My Little Pony: The Mobian Era

Chapters

Episode 2: Downfall of Equestria (Part 2)
Episode 3: Project: PHOENIX
Episode 4: The Fastest Thing Alive! Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash!
Episode 5: The Rabbit, the Chao and the Dragoness
Episode 6: Road Trip!
Episode 8: The Floating Isle, Angel Island
Episode 11: San Francisco School Troubles
Episode 12: Eggman's Revenge (Part 1)
Episode 13: Eggman's Revenge (Part 2)
Episode 14: A Cruise is What We Need
Episode 15: Mysteries of the Creepy, Old House
Episode 16: Bokkun
Episode 17: Crayton Castle's Secrets
Episode 18: Daring Down
Episode 19: Beijing's Martial Arts Tournament
Episode 20: Trouble From Down Under
Episode 21: Take It to the Source! Swamp Fever!
Episode 22: Crusaders Meet Halloween
Episode 23: A Hearth's Warming Christmas
Episode 24: There's An Answer to Everything...
Episode 25: Rise Above the Storm! (Part 1)
Episode 26: Rise Above the Storm! (Part 2)
Episode 1: Downfall of Equestria (Part 1)
Episode 7: Secrets of the Psychotic Pegasus Filly
Episode 9: The Oracle of Delphius
Chapter 10: You Stole My Crystal Heart

Episode 2: Downfall of Equestria (Part 2)

In a bungalow with three beds, Twilight Sparkle was waking up. She then looked down at her body, and sighed. She then looked over and grabbed the sweater and pants she was wearing the day before, and put them back on. She then walked out of the bungalow to see some of the other Mobians out and about. Then Nicole, the Holo-Lynx, appeared next to her.

"Good morning, Twilight Sparkle," Nicole said to her. "Enjoying your morning?"

"Not exactly, Nicole," Twilight said. "It's been one problem after another yesterday. Recently, I was made High Princess of Equestria. We're going to have to fight to get our home back."

"And you said that you weren't really Mobians before, but full on equines?" Nicole asked.

Twilight nodded sadly, and said, "I just have to find a way to get everything back to normal."

"Don't sweat it," came the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog. He zoomed up to the two. "We'll help you get your home back. You've been through all kinds of trouble."

"I'd really appreciate it," Twilight said. "But, we should come up with a plan first." Just then, her stomach growled, making her blush. "After we all get something to eat."

Then the sound of a heavy triangle banging came to their attention. Sonic then said, "Well, it's a good thing that it's breakfast time in the mess hall. Go ahead and wake up your kids. We'll meet you there." He then rushed off, heading off somewhere.

"Is he always like that?" Twilight asked.

"Sometimes, I don't even know anymore," Nicole said. "You better get the kids up." She then faded away. Twilight sighed and headed back inside to wake up Spike, Nyx and Joshua.

Everyone got into the Mess Hall. The Freedom Fighters were up first with the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Spike behind them. The servers of breakfast for today were MC the Fox, and another Mobian. A yellow dog with brown spots, wearing a red neckerchief and blue flip flops.

Twilight looked over at all the food being served and asked, "Are... all of these things meat?"

"Afraid so," MC said. "Let me guess, you Equestrians ain't meat eaters?" The ponies, Spike and Joshua nodded. MC sighed. "Alright. Luckily, we have options for those who aren't meat eaters. We got pancakes, waffles, eggs, hash browns, french toast, or, my personal favorite choice, omelettes."

"Sounds good enough," Twilight said. She then wondered. "What do you do with the leftovers?"

"What leftovers?" MC asked, smirking. "I always eat what's left so they don't go bad."

"It's true," the Mobian dog said. "MC has a fast metabolism so he doesn't gain any weight. Or maybe he does. Since he can manipulate his own weight."

Twilight's jaw dropped and said, "That's not scientifically possible. There's no way something like that is possible."

"Well, Sparkles, I can do a lot of impossible things," MC said. "Now, pick out your food, and get to eating. As long as you're here, you all have to keep a low profile. The government can't know we're here."

"So that means no parties, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said, looking at the pink mare.

"Aww..." Pinkie said, pouting. "But planning parties is my daily schedule."

The ponies, Spike and Joshua laughed at Pinkie's words. MC raised an eyebrow and asked, "She's not serious, is she?"

"Ya'll get used ta it, sugarcube," Applejack said. As soon as the Mane 6, the Crusaders and Spike got their food, they headed for an extremely long table.

"This is a pretty big table," Nyx said, looking at how long the table was.

"It's actually seven tables," the Mobian chipmunk girl said. "I'm Princess Sally Acorn." She then walked over to one end of the table, about to introduce the rest of the Freedom Fighters. "You already met Sonic. There's also Miles Prower, who we call Tails because of his two tails." Tails nodded. "And this is Amy Rose. She's a cute being, but don't make her angry." Amy nodded. "Over here we have Antoine and his wife, Bunnie. Antoine's father was a royal guard who taught him everything he knows, and Bunnie was one a full rabbit until Doctor Robotnik experimented on her. Sonic saved her, but she lost her arm and her legs, leaving her half robot." The two nodded. "And here we have Rotor. He's a brilliant engineer, just like Tails. He's also very helpful whenever some of our machines aren't functioning well." Rotor nodded. "And here we have Cream the Rabbit, and her little Chao, Cheese. When Cream's mother got captured, we took her in, and they can surprise us sometimes." Cream and Cheese nodded. "The dog there is Ben Muttski, also known as the Mutt. He was the assistant to Sonic's uncle Charles. But, sadly, Sir Charles passed away. But, we still keep him around to help out with Tails or Rotor." Mutt nodded. "And lastly, we have Prince Michael Crayton. Also known as MC. He's basically one of our best fighters of the Freedom Fighters." MC smirked. "A lot is still unknown about him, but we'll not get to that."

"Right," said Twilight. "I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle, high Princess of Equestria. The dragon there is my son and assistant, Spike, the black alicorn is my adopted daughter, Nyx, and the human boy is my adopted son, Joshua." The three waved a hand towards the Freedom Fighters. "And the other fillies are their friends. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky and Twist." Each filly nodded as their names were said. "And the rest of the ponies are my best friends. Applejack, who's Apple Bloom's older sister. Rarity, who's Sweetie Belle's older sister, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy." Each of the mares nodded when they were introduced.

"Well, at least you're all safe from whatever Eggman's got up his sleeve," said Sonic.

"Is that seriously that guy's name?" Rainbow Dash asked. She then leaned back, fell out of her seat, and laughed.

"Actually, it's not," MC said. "His real name is Julian Robotnik. He's this crazy scientist who thinks he's superior to everyone just because he's smart. He's all like..." MC's voice changed to match Robotnik's voice. "'Do you know what's hard about being the smartest person in the world? Everyone else is stupid.'" He then changed back to his normal voice. "That guy has no decency for others."

The mares looked over at MC and said, "Okay, two things. One, you do know that you're not supposed to say the S word in front of young foals. And two, how did you change your voice like that?"

"One, stupid isn't a swear word," MC said. "It's a mean word, but it's not a swear word. And two, changing my voice is one of my unique abilities." He then started changing his voice. "I can even sound like you if I wanted to." He then changed his voice again. "Shoot. Ah can even talk like Applejack." He then changed his voice again. "Or I can sound like this Rainbow Dash. Although, it's not too hard for me to change from Applejack's voice to this voice." He then talked normally. "Sometimes, I use it to confuse the enemies whenever they can't see me."

"Well, that sounds cool," said Scootaloo.

"Yeah," said Apple Bloom. "Almost like the Changelings. Except they change their entire bodies to look like other creatures."

Just then, Nicole appeared at the end of the table. They all looked towards Nicole as she said, "Alright, everyone. You need to see this."

Then a screen showing the news appeared in front of Nicole. On the news stood a woman.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, live from right outside a castle on a continent that appeared out of nowhere last night. According to world renown scientist, Doctor Robotnik, the creatures that lived here all had plans of coming here and are planning to take over our world. Luckily, Doctor Robotnik has forced the inhabitants of this world into hiding, and now he is planning his way to stop them for good from inside this castle as we speak."

"That's a dirty lie!" Twilight said, standing up. "We didn't come here on purpose!"

"And to those creatures from this continent, the doctor has this to say." Scarlet Garcia then had the camera play a message from Doctor Robotnik, showing him sitting on the throne of the castle.

"You failed to take over the world," Doctor Robotnik said on the screen. "If you ever set foot on this continent again, I'll personally let my machines finish you off, and I'll do experiments on you. You are all worse than those other Mobians who dared tried to mess with my country for no real reason."

"Turn it off," MC said. Nicole did as she was told. MC had his face really angry. "That doctor is mad. He thinks he can just take things for himself. Even if it means having the homes of others being taken away from them."

"This Doctor Robotnik does sound a lot like Blueblood," Rarity said, looking at Twilight. "But, how are we going to stop him? He's got this country wrapped around his..." Rarity then took a look at her hands. "...finger."

"This is something we need help with," Twilight said. "But we don't know how." Twilight looked at the Freedom Fighters. "Do any of you have any ideas?"

The Freedom Fighters looked at each other. Bunnie then stood up and said, "Either we can go and report what the doctor is doin' ta the Mobians ta the president, or we can take the fight ta the doc himself."

"Oui, but zis isn't going to be an easy task," Antoine said, folding his arms. "Either of them would have to be planned specifically if we choose one."

"Actually, I think Bunnie is onto something," MC said. "What if we did both? Split into teams."

"Good idea," Sonic said. "We can't all go to both places. But if we split up, we can stop Eggman for his horrible crimes that he's been doing without letting the government knowing what's really going on."

"I'll go to the President to talk to him about what Robotnik's been really doing," Sally said. "Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor, I need you three to come with me."

"Sonic, Tails, Amy, Twilight and her friends will be with me as we go to Equestria and deal with Doctor Robotnik," MC added. "At least, we'll have the greatest fighters of the Freedom Fighters help the Princess of the land and her friends get their home back."

Sonic, Tails and Amy nodded their heads. The Cutie Mark Crusaders stood up and Nyx said, "And we..." She was then interrupted.

"...Will stay here in Knothole until the fight is over," MC said, putting his fists on his hips.

"Awwww!" All of the Crusaders said in unison.

"But why?" Apple Bloom asked. "Equestria is our home, too."

"MC's right," Sonic said. "This fight isn't for you young ones to fight. This guy's weapons and mechs are dangerous. Nicole, you keep an eye on these kids."

"You can count on me," Nicole said. Then the Mane 6, Sonic, Tails, Amy, Sally, Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor and MC stood up, and headed for the door. The Crusaders and Spike looked over at Cream, Cheese and Mutt.

"So, what do you guys do here for fun?" Sweetie Belle asked them.

In the Capital City, a small airplane was coming down towards the capital building. The plane landed within the gates of the capital building. Security guards came out, surrounding the plane as Sally, Antoine, Bunnie and Rotor came out of the plane. Sally held up a hand.

"We did not come here to attack," Sally stated. "We came here to tell the president about Doctor Robotnik. Him not being who he says he is." The group of Mobians walked towards the building.

Meanwhile, over the skies, the aircraft that took the ponies and Spike to Knothole, but this time, without the cargo box underneath. Tails was piloting while MC was checking the radar. Behind them in the two seats were Sonic and Amy. Sonic was sitting behind MC while Amy was sitting behind Tails. MC checked the radar.

"Approaching Equestria," MC said. "We'll be over land in five minutes." He then flipped a couple switched on the center console and three switches over the center console. "Activating stealth mode."

"Good idea," Tails said. "We need to get there without being detected."

From outside, the aircraft was cloaking itself, making sure that nothing sees it coming in.

Twilight looked around and said, "We can still see each other."

"Yeah, but those outside can't see us," Sonic said. "This isn't magic. It's technology."

"But if this Doctor Robotnik is a tech genius, doesn't he have technology to track us?" Pinkie asked. The other mares thought about and gave comments of agreement.

"Robotnik think he's the smartest man in the world," MC said. "But there are some that are smarter. Like Tails here. He's built a TV out of paperclips and reprogrammed a super computer using dishwasher detergent and a toothpick."

"Wow," said Twilight. "He does sound smart."

"Of course, I didn't make this thing," Tails said. "Some genius gave us this technology to keep us safe, along with other creatures who need help or have been captured. Basically, he was also the one who created Nicole."

"And we've never seen this guy's face," MC said. "We only hear him over the phone, and he was using a vocoder to disguise his voice."

"Sounds mysterious," Rainbow Dash said. "How do we know we can trust him?"

"He hasn't done anything to sabotage us, so we better be on his good side," Sonic said. "Right now, we need to focus on Eggman. Nicole, is Scarlet Garcia still reporting from that Castle?"

"She sure is, Sonic," Nicole's voice answered. "And Sally's team had just arrived at the Capitol Building, talking to the President as we speak."

"Good," MC said. "We need to expose Robotnik for the evil scientist he really is."

Twilight looked over at Sonic and asked, "Sonic, how did you know we were being locked up in that building?"

"Believe it or not, we got a tip from Nicole's creator," Sonic said. "He said he hacked into the security cameras throughout the base. We can't even get her creator's name when she tries to tell us her creator's name."

"Yes, and every time I reveal to you my creator's name, this happens," Nicole said as she appeared. She then tried saying her creator's name, but a huge buzzer came and a yellow sticker saying "ALERT" appeared over her mouth. Everyone there covered their ears at the loud buzzer.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked.

"It's what happens whenever she tries to tell us her creator's name," Tails said.

"Yeah, and I swear it gets louder every time," Amy said, picking at her left ear with her left pinkie finger.

MC then stood up from his seat, and walked towards where the ponies were. He then asked, "How well are you girls at fighting? Because we might have to fight some mechs that Robotnik has made." The Mane 6 looked at each other.

Twilight then stood up and said, "We're in entirely different bodies. So we might need to learn how to fight in these kinds of bodies. You mind teaching us how to fight like this?"

MC nodded and said, "We'll start with you, Sparkles."

Back at the capitol building, the President was looking out the window of his office. The President was giving a stern look. Then the phone on the desk started beeping. A woman's voice came from the phone.

"Mr. President, one of the Mobian Princesses, Sally Acorn, and company have arrived. They said that they're here about Doctor Robotnik's actions. How he has taken the entire country that appeared out of nowhere, and forced the ruler and her friends and people into hiding."

The President looked over at the phone saying, "WHAT?!" He then walked over to the phone, pushed one button and said, "Send them in immediately. If what they said is true, then I have to know what's really going on."

The President sat down in his seat at his desk. Then the doors to his office opened and in came Sally, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor. Sally and Bunnie sat in the two seats in on the other side of the president's desk while Antoine and Rotor sat on the couch.

"Now, what is the problem with Doctor Robotnik?" the president asked.

"Mr. President, Doctor Robotnik is the real villain," Sally said to the President. "That continent already had some rulers. He forced them out of their country, and locked up the High Princess of the country, just to take the country for himself."

The President thought about it and said, "No wonder he had ordered them to be locked up without giving them a chance to explain. He wasn't giving them a chance. Robotnik has been accused of taking custody of something that didn't belong to him. And now he's kicked out the ruler of a country? What else has he been up to?"

"Ah'm a perfect example, Mr. President," Bunnie said, raising her robotic arm. "He experimented on me and now Ah have a robotic arm and robotic legs. Ah was a hostage."

"Okay," said the President. He then grabbed the phone and said, "Get me the commander of GUN. We have a rogue scientist taking over the new country that appeared."

Back in Equestria, Doctor Robotnik was using Canterlot Castle as his robot factory. And was installing the programming into the robots. As he was doing that, the song "Where Evil Grows" by Poppy Family was playing. But as he was dancing to the music, he turned around and saw Agent Stone dancing with him, holding two cups of coffee, making him scream.

"I just thought you'd like a latte with steamed Austrian goat milk," Agent Stone said.

"What do I look like, an imbecile?" Doctor Robotnik asked, angrily. "Of course I want a latte." He took one of the cups. "I LOVE THE WAY YOU MAKE THEM!" He then took a long drink of his latte.

Agent Stone looked at Doctor Robotnik's machines. He then asked, "What are all these machines for?"

"Oh, Agent Stone," Doctor Robotnik said. "You can't have any respect as a hero without having to frame these creatures by sending robots to attack the capitol."

"Are you sure this is the right thing to do?" Agent Stone asked.

"Oh, I'm gonna make sure this planet is for humans only," said Doctor Robotnik. "Even if it means framing them." He then looked away from Agent Stone and said, "It's evolution, Stone. It's evolution!"

At the bottom of the mountain where Canterlot stands, the craft landed moments earlier, and the Mane 6, Sonic, Tails, Amy and MC were looking up the side of the mountain.

"We can't fly into the city," Sonic said. "Eggman would've spotted us and destroyed our aircraft. So, we're going in stealthily."

"I saw a sewer pipe on the side of the mountain," MC said. "We can sneak in through the castle through there."

"Ugh! Not the sewer!" Rarity said in disgust. "It's so filthy!"

"Without being detected, it's the only way into the castle," MC said. "I checked the layout of the place from down here."

The Mane 6 looked at MC with a raised eyebrow. Then Applejack asked, "How in the world did ya get a layout of the city from down here?"

"MC has a lot of powers," Sonic said. "Some of his powers come from the planet itself. Especially his mind sight ability. He can see everything grounded."

"Well, I'm not too fond on this whole sewer situation," Rarity said. "How about we put it to a vote?"

"Alright," MC said. "If you want to go through the city, quietly and not be detected, taking so much time, raise your hand." Rarity was the only one who raised her hand. "Take the faster route through the sewer?" The others raised their hands. MC was the only one raising his left hand. "Sewer it is."

Rarity sighed. Tails then started spinning his tails, started flying, and he picked up Sonic, flying up. Twilight then started flying, picking up Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy then picked up Amy. Rainbow Dash picked up Applejack.

MC walked towards Rarity and said, "Get on my back." He then turned his back towards Rarity, making her sigh. She then wrapped her arms around MC's neck. He then jumped onto the cliff side, and using his claws, he started climbing up. Twilight looked down and saw MC climbing the side of the mountain.

"How is he doing that?" Twilight asked.

"MC is a gray fox, also known as a tree climbing fox," Amy said.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy said. "The tree climbing fox has hooked claws, allowing them to be able to climb trees. And with his really sharp claws, it'd be possible to climb up any surface."

They all reached the sewer. MC then used his claws to cut the poles off. He then jumped in, with the others following. Twilight and Rarity lit up their horns to light the way as all of them were running through the sewer.

"I could've found a fast way through the city without going through the sewer," Rarity complained.

"Not the time, Rarity," Rainbow Dash said.

Twilight then walked over to a certain wall and said, "Hopefully, my brother's secret passage is still here." She then pushed in a brick, which opened up a secret door. "Great. Let's go." Then the group walked in, and there was the catacombs that lead to the castle. "Okay, everyone. We need to get to the castle and stop Doctor Robotnik before he does something rash."

"Intruders detected!" came a robotic voice. The group looked towards the path leading to the castle, and there stood a huge robot.

"Intruders must be eliminated! By orders of Doctor Robotnik!"

The Mane 6, Sonic, Tails, Amy and MC got into a defensive stance.

Doctor Robotnik finished his robotic army. He was about to send them out but then a beeping came from his computer console. He smirked.

"It would seem that we have intruders," said Doctor Robotnik. He then walked over to the console, pushed a button and said, "E-123: Omega! Destroy the intruders!" He then let go of the button and started walking off. "If that doesn't work, I'll just have to handle them myself."

Back in the catacombs, the robot was charging at them. The group jumped out of the way of the robot, five heading to one side, the other five to the other side.

"What are we going to do?" Twilight asked. "That thing is ferocious."

"I'll take him down!" MC said. He then started walking towards the robot.

"MC, are ya insane?!" Applejack asked.

"I'll keep him busy," MC said. "You guys go after the doctor." The rest of the group looked at each other. Seeing that there was no other choice, they made a run for the castle. MC and Omega looked at each other. They then started charging at each other, Omega about to push back MC while MC would counter him with a left hook.

The Mane 6, Sonic, Tails and Amy made it inside the castle. They snuck throughout the castle to get to the throne room.

"Okay," Twilight said. "We're in. We have to get to wherever Doctor Robotnik is, and stop him."

Rainbow Dash heard something coming from one door, she walked over to the door, and opened it. In there was a closet, and in the closet was Scarlet Garcia and her cameraman.

"What in Equestria?!" Rainbow Dash asked. The group looked in and saw the two humans.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked.

Sonic and Amy untied the two, and took the gags out of their mouths. Scarlet Garcia then said, "When we saw the Doctor making robots to attack the capitol and blame it on you, we were captured and locked up in this closet."

"If he sends those robots, the people of the country will think it was us!" Pinkie Pie said. "No way we're gonna let that party pooper rain on our parade!!"

"You two get outside and report this," Twilight said. "We're gonna stop Doctor Robotnik." Scarlet Garcia and her cameraman ran out of the castle. Twilight then looked to the others. "Alright, guys. This is our time. We're gonna take down Doctor Robotnik before he does something horrible." Then they headed for the Throne Room and saw something surprising.

"Too late, Twilight Sparkle," Doctor Robotnik said, looking down at the group. Then a bunch of robots came into the room, some were flying and all of them had cannons and guns.

"This isn't good," Twilight said. "What are we going to do?"

"We're gonna take this guy down," said Sonic. "After all, the president is getting informed about Eggman being a villain."

Outside, Scarlet Garcia was reporting to the capital city about Doctor Robotnik's plan. "I'm Scarlet Garcia, reporting live in front of Canterlot Castle in this country known as Equestria, where Doctor Robotnik has taken over. Apparently, he's been framing the Mobians for stuff they didn't do. Especially now that he's planning to send a bunch of robots to Capitol City and blame them on Equestria. Right now, the High Princess of Equestria and her friends are fending off all of Doctor Robotnik's robotic forces. Doctor Robotnik is going down."

As she was reporting, The Mane 6, Sonic, Tails and Amy were fighting off the robots and Doctor Robotnik's Egg Walker in the Throne Room while MC was fighting the robot in the catacombs, who was firing missiles and bullets, and MC was dodging them all.

Doctor Robotnik had the Mane 6, Sonic, Tails and Amy cornered. He smirked at them and said, "You want some good advice? Don't run or fight. It'll only hurt more. Plus it's bad for your joints. They proved it." Then a bunch of flying robots came in over them, their cannons aimed at them.

"Please... don't hurt us..." Fluttershy said.

"Oh, don't worry my dear," said Doctor Robotnik. "It won't hurt much."

Then the throne room door slammed open, and in came the robot holding MC by his head with its left robotic hand.

"Well, well, well," said Doctor Robotnik. "Looks like my strongest robot, Omega, has taken down one of your greatest fighters. It's time that you are all finished off for good. Omega, finish them off."

Omega then threw MC towards the others. Omega then walked towards the heroes. He flipped his arms over, and his hands were replaced with Gatling Guns, aimed at the heroes.

"Targeting," Omega said. MC stood up and got into a defensive position, breathing heavily. "Targets locked." He then turned his torso, and aimed and fired the robots, destroying them.

"What are you doing?!" Doctor Robotnik asked, angrily.

"Primary mission, eliminate all of Eggman's Robots!" Omega said.

"That's not your programming!" Doctor Robotnik said.

"It is now!" MC said smirking. "As I was fighting him, I got into his programming, and reprogrammed him. Instead of his commander, you're now his number one enemy."

"Oh, no you didn't!" Doctor Robotnik said. Just then, the legs of the Walker were broken when Omega shot at them, and they all fell to the ground. "Oh, darn."

"Let's smash the rest of the machine!" MC said.

"Hyaaaah! I get the first swing!" Amy said, getting ready to swing her hammer and running towards Doctor Robotnik. She then smashed the machine that Robotnik was in.

MC then rushed over, jumped up and shouted, "Chaos Claw!" MC then slashed over Doctor Robotnik, and he destroyed the backside of the machine.

Doctor Robotnik then looked over his body, and laughed, "Ha! You didn't get me!"

"Take another look at your new hairstyle, Baldy McNosehair!" MC said, smirking before he and Amy jumped off. Just then, all of Eggman's hair fell off, leaving only his mustache.

Doctor Robotnik put his hands on his head, feeling it completely shaved. He then screamed. He then looked back at the heroes and shouted, "You're all going to pay for that!" Then another flying machine came up, and landed next to the wreck. He then got into it and said, "I'll make sure you're all going to be ruined forever."

"You're wrong!" Twilight said. "You can't defeat us. Because..." The Mane 6 then started floating in mid air with rainbow energy emitting from them. "...we have the Magic of Friendship."

"What's happening?" Doctor Robotnik asked, getting scared.

"Now things are getting good," Sonic said. "Time for our own combo move." Sonic then spun around, heading towards MC.

"Chaos Circle!" MC said, spinning his hands, leaving a golden aura circle, Sonic rolling across the circle, accelerating. MC's voice echoed when he said "circle". He then started running towards Amy, who was getting ready to swing her hammer upward, and MC jumped up, and Amy hit the bottom of MC's feet, sending both him and Sonic into the air. Then the Mane 6's Rainbow Laser headed towards MC's Chaos Circle absorbing the power in the ring, and then he tossed the ring towards Doctor Robotnik, and when it made contact with the vehicle, Doctor Robotnik was sent flying through the huge stained glass window, him screaming all the way out of Equestria.

The group then went to the ground, all of them exhausted. Rainbow Dash then said, "That was the greatest combo move we've all done together!"

Then Pinkie's tail started twitching and said, "Oh, oh! Twitchy Tail! Twitchy Tail!"

Sonic, Tails, Amy and MC got confused at that. Tails then asked, "Is that something we should be worried?"

"Umm... Pinkie Pie has a sixth sense that tells us what's about to happen," said Rainbow Dash said. "Certain motions in her body parts means something's about to happen. And Twitchy Tail means something's about to fall."

MC then went wide eyed and said, "Uh oh."

"What is it, MC?" Twilight said.

"Before I reprogrammed Omega, he fired a bunch of missiles at me, destroying a couple catacombs," MC said. "Which means this whole place is gonna fall off the mountain!" Then the place started shaking.

"Everyone get out!" Twilight said. Just then, rubble fell down, blocking the door from being opened.

"We're trapped!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Okay, all we gotta do is..." Sonic started saying before a flash of light making the Mane 6, Sonic, Tails, Amy, MC and Omega disappear. They later appeared in front of the aircraft they arrived in. They looked around, then they looked up at the castle and saw the Castle falling off it's foundation down to the bottom of the mountain. "Okay, that was close. But quick question, how did we get down here so fast?"

Then with the snap of some fingers, Discord appeared, saying, "That would be me."

"What is that?" Sonic asked.

"I am Discord, the spirit of Chaos," Discord said. "Now when I saw Canterlot Castle crumbling down, I checked inside and saw all of you there. So I got all of you out before you all went down."

Twilight looked over at the castle and sighed. She then said, "Not even a month of living in there, and it all came crumbling down. It's gonna take a while for us to get back to our normal lives."

"Even if it means your kids getting beat up in school?" MC asked.

Twilight thought about it, and sighed. She then said, "You're right. I shouldn't have taken Nyx and Joshua away from their friends in Ponyville. I shouldn't have taken the throne."

"Let me give you some advice," MC said. "A king or a queen can rule from wherever he or she wants to. You didn't have to rule Equestria and live in Canterlot."

Twilight looked at MC, then she thought of his advice. She then smiled and said, "You're onto something, MC. I think I'll take your advice. Thanks." Twilight then let out her right hand for a hand shake, which MC responded holding out his left.

"Sorry, I'm a natural lefty," MC said before changing to his right hand. Then the two of them shook.

A couple days later, most of Equestria were outside of the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville. Twilight was outside, standing with her friends, the Freedom Fighters and the President. All of it was being reported by the news.

"And with our peace treaty, Equestria and the United States of America are now allies," Twilight said. "And from now on, I will be ruling Equestria from right here in Ponyville."

Most of the crowd applauded. But then one voice called out, "No way!" The crowd looked over to the source of the voice and saw Prince Blueblood, walking towards the castle. "I will not be living in a castle in a pathetic little town."

