend," Big sniffled. "No matter how many times it happens, or how long we're apart, I'll always look for you." Big looked the green creature in the eye expectantly. But instead of having his feelings returned, its eyes glinted with... Unfamiliarity? "Don't ya remember me?" Big asked hopefully. When the creature licked its own eye in response, the cat nearly started to tear up. "Ya've lost ya memory?" He wondered what to do next. How would Amy or Cream handle this, if they were in his situation? Well, they'd probably try to make Froggy happy... Then he had an idea. "I know, let's go fishing! That always cheers ya up, and it'll probably jog your memory!" With that decided, Big held the creature over his arm like how one would carry a carpet, fishing pole in the other hand, and headed off to find a lake. After quite a bit of walking, they came across a nice, calm lake. A nearby sign marked it as "Marigold Lake, Ponyville's local watering hole". Near the lake was a tree with a tire swing, telling Big that it was a public area; ergo, a ripe spot for fishing. However, it seemed like he wasn't alone in wanting to visit the lake; a curtain was set up on the opposite bank. Sparks flew as someone worked with a blowtorch from within. Big shrugged. As long he gave them distance, they shouldn't bother him, right? The fisher-cat sat down on one bank, drew back his arm, and cast the fishing line out. Not even five seconds later, a rock whizzed past Big's head and hit the ground. The green creature in Big's arms, scared at the sudden projectile, leapt down and began to scamper off. "Wait, Froggy, stop!" Big desperately tried to call out. Not even thinking to check where the rock came from, he leapt to his feet and dashed after his Pollywog Pal. It eventually stopped, alright. In the middle of a pond at the base of a windmill, that is. Big sighed. "Oh, Froggy, what am I gonna do with ya?" So the cat plopped himself down, aimed, and cast the lure. With a 'plunk', it landed some 3 feet away from its target. Now, all he had to do was wait. ... This was going to take a while. Big didn't know when, but at some point, he fell asleep there on the lakeside. The only thing he knew was that he was awoken by a vaguely familiar voice screaming, "BIG!!!" The cat in question turned his head to find Pinkie Pie rushing up to him, an angry look on her face. "Oh hey, Pinkie. I found Froggy." He pointed to the lake, and Pinkie blanched for a moment. Eventually, the pieces seemed to click together for her, and she calmed down significantly. "Big, that's my pet Gummy." Big blinked, then turned to look at the creature floating out there. Now that he thought about it, the creature didn't exactly look like Froggy. Actually, it didn't look ANYTHING like his friend! It wasn't even a frog, it was some kind of tiny gator. How did he not notice it sooner? Big blushed. "Oh... Sorry." Pinkie let out an exhale, then smiled forgivingly. "That's okay; we all make mistakes. Why, I remember one time I accidentally put cake batter in my confetti cannons and confetti in the oven!" She giggled to herself, and Big, not understanding the context, awkwardly chuckled along. "Uhm, what exactly is happening here?" Big and Pinkie paused, turning at the new and fancy voice. A white unicorn with disheveled purple hair had approached, looking like she'd just taken a run through the jungle. Pinkie apparently recognized the pony. "Hiya, Rarity! This is Big the Cat, and he's looking for his pet Froggy." The pony now identified as Rarity looked cautiously at Big, then to Gummy floating in the water, then back to Big. After failing to process, she simply stated, "Uh-huh... And what about them?" The two looked where Rarity was pointing, and were absolutely flummoxed. There, trudging into town while carrying an injured pegasus pony, was Vector the Crocodile. But that's not what caught Big's attention; it was the creature resting atop Vector's head that was more of interest to him. "Froggy!" Big exclaimed, leaping to his feet and rushing over. The crocodile tried to shout, but it was too late; the overeager cat had already bowled straight into him, snatching the frog from atop his head and hugging him. "Oh Froggy, you're safe! I just knew you'd come back, my Pollywog Pal!" "Ribbit," stated Froggy. "You're welcome," stated Vector dryly. Big wiped away a tear of joy. "You know what this calls for? A celebratory fishing trip!" And with that, the two ran off. It was a windy and sunny day, and everything was perfect for the duo. Big was happily smiling, watching the bobber closely; Froggy was right where he belonged, sleeping peacefully on his buddy's lap; and a purple pony was chasing E-123 Omega through the streets in the distance. Yup, life was perfect. Author's Note EDIT (12/11/22): Changed Big's speech pattern to match Sonic Frontiers. "Tails" Prower's StoryAuthor's Note Edit: changed Spike and Cream's text color in order to differentiate them more. Edit 2: changed Cream's text color again to differentiate it from Fluttershy's. "Tails" Prower's Story The world slowly came back into focus as Tails regained consciousness. His body hurt like crazy, and he was too dazed to remember why. "Ugh, my head..." He groaned to himself as he tried to bring himself to his feet... ...only to find himself tumbling out of the tree he'd landed in. "Ow..." He groaned from his new position in a patch of flowers. This time, when he uprighted himself, he made sure that he was on solid ground. He blinked the dizziness from his eyes, then froze when he realized where he was. A forest. An overgrown, dark and foreboding forest. The 8-year-old fox knew better than to freak out, but he couldn't help himself for a moment. "Wha- where am I? Hello? Anyone?!" No response. He was alone. He took a deep breath. "Okay, Miles, no need to freak out," he reassured himself, "You've faced Chaos 4 by yourself; you can certainly handle finding your way out of the woods." Tails took a moment to fully take in his surroundings. The trees were greener and denser than those in the Mystic Jungle, and were a completely different type regardless. The climate was clearly temperate, he could see woodpeckers in the distance, and the ground was covered in pretty blue flowers. After stretching his sore muscles (and noticing that his right foot was particularly sore), he leapt up and began to fly through the canopy. It took a bit of work to weave through, but he did manage to clear the treetops. The trees seemed to stretch on for miles all around Miles. The nearest thing he could see that wasn't forest was a small rural community to the north. Groaning in disappointment, Tails slowly lowered himself back to the forest floor. With nowhere else to go, he began to head in the direction of civilization. He didn't know when, but something changed. A light ringing began to sound off in his ears; the ground seemed to lurch at random intervals, throwing Tails off balance each time; and blue spots swam throughout his blurry vision, making it hard to focus or even think straight. Eventually, it became too much, and the little fox boy had to sit down at the base of a tree. While he tried to regain his bearings, he heard something rustling through the bushes, but he couldn't think clearly enough to pay it any mind. Then, after a moment, something left the brush and approached. He couldn't clearly see what it was, but it was purple-and-green, and it definitely moved on two legs. Then it spoke: "Uh... Hi?" Tails blinked, trying his hardest to refocus but failing. "H-hey..." The creature flinched at his word, then seemingly calmed down. "W-what's up?" Tails didn't know why, but he found that really funny. Maybe it was because they were in the middle of the woods, talking as though nothing were wrong. Regardless, he started to laugh. That prompted the creature to ask, "What's so funny?" Tails managed to get out between chuckles, "I don't know!" As he wound his laughter down, he registered that the creature was slowly backing away out of fear. In a lucky moment of clear-ish thought, he cut his mirth short. "W-wait, don't go! I'm sorry, I just— argh, I can hardly think straight with all these blue spots I'm seeing!" "Blue spots?" The creature seemed to recognize the symptom. "You didn't happen to touch any blue flowers, did you?" "Actually, yeah," Tails scratched his head. "Is that bad?" The creature sighed. "That was Poison Joke. It's like Poison Oak, but instead of causing a rash, it likes to play little pranks." In the state he was in, he couldn't even bring himself to question it. "Hehe, Poison Joke..." "Come on," the creature extended out one of its hands, "One of my friends has the cure." Tails shakily reached out his own hand, but due to the delirium he was experiencing, he missed completely. He tried again, this time barely intercepting the creature's hand. "Thanks. My name's Tails." "I'm Spike," he replied in kind, helping Tails stand up. Leaning on Spike for support, they began to make their way through the forest. Tails didn't know for how long they'd been walking, but at some point, Spike suddenly froze in his tracks. "Wait, did you hear that?" Tails perked his ears, but all he could hear at first was the ringing noise. "I don't—" Suddenly, a crash came from some distance to their right, accompanied by the buzz of an insect's wings. Spike quickly moved himself and Tails behind a tree, and they waited. Another crash sounded, this one closer. The buzz was growing louder. Another crash. Finally, something big crashed through the foliage. Tails couldn't properly see it due to all the blue spots blurring his vision, but he could tell that it was yellow, white, and black, and was hovering off the ground. Spike trembled, not daring to say anything as the creature tore through the forest. Thankfully, it didn't see them, and just continued on its path. The little purple guy breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew, thank Celestia we didn't— Wait a second... That thing's headed towards Ponyville!" "Whozzat?" Tails asked dumbly. Spike looked back at Tails, torn over what to do. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "I wouldn't be much help against that beast anyway... I'm sure the girls can manage." With that, he worriedly continued them on their journey. Eventually, they reached what looked (to Tails) like a large mound covered in grass. Spike stepped forward and opened a door, making Tails realize that it was actually a house, and he ushered the ailed fox inside. They made their way to a bathroom, where Spike drew a bath and poured something from a bag into it. He helped Tails climb in, then left to give him some privacy. The fox sighed, the hot water already starting to work its magic. His ears stopped ringing, the ground stopped lurching, and his vision cleared up again — although his right foot was still sore. "Wow, that worked wonders!" He commented, finally able to think straight again. "After I find out where I am, I should ask Spike what he put in this bath." Grabbing a towel, he climbed out of the tub and dried his fur. Once he hung the towel back up, and after putting his gloves back on, he walked out of the bathroom and took a look around. The place felt comfortably natural, with vines growing down the cream-colored walls. Spike wasn't there at the moment; he probably — "WHAT THE—!?" Tails jumped at the sudden scream, then quickly rushed down the hallway towards the sound's origin. When he got there, he was floored by what he found. A purple lizard-boy was staring in shock at a nice-looking bed, which hosted none other than Cream the Rabbit. Cream had been woken up by the scream, and was now staring wide-eyed at the reptilian creature before her. "Cream!?" Tails gaped, drawing both of their attention. "Mister Tails!" The little rabbit exclaimed, lunging out of the bed to hug him. "Wha— you're still— that's what you— HUH?" The reptile, his voice identifying him as Spike, experienced a mental crash. "How'd you end up here?" Tails asked, ignoring Spike for the moment. "It was so weird; I woke up this morning at the edge of a forest, then I found this place. I only meant to rest my head for a little while, honest!" He sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. But where's Cheese?" She looked on the verge of tears as she exclaimed, "I don't know! He could be all alone, lost somewhere like that forest! I'm worried for him, Mister Tails..." "Me too," he gripped her tighter into the hug, and they stayed like that for a moment. Then Tails broke off the hug and turned back towards Spike, who was still staring at them with a slack jaw. "Alright, let's try this again: Hi, I'm Tails, I'm an 8-year-old inventor fox, and I have no idea how we got here. Nice to meet you!" He extended out a gloved hand, which seemed to snap Spike out of his stupor. "Wh—what are you?!" "I just said, I'm a fox." He shook his head. "You're not like any fox I've ever seen..." "And you're not like any lizard I've seen." He huffed, "I'm a dragon!" Tails's eyes widened. He'd rarely seen tiny dragons in his world (Chao particularly liked them), but never any that could talk. "Really?" He nodded curtly, "Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me a 'lizard'." "Okay, sorry, I didn't know," Tails held up his hands in a disarming gesture. Spike seemed to calm down at that. "Alright, I forgive you. My name's Spike, I'm a dragon, and I live in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle." Tails raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?" The little drake beamed proudly as he answered, "Only the smartest, most talented unicorn in all of Equestria!" Both of them blinked. "Unicorn? Equestria?" Spike looked at them as though they'd just grown second heads. "You're really not from around here, are you?" Before Tails could answer that, a quiet yet shrill scream rang out. The three turned to find a yellow pony with pink hair and wings staring at them. That pony then proceeded to faint. "Oh no, Fluttershy!" Spike jumped in concern, rushing over to her side. Tails, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. He may have been a genius, but there were still some things that simply eluded his knowledge. Talking ponies were one such thing. "Wha— who's that?" "She owns this house," Spike replied, not taking his focus away from the fainted pony for even a second. Tails looked to Cream, who was wide-eyed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten anyone, I promise!" Spike waved her off. "It's alright, she's really sensitive regardless." "You did say her name was Fluttershy, right?" Tails pointed out. The dragon nodded, then turned to face the pony. He did something that Tails didn't quite understand, and the pony jerked awake in a coughing fit. When she got over it, she paled when she saw the two. "S-Spike, who are—?" The drake placed a placating hand on her chest. "It's okay, Fluttershy. I think they came out of that rift-thing." That piqued Tails's interest. "Did you say 'rift'?" Spike nodded. "Earlier today, Twilight detected something like a tear in space or whatever. She sent us out to find whatever came out of it, which is how I stumbled upon you." Tails absorbed this information. "A tear in space... That'd explain the disconnect!" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Disconnect?" The fox-boy nodded. "We're unfamiliar with anything of this place, while you're unfamiliar with us. That rift provides us an explanation: we're literally not from here!" Cream's eyes widened. "We're in another dimension?!" Tails shook his head, "Not necessarily. We could've traveled through a wormhole to a different planet, or this may even be the distant future of our world." "But it's still a possibility?" Spike asked. Tails nodded. "Some of my friends have traveled between dimensions before, sometimes even on purpose. Though they need a lot of power to do that." Fluttershy blinked owlishly. "Creatures from beyond Equestria? That's so fascinating! Tell me, what's your world like?" Tails raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in demeanor, but didn't comment on it. "Well, we're from Mobius, where I live on South Island with my friends." "Are they also bipedal animal folk?" Tails nodded. "My friends Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Amy are hedgehogs, Knuckles is an echidna, Big and Blaze are cats, Rouge is a bat, Charmy is a bee, Vector is a Crocodile, and Espio is a chameleon." Spike guessed, "That's why you assumed I was a lizard?" "Yep. Pretty much the only one of my friends who isn't an animal is Omega, and he's a robot." The two Equestrians blinked. "What's a 'robot'?" Tails paled. He asked with a note of worry, "How technologically advanced is this place?" Spike shrugged, "It varies depending on where you go. Big cities like Manehattan have electricity and such; while smaller places like Ponyville haven't caught up yet, still having film projectors." Tails sighed to himself. "Great, how are we supposed to find a way home if this place doesn't have anything I can use?" Something seemed to click in Spike's head. "Wait a second, you said Omega is electric?" Tails bobbed his head side-to-side, "Only implicitly, but yes, he's made of metal and runs on electricity." Spike jumped. "I think I've seen him!" Tails blinked. "You have?" He nodded. "Before I went searching in the woods, Twilight discovered something large and metallic in a back alley of Ponyville. It was red, yellow, and black, with markings on its shoulders and sharp fingers." Tails perked up. "Did the markings look like an upside-down 'U'?" Spike nodded, and Tails jumped. "That's him! Where is he?" "Twilight's currently trying to figure out how to activate it." "Well, then, what are we waiting f—" Before he could finish that thought, Spike suddenly belched out green flames. This wouldn't have been anything special, except that the flames coalesced in the air, until they formed... A scroll? Tails was dumbfounded. "What— how did that happen?!" Spike grabbed the scroll as though he were used to this occuring. "Princess Celestia used her magic to send me a letter." The fox's eyes widened. "Magic?" Spike nodded, "Yup." Tails shook his head, trying to wrap his head around it. "B-but that's not possible; magic is just science we don't understand yet, it doesn't— it can't— how— what...?" It was just too much for him to process at once; Tails fainted. Spike the Dragon's StoryIt was a beautiful day in Equestria. Too bad Spike was stuck inside, sweeping the floors. He'd always been happy to do this before, but something felt off today. Maybe it was the fact that Twilight wasn't actually busy with any projects, and yet she was still reading instead of helping? Well, whatever it was, it got Spike wishing he didn't have to do the chores today. Be careful what you wish for. "Did you feel that, Spike?" The baby dragon looked up from his work, caught off guard by the sudden question. "Feel what?" Instead of clarifying, she rolled her eyes at herself, then ran outside. Spike quickly set the broom down and ran out to join her, but whatever it was that she'd felt was already gone. "Twilight, what happened?" She muttered, "The start of another adventure..." He blinked, unsure of what to make of that. "What?" "Gather the girls and bring them here," she ignored his question. "I need to gather some things from the basement." With that, she ran back inside, leaving a confused Spike in her wake. About half an hour later, everypony was gathered in the foyer of the Golden Oaks Library. "What's this all about, Spike?" Applejack drawled. "Ah'm missin' out on market season." "And I was taking care of this poor, hurt mousey," Fluttershy cooed, carrying a white mouse with a leg cast. Spike shrugged, "I dunno; something happened earlier, and Twilight asked me to gather you girls." Rarity piped up, "Is this about that odd surge?" He blinked, "Surge?" She nodded, "I was sewing up a new ensemble for Sweetie Belle, when I felt a magical surge downtown." She gestured to her horn, implying that it was her connection to magic that allowed her to feel it. Spike shrugged, "Like I said, I'm only doing what Twilight asked." And speak of the devil, Twilight chose that moment to emerge from the basement, carrying a strange device in her magic. "Thank you, Spike. Now, you girls may be wondering why I called you all here." Everypony nodded. Twilight turned on the device, and the screen flickered on to show a simplistic outline of Equestria. "Half an hour ago, there was a disturbance in the space-time continuum that caused several unidentified things to scatter across Equestria." She lit her horn as she continued, "According to Starswirl's Theories of Magic Dynamics, anything affected by magic, however briefly, will retain a lingering trace of that magic for some time. I've used a spell to hone in on that magic, allowing us to track whatever it was that came through." While she spoke, her horn cast some kind of spell into the device. After a moment, several dots appeared across the map of Equestria, ranging from Canterlot to Appleoosa and centering on Ponyville. Twilight turned a knob on the side of the device, and the picture zoomed in until each dot could be seen individually. And one of them was moving towards the center of the screen. Twilight seemed to notice this. "It appears one of them is headed this way, from the Whitetail Woods. We should—" Pinkie gasped, "New friend!" And with that, she happily pronked out of the library. Spike stared at the mare as she bounced out of sight. "That mare is something else..." Twilight blinked, then shook her head. "Alright, I suppose that's one problem sorted. That leaves us with..." She took a moment to count the remaining dots, then sighed, "sixteen more..." The others groaned, not liking the sound of that at all. Soon, the targets were given. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were to head into the Everfree Forest to find the six scattered in there, Fluttershy would investigate the signal at Marigold Lake, Applejack would find the one near Sweet Apple Acres, and Spike would join Twilight in locating one that landed somewhere downtown. This left two dots in Canterlot, one near the Pie Family Rock Farm, and two near Appleoosa (as well as the one that Pinkie was already headed out to intercept). The two in Canterlot would likely be handled by the Princesses, and the group decided to deal with the others once their current objectives were taken care of. With all of that settled, the group split up to find their objectives. "So," Spike began as he rode Twilight down the street, "what exactly are we looking for?" "Anything out of the ordinary," Twilight replied, not taking her eyes off the device in her magical grasp. Spike nodded, then began to look around. Everything seemed normal; the flowers were in bloom, a sale was happening at the jeweler's, a large group of ponies was gathered around a smoldering crater, some birds were— Wait a second... A sale at the jeweler's?! Spike almost let his excitement drive him to get off Twilight and rush to the shop, but he paused again. What was that third thing again? He blinked, turning his attention back towards a nearby alleyway; the crowd was still forming around a large impact site. Oh. "Is that 'out of the ordinary' enough?" Spike pointed towards the scene, grabbing Twilight's mane to get her attention. She took one look, gasped, then began to gallop towards the scene of the incident. Spike yelped in surprise, holding on tighter as her speed increased. After a moment, they reached the crater. Twilight peered into the pit, and gasped at what she saw. Spike needed a moment to move so he could see, but he was also stunned at the sight. It was something made completely out of metal, shaped vaguely like the creatures on the other side of the Mirror Portal. It had a barrel-like torso with several adornments, such as four vents on the front, a small silver fin down the middle of its chest, and three small metal flaps that resembled a robe. Its head was just an outcropping of metal on the top, adorned by two red 'eyes'; its arms were covered in plate metal adorned with upside-down 'U' shapes, its hands made of razor-sharp fingers, and the whole forearm looked like it could swivel to reverse its facing direction (making the hand face into the elbow); its legs were rather normal, with metallic coverings and two 'toes' (in the same way that a flipper has 'toes'); and on its back was what looked like an engine with two exhausts at the bottom. Twilight was staring with immense curiosity; everyone else, including Spike, was staring with apprehension. Finally, somepony broke the silence. Namely, it was Roseluck, who screamed before fainting. Twilight held up a hoof. "Remain calm, everypony! I've got this under control!" To emphasize her point, she made a show of lighting her horn and scanning the creature. After a moment, her expression moved even further into fascination. Spike knew that face anywhere, and braced himself. "Oh my goodness! Spike, this thing is incredible; it's almost completely metal!" The baby dragon blinked. "Well, I kinda figured from looking at it. What's so special about that, though?" Twilight was now gushing. "I can sense a lot of copper in it, structured like a nervous system. And copper conducts electricity, so..." Spike raised an eyebrow. "It's a machine?" "An alien machine! Spike, think of all the technological advances we could achieve if we study this thing! Celestia will be so proud of me!" Spike sighed. Then something registered. "Wait, you said 'almost completely metal'?" Twilight nodded. "There seems to be some kind of organic-based power core at its center. Now come on, Spike; help me get it back to the Library." To that, Spike let out a groan. If looks were anything to go by, the machine seemed to be incredibly heavy. Today just wasn't his day. Eventually, with much effort between the two of them, they managed to pluck the machine out of the crater and haul it back to the library. Bringing it downstairs, Twilight cleared off a table and heaved the machine onto it. Then she got to work. Her magic brought out several tools, and she began to probe over the metal monstrosity. Spike shifted impatiently. "Uh, Twilight? What about the other things you detected?" The alicorn froze for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot! Spike, you can head out and try to find another one if you want." Spike eyed the machine. Even though it was motionless, and had been that way the entire time, it still freaked him out to no end. "Yeah, I think I'll go do that." With a nod, Twilight summoned the tracking device and turned it back on. The little dragon took it and observed the dots for a moment. 'So,' Spike began to formulate a plan, 'if Rarity went into the Everfree, that means she has... Six creatures to deal with?! That's way too much, even if she has Rainbow with her; I have to help!' Making up his mind, he handed the device back to Twilight and began to rush up the stairs. He could barely hear her call out "Be careful!" before he was out the door. Spike hummed a little tune to himself as he searched the forest. "♪I wanna fly high...♪" Suddenly, he heard some rustling in the nearby foliage. He fell completely silent, slinking into a nearby bush himself for cover. When he poked his head out, he was in for a surprise. Resting atop a large rock was a strange creature. It looked like an orangish-yellow fox, but it stood on two legs instead of four. Three tufts of hair jutted out from its forehead, and its chest and mouth-area were covered in white fur. It wore white gloves on its hands, and red-and-white shoes on its feet. The most distinguishing feature about it was the two tails it possessed. Spike stood there for a moment, observing the creature as it caught its breath. Eventually, Spike decided it looked harmless enough to approach. "Uh... hi?" The creature blinked, taking a moment to respond. "H-hey..." Spike flinched. He sounded young; too young to be out in the woods on his own. He decided to act casual, as to not freak out the creature. "W-what's up?" And then the creature started laughing. "What's so funny?" Spike asked defensively. The creature managed to reply between laughs, "I don't know!" ...okay, maybe the creature was less stable than he'd thought. As he tried to back away, though, the fox noticed. "W-wait, don't go! I'm sorry, I just— argh, I can hardly think straight with all these blue spots I'm seeing!" Spike, recognizing the symptom, began to put the pieces together. "Blue spots? You didn't happen to touch any blue flowers, did you?" "Actually, yeah," the creature confirmed, scratching his head. "Is that bad?" He sighed. "That was Poison Joke. It's like Poison Oak, but instead of causing a rash, it likes to play little pranks." That would explain the strange behavior — and maybe even the creature's strange appearance, too. The creature muttered something, but Spike couldn't hear it, so he decided to continue. "Come on," he extended out one of his hands, "One of my friends has the cure." That friend, of course, was Fluttershy; she still had some left over from when she used Poison Joke to secretly sing with the Pony Tones. The fox reached out its own hand, but missed. It tried again, this time barely intercepting his claw. "Thanks. My name's Tails." "I'm Spike." He helped Tails up to his feet, and, helping to support him, they began to walk towards Fluttershy's cottage. "Wait, did you hear that?" Spike froze suddenly, listening out for a noise he'd just barely caught. Tails perked his ears, but seemingly didn't hear anything. "I don't—" Suddenly, a crash came from some distance to their right, accompanied by the buzz of an insect's wings. Spike quickly moved himself and Tails behind a tree, and they waited. Another crash sounded, this one closer. The buzz was growing louder. Another crash. Finally, a gigantic bugbear crashed through the foliage. It was big, powerful, and angry. Spike trembled, not daring to say anything as the creature tore through the forest. Thankfully, it didn't see them, and just continued on its path. The little purple guy breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew, thank Celestia we didn't— Wait a second... That thing's headed towards Ponyville!" "Whozzat?" Tails asked dumbly. Spike looked back at Tails, torn over what to do. 'What am I supposed to do?! We'd never be able to reach Ponyville before it, nor would we be any good at slowing it down.' Finally, he sighed in defeat. "I wouldn't be much help against that beast anyway... I'm sure the girls can manage." With that, he worriedly continued them on their journey. Eventually, they reached the edge of the forest, where Fluttershy's familiar cottage was. Spike pushed open the door, letting them both inside. After preparing the antidote for Tails, he stepped out to give him some privacy. As he waited, he decided to look around for the house's owner. "Fluttershy, you back yet?" he called out, not so loudly as to scare any nearby animals. Suddenly, Angel came rushing down the hallway, looking rather frightened. "What is it, Angel?" Spike asked, as if the bunny could actually say something. Angel pointed towards Fluttershy's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. Spike walked over and pushed it open, then froze at what he saw. It looked like another of whatever Tails was, but this one was a cream-colored rabbit instead of a fox. And it was sleeping in Fluttershy's bed. "WHAT THE—!?" Spike shouted. The exclamation startled the creature awake, and it looked at him with fearful brown eyes. "Cream!?" Tails gaped from the doorway, drawing both of their attention. "Mister Tails!" The little rabbit exclaimed, lunging out of the bed to hug him. Spike, on the other claw, was still shocked. Tails's appearance wasn't just another prank by the Poison Joke? "Wha— you're still— that's what you— HUH?" "How'd you end up here?" Tails asked, ignoring Spike for the moment. "It was so weird; I woke up this morning at the edge of a forest, then I found this place. I only meant to rest my head for a little while, honest!" He sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. But where's Cheese?" She looked on the verge of tears as she exclaimed, "I don't know! He could be all alone, lost somewhere like that forest! I'm worried for him, Mister Tails..." "Me too," he gripped her tighter into the hug, and they stayed like that for a moment. Then Tails broke off the hug and turned back towards Spike, who was still staring at them with a slack jaw. "Alright, let's try this again: Hi, I'm Tails, I'm an 8-year-old inventor fox, and I have no idea how we got here. Nice to meet you!" He extended out a gloved hand, snapping Spike out of his stupor. "Wh—what are you?!" "I just said, I'm a fox." He shook his head. "You're not like any fox I've ever seen..." "And you're not like any lizard I've seen." He huffed, "I'm a dragon!" Tails's eyes widened. "Really?" He nodded curtly, "Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me a 'lizard'." "Okay, sorry, I didn't know," Tails held up his hands in a disarming gesture. Spike calmed down at that. "Alright, I forgive you. My name's Spike, I'm a dragon, and I live in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle." Tails raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?" The little drake beamed proudly as he answered, "Only the smartest, most talented unicorn in all of Equestria!" Both of them blinked. "Unicorn? Equestria?" Spike looked at them as though they'd just grown second heads. "You're really not from around here, are you?" Before Tails could answer that, a quiet yet shrill scream rang out. The three turned to find Fluttershy staring at them. Who then proceeded to faint. "Oh no, Fluttershy!" Spike jumped in concern, rushing over to her side. Luckily, she'd only fainted; she hadn't hurt anything on the way down. "Wha— who's that?" Tails seemed bewildered at the sight. "She owns this house," Spike replied, not taking his focus away from the fainted pony for even a second. He heard Cream gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten anyone, I promise!" Spike waved her off. "It's alright, she's really sensitive regardless." "You did say her name was Fluttershy, right?" Tails pointed out. Spike nodded, then turned back towards Fluttershy. Blowing a little bit of smoke into her nose (it was something them and Twilight had agreed upon doing if Fluttershy ever fainted), he sent her into a mild coughing fit, startling her awake. As soon as she regained her breath, she turned her attention back to the strangers. "S-Spike, who are—?" The drake placed a placating hand on her chest. "It's okay, Fluttershy. I think they came out of that rift-thing." That piqued Tails's interest. "Did you say 'rift'?" Spike nodded. "Earlier today, Twilight detected something like a tear in space or whatever. She sent us out to find whatever came out of it, which is how I stumbled upon you." Tails absorbed this information. "A tear in space... That'd explain the disconnect!" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Disconnect?" The fox-boy nodded. "We're unfamiliar with anything of this place, while you're unfamiliar with us. That rift provides us an explanation: we're literally not from here!" Cream's eyes widened. "We're in another dimension?!" Tails shook his head, "Not necessarily. We could've traveled through a wormhole to a different planet, or this may even be the distant future of our world." "But it's still a possibility?" Spike asked. Tails nodded. "Some of my friends have traveled between dimensions before, sometimes even on purpose. Though they need a lot of power to do that." Fluttershy blinked owlishly. "Creatures from beyond Equestria? That's so fascinating! Tell me, what's your world like?" So Tails began to explain what their world was like, focusing mostly on his friends. But when he described someone named 'Omega', Spike realized something. "Wait a second, you said Omega is electric?" Tails argued semantics, but confirmed it. Spike jumped, "I think I've seen him!" Tails blinked. "You have?" He nodded. "Before I went searching in the woods, Twilight discovered something large and metallic in a back alley of Ponyville. It was red, yellow, and black, with markings on its shoulders and sharp fingers." Tails perked up. "Did the markings look like an upside-down 'U'?" Spike nodded, and Tails jumped, too. "That's him! Where is he?" "Twilight's currently trying to figure out how to reactivate it." "Well, then, what are we waiting f—" Before they could continue, Spike belched out a scroll. Tails was seemingly dumbfounded at the sight. "What— how did that happen?!" Spike picked up the scroll. "Princess Celestia used her magic to send me a letter." The fox's eyes widened. "Magic?" Spike nodded, "Yup." Tails shook his head, trying to wrap his head around it. "B-but that's not possible; magic is just science we don't understand yet, it doesn't— it can't— how— what...?" Then he fainted. Spike and Fluttershy blinked, then looked to Cream. "Does he normally do that?" She shook her head, "He's just never come across something he couldn't understand like that." That made sense. "And you're not gonna...?" "I've always believed a little in magic." They nodded, and Spike proceeded to open the letter. But when he read it, something was off; half of this wasn't Celestia's horn writing. He checked the names at the bottom; this was jointly written by both her and Princess Luna. Spike then actually read the letter, and gasped. Twilight was needed in Canterlot, right away! Author's Note I'm finally back with another full-on chapter! And it's the first chapter that shows a different side to a scene in a previous chapter. You know what that means: a whole lot of copy-paste in the second half! I've tried to keep it somewhat entertaining by providing Spike's thoughts, as well as skipping some dialogue and extending the scene a little at the end, but I dunno how well I did. Princess Luna's StoryThe Canterlot Gardens were rather nice during the day, Luna had to admit. Not as nice as they were at night, mind you, but she still had to hand it to her sister for making such a beautiful day. The Princess of the Night was currently taking a break from it all, spending some off time walking amongst the topiaries and statues. It was relaxing as well as informative, as many of the statues depicted events she'd missed during her millennium-long exile to the Moon. Did you know that the Dragons and Griffons waged a war with each other 273 years ago, lasting ten days before it was stopped by Celestia's intervention? Well, now Luna did. Luna sighed. She'd missed out on so much, all because she'd let her own jealousy get the better of her. Could she ever fully recover from that? As she thought this over, she stopped paying attention to where she was walking. In fact, she was so distracted that she tripped over something rather large and white, falling face-first onto it. When she got up to investigate, however, she was not prepared for what greeted her visage. It was one of the strangest creatures she'd ever seen. White quills covered the majority of its bipedal body, with just its chest being covered in white fur. Five 'tufts' of quills came out of the front of its face, forming a leaf-like shape just above its conjoined eyes. It wore gloves on its forelimbs and shoes on its hind legs, with golden bracelets capping each of them. If Luna didn't know any better, she would've said it looked like it belonged in one of those 'video games' she most certainly didn't play when she had some alone time. The princess backed off quickly, lighting her horn in preparation for anything the creature might try. But after a moment of nothing, she decided to get a closer look. It was unconscious. Definitely still alive, but unconscious. Luna unlit her horn, then turned to face the garden entrance. "Guards, come quickly! I have found something!" As she waited for the guards to arrive, she noticed something else. Just a few feet away from the creature's right hand was a glowing white gem. Curious, she picked it up with her magic. Immediately, she could feel the power that the gem radiated. It was more power than she'd ever felt a single relic give off, and the familiarity of the energy frightened her. Chaos energy. She quickly pocketed the gem, intending to bring it to Celestia herself. She'd most certainly want to see this. "What do you mean, 'you're busy'!?" Luna nearly bellowed. Celestia put on her practiced smile, though it was clear that she was exhausted. "I'm sorry, Lu-Lu, but these budget cuts can't wait, no matter how much I want to put them off." "But what of the creature I found in the garden? And the gem that I found on it?!" To emphasize her point, she brought out the gem. Celestia took one look at the gem, and reeled at the energy coming off of it. "You're right, that does seem dangerous..." She thought for a moment before she came up with a plan. "I'll tell you what: put the creature in my study, and I'll go meet it when I have the chance. Meanwhile, you keep that gem, and patrol the city to see if anything else comes after it." Luna raised an eyebrow. "Why not just leave it with the Guard?" Celestia frowned. "You're the only one I trust to not abuse that gem." The Princess of the Night shook her head, "I meant the creature, Tia." Her solar sister smirked. "I want to have a little talk with it." Luna blinked. "I don't know what talking will do, but if you insist..." So Luna went on to patrol around the city, keeping an eye out for any possible threats. Anypony that saw her waved to her, which brought a smile to her face. Just under a year ago, she'd been regarded with fear; seen as the second coming of Nightmare Moon. Now, it warmed her heart to know that the citizens of Equestria were warming up to her again. She was patrolling the old warehouse district when she came across something peculiar. Only this time, it wasn't unconscious. Another of those strange bipedal creatures was leaning against the side of one of the buildings. This one was black with red and white highlights, normal white gloves, and red-and-yellow shoes with machinery on the bottom. Since this one was actually standing, she realized that they were both about as tall as the average pony. It was also holding a cyan and a green gem, similar to the one in Luna's possession, in each of its hands. Luna kept a calm exterior, but still brought up her guard. "What an odd place to be. Tell me: do you normally stand creepily in alleyways?" The creature fired back without missing a beat: "That depends: does your kind normally walk around with such a powerful relic on you?" She could tell he was referring to the jewel; what else would he be talking about? "Only when protecting it from threats to Equestria." He nodded. "Your help is appreciated, but no longer needed; I'll be taking that back now." Princess Luna tensed slightly. "I'm afraid not; this jewel is too much of an unknown, as are you." "Oh, I'm afraid you misunderstood." He finally moved from his position against the wall and into a battle-ready stance. "That wasn't a request." Suddenly, his shoes sparked to life, and he began hovering slightly above the ground. Luna lit up her horn, and they both stood stock still for a moment. "Chaos CONTROL!" One second, the creature was in front of her; then, before she could even blink; he was right behind her, taking her off guard with a roundhouse kick. She sailed away from the impact, but managed to land on her hooves. Alicorn or no, a kick to the side from a metal-lined shoe still hurt. Still, she sent off a blast of magic his way, just barely missing him as he dodged. He practically skated over the ground as they began to circle around each other in a search for an opening. The black creature soon found one, as he began to shoot towards her. She brought up a shield spell, but he swerved long before coming close to it. It appeared he was testing what she could do. Well, two could play at that game. With her telekinesis, she seized one of his shoes and tried to pry it apart. However, he was quick to react, holding out the gems and shouting another phrase. "Chaos SPEAR!" A lance of energy shot out towards Luna. She was barely able to pull up a shield in time, but it caused her to drop her hold on his shoe. He rushed forward, but Luna took to the sky to dodge him. The creature, however, was not to be outdone. His air-shoes began to increase propulsion, and before long, he was in the air as well. As the two squared off, Luna couldn't help but notice that his left shoe (the one she'd grabbed) was sputtering slightly. She'd done some damage, and that gave her an idea. "Impressive," she taunted, "for an oversized rat." The creature smirked. "Oh, I'm no rat," he stated. "I'm a hedgehog." Then he did something she didn't expect; he curled up into a ball, leaving his spikes exposed, and launched himself straight at her. She tried to dodge, but he homed in on her, and caught her across the chest. Luckily, her neckpiece took the brunt of the attack (as it was designed to do), but it still winded her, nearly knocking her out of the air, and it almost shattered her accessory. She finally stabilized as he uncurled and resumed his hover right next to one of the warehouses. Her horn lit up again, and he braced himself for another attack. But instead of shooting it at him, she instead blasted the wall of the building, causing a chunk of it to fall towards him. He tried to dodge, but his damaged shoe got clipped by some rubble, and it sputtered out, grounding him. He glanced at his broken footwear, then at her, panting slightly from overexertion. "Not bad. But I will not lose! Chaos SPEAR!" Another lance of light shot out towards her, but she was able to deflect it with a shield. She readied another spell, and shot it, but the 'hedgehog' dodged again. It was at this moment that a Royal Guard decided to appear from the other side of a building. "What's with all the ruckus—?!" Luna gasped; the shot of magic she'd just fired was headed straight for him, and she wouldn't have enough time to— "Chaos Control!" In a flash of light, the strange 'hedgehog' appeared right in front of the Guard, pushing him away and taking the blast instead of him. He flew back, slamming into the ground several meters away, and lay still. Luna froze up, taken aback by the action. He was just fighting her — why'd he save that guard?! Then she landed, quickly rushing to the creature's side. She could see his chest moving shallowly — he was still breathing, but he was hurt rather badly. Luna realized she might've gotten carried away. She lit her horn and rested it against his chest, channeling most of her remaining energy into a healing spell. After a moment, the creature started, taking in deep breaths. For a moment, they both just lay there, catching their breaths. The guard watched in confusion, unsure of what was even happening. Then the black 'hedgehog' spoke. "You... You healed me? Why?" "I could ask you the same about saving that guard," she replied. "I promised someone long ago that I would protect the innocent." She smiled. "A noble promise indeed. They must be very close to you." "More than you can imagine," he chuckled weakly, his eyes filled with something akin to wistfulness. Luna thought for a moment. Then, with her magic, she brought the jewel back out and laid it in the creature's hand. He looked down in surprise, then back up at her. "I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof. I am Princess Luna, and it is mine and my sister's duty to protect our subjects." He hesitated, before nodding. "Shadow the Hedgehog. I was made to be a weapon against the people of Earth, but became one of their protectors." She blinked, then smiled. He was a reformed villain, too? "It is nice to meet you. Now, let's get you some help. Guard?" The guard, who had been silently watching the whole time, flinched at the sudden acknowledgement. "Yes, ma'am?" "I need you to head to the Royal Infirmary and send a dispatch of healers here." He saluted, still a little unsure, then spread his wings and flew off towards the Castle. Luna nodded to herself, then turned to Shadow again. "Now, I'm quite curious: what was that about being made to destroy your planet?" Shadow groaned. "I don't like to talk about it." Luna nodded. "Would it help if I told of when I nearly destroyed the world?" Shadow blinked. When he didn't respond, she continued: "When I was younger, I felt that I wasn't as appreciated as I should've been. You see, my sister rules the land during the day, while I watch over the night. Every time I'd see our subjects sleep through my night while relishing in my sister's day, I'd grow more and more jealous." "People need to sleep at some point," Shadow pointed out. Luna chuckled. "Try getting that through my younger self's thick skull. "Regardless, I eventually had enough of it. One day, I refused to make way for my sister, demanding that I be given the respect I deserved. She tried to reason with me, but I was too far gone; I'd become my alter ego, Nightmare Moon." "How did you come to your senses?" Shadow asked. Luna blew a stray lock of her hair out of her face. "I didn't. It took a while, but eventually, my sister's student and her friends managed to slap some reason into me." Shadow looked away, likely absorbing the story he'd just heard. "Alright, I'll tell you. But this does not leave here, you hear me?" Luna smiled. "Of course not." Shadow took in a deep breath. "I was created 53 years ago aboard a satellite called the 'Space Colony ARK' by a scientist known as Gerald Robotnik. I was the second of two attempts at creating the 'Ultimate Lifeform', in his attempts to find a cure for his granddaughter's illness. "That granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, and I became best friends. We lived on that satellite together for about a year, always wondering what life on the surface was like. "Then, the government learned of what Gerald was doing, and didn't approve of it. One night, they raided the Space Colony Ark and tried to destroy any evidence of what he was doing. And in the process, Maria was..." Luna gasped. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Shadow." Shadow simply nodded. "Outraged, Gerald managed to tamper with my memories so that all I'd want was revenge against the planet for killing her. I was locked away for 50 years, until his grand nephew, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, freed me in his attempt to take over the world. "He managed to blow up half of the moon as a threat to the Earth. And I was complicit in it." Luna gasped. "What happened?" Shadow sighed. "It was just a few minutes before the Doctor's plan was to come to fruition, when a recording of Gerald was played from the Space Colony ARK. It showed his descent into madness from his granddaughter's death, and how he now wanted to completely destroy the world. Dr. Eggman came to his senses temporarily, and teamed up with the group that was trying to stop him in order to save the world. "I, however, stood by and watched. It wasn't until one of them came and pleaded for my help that I finally remembered what Maria really wanted me to do: give the people of Earth a second chance to live happily, and protect the innocent. I finally came to my senses, and joined in the fight to save the world. We did it, but I nearly sacrificed myself to do so, falling to Earth from orbit. If it weren't for Eggman's robots saving me for his next attempt at world domination, I would've been...." The two sat there for a while. Luna saw him crying slightly, but she didn't dare point it out, nor did she judge. Even after the world was nearly destroyed, Dr. Robotnik still plotted for world domination?! Why, if she ever got her hooves on him, she'd—! It was then that the medics arrived. Luna quickly used her magic to dry off Shadow's tears before the ponies could see them. Shadow looked at her confusedly, then smiled when she winked at him. The moment was soon interrupted, however, when two familiar faces arrived along with the medics. One of them was a white creature with yellow accessories that could move large things with their mind; the other was a hedgehog. "Sister!" Luna exclaimed in surprise. "Silver!" Shadow also exclaimed in surprise. He tried to sit up, but grunted from the pain in his chest. Luna held him down gently so he wouldn't exert himself. "Well," Celestia remarked, "it seems like we've missed quite a bit." Silver the Hedgehog's StoryConsciousness slowly came to Silver. He blinked open his readjusting eyes, and was confused by what he saw. He was in a rather nice room, atop a velvet couch. On one side of the room was a lit fireplace; on the opposite side was a large bookshelf; and on a third wall was a wooden door that looked somewhat like it belonged in a medieval castle. But on the last wall was a large stained glass window that was rather hard to see out of. It depicted a rising sun and moon over green fields, with two winged unicorns circling the celestial bodies. One of them was white with a pink mane, while the other was blue with a purple mane. Below that, a desk played home to a roll of parchment and a bottle of ink. "Wh-where am I?" He asked to nobody in particular, seeing as the room was otherwise empty. "Blaze? Anyone?" Silver stood up, wincing at a small spike of pain in his chest. He made his way to the door, and surprisingly found it unlocked. There was, however, a note taped to the inside: Will be there shortly - Please, make yourself comfortable! ~ Princess Celestia "A Princess?" Silver raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, where am I?" He decided to peek out the door. It was an ornate staircase wrapping around the outside of the tower he was in. Over the railing, he could see a nice-looking courtyard with plenty of plant life, as well as several statues of unidentifiable creatures. Patrolling around the grounds were quadrupedal horses in medieval-esque armor. Silver had never seen anything like it, and it made him feel uncomfortable. Had he somehow ended up in the wrong time period? In the wrong place? Was he still unconscious? All he knew for certain was that he didn't belong here. He wanted to be able to trust whoever wrote the note; he really did. But he had a weird sense of unease about trusting strangers who whisked him to unknown rooms, and he had no clue why. He prepared to levitate himself off the balcony and head off in search of home. But as soon as Silver activated his powers, they immediately threatened to fling him out of control. He spun wildly in the air for a moment, before he was forced to make a rough landing in order to avoid plummeting off the tower. Silver picked himself up and regained his bearings. What the heck had just happened? Curious, he tried to reach out and pick something up with his psychic powers. He accidentally picked up half the books inside the tower, as well as the desk, almost effortlessly. He instinctually shut off his powers, letting everything fall to the ground with a loud clatter. "Whoops..." Silver cringed at the noise and the mess. He almost went to use his powers to help pick everything up, as was his instinct, but stopped himself before he could cause any more damage. "What's up with my powers?" Feeling bad about having caused such a mess, Silver decided that he'd clean up while he waited for this 'Princess Celestia' to return. And he was going to need that time, if he was to do it without his powers. He'd cleaned up the desk and papers, and was a quarter of the way through the books when he heard a gentle cough behind him. He turned to find a tall white unicorn-pegasus standing behind him. She was incredibly tall - about twice his own height, made up mostly by her long neck and legs. Her multicolored mane and tail were almost ethereal in the way they sparkled and flowed in a non-existent wind, but if Silver were to look closely, he could indeed see individual hairs. She wore golden regalia on her head, neck, and hooves, and on her flanks were the stylized image of the sun depicted in the room's stained glass window. But what struck Silver about her was her face. It was still equine-like, but it also conveyed a lot of emotion in it. Her ears were perked in a way that expressed confusion, her lips were pressed in a show of concern, and her eyes, while appearing to follow the rest of her face at first glance, were also tinged with both a wariness and a compassion that only a long life could instill in a person. Overall, her appearance screamed that she could either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. She then spoke with a voice that contained both the compassion and the authority of a ruler, "Did something happen while I was gone?" Silver quickly snapped out of his shocked state and performed a hasty bow. "Sorry, Miss; I accidentally knocked over these books." The horse's face softened slightly. "Ah, I see. Here, let me help you." Her horn lit up in a golden glow, and the remaining books were engulfed in it as well. They all floated up and sorted themselves into their proper places. Silver was impressed; even he was usually only able to get the objects to float in the general direction he wanted. But she had such elegance with her powers, as though she'd been practicing for decades. As soon as the horse was done, she turned back towards Silver. "That's better. Now, let me introduce myself; I'm Celestia." "You're the one who left the note?" Silver asked. She nodded. "My sister found you in the gardens; would you care to explain why you were there?" "Well, that's just it; I don't know, either. All I remember is that my friends and I were fighting Dr. Eggman, then..." Silver shook his head, as if that might help him remember. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Dr. 'Eggman'?" "Well, his real name is 'Ivo Robotnik', but my friends and I all call him Eggman," Silver clarified. "I meant, who is he, and why were you fighting him?" "Oh," Silver blushed. "Well, Eggman really wants to take over the world by any means, mainly by turning all the wildlife into robots." Celestia gasped. "That's terrible!" "I know! That's why Sonic the Hedgehog started fighting back against him - first on his own, before he eventually gained friends to help. And that's where I come in. You see, my name's Silver the Hedgehog. I come from a future where everything's been ravaged by Eggman, so I've been sent back in time to help prevent it." "You're a time traveler?" Celestia's eyes widened. "Our most powerful wizards are only able to go back a week." Silver chuckled hollowly. "Try two hundred years." If it was at all possible, Celestia's eyes widened even further. "Two hundred?! That's... wow!" Celestia sat down on the couch. "It must be so confusing for you, being so far away from your own time." "Yeah," Silver admitted, sitting down so his back was leaning against the sofa. "Where I come from, I'm usually alone for days at a time. But now, I have so many friends - honestly, it can get overwhelming sometimes! "But," the Hedgehog sighed, "I wouldn't trade them for anything." He reached inside of his left glove and pulled out a folded-up photo, unfolding it to stare wistfully at it. It was a photo of Sonic's birthday party, taken by Silver (using his psychokinesis to hold the camera). Silver himself was directly surrounded by Sonic, Amy, and Blaze, and they were all giving the peace sign to the camera. Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, and the Chaotix were also in the background, either talking amongst themselves or looking over at the four of them. Celestia motioned unobtrusively with a hoof, and Silver passed the photo to her. "This is such a cute photo," Celestia smiled. "Who are they?" "The blue one to my left is Sonic," Silver began to explain, "the pink one next to him is Amy Rose, and the cat with her hand on my shoulder is Blaze. And those guys in the background are Tails the Fox, Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge the Bat, Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon." He pointed to each one as he named them. "Cream the Rabbit was also there, but she isn't in the picture." "You weren't kidding when you said you had a lot..." Celestia chuckled. "Who's holding the camera?" "I was," Silver said, "with my psychokinesis." Celestia raised an eyebrow curiously. "Care to demonstrate?" "I would love to, but for some reason, my powers are all wonky here - that's how all those books got knocked over." Celestia nodded, "I see...." She checked her pocket watch and sighed, before reapplying her happy face, giving the picture back to Silver, and standing up. "Would you like to take a walk? It's a beautiful day, and I'd love to take this conversation outside." Silver blinked. He was still slightly uneasy, but Celestia seemed like a nice enough character. "I suppose I wouldn't mind...." With that, he got up as well, and they headed out the door. As they walked down the streets of the city, Silver began to feel uncomfortable with all the stares he was receiving. "I'm beginning to have second thoughts about being out here." Celestia smirked. "You worried that you might get mobbed?" "I'm actually more concerned about freaking everyone else out," Silver corrected. The Princess giggled a little. "Well, as long as you're with me, they'll know you're alright." "Speaking of," Silver pointed out, "we never really talked about you." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What would you want to know?" "For starters, what exactly are you?" Just a moment too late, Silver realized that a question like that might be seen as offensive. But before he could apologize, Celestia chuckled. "Straight to the point, are we? I'm what is known as an alicorn - a combination of an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn." "A combination?" "I have traits of all three - the wings of a pegasus, the horn of a unicorn, and the strength of an earth pony." Silver looked her up and down. That'd certainly explain her appearance. Although... "Is that also why you're so much taller than everyone else?" "In a way, yes." Silver blinked. Well, that was vague. He was about to ask her what she meant by that, when a pegasus and a unicorn suddenly sped by, both clad in doctor's clothes. Celestia and Silver exchanged a silent glance, before they began to follow the medics. When they arrived at their destination, Silver was surprised to find an injured Shadow being tended to by a dark blue alicorn. Like Celestia, this alicorn's mane was cosmic and flowing, although hers was more like a field of stars. She also had regalia on her, but hers was pitch black, and the neck piece was fractured. And on her mottled flanks were the image of a crescent moon, matching the icon on her neckpiece. She was also shorter than Celestia, almost exactly as tall as Silver (if not just a little bit taller). As Celestia and Silver approached, the two caught sight of them. "Sister!" The dark alicorn exclaimed. "Silver!" Shadow simultaneously blurted. He tried to sit up, but he grunted with pain, before the other alicorn held him down so he wouldn't hurt himself. "Well," Celestia remarked, "it seems like we've missed quite a bit." Silver was astounded. Up until this point, he'd kind of assumed that he was the only one of his friends that was here. But now that he'd seen Shadow, he was suddenly wondering just how many of them were in a similar situation. Was Sonic here? Maybe Amy? What about Blaze? But first, he had to ask the most important question of all: "Who's she?" Silver pointed towards the darker alicorn. "That's my sister, Princess Luna." Celestia explained, to Silver's surprise. "Luna, this is Silver the Hedgehog. Luna stepped forward and offered a hoof. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Silver took it in his hand and shook. "Likewise." "Okay, enough of the sappy stuff," Shadow rolled his eyes, somehow to Luna's amusement. "What, exactly, did we miss?" "Well," Celestia began, "it all started when Luna found Silver in the garden...."
IntroAlarms blared. Turrets fired. A microwave beeped. Yep, just another Tuesday in Eggman's Lair. Orbot warily watched the surveillance feed, helplessly witnessing a group break through the defenses. "Uhm, Boss?" "I only need another minute!" The devilishly charismatic, mustached man known as Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik was rapidly typing on a computer, desperately trying to finish the initiation sequence for his latest plan. A flash brought the robot's attention back to the cameras. "Silver and Blaze are with them, too..." Eggman only grunted in response, typing as fast as he could. Cubot entered the room, slightly smoking. "Boss, the Chaotix are here, too!" That really threw the scientist for a loop. "But how?! I sent them on that wild goose chase!" Before Cubot could even respond, there was a metallic thunk as an air duct was forced open above them. The trio looked up in horror as a familiar treasure hunter fell into the room, landing gracefully. Rouge regarded them with a sly grin, "Greetings, Doctor." Instinctively, Orbot lunged towards Rouge, but she was able to dodge and detain him with ease. However, this momentary distraction provided Eggman enough time to finish the startup sequence. With a press of the enter key, the code began to run, and the large device in the middle of the room, fueled by the Master Emerald, began to whir to life. Not a moment later, the heavy metal door to the room blasted open, and there stood thirteen familiar faces. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Vector, Espio, Charmy, Shadow, E-123 Omega, Amy, Cream, Big, Silver, and Blaze stood in the threshold, glaring angrily at the Doctor. Eggman, however, cackled. "Too late, rodent boy! I've already activated the device!" With that said, he pressed a button on the console, and a glass pod began to enclose him. "Give back the Master Emerald!" Knuckles screamed, lunging forward to try and rip the precious jewel out from its container. He didn't even make it halfway before Cubot intercepted him, knocking him off course and causing him to crash straight into a wall. Eggman taunted the echidna with an akanbe. "Nope! You've been slacking on your duties too much; it was so easy to just grab it!" "This ends here, Eggman," Sonic declared confidently. Tails, Shadow, Amy, Big, Espio, Silver, and Blaze each took out the Chaos Emerald they were carrying, and Sonic began to call upon their powers. But instead of being scared, like Sonic had expected, Eggman looked... Cunning? The Doctor brought out a remote and pressed a button, which caused a hatch to open in the wall. From within it came a fierce metallic blur, which rammed into Sonic before he could finish turning Super. The blue hedgehog skidded to a stop some ten feet away from where his robot duplicate had hit him. "I see you've got Metal Sonic working aga—" Whatever one-liner he was about to spurt out was quickly silenced by a metal fist in his face. Sonic flew across the room and hit the wall, rings spilling out all over the place. The rest of the group prepared to charge, but before they could, the device fully activated. A shockwave rippled through the complex as a pinprick-sized light formed between two emitters, which then quickly began to expand. "Bye-bye, you pesky blue rat!" Eggman cackled as the vortex grew, sucking more and more towards it. Sonic's friends tried to get away, but the forces quickly became too much to overcome, and they started to get sucked in. Then Tails had an idea: go for Eggman instead of the exit. He quickly turned on the spot, using the pull of the device to launch himself towards Eggman's glass pod. With one swift kick, the glass shattered, and Eggman began to feel the suction. "Blast it!" He managed to cry before the vortex sucked everyone in.