"Who says you're moving in?" Twilight asked. "Every time for the past month, you've been tormenting my kids for being different. Especially calling Nyx that name she doesn't want to be called. Nightmare Moon."

"I insist you turn over the throne to me," Prince Blueblood said. "Now!"

Twilight sighed and said, "Blueblood, your royal status is over."

"Permission to throw him into the lake?" MC asked. Twilight nodded. Then Sonic and MC rushed towards Blueblood, both grabbing an arm and leg on each side, Sonic on Blueblood's left, and MC on his right. Then they rushed him to the lake outside the School of Friendship. Then they threw him into the lake.

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" Blueblood shouted as he was thrown into the lake. Mutt was recording the footage on a cell phone.

"Oh, man, this is gonna get so many likes!" Mutt said as the Crusaders were standing next to him, laughing at Blueblood. Joshua then held up his hand for a high five with Mutt, and he returned it.

Author's Note

Next episode:

Project: PHOENIX

Episode 3: Project: PHOENIX

Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua were walking back through the halls of the Castle of Friendship. The four of them sighed happily. Twilight turned to her three kids.

"You all happy to be back here?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Nyx said. "It's so good to be back home."

"Glad things are getting back to normal, Mom," Joshua said. "I might be 10 now, but it's going to be really different now that you're all Mobians like Sonic and the Freedom Fighters."

"Did we have any information about what made us this way?" Spike asked.

"Well, according to Sonic and Tails, it was something called 'Chaos Control'," Twilight said. "They said that when seven special gems are brought together, they can turn thought into power."

"Wow," Spike said. "Special gems. they sound... delicious."

"Those things have a lot of energy in them," Twilight said. "If you taste one of them, you could be zapped across the room."

The four of them walked up to the throne room. They saw Starlight and Sunburst talking to each other. The two of them looked over and saw the two coming in.

"Oh, hi, Twilight," Starlight said smiling. "Hey, Spike, Nyx and Joshua. Welcome back."

"Thanks, Starlight," Twilight said. "Sorry about having to take back the Castle."

"It's alright, Twilight," Starlight said. "It was yours in the first place. Besides, we're going to be moving into the headmaster's bedroom at the School of Friendship together."

"Really?" Twilight asked. "Why are you so cool about this?"

"Starlight and I have been spending a lot of time together," Sunburst said. "So, you've made a partnership with the Freedom Fighters?"

"That's right," Twilight said. She then held out an arm. "Starlight, Sunburst, meet Nicole."

Then a light emitted, showing Nicole. She said, "Hello, Starlight. Hello, Sunburst."

"Whoa!" said Sunburst. "Nice appearance. Nice to meet you." Sunburst then tried grabbing Nicole's hand, but it went right through her arm. "Whoa! What happened?!"

"Nicole is a hologram," Joshua said.

"Which happens to be an image of solid light," Nicole said. "Some of the Freedom Fighters installed me into the Castle of Friendship. Although, I only communicate with Twilight and the kids in their bedrooms whenever they push a button by the door leading to the hallway."

"Good call," said Twilight. "We're still getting used to these new life styles. Although, thanks to Discord, everypony in Ponyville has gotten used to their life styles. How to walk, dressing in clothing, even doing things like a bipedal. Although, Applejack and her family are still bucking apples off the trees like they normally do, and with enhanced durability in there legs, they're getting a work out. Legs for bucking, and arms for carrying the buckets."

"Yeah," said Starlight. "Although, I don't see why it's mostly the females that have to wear the clothing. Rarity is getting a workout trying to make us all outfits."

"It's a mystery to us as well," said Twilight. Then they all shook their heads, thinking about what they were currently talking about.

Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua were all sitting in the throne room, talking about when Nyx and Joshua will be able to start school back at the Ponyville Schoolhouse. Just then, Nicole appeared.

"Twilight, you have some guests," Nicole said.

"Thank you, Nicole," Twilight said. "Who's outside?"

"MC, Mutt, Bunnie and Rotor," Nicole said. "They're walking towards here as we speak."

"Okay," Twilight said. "Send them in."

Nicole nodded, and then MC, Mutt, Bunnie and Rotor walked in, MC was on the phone.

"Are you sure you got permission from the President about this?" MC asked over the phone. "That place is property of the US Government." MC waited for a few seconds to reply. "Alright. But this better not be anything funny or dangerous." He then hung up.

Twilight looked over at Nicole and asked, "Nicole, who was MC talking to over the phone?"

Nicole told Twilight who MC was talking to over the phone. But all that could be heard was the warning sound. Then everyone covered their ears.

"Oh, man, Nicole!" Rotor said. "Next time, just say your creator and not his name!"

"Sorry," Nicole said. "I'll remember that next time." She then vanished.

"Anyway, the guy over the phone has given me a certain task to do," MC said. "And he wanted me to bring these guys in on this mission. He even wanted you to come, Sparkles."

"Me?" Twilight asked. "I'm not so sure about this. I got a lot of things to do here. I got meetings to attend, I got a country to run. I'm not sure that I can go on this mission."

"It doesn't have anything to do with that Doctor Robotnik guy, does it?" Spike asked.

"No way, sugah," Bunnie said. "Robotnik is still missin'. Even if he's found, he's still gonna be arrested for startin' a war between humans and Mobians."

"Well that's good," Twilight said. "We wouldn't want him to show is ugly face again." Twilight then sighed and said, "I can't go. I'm far too busy."

MC sighed and said, "Alright. Looks like we're on our own. After all, it's just an old Space Colony."

Twilight went wide eyed, teleported in front of MC and said, "Did you say Space Colony?! Oh, this is something I have to check out!"

"There's a space colony?" Nyx asked. "Can we go, too?"

"I think a Space Colony is so cool," Joshua said. "I wanna go, too."

"I don't know," Twilight said. "What do you think, MC?"

"If Joshua's going, we need to get him fitted into a spacesuit," MC said. "Which is gonna be hard for Rarity to do. Since she doesn't know what spacesuits need."

"Delivery for Joshua at the front door," Nicole's voice said. Twilight teleported away and came back with a big box. MC used his claws to open the box, and inside was a spacesuit.

"A spacesuit?" MC asked. He then pulled out the suit and handed Joshua the jumpsuit. "Put this on over your clothes." Joshua did, took off his shoes, and put on the jumpsuit. He then put on the spacesuit without the helmet.

"Why does he get a spacesuit?" Nyx asked.

"Because humans can't breathe in space," Mutt said. "They need air to breathe in space."

"Although, it's weird that we Mobians don't need air in space, but we do in water," Rotor said. "Where's the science in that?"

The group shook their heads. MC then said, "Anyway, Tails has got out his Spaceship, and Rotor is going to pilot us there."

"So, when are we leaving?" Twilight asked.

"The Spaceship's actually ready to go," said Rotor. "Let's get going." The eight of them headed out of the castle and towards the spaceship. Which was surrounded by the local ponies.

"Saw this coming," said MC, making the others laugh. Then the group headed for the spaceship. MC then called out, "Back it up! Back it up all of you!"

Then all of the ponies started moving from the spaceship. One of the ponies wasn't a pony, but a yak. Yona the Yak to be precise.

"Ah, man!" Yona said. "Yona really wanted to smash big metal thing!"

Twilight walked up to Yona and said, "This is a thing of transport, not something for smashing. You can try smashing something else."

"Awww..." Yona said. She then walked away. Then the group of eight got into the spaceship. Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua got into the back area where the power source was. Spike looked at the power source and his eyes got bigger. There was a gem in where the power source is.

"Whoa!" Spike said. "Look at the size of that gem!"

The four of them looked at it, and Nyx said, "That's bigger than that fire ruby you found six months ago!"

"It looks so good," Spike said. He then tried to pound on the glass.

"I wouldn't remove that if I were you," came Nicole's voice. "That's one of the seven Chaos Emeralds. A gem with extraordinary power. Also, Twilight would be right. If you take a bite out of it, you'll be sent back and hit the wall."

"Ah, man," Spike said.

"Now, Joshua, put on your helmet," Nicole said. Joshua did as Nicole said. "To lock it, push down on it, and twist it until it's locked." Joshua pushed down on his helmet until it gave a clicking noise.

"Okay," Twilight said. "What's this hose for?" Twilight noticed the hose coming from the back of Joshua's suit. Then MC rushed in, and attached the hose to Joshua's helmet.

"That hose is for Joshua to get oxygen," MC said after turning it on. "Now, get in your seats, 'cause we're going on a trip to space."

Then four seats came in, and Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua sat in them, and their seat belts were buckled in. Then the room started shaking as MC went into the cockpit. Then the spaceship started floating, and heading into the sky.

As soon as they made it out of Earth's atmosphere, everything started floating. Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua saw some of the stuff that Twilight brought starting to float.

"What's happening?" Nyx asked.

"You are now experiencing zero gravity," Nicole said. "Everything is weightless. You are now free to roam about the cabin." Then the seat belts they had on came loose, and the four of them started floating.

"Whoa!" said the four of them as they were floating.

"This is actually nice," Joshua said.

"This is awesome, Twilight!" Spike said. "We're actually floating!"

"Everyone get ready," Nicole said. "We are activating the artificial gravity."

"Artificial what?" Nyx asked. Then the four of them went back to the ground. "Okay. That hurt." Then the four of them got up.

"Should have known they'd come up with plans to get us some gravity," Twilight said. "Let's go." Then the four of them headed to the bridge. Rotor was on the controls with MC sitting on the passenger side. Bunnie was behind Rotor and Mutt was behind MC.

Mutt saw the others coming in and said, "Hey, guys." The doors closed after Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua walked in.

"Are we there yet?" Joshua asked.

"Not yet," said MC. "It'll be a while until we get there."

Just then, the door opened again, and Nicole walked in. MC, Bunnie, Mutt, Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua saw Nicole.

"Hey, Nicole," Twilight said.

"Wait a minute!" MC said. "This spaceship doesn't have any light projectors for Nicole to be seen."

"Wait, what?" Nicole asked. Just then, MC rushed in and held down "Nicole's" arms.

"Who are you?!" MC asked, angrily. Then, green flames surrounded Nicole, and she transformed into something else.

"Ocellus?!" Twilight asked. She then groaned. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see what was going on here, so I snuck in as that lynx thing," Ocellus said. "How was I supposed to know she was an illusion?"

"Better late than never," Nicole's voice came from the speakers.

"Looks like we're gonna have to turn around and go back," Twilight said.

"We're too far from the planet to turn back now," Rotor said. "Besides... we're almost there. Look."

Everyone looked out the windshield, and saw a huge rock there.

"What is that?" Nyx asked.

MC pulled out a file and said, "According to the files, that is Space Colony ARK. After an incident 50 years ago, the place was shut down. Some say that this place still has creatures lurking the halls."

"Well, let's hope them varmints ain't alive," Bunnie said.

"Rotor, take us in," MC said. Rotor flew the spaceship towards the place. But from inside, there was a faint blue glow. Then a faint blue tentacle was spotted, cutting into a metal wall.

The spaceship landed in the space port of the ARK. The doors opened, and MC ran out of the ship to one door with a handheld device. MC than said, "Nicole. Activate the air shield and the power."

The device then started beeping and the lights went on and a barrier went up, and the others came up. Then Twilight, Spike, Nyx, Joshua, Ocellus, Bunnie, Rotor and Mutt came out of the spaceship. They looked all around the place.

"Whoa," Twilight said. "This place is amazing."

"We still got a mission to accomplish," MC said. "Let's get going." Just then, the lights went out.

"What just happened?" Ocellus asked.

MC looked around. He then started smelling. He then said, "I don't think we're alone. Everyone stick together."

The group nodded, and then they got closer together. They walked over through the hallways of the place, sticking together as they were walking by.

"What do you think knocked the power out?" Twilight asked.

"According to Nicole, the power's on, it's just the light's that aren't working," MC said. "It seems to be that the power for the lights have been drained."

"Drained?" Bunnie asked. "What do ya mean, MC?"

"I don't know," MC said.

Mutt looked over at the walls and saw scratch marks. He then asked, "What do you think made these?"

The group looked at the scratch marks on the walls. MC then asked, "Anyone got a light on them?" Then a white glow came in, and MC looked towards the light and saw that the light was coming from Joshua's hands. MC then asked, "How are you doing that?"

"Joshua was turned into a pony by an evil unicorn king named Sombra," Twilight said. "We cured Joshua, but he's still able to do unicorn magic."

"Odd," said MC. Then he checked back with the scratch marks. "Interesting. I've never seen scratch marks like this before. It's something I've never seen before."

"MC, should we be worried?" Nyx asked, holding Joshua.

"We'll be fine," said MC. "Rotor's good with machines, Bunnie's got her arm plasma cannon, and Mutt has got the determination to get going."

"That's true," said Bunnie. "The li'l sugah is very determined. So, should we get going?"

"Bunnie's right," Rotor said. "Don't we have a mission?"

The group kept walking through the hallways, not noticing a faint blue glow coming from behind them. They reached a certain door and opened it up. Inside, there was a lab.

"A research lab?!" Twilight asked excitedly. "Oh my gosh! I have to check out everything!"

"Hold on, Sparkles," MC said. "Perhaps there's information about Project: PHOENIX somewhere in this computer." Rotor then turned on the computer, and plugged Nicole into it. "Nicole, search for Project: PHOENIX."

"Accessing," Nicole said in the device. "Error. There are no files in this computer containing information about Project: PHOENIX."

"No files?" Rotor asked. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Let's check the other computers," MC said. They then went to console after console, but there was nothing containing any information about what they were looking for. They all sat in individual chairs.

"All that searching, no such file exist on Project: PHOENIX," Twilight said.

"What is Project: PHOENIX anyway?" Ocellus asked.

"We have no idea," said MC. "We looked everywhere in here, and nothing on Project: PHOENIX. Guess this mission was a bust. We came all the way up here for nothing."

"But still, this place is amazing," said Twilight. "So much scientific research. A great view of the planet. And a cool lab to do some experiments on."

"Oh, man," Joshua said. "I bet I'm the first human kid to ever come up to space."

"Actually, Joshua, you are not," Nicole said coming from the handheld device. "There was once a young girl that lived here in this colony with her grandfather, due to her illness."

"Really?" Joshua asked. "What was her name?"

"That little girl was named Maria Robotnik," Nicole answered. The group went wide-eyed.

"Robotnik?" Twilight asked. "Any relation to Doctor Robotnik?"

"According to family records, yes," Nicole said. "She happens to be Julian Robotnik's cousin until she died almost fifty years ago due to the government shutting down the place. And not due to her illness."

"What did she have?" Nyx asked.

"According to Maria Robotnik's medical records, she was diagnosed with Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome," Nicole responded. That made all the older ones wince.

"That's a serious disease," Rotor said. "No wonder she was sent up here. Her parents probably didn't want her to get teased for having that."

"Makes sense," Twilight said. "But who was taking care of her?"

"Her grandfather, and the head scientist of this place, Professor Gerald Robotnik," Nicole responded. "He was a brilliant scientist trying to make things to protect the planet from destruction."

"Then how did Eggman get the evil bug?" Mutt asked.

"I bet he gets it from his mother," Nyx said. "Diamond Tiara's mother tried making her be superior to all other ponies just because she's rich."

"I'm with Nyx on that," said MC. "Look at this picture of Doctor Robotnik's mother." When they saw the picture, all of them jumped and screamed.

"That's Robotnik's mother?!" Twilight asked. "She has a mustache!"

"Humans grow facial hair," Nicole said. "It's about 5 to 10 percent of women that grow facial hair. She must be one of the 5 to 10 percent."

"So, if this place had a little girl in it, do you think we should go see her room?" Nyx asked.

"I guess since we got time," said MC. "Let's go find it." Then the group walked out of the room. They walked down the halls. When they went around a corner, Spike thought he saw some blue light. He turned his head back, but he didn't see anything there. He shrugged his shoulders and went back to the group.

The group entered one room. They all said something that surprised them. All the stuff was still there.

"Wait a minute," Twilight said. "Why is all this stuff still here? They could've taken this stuff back down to the planet."

"Guess they just locked it up, and left all the stuff here," MC said.

"Why would they do that?" Spike asked.

"Beats me, sugah," Bunnie said. When Bunnie said that, Mutt noticed something over by the bookshelf on the floor. They were scuff marks in a horizontal pattern.

"This is a nice room though," Ocellus said. She then looked at a photo of the girl. She smirked and transformed into the girl. "Hey, check me out. I'm a human girl."

That made the others, sans Mutt, laugh, chuckle or shake their head smiling. Mutt then called out, "Hey, guys! Check this out!"

The group looked towards Mutt and Ocellus went back to her normal form. They all walked over to him and they saw the scuff marks.

"Scuff marks?" MC asked. "Is there a secret room behind this bookcase?"

"It's probably a bathroom or something," Twilight said. She then tried pulling the bookcase like a swinging door.

"The scuff marks are straight and horizontal," said Rotor. "It doesn't open like a door. Perhaps there's a secret way to get in."

"A door to get in," said MC. "It's probably something like a certain book to open this." MC looked around and saw two books with the same exact titles. MC tilted one, which was a normal book. "Ah, 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'. One of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia books." MC then looked up at the other book and said, "Bunnie, can you reach that book up there?" MC pointed his hand at the other book.

Bunnie extended her robotic hand and tilted the book, making the bookshelf move to the left, revealing the secret room. Inside was a secret lab.

"What is this place?" asked Twilight.

"It looks like a secret lab," MC said. Bunnie then held out her hand, which had a flashlight installed in the palm, lighting up the room. "Look at that capsule." Bunnie aimed her flashlight hand towards the capsule.

"What is this?" Twilight asked.

"Look, there's something on the console!" Rotor said. The group ran over to the console, and Ocellus grabbed the file that was sitting there.

Bunnie pointed her light towards the file, and it was marked "Project: PHOENIX."

"This is it!" Ocellus said. "This is Project: PHOENIX!" She then started reading the file. "'After the government shut down the Colony, I was hiding in the secret corridors of the place. Of course, I had taken Maria Robotnik's dying body to a secret lab that only me and my employer, Professor Gerald Robotnik, knows about. Too bad he was apprehended by the agents of GUN. I couldn't let the granddaughter of my employer die like this, so I had to do whatever it took to save her. Using some information from another project we were working on. Making her reborn as a Mobian Hedgehog. She has been reborn. Through Project: PHOENIX, Maria Robotnik the Hedgehog.'"

"Reborn," MC said. "A phoenix is an immortal bird. They'll be able to rise up from whatever damage they've taken in. She must've been given a healing factor."

"Yep," Ocellus said. "It says right here. Along with a lot of different abilities. Some abilities can be triggered by a certain instinct, calling it the Phoenix Flare. The abilities she can do herself without that Flare is super speed, healing, enhanced jumping, enhanced stamina, and enhanced durability."

"So, the other abilities she has can be activated by a certain instinct?" Bunnie asked. "Oh mah starz."

"She was given the chance to live again," MC said. "That's why she's in that capsule. I think she's been in there long enough. Let's open it."

MC then walked over to the capsule, and Rotor tossed the handheld device, and plugged it into a plug in connected to the capsule.

"Accessing," Nicole said. "Opening capsule."

Then the liquid inside the capsule started draining, revealing a blonde hedgehog girl. When it opened up, the group was surprised, and then Twilight covered Spike's eyes, Bunnie covered Nyx's eyes, Rotor covered Joshua's eyes and MC covered Mutt's eyes.

"She's naked!" Twilight, MC, Bunnie and Rotor said in unison.

"Ocellus, go find one of Maria's old dresses in her dresser drawer," Twilight said. Ocellus nodded and headed back to the other room, then came back with a dress. She put it on over the hedgehog girl, which was too big for her in that body.

"Wow," said Ocellus. "Looks like she needs to get fitted for clothes."

"And something of this decade," Bunnie said. The four older ones uncovered the eyes of the younger ones. MC then walked over to Ocellus and the blonde hedgehog, and he picked up the hedgehog girl.

"So, Maria Robotnik was Project: PHOENIX the entire time," said MC. "Let's get her back down to the ground." Then they all headed out of there while Ocellus grabbed some of Maria's stuff. Like her pictures and her diary. Even some of her underwear.

"Good thinking," said Twilight. "Bringing in some of her stuff from up here. Of course, we're gonna have to make them good as new when we get back home."

When they went back into the hallway, the group stopped. MC then said, "Oh, boy. Looks like we got trouble."

The group were surrounded by robotic energy creatures, surrounding them in the hallway. The group then got into a battle position.

"What are these things?" Twilight asked.

"I have seen these creatures in the files," said Nicole on the handheld device. "They're energy creatures based on an old protection god. These creatures are known as Artificial Chaos. They have gone rogue from their programming."

"Looks like we're gonna have to fight our way out," said MC. "Nicole, do they have any weak points?"

"They can only be destroyed by breaking their heads," Nicole responded.

"Ah'm on it!" Bunnie said, pointing her robotic hand towards the Artificial Chaos, her hand turning into a cannon, and firing at the Artificial Chaos. A bunch of them got destroyed.

"Let's move it!" MC said, the group running through. The Artificial Chaos tried grabbing them with their tentacles, the group dodging them. One of the tentacles scratched the walls.

"That's what made the scratches we saw earlier!" Mutt said.

"We gotta get out of here!" Twilight said. "Get back to the ship!"

The group ran down the halls back to the space port. When they reached the space port, they headed for the ship.

"We're almost there!" Twilight shouted. But then they all stopped when some flying Artificial Chaos blocked their path. Then more of them came into the room. Bunnie then aimed her arm towards one of them, but one of them reached a tentacle at her arm, electricity coming from it.

"Gaaaah!" Bunnie shouted as the Artificial Chaos let go of her robotic arm. She then tried firing at that one Artificial Chaos, but her arm wasn't shifting. "Mah arm! It ain't changin' modes! Ah'm disarmed!"

"They can drain energy?" MC asked. "That's why the lights are out. They drained the power out of them!"

"If they drain the Chaos Emerald's energy, we're going to be trapped up here," Rotor said.

"We're gonna die!" Joshua shouted.

Just then, the hedgehog girl started to stir from her slumber. She opened her eyes and saw the group around her. She saw Mutt, Nyx, Spike and Joshua scared. She then looked over to what was scaring them. She then closed her eyes, and opened them up with an angry expression, and her eyes went from blue to red. She then jumped out of MC's arms, and was surrounded in an orange aura, then she zoomed across the room, destroying the Artificial Chaos throughout the entire colony. Then later, the hedgehog girl came back looking at the group. She then went exhausted, the aura disappearing from her and her eyes going back to blue. She then passed out on the floor.

The group, except for MC, ran over to her. MC then asked, "Was that..."

"The Phoenix Flare," Twilight said. "It must have been it."

"That... was awesome!" Nyx said.

"She took out every single one of them," Joshua said.

"So, this is what Maria Robotnik has become," Spike said. "I'm just glad she's on our side." The others nodded.

"Wait a second," Bunnie said. "If the Artificial Chaos drains energy and they're gone..." She then checked her robotic hand, which turned back into her arm cannon. "Oh, mah starz. Mah arm is fully functional."

"Let's go home," MC said. Then they all turned around, going into the ship, taking Maria with them. "Joshua, put on your helmet." Joshua nodded, and put his helmet back on. MC picked up Maria, and handed her over to Twilight and Bunnie, taking Maria into the ship. Then MC rushed over, and shut off the power. He then rushed back onto the ship, and then the ship took off, heading back to the planet below.

The next morning, Maria Robotnik was in a guest room, waking up from using so much energy the previous day. She sat up on her bed, rubbing her eyes. She then looked around and saw she was in a crystal bedroom. She got confused and asked, "Where am I?"

"You are in a castle in an entirely new country that appeared out of nowhere, Miss Robotnik," came Nicole's voice. Maria looked around, a little scared.

"Who are you?" Maria asked. "Where are you?"

"I am Nicole," Nicole responded. "I am an artificial intelligence designed for helping people. Although, there is something you should know. As if you don't know."

"What don't I know?" Maria asked.

"Some scientist that worked with your grandfather had saved your life," Nicole said. "But to do so, you had to lose one thing."

"And that is?" Maria asked.

"Your humanity," Nicole responded. That made Maria go wide eyed. She then checked her body, starting with her face. She felt her muzzle, then her nose, then she reached up to her hedgehog ears, and then she saw her hands. She then felt her back area, going down, and she felt her tail.

"I'm... a hedgehog?" Maria asked.

Then the door opened, revealing Twilight Sparkle walking in with a change of clothes for Maria.

"Oh, good," Twilight said. "You're awake."

"Who... who are you?" Maria asked, nervously.

Twilight giggled and said, "My name is Twilight Sparkle. High Princess of Equestria. Here are some clothes for you to wear. My friend Rarity has taken your measurements, and had to modernize some clothes."

Maria got confused and asked, "Modernized?"

"You've been asleep, Maria," Twilight said. "For over 50 years."

Maria got surprised at that. Later, in the dining room, Spike, Nyx, Joshua, MC, Mutt, Bunnie and Rotor were having breakfast. Being watched by the Royal Guard.

MC was a little annoyed being watched by the guards and said, "You know, some of us can defend ourselves."

"Sorry, your highness," said one of the guards. "But we're ordered to protect any royals or visiting dignitaries from any certain danger. We're even assigned to protect your country's president if he comes over."

MC chuckled and asked, "Do all of you just protect royals by being in the same room? Because it just might be awkward if the royals have to use the bathroom."

The same guard that answer replied, "Hey, we don't take protecting that far." That made everyone in the room laugh. Just then, Twilight walked into the room with Maria following her.

"Everypony, say hello to Maria Robotnik," Twilight said.

"Glad to finally meet you, Maria," MC said.

"Nice to meet you, too," Maria said. She then looked around. "So, this is Earth. I was hoping to come back down from the ARK. Sure, it was 50 years later, but good enough for me."

Mutt then looked over at Twilight and asked, "So, what's happening with Ocellus?"

"For sneaking onto our ship without permission, Starlight is making her clean up every bathroom in the school for a week," Twilight said. "Being supervised by both Starlight and Sunburst."

"Although, it must be awkward for her to do the men's room with some boys walking in," Rotor said, making everyone but Maria and the guards laugh.

"Is Ocellus a pony as well?" Maria asked.

"Nope," said MC. "She's a shapeshifting bug-like pony called a changeling. They feed on love and power."

"They used to steal love and power from other ponies," Spike said. "But now with Thorax in charge, we're friends with the Changelings."

"Well, that's good," Maria said.

"So, Maria, wanna see how much America's changed after all this time when we're going home?" MC asked.

"It would be nice to see how much things have changed all this time," Maria said.

"Well then eat up," said Twilight. "It's gonna be a long trip." Maria nodded as Spike placed down a plate of pancakes in front of her. She then picked up her fork, cut up a part of her pancakes, and took a bite.

Maria smiled and said, "Yum!"

Author's Note

Next episode:
The Fastest Thing Alive! Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash!

Episode 4: The Fastest Thing Alive! Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash!

The Mane 6 were at a laboratory in Knothole, all being examined by Tails. All six of the had wires connected to them, all standing with their arms, legs, and (to those with) wings spread out, and all having thermometers in their mouths.

"Well, looks like you're all in the clear," Tails said. "You're all free to go."

"Well, if we're going to be living in a world like this, might as well get used to it," Twilight said. "Especially in clothes like these." Twilight stretched the bottom of her jacket, looking down at it.

"Yeah," said Rarity. "It's gonna be a busy day for me back in Ponyville. Perhaps I should expand again."

The group walked out of the lab, heading towards the transport. As soon as they were about to enter the transport, Rainbow Dash looked down at her clothes and said, "Oh, shoot! I'm supposed to be ready for the Wonderbolts show and I left my new uniform in the lab!" Rainbow Dash then sped towards the lab and came back with her uniform on, in two seconds. The group were shocked to see Rainbow Dash move and change so fast. Rainbow looked at her friends, got confused and asked, "What?"

"Rainbow, you just sped into the lab, and came back changed in your uniform in 2 seconds," Twilight said.

"I think you've gotten faster," Fluttershy said.

"What?" Rainbow Dash asked. She then looked over at the clock. "Huh. I didn't even notice." She then smirked and said, "The fastest flyer of Equestria has gotten even faster!"

The others had their jaws dropped.

The Mane 6 and Spike were having a picnic back in Ponyville. The group of friends were enjoying the food they packed. Pinkie opened the picnic basket she brought and went wide eyed.

"Oh, no!" Pinkie said. "I forgot to grab the cupcakes for today's picnic."

"I'm on it!" Rainbow Dash said, before zooming off. She then came back with the cupcakes that Pinkie had. "I'm back. Here they are, Pinkie."

"Rainbow Dash, I think you're taking your new speed to an unnatural level," Twilight said. "I think it's time for you to slow down."

"Slow down?!" Rainbow asked. "No way! I'm never gonna stop speeding like this again!"

"But, ya're already one of the best flyers of Equestria," Applejack said. "And a Wonderbolt. Don't tell me ya're gonna give up bein' a Wonderbolt."

"No way," Rainbow Dash said. "I'd never stop being a Wonderbolt. I can stop running anytime I want."

"Rainbow," Twilight said, "I didn't say you can't stop running. All I said is not to run all the time. You might run yourself into trouble."

Rainbow Dash thought about that and said, "Perhaps you're right. But, I got to show everypony in Ponyville that not only am I the fastest flyer in Equestria, but I'm also the fastest thing alive! See ya!" She then zoomed off.

Twilight groaned, facepalming. She then said, "This is gonna be a disaster."

Rainbow Dash was speeding all over Ponyville, showing off her incredible speed. She helped the Apple Family rebuild the barn. She cleaned the entire Wonderbolts Headquarters, and she even gave Scootaloo a piggyback ride all the way to Mount Aris and back, coming back with messier hair.

"See ya tomorrow, squirt," Rainbow Dash said, letting Scootaloo down.

"That... was... awesome!" Scootaloo said, walking away.

Rainbow Dash then started running away towards the Castle of Friendship. Twilight was having a talk with MC, Bunnie and Antoine.

"Zis place is truly extraordinary, Princess," Antoine said.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Things are gonna be a lot more interesting now that we're Mobians. Now that Nyx and Joshua are hanging out with their friends. They're actually having a lot more fun than they had before we moved to Canterlot and back."

"Ya can see yer kids are happy to be with their friends again," Bunnie said. "Ya can at least rule the kingdom with yer kids happy at least."

Just then, Rainbow Dash rushed in, saying, "Hey, guys! Glad to see you came to visit!" She then stopped and said, "Wait a minute, I didn't see any transport outside, so how'd you get here?"

"Your friend haz created a portal to Knothole," Antoine said.

"We can come anytime we want," said Bunnie. "Even if ya wanna come ta Knothole. So, how ya been doin'?"

"Showing everypony in Equestria my new speed!" Rainbow Dash said. "I've become even faster than I was when I fly! I've become the fastest thing alive!"

Bunnie and Antoine looked at each other, smirking. The two of them laughed.

"What's so funny?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"We are so sorry, madam Rainbow Dash," Antoine said. "It's just that... that title haz already been taken."

"By who?" Rainbow Dash asked, angrily.

"By no one other than our very own, Sonic the Hedgehog," Bunnie said. "The Sugarhog has race every single fast thing in America. And basically, no one has out ran the sugarhog."

Rainbow Dash groaned in frustration while Twilight looked over at the pegasus smirking. Rainbow Dash then shouted, "Then I challenge him to a race! To prove who's truly the fastest thing alive!"

Twilight went wide eyed and asked, "What?! You seriously want to race him?!"

"Zat is a bad idea, Madam Dash," Antoine said. "Like Bunnie said, nobody can beat him in a race."

"Like that can stop me," said Rainbow Dash. "I can beat him anywhere, anytime!"

"Is that so," came another voice. The four of them looked towards the source and saw Sonic, leaning on the wall, smirking. "It's been a while since I had a real challenge." He then walked towards Rainbow Dash and said, "When Tails told me about seeing a rainbow blur rush in and out of his lab, I should've known it was you. Rainbow Dash, I accept your challenge." The two of them shook hands, giving each other a challenging smirk.

Back in Knothole, MC was on the phone. He was talking to someone.

"I know, I don't believe it myself," MC said. "Okay. Thanks for promoting this, Mr. President."

"So, he's gonna make the announcement?" Tails asked.

"Yep," MC said.

"Still can't believe that that Rainbow Dash is challenging Sonic," Sally said. "This is gonna be one intense race."

"Where's the race going to start and where is it going to finish?" Tails asked.

"This is gonna be one intense race," Mutt said.

"There's just one more thing the president added," MC said. "He insisted on having the captain of the S Team of the Station Square Police Department. That guy, Sam Speed, wanted in on this race, using a tricked out car."

"This is gonna be interesting," Sally said. "We're gonna have an interesting trip."

Back in Equestria, Rainbow Dash was getting ready for her race with Sonic. She was doing some stretches. Just then, the rest of the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Rainbow's parents came up to Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash! Is it true?!" Scootaloo asked. "Are you seriously going to race Sonic?"

"Oh, yeah," Rainbow Dash said. "This is gonna be one intense race. And I'm gonna take victory."

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight said, "I know you're excited about this race, but Sonic has more experience. I don't think you'll be able to keep up with Sonic."

"We'll see about that," Rainbow Dash said. "This is gonna be one of the greatest races in this world!"

"Ah don't know about this, Rainbow," Applejack said. "Ya don't know too much 'bout him."

"Who cares?" Rainbow Dash said, waving her hand. "This'll be one of my greatest wins yet. Sonic will not know what hit him. Fastest thing alive. No way."

"That's my girl!" Bow Hothoof, Rainbow's father, shouted. That made Rainbow Dash roll her eyes.

The next day, everyone was gathered up at a stadium in Station Square, preparing to watch the race that was going to start. Rainbow Dash and Sonic were stretching their legs, getting ready to race.

"You're going to eat my dust, Sonic," Rainbow said, getting competitive.

"Funny," Sonic said. "I was gonna say the same thing." Just then, they heard the revving of an engine. The two of them looked behind them and saw a tricked out car heading towards them.

"What... is that?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Not what," Sonic said. "Who." The Rocket Car stopped, spreading Sonic and Rainbow Dash out. The hood opened up and there came a human, taking off his helmet. "Hello, Sam."

"Hey, Sonic," the human said. "I heard about this race. And I wanted in on this. And if anyone's going to beat you in a race, it's gonna be me. Not this pony girl."

"HEY!" Rainbow Dash said, hovering and getting in that man's face. "No way I'm gonna be beaten by a guy in a tricked out machine!"

MC then walked over to the starting line, holding a green flag, saying, "Rainbow Dash, that machine has a rocket engine. It'll blow both of you back when that car starts moving. So, I suggest you keep your wings closed at the start of the race." He then held out the flag. "Racers ready."

Sonic and Rainbow Dash got into running position like they're on a track team. Sam revved the engine of the car. On one side of the stadium were the rest of the Mane 6, Spike, the Crusaders and Rainbow Dash's parents. On the other side were the rest of the Freedom Fighters.

"On your marks! Get set!" MC said, before waving down the flag. "GOOOOOOO!!!"

"GOOOOOOO!!!"

The flag was waved downward, and the rocket on the car ignited, and it went out of the stadium fast, blowing back both Sonic and Rainbow Dash.

"Whoooooaa!" Sonic and Rainbow Dash shouted as they were blown back. Then they recovered, following the car.

The rest of the Mane 6, the Crusaders and Rainbow Dash's parents were astonished by the power of the engine in that vehicle that took off at the starting line.

"That... was... intense!" Twilight said. "That's the power of a rocket engine?"

The rest of the Freedom Fighters ran up to the group and Sally said, "This is gonna be one intense race."

"This race is gonna take through lunch time," said MC. "Sam Speed has his own lunch installed in the compartment in his car. Tails, get the Spirit of Freedom ready. And bring the kitchen cargo box."

"Oh, so that's why we were told to bring stuff to prepare lunch for Rainbow Dash and Sonic," Windy Whistles said, looking at Amy.

"Why else would we?" Amy asked.

"Alright," Tails said. "Let's get going."

Tails, Amy and Windy Whistles headed away from there. Scootaloo then asked, "What about us?"

"We can check the progress of the race from the news copter," Sally said.

The group looked towards the screen, seeing Scarlet Garcia on the screen. Reporting the race from a news copter.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, reporting live over the race between three racers. The leader of the Freedom Fighters, Sonic the Hedgehog, the fastest flyer of Equestria, Rainbow Dash, and the head of the S Team, Sam Speed. The three are neck and neck as they're going through the streets of Station Square."

It went right towards the three racers, heading through the city. Sonic and Rainbow Dash pulled ahead of the rocket car. Sonic leaving a blue streak while Rainbow Dash was leaving a rainbow streak.

"This is it?" Rainbow asked. "I can win this easily!"

"Oh, that's what you think," Sonic said. "This race is gonna head on through the city, to the halfway point in the desert, and then head straight on back to the stadium."

"And I'm gonna be the first one there!" came Sam's voice.

"I don't think so!" Sonic said. "Good luck getting through those turns!" Then Sonic and Rainbow Dash accelerated, going through the turns of the ship, leaving Sam behind.

"Oh, you think you're getting the best of me?" Sam asked. "Operation Straight Away, engage."

Then the buildings that the car that Sam was driving had opened up garage doors, leaving him a straight path through, having Sam take the lead.

Sonic and Rainbow Dash looked behind them and saw the garage doors closing.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Rainbow Dash said.

The others were watching, with most of them jaw dropped. The only ones who weren't jaw dropped were MC and Pinkie Pie. Pinkie was clenching her teeth.

"THAT CHEATING DIRTY RAT!!" Pinkie Pie shouted. Then she panted hard with her teeth still clenched, and steam coming out of her nostrils.

"That rocket car is known for speed, not drifting on sharp turns," MC said. "And since Sam Speed is the captain of the S Team, it gives him the advantage of the city."

"Well, he still shouldn't have done that," Twilight said. "He's got an unfair advantage."

"That hasn't stopped Sonic," Sally said.

"And if Ah know Dash, if one creature don't give up, neither will she," Applejack said.

Then it went to the desert. The three of them were still racing, with Sam's car still in the lead. But then, an army of robots came out of the sand.

"What the heck?!" Rainbow Dash asked as she sped.

"Swatbots!" Sonic said. "They're security bots of Eggman's labs."

"They're blocking our path!" Rainbow Dash said. "What are we gonna do?!"

Sonic looked towards Rainbow Dash, went by her side, and said, "Follow my lead!" Sonic and Rainbow Dash then jumped a little, high fived, spin dashed, and sped through the robots, all of them being destroyed.

Sam Speed was surprised at that move and said, "What a move! They just destroyed all of those swatbots like they were nothing!"

From the stadium, the group watching were amazed by that combo move. Twilight then asked, "What kind of move was that? It was amazing!"

"It's like they just came up with that move on a whim without thinking," Sally said.

"That's Sonic for you," MC said, smirking. "He always surprises us at the end." Just then, there was an alarm going off. MC checked his watch and said, "Look at that. Lunch time."

Then the group walked away to get some lunch. Meanwhile with Sonic, Rainbow Dash and Sam Speed, Sam checked his watch.

"Would you look at that," Sam said. "It's lunch time." Then a compartment in the car opened up and came a burger and a 21 ounce cup of soda. Sam took the burger, brought it to his mouth, and took a bite. He then looked outside, seeing Sonic and Rainbow Dash and asked, "Wanna bite?"

"No thanks," Sonic responded.

"I'm a pony!" Rainbow said. "We don't eat meat!"

"Oh, that's right," said Sam. "Forgot you Equestrians have different taste buds."

Then the airship from the first episode, now known as the Spirit of Freedom, coming in from above. The box below opened up on the bottom, revealing Amy and Windy Whistles on a descending platform. Amy handed Sonic a lunchbox, Windy Whistles doing the same thing to Rainbow Dash.

"We'd thought you'd get hungry," said Amy. "So we cooked your favorites."

Sonic and Rainbow Dash took their marked lunchbox saying, "Thanks." They then sped up, and opened their lunchboxes, eating their food. Sonic got some chili dogs, and Rainbow Dash got a pasta and potato sandwich on sourdough. The two of them ate them quickly, and drank the bottles of water that were also in the lunchboxes. They tossed the lunchboxes back to the lowering platform, caught by Amy and Windy Whistles. Then the Spirit of Freedom took off with the platform raising back up.

Back with the others, the others were watching the race from the stadium. MC then thought of something and asked, "Hey, guys, you don't think those swatbots coming out of the sand was a coincidence, do you?"

"What do you mean, sugah?" Bunnie asked.

"You think Doctor Robotnik was there?" Twilight asked.

"We'll check the place out after the race," MC said. "Hopefully, we'll find and apprehend the doctor when we get there."

"But there's one more thing," Rotor said. "What about Maria? How are we going to explain to her that her cousin is a super villain and put in jail?"

"I say we take it slow with her," Twilight said.

"I must agree," Rarity said. "She has been sick, stuck in space, shot, transformed, and trapped in suspended animation for half a century. She's gonna be distraught when she finds out that one of her living relatives is trapped behind bars."

"Well, we have to tell her something," Sally said. "She deserves to know the truth."

Back at the race, the three racers made it to the halfway checkpoint, heading back towards the city. With Scarlet Garcia reporting from above.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, and it would seem that the racers have made it to the halfway checkpoint of this race. And with this, the three of them are heading back to the city to finish this race."

Sonic and Rainbow Dash were smirking when heading back to the city. The three racers leaving a huge pile of dust in their tracks.

Sonic, Rainbow Dash and Sam Speed made it to the city limits of Station Square, rushing through.

"Alright," said Sam Speed. "We're in the homestretch. Time to put in some more juice to this rocket!" He then pushed a button, activating the rocket in the back of the car, zooming past Sonic and Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow Dash groaned and said, "Oh, I don't think so!" She then started accelerating, a wind barrier forming in front of her, and then she broke through, making a rainbow explosion. Scarlet Garcia was astonished by what just happened.

"This is Scarlet Garcia, and it would seem that the racers have reached the homestretch. Sam Speed has taken the lead, but it would seem that Rainbow Dash has broken the sound barrier, with a rainbow explosion. That is something I've never seen before. If I were to name it, I'd call it..."

"A SONIC RAINBOOM!! WOOHOO!!" Fluttershy cheered when the group was watching from the stadium. The Freedom Fighters had their jaws dropped when the Sonic Rainboom happened.

Back in the race, Sonic was in last place. He then smirked, and then his legs went into a red circle, him accelerating, catching up with the others.

Back at the stadium, Twilight and MC were holding up a long ribbon to represent the finish line. When they saw the three racers coming in, the three of them were neck and neck, and Sonic, Rainbow Dash and Sam's car all touched the ribbon at the same time.

The crowd cheered as the race was finished. From above, Scarlet Garcia came down with a cameraman streaming her.

"Alright, the race is over," said Scarlet Garcia. "But it would seem that we have a three way tie. This was one epic race."

Sonic and Rainbow Dash were breathing in and out in exhaustion. Rainbow Dash then said, "So I tied with the two of you. I can get faster than that anytime. And I'll win."

"Actually..." Sonic said smirking. He then pointed at MC, who was looking at the screen with a tablet in his hand. On the screen, there was the footage of the three racers ending the race. On the screen, it showed Sonic jumping over the finish ribbon, jumped up, got closer to the camera, did some poses, rushed back over towards the other two racers, and then came in with Rainbow Dash and Sam Speed, all hitting the ribbon at the same time, all in slow motion.

MC held out his left hand, announcing, "By a split second landslide, Sonic the Hedgehog wins the race!"

The crowd cheered, Rainbow Dash was jaw dropped.

"It was a close call, but it would seem that Sonic remains the Fastest Thing Alive," Scarlet Garcia announced. "What an epic conclusion to an epic race."

Rainbow Dash then went down to her knees in sadness. The rest of the Mane 6, the Crusaders and Rainbow's parents went over to Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?" Bow Hothoof asked.

"I'll... I'll be fine," Rainbow Dash said. She then sighed sadly. "Being the fastest in Equestria was what mattered to me. But losing a race like that? It's like I'm..."

"Outranked?" Twilight asked. Rainbow looked over at Twilight, went back to facing down, and nodded her head. "Rainbow Dash, just because you lost one race doesn't mean you can give up on racing."

"She's right, you know," Sonic's voice came. The group looked towards Sonic, who was coming towards Rainbow Dash. He held out a hand and said, "You actually gave me a run for my money, Rainbow. Let's have another race, sometime."

Rainbow looked up at Sonic, surprised. She then smiled, grabbed Sonic's hand, and she was pulled up. She then said, "Anytime, anyplace." Then the two of them looked over at Sam, who nodded at the two.

Later, the Mane 6 and the Freedom Fighters went over to the place where the Swatbots were seen. The group were looking everywhere for something.

"Are you sure that this place was where the Swatbots came from?" Sally asked.

"Yep," Sonic said. "Right here. But, no sign of any secret base."

"Unless we're too high," Twilight said. Her horn was lit up. "There's something about ten feet under the sand."

MC then lit up his hand with a golden aura, and then he slammed down to the ground, creating a huge crater in the ground, removing all the sand, and revealing an underground base.

"Nice job, MC," Sally said.

Later, a hole in the ceiling was cut open by MC, big enough for all of them to get in. The group looked all over and saw an empty lab.

"That's odd," Tails said. "There's nothing here."

"Then why were those Swatbots there?" Twilight asked.

MC started sniffing around. He got angry and said, "The doctor was here. His trail is gone. Seems that he's up to something big. Wherever he is or whatever he's up to, we have to stop him."

Fluttershy got scared and said, "Is he going to attack us?"

Mutt looked over towards one cabinet, and he opened it up. Inside, there was a bomb that had 20 seconds left on the clock. Mutt then called out, "Bomb! We got less than 20 seconds!"

"Everyone, hands in!" Twilight called out. The group then gathered together, and Twilight teleported out of there, 20 yards away from the base, which exploded after the teleportation was done.

"Eggman was definitely there," Sonic said.

"We better inform the president about this," MC said. Then the group started walking back to the city.

Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark place, Doctor Robotnik was working on something. He then said, "I will make sure that they rue the day they messed with the Robotnik name." He then started laughing evilly.

Author's Note

Next episode:
The Rabbit, the Chao and the Dragoness

Episode 5: The Rabbit, the Chao and the Dragoness

The final bell of the School of Friendship rang, and all of the students went back to their dorms. Except for six certain students, the Young Six.

"Yona still getting used to this new form," Yona said.

"Yeah, this is a whole lot different than back in Equestria," Gallus said. "But still, there have been exciting things. Like how Rainbow Dash raced against the leader of the Freedom Fighters."

"And there was also the Space Colony in orbit around the planet," Ocellus said. "That place was huge. Although, coming home with a human girl turned hedgehog was weird. Oh, and those Artificial Chaos creatures she took down all by herself."

"Well, the school has a week long break coming up," Smolder said. "What do you guys want to do?"

"Actually, Smolder," Sandbar said. "We all got plans."

"What do you mean?" Smolder asked. Just then, they were stopped by Starlight Glimmer, who was accompanied by Sally Acorn.

"There you all are," Starlight Glimmer said. "This is Sally Acorn. One of the Freedom Fighters."

"Oh, yeah," said Ocellus. "You were there when Princess Twilight made her announcement that she's gonna be ruling Equestria from here in Ponyville.

"That's right," Sally said. "And let's just say that the Freedom Fighters are gonna be doing some things. The boys are going camping and the girls are going to a luxury resort. But the resort doesn't let in little kids, and we need someone to watch Cream and Cheese while we're gone."

"Why didn't you ask Princess Twilight or her friends?" Silverstream asked.

"Actually, we did," Sally said.

It did some flashbacks of the Mane 6 turning down the Freedom Fighters. Sonic was with Twilight as she, Spike, Nyx and Joshua were packing up.

"Sorry, Sonic," Twilight said. "But I got some royal princess duties over in the Crystal Empire."

Then it went to Tails in Cloudsdale, talking to Rainbow Dash in her Wonderbolts jumpsuit.

"Sorry, Tails, but the Wonderbolts and I have to get ready for a show," Rainbow Dash said.

Then it showed Antoine talking with Rarity, who was also packing up some fabrics. Sweetie Belle was joining her.

"I'm so sorry, Antoine, but I have to leave for Manehattan," Rarity said. "A lot of ponies there are lined up to buy some clothing from my shop there."

Then it showed Bunnie talking with Applejack, whom she, and the family were packing up.

"Sorry, Bunnie," Applejack said. "But mah family and Ah are on our way ta Appleloosa for the rodeo goin' on there. We're gonna win big down there."

Then it went to Rotor who was talking to Fluttershy as she was packing up as well.

"Sorry, Rotor," Fluttershy said. "But, I'm on my way to Filly-delphia for a convention about the wildlife populations dropping."

Then it went to Amy talking to Pinkie Pie, packing up for a trip as well.

"Oh, I wish I could," Pinkie Pie said. "But, your country's president has asked me to throw a birthday party for his six year old daughter. So I really should be going."

Then it went back to Sally, Starlight and the Young Six.

"So, basically, we tried asking any other ponies," Sally said. She then list off a few names. "Lyra and Bon Bon, the Cakes, Maud Pie, Filthy Rich, Octavia and DJ Pon-3, Cheerilee, and even that wall eyed pegasus, Derpy. They all turned us down."

"Can any of you watch over the young rabbit girl?" Starlight asked.

The Young Six looked at each other, unsure. Then Sandbar walked up and said, "Sorry, I can't. I'm going on a family vacation with my parents and my little sis. I gotta get going." He then walked off.

"The hippogriffs are getting Mount Aris up for a festival," Silverstream said. "I'm off." She then flew away from the group.

"Yaks are celebrating Smash-a-palooza!" Yona said. "Yona has been practicing to compete as Smash Queen! Yona has been wanting to be that since Yona little." Yona then walked off.

"I gotta get back to the hive," Ocellus said. "My parents have a full week of family fun. Bye." She then buzzed off.

Gallus and Smolder looked at each other, then Gallus said, "Sorry, but I got plans."

"I thought you didn't have a family," Smolder said, raising an eyebrow.

Then MC rushed in and said, "Hey, Gallus. You comin' or what?"

"You invited Gallus to go camping with you?" Sally asked.

"Gallus doesn't have anyone at home, so we invited him to come camping with us," MC said.

Gallus was already had a backpack with camping gear, and he was wearing a flannel shirt. He then said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go." MC and Gallus ran out of there.

"That just leaves Smolder," Starlight said. Then she and Sally looked over at Smolder.

"Okay, listen I... I got a..." Smolder said, trying to get out of there, giving a goofy smile. She then sighed and said, "Dang it. I can't come up with an excuse not to do it."

"So, you'll do it?" Starlight asked.

"Fine," Smolder said. "I'll do it." She then crossed her arms. "Don't think I'll do this on a daily basis."

"Hey, it's your choice," Sally said. "We'll have Twilight let you use her castle to watch over Cream and Cheese until we're gone."

Smolder sighed and said, "This is gonna be one heck of a week."

Smolder was waiting for someone to come through the portal, tapping her foot, waiting for Cream and Cheese to arrive. Twilight and her kids left hours ago, leaving Smolder all by herself in the castle.

"Still waiting?" Nicole's voice came in. Then she appeared right next to Smolder.

"Oh, it's you," Smolder said. She then sighed. "I can't believe I was talked into this."

"Just be patient," said Nicole. "Just be lucky. I'm just an artificial intelligence who can't do anything you can."

"Wow," Smolder said. "I'm gonna go for a fly." Just as she was about to leave the room, the portal opened up, and out came Sally, along with Cream and Cheese.

"Alright, Cream," Sally said. "You be good for Smolder. She'll be taking care of you while we're gone."

"Okay, Miss Sally," Cream said.

Smolder sighed and said, "I'll take care of her, or whatever." She rolled her eyes.

"Alright," said Sally. "We'll be back in a week. But, I have a feeling that the boys will be back sooner than we will. See you then." Sally then walked back through the portal.

Cream and Cheese looked up at Smolder, and they both smiled. Cream then said, "It's very nice to meet you, Miss Smolder."

"Chao," Cheese replied.

Smolder sighed and said, "Alright, let's get going with whatever you wanna do."

Cream and Cheese tilted their heads and Cream asked, "Are you not wanting to watch me?"

"Hey, listen," Smolder said. "I couldn't think of anything to do. Seriously. But my friends are all out of town, and the School is closed for the week. I really couldn't find anything else to do for the week."

"I'm sure we can find something to do," Cream said.

"Chao," Cheese replied.

Smolder looked at Cheese, then she looked towards Cream and asked, "Is that all that creature can say?"

"Pretty much, if you don't understand the language of the Chao," Cream said.

"Huh," Smolder said. "Alright, so how about I show you around the town? Since I have nothing better to do."

"Okay," Cream said.

"Chao!" Cheese replied happily.

The three of them headed out of the Castle of Friendship, Smolder showing Cream and Cheese the sights, starting with the School of Friendship.

"This is the School of Friendship," Smolder said. "It was started by Princess Twilight before she became the High Princess of Equestria."

"This is a very amazing school," Cream said.

"Chao," Cheese replied.

Smolder then led Cream and Cheese into the school library, and the catacombs that can be accessed by an air vent.

"And down there is a bunch of catacombs," Smolder said. "Down there, five of my friends and I had to face our fears to pass a test set by the Tree of Harmony."

"Tree of Harmony?" Cream asked, tilting her head.

"I'll tell you about that later," Smolder said. "Anyway, some of us had to face our fears of our own."

"What did you and your friends have to face?" Cream asked.

"Mine is... really embarrassing," Smolder said. "But, for the others, Gallus is claustrophobic, meaning he doesn't like small spaces. Yona was afraid of spiders, but she got over it when the spiders there helped her. Silverstream is afraid of losing everything to the Storm King until she stood up to a shadow that looked like him. Ocellus was afraid that she'll be back to how the changelings were when they were following Chrysalis, or worse, her being Chrysalis. And Sandbar was afraid of letting down his mentors. But when he wanted to be with us instead of going with them, he had to make a difficult choice."

"Wow," said Cream. "That's a lot to face."

"Chao," Cheese said.

"Yeah," said Smolder. "They had to go through a lot, just to get out."

"What did you have to face?" Cream asked.

Smolder chuckled, blushed and said, "Well..."

"Like, oh my gosh, look at the cute little dragon and her fuzzy little friend!" a voice came from the catacombs. That made Smolder's whole head went red in embarrassment.

"And so is that cute, adorable little blue creature," said another voice. "I'd so like to get one as a companion."

"Like, totally," came the first voice from the catacombs.

"Okay," Smolder said, kicking the vent closed. "That's enough of that." She then pulled Cream's arm and headed out of the school library.

"What was that?" Cream asked.

Smolder sighed and said, "That was two illusion ponies trying to get me to admit my secret. Which I'm afraid to show to my friends, because I'm the toughest one of the group. I only admitted it to Ocellus, my changeling friend."

"So, what is your secret?" Cream asked. "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

Smolder looked down at Cream, a little shocked. She then cringed, turned her head and muttered, "I like cute, silly stuff."

"What?" Cream asked

"Chao chao?" Cheese also asked.

"I like cute, silly stuff," Smolder said. She then sighed. "But ever since school started, I've realized that sometimes I kinda don't mind cute stuff."

Cream and Cheese smiled, and Cream said, "Why would you want to hide that?"

"Did you not hear me when I said I'm the toughest one of the group?" Smolder asked. "Equestrian Dragons are supposed to be very tough, aggressive, and sometimes rude. But, if any more of my friends, or any of the other dragons found out, I'll be a laughing stock across the entire country."

"Oh, don't worry," Cream said. "I won't tell anyone."

"Chao chao chao!" Cheese said.

Smolder smiled, and pulled the two in for a hug, saying, "Thanks. But seriously, don't tell anyone."