Big's StoryBig the Cat woke up in a nice-looking forest. He briefly considered the fact that he wasn't home, but shrugged it off. It wasn't the weirdest place he'd woken up in; he remembered one time he woke up in a helicopter with Sonic. "Good morning, Froggy," he chirped in his usual slower speech pattern, looking down to his— Wait a second, Froggy wasn't there. "Froggy? Where are you? Did you run away again?" Aw, chum-sticks. Why did Froggy keep running away? Big always did his best to make sure Froggy was well-cared for. Big sighed; sitting here and moping wouldn't help. So the cat stood up, grabbed his fishing rod, and walked off towards the nearest town to search for his Pollywog Pal. Strange, this place didn't seem like Mobius. For one thing, there was an awful lot of ponies. And what's more, they weren't walking like a Mobian; they were on all fours, like ordinary ponies. Big considered this for longer than last time, but he once again just shrugged it off. It certainly wasn't as strange as him waking up on the Space Colony ARK. So the big purple cat toddled down the street, drawing as much attention as you'd expect. They were staring with interest, parting to let him through, and one of them even fainted. Such a nice town, Big thought. He should introduce himself. "Hello," the large purple cat announced to the crowd, "I'm Big." "You sure are, mister!" Big took a moment to register where the speaker was: directly to his left. He turned to the source and found a pink pony with curly pink hair, bright blue eyes, an image of balloons on her hips, and a wide grin on her face. She giggled, "I couldn't help but notice ya walking into town. Are ya plannin' on staying for a while?" Big shrugged, "Depends on how fast I can find Froggy." "Oh, you're looking for a friend? I'll help you." The big cat couldn't help but give a dopey grin. "Thank you kindly, Miss." "No problem-o! I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way!" "I'm Big the Cat." "You're certainly the most interesting cat I've ever met!" "And you're the most interesting pony I've ever met." She giggled to herself, "That's an understatement and a half! Now, come on; let's find your friend!" And so, two new friends walked off to try and find Froggy. "Froggy? Froggy??" About an hour later, they weren't making any progress. Pinkie was busy scouring a dressmaker's shop, while Big was searching the local bakery. He was about to give up when he noticed something. There, in the corner of the bakery, was something green and bug-eyed. "Froggy, my Pollywog Pal! I found you!" The fisher-cat scooped up the creature and gave him a big hug. "I missed you so much, friend," Big sniffled. "No matter how many times it happens, or how long we're apart, I'll always look for you." Big looked the green creature in the eye expectantly. But instead of having his feelings returned, its eyes glinted with... Unfamiliarity? "Don't ya remember me?" Big asked hopefully. When the creature licked its own eye in response, the cat nearly started to tear up. "Ya've lost ya memory?" He wondered what to do next. How would Amy or Cream handle this, if they were in his situation? Well, they'd probably try to make Froggy happy... Then he had an idea. "I know, let's go fishing! That always cheers ya up, and it'll probably jog your memory!" With that decided, Big held the creature over his arm like how one would carry a carpet, fishing pole in the other hand, and headed off to find a lake. After quite a bit of walking, they came across a nice, calm lake. A nearby sign marked it as "Marigold Lake, Ponyville's local watering hole". Near the lake was a tree with a tire swing, telling Big that it was a public area; ergo, a ripe spot for fishing. However, it seemed like he wasn't alone in wanting to visit the lake; a curtain was set up on the opposite bank. Sparks flew as someone worked with a blowtorch from within. Big shrugged. As long he gave them distance, they shouldn't bother him, right? The fisher-cat sat down on one bank, drew back his arm, and cast the fishing line out. Not even five seconds later, a rock whizzed past Big's head and hit the ground. The green creature in Big's arms, scared at the sudden projectile, leapt down and began to scamper off. "Wait, Froggy, stop!" Big desperately tried to call out. Not even thinking to check where the rock came from, he leapt to his feet and dashed after his Pollywog Pal. It eventually stopped, alright. In the middle of a pond at the base of a windmill, that is. Big sighed. "Oh, Froggy, what am I gonna do with ya?" So the cat plopped himself down, aimed, and cast the lure. With a 'plunk', it landed some 3 feet away from its target. Now, all he had to do was wait. ... This was going to take a while. Big didn't know when, but at some point, he fell asleep there on the lakeside. The only thing he knew was that he was awoken by a vaguely familiar voice screaming, "BIG!!!" The cat in question turned his head to find Pinkie Pie rushing up to him, an angry look on her face. "Oh hey, Pinkie. I found Froggy." He pointed to the lake, and Pinkie blanched for a moment. Eventually, the pieces seemed to click together for her, and she calmed down significantly. "Big, that's my pet Gummy." Big blinked, then turned to look at the creature floating out there. Now that he thought about it, the creature didn't exactly look like Froggy. Actually, it didn't look ANYTHING like his friend! It wasn't even a frog, it was some kind of tiny gator. How did he not notice it sooner? Big blushed. "Oh... Sorry." Pinkie let out an exhale, then smiled forgivingly. "That's okay; we all make mistakes. Why, I remember one time I accidentally put cake batter in my confetti cannons and confetti in the oven!" She giggled to herself, and Big, not understanding the context, awkwardly chuckled along. "Uhm, what exactly is happening here?" Big and Pinkie paused, turning at the new and fancy voice. A white unicorn with disheveled purple hair had approached, looking like she'd just taken a run through the jungle. Pinkie apparently recognized the pony. "Hiya, Rarity! This is Big the Cat, and he's looking for his pet Froggy." The pony now identified as Rarity looked cautiously at Big, then to Gummy floating in the water, then back to Big. After failing to process, she simply stated, "Uh-huh... And what about them?" The two looked where Rarity was pointing, and were absolutely flummoxed. There, trudging into town while carrying an injured pegasus pony, was Vector the Crocodile. But that's not what caught Big's attention; it was the creature resting atop Vector's head that was more of interest to him. "Froggy!" Big exclaimed, leaping to his feet and rushing over. The crocodile tried to shout, but it was too late; the overeager cat had already bowled straight into him, snatching the frog from atop his head and hugging him. "Oh Froggy, you're safe! I just knew you'd come back, my Pollywog Pal!" "Ribbit," stated Froggy. "You're welcome," stated Vector dryly. Big wiped away a tear of joy. "You know what this calls for? A celebratory fishing trip!" And with that, the two ran off. It was a windy and sunny day, and everything was perfect for the duo. Big was happily smiling, watching the bobber closely; Froggy was right where he belonged, sleeping peacefully on his buddy's lap; and a purple pony was chasing E-123 Omega through the streets in the distance. Yup, life was perfect. Author's Note EDIT (12/11/22): Changed Big's speech pattern to match Sonic Frontiers.
"Tails" Prower's StoryAuthor's Note Edit: changed Spike and Cream's text color in order to differentiate them more. Edit 2: changed Cream's text color again to differentiate it from Fluttershy's. "Tails" Prower's Story The world slowly came back into focus as Tails regained consciousness. His body hurt like crazy, and he was too dazed to remember why. "Ugh, my head..." He groaned to himself as he tried to bring himself to his feet... ...only to find himself tumbling out of the tree he'd landed in. "Ow..." He groaned from his new position in a patch of flowers. This time, when he uprighted himself, he made sure that he was on solid ground. He blinked the dizziness from his eyes, then froze when he realized where he was. A forest. An overgrown, dark and foreboding forest. The 8-year-old fox knew better than to freak out, but he couldn't help himself for a moment. "Wha- where am I? Hello? Anyone?!" No response. He was alone. He took a deep breath. "Okay, Miles, no need to freak out," he reassured himself, "You've faced Chaos 4 by yourself; you can certainly handle finding your way out of the woods." Tails took a moment to fully take in his surroundings. The trees were greener and denser than those in the Mystic Jungle, and were a completely different type regardless. The climate was clearly temperate, he could see woodpeckers in the distance, and the ground was covered in pretty blue flowers. After stretching his sore muscles (and noticing that his right foot was particularly sore), he leapt up and began to fly through the canopy. It took a bit of work to weave through, but he did manage to clear the treetops. The trees seemed to stretch on for miles all around Miles. The nearest thing he could see that wasn't forest was a small rural community to the north. Groaning in disappointment, Tails slowly lowered himself back to the forest floor. With nowhere else to go, he began to head in the direction of civilization. He didn't know when, but something changed. A light ringing began to sound off in his ears; the ground seemed to lurch at random intervals, throwing Tails off balance each time; and blue spots swam throughout his blurry vision, making it hard to focus or even think straight. Eventually, it became too much, and the little fox boy had to sit down at the base of a tree. While he tried to regain his bearings, he heard something rustling through the bushes, but he couldn't think clearly enough to pay it any mind. Then, after a moment, something left the brush and approached. He couldn't clearly see what it was, but it was purple-and-green, and it definitely moved on two legs. Then it spoke: "Uh... Hi?" Tails blinked, trying his hardest to refocus but failing. "H-hey..." The creature flinched at his word, then seemingly calmed down. "W-what's up?" Tails didn't know why, but he found that really funny. Maybe it was because they were in the middle of the woods, talking as though nothing were wrong. Regardless, he started to laugh. That prompted the creature to ask, "What's so funny?" Tails managed to get out between chuckles, "I don't know!" As he wound his laughter down, he registered that the creature was slowly backing away out of fear. In a lucky moment of clear-ish thought, he cut his mirth short. "W-wait, don't go! I'm sorry, I just— argh, I can hardly think straight with all these blue spots I'm seeing!" "Blue spots?" The creature seemed to recognize the symptom. "You didn't happen to touch any blue flowers, did you?" "Actually, yeah," Tails scratched his head. "Is that bad?" The creature sighed. "That was Poison Joke. It's like Poison Oak, but instead of causing a rash, it likes to play little pranks." In the state he was in, he couldn't even bring himself to question it. "Hehe, Poison Joke..." "Come on," the creature extended out one of its hands, "One of my friends has the cure." Tails shakily reached out his own hand, but due to the delirium he was experiencing, he missed completely. He tried again, this time barely intercepting the creature's hand. "Thanks. My name's Tails." "I'm Spike," he replied in kind, helping Tails stand up. Leaning on Spike for support, they began to make their way through the forest. Tails didn't know for how long they'd been walking, but at some point, Spike suddenly froze in his tracks. "Wait, did you hear that?" Tails perked his ears, but all he could hear at first was the ringing noise. "I don't—" Suddenly, a crash came from some distance to their right, accompanied by the buzz of an insect's wings. Spike quickly moved himself and Tails behind a tree, and they waited. Another crash sounded, this one closer. The buzz was growing louder. Another crash. Finally, something big crashed through the foliage. Tails couldn't properly see it due to all the blue spots blurring his vision, but he could tell that it was yellow, white, and black, and was hovering off the ground. Spike trembled, not daring to say anything as the creature tore through the forest. Thankfully, it didn't see them, and just continued on its path. The little purple guy breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew, thank Celestia we didn't— Wait a second... That thing's headed towards Ponyville!" "Whozzat?" Tails asked dumbly. Spike looked back at Tails, torn over what to do. Finally, he sighed in defeat. "I wouldn't be much help against that beast anyway... I'm sure the girls can manage." With that, he worriedly continued them on their journey. Eventually, they reached what looked (to Tails) like a large mound covered in grass. Spike stepped forward and opened a door, making Tails realize that it was actually a house, and he ushered the ailed fox inside. They made their way to a bathroom, where Spike drew a bath and poured something from a bag into it. He helped Tails climb in, then left to give him some privacy. The fox sighed, the hot water already starting to work its magic. His ears stopped ringing, the ground stopped lurching, and his vision cleared up again — although his right foot was still sore. "Wow, that worked wonders!" He commented, finally able to think straight again. "After I find out where I am, I should ask Spike what he put in this bath." Grabbing a towel, he climbed out of the tub and dried his fur. Once he hung the towel back up, and after putting his gloves back on, he walked out of the bathroom and took a look around. The place felt comfortably natural, with vines growing down the cream-colored walls. Spike wasn't there at the moment; he probably — "WHAT THE—!?" Tails jumped at the sudden scream, then quickly rushed down the hallway towards the sound's origin. When he got there, he was floored by what he found. A purple lizard-boy was staring in shock at a nice-looking bed, which hosted none other than Cream the Rabbit. Cream had been woken up by the scream, and was now staring wide-eyed at the reptilian creature before her. "Cream!?" Tails gaped, drawing both of their attention. "Mister Tails!" The little rabbit exclaimed, lunging out of the bed to hug him. "Wha— you're still— that's what you— HUH?" The reptile, his voice identifying him as Spike, experienced a mental crash. "How'd you end up here?" Tails asked, ignoring Spike for the moment. "It was so weird; I woke up this morning at the edge of a forest, then I found this place. I only meant to rest my head for a little while, honest!" He sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. But where's Cheese?" She looked on the verge of tears as she exclaimed, "I don't know! He could be all alone, lost somewhere like that forest! I'm worried for him, Mister Tails..." "Me too," he gripped her tighter into the hug, and they stayed like that for a moment. Then Tails broke off the hug and turned back towards Spike, who was still staring at them with a slack jaw. "Alright, let's try this again: Hi, I'm Tails, I'm an 8-year-old inventor fox, and I have no idea how we got here. Nice to meet you!" He extended out a gloved hand, which seemed to snap Spike out of his stupor. "Wh—what are you?!" "I just said, I'm a fox." He shook his head. "You're not like any fox I've ever seen..." "And you're not like any lizard I've seen." He huffed, "I'm a dragon!" Tails's eyes widened. He'd rarely seen tiny dragons in his world (Chao particularly liked them), but never any that could talk. "Really?" He nodded curtly, "Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me a 'lizard'." "Okay, sorry, I didn't know," Tails held up his hands in a disarming gesture. Spike seemed to calm down at that. "Alright, I forgive you. My name's Spike, I'm a dragon, and I live in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle." Tails raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?" The little drake beamed proudly as he answered, "Only the smartest, most talented unicorn in all of Equestria!" Both of them blinked. "Unicorn? Equestria?" Spike looked at them as though they'd just grown second heads. "You're really not from around here, are you?" Before Tails could answer that, a quiet yet shrill scream rang out. The three turned to find a yellow pony with pink hair and wings staring at them. That pony then proceeded to faint. "Oh no, Fluttershy!" Spike jumped in concern, rushing over to her side. Tails, on the other hand, was at a loss for words. He may have been a genius, but there were still some things that simply eluded his knowledge. Talking ponies were one such thing. "Wha— who's that?" "She owns this house," Spike replied, not taking his focus away from the fainted pony for even a second. Tails looked to Cream, who was wide-eyed. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten anyone, I promise!" Spike waved her off. "It's alright, she's really sensitive regardless." "You did say her name was Fluttershy, right?" Tails pointed out. The dragon nodded, then turned to face the pony. He did something that Tails didn't quite understand, and the pony jerked awake in a coughing fit. When she got over it, she paled when she saw the two. "S-Spike, who are—?" The drake placed a placating hand on her chest. "It's okay, Fluttershy. I think they came out of that rift-thing." That piqued Tails's interest. "Did you say 'rift'?" Spike nodded. "Earlier today, Twilight detected something like a tear in space or whatever. She sent us out to find whatever came out of it, which is how I stumbled upon you." Tails absorbed this information. "A tear in space... That'd explain the disconnect!" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Disconnect?" The fox-boy nodded. "We're unfamiliar with anything of this place, while you're unfamiliar with us. That rift provides us an explanation: we're literally not from here!" Cream's eyes widened. "We're in another dimension?!" Tails shook his head, "Not necessarily. We could've traveled through a wormhole to a different planet, or this may even be the distant future of our world." "But it's still a possibility?" Spike asked. Tails nodded. "Some of my friends have traveled between dimensions before, sometimes even on purpose. Though they need a lot of power to do that." Fluttershy blinked owlishly. "Creatures from beyond Equestria? That's so fascinating! Tell me, what's your world like?" Tails raised an eyebrow at her sudden change in demeanor, but didn't comment on it. "Well, we're from Mobius, where I live on South Island with my friends." "Are they also bipedal animal folk?" Tails nodded. "My friends Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Amy are hedgehogs, Knuckles is an echidna, Big and Blaze are cats, Rouge is a bat, Charmy is a bee, Vector is a Crocodile, and Espio is a chameleon." Spike guessed, "That's why you assumed I was a lizard?" "Yep. Pretty much the only one of my friends who isn't an animal is Omega, and he's a robot." The two Equestrians blinked. "What's a 'robot'?" Tails paled. He asked with a note of worry, "How technologically advanced is this place?" Spike shrugged, "It varies depending on where you go. Big cities like Manehattan have electricity and such; while smaller places like Ponyville haven't caught up yet, still having film projectors." Tails sighed to himself. "Great, how are we supposed to find a way home if this place doesn't have anything I can use?" Something seemed to click in Spike's head. "Wait a second, you said Omega is electric?" Tails bobbed his head side-to-side, "Only implicitly, but yes, he's made of metal and runs on electricity." Spike jumped. "I think I've seen him!" Tails blinked. "You have?" He nodded. "Before I went searching in the woods, Twilight discovered something large and metallic in a back alley of Ponyville. It was red, yellow, and black, with markings on its shoulders and sharp fingers." Tails perked up. "Did the markings look like an upside-down 'U'?" Spike nodded, and Tails jumped. "That's him! Where is he?" "Twilight's currently trying to figure out how to activate it." "Well, then, what are we waiting f—" Before he could finish that thought, Spike suddenly belched out green flames. This wouldn't have been anything special, except that the flames coalesced in the air, until they formed... A scroll? Tails was dumbfounded. "What— how did that happen?!" Spike grabbed the scroll as though he were used to this occuring. "Princess Celestia used her magic to send me a letter." The fox's eyes widened. "Magic?" Spike nodded, "Yup." Tails shook his head, trying to wrap his head around it. "B-but that's not possible; magic is just science we don't understand yet, it doesn't— it can't— how— what...?" It was just too much for him to process at once; Tails fainted.
Spike the Dragon's StoryIt was a beautiful day in Equestria. Too bad Spike was stuck inside, sweeping the floors. He'd always been happy to do this before, but something felt off today. Maybe it was the fact that Twilight wasn't actually busy with any projects, and yet she was still reading instead of helping? Well, whatever it was, it got Spike wishing he didn't have to do the chores today. Be careful what you wish for. "Did you feel that, Spike?" The baby dragon looked up from his work, caught off guard by the sudden question. "Feel what?" Instead of clarifying, she rolled her eyes at herself, then ran outside. Spike quickly set the broom down and ran out to join her, but whatever it was that she'd felt was already gone. "Twilight, what happened?" She muttered, "The start of another adventure..." He blinked, unsure of what to make of that. "What?" "Gather the girls and bring them here," she ignored his question. "I need to gather some things from the basement." With that, she ran back inside, leaving a confused Spike in her wake. About half an hour later, everypony was gathered in the foyer of the Golden Oaks Library. "What's this all about, Spike?" Applejack drawled. "Ah'm missin' out on market season." "And I was taking care of this poor, hurt mousey," Fluttershy cooed, carrying a white mouse with a leg cast. Spike shrugged, "I dunno; something happened earlier, and Twilight asked me to gather you girls." Rarity piped up, "Is this about that odd surge?" He blinked, "Surge?" She nodded, "I was sewing up a new ensemble for Sweetie Belle, when I felt a magical surge downtown." She gestured to her horn, implying that it was her connection to magic that allowed her to feel it. Spike shrugged, "Like I said, I'm only doing what Twilight asked." And speak of the devil, Twilight chose that moment to emerge from the basement, carrying a strange device in her magic. "Thank you, Spike. Now, you girls may be wondering why I called you all here." Everypony nodded. Twilight turned on the device, and the screen flickered on to show a simplistic outline of Equestria. "Half an hour ago, there was a disturbance in the space-time continuum that caused several unidentified things to scatter across Equestria." She lit her horn as she continued, "According to Starswirl's Theories of Magic Dynamics, anything affected by magic, however briefly, will retain a lingering trace of that magic for some time. I've used a spell to hone in on that magic, allowing us to track whatever it was that came through." While she spoke, her horn cast some kind of spell into the device. After a moment, several dots appeared across the map of Equestria, ranging from Canterlot to Appleoosa and centering on Ponyville. Twilight turned a knob on the side of the device, and the picture zoomed in until each dot could be seen individually. And one of them was moving towards the center of the screen. Twilight seemed to notice this. "It appears one of them is headed this way, from the Whitetail Woods. We should—" Pinkie gasped, "New friend!" And with that, she happily pronked out of the library. Spike stared at the mare as she bounced out of sight. "That mare is something else..." Twilight blinked, then shook her head. "Alright, I suppose that's one problem sorted. That leaves us with..." She took a moment to count the remaining dots, then sighed, "sixteen more..." The others groaned, not liking the sound of that at all. Soon, the targets were given. Rarity and Rainbow Dash were to head into the Everfree Forest to find the six scattered in there, Fluttershy would investigate the signal at Marigold Lake, Applejack would find the one near Sweet Apple Acres, and Spike would join Twilight in locating one that landed somewhere downtown. This left two dots in Canterlot, one near the Pie Family Rock Farm, and two near Appleoosa (as well as the one that Pinkie was already headed out to intercept). The two in Canterlot would likely be handled by the Princesses, and the group decided to deal with the others once their current objectives were taken care of. With all of that settled, the group split up to find their objectives. "So," Spike began as he rode Twilight down the street, "what exactly are we looking for?" "Anything out of the ordinary," Twilight replied, not taking her eyes off the device in her magical grasp. Spike nodded, then began to look around. Everything seemed normal; the flowers were in bloom, a sale was happening at the jeweler's, a large group of ponies was gathered around a smoldering crater, some birds were— Wait a second... A sale at the jeweler's?! Spike almost let his excitement drive him to get off Twilight and rush to the shop, but he paused again. What was that third thing again? He blinked, turning his attention back towards a nearby alleyway; the crowd was still forming around a large impact site. Oh. "Is that 'out of the ordinary' enough?" Spike pointed towards the scene, grabbing Twilight's mane to get her attention. She took one look, gasped, then began to gallop towards the scene of the incident. Spike yelped in surprise, holding on tighter as her speed increased. After a moment, they reached the crater. Twilight peered into the pit, and gasped at what she saw. Spike needed a moment to move so he could see, but he was also stunned at the sight. It was something made completely out of metal, shaped vaguely like the creatures on the other side of the Mirror Portal. It had a barrel-like torso with several adornments, such as four vents on the front, a small silver fin down the middle of its chest, and three small metal flaps that resembled a robe. Its head was just an outcropping of metal on the top, adorned by two red 'eyes'; its arms were covered in plate metal adorned with upside-down 'U' shapes, its hands made of razor-sharp fingers, and the whole forearm looked like it could swivel to reverse its facing direction (making the hand face into the elbow); its legs were rather normal, with metallic coverings and two 'toes' (in the same way that a flipper has 'toes'); and on its back was what looked like an engine with two exhausts at the bottom. Twilight was staring with immense curiosity; everyone else, including Spike, was staring with apprehension. Finally, somepony broke the silence. Namely, it was Roseluck, who screamed before fainting. Twilight held up a hoof. "Remain calm, everypony! I've got this under control!" To emphasize her point, she made a show of lighting her horn and scanning the creature. After a moment, her expression moved even further into fascination. Spike knew that face anywhere, and braced himself. "Oh my goodness! Spike, this thing is incredible; it's almost completely metal!" The baby dragon blinked. "Well, I kinda figured from looking at it. What's so special about that, though?" Twilight was now gushing. "I can sense a lot of copper in it, structured like a nervous system. And copper conducts electricity, so..." Spike raised an eyebrow. "It's a machine?" "An alien machine! Spike, think of all the technological advances we could achieve if we study this thing! Celestia will be so proud of me!" Spike sighed. Then something registered. "Wait, you said 'almost completely metal'?" Twilight nodded. "There seems to be some kind of organic-based power core at its center. Now come on, Spike; help me get it back to the Library." To that, Spike let out a groan. If looks were anything to go by, the machine seemed to be incredibly heavy. Today just wasn't his day. Eventually, with much effort between the two of them, they managed to pluck the machine out of the crater and haul it back to the library. Bringing it downstairs, Twilight cleared off a table and heaved the machine onto it. Then she got to work. Her magic brought out several tools, and she began to probe over the metal monstrosity. Spike shifted impatiently. "Uh, Twilight? What about the other things you detected?" The alicorn froze for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot! Spike, you can head out and try to find another one if you want." Spike eyed the machine. Even though it was motionless, and had been that way the entire time, it still freaked him out to no end. "Yeah, I think I'll go do that." With a nod, Twilight summoned the tracking device and turned it back on. The little dragon took it and observed the dots for a moment. 'So,' Spike began to formulate a plan, 'if Rarity went into the Everfree, that means she has... Six creatures to deal with?! That's way too much, even if she has Rainbow with her; I have to help!' Making up his mind, he handed the device back to Twilight and began to rush up the stairs. He could barely hear her call out "Be careful!" before he was out the door. Spike hummed a little tune to himself as he searched the forest. "♪I wanna fly high...♪" Suddenly, he heard some rustling in the nearby foliage. He fell completely silent, slinking into a nearby bush himself for cover. When he poked his head out, he was in for a surprise. Resting atop a large rock was a strange creature. It looked like an orangish-yellow fox, but it stood on two legs instead of four. Three tufts of hair jutted out from its forehead, and its chest and mouth-area were covered in white fur. It wore white gloves on its hands, and red-and-white shoes on its feet. The most distinguishing feature about it was the two tails it possessed. Spike stood there for a moment, observing the creature as it caught its breath. Eventually, Spike decided it looked harmless enough to approach. "Uh... hi?" The creature blinked, taking a moment to respond. "H-hey..." Spike flinched. He sounded young; too young to be out in the woods on his own. He decided to act casual, as to not freak out the creature. "W-what's up?" And then the creature started laughing. "What's so funny?" Spike asked defensively. The creature managed to reply between laughs, "I don't know!" ...okay, maybe the creature was less stable than he'd thought. As he tried to back away, though, the fox noticed. "W-wait, don't go! I'm sorry, I just— argh, I can hardly think straight with all these blue spots I'm seeing!" Spike, recognizing the symptom, began to put the pieces together. "Blue spots? You didn't happen to touch any blue flowers, did you?" "Actually, yeah," the creature confirmed, scratching his head. "Is that bad?" He sighed. "That was Poison Joke. It's like Poison Oak, but instead of causing a rash, it likes to play little pranks." That would explain the strange behavior — and maybe even the creature's strange appearance, too. The creature muttered something, but Spike couldn't hear it, so he decided to continue. "Come on," he extended out one of his hands, "One of my friends has the cure." That friend, of course, was Fluttershy; she still had some left over from when she used Poison Joke to secretly sing with the Pony Tones. The fox reached out its own hand, but missed. It tried again, this time barely intercepting his claw. "Thanks. My name's Tails." "I'm Spike." He helped Tails up to his feet, and, helping to support him, they began to walk towards Fluttershy's cottage. "Wait, did you hear that?" Spike froze suddenly, listening out for a noise he'd just barely caught. Tails perked his ears, but seemingly didn't hear anything. "I don't—" Suddenly, a crash came from some distance to their right, accompanied by the buzz of an insect's wings. Spike quickly moved himself and Tails behind a tree, and they waited. Another crash sounded, this one closer. The buzz was growing louder. Another crash. Finally, a gigantic bugbear crashed through the foliage. It was big, powerful, and angry. Spike trembled, not daring to say anything as the creature tore through the forest. Thankfully, it didn't see them, and just continued on its path. The little purple guy breathed a sigh of relief, "Whew, thank Celestia we didn't— Wait a second... That thing's headed towards Ponyville!" "Whozzat?" Tails asked dumbly. Spike looked back at Tails, torn over what to do. 