"I promise," Cream said. Then the three of them headed for the door. They then headed out of the School of Friendship, and headed straight to town.

"And now, let's show you two the town," Smolder said as they were heading down the road. But when they were away from the school, a bunch of fences were magically placed in front of the School of Friendship, and each of them had a sign. Each one saying, "Closed for Demolition".

Smolder took Cream and Cheese all around Ponyville, showing the two around. They walked towards and stopped at Sugarcube Corner, where they saw the Cakes hard at work.

Mrs. Cake looked over and saw Smolder, Cream and Cheese and said, "Oh, hello, Smolder. Oh, who are these two little cute creatures?"

"Mrs. Cake, meet Cream and Cheese," Smolder said. "They're a part of the Freedom Fighters. The youngest members to be precise."

"Oh, I heard of them," Mrs. Cake said. "Well, welcome to Sugarcube Corner. Would you care for a snack?"

"Um..." Cream said. She then looked up at Smolder.

Smolder smiled, pulled out a bag of bits, and said, "Don't worry. This one is on me." Then Cream and Cheese looked at all the sweets in the shop, and picked some.

They walked out of Sugarcube Corner, all of them with cupcakes. Of course, Smolder's cupcake had gemstones in it.

"This is a pretty good cupcake," Cream said after taking a bite.

"Chao chao," Cheese agreed. He then swallowed his cupcake whole.

"Yeah, this place has a lot of things to do," Smolder said. "Like over there." Smolder pointed over towards a video game arcade, which had recently been installed with walls, a roof and some bathrooms. "Still don't know who put those walls up."

Then a bunch of ponies went past them, heading over towards the castle. Smolder, Cream and Cheese got confused at that, and Smolder started flying towards the Castle. But what she didn't realize was that Cream was flapping her ears, flying next to her.

Smolder went wide eyed and asked, "You can fly?!"

"I was born with larger ears than any other rabbit," Cream said.

"Chao," Cheese added.

They then came down when the ponies stopped in front of the School of Friendship, seeing a bunch of machines for clearing up land for a building or something being pulled in. Smolder, Cream and Cheese came up to the fence and stopped. Smolder stopped when she saw the sign.

"'Closed for Demolition'?!" Smolder asked. "No way!"

"Yes, indeedy, everypony!" came a voice. All of the ponies, Smolder, Cream and Cheese looked towards the left, and saw two Mobianized ponies, very familiar to the town of Ponyville. Flim and Flam. Flim then said, "It seems that the School of Friendship has been closed. Since there aren't any students left in the school."

"And we are under special orders to bring it down," Flam said. "So, everypony, back up so we can do our jobs."

"Hold it!" Smolder shouted. She then stomped towards the two stallions. "If the School of Friendship is going to be closed, all of the students and faculty would have been told. And guess what? Me and my friends, or any other student in this school, have not been told about the school closing."

"Sorry, but guess it was by a royal decree," said Flim. We cannot go up against royal orders."

"By tomorrow, this place is going down," Flam said. "And there is nothing that you can say or do to stop this."

"So, hit the road!" the two unicorn stallions said in unison. Then all of the ponies around Smolder, Cream and Cheese groaned. They all walked away, leaving Smolder, Cream and Cheese there. Smolder tightened her fists in frustration.

"No way," Smolder said in a low, angry tone. "They have no right to do this. And there's no way Princess Twilight would do this to the school she started."

"What are we going to do?" Cream asked. "Oh." Cream was then pulled by Smolder as she was talking towards the castle.

"We're gonna have to see what's going on," Smolder said. "Since this is now where the High Princess of Equestria is staying." They headed into the castle.

They went into a room full of files for the School of Friendship. Nicole was helping with the search. Of course, Cheese was moving the pages for her.

"I'm not seeing anything about the School of Friendship being demolished!" Smolder said. "There's no way that Princess Twilight would approve of this."

"This isn't right," said Nicole. "Twilight would have filed something like this a while back. Discord said he moved all important documents, and all of the important things back here."

"Then, why is there no file on the School being demolished?" Cream asked.

"Chao chao chao?" Cheese responded.

Just then, there was the sound of buzzing coming from somewhere. Cream reached into the pocket of her dress, and pulled out a cell phone. On the phone, the caller's ID was labelled "The Employer" with no phone number to call back.

"The Employer?" Cream asked.

"My creator," Nicole said. "Answer it."

Cream then answered the phone, and put it to the side of her head, and asked, "Hello?" She was then given a simple instruction. "Okay." She then moved the phone away, and pushed a button on the phone.

"I see you're all wondering about the demolition of the School of Friendship, and are in needing of help," came a voice from the phone, which was deepened by a vocoder. "And I can help you take down those who are wanting to demolish the school."

"Who are you?" Smolder asked, looking at the phone.

"My identity is to remain a secret over the phone," the Employer replied. "It's more important to prevent the school from being demolished by unlawful will."

"Do you know who the royal it was that's responsible for this?" Cream asked.

"Chao chao chao?" Cheese also asked.

"I do. But it's not exactly an Equestrian Royal responsible," the Employer said over the phone. "This royal was royally stripped. No longer allowed to make royal decrees. It's up to you to stop this demolition. And someone is on the way there to assist you."

"A royal who's not a royal?" Smolder asked. "Who could be doing this?"

"Isn't there anyone here that's a royal who's not an Equestrian Royal?" Cream asked.

Smolder put a finger to her chin, thinking about certain characters from Equestria. She then said, "Well, there's that King Sombra, but no way he's responsible for this. Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek are set in stone, literally. Grogar has been dead for centuries, the Storm King is broken. Both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna retired. No way it could be Dragon Lord Ember. Or the leader of the Kirin, Rain Shine. Not Grampa Gruff, or Prince Rutherford, or Queen Novo, or even Thorax. Who could it be?"

"There's one more you're not thinking of," the Employer said. "One who would want everything in Ponyville to be taken down, and for all the ponies here to be homeless."

"Who would want to do that?" Cream asked.

"That's a good question," said Smolder. "Who would do this?"

Then the room started rumbling. The four of them looked at each other, then Nicole vanished, and the other three ran out of the room, heading for the front door. They saw the bulldozers on, about to tear down the school.

"NO!!" Smolder said, flying towards the front of the school. She landed, spread out her arms and wings, and stood her ground. "I will not let you destroy what means everything to Princess Twilight!"

"Sorry, kid," Flim said, operating one bulldozer. "We are under strict royal decree."

"Get out of the way, or else you're gonna get run over," Flam said, operating another bulldozer.

"Who is it?" Smolder asked, giving them a cold death stare. "Who gave you that royal decree?!"

"Why, none other than Prince Blueblood," Flim said. "He said that he'll pay us big for knocking down this place."

That made Smolder drop her arms and folded her wings. She then started laughing, and then she said to the two of them, "Are you serious? Blueblood's not a prince anymore. It was actually him wanting to demolish this town for a vacation retreat for nobles only that got him stripped of his royal status." She then pulled out a newspaper and tossed it to Flam. "Here. Read it for yourself."

Flam took the newspaper and started reading it. He then shrugged and said, "Meh, a job is a job. So, let's get this thing knocked down."

That made Smolder go wide eyed. But then one pony said, "Wait a minute. We're illegally knocking down a school? We're not doing that."

Then most of the bulldozers and the wrecking ball pulled away from the school, leaving just two bulldozers, the ones that Flim and Flam were driving.

"Well, that's not good," Flim said.

Then in a flash of blue light, Blueblood appeared between the two bulldozers. he was angry and shouted, "I will not let anything get in my way of getting what I want."

"Blueblood, you sneaky..." Smolder said until she was interrupted.

"It's PRINCE BLUEBLOOD!! You will not speak unless I tell you to speak! And nopony takes away my royal status but a fitting high royal!"

"Why do you think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna gave the throne to Twilight in the first place?" Smolder asked, smirking. "But there's no way we're gonna let you tear down this school." She then looked at Flim and Flam. "Why are you two even working with this guy?"

"Oh, it's our revenge against Twilight Sparkle for our Friendship University for being shut down," Flim said.

"We don't like it when our business is falling," said Flam.

"Tear the school down!" Blueblood said, pointing towards the school. Flim and Flam then moved their bulldozers towards the school. But then, the bulldozers stopped. The wheels were moving, but they weren't going anywhere. Blueblood got confused, and ran towards the back. He saw a metal cable going through a hoop that was put into the ground, the cables connected to both bulldozes. Blueblood then shouted, "Who is responsible for this?!"

Then a cable connected to an arrow made of steel hit the ground. Blueblood looked towards where the arrow came from, and coming down the cable on zip line handlebars was a Mobian Otter, wearing a black headband with three red triangles and a long purple trapezoid going along the headband, a shoulder belt with red and purple trapezoids flipped of each other, a quiver full of arrows, and wearing purple and red gloves, colors flipped on each side. When he landed, he jumped far from the back of the bulldozers, and pointed his quiver and an arrow towards Blueblood.

"What you're doing is illegal," the otter said. "Stand down, or face the consequences."

Blueblood, Flim and Flam stood next to each other, unhappy that another protester had showed up to stop them.

"Oh, great," said Flim. "Another one of those freaks."

"And this one has weird arrows," said Flam. "Pathetic, isn't he?"

"Looks like we're gonna do this the hard way," the otter said. He then released the arrow, heading towards Blueblood. But he caught it in his magic. The arrow tip wasn't a sharp arrow.

"Seriously?" Blueblood asked. "This arrow tip isn't even sharp. It's just a cylinder. How is this going to..." He was cut off when a bright flash of light came from the arrow tip, blinding Blueblood, Flim and Flam. "Gah! My eyes!"

Then the otter grabbed another arrow, and shot it at one bulldozer, and another arrow, firing it at the other. Then the arrow tips started beeping, and then they exploded, making the bulldozers blow up, pushing the three unicorns forward.

Blueblood looked back at the bulldozers, seeing them totally blown. He then shouted, "NO!!"

Smolder, Cream and Cheese flew over to the otter, and then Smolder asked, "Who are you?"

"Someone you can trust," the otter said. "You can call me Midpoint. It's a good thing I came when you needed it."

"You're the one the Employer sent, aren't you?" Cream asked.

"Chao chao chao chao?" Cheese asked.

"In the flesh," Midpoint said. "Now, let's take down these rejects." Midpoint then got another arrow ready.

"You're going to pay for that!" Blueblood said. He then fired a magical blast towards Midpoint. Midpoint released his arrow, aiming towards the blast, the collision exploding. Midpoint then ran towards Blueblood, and was about to punch him. But Blueblood grabbed Midpoint's arm, and flipped him over his head. Midpoint released his quiver and his bow, and he landed into the water. "Was that the best that guy can do? For his sake, I hope he can swim."

"Um, he's an otter," Cream said. "I'm pretty sure they can swim."

Then jumping high out of the water came Midpoint. He then came down towards Blueblood. He then punched Blueblood, knocking him out.

Midpoint then looked towards the Flim Flam brothers and said, "You two want in on this?"

Flim and Flam tried to dog pile Midpoint, but Cream grabbed Cheese and shouted, "Cheese, get them!"

"Chao chao!!" Cheese shouted when heading towards the two, punching both of them into the water in front of the school. Smolder smirked, and then she flew towards the pond, and she started blowing fire into the pond. The water then started boiling, sending the two unicorn brothers into the air. Then an arrow with a chord connected to it came towards them, and then some cables came from the arrow tip, tying up the two unicorns, and then they were pulled down by Midpoint. Cream and Smolder pulled Blueblood towards the two unicorns, and then Midpoint used the chord to tie up Blueblood as well.

"And that's how it's done," Midpoint said, smirking. "Good job, you two."

Then some royal guards came in. One of them asked, "What's going on here?"

"I'll let you two explain this," Midpoint said to Smolder and Cream. "I got business to take care of back in the US." He then used a grappling hook arrow, fired it at the mountain behind the School of Friendship, attached the chord to his belt, and was pulled towards the top of the mountain.

"Okay, that guy is so cool," said Smolder looking towards where Midpoint was going. She then looked towards the guards and said, "We got some unicorns here who think they can do whatever they want, trying to tear down Twilight's School of Friendship."

"That's illegal," said another royal guard. "If Princess Twilight wanted the school shut down, we would have been informed. Let's take these three unicorns to jail."

Then the guards put magic blocking collars on the three unicorns, and then the guards took them away.

"At least it's all over now," said Cream.

"Chao!" Cheese said.

"So, who do you think the Employer is?" Smolder asked.

"I don't know," Cream said. "But, at least he's on our side. Him, and that Midpoint guy."

Somewhere in the US, Midpoint went into an office with the lights off. He headed over towards the desk, and opened up the blinds, which showed a bunch of workers working on some technology. On the desk, there was a nameplate that said A Lynol, CEO of Shadow Appliances.

Then a beeping noise came from the phone and a woman's voice came in, saying, "Welcome back, Mr. Lynol. Did you complete your mission?"

"Mission accomplished," Midpoint said. "But please, Julia, call me Alex." He then smirked. "What's on the schedule for tomorrow?"

"You do have a meeting with the President about exchanging most of the appliances in the White House kitchen," Julia said over the phone.

"Of course," said Midpoint. "I better get up early tomorrow. It's gonna be a long trip."

Days passed and at the Castle of Friendship, in one room, Smolder, Cream and Cheese were having a tea party, Cream and Smolder were dressed up, even had some makeup on.

"Would you like more tea, Smolder?" Cream asked.

"Why yes, I would," Smolder said in a cute voice. She held out her tea cup for Cream to pour more tea into it. "This is nice. At least it's just us."

"And Nicole promised not to tell anyone about this for your sake," Cream said.

"Smolder, it would seem that Gallus and the male Mobians have arrived," Nicole's voice said.

"Okay," Smolder said, taking off her dress and tiara. "Let's get you back home." She then headed out of the room.

Cream noticed something and said, "Wait, Smolder!" She chased after Smolder, Cheese following.

In the throne room, Sonic, MC, Antoine, Tails, Rotor, Mutt and Gallus were waiting for Smolder, Cream and Cheese to show up. Then Smolder came into the room.

"Hey, boys," Smolder said. "I was wondering when you'd all get back."

"Well, I hope that you had..." Sonic said until he noticed something. The other boys looked at Smolder.

MC stepped closer to Smolder and asked, "Are you wearing makeup?"

Smolder went wide eyed, walked over to the mirror portal that leads to Knothole, and saw her reflection. She saw that she still had the makeup on.

"Oh, crud!" Smolder said. She then started rubbing the makeup off. The boys then started laughing.

"I thought you were supposed to be the toughest one of the entire School of Friendship," Mutt said as he was laughing.

"I bet she likes being cute and adorable when no one's watching," Tails said, also laughing.

"Zat would be surprizing," Antoine said.

Smolder then turned towards the boys, her face red and giving a scary, angry expression. That made the boys stop laughing. She then charged at the boys. From outside, all of the ponies passing by looked towards the castle when there was cries of pain coming from inside.

"GOH!!" Rotor shouted in pain.

"Waaaaah!" Tails cried out in pain.

"OW!" Mutt cried out in pain.

"Not the legs, not the legs, not the legs!" Sonic called out. "Ow, my head!"

"Sacré bleu!" Antoine cried out in pain.

"Gah! My tailbone!" Gallus cried out in pain.

"GAH! Holy smokes, that hurts!!" MC cried out in pain. Then he casually asked, "So, what else did you do over the week?"

Author's Note

Next episode:
Road Trip!

Episode 6: Road Trip!

In Knothole, Maria Robotnik, the human girl turned hedgehog and stuck in suspended animation for 50 years, was being checked on by Tails and Rotor. She had an electronic headband on her head with wires connected, a thermometer in her mouth, and suction cups with wires on her arms. Tails and Rotor were checking the monitors on the computer that the headband and the suction cups were connected to.

A beeping came from the computer, and Tails said, "Well, by the looks of it, Maria, you have a clean bill of health. You no longer have the Neuro-Immune Deficiency Syndrome."

"Yeah," said Rotor. "You're healthy as a horse." He then thought of something. "Would that be offensive to Princess Twilight and her friends in Equestria?"

Tails shrugged his shoulders and then headed over to Maria. He then removed the headband, suction cups and thermometer from Maria. Maria then got out of the seat she was sitting in, and she, Tails and Rotor walked out of the building.

The Freedom Fighters gathered up.

"So, how's the new girl?" Sonic asked.

"She's A-Okay, Sonic," Tails said.

"Well, that's good," Sally said. "Although, it is going to be a little awkward having a Robotnik being a part of the Freedom Fighters. Knowing what happened with you know who."

The others, except for Maria, tilted and nodded their heads. Maria then asked, "What? What do you mean?"

MC sighed and said, "Maria, this might sound tough for you, but your cousin, Julian Robotnik, has become a psychotic evil scientist. He started a war between humans and Mobians."

"He... he did?" Maria asked. "Where is he?"

"We don't know," Amy said. "The last time we saw him was when Sonic, MC, and Twilight and her friends blasted him out of a window in Equestria, from a castle that has fallen off a cliff."

"Well, we don't have to go through every detail," Sonic said. "We can worry about Eggman later." He then looked over towards Maria and said, "That's what I'm calling your cousin, by the way."

"Alright," said Sally. "Since we have nothing else to do, what do you all want to do?"

"How about we let the new sugarhog choose?" Bunnie asked.

"Really?" Maria asked.

"Well, you are the newest member here," Sonic said. "You choose."

Maria thought about it. She then said, "Well, we could see some of the sights across the country. I'd like to see how much things have changed for fifty years."

The group looked around at each other, smirking. Then Sonic asked, "You guys thinking what I'm thinking?"

Then the group, except for Maria, said in unison, "Road Trip!"

"Just to let y'all know, Ah might have trouble getting through places with metal detectors," Bunnie said, raising her robotic arm.

"Well, can we invite Twilight and her friends?" Cream asked.

"Yeah, and maybe they can bring those fillies, Spike, Joshua and some of their friends," Tails said.

"As long as those kids have permission from their parents," MC said. "Come to think of it, we should have some permission slips for their parents or guardians to sign." The others nodded.

"I'm sure they can get permission from their parents or guardians," Sally said. "I'll have Nicole make them some permission slips."

"We'll get started on that after dinner," Sonic said.

"Yeah," Tails said after rubbing his belly. "I'm so hungry, I could eat a horse."

"That would be offensive to the Equestrians," MC said as all of them headed for the mess hall.

At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight and her friends, along with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon, the Young Six, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Guard Armor, Flurry Heart, Twilight Velvet and Night Light were there. It had been about a week since the Freedom Fighters announced the Road Trip.

"This is so exciting!" Twilight said. "I can't believe we're getting to see part of the country that the Freedom Fighters reside. We might even see so many historic places."

"Yeah, Twi," Rainbow Dash said, crossing her arms. "I'm more interested in how much fun stuff there is to do on the trip."

"And we've done so many royal decisions for the next couple of months, so we're all good," Spike said. "Now, all we have to do is wait for the Freedom Fighters to come and tell us to go through the portal."

"Ah still can't believe you're comin' along, Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom said to the pink filly. "Ya actually wanna come over to the other side of the portal?"

"Well, yeah," Diamond Tiara said. "I actually wanted to see this country since we came here and got our freedom back." She then leaned towards Apple Bloom and said, "Plus, I got my dad to sign it before he went out of town, and it's way better than staying home with my mother. Who's trying to force me not to go on this trip."

"Well, at least you got your permission slip signed by your father," Nyx said. "That doesn't mean she shouldn't let you enjoy a field trip."

"So, when are these Freedom Fighters going to arrive?" Silver Spoon asked.

Just then, the portal started rippling, and out came Sally, smiling. She then said, "You got what we asked you to bring?"

Rarity nodded, saying, "Of course." Rarity then pulled out three bags.

"Why did you ask us to bring gems?" Twilight asked.

"All gems are valuable," Sally said. "Depending on what size or type they are. It'll be enough for everyone here to get food, hotel rooms, even some souvenirs."

"Well, that's good to hear," Twilight said. "Now, let's get going."

Sally took the bags of gems, and then all of them headed towards the portal. But they all stopped when they heard the doors slam open, all of them turning their heads towards the door, seeing Spoiled Rich standing there.

"I don't think so," Spoiled Rich said. "Diamond, I will not let you go to a place full of disgusting creatures." She then pointed at Joshua. "Like that creature that's been here for years."

"Hey!" Joshua shouted.

"You do realize that Equestria had humans over a thousand years ago, right?" Twilight asked.

"And the humans of that country have no reason to fear us," Starlight said. "The president of the United States have formed an alliance with Equestria."

"I don't care," Spoiled Rich said, grabbing Diamond Tiara's arm. "I will not let you take my Diamond away for a good for nothing field trip. I know what's best for her."

Then Nicole appeared, her arms crossed. She then said, "And what's best for her is using the Ponyville Schoolhouse funding to pre-order a statue of Diamond Tiara for winning the election for Student Pony President, even though the election wasn't until the next day."

"What?!" Twilight asked. "That's... that's illegal!"

"It is?" Spoiled Rich asked. She then started to get scared, and started backing up towards the door, pulling Diamond Tiara when stepping back.

Twilight got angry and said, "Everypony, cover your ears." The ponies, Spike, Joshua, Sally and the Young Six covered their ears. Twilight then used the Royal Canterlot Voice and shouted, "GUARDS!!" Then a bunch of royal guards ran in with spears. "Take Spoiled Rich here to prison. Apparently, she stole bits from the Ponyville Schoolhouse funding to finance a statue for her daughter winning the Student Pony President election a couple years ago, even though her daughter lost, and used the bits the day before the election."

The guards saluted, grabbed Spoiled Rich, made her let go of Diamond Tiara, and took her out of the room, as she was screaming, "NO! I won't forget this! My husband will bail me out!"

"Make sure she gets no bail!" Twilight said.

"OH, COME ON!!" Spoiled Rich shouted.

"Well, now that that's taken care of," Sally said. She then motioned her hand towards the portal.

In the town of Green Hills, Montana, the entire group from Ponyville, along with the Freedom Fighters (minus MC and Rotor), were waiting in the park by the Green Hills Community Theater. Sonic was tapping his foot impatiently.

Maria walked over towards Sonic and asked, "Are you okay?"

"What's taking those two so long?" Sonic asked. "This is longer than anything I had waited for for a long time." Sonic scowled. Maria saw Sonic's scowl and went wide eyed. She thought she imagined that Sonic was another hedgehog she knew. Maria rubbed her arm across her eyes. Sonic noticed it and asked, "You okay?"

Maria looked back at Sonic and said, "Sorry. You... you reminded me of someone I knew a long time ago." Just then, a loud horn came to all of their attention. The group looked towards the sound of the horn and saw a charter bus coming in to park. The bus stopped and the door opened up, revealing MC at the wheel.

"You know, this was the first time in a long while since I went on a trip like this," MC said. "This was the first time I'd be the one behind the wheel."

"Alright, everyone!" Sally said. "Pick a seat!" She then looked towards Princess Cadance and Shining Armor and said, "Princess Cadance, we had assigned some seats for your two foals."

"Oh, well that's good," said Princess Cadance. "As long as Flurry Heart doesn't do anything too drastic."

"Which is why I made this for her," Twilight said, walking up to Cadance and Flurry Heart. She then put a small ring on Flurry's horn. "This magic cancelling ring should prevent her from using her magic and breaking things. And the best part is, it can only be removed by the one who put it on."

"Well that'll keep her from removing it," said Shining. "Alright, let's get them seated."

"Ah'll take 'em, your highness," Bunnie said. "We better get them into their seats." Bunnie then took Flurry Heart in her arms and carried her onto the bus. Antoine did the same with Guard Armor. They placed Guard Armor and Flurry Heart into booster seats installed in a couple seats. All of the ponies, Freedom Fighters and other got into the seats of their choosing.

The seating arrangements went like this. The numbers are the rows of the seats, and L and R represent the sides of the bus. In 1L: Sonic and Tails. 1R: Twilight and Nyx. 2L: Bunnie and Antoine. 2R: Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. 3L: Mutt and Spike. 3R: Sandbar and Yona. 4L: Amy and Ocellus. 4R: Smolder, Cream and Cheese. 5L: Silverstream and Gallus. 5R: Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. 6L: Apple Bloom and Twist. 6R: Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo. 7L: Joshua and Dinky. 7R: Guard Armor and Flurry Heart. 8L: Maria and Fluttershy. 8R: Rainbow Dash and Applejack. 9L: Rarity and Pinkie Pie. 9R: Starlight Glimmer and Sunburst. And in the last row on the left side of the bus, there was Rotor. And there was also a toilet on the right side of the bus.

MC looked back at the bus and said, "Good thing Rotor and I got the bus with seat belts. And for those who don't know how to use a seatbelt, Nicole will explain on the screens all over the bus to show you how they work."

Nicole then popped up on every screen. She then said, "Good day, Equestrians. Connected to your seats, there are straps with pieces of metal. Connect the metal part of one of the straps into the buckle on the other strap like this." Nicole connected the belt on the screen. Everyone did as she did. But some were loose, but one was too tight. "The buckles are also adjustable. If yours is too loose, pull on the strap coming from the buckle to tighten it. But if the buckle is too tight..." She then smirked. "I'm talking to you, Yona." That made everyone on the bus laugh. "...you can also adjust it to make it loose. On the road, keep the seat belts on until the bus comes to a stop at a rest stop or if we reach a certain destination. Thank you, and have a nice trip." Then the screens shut off.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "We're on our way to our first destination. Mount Rushmore."

"What's so special about a Mountain?" Gallus asked.

Nicole appeared on Gallus's screen and said, "Mount Rushmore is a mountain with carvings of four of this countries previous presidents. The first president, George Washington. The third president, Thomas Jefferson. The sixteenth president, Abraham Lincoln. And the twenty-sixth president, Theodore Roosevelt. And the sculptor was Gutzon Borglum, who had taken 14 years to complete it, and ended it on Halloween in 1941."

"What's Halloween?" Gallus asked.

"Isn't that the holiday similar to Nightmare Night that Joshua was talking about?" Silverstream asked.

"It is," Joshua called out.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "We're on our way." MC then drove the bus off, and they were heading off to their first destination.

Barely half an hour there, and most of everyone was bored. Sonic had his arms crossed in frustration.

"I haven't been this bored in a long time," Sonic said.

"Alright, alright," MC said. "I'll have Nicole put up a movie. Nicole, put on something that's age appropriate. Possible something PG without any adult language for the kids to repeat."

"Of course, Michael," Nicole said. Then on the screens, a movie started playing. That movie was Bolt from Disney. The group found the movie interesting. But to Twilight, she was really confused.

"No way," Twilight said. "Like a dog's DNA can be altered like that." But as soon as it got to a certain point in the movie, Twilight then said, "Oh, that makes sense. It was all special effects."

Hours passed and they eventually made it to Mount Rushmore. The group were astonished by how the mountain was carved. Twilight was astonished by how much texture there was in the mountain.

Applejack whistled and said, "That is some carvin'."

"Meh," Rainbow Dash said. "I've seen better."

"So, this sculpting took 14 years?" Gallus asked. "Must've been worth it if it took that long."

"The sculptor had a bunch of other projects at the time," Tails said.

"Although, it must have been hard for zis to be sculpted through rain, sleet or snow," Antoine said.

"How about we get a picture?" Rotor asked, setting up a tablet with a tripod. The group got closer together as Rotor setup the tablet to take a picture of them in front of the monument. Then the tablet took a picture of all of them. Rotor then walked over to the tablet and checked the picture. He got confused and asked, "Who or what is that thing picking Teddy Roosevelt's nose?"

The Freedom Fighters, Twilight and Spike walked over towards the tablet and they saw the picture. In the picture, there was a certain draconequus picking Theodore Roosevelt's nose.

"Discord!!" Twilight, Spike, Sonic, Tails, Amy and MC shouted angrily.

Then Discord, in the picture, laughed and said, "Sorry, I couldn't resist." He then snapped his fingers and appeared out of the picture, standing in front of the others. "I love road trips. And I have loads of fun on those road trips. Too bad, I haven't gone on a road trip in a long, long time. Mostly because I wasn't invited."

"Why is that?" Fluttershy asked.

"I have a feeling that he hasn't been the most polite guy on a road trip," MC said.

Discord then went wide eyed and said, "How'd you know that?"

"Lucky guess," MC said, smirking.

"Now, what are we doing next?" Discord asked.

"Ho boy," Sunburst said, putting two fingers to his glasses. "This is gonna be a long trip. Especially with him on the trip."

"Maybe I can drive the bus next," Discord said.

"NO!!" The Freedom Fighters all shouted.

"We're not gonna let some sick minded creep that can cause chaos by the snap of his fingers driving," Tails said. "Besides, only MC and Rotor each have a driver's license."

MC and Rotor pulled out their wallets, and pulled their driver's licenses, showing them to Discord. Then Discord snapped his fingers, and out came a floating wallet. He grabbed it, and pulled out a driver's license to show MC and Rotor. MC took the license and inspected it.

"According to this, this license expired over a thousand years ago," MC said.

"What?!" Discord shouted, looking back at the license. that made the other Freedom Fighters laugh. Discord got angry and said, "This is impossible."

"Alright, you all," MC said. "Let's get to the hotel. Nicole had made the reservations to a hotel room."

"We got rooms with two beds," Tails said. "Most of us are each going to have four share a room. So, we're all going to have to decide on who shares one room with who."

"It'll be easy," MC said." Shining Armor and Cadance will have their room with their babies. Twilight will do the same with Spike, Nyx and Joshua."

"Of course," Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadance said in unison.

Then the group headed down from the lookout area, heading towards the bus. The group all went towards the hotel. Discord just snapped his fingers and vanished.

The next day, the group was all getting on the bus. MC and Rotor were waiting until everyone got on the bus. MC then tossed the keys to Rotor and said, "You're turn to drive."

"Okay," Rotor said. MC then went in and headed for the back. Rotor then got onto the driver's seat, started the engine of the bus. Rotor then called out, "Alright, everyone. Buckle up! We're gonna go get some breakfast at an IHOP."

"What's an IHOP?" Spike asked.

"International House of Pancakes," Mutt said. "Although, it doesn't just serve pancakes."

They then headed off. From one place to another, the group stopped for an amusement park along the way, having some fun, getting some souvenirs, and even getting some snacks when they stopped at a gas station. The bus then stopped at a hotel on the outskirts of Washington DC.

The group checked out a bunch of rooms on the same floor. The group then slept through the night. The next day, they all headed out.

"So, where are we going now?" Twilight asked.

"Hopefully somewhere educational," Nyx said.

"Oh, boy," Diamond Tiara said, shaking her head. "Eggheads."

"Tell me about it," Scootaloo said.

"Hey, hey, there's nothing wrong with being smart," MC said. "If there weren't any smart people, we wouldn't have such amazing inventions."

"He's right," Tails said. "Smart people create such amazing technology. Of course, there are some smart people who have been bullied that create inventions for evil purposes."

"And most of you have met one," said Sonic. "Eggman."

"The doctor?" Twilight asked. "Okay, now I see it."

Diamond Tiara looked up and said, "Okay. That makes sense."

"Has anyone seen the doctor since you've blown him away?" Starlight Glimmer asked, looking at Amy.

"Not yet," Amy replied. "Wherever he is, the government is on the search for him."

Spike then pulled out a sack and said, "I just hope that he doesn't disturb us on this trip." Spike then pulled out a big red gem. Sonic looked over at Spike, got surprised at him trying to eat the red gem.

Sonic rushed over and said, "Whoa whoa whoa whoa! Don't eat that!" Sonic then grabbed the gem out of Spike's hand. The others looked over towards Sonic and Spike.

"That's a Chaos Emerald!" Tails said.

"I thought Emeralds were supposed to be green," Rarity said.

"All seven Chaos Emeralds used to be green a long time ago," MC said. "They all evolved, but six of them changed colors. Red, light blue, gray, yellow, blue and purple."

"Okay, so now that there have been two Emeralds found, what are you going to do with them?" Twilight asked.

"We're keeping them in a special containment we bring along," Tails said. Tails nodded his head at MC, and pulled a large metal briefcase from a compartment outside of the bus. He then opened it up, and inside were seven cases with a glass window on top of the case, one releasing a light blue glow. MC then pulled out one of the cases, and Sonic tossed the Chaos Emerald towards him. He grabbed it and put it in the little case. He then put it back into the bigger case, and then closed the case, putting it back in the compartment.

"The Chaos Emeralds are very powerful," MC said. "In the wrong hands, they can be dangerous."

"So they're like the Elements of Harmony?" Silverstream asked.

"Sounds like them," Twilight said. "But why are there seven of them?"

"Don't know," MC said. "Legend has it that the Chaos Emeralds were here when the planet came to be. And that the Chaos Emeralds also led to Pangaea, where seven continents came from one single piece of land millions of years ago."

"What is Pangaea?" Applejack asked.

"You might find out at the Smithsonian," MC said. "Which happens to be the largest museum in the world."

"Really?!" Twilight asked. "Where is it?"

"Get on the bus!" MC said. Rotor then tossed the keys to MC. The group got on the bus. They arrived outside the Smithsonian. MC then said, "Alright, everyone out. I'm gonna head over to the parking garage and park this bus. I'll catch up."

The group then headed out of the bus. When everyone got off, the bus started moving away. Twilight and Nyx looked over at the buildings in awe.

"This is so amazing!" Twilight said. "Which one of these buildings is the Smithsonian?"

"All of them," Tails said.

That made Twilight and Nyx go wide eyed. They were having a joy overload.

"In one movie, we learned that there was a series of underground storage underneath the patio between each building," Sonic said. "From the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument. Although, the metal detectors are gonna have a field day when Bunnie goes through them."

"Ah'll just take the pat down," Bunnie said.

It took about 10 minutes, but MC rushed over to the group and said, "Alright. The bus is parked. This place has a lot of places to go. If you want to go somewhere, stay in groups, and have an adult with you at all times."

Then the group split into groups. MC's group was composed of Rainbow Dash, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Mutt, Tails, Gallus and Silverstream. They all headed into the the National Air and Space Museum.

"Enjoy yourselves," the woman at the metal detector said to Gallus. They were all astonished by the flying machines.

"Welcome to the National Air and Space Museum," Tails said. "Where all of America's air and space travel is remembered."

"Wow," said Scootaloo. "So, all of these things are meant for flying?"

"Yep," Tails said. "So many fantastic things." He then spun his tails around, making him fly. "Come fly up with me and I'll show you."

Scootaloo then got nervous and said, "Yeah. About that. I... I can't fly."

"You can't?" MC asked. He then pulled out one of Scootaloo's wings and inspected it. "Oh, yeah. I see it. Your wings are smaller than the average wings of another filly in Equestria." He then unfolded Scootaloo's wings, rubbed his hands together, giving them a golden aura. "Hold still. This might... tingle." He then put his hands on Scootaloo's wings.

"Whoa!" Scootaloo said. She then started breathing faster.

"Don't worry, kid," MC said. "It's almost over." Then MC's hands stopped glowing. "And... done." Scootaloo then fell to her knees. She then looked at her wings, which were about two inches longer.

"Hey! My wings!" Scootaloo said. "They're bigger!"

"I'll give you some training when we get home," Rainbow Dash said. "Now, let's get going." Then the building started shaking, everyone was getting down. "What was that?!"

MC then started sniffing. He then got angry. "Are you kidding me?"

Then him and the group ran outside, where all the others were. They all gathered up and looked up in the sky. They saw a flying machine. The cockpit opened up, and inside, there was a familiar face.

"Welcome to the Smithsonian, Freedom Fighters," Doctor Robotnik said. "Are you having a nice day? Because today, it'll be your last."

The group gathered together. Maria was gathered with the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

"Who is that?" Maria asked.

"Maria," Tails said. "I don't know how to tell you this, but that guy is your cousin!"

"Where have you been, Julian?" MC asked. "You're the number one criminal in America and Equestria."

"And who's fault is that?" Doctor Robotnik asked.

"Yours!" the Freedom Fighters (except Maria), the Crusaders and the Mane 6 shouted at the doctor.

"Well, if you haven't started a war against me, things wouldn't have turned out this way," Doctor Robotnik said.

"You started that war!" Sonic said.

"Alright," Doctor Robotnik said. "You leave me no choice. Swatbots, attack."

Then a bunch of robots came from the sky, and landed. They then started attacking the group. MC then bared his claws and dashed towards the Swatbots in a straight line. Then about half of the Swatbots that landed got sliced and fell apart.

"That's the power of my Chaos Claw," MC said. Then more Swatbots surrounded him. Then Sonic, Bunnie, Amy and Antoine came in, fighting the Swatbots.

The Mane 6 helped fight the Swatbots with the Freedom Fighters. Maria stayed with the rest of the group. She then asked, "Why is he doing this?"

"We don't know," Starlight said.

"Well, when I stowed away with Twilight, her kids, MC, Rotor, Bunnie and Mutt," Ocellus explained, "someone theorized that he went bad because of his mother."

Maria then shuttered, and said, "Makes sense. She was always into bad things. I heard she wanted to take grandfather's inventions to do some bad things with them."

"Well, that explains why the Professor's lab was in space," Mutt said. The others nodded in agreement.

Doctor Robotnik shouted and said, "Those useless machines. Well, if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." Then a flying machine came in, attaching it to Doctor Robotnik's flying machine.

"H'oh, boy," MC said.

"What are we going to do?!" Twilight asked.

"Keep the arms busy!" Sonic said. "I'll aim for the cockpit!"

MC then jumped towards the arms, but they grabbed him.

"I don't think so," said Doctor Robotnik. "So sad, you won't be alive to..." Then the sound of metal bending came to his attention. He looked over at the shoulders of the arms, and they were bending. "What is this?!"

Then the flying machine was being pulled down to the ground. MC then called out, "SONIC!! NOW!!"

"Roger that, buddy," Sonic said. He then started spinning on the ground. Then Amy held out her hammer, and was about to swing it towards Sonic. She made contact, sending Sonic towards the machine. Then Eggman's flying machine was sent flying, him crying out when his machine was forced out.

The group watched as Robotnik was sent flying. Maria took a few steps forward and said, "I can't believe he's like this. Grandfather would've been ashamed of him if he could see Julian like this."

Ocellus hugged Maria and said, "It's going to be okay. We know what it's like having someone close to you or a family member betraying what you all believe in."

"Chrysalis and Cozy Glow?" Smolder asked. That made Ocellus nod.

"Well, for one thing," Cadance said. "This was one interesting trip. But, hopefully we can get back home before the end of the weekend. Shining and I got a lot of things to do back in the Crystal Empire."

"Don't worry," Rotor said. "We're almost done here. Let's continue the trip around the Smithsonian. Then we'll leave tomorrow, and head on home."

The group then cheered and headed back inside. But from one rooftop, someone was spying on them.

"Crystal Empire?" the Mobian asked, looking down at the group. "Sounds interesting." She then flew off somewhere, out of sight from anyone there.

Author's Note

Next episode:
Secrets of the Psychotic Pegasus Filly

Episode 8: The Floating Isle, Angel Island

Twilight was checking a bunch of files that needed to be checked. Twilight sighed that she had to do all of the filing. She looked over towards Spike and saw that he was asleep. She looked over at the clock and saw that it was 10:00 at night. She then walked over towards Spike, picked him up, and took him to his bed. After she took off Spike's sandals, pants and sweatshirt, she put him in bed and tucked him in.

Then she went out and checked out Nyx and Joshua. They were sleeping in their individual beds. Since they started sleeping in beds the previous year. Twilight quietly stepped in, and kissed their foreheads. After that, she walked out of the room, and headed for her own room, where two guards were standing in front of the door.

"What a day," Twilight said, tiredly. She then yawned. "At least it's over." The then headed behind a room divider, changed from her daily clothing to a night gown, and headed over towards her bed. She unfolded the covers, and got into her bed. She then covered herself up and fell asleep.

The next day, she woke up. She got dressed, and headed into the dining hall, seeing that the cooks had prepared breakfast for Spike, Nyx and Joshua. There were pancakes, eggs and hash browns.

"Morning, Twilight," Spike said.

"Hey, Spike," Twilight said. She then yawned. "Sorry, I guess I'm still a little tired." She then looked over at Joshua and asked, "Is that pimple still bothering you, Josh?"

Joshua reached his hand up to the bump on his forehead and said, "Nah, it's not bothering me. But, I don't think that this pimple cream is helping."

"We'll have to have a talk with Midpoint about that," Twilight said. "But, I'm sure that it'll be fine." Then one of the guards came into the dining room. Twilight then looked over towards the guard and asked, "What is it?"

"Three of the Freedom Fighters are in the throne room," the guard said. "Sonic, Tails and Maria."

"Why are they here?" Twilight asked.

"They're here to see how you all have been handling the changes," the guard said. "Although, they all fell asleep."

"Right," Twilight said. "Because it's the middle of the night back at their time. Since Equestria had came to their world, and this world's sun and moon run on gravity, there's no need to move the sun and the moon." Then Twilight headed for the throne room. When she came in, she saw that Sonic, Tails and Maria were all asleep on the Cutie Map. Tails was drooling all over Griffonstone. Twilight smirked. "Of course."

It's been a few hours since Twilight found Sonic, Tails and Maria sleeping in the throne room. They woke up and were having a talk with Twilight as Spike was cleaning up Tails's drool.

"So, what brings you here in the first place?" Twilight asked.

"Well, we came to see how well you all were adjusting to your changes," Sonic said. "Seems that you all have been getting used to your new forms."

"Well, I'm glad that you came to check on us," Twilight said. "By the way, since you guys have three Chaos Emeralds, what are you going to do with them?"

"Keep them from bad people like Eggman," Sonic said.

"Well, at least this world is interesting," Twilight said. "Especially those blue creatures on the ARK. Nicole, what were those things called again?"

"Artificial Chaos," came Nicole's voice.

"Oh, you saw the Artificial Chaos?" Maria asked.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "They were draining energy from the ARK. And yet, they were based off of some kind of god or something?"

"Oh, yeah," Maria said. "They were based on a creature made of living water. The legend comes from a floating island somewhere on this planet."

"A floating island?!" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, a place called Angel Island," Maria said.

"Perhaps we should see this island for ourselves," Sonic said. "Nicole, you have any locations on a flying island?"

"I do," said Nicole. "I'll set the coordinate into the Spirit of Freedom."

"No way," Sonic said. "I think we should put it into the X-Tornado."

"Very well," Nicole said. "Coordinates set in the X-Tornado."

Later, Sonic, Tails, Maria and Twilight went to Knothole, and got into a jet plane.

The jet plane was known as the X-Tornado. Tails was in the cockpit with Twilight behind him, and in the second cockpit, Maria was sitting in the front seat, and sitting on the wing was Sonic. As they were taking off, Sonic was still on the wing.

Twilight then looked out the window, and called out to Sonic, "You do know that's really dangerous, right?"

"Doesn't bother me," Sonic replied. "I do this all the time when we fly on the X-Tornado."

"It's true," Tails said. "Alright, guys, we're going on a trip." Tails then activated the boosters of the rocket, that's to the power of the blue Chaos Emerald they got from Midpoint.

Meanwhile, on a floating island, an aircraft different from the X-Tornado and the Spirit of Freedom landed in a jungle area of the forest on the island. Out of the aircraft came two Mobians. One a wolf, and one a dingo. These were two of the world's most dangerous bounty hunters, Sleet and Dingo.

"Alright, Dingo," the wolf known as Sleet said. "The boss wants to get the Chaos Emerald must be here on this island. He wants us to get it off the island and deliver it to his base."

"But what about the guardian?" Dingo asked. "Aren't we supposed to watch out for him?

"Oh, don't worry," said Sleet. "If we ever bump into the guardian, the boss says to have the guardian keep his eye out for his 'real' enemy. Sonic the Hedgehog. No doubt he'll be here today."

"Oh, this might be easier than I thought," Dingo said. He then pointed over towards one part of the island, and there was the Altar of the Emeralds, and there, instead of a Chaos Emerald, there was the Master Emerald. "That is one big emerald."

"That must be it," Sleet said. "The Chaos Emerald. Let's go and get it." The two of them then started running towards the altar, but then Sleet hit a line, and then both of the bounty hunters got caught in a net coming from the ground. Both of them yelling in surprise. Then a red echidna jumped out of the bushes, and landed in front of the two hanging bounty hunters, getting ready to punch them.

"You two better have a good explanation for being on my island!" the echidna said.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Sleet said, holding out a hand. "You got the wrong guys. We've come here to warn you."

"But I thought we was gonna..." Dingo said, but Sleet elbowed him. "Ow!"

"Listen, we came here to warn you about someone coming here to take your Emerald," Sleet said. "He's a really bad guy. You don't want to mess with him."

"Oh, really," the echidna said, turning his back towards the two bounty hunters. "How do I know I can trust you?"

Sleet then handed the echidna a photo of Sonic, giving an evil look. The echidna gave an angry look towards the picture and said, "This guy'll think twice before trying to take my emerald." He then released the net, making the two bounty hunters fall to the ground.

Later, the X-Tornado came in close and when it was deep enough over the island, the X-Tornado started changing.

The X-Tornado had become the X-Cyclone. When the X-Cyclone landed, the cockpits opened up. Sonic jumped down, Tails flew down, and Twilight flew over to Maria, and carried her down to the ground.

"I didn't think there'd be a flying, solid island," Twilight said. "This is amazing!"

Sonic and Tails shook their heads, smiling at Twilight's comment. Sonic then said, "Are you sure this is where the Artificial Chaos is based off of? This place looks pretty abandoned."

"Trust me," Maria said. "This place isn't abandoned. All we have to do is find the guardian."

"The guardian?" Twilight asked. "The guardian of what?"

"The guardian of the Master Emerald," Maria said. "Legend has it that it has massive power, and its in sync with all seven Chaos Emeralds."

"Massive power," Twilight said. She then widened her eyes. "That's how this island is floating! If the Emerald is removed from where it was..."

"This island would come falling down," Tails said.

"That's right it would!" came an angry voice. The four of them looked towards the source of the voice, and in came the echidna, and he had something on his hands.

"Whoa, who is that?!" Sonic asked, getting in a defensive stance.

"That must be the guardian," Maria asked. "Let's approach him respectively." The four of them slowly walked towards him. Twilight stepped closer to the echidna.

"Hello, there," Twilight said. "I'm Twilight Sparkle, high princess of Equestria. And I am happy to say..."

"I don't care if you're the queen of the races," the echidna said. "You're not getting the Master Emerald!" He then lifted up his right arm, showing the metal claws connected to his glove. "I am Knuckles! The last of the echidnas, and protector of the Master Emerald! I will protect it from anyone who tries to steal it!" He then started running towards Sonic. "Starting with you!" He then tried making the first attack, but Sonic wasn't there when he punched the ground.

Sonic was standing by the tree with a flower in his hand, and he said, "I don't know what's bugging you, but I'm not a thief. None of us are."

"Not from what I heard!" Knuckles said, trying to punch Sonic. Sonic used his spin dash attack and countered Knuckles, making the metal claws fall of his hands. Knuckles recovered, and then he charged at Sonic, who was charging at him. Then the two of them made contact, Sonic was kicking Knuckles's face as he punched Sonic's.

From the Alter of the Emeralds ruins, Sleet and Dingo were standing there, Sleet was looking out with a pair of electronic binoculars. He was smirking when he was watching Sonic and Knuckles fighting each other.

"Looks like the guardian took the bait," Sleet said. "Dingo, load up the Master Emerald. It's time we delivered it to the boss." He then looked towards Dingo, who was trying to lift the Master Emerald, which was at least 8 times bigger than him. "Oh, boy, this is gonna be a long day."

Back over at Sonic, Tails, Maria, Twilight and Knuckles, Sonic and Knuckles were still going at it. Every time Knuckles tried to punch Sonic, Sonic jumped out of the way, making Knuckles knock down a tree.

"STAND STILL!!" Knuckles shouted. He then tried punching Sonic again, but was countered by Sonic's spin dash attack. "OOF!" Knuckles then got up, but then he was lifted into the air by a magenta aura. "What the?!" He looked around and saw the same aura surrounding Twilight's horn. "What are you doing?! Put me down!"

"Not until you explain yourself on why you're attacking us!" Twilight said.

Back in Equestria, Joshua was in the bathroom at the Castle of Friendship, trying to put more pimple cream on the bump on his forehead.

"C'mon, c'mon," Joshua said. "Why isn't this clearing up?" Then there was a knocking on the door. "Who is it?"

"It's me, Starlight!" came the voice of Starlight from the other side of the door.

"Come in," Joshua said. Then the door opened.

"That pimple still bugging you?" Starlight asked. Joshua nodded. "Sunset Shimmer had that problem back in the other dimension. Some people there just squeeze out the juice. Let's squeeze that juice out, after we rub off that cream." Starlight then grabbed a washrag, and started rubbing the pimple on Joshua's forehead. "Alright, this might hurt a little." Starlight then tried squeezing Joshua's pimple, but it wasn't releasing any liquid. "What the heck?"

"What is it, Starlight?" Joshua asked.

"It's... it's solid," Starlight said, her pupils shrinking.

"Solid?" Joshua asked. "What do you mean?"

Starlight then looked up at her horn and got an idea. She then said, "Hold still. I need to check something." Starlight then lit up her horn with her light blue aura. She then leaned her head towards the pimple on Joshua's forehead. Then the pimple started glowing in a white aura, mixing with Starlight's aura. Starlight then gasped, and turned off her horn.

"What? What is it?" Joshua asked.

"You... you mentioned that you got turned into a pony by Sombra, didn't you?" Starlight asked, starting to get worried. Joshua nodded. "It... would seem that your magic... is bringing back the transformation."

"WHAT?!" Joshua shouted.

"We have to tell Twilight about this immediately," Starlight said. She then noticed Joshua's ears, which were starting to get pointy. "Come with me!" Starlight then picked Joshua up, and started running down the hall.

Back on Angel Island, Knuckles was trying to get out of Twilight's magical hold.

"So, you were told by two random Mobians that Sonic here is a thief?" Twilight asked. "He hasn't done anything wrong. He's a hero to both America and Equestria."

"Not from what I heard from the two guys that came here," Knuckles said, angrily. "They told me that you were coming here to steal my Emerald!"

"What two guys?" Tails asked.

"A gray wolf with a cape, and a muscular, orange dingo," Knuckles said.

"Sleet and Dingo?!" Sonic asked. "Those two are villainous bounty hunters!"

"Bounty hunters?!" Knuckles shouted. "No way! They told me not to believe you!"

"They've done horrible crimes," Tails said. "They're on the most wanted list from the FBI and the CIA." He then showed a file of Sleet and Dingo on the Most Wanted list.

Knuckles saw the files in shock, he then got angry and shouted, "THOSE LIARS!!" That made Twilight release her hold on Knuckles, and he started running towards the altar. Twilight, Sonic, Tails and Maria followed him, and they headed over towards the altar. They saw Sleet and Dingo trying to move the Master Emerald from the place where it stands. "HEY!! STAY AWAY FROM THE MASTER EMERALD!!"

Sleet and Dingo looked towards the group running towards them, and Sleet put a hand to his head, sighed and said, "The things we do to try and get the job done." He then pulled out a small remote, pointed it at Dingo, and said, "Make sure they don't come back, Dingo." He then pushed the button, and a beam came from the remote, and Dingo started transforming after the beam hit him. Dingo then got bigger, he grew huge bat wings, the mane of a lion, the legs of a centaur, and the muzzle of a dragon.

"Whoa!" Sonic said. "This is gonna be tough!"

Dingo then charged at the group of heroes, and Sleet then started walking over towards the ship, which was now parked in front of the alter. He then said, "You take care of those pathetic heroes, Dingo. I shall use the ship's tractor beam to get the Emerald."

"OH, NO YOU DON'T!!" Knuckles shouted, running towards Sleet. But then he was grabbed by Dingo.

"Oh, I don't think so," Dingo said. He then punched Knuckles back, making him push down Twilight, Sonic, Tails and Maria. Dingo then laughed at them.

"This guy is getting on my nerves!" Knuckles said.

"How about we call a truce and take these guys down?" Sonic said, holding out his hand.

"Truce," Knuckles said, shaking Sonic's hand. But he didn't let go. Instead, he started spinning around like a red tornado, and then throwing Sonic, who went into a spin dash attack, hitting Dingo, knocking him onto his back.

"Oooooh!" Twilight, Tails and Maria said in unison.

Then the air ship came into the air and released a beam on the Master Emerald. The Master Emerald slowly started floating from the alter.

"NO!!" Knuckles said as the Master Emerald was coming up from its pedestal. Knuckles then started running up the stairs, and he tried to jump up to grab it, but it was too late. The island started falling.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tails said.

"Are we floating?!" Sonic asked.

Knuckles moved over to the heroes and said, "We're not floating! The island is falling!" Then all five of the heroes started screaming.

The group was falling slower than the island. Twilight then looked up at her horn. She had an idea. She then lit up her horn in a magenta aura, which then the entire island was glowing in the same aura. Sonic, Tails, Knuckles and Maria went down to the ground. The group looked around.

"Where's Twilight?" Maria asked.

Then the sound of Twilight groaning came to their attention. They looked up, and they saw her flapping her wings and her horn lit up. She was also groaning.

"Get... the Emerald!" Twilight said. "I can't hold this for long!"

"C'mon!" Tails said, running towards the X-Tornado. Sonic, Knuckles and Maria followed. Dingo recovered and started flying towards the airship that he and Sleet came in. Then the Bombay doors opened for Dingo and the Master Emerald to get in.

"Good job, Dingo," Sleet said, holding out his remote to change Dingo back to normal. "Let's deliver this to the boss and see what he can do with it."

The X-Tornado came flying in behind Sleet and Dingo's air ship. Tails was in the cockpit with Maria in the seat behind him. Sonic and Knuckles were both standing on the wings.

"These guys are gonna be sorry for taking the Master Emerald!" Knuckles said.

"We better get onto that ship, quickly!" Sonic said. "Tails, get us an opening!"

Tails then pushed a button on the yoke of the X-Tornado, and some laser fire at the back of the ship. Sonic and Knuckles then jumped through the hole. They saw the Master Emerald.

"We gotta get the Emerald off the ship!" Knuckles said.

"Oh, no you don't!" came Dingo's voice. The two of them saw Dingo coming in from around the Emerald. He then charged at the two, but Knuckles countered him by punching Dingo in the face.

"I don't think so!" Knuckles said.

Back in the X-Tornado, Tails and Maria were watching. Maria then said, "Isn't there anything we can do to help?"

"I can't do anything, but you can," Tails said. "You have the Phoenix Flare! You used it to take down all of the Artificial Chaos among Space Colony ARK. You can stop them."

"Oh, no, I can't," Maria said. "I don't know how I did that. Even if I did, I don't think I'll be able to control it."

"Maria, according to the files, you have a lot of power in you," Tails said. "You just need to believe in yourself." Maria thought about that. She looked over at the fight in the airship.

Maria exhaled and said, "Open the window." Tails then opened the window, Maria undid her seat belt, and stepped out of the cockpit. Tails then flew closer to the hole in the airship. Maria slowly stepped to the nozzle of the X-Tornado. She reached for the hole of the airship, and pulled herself in.

Knuckles noticed her coming in, and said, "Hey, Sonic. That other girl has come in."

Sonic looked over and saw Maria trying to pull herself in. Sonic rushed over towards her, and helped pull her in. Sonic then asked, "What are you doing?"

"Something I haven't wanted to do," Maria said. She then jumped on top of the Master Emerald. Sonic and Knuckles got confused and jump up onto it as well.

"Oh, no you don't!" Dingo said. He then jumped up, but before he could land on them, Maria put her right hand on the Master Emerald.

"Chaos... Control!" Maria said. Then Sonic, Knuckles, Maria and the Master Emerald vanished, and Dingo landed on the floor. Sleet looked behind and got shocked by the disappearance.

"NO!!" Sleet shouted. "Impossible!"