'What am I supposed to do?! We'd never be able to reach Ponyville before it, nor would we be any good at slowing it down.' Finally, he sighed in defeat. "I wouldn't be much help against that beast anyway... I'm sure the girls can manage." With that, he worriedly continued them on their journey. Eventually, they reached the edge of the forest, where Fluttershy's familiar cottage was. Spike pushed open the door, letting them both inside. After preparing the antidote for Tails, he stepped out to give him some privacy. As he waited, he decided to look around for the house's owner. "Fluttershy, you back yet?" he called out, not so loudly as to scare any nearby animals. Suddenly, Angel came rushing down the hallway, looking rather frightened. "What is it, Angel?" Spike asked, as if the bunny could actually say something. Angel pointed towards Fluttershy's bedroom door, which was slightly ajar. Spike walked over and pushed it open, then froze at what he saw. It looked like another of whatever Tails was, but this one was a cream-colored rabbit instead of a fox. And it was sleeping in Fluttershy's bed. "WHAT THE—!?" Spike shouted. The exclamation startled the creature awake, and it looked at him with fearful brown eyes. "Cream!?" Tails gaped from the doorway, drawing both of their attention. "Mister Tails!" The little rabbit exclaimed, lunging out of the bed to hug him. Spike, on the other claw, was still shocked. Tails's appearance wasn't just another prank by the Poison Joke? "Wha— you're still— that's what you— HUH?" "How'd you end up here?" Tails asked, ignoring Spike for the moment. "It was so weird; I woke up this morning at the edge of a forest, then I found this place. I only meant to rest my head for a little while, honest!" He sighed in relief. "I'm just glad you're okay. But where's Cheese?" She looked on the verge of tears as she exclaimed, "I don't know! He could be all alone, lost somewhere like that forest! I'm worried for him, Mister Tails..." "Me too," he gripped her tighter into the hug, and they stayed like that for a moment. Then Tails broke off the hug and turned back towards Spike, who was still staring at them with a slack jaw. "Alright, let's try this again: Hi, I'm Tails, I'm an 8-year-old inventor fox, and I have no idea how we got here. Nice to meet you!" He extended out a gloved hand, snapping Spike out of his stupor. "Wh—what are you?!" "I just said, I'm a fox." He shook his head. "You're not like any fox I've ever seen..." "And you're not like any lizard I've seen." He huffed, "I'm a dragon!" Tails's eyes widened. "Really?" He nodded curtly, "Yes, and I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't call me a 'lizard'." "Okay, sorry, I didn't know," Tails held up his hands in a disarming gesture. Spike calmed down at that. "Alright, I forgive you. My name's Spike, I'm a dragon, and I live in Ponyville with Twilight Sparkle." Tails raised an eyebrow. "Who's that?" The little drake beamed proudly as he answered, "Only the smartest, most talented unicorn in all of Equestria!" Both of them blinked. "Unicorn? Equestria?" Spike looked at them as though they'd just grown second heads. "You're really not from around here, are you?" Before Tails could answer that, a quiet yet shrill scream rang out. The three turned to find Fluttershy staring at them. Who then proceeded to faint. "Oh no, Fluttershy!" Spike jumped in concern, rushing over to her side. Luckily, she'd only fainted; she hadn't hurt anything on the way down. "Wha— who's that?" Tails seemed bewildered at the sight. "She owns this house," Spike replied, not taking his focus away from the fainted pony for even a second. He heard Cream gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to frighten anyone, I promise!" Spike waved her off. "It's alright, she's really sensitive regardless." "You did say her name was Fluttershy, right?" Tails pointed out. Spike nodded, then turned back towards Fluttershy. Blowing a little bit of smoke into her nose (it was something them and Twilight had agreed upon doing if Fluttershy ever fainted), he sent her into a mild coughing fit, startling her awake. As soon as she regained her breath, she turned her attention back to the strangers. "S-Spike, who are—?" The drake placed a placating hand on her chest. "It's okay, Fluttershy. I think they came out of that rift-thing." That piqued Tails's interest. "Did you say 'rift'?" Spike nodded. "Earlier today, Twilight detected something like a tear in space or whatever. She sent us out to find whatever came out of it, which is how I stumbled upon you." Tails absorbed this information. "A tear in space... That'd explain the disconnect!" Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "Disconnect?" The fox-boy nodded. "We're unfamiliar with anything of this place, while you're unfamiliar with us. That rift provides us an explanation: we're literally not from here!" Cream's eyes widened. "We're in another dimension?!" Tails shook his head, "Not necessarily. We could've traveled through a wormhole to a different planet, or this may even be the distant future of our world." "But it's still a possibility?" Spike asked. Tails nodded. "Some of my friends have traveled between dimensions before, sometimes even on purpose. Though they need a lot of power to do that." Fluttershy blinked owlishly. "Creatures from beyond Equestria? That's so fascinating! Tell me, what's your world like?" So Tails began to explain what their world was like, focusing mostly on his friends. But when he described someone named 'Omega', Spike realized something. "Wait a second, you said Omega is electric?" Tails argued semantics, but confirmed it. Spike jumped, "I think I've seen him!" Tails blinked. "You have?" He nodded. "Before I went searching in the woods, Twilight discovered something large and metallic in a back alley of Ponyville. It was red, yellow, and black, with markings on its shoulders and sharp fingers." Tails perked up. "Did the markings look like an upside-down 'U'?" Spike nodded, and Tails jumped, too. "That's him! Where is he?" "Twilight's currently trying to figure out how to reactivate it." "Well, then, what are we waiting f—" Before they could continue, Spike belched out a scroll. Tails was seemingly dumbfounded at the sight. "What— how did that happen?!" Spike picked up the scroll. "Princess Celestia used her magic to send me a letter." The fox's eyes widened. "Magic?" Spike nodded, "Yup." Tails shook his head, trying to wrap his head around it. "B-but that's not possible; magic is just science we don't understand yet, it doesn't— it can't— how— what...?" Then he fainted. Spike and Fluttershy blinked, then looked to Cream. "Does he normally do that?" She shook her head, "He's just never come across something he couldn't understand like that." That made sense. "And you're not gonna...?" "I've always believed a little in magic." They nodded, and Spike proceeded to open the letter. But when he read it, something was off; half of this wasn't Celestia's horn writing. He checked the names at the bottom; this was jointly written by both her and Princess Luna. Spike then actually read the letter, and gasped. Twilight was needed in Canterlot, right away! Author's Note I'm finally back with another full-on chapter! And it's the first chapter that shows a different side to a scene in a previous chapter. You know what that means: a whole lot of copy-paste in the second half! I've tried to keep it somewhat entertaining by providing Spike's thoughts, as well as skipping some dialogue and extending the scene a little at the end, but I dunno how well I did.
Princess Luna's StoryThe Canterlot Gardens were rather nice during the day, Luna had to admit. Not as nice as they were at night, mind you, but she still had to hand it to her sister for making such a beautiful day. The Princess of the Night was currently taking a break from it all, spending some off time walking amongst the topiaries and statues. It was relaxing as well as informative, as many of the statues depicted events she'd missed during her millennium-long exile to the Moon. Did you know that the Dragons and Griffons waged a war with each other 273 years ago, lasting ten days before it was stopped by Celestia's intervention? Well, now Luna did. Luna sighed. She'd missed out on so much, all because she'd let her own jealousy get the better of her. Could she ever fully recover from that? As she thought this over, she stopped paying attention to where she was walking. In fact, she was so distracted that she tripped over something rather large and white, falling face-first onto it. When she got up to investigate, however, she was not prepared for what greeted her visage. It was one of the strangest creatures she'd ever seen. White quills covered the majority of its bipedal body, with just its chest being covered in white fur. Five 'tufts' of quills came out of the front of its face, forming a leaf-like shape just above its conjoined eyes. It wore gloves on its forelimbs and shoes on its hind legs, with golden bracelets capping each of them. If Luna didn't know any better, she would've said it looked like it belonged in one of those 'video games' she most certainly didn't play when she had some alone time. The princess backed off quickly, lighting her horn in preparation for anything the creature might try. But after a moment of nothing, she decided to get a closer look. It was unconscious. Definitely still alive, but unconscious. Luna unlit her horn, then turned to face the garden entrance. "Guards, come quickly! I have found something!" As she waited for the guards to arrive, she noticed something else. Just a few feet away from the creature's right hand was a glowing white gem. Curious, she picked it up with her magic. Immediately, she could feel the power that the gem radiated. It was more power than she'd ever felt a single relic give off, and the familiarity of the energy frightened her. Chaos energy. She quickly pocketed the gem, intending to bring it to Celestia herself. She'd most certainly want to see this. "What do you mean, 'you're busy'!?" Luna nearly bellowed. Celestia put on her practiced smile, though it was clear that she was exhausted. "I'm sorry, Lu-Lu, but these budget cuts can't wait, no matter how much I want to put them off." "But what of the creature I found in the garden? And the gem that I found on it?!" To emphasize her point, she brought out the gem. Celestia took one look at the gem, and reeled at the energy coming off of it. "You're right, that does seem dangerous..." She thought for a moment before she came up with a plan. "I'll tell you what: put the creature in my study, and I'll go meet it when I have the chance. Meanwhile, you keep that gem, and patrol the city to see if anything else comes after it." Luna raised an eyebrow. "Why not just leave it with the Guard?" Celestia frowned. "You're the only one I trust to not abuse that gem." The Princess of the Night shook her head, "I meant the creature, Tia." Her solar sister smirked. "I want to have a little talk with it." Luna blinked. "I don't know what talking will do, but if you insist..." So Luna went on to patrol around the city, keeping an eye out for any possible threats. Anypony that saw her waved to her, which brought a smile to her face. Just under a year ago, she'd been regarded with fear; seen as the second coming of Nightmare Moon. Now, it warmed her heart to know that the citizens of Equestria were warming up to her again. She was patrolling the old warehouse district when she came across something peculiar. Only this time, it wasn't unconscious. Another of those strange bipedal creatures was leaning against the side of one of the buildings. This one was black with red and white highlights, normal white gloves, and red-and-yellow shoes with machinery on the bottom. Since this one was actually standing, she realized that they were both about as tall as the average pony. It was also holding a cyan and a green gem, similar to the one in Luna's possession, in each of its hands. Luna kept a calm exterior, but still brought up her guard. "What an odd place to be. Tell me: do you normally stand creepily in alleyways?" The creature fired back without missing a beat: "That depends: does your kind normally walk around with such a powerful relic on you?" She could tell he was referring to the jewel; what else would he be talking about? "Only when protecting it from threats to Equestria." He nodded. "Your help is appreciated, but no longer needed; I'll be taking that back now." Princess Luna tensed slightly. "I'm afraid not; this jewel is too much of an unknown, as are you." "Oh, I'm afraid you misunderstood." He finally moved from his position against the wall and into a battle-ready stance. "That wasn't a request." Suddenly, his shoes sparked to life, and he began hovering slightly above the ground. Luna lit up her horn, and they both stood stock still for a moment. "Chaos CONTROL!" One second, the creature was in front of her; then, before she could even blink; he was right behind her, taking her off guard with a roundhouse kick. She sailed away from the impact, but managed to land on her hooves. Alicorn or no, a kick to the side from a metal-lined shoe still hurt. Still, she sent off a blast of magic his way, just barely missing him as he dodged. He practically skated over the ground as they began to circle around each other in a search for an opening. The black creature soon found one, as he began to shoot towards her. She brought up a shield spell, but he swerved long before coming close to it. It appeared he was testing what she could do. Well, two could play at that game. With her telekinesis, she seized one of his shoes and tried to pry it apart. However, he was quick to react, holding out the gems and shouting another phrase. "Chaos SPEAR!" A lance of energy shot out towards Luna. She was barely able to pull up a shield in time, but it caused her to drop her hold on his shoe. He rushed forward, but Luna took to the sky to dodge him. The creature, however, was not to be outdone. His air-shoes began to increase propulsion, and before long, he was in the air as well. As the two squared off, Luna couldn't help but notice that his left shoe (the one she'd grabbed) was sputtering slightly. She'd done some damage, and that gave her an idea. "Impressive," she taunted, "for an oversized rat." The creature smirked. "Oh, I'm no rat," he stated. "I'm a hedgehog." Then he did something she didn't expect; he curled up into a ball, leaving his spikes exposed, and launched himself straight at her. She tried to dodge, but he homed in on her, and caught her across the chest. Luckily, her neckpiece took the brunt of the attack (as it was designed to do), but it still winded her, nearly knocking her out of the air, and it almost shattered her accessory. She finally stabilized as he uncurled and resumed his hover right next to one of the warehouses. Her horn lit up again, and he braced himself for another attack. But instead of shooting it at him, she instead blasted the wall of the building, causing a chunk of it to fall towards him. He tried to dodge, but his damaged shoe got clipped by some rubble, and it sputtered out, grounding him. He glanced at his broken footwear, then at her, panting slightly from overexertion. "Not bad. But I will not lose! Chaos SPEAR!" Another lance of light shot out towards her, but she was able to deflect it with a shield. She readied another spell, and shot it, but the 'hedgehog' dodged again. It was at this moment that a Royal Guard decided to appear from the other side of a building. "What's with all the ruckus—?!" Luna gasped; the shot of magic she'd just fired was headed straight for him, and she wouldn't have enough time to— "Chaos Control!" In a flash of light, the strange 'hedgehog' appeared right in front of the Guard, pushing him away and taking the blast instead of him. He flew back, slamming into the ground several meters away, and lay still. Luna froze up, taken aback by the action. He was just fighting her — why'd he save that guard?! Then she landed, quickly rushing to the creature's side. She could see his chest moving shallowly — he was still breathing, but he was hurt rather badly. Luna realized she might've gotten carried away. She lit her horn and rested it against his chest, channeling most of her remaining energy into a healing spell. After a moment, the creature started, taking in deep breaths. For a moment, they both just lay there, catching their breaths. The guard watched in confusion, unsure of what was even happening. Then the black 'hedgehog' spoke. "You... You healed me? Why?" "I could ask you the same about saving that guard," she replied. "I promised someone long ago that I would protect the