The X-Tornado then fired at the wings and engines of the airship, sending it down into the ocean below. The airship sank, and coming up from the water, Sleet and Dingo were splashing around.

"This is all your fault!" Sleet said.

"Me?!" Dingo argued. "You were the one who ordered me to keep the Emerald from them!"

"Oh, really?" Sleet asked. He then pulled the remote from below the water, aimed it at Dingo, and transformed Dingo into a dingy.

"Hey! No fair!" Dingo's voice came from the dingy. Sleet then got into the dingy, and started rowing away.

"Quit your complaining, Dingo," Sleet said. "The doctor isn't going to be happy when we tell him that the mission was a failure. We must get back to base."

Later, Angel Island was floating back in place. At the Altar of the Emeralds, Knuckles was sitting on top of the Master Emerald, looking down at Twilight, Sonic, Tails and Maria.

"I just want to apologize," Knuckles said. "I shouldn't have misjudged you. I was misinformed by those two bounty hunters. I shouldn't have left my post."

"It's alright, Knucklehead," Sonic said. "Everybody makes mistakes once in a while."

"I can agree with that," Twilight said. "A lot of mistakes can happen. But we always make up for them."

Tails then walked over towards Knuckles, and handed him a small device. Tails then said, "If you need anything, just contact us. We'll come right away if you need anything."

Knuckles took the device and said, "Oh, I'll be sure to call if anything happens." Then Twilight, Sonic, Tails and Maria headed back to the X-Tornado. Then the X-Tornado started heading west.

Just then, there was a beeping coming from the screen in front of Twilight. Twilight then asked, "What's this beeping?"

"We're getting a call," Tails said. "Push the green button on the screen to answer it."

Twilight saw the green button on the screen, pushed it, and Nicole appeared on the screen. Twilight then answered, "Nicole? What is it?"

"I'm here to deliver you a message from Starlight Glimmer," Nicole said on the screen. "It's about Joshua."

"What?! What's wrong with him?!" Twilight asked, very worried.

"It would seem that his magic is turning him back into a pony," Nicole said. "He's in Knothole. You better hurry."

Twilight's eyes got smaller. She then looked over at Tails and said, "Speed up, Tails."

"Way ahead of you, Twilight," Tails said. The X-Tornado then started flying faster towards Knothole.

"Hang on, Joshua," Twilight thought. "Mommy's coming."

Author's Note

Next Episode:
The Oracle of Delphius

Episode 11: San Francisco School Troubles

In the city of San Francisco, in Midpoint's apartment, Cozy Glow had a backpack, which was being loaded with pencils, notebooks, pens, colored pencils, and a single apple. It was Midpoint who was loading the stuff.

"Now, I know your nervous, but this is your first day of school here in America," Midpoint said. "But just so you know, it's always good to make a good impression on the first day of school."

"So, what's with the apple?" Cozy Glow asked.

"It's for your homeroom teacher," Midpoint said. "I taught you all you need to know about the modern world. Even, how to use a cell phone."

"But, I don't have a cell phone," Cozy Glow said.

"You sure?" Midpoint asked. He then held out a cell phone for Cozy Glow. The phone was in a protective case with an attachable holster for the phone.

"Golly!" Cozy Glow said.

"And here," Midpoint said as handed her some ear buds and a battery charger for her phone. "I installed some of the music you came to enjoy as you're here. Don't listen to the music during class."

"Okay," Cozy Glow said. Then the two of them headed out the door. They went into the parking lot of the building, and in front of the elevators was Sherman in the car.

"Remember, the first impression should be a good impression," Midpoint said. "So, I don't want to receive a call from your teachers about you causing any trouble."

"I'll try my best," Cozy Glow said as they got into the car. The car then started moving out of the parking lot and went through the city. The car stopped in front of an elementary school. The back door opened up and Cozy Glow got out of the car, grabbing her backpack.

"Have a good first day at your new school," Midpoint said.

"I will," Cozy Glow said, closing the door. She then looked at the school with a smile on her face. She looked at all the students who were all surprised at Cozy Glow arriving. Cozy Glow got nervous after the car pulled out. She then exhaled and then smiled. She then headed for the school.

She was about to walk into the front door of the school but was stopped when a hand was placed on her shoulder, and a voice said, "Hold it right there." Cozy Glow looked up at the man who stopped her. "Where do you think you're going, troublemaker?"

Cozy Glow's eyes shrank in fear while her mind was shouting, "How did he know?!"

Cozy Glow was looking up at the man who was giving her a stern look. Cozy Glow stood there in fear. She gulped and tried moving away.

"Oh, no you don't," said the man. "I'm not going to let some freak distract any of my students here in this school. I don't know how Alex Lynol got the school board to let you come to school here, but I don't like it."

"You're... the principal?" Cozy Glow asked, nervously.

"That's right," the man said. "I might as well keep my eye on you. If you cause any trouble here in my school, I'll throw you out. Do you understand me?!"

"Y-yes sir," Cozy Glow said. She then walked into the school, being watched by the other students there. She looked back at the front door and thought, "This hasn't happened in my other schools in Equestria. Why would he do that?" She then put her backpack on the ground, and pulled out her class schedule. She saw that her first class was in room 113. She walked over to that classroom, and there was one man there. She walked into the classroom.

"Whoa," the teacher said. "You must be Cozy Glow. I heard that we were going to have an Equestrian join the class. Which might make it weird for everyone, since you are the first nonhuman student in the school for years."

"What?" Cozy Glow asked. "What do you mean?"

"Years ago, Principal Hunter thought it would be a good idea to make the school a humans only school," said the teacher. "Oh, I'm Mr. Smith, by the way. You can call me Smitty. Anyway, they were convinced that the school would be better if the Mobians would be sent to a different school, that way they wouldn't distract the human students from their studies with there powers and extra appendages."

"Why?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Don't know, Cozy Glow," Smitty said. "Anyway, let's get you standing in front of the class. The bell's gonna ring soon." Then the school bell rang. Then all of the other students came in and sat in their assigned desks. "Good morning, class."

"Good morning, Smitty!" the class called out.

"We have a new student joining us," Smitty said. "Say hello to our first student from Equestria, Cozy Glow. Now, everyone, please treat her as any other student here in class." Smitty then looked down at Cozy Glow and said, "Go on. Pick out an empty seat." Cozy Glow nodded, and headed for an empty seat, the other kids looking at her. She sat at her seat, looking at the front of the class. "Alright, class, let's get started with spelling."

The students then took out their notebooks. Cozy Glow looked around and did the same. Luckily, Midpoint taught her how to write with hands.

After class, Cozy Glow headed towards the restroom. She did her business, washed her hands, and headed out of the bathroom. She then headed outside to enjoy recess. She saw a swing set. She looked around and headed for it. She sat on the swing, looking at all the other students playing on the playground. She looked at all the students. She sighed and started swinging on the swing. Just then, she was grabbed just as the swing was about to swing forward.

"What the heck?" Cozy Glow asked, looking at who grabbed her. It was the principal, giving her a sour look.

"Do you mind telling me why you have this in your backpack?" the principal asked, holding out a switchblade.

"What? That's not mine!" Cozy Glow debated.

"Don't you dare lie to me," the principal said. "I knew your kind was trouble from the start. You are expelled."

"WHAT?!" Cozy Glow asked. "But I didn't..."

"Get out of my school!" the Principal shouted. Cozy Glow's eyes started filling with tears. She then ran into the school, crying all the way down the hall.

Later, Cozy Glow arrived at Shadow Appliances, and she told Midpoint about what happened.

"A switchblade?! Seriously?!" Midpoint shouted. "No way! I never gave you a switchblade!"

"He accused me of sneaking it in my backpack," Cozy Glow said, crossing her arms. "It was humiliating. And yet, it would seem that I am the only Mobian in that school."

"I talked to the school board about letting you into that school," Midpoint said. "I done everything to make sure you'll be a good student there. But then that principal accuses you of sneaking in a switchblade."

"I didn't even do anything illegal," Cozy Glow said. "I guess I'm just gonna have to attend another school."

"I'll call the Secretary of Education," Midpoint said. "We'll see about getting you back into that school."

Back in Equestria, Twilight was sitting in her throne room, handling all of the paperwork for any problems across Equestria. Just then, Nicole came in.

"Oh, hello, Nicole," Twilight said. "Is there something you wanted to talk about?"

"Somehow, none of the Freedom Fighters don't know either, the highlights on MC's face are glowing," Nicole said. She then looked down at Twilight's hips and said, "Looks like it's not just his face that's glowing."

Twilight looked down and saw a faint glow coming from her thighs. Twilight looked at Nicole, grinned nervously and said, "Excuse me for a second." She then stepped out of the throne room, and headed into the restroom. She then ran back into the throne room and said, "Send MC here." Nicole nodded.

MC then came in through the portal, the orange on his muzzle glowing. He then asked, "What's up with this, Sparkles?"

"It's a sign of a Friendship Problem that needs to be solved," Twilight answered. Spike then came in with some folders.

"Alright, Twilight," Spike said. "I got the folders ready for the orders to be sent away." He then noticed MC in the room. "Oh, hey, MC. What brings you here?"

"He's here for this," Twilight said, putting her hand on the Cutie Map. Then the map started glowing, and a globe of the entire planet appeared over the entire table. The globe then rotated, and then the globe went down into the table, showing Twilight's Cutie Mark and MC's head hovering over the city of San Francisco.

"San Francisco?" MC asked.

"This is a first," Twilight said. "A friendship problem outside of the Equestrian Continent? This must be very interesting."

"So, this map just sends random people to a certain place to fix a Friendship Problem?" MC asked.

"Yep," Spike said. "Whoever is called to that place has to find that problem, and fix it."

"Okay," MC said. "Guess we're going to the city by the bay."

"I guess so," Twilight said.

MC then looked over at Spike and asked, "Have you been eating dog food?"

Spike's face then went red, making Twilight laugh. Twilight then tried stopping, but she still kept laughing as she was saying, "Spi... Spike... haha ha ha... I... I told you to... haha ha... I told you not to... haha ha... not to smuggle... haha... dog treats... haha ha... from Canterlot High... haha ha!"

"I can't help it!" Spike said.

MC then looked over at Twilight and asked, "Do I even want to know."

"I'll... haha ha... I'll tell you on the way to San Francisco," Twilight said, trying to stop laughing. Then the two of them headed to the portal to Knothole. When Spike looked around, he went to a secret compartment he had installed under his small throne, and pulled out a bag of dog treats. He then pulled one out, and ate it.

"No one has to know," said Spike.

"I know!" came Nicole's voice, scaring Spike.

The Spirit of Freedom landed at the helipad at Shadow Appliances. Twilight and MC headed out of the Spirit of Freedom, and headed inside.

"Hopefully, Alex is in a listening mood," MC said.

The two of them walked in and headed for the front desk. Twilight then said, "Hello, Julia. We're here to see Alex Lynol. Is he in?"

"Well, he's upset today," Julia said. "Today, he got Cozy Glow into school, but she was expelled for something she didn't even do."

"What?" MC asked. "On her first day at school?" MC then looked over at Twilight and asked, "You don't think that's why we've been sent here, do you?"

"Only one way to find out," Twilight said. "Let's go talk to them."

Julia then handed MC a key card, and then he and Twilight walked towards the stairs, heading to the CEO's office. They walked in and they saw Midpoint on the phone talking to someone while Cozy Glow was sitting in a chair on the other side of Midpoint's desk.

"Thanks for listening to me, Mister Secretary," Midpoint said. "Goodbye." He then hung up. He then noticed Twilight and MC. "I take it that Julia told you about what happened?"

"We heard," Twilight said. "But why was she expelled on her first day of school?"

"I was expelled because the principal at my school accused me of bringing a switchblade to school," Cozy Glow said. "But I didn't bring it to school."

"I packed Cozy Glow's bag myself," Midpoint said. "I even made sure that she didn't have any weapons on her right before we dropped her off."

MC sniffed and said, "You two speak of truth. Something dirty must be afoot in those school walls."

"Are you sure?" Twilight asked. "Why would we be sent to settle something like this?"

"Cozy Glow is on the brink of reforming," MC said. "No way she would be responsible for bringing a switchblade to school. Besides, under Penal Code 21510 PC, California law makes is illegal to even do anything with a switchblade. We're gonna have to get to the bottom of this. What school did she attend?"

After the final bell of the school, the students of the school left the school grounds. After the last student left the school grounds, Twilight, MC, Midpoint and Cozy Glow headed for the front doors.

The Principal of the school looked out the front door window, gasped, and then he locked the door.

MC gave a grimace and said, "He locked the door."

"H'oh, boy," Midpoint said. "He's trying to keep us out."

"Pathetic," MC said. He then looked up and saw a security camera. MC then asked, "There are security cameras all over the school, right?"

"Yes," Midpoint said. "Oh, I get ya. Follow me." Midpoint went around the building, the others following. They then went to a security box. "This is it."

MC pulled up the lock on the box. He then lifted his left hand, bared the claw from his index finger, and put it into the locking mechanism of the lock. He then unlocked it, and then he opened the security box.

"Why didn't you use your claws to cut open the box?" Twilight asked.

"I didn't want to make a mess," MC replied. Midpoint then put a small device in and plugged it into an outlet.

"Alright," Midpoint said. "Let's get back to my office and see what's in store for this place." The four of them left.

They then went back to Shadow Appliances. The group went over to Midpoint's computer. The group looked into the security cameras. They saw the footage of Cozy Glow walking towards the school.

"Okay, we see Cozy Glow heading towards the school," Twilight said.

"Now we see Cozy Glow talking to the Principal," Midpoint said. "No sign of any trouble going on there."

"Fast forward to when they headed out to recess," MC said. "And show the camera outside of Cozy's first class." Midpoint nodded. He then fast forwarded the footage. "Stop," MC said. Midpoint stopped the footage. "There." Midpoint showed the footage of the principal walking past the classroom, not going into it. "He didn't even go into the classroom."

"And he's holding the switchblade," Twilight said. "It was all a setup."

"But why would he do that?" Cozy Glow asked. "Why would he frame me?"

"We're gonna find out," Midpoint said. "I'm gonna call the secretary of Education and..." He was then interrupted by the sound of Julia on the intercom.

"Mr. Lynol, it's the Secretary of Education on the phone," Julia's voice came from the intercom.

Midpoint then pushed a button on the intercom and said, "Thank you." He then answered the phone. "Hello? Good day, Mr. Secretary. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Okay. Thank you." He then hung up the phone and looked at Cozy Glow. "You're back in school. He'll be on the next flight to here and we'll be meeting in the morning."

"But, what are we going to do about the principal?" Twilight asked. "He's going to have to explain why he kicked out Cozy Glow for an untrue reason? Sure, Applejack would have been able to help out, but she wasn't called by the map."

"I think it's time for that school to be on the news," MC said.

Midpoint then grabbed the phone and said, "Time to report this to the local news channel." He then dialed a number.

Later that night, MC and Twilight joined Midpoint and Cozy Glow at the Diner by the mall.

"This is going to be an interesting day tomorrow," MC said.

"The Secretary of Education got Cozy Glow back into the school," Midpoint said. "And I've let the news do a special report on the subject on letting an Equestrian attend a US school, which if the principal tries to cross a line, he'll be seen as the most hated man in San Francisco."

"How are we going to expose the principal for who he really is?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Principal Hunter is gonna mess up," Midpoint said. "But, he's going to try to hide it when he's being recorded by video cameras." Midpoint then held out a flower pin. "And we're gonna have one of the students wear this special pin, with a built in video camera."

"So you can record the misdeeds of what he's doing if he does it," MC said.

"That's actually smart," Twilight said. "Do you think that we'll be able to get the principal to expose the truth?"

"Only one way to find out," Midpoint said, raising a glass. "For tomorrow, we shall expose the principal for who he really is. A racist man."

The others brought up their glasses, and they collided them with each other. MC was the only one raising his glass with his left hand.

The next day, Principal Hunter was on the computer, trying to erase Cozy Glow's name from the list of students. But he wasn't getting it off the list for some reason.

"C'mon," Principal Hunter said, typing on his computer. "Why won't you come off?" Then on the computer, the words "REQUEST DENIED" appeared on the screen. "Oh, c'mon!" Then one person came into the office, getting the attention of Principal Hunter. "What do you want?"

"Principal Hunter, I am the Secretary of Education. I heard that you attempted to kick out an Equestrian transfer student for something she didn't do."

"That girl snuck in a switchblade," Principal Hunter said. "She's dangerous!"

"Guess you didn't get the information on her past," said the Secretary of Education. "She was a very troubled young one who's on the path of reforming. And she's being watched by a young man who is smarter and younger than you."

"So what?" asked Principal Hunter. "I will not let that Equestrian be let on school grounds."

"Yes, you are," said the Secretary. "She has been reinstated under my watch. As long as I'm the Secretary of Education, I will not let you kick her out."

Principal Hunter groaned in anger. Just then, a news van pulled up outside in front of the school. The Principal got surprised at that. When he looked over at the Secretary, he saw that he was leaving the office. Principal Hunter growled and said, "I won't stand it. The only creatures on this world that deserve to go to school should be humans only. I'll make sure of it."

Later in the day, Cozy Glow was walking in through the school hallway, heading for her homeroom class. Then one reporter walked up to her.

"I'm Charlotte Loraine, reporting live from San Francisco Elementary School," the reporter said. "And our top story for the day, an Equestrian is attending school here. And here she is. Excuse me? Can we get your name?"

"Cozy Glow."

"Well, Cozy Glow, how do you feel about attending a school here in the United States of America?" Charlotte Loraine asked.

"Well, I was doing fine yesterday," Cozy Glow said. "But when I was enjoying recess, the principal came out, accused me of bringing a switchblade, and kicked me out."

"What?" Charlotte Loraine asked. "Why?"

"I didn't," Cozy Glow responded. "He didn't even walk into the classroom to find it. If you don't believe me, watch the security footage. Do it, Alex."

In the news van, Twilight, MC and Midpoint were sitting at a computer there, about to splice the footage into the news. They showed footage of Cozy Glow walking out of the girls bathroom, and Principal Hunter walking down the halls, following Cozy Glow.

"As you can see, he didn't even go into my classroom there," Cozy's voice came from the TV in the van.

"I do see," came Charlotte Loraine's voice. "He didn't even go into the classroom to do inspection."

"And now, the coup de grâce," Midpoint said.

MC then put a flash drive into the computer, and a file showed up, and it showed footage of Principal Hunter talking to a student in the classroom. Who he didn't know had that special pin with the camera.

"You wanted to see me, Principal Hunter?" came a student's voice.

"Thank you for coming, Marcy Philips," came Principal Hunter's voice. "I need you to do something for me. I want you to plant this bag of marijuana into that Cozy Glow's backpack."

"What?" Marcy Philips's voice asked. "Why would you do that? She hasn't done anything wrong?"

"It's not just that Equestrian," came Principal Hunter's voice. "It's about every intelligent creature that's not human. Only humans belong in schools around the world. Humans should be humans and animals should be animals. We cannot live in a world where animals act like humans. It's time to show the world that Mobians and Equestrians cannot be trusted, and only humans should be the only intelligent beings on our planet."

"You're insane!" Marcy Phillips said.

"Sure," said Principal Hunter. "But if you don't do it, I'll be sure to hold you back. You won't be able to graduate from this elementary school for a long, long time." He then started laughing evilly.

"And there you have it," came Charlotte Loraine's voice on the screen. "Clear evidence of a principal using illegal actions to keep Mobians and Equestrians from attending school, possession of illegal items, and blackmailing students. And now, a word from the Secretary of Education."

The cameraman turned the camera to show the Secretary of Education. He then said, "Well, I believe that there should be one more person on TV." Then he started walking towards the Principal's office, with the cameraman, Charlotte Loraine and Cozy Glow following. The Principal saw the four of them coming in.

"What's going on here?" Principal Hunter asked.

"Principal Hunter, for possessing illegal items, blackmailing your students, and racism, you're fired," said the Secretary of Education.

"You can't fire me!" Principal Hunter said. "I have to do what's right for my species!"

Then the sound of police sirens came to the attention of Twilight, MC and Midpoint. All of them smirking.

"This guy's going to jail," MC said.

Later that night, at the sports grill and arcade, Twilight, MC, Midpoint and Cozy Glow were having dinner at a booth there. They were also watching the local news.

"And with that, Principal Hunter has been arrested for his crimes."

"You see that?" MC asked. "Racism is one of the biggest friendship problems in the world."

"I can't believe that there are creatures that are like that," Twilight said. "Come to think of it, Chancellor Neighsay was like that when I opened up the School of Friendship."

"There are creatures who are like that, Twilight," Midpoint said. "No matter what skin tone you are, what species you are, or even what certain abilities you have, we're still intelligent beings."

"Humans, Mobians or Equestrians, we should treat each other as equals," MC said, holding up his glass.

"I'd toast to that," Twilight said as she, Midpoint and Cozy Glow tapped their drinks with MC's drink.

Midpoint then saw something on MC's face and said, "Your face is glowing."

MC then looked down at the highlights on his muzzle, glowing in the opposite direction that it was glowing earlier. Twilight was looking at her thighs and smiled.

"Looks like our mission is complete," Twilight said.

"Well, in the morning, we'll head on home," MC said.

"Thanks for helping out," Cozy Glow said. "I'm sure that we're gonna have a better principal now."

"Oh, you will," said Midpoint. "Now, why don't you go on into the arcade and get some tickets. Save up enough tickets, and you can get a nice prize." Midpoint held out about $100 with 20 dollar bills, and Cozy Glow nodded, taking the money, and heading for the arcade.

"Guess Cozy Glow is really reformed," Twilight said, smiling.

"But, I'm still keeping an eye on her," Midpoint said. "We can get dessert after we leave." The three of them nodded and finished up their meals."

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Eggman's Revenge (Part 1)

Episode 12: Eggman's Revenge (Part 1)

Chapter 12: Eggman's Revenge (Part 1)

Twilight and Spike were setting up plates for a big dinner they were gonna have with their friends, the Freedom Fighters, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and the President of the United States.

"This is so exciting!" Twilight said. "My first peace dinner with another ruler of another country!" She then used the Royal Canterlot Voice. "THIS IS SO EXCITING!!!"

"Gah!!" Spike exclaimed, almost dropping the plates he was holding. "Twilight, you really should keep that Royal Canterlot Voice in check. You almost made me drop these plates."

"Sorry, Spike," Twilight said. "I'm just... excited to be sharing a meal with the President of the United States of America!"

"And the Freedom Fighters," Spike said. "It was thanks to them that we're in peace with each other."

"True, true," Twilight said. "Now, the royal cooks are preparing the meals. Along with some meat items for the president and the Freedom Fighters to eat." She then gulped down the vomit that was about to come up her throat. "And hopefully, Fluttershy will understand that the meat is for our guests."

"Yeah, I know she'll understand," Spike said. "She is an expert on omnivores." That made Twilight nod. "Well, as long as nothing bad or unexpected happens, everything should be okay."

Then a couple guards came in with Cheerilee standing in between them. Twilight looked towards them, saw Cheerilee and asked, "Cheerilee? What are you doing here? Isn't school going on?"

"There's been an incident!" Cheerilee said, nervously. "I was in the middle of teaching my class, and for some reason, I got really dizzy and passed out. The next thing I knew, all of my students just disappeared."

"What?!" Twilight asked. "No, I don't think anypony would just walk out just because the teacher passed out. There has to be some reason that they vanished."

"Well... I did find this..." Cheerilee said, holding out a canister.

"Huh," Twilight said, grabbing it. She then inspected it. "I've never seen anything like this."

Then Nicole came in and looked at the canister. She then said, "I seen one of these. "United States Department of Defense. One of Julian Robotnik's inventions."

"Doctor Robotnik's inventions?!" Twilight asked, shocked. "Oh, no. This isn't good." Then a holographic image appeared from the canister, shocking the ponies, Spike and Nicole.

From the holographic image came Julian Robotnik's laughter. He then said, "Greetings incompetent fools! You're in for what you deserve for going up against my genius! Now, you're going to know how it feels!" He then cackled loudly, making Twilight grimace.

Twilight had already gotten her friends, the Freedom Fighters, Midpoint and Cozy Glow to come to the Castle of Friendship. They were all looking at the holographic message from the canister.

"And if you ever want to see those foals again, Princess Twilight Sparkle, you shall surrender all of Equestria to me," Doctor Robotnik said on the message. "And if that doesn't work, I'll just destroy your kingdom with just one push of a button, and rebuild on it's remains!" He then cackled loudly. Then the message ended.

MC growled and said, "The fiend! He's gonna regret doing that to those kids!"

"You got that right, MC," Sonic said. "He's taking this tyrannical takeover to an unstable level."

"But how will we know where he's attacking from?" Twilight asked.

"MC has the ability to see everything on the planet," Mutt said. "With a quick look, he can find where Eggman's current base is. Although, it won't help when there are some places are flying in the sky."

"He's right," Tails said. "Cloudsdale, Las Pegasus, Angel Island, they're all places that are floating in the sky."

"MC shall check the grounded areas," Sally said. "We'll check the other flying places."

"Good thing I used some shrinking tech to make two of your ships," Midpoint said. "The X-Tornado and the Spirit of Freedom. Follow me outside."

The group then walked outside, and then Midpoint pulled a ray gun out of his quiver. He fired at something on the ground in three different spots. Up came the X-Tornado, the Spirit of Freedom and another aircraft. One that looks like an arrow for archery, with a couple helicopter propellers, a couple jet engine, and another propeller for turning the craft.

"Interesting ride," Rainbow Dash said.

"I call it the Patriot Arrow," Midpoint said.

"The President has already been informed about what happened," Twilight said. "We have to find out where Doctor Robotnik has taken the kids."

"Julian..." Maria said, feeling ashamed of her cousin. "I just can't believe he would do something like this."

"Don't worry, Maria," Sonic said. "We'll only put him in prison. We won't kill him."

"Family is still family, even if one of them's crazy," Twilight said. "Like Pinkie Pie for example."

"It's true!" Pinkie said, doing cartwheels.

"We'll split up into teams," Twilight said. "One team will go to Angel Island, one more will go to Cloudsdale, and one more team shall go to Las Pegasus."

The group then split up. In the X-Tornado, Sonic, Tails, Rarity, Fluttershy and Maria. In the Patriot Arrow, Midpoint, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Cozy Glow, Bunnie, Antoine, Amy, Cream and Cheese. And in the Spirit of Freedom, Rotor, Mutt, Starlight, Trixie, Sally and Rainbow Dash. Twilight, Spike and MC stayed behind as the others went to their destination.

"Okay, the others are on their way to their floating locations," Spike said. "Sonic's team is heading towards Angel Island, Midpoint's team is heading towards Las Pegasus, and Sally's team is heading towards Cloudsdale."

Twilight nodded and then looked towards MC, who was sitting in Applejack's throne in a meditation pose. Twilight walked up to him and asked, "Anything yet?"

"Not yet," MC said. "The Oracle taught me that not everything can be done right if you rush things."

"Well, if Rainbow Dash was here, I bet she'd protest that," Twilight said, smirking. That made MC smirk as well.

"Even the fastest thing alive has to have patience," MC said. "Sonic's not that much of a patient guy either if he's just sitting around."

"Another thing that Sonic and Rainbow Dash have in common," Twilight said. "I'm going to see if they made it to their destinations." Nicole came up and showed a holographic map of the world. There were three marks connecting to who's team there was. One mark was Sonic, one mark was Midpoint and one mark was Sally. "Looks like Sally's team is almost to Cloudsdale."

"And Midpoint's team is almost at Las Pegasus," Spike said.

"It'll take a while for Sonic's team to reach Angel Island," MC said. "Knuckles would know if there's anything there."

"You know Knuckles?" Twilight asked.

"Knuckles is the last echidna in his kind," MC said. "He should at least have some company."

"Guess it's hard for him to have friends if he never leaves that island," Twilight said. "Although, it's also gonna be hard for him to leave the island since he's the Guardian of the Master Emerald."

"There's a ladybug on your tail, Sparkles," MC said.

"WHAT?!" Twilight asked, shocked. She then screamed in panic, flying away, the ladybug flew off of Twilight and landed on MC's nose.

"Do I even want to know?" MC asked, looking at Spike.

"I'll tell you later," Spike said, making MC chuckle.

Somewhere in a dark room, all of Cheerilee's class were sitting all over the room with shackles on their legs. The Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were sticking together. Dinky was hugging Joshua tight as Nyx was trying to calm the two down.

"It's okay, guys," Nyx said. "We'll get out of this."

"HOW?!" Apple Bloom shouted. "We don't know where we are, we've been taken out of class in our sleep, and we don't know who has kidnapped us! We're screwed!"

"Wow," Scootaloo said. "Apple Bloom has never acted this way."

"Even I never theen her like thith," Twist said.

"Like, what are we supposed to do?" Diamond Tiara asked. "This place is creepier than the Everfree Forest."

"Don't remind me of that, Diamond Tiara," Nyx said. "I still remember what you did to me that day."

"Sorry," Diamond Tiara said. "I'm still regretting doing that. But, I did deserve it when your group, before Twist, Joshua and Dinky joined, put me and Silver Spoon into the mud in the Tug-O-War Tournament."

"I remember that game," Joshua said. "One important rule of that game was that you can't let go of the rope, or else you can't help your team anymore."

"Wait, you're not suppose to let go of the rope?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Oh, that's right," Scootaloo said, pointing at Diamond Tiara. "You did let go of the rope when you said that we were gonna be losers and blank flanks. I'm surprised that Rarity didn't pull you aside."

"I just hope that Mom and her friends will come and find us," Joshua said. "We need to find out who's responsible for this. And why."

"How?" Silver Spoon asked. "We're chained up! We're never gonna get out of here!"

"I want my mom," Dinky said, still hugging Joshua.

"We'll get out of here, Dinky," Joshua said. "We'll get out of here. I just know it."

In Las Pegasus, the Patriot Arrow landed on a solid piece of ground in the middle of the city. Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Antoine, Bunnie, Amy, Cream and Cheese walked out and headed towards the different places.

"Stay in groups," Midpoint said. "Amy, you take Cream and Cheese. Applejack, make sure that Pinkie Pie doesn't do anything she'll regret. Antoine, you're with Bunnie. Follow me, Cozy Glow." Then the group split and headed for different casinos in the place. Midpoint then pulled out a communication device and said, "This is Midpoint. We've arrived in Las Pegasus. Sheesh, this place is a lot like Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?" Cozy Glow asked.

"It's a city that's almost 570 miles away from San Francisco by car," Midpoint said. "But, boy does it get hot there in the summer time."

"So, what happens there?" Cozy Glow asked.

"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas," Midpoint said. "But all I can say, there are a lot of things there that can never be unseen. Sometimes, a little too much."

Cozy Glow then shuttered, getting what Midpoint was talking about. Then they entered one of the casinos.

Later, the Spirit of Freedom came into Cloudsdale. Rainbow Dash walked out of the ship, looking back at the others.

"I'll head over to Wonderbolts HQ and see if they can help with our search," Rainbow Dash said. She then flew off, leaving the others on the ship.

"Alright, everyone," Starlight said. "Before we go anywhere, I need to apply the Cloud Walking Spell on you."

"Good call," Trixie said. "We wouldn't want the Great and Powerful, Trrrrixie to fall down to the ground." Starlight then used her magic and the feet of Sally, Rotor, Mutt, Rarity, Starlight and Trixie were glowing. The glowing stopped.

"Okay, that's it," Starlight said. "Let's get searching." Then they all headed all over Cloudsdale, trying to find where Eggman was.

Meanwhile, over the Atlantic Ocean, the X-Tornado was flying through the sky. In the cockpit were Tails and Maria, in the second seating row were Rarity and Fluttershy. And Sonic was laying on the wing.

"How much longer are we gonna get there?" Sonic asked.

"Don't worry, Sonic," Tails said. "We're almost there."

Maria looked out of the window and saw some land in the water. She then gasped and asked, "Uh, Tails? Is that Angel Island in the water?"

"WHAT?!" Sonic and Tails asked, looking down at the ocean, seeing Angel Island there.

"That shouldn't be possible," Tails said.

"What do you mean?" Rarity asked.

"Angel Island is supposed to be flying thanks to a very powerful Emerald, unless..." Maria queried, but something came to her mind. She then gasped and said, "Get to the Alter!"

"You got it!" Tails said. Then they headed down to where the Alter of the Emerald was, but there was no sign of the Master Emerald. "The Master Emerald's gone!"

The X-Tornado landed and the group ran up the stairs of the alter. There was no Master Emerald, but there was Knuckles chained to a column.

"Knuckles!" Sonic said. He then used his spin dash move to cut through the chains. Knuckles then fell off.

Knuckles coughed up from being there from a certain amount of time. He then said, "About time you got here."

"Did you try to call for some help when this happened?" Maria asked.

"I was about to when those mechs knocked me out," said Knuckles. "There were too many of them."

"Definitely Eggman behind this," said Sonic. "We have to find them." He then pulled out his communicator and spoke into it. "This is Sonic! Eggman had already arrived here and took the Master Emerald."

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight, Spike and MC were in the throne room. MC was grimacing.

"Nothing!" MC said. "I looked all over the entire planet that's grounded, and there's no sign of Julian Robotnik anywhere. And since Angel Island is grounded, I still couldn't find him."

"Well, we'll just have to rely on the others," Twilight said. "Nicole, get us in touch with Sally's team."

"Connected," Nicole said.

"Sally, you there?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah, I'm here," Sally said through the speakers. "We looked all over Cloudsdale, with a little help from the Wonderbolts."

"My idea!" came Rainbow Dash's voice, making the three in the Castle role their eyes.

"Anyway, there was no sign of anything that Doctor Robotnik has up here," Sally said. "It's a bust here."

"Okay, thanks anyway," Twilight said. "Nicole, get us in touch with Midpoint."

The sound of gambling machines were playing in the background. MC then asked, "Are you gambling, Midpoint?"

"No, I'm too young for that," Midpoint's voice came. "No sign of Doctor Robotnik anywhere in the casinos or hotel rooms. We checked the check in books for any recent check ins. His name wasn't in the listing."

"Of course," MC said. "No sign of Eggman anywhere." MC then snarled, and banged his left fist on the table. "WHERE ON EARTH ARE YOU?!?!"

Twilight put her hands on MC's shoulders and said, "Calm down! We're trying our best to find them!"

"I know," MC grumbled. "Those kids are in trouble, and there's nothing we can do to help them if we don't know where they are."

"Perhaps there's something else we're missing," Twilight said. "Perhaps we should go back to the scene of the crime. Look for any clues."

"It's our best shot," MC said. Then he, Twilight and Spike headed out of there. They headed back to the Ponyville Schoolhouse. The three of them were looking around the room, trying to find any clues.

"These guys are good," Spike said. "All they left were the backpacks that the school foals brought. You guys find anything yet?"

"Nothing over here," Twilight said. She then looked over at MC, who was smelling around the place. He then stopped at something. It was Joshua's backpack, which was wide open.

"What do we have here?" MC asked. There was a crumpled up piece of paper. He opened it up and read what was written. "'Check the can.' Check the can? Wait a minute. I think I know what Josh is talking about." MC then pulled out the canister and smelt it. "I got something. United States Department of Defense."

"Must've been something he had before he was fired," Spike said.

"Looks like we have a piece of evidence," Twilight said. "Now what?"

"I think we should go see Agent Stone about this," MC said.

"Agent Stone?" Twilight asked. "That guy who was with Doctor Robotnik?"

"Yep," MC said. "Looks like we're going to DC." Then the three of them headed out of the schoolhouse. The rest of the group were already back at the Castle of Friendship. Knuckles was there as well.

"So, you brought the Guardian of the Master Emerald here?" Twilight asked.

"Someone took the Master Emerald," Sonic said. "Perhaps it was Eggman who took it."

"The Master Emerald has a lot of power in it," MC said. "Even more powerful than the Seven Chaos Emeralds."

"That Eggman is gonna regret taking the Master Emerald from my Alter!" Knuckles said, about to punch something, but was blocked by Applejack's hand, her fingers not in the way of the spikes on his knuckles. "Wow. You're stronger than you look."

"Work on a farm for years, and ya get more stronger and durable," Applejack responded. "What's your secret?"

"I was born with this natural strength," Knuckles said, proudly. Applejack gave her a look that she knew that Knuckles was lying. Knuckles then said, "I have some weights stashed in a secret compartment in the alter."

"So, what now?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah? How do we find a crazy mad scientist bent on ruling the entire world with a heavy iron fist?!" Pinkie Pie asked.

"We go to his number 2," MC said. "Sparkles and I are going to find Agent Stone."

Rotor handed MC the key to the Spirit of Freedom and MC and Twilight headed out of the castle and into the Spirit of Freedom. MC was piloting and Twilight was in the seat to his left. They were heading back over to Station Square to have a chat with Agent Stone.

Back in the place where the Ponyville Schoolhouse Students were, Apple Bloom was trying to rip off the shackles.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Apple Bloom said, but she lost her grip. "Dang it!"

"Good try, Apple Bloom," Nyx said. "This is a strong metal. What did they use to make these chains?"

"It has to be really strong if it can keep Apple Bloom from breaking them," Joshua said.

"Too bad my magic isn't strong enough to teleport each one of us out of these chains," Sweetie Belle said. "I would have gotten all of us out by now."

Then Nyx and Joshua went wide eyed and Joshua said, "Wait a minute! Nyx had mastered teleportation magic. Including teleporting into another dimension."

"Really?" Apple Bloom asked. "When was that?"

"It was before Tirek destroyed the library," Nyx said. "Plus, I had to learn that spell after I accidentally sent Joshua into an alternate Equestria."

"Where there was a different human living in Equestria, who was adopted by the Fluttershy of that dimension," Joshua said.

"Wow," said Silver Spoon. "Was he dating somepony there?"

"Yeah," said Joshua. "You."

"What?" Silver Spoon asked, blushing.

"Wow," said Diamond Tiara. "He must've been some kid to date Silver Spoon."

"Okay, everypony," Nyx said. "I'm gonna try to teleport all of us back to the Castle of Friendship." Nyx then struggled with her magic, then most of the school ponies were glowing in a dark blue aura. Then they disappeared. All who were left were the Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Nyx then passed out.

"Nyx!" Joshua said, rushing towards her. Joshua turned her over, seeing that she was unconscious, and her horn was smoking. Apple Bloom then checked Nyx's pulse.

"She's alright," Apple Bloom said. "She's just out cold."

"That took a lot of magic to teleport them out," Sweetie Belle said.

"But we're still stuck here," Scootaloo said.

"What are we gonna do now?" Twist asked. Then the door opened, and in walked Sleet and Dingo. Sleet had a tranquilizer dart gun in his right hand.

"You all stop," said Sleet. "That little black pony sure has a lot of power in her. Too bad she didn't have enough to get all of you out of there."

"Oh, boy," Joshua said, nervously.

Meanwhile, in the Pentagon, Agent Stone was getting some things from Doctor Robotnik's old office. But as he was packing up all the stuff on Doctor Robotnik's desk, the door was broken open, showing MC and Twilight.

"There you are, you little weasel!" MC said.

"Oh, shoot," Agent Stone said, heading for the window. But then MC grabbed a wooden chair, and threw it at Agent Stone's back, the chair breaking and Agent Stone falling to the floor.

"Nice shot," Twilight said.

"Saw that in a movie," MC said, walking over to Agent Stone. He then grabbed Agent Stone, and lifted him up and pounded him onto the wall which was right of the window. "What are you up to, Agent Stone? Any contact with your old buddy, Doctor Robotnik?"

"I have no idea where he is," said Agent Stone. "I'm no longer in contact with him."

"Then what are you doing here?" Twilight asked, angrily.

"I was assigned to clean out Doctor Robotnik's things here," said Agent Stone. "I have no intention of letting the doctor get his stuff back."

"Then you have no idea where Doctor Robotnik took those kids," MC said, angrily.

"Kids?" Agent Stone asked.

"Doctor Robotnik has taken the Ponyville Schoolhouse students, two of them are my adopted children, and took them somewhere!" Twilight said. "Do you have any idea where he could have taken them?"

"I have no idea where they are," Agent Stone said. "But.. we have copies of the doctor's plans on other bases."

MC and Twilight then were in the file room, looking at the plans of Doctor Robotnik's bases.

"So many different bases," MC said. "And all of them so far are grounded. You found anything yet?"

"Nothing yet," Twilight said, throwing another blueprint. She then grabbed another one, and unrolled it. She then went wide eyed. "Hang on. I think I found something."

MC then walked over towards her and read the blueprints. There was a base that was called "Death Egg."

"Death Egg?" Twilight asked. "What in the world is a Death Egg?"

"I don't know," MC said. "But this thing has to be one of Robotnik's deadliest bases yet. But where could it be located?"

"It says here that the base has hover technology," Twilight said, pointing at one section. "And it has some kind of special paint on it called 'Space Age Polymer'. Whatever that is?"

"Space Age Polymer?" MC asked. "No... it can't be." MC then looked over at the blueprints. MC's communicator started beeping. He pulled it out. "What is it?"

"It's Maria," came Maria's voice. "I don't know how it happened, but most of the class from the Ponyville Schoolhouse just appeared out of nowhere. The only ones that didn't come are the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Got this information from two unicorn colts named Snips and Snails."

"How did they just get there?" MC asked. "Is one of them really good at teleportation magic?"

"Actually..." Twilight said. "I taught Nyx how to teleport from one dimension to another."

"You're kidding," MC said.

"I wish," Twilight said. "Okay, was there anything else that they said?"

"Well, they did say when they looked out the window, it was night time," said Maria. "For at least 8 hours, either Julian's base was in Antarctica, or..."

MC then widened his eyes and said, "Hang on a sec, Maria. C'mon, Sparkles. Let's check the US Satellite systems." Then they headed for the computer room. One man on the computer was showing pictures from earlier that day, showing pictures of around the Earth's atmosphere. Then something came onto the screen.

"No... way..." Twilight said in awe.

"There you are," MC said. He then pulled out the communicator. "Calling all Freedom Fighters. We found Eggman's base. It's not on Earth at all. It's in orbit around the planet."

Twilight then looked at the picture, worried that her kids and their friends were trapped on that ship. MC was only grimacing at the base. This was going to be one intense mission.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Eggman's Revenge (Part 2)

Episode 13: Eggman's Revenge (Part 2)

At the Castle of Friendship, the Freedom Fighters had the Space Ship from an earlier adventure set up outside. Not every one of the Freedom Fighters were going, so they were taking a small group to go up to the Death Egg for their rescue mission.

"Alright, guys," Sonic said. "The ship won't fit all of us, and the kids, so we need to decide who's going and who's staying. I'm just saying."

"It actually makes sense," MC said. "That base must've have a huge power source to keep it in orbit. So that's why they took the Master Emerald."

"If the Master Emerald is up there, I'm going," Knuckles said. He then held out a shovel claw. "And no one is going to keep me from going."

"I'm going as well," Midpoint said. "Robotnik may be a smart guy, but I got the tech mind to take down his equipment."

"Of course, Tails and I are in," Sonic said. "Twilight, you in?"

Twilight walked towards the ship and said, "No way I'm gonna let my kids be held captive by the man who tried to take over the kingdom. I'm going."

"And we need one more," said Sonic. "One who can cause high damage to the place." Then everyone there looked at MC, who replied with a smirk.

"Oh... yeah," MC said. He then held out his left hand, and bared his claws. "No one does carnage like me."

"Okay, guys," Sonic said to the other Freedom Fighters. "We're heading up there. Let's show Eggman that no one messes with good creatures for no reason." Then Twilight, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, MC and Midpoint walked into the space ship, the others looking at them as they were heading in. Then the ship they were in headed up into the sky, heading towards the Death Egg.

On the Death Egg, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were locked up in another cell, this time, there were special collars on the foals who had horns, which were Sweetie Belle, Nyx, Joshua and Dinky. Nyx was still unconscious from sending her classmates back to Equestria.

Joshua was trying to wake up Nyx by shaking her. "C'mon, Nyx. Wake up."

Dinky wrapped her arms around Joshua and said, "It's okay, Joshua. She's just exhausted. It happens to any unicorn that uses too much magic."

"I definitely would," Sweetie Belle said. "But now, we can't do anything about it. These collars will shock us if we try to use our unicorn magic."

"Ah don't think so," Apple Bloom said, reaching for the collar on Nyx's neck, but then a shock came to both of them, waking Nyx up.

"WHOA!" Nyx said after the shocking stopped. "What the heck just happened?"

"That hurt... so much..." Apple Bloom said, her mane and tail fried and electricity coming from the split ends of her mane.

"What?" Nyx looked around. "Where are we?" She then felt the collar on her neck. "What is this?"

"They put these collars on us so we wouldn't be able to use our magic to escape," Dinky said. "But you were exhausted using your magic to transport all the others back to Ponyville."

"Which you didn't have enough magic to teleport all of us," Diamond Tiara said. "I guess even alicorns have their limits."

"My magic isn't strong as before I became Nightmare Moon," Nyx said. "But, at least my magic is getting stronger."

"Seriously, though," Silver Spoon said. "Did you really teleport to an alternate Equestria?"

"I had to," Nyx said. "I was sick, I accidentally sneezed Joshua into another dimension, got better two days later, learned teleportation magic from Twilight, and went to an alternate Equestria. Although, it was hard to wait a couple days just to teleport back to Equestria. The Blueblood of that dimension almost killed me."

"Yikes," said Diamond Tiara. "He's so cruel! In any dimension."

"How long until it takes until we can be found?" Scootaloo asked.

"I'm not sure," Nyx said. "I just hope we can be saved by Twilight."

"Don't forget the Freedom Fighters," Apple Bloom said. "They handled bad guys like Robotnik before."

"Yeah, yeah," said Nyx. "I just hope they can get us out of here."

In the spaceship, Twilight, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, Midpoint and MC were looking up at the Death Egg. MC looked around for certain switches.

"Where are the switches for stealth mode?" MC asked. Midpoint sighed and reached over, flipping a few switches, which caused the spaceship to activate stealth mode. MC then looked over and asked, "How did you do that?"

"Let's just say I know my way around these things," Midpoint said. "Okay, by the looks of these plans, the Death Egg is very similar to the Death Star from Star Wars."

"Not everyone is a fan of those movies," MC said. "In fact there are a lot of popular movies that certain people don't like."

"I guess that's true," Twilight said. "Not everything is likable to everything. Now, how are we going to get to the kids?"

"I can use my enhanced senses to find the kids scents," said MC.

Knuckles then looked towards the Death Egg, and then he sensed the power of the Master Emerald. Knuckles then said, "You guys do whatever you want. I'm going for the Master Emerald."

"I'll go with you," said Midpoint. "There has to be a lot of robotic guards around the Master Emerald." He then pulled out his bow and a trick arrow. "I'll take care of attacks from a distance."

"You really think arrows will be strong enough to stop an army of robots?" Knuckles asked.

"Oh, I know they can," said Midpoint. "Not everything is focused on muscles alone. You also need to use your brains."

"You think you can outsmart this guy?" Knuckles asked. "He has a bunch of PHDs."

"Do you know what's hard about being the smartest person in the world?" Midpoint asked. "A lot of people take you for granted."

"Everyone, buckle up," Tails said. "We're about to enter the Death Egg." Then Tails piloted the ship into the landing bay of the Death Egg. The ship landed, but it activated the alarm.

"Shoot," MC said. "We've been detected."

Then a bunch of robots came into the room.

Some of them have guns, some had shields, some had bazookas. They were blocking the only door leading in and out of the ship. The group looked out the window to see them aiming their weapons at the door.

"I got this," Midpoint said, readying a trick arrow. "Do you know what's the worse thing about robots?"

"They try to rise up against their creators?" Sonic asked.

"Well, that could happen," Midpoint said. "But they're also..." The door cracked open from MC opening it. Midpoint released his arrow, it heading to a wall. "...magnetizable." The the arrow activated, pulling all of the robots towards it. Then Midpoint fired another arrow, and when it made contact with one of the robots, all of the robots exploded.

"That was pretty smart," Knuckles said.

"Using a small electromagnet to bring the robots together, and using an explosive arrow to blow them up," Tails said. "That's genius."

"I know," said Midpoint. "C'mon. Let's go." Then the six of them left the space ship, and headed down the halls of the Death Egg. But their movement did not go undetected. Sleet and Dingo were watching the security cameras. Well, Sleet was. Dingo was reading a comic book.

"Yeah, right," said Dingo. "Like six magical ponies can take down a giant, power hungry centaur with friendship. Who would believe that?"

"Will you focus?!" Sleet shouted. He then pushed a button. "Doctor Robotnik, we have a problem. It would seem that Princess Twilight Sparkle, three of the Freedom Fighters, the Guardian of the Master Emerald and Alex Lynol have found their way here."

Back with Twilight and the others, they stopped at two hallways going in separate directions. They didn't know which way to go.

"Which way do we go?" Twilight asked.

MC then started sniffing around. He then looked towards the left hallway and said, "I got the scent of the kids." He then sniffed some more. "Along with Sleet and Dingo."

"So it was Eggman that hired Sleet and Dingo to get the Master Emerald," said Sonic. "Because he needed it to power this giant space station."

"I sense the Master Emerald," Knuckles said, looking down the other hallway. He then looked at Midpoint. "Let's go."

Then Knuckles and Midpoint went down the right path when the others went down the left. MC was leading Twilight, Sonic and Tails to where the kids were. They went down a prison hall, looking (and MC smelling) for the kids.

"Nyx? Joshua?" Twilight asked. "Where are you?"

"So, you think you can come into my secret base, and try to stop me?" came the voice of Doctor Robotnik, surprising the four heroes in the room. "You'll never stop me. You all ruined my reputation."

"You ruined your own rep, Eggman!" Sonic said. "You attacked us for no reason!"

"You took away my power, Twilight Sparkle," came Doctor Robotnik's voice. "So, I decided to take something of yours. Prepare to receive your punishment!" Then coming from the hall was metal footsteps. The group looked over down the hall and saw something coming their way. What they saw they didn't expect.

"What is that?!" Twilight asked.

"A robot duplicate of Sonic?!" Tails asked. "No way! How is that possible?"

"This, my greatest creation!" came Doctor Eggman's voice. "He is the instrument of your demise! Metal Sonic, attack!" Then the engine that was in the robot's chest started whirling, and the robot charged at the heroes. Sonic and MC went against the wall while Twilight and Tails flew up and over when the robot rushed right through the hall.

"Metal Sonic, huh?" Sonic asked. "Oh, Eggman, flattery won't get you anywhere with me."

"I should have calculated for you to jump out of the way!" Doctor Robotnik said. "Never mind. Metal Sonic, take care of the intruders going after my Emerald!"

"Oh, jeez," MC said. He then pulled out his communicator. "Midpoint, Knuckles, you two got company coming up towards you. A robotic duplicate of Sonic."

"Thanks for the warning," came Midpoint's voice. "We'll be careful around this bot."

MC then sniffed around. He smiled and said, "I got the scent of the kids." He headed over to one cell. He then punched it open with his left fist, and the door hinges broke off with the door falling over. But there was no one inside, but a rising platform. "Shoot! They're going up!"

"C'mon!" Twilight said, heading down the hall. Sonic, Tails and MC followed. "Hang on kids!"

Midpoint and Knuckles were near the core of the Death Egg. They saw a bunch of robots guarding the Master Emerald. Midpoint pulled out another Electromagnetic arrow, and fired it at a metal beam, causing the robots to be magnetized to it. Then Midpoint fired another arrow, making them blow up.

"Neat trick," Knuckles said.

"Thank you," said Alex. Then the two of them jumped down from the platform they were on, and landed on the platform in front of the Master Emerald. Then the two of them headed for the Master Emerald.

"Alright, let's get the Master Emerald out of here," Knuckles said, starting to walk up to the Master Emerald, but was stopped by Midpoint.

"Wait," Midpoint said. "Do you hear something?" The sound of an engine whirling came in. They looked over and saw Metal Sonic coming towards them. The two of them jumped out of the way.

"A robotic hedgehog?" Knuckles asked.

"So unoriginal," said Midpoint. He then pulled out another arrow, and fired it at Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic grabbed it and threw it to a wall. Knuckles and Midpoint's jaws dropped. But then Midpoint smirked and said, "Seriously? He fell for that?" He then pushed the button on his glove, activating the electromagnet on the arrow, pulling Metal Sonic towards it.

"So what do you do with someone who's not robotic?" Knuckles asked.

"Blind 'em with a flash arrow," Midpoint said, preparing another arrow. When he aimed the bow and arrow at Metal Sonic, the robot was gone. "Where'd he go?" Then Midpoint was pushed off the platform by Metal Sonic.

"No!!" Knuckles shouted.

Midpoint was falling down the pit, but he grabbed another arrow, attached a cable from his belt to it, and fired the arrow straight up, the arrow hooking onto a railing on a platform lower than the one Knuckles was on. Midpoint then twisted a nob on his belt and he got pulled up to that platform. He got onto that platform and headed for a ladder.

Knuckles was trying to fight Metal Sonic, but the robot was too fast for Knuckles to get a hit. Knuckles then shouted, "Stand... still!"

Metal Sonic was about to counter strike, but his right arm got stuck to the railing on that platform. Metal Sonic looked at what was keeping it from moving, seeing bands wrapped around the arm and the railing, the bands coming from an arrow.

Knuckles looked over at Midpoint, surprised. He then asked, "You're... you're alive?"

"Yeah," said Midpoint. "Now hit him."

Knuckles smirked, and then he started punching Metal Sonic, causing damage to the robot's face.

Back with the other heroes, going up some stairs. As they got out of the stairwell, Twilight fell down to her knees, crying out. Sonic, Tails and MC stopped, then MC went over to check on her.

"What's wrong?" MC asked.

Twilight was panting hard. She then said, "It's Joshua. Something's happening to him."

MC then put Twilight on his back and said, "Then c'mon. We don't have time to waste. We need to get to the kids. And fast!" Then Sonic grabbed Tails, then him and MC used their super speed to get to where the kids were.

They went into one room and saw a giant cylinder with glowing lights. Joshua's voice was screaming from inside the cylinder.

"NO!!" Sonic, Tails and MC shouted.

"What? What is that thing?" Twilight asked.

"The Roboticizer!" MC said. "It turns organic creatures into robots! It was because of this machine that Bunnie has a robot arm and robot legs!"

"No! Joshua!" Twilight ran over towards it. She started banging on the cylinder.

"Get away from there!" Sleet's voice came. The four looked over towards the control console, and saw Sleet, Dingo, the rest of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Sleet then looked at the controls, and got confused. "What? Why isn't the roboticization happening?!"

Then MC jumped over towards him, grabbed Sleet in mid air, and threw him towards a wall on the other side of the room. He then punched Dingo in the gut, making him fall over.

Tails then went to the controls and deactivated the Roboticizer, and the cylinder opened up, revealing Joshua, not as a robot. He then checked himself.

"Hey!" Sleet shouted. "How isn't he a robot?!"

"I guess Sombra's curse is good for something," MC smirked.

"How's this good for something?" Sleet asked, pulling out his remote and aiming it at Dingo. Sleet then pushed the button on the remote, and Dingo transformed into a giant serpent. He then charged at the heroes.

"He just had to be a snake!" Twilight said, flying out of the way. Dingo was about to bite Twilight, but was pulled away by MC. MC then slammed him down on the ground, multiple times.

"OW! GAH! OH! NNGH! GOH! GAH!!" Dingo cried out in pain. He was then thrown straight at Sleet, making Sleet drop the remote, it heading towards MC.

"So, this little doohickey transforms Dingo into anything," said MC, smirking. He then aimed the remote at Dingo. He then pushed the button, Dingo transforming into a mouse.

"Hey, what's the big idea!" Dingo's voice came from the mouse, only it was high and squeaky.

"Let's see if the same happens to you," said MC, pointing it at Sleet.

"NO! No no no no no no!!" Sleet shouted, right as MC pushed the button at Sleet. Sleet then transformed as well. Sleet was turned into a mouse with the same purple cape on. Then in a squeaky voice, he said, "Ah, dang it."