innocent." She smiled. "A noble promise indeed. They must be very close to you." "More than you can imagine," he chuckled weakly, his eyes filled with something akin to wistfulness. Luna thought for a moment. Then, with her magic, she brought the jewel back out and laid it in the creature's hand. He looked down in surprise, then back up at her. "I believe we may have gotten off on the wrong hoof. I am Princess Luna, and it is mine and my sister's duty to protect our subjects." He hesitated, before nodding. "Shadow the Hedgehog. I was made to be a weapon against the people of Earth, but became one of their protectors." She blinked, then smiled. He was a reformed villain, too? "It is nice to meet you. Now, let's get you some help. Guard?" The guard, who had been silently watching the whole time, flinched at the sudden acknowledgement. "Yes, ma'am?" "I need you to head to the Royal Infirmary and send a dispatch of healers here." He saluted, still a little unsure, then spread his wings and flew off towards the Castle. Luna nodded to herself, then turned to Shadow again. "Now, I'm quite curious: what was that about being made to destroy your planet?" Shadow groaned. "I don't like to talk about it." Luna nodded. "Would it help if I told of when I nearly destroyed the world?" Shadow blinked. When he didn't respond, she continued: "When I was younger, I felt that I wasn't as appreciated as I should've been. You see, my sister rules the land during the day, while I watch over the night. Every time I'd see our subjects sleep through my night while relishing in my sister's day, I'd grow more and more jealous." "People need to sleep at some point," Shadow pointed out. Luna chuckled. "Try getting that through my younger self's thick skull. "Regardless, I eventually had enough of it. One day, I refused to make way for my sister, demanding that I be given the respect I deserved. She tried to reason with me, but I was too far gone; I'd become my alter ego, Nightmare Moon." "How did you come to your senses?" Shadow asked. Luna blew a stray lock of her hair out of her face. "I didn't. It took a while, but eventually, my sister's student and her friends managed to slap some reason into me." Shadow looked away, likely absorbing the story he'd just heard. "Alright, I'll tell you. But this does not leave here, you hear me?" Luna smiled. "Of course not." Shadow took in a deep breath. "I was created 53 years ago aboard a satellite called the 'Space Colony ARK' by a scientist known as Gerald Robotnik. I was the second of two attempts at creating the 'Ultimate Lifeform', in his attempts to find a cure for his granddaughter's illness. "That granddaughter, Maria Robotnik, and I became best friends. We lived on that satellite together for about a year, always wondering what life on the surface was like. "Then, the government learned of what Gerald was doing, and didn't approve of it. One night, they raided the Space Colony Ark and tried to destroy any evidence of what he was doing. And in the process, Maria was..." Luna gasped. "I'm so sorry to hear that, Shadow." Shadow simply nodded. "Outraged, Gerald managed to tamper with my memories so that all I'd want was revenge against the planet for killing her. I was locked away for 50 years, until his grand nephew, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, freed me in his attempt to take over the world. "He managed to blow up half of the moon as a threat to the Earth. And I was complicit in it." Luna gasped. "What happened?" Shadow sighed. "It was just a few minutes before the Doctor's plan was to come to fruition, when a recording of Gerald was played from the Space Colony ARK. It showed his descent into madness from his granddaughter's death, and how he now wanted to completely destroy the world. Dr. Eggman came to his senses temporarily, and teamed up with the group that was trying to stop him in order to save the world. "I, however, stood by and watched. It wasn't until one of them came and pleaded for my help that I finally remembered what Maria really wanted me to do: give the people of Earth a second chance to live happily, and protect the innocent. I finally came to my senses, and joined in the fight to save the world. We did it, but I nearly sacrificed myself to do so, falling to Earth from orbit. If it weren't for Eggman's robots saving me for his next attempt at world domination, I would've been...." The two sat there for a while. Luna saw him crying slightly, but she didn't dare point it out, nor did she judge. Even after the world was nearly destroyed, Dr. Robotnik still plotted for world domination?! Why, if she ever got her hooves on him, she'd—! It was then that the medics arrived. Luna quickly used her magic to dry off Shadow's tears before the ponies could see them. Shadow looked at her confusedly, then smiled when she winked at him. The moment was soon interrupted, however, when two familiar faces arrived along with the medics. One of them was a white creature with yellow accessories that could move large things with their mind; the other was a hedgehog. "Sister!" Luna exclaimed in surprise. "Silver!" Shadow also exclaimed in surprise. He tried to sit up, but grunted from the pain in his chest. Luna held him down gently so he wouldn't exert himself. "Well," Celestia remarked, "it seems like we've missed quite a bit."
Silver the Hedgehog's StoryConsciousness slowly came to Silver. He blinked open his readjusting eyes, and was confused by what he saw. He was in a rather nice room, atop a velvet couch. On one side of the room was a lit fireplace; on the opposite side was a large bookshelf; and on a third wall was a wooden door that looked somewhat like it belonged in a medieval castle. But on the last wall was a large stained glass window that was rather hard to see out of. It depicted a rising sun and moon over green fields, with two winged unicorns circling the celestial bodies. One of them was white with a pink mane, while the other was blue with a purple mane. Below that, a desk played home to a roll of parchment and a bottle of ink. "Wh-where am I?" He asked to nobody in particular, seeing as the room was otherwise empty. "Blaze? Anyone?" Silver stood up, wincing at a small spike of pain in his chest. He made his way to the door, and surprisingly found it unlocked. There was, however, a note taped to the inside: Will be there shortly - Please, make yourself comfortable! ~ Princess Celestia "A Princess?" Silver raised an eyebrow. "Seriously, where am I?" He decided to peek out the door. It was an ornate staircase wrapping around the outside of the tower he was in. Over the railing, he could see a nice-looking courtyard with plenty of plant life, as well as several statues of unidentifiable creatures. Patrolling around the grounds were quadrupedal horses in medieval-esque armor. Silver had never seen anything like it, and it made him feel uncomfortable. Had he somehow ended up in the wrong time period? In the wrong place? Was he still unconscious? All he knew for certain was that he didn't belong here. He wanted to be able to trust whoever wrote the note; he really did. But he had a weird sense of unease about trusting strangers who whisked him to unknown rooms, and he had no clue why. He prepared to levitate himself off the balcony and head off in search of home. But as soon as Silver activated his powers, they immediately threatened to fling him out of control. He spun wildly in the air for a moment, before he was forced to make a rough landing in order to avoid plummeting off the tower. Silver picked himself up and regained his bearings. What the heck had just happened? Curious, he tried to reach out and pick something up with his psychic powers. He accidentally picked up half the books inside the tower, as well as the desk, almost effortlessly. He instinctually shut off his powers, letting everything fall to the ground with a loud clatter. "Whoops..." Silver cringed at the noise and the mess. He almost went to use his powers to help pick everything up, as was his instinct, but stopped himself before he could cause any more damage. "What's up with my powers?" Feeling bad about having caused such a mess, Silver decided that he'd clean up while he waited for this 'Princess Celestia' to return. And he was going to need that time, if he was to do it without his powers. He'd cleaned up the desk and papers, and was a quarter of the way through the books when he heard a gentle cough behind him. He turned to find a tall white unicorn-pegasus standing behind him. She was incredibly tall - about twice his own height, made up mostly by her long neck and legs. Her multicolored mane and tail were almost ethereal in the way they sparkled and flowed in a non-existent wind, but if Silver were to look closely, he could indeed see individual hairs. She wore golden regalia on her head, neck, and hooves, and on her flanks were the stylized image of the sun depicted in the room's stained glass window. But what struck Silver about her was her face. It was still equine-like, but it also conveyed a lot of emotion in it. Her ears were perked in a way that expressed confusion, her lips were pressed in a show of concern, and her eyes, while appearing to follow the rest of her face at first glance, were also tinged with both a wariness and a compassion that only a long life could instill in a person. Overall, her appearance screamed that she could either be your best friend or your worst nightmare. She then spoke with a voice that contained both the compassion and the authority of a ruler, "Did something happen while I was gone?" Silver quickly snapped out of his shocked state and performed a hasty bow. "Sorry, Miss; I accidentally knocked over these books." The horse's face softened slightly. "Ah, I see. Here, let me help you." Her horn lit up in a golden glow, and the remaining books were engulfed in it as well. They all floated up and sorted themselves into their proper places. Silver was impressed; even he was usually only able to get the objects to float in the general direction he wanted. But she had such elegance with her powers, as though she'd been practicing for decades. As soon as the horse was done, she turned back towards Silver. "That's better. Now, let me introduce myself; I'm Celestia." "You're the one who left the note?" Silver asked. She nodded. "My sister found you in the gardens; would you care to explain why you were there?" "Well, that's just it; I don't know, either. All I remember is that my friends and I were fighting Dr. Eggman, then..." Silver shook his head, as if that might help him remember. Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Dr. 'Eggman'?" "Well, his real name is 'Ivo Robotnik', but my friends and I all call him Eggman," Silver clarified. "I meant, who is he, and why were you fighting him?" "Oh," Silver blushed. "Well, Eggman really wants to take over the world by any means, mainly by turning all the wildlife into robots." Celestia gasped. "That's terrible!" "I know! That's why Sonic the Hedgehog started fighting back against him - first on his own, before he eventually gained friends to help. And that's where I come in. You see, my name's Silver the Hedgehog. I come from a future where everything's been ravaged by Eggman, so I've been sent back in time to help prevent it." "You're a time traveler?" Celestia's eyes widened. "Our most powerful wizards are only able to go back a week." Silver chuckled hollowly. "Try two hundred years." If it was at all possible, Celestia's eyes widened even further. "Two hundred?! That's... wow!" Celestia sat down on the couch. "It must be so confusing for you, being so far away from your own time." "Yeah," Silver admitted, sitting down so his back was leaning against the sofa. "Where I come from, I'm usually alone for days at a time. But now, I have so many friends - honestly, it can get overwhelming sometimes! "But," the Hedgehog sighed, "I wouldn't trade them for anything." He reached inside of his left glove and pulled out a folded-up photo, unfolding it to stare wistfully at it. It was a photo of Sonic's birthday party, taken by Silver (using his psychokinesis to hold the camera). Silver himself was directly surrounded by Sonic, Amy, and Blaze, and they were all giving the peace sign to the camera. Tails, Knuckles, Rouge, Shadow, and the Chaotix were also in the background, either talking amongst themselves or looking over at the four of them. Celestia motioned unobtrusively with a hoof, and Silver passed the photo to her. "This is such a cute photo," Celestia smiled. "Who are they?" "The blue one to my left is Sonic," Silver began to explain, "the pink one next to him is Amy Rose, and the cat with her hand on my shoulder is Blaze. And those guys in the background are Tails the Fox, Knuckles the Echidna, Rouge the Bat, Shadow the Hedgehog, Vector the Crocodile, Charmy Bee, and Espio the Chameleon." He pointed to each one as he named them. "Cream the Rabbit was also there, but she isn't in the picture." "You weren't kidding when you said you had a lot..." Celestia chuckled. "Who's holding the camera?" "I was," Silver said, "with my psychokinesis." Celestia raised an eyebrow curiously. "Care to demonstrate?" "I would love to, but for some reason, my powers are all wonky here - that's how all those books got knocked over." Celestia nodded, "I see...." She checked her pocket watch and sighed, before reapplying her happy face, giving the picture back to Silver, and standing up. "Would you like to take a walk? It's a beautiful day, and I'd love to take this conversation outside." Silver blinked. He was still slightly uneasy, but Celestia seemed like a nice enough character. "I suppose I wouldn't mind...." With that, he got up as well, and they headed out the door. As they walked down the streets of the city, Silver began to feel uncomfortable with all the stares he was receiving. "I'm beginning to have second thoughts about being out here." Celestia smirked. "You worried that you might get mobbed?" "I'm actually more concerned about freaking everyone else out," Silver corrected. The Princess giggled a little. "Well, as long as you're with me, they'll know you're alright." "Speaking of," Silver pointed out, "we never really talked about you." Celestia raised an eyebrow. "What would you want to know?" "For starters, what exactly are you?" Just a moment too late, Silver realized that a question like that might be seen as offensive. But before he could apologize, Celestia chuckled. "Straight to the point, are we? I'm what is known as an alicorn - a combination of an earth pony, pegasus, and unicorn." "A combination?" "I have traits of all three - the wings of a pegasus, the horn of a unicorn, and the strength of an earth pony." Silver looked her up and down. That'd certainly explain her appearance. Although... "Is that also why you're so much taller than everyone else?" "In a way, yes." Silver blinked. Well, that was vague. He was about to ask her what she meant by that, when a pegasus and a unicorn suddenly sped by, both clad in doctor's clothes. Celestia and Silver exchanged a silent glance, before they began to follow the medics. When they arrived at their destination, Silver was surprised to find an injured Shadow being tended to by a dark blue alicorn. Like Celestia, this alicorn's mane was cosmic and flowing, although hers was more like a field of stars. She also had regalia on her, but hers was pitch black, and the neck piece was fractured. And on her mottled flanks were the image of a crescent moon, matching the icon on her neckpiece. She was also shorter than Celestia, almost exactly as tall as Silver (if not just a little bit taller). As Celestia and Silver approached, the two caught sight of them. "Sister!" The dark alicorn exclaimed. "Silver!" Shadow simultaneously blurted. He tried to sit up, but he grunted with pain, before the other alicorn held him down so he wouldn't hurt himself. "Well," Celestia remarked, "it seems like we've missed quite a bit." Silver was astounded. Up until this point, he'd kind of assumed that he was the only one of his friends that was here. But now that he'd seen Shadow, he was suddenly wondering just how many of them were in a similar situation. Was Sonic here? Maybe Amy? What about Blaze? But first, he had to ask the most important question of all: "Who's she?" Silver pointed towards the darker alicorn. "That's my sister, Princess Luna." Celestia explained, to Silver's surprise. "Luna, this is Silver the Hedgehog. Luna stepped forward and offered a hoof. "It is a pleasure to meet you." Silver took it in his hand and shook. "Likewise." "Okay, enough of the sappy stuff," Shadow rolled his eyes, somehow to Luna's amusement. "What, exactly, did we miss?" "Well," Celestia began, "it all started when Luna found Silver in the garden...."