MC then used his powers to forge a mouse cage, and then he put the two bounty hunters turned mice into the cage. MC smirked and said, "Seriously, that was too easy."

Twilight went over to Joshua and asked, "Are you alright, Joshua?"

"I'm alright, Mom," Joshua said, looking at his body. "What was that thing supposed to do?"

"Remember Bunnie's robotic arm and legs?" Sonic asked. "It was because of that machine that she got them."

Joshua looked back at the machine in worry. He then said, "Oh, boy."

"Good thing you weren't Roboticized," Sonic said. "Let's get them home."

"I got this," Twilight said. She then lit up her horn, then all seven Cutie Mark Crusaders, along with Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were teleported out of there. "Okay. I teleported the kids back to my castle."

"Good," said MC. "Let's go stop Robotnik." Then the four of them headed out of the room, going to find Doctor Robotnik.

Back at the core, Knuckles and Midpoint were fighting Metal Sonic. Both of them were struggling.

"This guy is tough," Knuckles said. "How do we take something like this down?"

"I got this," Midpoint said, preparing another arrow. Metal Sonic charged at Midpoint, who jumped out of the way. Then he fired the arrow at Metal Sonic. Metal Sonic caught the arrow. Midpoint then smirked and said, "Sucker." He then activated the arrow tip, which was another Electromagnet, bringing Metal Sonic to the nearest wall. Then Midpoint quickly grabbed an explosive arrow, and fired it at Metal Sonic, which then exploded.

"Good job," Knuckles said. "Let's get the Master Emerald out of here." Knuckles and Midpoint headed over to the Master Emerald.

Back with Twilight, Sonic, Tails and MC, the group made it to one large room. The group looked around.

"Are you sure Eggman's in here?" Sonic asked. "This room is totally empty."

"This is where his scent leads," MC said. "I smell him in here." But then, a giant robot came from above and landed away from the entrance, surprising the four heroes in the room.

The four heroes were shocked. Twilight then pointed a finger and asked, "What is that?!"

Then the head of the robot opened up and there was Doctor Robotnik, who laughed and said, "This is the instrument of your demise! This Death Egg Robot will crush all of you completely!"

"You've got to be kidding me!" MC said.

"Begone!" said Doctor Robotnik as the robot head closed, and the robot about to punch the group.

The four heroes jumped out of the way of the punch from the Death Egg Robot. Tails grabbed Sonic, and they flew up higher in the room. Twilight followed when she was flying, and MC was climbing the walls using his claws.

"You can't get away from me that easily!" Doctor Robotnik said. Then the Robot jumped up, chasing the four heroes.

MC looked down, seeing the robot chasing him and the other three. MC smirked and said, "Time to cause carnage." He then started slashing the walls around him, the debris falling down on top of the robot.

"Hey! This space station is brand new!" Doctor Robotnik shouted. "Stop causing damage!"

"Make me!" MC shouted.

Then the Death Egg Robot's arm extended, about to punch MC, but Twilight grabbed MC, and teleported the two out of the way of the attack. They all came to an even bigger room which was at the top of the pit.

"Thanks, Sparkles," MC said. Sonic and Tails headed over towards Twilight and MC.

"Okay," said Sonic. "How are we going to stop Eggman when he's in that machine?" Then the power went out. Then some red lights turned on.

"Looks like Knuckles and Alex got the Master Emerald," MC said. "Let's get out of here!"

"You're not going anywhere!" came Doctor Robotnik's voice. The Death Egg Robot came up to the floor and attacked the group. The group jumped out of the way.

"This thing is enormous!" Twilight said. "It's like fighting Lord Tirek!"

"Then we'll just go for his weakness," MC said. He then charged at the Death Egg Robot, who was about to punch MC. MC jumped onto the arm, and headed for the robot's shoulder. "Chaos Claw!" MC then slashed off the shoulder, which caused the arm to fall off.

"Talk about being disarmed," Tails said.

"Good thinking, MC!" Sonic said. He then did a spin dash up the wall, and then he came down, cutting off the other arm.

"You little...! You little...!" Doctor Robotnik's voice came from the robot.

MC then cut off the head of the robot, and ripped the head off of the robot, revealing Doctor Robotnik.

"Oh, no!" Doctor Robotnik said. But then he was lifted into the air by Twilight's magic. "Let me go!"

"Doctor Robotnik, you're going to jail," MC said. "For all the despicable crimes you've done over the years. Experimenting on creatures without their permission, kidnapping, stealing a powerful gem, conspiracy, fraud, and a whole lot of other stuff."

Later, at Angel Island, it was beginning to rise from the ocean. Knuckles was standing at the Alter of the Emerald, happy to have the Master Emerald back where it belongs.

Then it went over to the Pentagon. Twilight, Sonic, Tails, MC and Midpoint escorted Doctor Robotnik, Sleet and Dingo, the two bounty hunters back to normal, towards the guards there. The guards took them in. Some of them saluted to the five Mobians, who they responded by saluting.

"Okay," said MC. "Robotnik is going away for a long time, the Master Emerald is back where it belongs, and the kids are safe. All that's left is dinner with the president."

That made Twilight gasp and said, "The President!"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that," came the voice of the President. They looked over and saw the President walking up to them. "You all stopped a public threat to all kinds of creatures on the planet."

"That's the last we'll see of him in a while," said MC.

"Mr. President, I'm sorry, but I haven't fully prepared the dinner," Twilight said.

"It's okay," said the President. "We can postpone the dinner until tomorrow. Will that be okay with you?"

Twilight looked at the others and said, "Sure. That will work."

The President nodded.

Back in Equestria, Twilight finally arrived home, heading for her bedroom. She checked the rooms of Spike, Nyx and Joshua, seeing them all asleep. Twilight smiled, and headed for her own room. She took off her jacket and her shoes, and just went into her bed, falling asleep.

The next day, Twilight prepared the dinner for the President, her friends, and the Freedom Fighters to come over. Twilight smiled and said, "Today's the day."

Then coming into the room was the President, Twilight's friends and the Freedom Fighters.

"You all made it," Twilight said, smiling.

"After the day we had yesterday, it'll be nice to have a nice relaxing day," Sonic said.

"No disasters, no kidnapping, no problems at all," MC said.

"Yeah," Twilight said. "Now, who's up for dinner?" Then all of them headed over towards the table. Then it showed a montage of those who helped. In San Francisco, Midpoint took Cozy Glow mini golfing. Cozy Glow got a hole in one on the first hole. Midpoint patted her back before putting his ball down. He then hit his ball, and it also went into the hole on the first hit.

Then it showed Knuckles cleaning the Master Emerald with some rags. He was sweating as he was cleaning it. Then it showed Starlight, Trixie, Sunburst, Maud and Mudbriar at Maud's place, having a fun time together. Then it showed the Cutie Mark Crusaders over at the house that belonged to Rarity and Sweetie Belle's parents, having a fun time together. Then it showed Diamond Tiara, Silver Spoon and Filthy Rich having a nice dinner at a restaurant.

Then it showed Doctor Robotnik, Sleet and Dingo, all in individual jail cells, all of them were upset.

Then it went back to the dinner of the Mane 6, Spike, the President of the United States and the Freedom Fighters. All of them were clearly enjoying the dinner that was prepared. After what went on the previous day, it was nice to have a relaxing dinner.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
A Cruise is What We Need

Episode 14: A Cruise is What We Need

In the Castle of Friendship, the Mane 6, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting in the family room, sprawled out, hot and bored. All of them were exhausted.

"What a major heat wave," Rainbow Dash said. "It's too hot to work under the brutal heat."

"At least we got everything done," Twilight said. "But, this heat wave is too much, even for me."

"It's worse for Nyx," Joshua said. "Black is the worst color to have on during a heat wave. Black increases heat."

"So, what are we going to do?" Apple Bloom asked. "Basically, every pool and lake has everypony else in Ponyville occupying it. And it's way too hot for helping ponies find their Cutie Marks."

"Or understanding them," Dinky said. "The one time my mom goes on vacation to Yakyakistan and my sister is taking a trip to Seaquestria. I just wish I could go somewhere cool."

"Ah wish that too, sugarcube," Applejack said. "But there ain't much place to go for us to get out of this heat." But then the room started rumbling. "What in tarnation?"

Then the Mane 6, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran outside, seeing the Spirit of Freedom with the extra seats in a crate underneath. The back of the box opened up, and out came MC, waving his left hand to cool his face.

"Wow," MC said. "This heat wave is worse here than in Green Hills."

"What's going on, MC?" Twilight asked. "Did Doctor Robotnik escape prison?"

"No, he's still in prison," MC said. "But this doesn't concern the doctor. This is about you guys and this heat. We're gonna go on a cruise."

It then sequenced to Sonic freaking out at the docks of San Francisco. He was then complaining about not wanting to go when he was being pulled by MC and Applejack.

"C'mon, guys! Don't make me go onto that thing!" Sonic complained. "You know how much I hate the water!"

"You don't have to go into the water, Sonic," MC said. "We're just going on a cruise! There are a lot of other things to do on the ship!"

"Please, no!" Sonic said. "Don't make me go! No! NOOOOO!!" He was being pulled up the walk ramp.

"Ah thought he was supposed ta be the fastest thing alive, not the strongest!" Applejack said.

"He'll surprise you, I'll give him that," MC said. They continued to drag Sonic up the ramp. Then later, the boat started moving, heading out to sea.

The Mane 6, Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Freedom Fighters were going through a deck. They all had to be paired in rooms. Most of them two a room, some three, and Twilight, Spike, Nyx and Joshua got one room together.

Twilight then asked, "So how did you arrange this?"

"Alex Lynol sold the ship a lot of appliances to be used on this ship, by the passengers and the cooks on the ship," MC said. "Made him a fortune, and gave Alex access to rent out an entire deck. Unfortunately, due to him being stuck at work, making more deals, he was unable to join us. Him and Cozy Glow. Luckily, he allowed us to go on this much needed vacation after what we went through."

"At least Doctor Robotnik was put in prison," Rarity said. "After what he did to those foals."

"And what he almost did to Joshua," Tails said. "Apparently, that Sombra guy's curse prevented Joshua from becoming a robot."

"Since it was Sombra that originally turned Joshua into a pony," said Rainbow Dash. "It must've protected him from... what was that thing supposed to do?"

"Well, it was supposed to transform those who are in the machine," MC said. "It's basically why Bunnie has a robotic arm and robotic legs."

"That's what it was supposed to do?!" Twilight asked. "Oh, boy. I'd hate to feel having a robotic body with no way to feel things. It must be so sad."

"Bunnie's just lucky her entire body is roboticized," Sally said. "If the Roboticization goes through your entire body, you'll be a slave to Doctor Robotnik, and will have no control of your actions."

"That's horrible," Twilight said.

"But right now, we shouldn't worry about that," MC said. "Alright, everyone. Put your things into your rooms. Let's head on up to the buffet."

The next morning, Sonic was on the second highest part of the boat, looking out at sea, hoping to see a clear sight of land. But sadly, all he could see is the ocean blue. Sonic then sighed. Rainbow Dash flew up to him and sat next to him.

"Seriously, Sonic?" Rainbow Dash asked. "We're on a ship full of many possible things to do, and you're up here looking at the ocean?"

"It's not that," Sonic said. "I've been trying to see if there's land close by for me to tread. As long as it's not a deserted island or something. I just don't like being around the water."

"Hey, don't sweat about it," Rainbow Dash said. "Sure, you may be on a boat, but that doesn't mean we're gonna drown. There are a lot of things to do besides wait for the boat to come to a destination."

"Like what?" Sonic asked.

"Eat, sunbathe, working out at the gym, video arcade, anything you can decide to do that doesn't involve water," Rainbow Dash said. "You can do whatever you want to on this ship."

"I'm not too sure about this," Sonic said. "After all, I'm surprised that you're not in the spa with your friends. After all, you go there every once in a while."

Rainbow Dash gasped and asked, "Who told?"

"Rarity," Sonic said, smirking.

"Oh, jeez," Rainbow Dash said, covering her face with a hand. That made Sonic chuckle.

Down at the pool deck, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Tails, Mutt, Cream and Cheese were all having a fun time in the pool. They had been tossing a ball to each other. When the ball headed towards Mutt, he pushed the ball too hard, the ball headed over Nyx's head, heading out of the pool.

"I got it," Nyx said, heading to follow the ball. She chased it until the ball stopped at someone's feet. She grabbed it and said, "I'm sorry about that." She then looked up at the person's face, only to gasp in surprise.

Meanwhile, in the ship's spa, Rarity and Applejack were enjoying the steam room.

"Aww," Rarity said. "This is really relaxing."

"Ya got that right, Rarity," Applejack said. "At least Ah wouldn't be distracted with farm chores that Ah took so long on. Now that Ah don't have ta take small steps in them, Ah can just relax."

"No doubt about that," Rarity said.

Then coming into the steam room was Bunnie. But she didn't have any robotic parts on her. Applejack and Rarity were surprised at Bunnie's appearance.

"Bunnie?" Applejack asked. "What happened to yer metal body parts?"

"Oh, you can thank Tails, Rotor and MC for that," Bunnie said. "MC has the ability to manipulate matter down to it's molecule, and even change them. So, Tails and Rotor scanned MC's molecular manipulation ability to a deroboticizer ray gun. Sadly, the ray lasts up to two weeks. But, might as well use it for a vacation."

"Well, that's very nice," Rarity said. "I didn't know that Michael could do something like that. Manipulate and alternate matter. It's just like transfiguration magic."

"Sounds like it," Applejack said. She then sighed. "How 'bout ya join us fer the rest of the spa day?"

"Ah'd like that," Bunnie said, walking over towards the two ponies. She then sat with them, enjoying the steam.

Meanwhile, Twilight was looking around the place. She thought about joining the others. Spike saw Twilight heading down a hallway and ran towards her.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike said. "I thought you'd be joining the others for some entertainment."

"There are a lot of things to do, Spike," Twilight said. "This boat has a lot more things than that zeppelin that Iron Will tricked my family into going. Thanks for staying behind to do that paperwork, Spike."

"Hey, it's no problem," Spike said. "You needed the break, anyway."

"I just hope that if there's a lot more things here than the zeppelin, there has to be..." Twilight said before walking into one room, excited to see what was in the room. "...a library!"

The librarian in the library shushed Twilight, making her cover her mouth. She then walked into the library, trying to keep her excitement to a minimum, which was troubling for her.

Spike walked over to the librarian and said, "Twilight really likes reading books. She couldn't get enough when we lived in a library. Literally."

"I can understand that," said the librarian. "Most people want to get out of the books. But there are some people who still want to keep learning new things."

Spike shook his head, and then followed Twilight as she was going down one section of the library. She was after the world history books. Which was going to blow up Twilight's mind.

Nyx then came into the library, looking for Twilight. She then looked over at the librarian, walked over to her and asked, "Excuse me? Have you seen a purple alicorn pony come in here?" The librarian pointed a finger over towards one of the tables. Nyx looked over at the table, seeing Twilight reading some world history books. Nyx then walked over towards Twilight. "Twilight?"

"Nyx, this world is really interesting," Twilight said, reading one book. "Did you know that there were some wars started over certain disputes? This is interesting!" The Librarian shushed her again, making Twilight blush.

"Twilight," Nyx said. "You have no idea who I just bumped into at the pool."

"Oh, I doubt that there's someone we know on this boat," Twilight said. "I need to keep reading about the history of the world."

"Twilight," Nyx said. "Turn around."

Twilight turned around to look at Nyx, but saw two figures standing behind Nyx. "Oh, hey, Celestia. Hey, Luna." She then turned around. But then she realized who she saw. "Celestia?! Luna?!" That made the librarian shush Twilight again. Twilight was still surprised to see the former high princesses of Equestria. Princesses Celestia and Luna.

Twilight sat in her seat surprised to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna on the cruise ship. Spike came out from one section carrying more history books.

"Hey, Twilight," Spike said. "I got you more history books."

"Later, Spike," Twilight said. "We... have some unexpected guests."

Spike looked around the books to see Princess Celestia and Princess Luna standing behind Twilight. He then said, "Princess Celestia? Princess Luna? Wow. This is a huge surprise."

"Indeed," said Princess Celestia. "A huge surprise. Things must've been easy for you to run Equestria, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," Twilight said, nervously. "About that."

"We know about the destruction of Canterlot Castle," said Princess Luna. "Although, I think it is wise for you to rule Equestria from the Castle that was given to you by the Tree of Harmony."

"Well, it was a decision that I had a little guidance with," Twilight said. "Thanks to one of the Freedom Fighters."

"Oh, yes," Princess Celestia said. "The Freedom Fighters. I read the papers about that group. They seem to be an interesting group. I also read about that race that Rainbow Dash had with Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Sonic actually won, but ran back for a few pictures, and made it look like a three way tie," Twilight said. "That was amazing. I can't believe that's possible."

"I would like to meet these Freedom Fighters over dinner," Princess Celestia said. "It would be such an honor to meet all of them."

"Sure," said Twilight. "We can all have dinner at the buffet."

"That would be nice," Princess Celestia said. "We shall see you all tonight." Then the two former high princesses walked away.

Twilight leaned towards Nyx and asked, "Did they see Joshua?"

"Yeah," said Nyx. "Even they couldn't find a way to turn Joshua back to normal. Even they can't find a work around magic that evolves itself."

"I guess that makes sense," Twilight said. "But, right now, we should inform the others about dinner tonight."

Later in the lobby, the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and the Freedom Fighters were all talking with each other about what's happening the upcoming night.

"So, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here on this ship, and want to catch up on what's happenin'?" Applejack asked.

"This is a very big deal," Rarity said. "The former high princesses of Equestria wanting to see us? This is a very big deal. I can't wait to catch up at..." Rarity then stopped to think of something. "Where are we going to be eating, tonight?"

"The buffet," Twilight said.

"Oh, and with many foods from so many countries," MC said. "Can't wait to review the food on my blog."

"You have a blog about food?" Pinkie asked.

"I went around the world, eating at very popular places to see how good the food is," MC said. "I taste the best food of every country in the world." He then started talking in the accents of which countries that he has been to. "Paris, France. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Madrid, Spain. Mexico City in Mexico." He then talked in his normal accent. "I even had the best burgers in Las Vegas, Nevada." He then pulled out his phone and showed his blog. "I have enhanced senses, which include taste as well, and I post certain words on my blog, that if they failed at something, they can always try again with what they want to cook what they really want to cook for their restaurant."

"Goodness," Rarity said. "That's a very good blog. And you don't try to make anyone change their restaurant or the way to cook their food?"

"Nope," MC said. "Everyone has a different taste. To those who think they should have one sense of taste, they are just messed up, and post a very negative comment on their blog to show them what they're messing with."

"Wow," Pinkie said. "Where were you when Rarity and I had to deal with Zesty Gourmand?"

"Oh, yes," Rarity said. "You've would have been a big help with her on our friendship mission back then."

"It would be an honor to meet the former high princesses of Equestria," said Sally. "I can't wait to meet them."

"Personally, hearing what Nyx's origins were, I want to know how Luna became the original Nightmare Moon straight from the horse's mouth," MC said. He then chuckled and said, "Sorry. Bad choice of words."

"Oh, we're not offended by that," said Twilight. "Although, ponies are pretty close to horses. So, I guess you'll get your answers from Luna herself. Although, I could tell you now if you'd like."

"Nope," MC said. "I wanna hear it straight from Luna's mouth."

"You can count me out," Sonic said. "I'm just gonna be at the ship's bow, hoping to see land soon."

"You also gonna do the 'I'm King of the World' line when you're at it?" Mutt asked, jokingly. That made the rest of the Freedom Fighters, except for Sonic, laugh.

"Very funny, Muttski," Sonic said, before speeding off.

"King of the World?" Twilight asked.

"Basically, when someone stands on the bow of a ship with their arms spread apart, it's called the 'King of the World' bit," Sally said. "It's been done for years. Even done over 100 years ago on a ship called the Titanic."

"That boat sank in the Atlantic ocean in 1912," MC said. "They thought it was unsinkable, but it had a little scraping with the bottom of an iceberg."

"The bottom of an iceberg is always the widest part of it," said Tails. "There's a lot more under the water than there is over." Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor nodded.

"Hopefully, we won't have a problem with an iceberg over dinner," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well, we got a bunch of time left until dinner tonight," MC said. "Everyone meet at the Buffet by 5:30." The others nodded and headed their separate ways.

Later at night time, Sonic was looking out at sea, his arms crossed. Then he heard footsteps coming in from behind him. He turned and saw Spike coming up to him.

"I thought you'd be with the others," Sonic said.

"I got full after the first plate," Spike said. "So, anything else you plan on doing, tonight?"

"Meh, nothing much," said Sonic. "With not much room on this boat, I can't exactly speed up." He then pulled up a bag from a restaurant on the boat, and pulled out a chili dog. He then took a bite out of it. "I just prefer to keep my feet on the earth than over water."

"How come you don't want to go anywhere near the water?" Spike asked.

"I can't swim," Sonic said. "Sure, if I move at a certain speed, I can tread the water, but I can't go into the water unless it's really shallow."

"And by shallow, you mean..." Spike said before Sonic interrupted him.

"Basically, something I can actually sit in water without my head going under," Sonic said. "I just hope that I don't go into the deep blue ocean."

"When was the last time you went on a cruise?" Spike asked.

"I was actually tricked onto the boat," Sonic said. "They said it was for an important mission. But when I tried jumping off the boat and getting to shore, I missed. 15 times. Luckily, MC got me back onto the boat."

"So, what was the reason they had you on that boat?" Spike asked.

"It was a surprise birthday party for me," Sonic replied. "It was actually pretty good. Even though they completely tricked me." He then sighed.

Spike then looked out to sea. He then went wide eyed, put his hand over his eyebrows, and asked, "Sonic. Is that what I think it is?"

Sonic then looked out at sea, seeing what Spike is seeing. He then went wide eyed. "History just loves to repeat itself, doesn't it?" Then the two of them left the bow, heading somewhere.

Meanwhile, the rest of the group were having a chat with Celestia and Luna about the adventures they had since Equestria ended up in this world.

"So, Cozy Glow is under the watch of the one who provided this vacation?" Princess Luna asked. "Are you sure that's wise of this creature to watch over a psychotic filly?"

"What was psychotic was that she had a father who didn't care about having anything but a unicorn colt for a child," MC said. "Cozy Glow's father didn't even care once to even try to find her. Let alone try to protest about her capture."

"That... is a good point," Princess Celestia said. "So, where is Cozy Glow now?"

"San Francisco," Twilight said. "She has been reforming quite well. Although, it is a matter of time before she has a chance to go rogue."

"She tried to kill us!" Rainbow Dash said. "Why isn't she trying to do something already?"

"Maybe she has changed," Fluttershy said. "But, who could tell?"

"If anyone can try to change a psychotic young one, it's Alex Lynol," MC said. "He's smarter and stronger than he looks."

"Lynol?" Maria asked, looking at MC.

MC looked over at Maria and asked, "Is there something wrong, Maria?"

"Alex Lynol," Maria said. "Does he have any relation with Doctor Terrance Lynol?"

"Yeah," Sally said. "Doctor Terrance Lynol, may he rest in peace, was Alex Lynol's grandfather. Why do you ask?"

"Terrance Lynol... was one of the scientists of the ARK," Maria said. That made the Freedom Fighters and Twilight gasp.

MC thought about it. He then shook his head as he mumbled, "No. Couldn't be." Just then, Sonic came rushing in with Spike on his back.

"Hey, guys," Sonic said. "We got a problem coming up."

"What's going on, Sonic?" Twilight asked.

Spike got off of Sonic's back and said, "Iceberg! We're heading right towards one!"

"WHAT?!" the others shouted. Then they all headed out of there, heading for the ship's bow, and looked out in front of the ship. There, they saw an iceberg.

"Okay," Sally said. "That was not on the route."

The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were looking out in front of the ship, seeing the iceberg coming closer and closer to the boat.

"That berg is enormous!" Twilight said. "How are we going to get the boat to go around it in time?"

"It wouldn't clear the collision in time," Rotor said. "We're gonna have to get everyone off this ship."

"There's no time for that," MC said. "There are a lot more people on this ship than there were on the Titanic, and not everyone made it off that boat. We're gonna have to take off a huge chunk of that berg before collision."

"We have at least 10 minutes before collision," Tails said. "How are we going to do that?"

MC then headed for the top of the ship. He then called out, "Sonic, it's time we make a jump for it!"

Sonic then rushed up to MC and looked at the iceberg. He then asked, "What are we doing?"

"We're gonna shred that berg to pieces," MC said. He then got into position to start to run down. Sonic thought about it, and smirked.

"Cutting through the ice," Sonic said. "I get it. We're just gonna have to cut the iceberg and smooth out the rest of the debris." He then got into position to run. Then the two of them rushed down and through the deck, jumped off the edge of the boat, and headed for the iceberg. They were a little short of the iceberg, but MC grabbed Sonic's arm with his right hand, and he used the claws on his left hand to grab onto the iceberg.

"Whoo! I think I made some snow cones with that grab!" MC said. He then started climbing to the top of the iceberg. Sonic and MC looked down at the iceberg when they reached the top. "Let's get shredding."

Then Sonic started doing a spin dash to cut through the ice. MC then used his claws to cut through the ice as well. The others on the boat were surprised to see the two Freedom Fighters cutting through the iceberg.

"Those guys sure are thorough," Twilight said. "I'm gonna go over to help them."

"Allow us to help you," Princess Luna said. Then the three adult alicorns flew over towards the iceberg, and started using their magic to push it away from the boat. But something was preventing it.

"Something's wrong!" Twilight said. "Why isn't it moving a bit?!"

"Move the debris!" MC shouted before slicing off a big chunk of ice. The chunk was caught in Princess Celestia's magic. Sonic then looked over at the distance between the iceberg and the boat.

"Hey, MC, is it me or is the iceberg closer to the boat than it should be?" Sonic asked.

MC looked over, but then he thought of something. He then said, "Let me check something!" He then jumped into the water. He swam under the iceberg and saw something connected to the iceberg. It was a motor. MC then swam over towards the motor, and used his claws to slice the motor. The iceberg then started being pushed away from the boat. Now, there was a clear path through the water for the boat.

MC then came to the surface of the water, then he was grabbed in Twilight's magic. He was pulled out of the water. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were carrying Sonic back to the boat. Then Twilight and MC landed on the boat.

"That was intense," Twilight said. "At least we avoided repeating one of this world's histories."

"But this one was a lot different," MC said. "I looked under the iceberg and saw a motor. This was no coincidence. Someone actually wanted this boat to sink."

"But... who would do that?" Fluttershy asked.

"Did ya see anythin' on the motor?" Applejack asked.

"I didn't see," MC said. "I had to think of the passengers on the boat. Right now, I'm gonna need a nice hot bath."

"Of course," said Princess Luna. "The waters of the ocean at night are very cold. You should take a nice hot bath."

A few days later, the cruise arrived in Hawaii. The Mane 6, Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna got off the boat.

"Whoa!" Apple Bloom said. "This place is..."

"Beautiful!" Rarity interrupted. "I've never seen such a beautiful place."

"Care for a beautiful walk around zis glorious island, my love?" Antoine asked, looking at Bunnie.

"Sure, sugah," said Bunnie. "Let's do it." Then the two of them headed off. MC then looked back out at sea.

Twilight walked up to him and asked, "Is something bothering you?"

"I'm just thinking about that iceberg incident," MC said. "I'm certain that there's something out there. Who could've put that motor on that iceberg?"

"I'm not sure," said Twilight. "But right now, let's enjoy this vacation. You seem tense. Perhaps you should get a massage."

"I'm not sure that it'll help," MC said. "I've tried all of the masseuses in the world, and not one of them succeeded of getting out all the tense I had in my bones for years."

"Wow," Twilight said. "Sounds like you need someone who is a lot stronger as a masseuse. I'm sure that there's someone who can get rid of your tension." Twilight then grabbed MC's hand and said, "C'mon. Let's go." Then they all headed for the resort.

Meanwhile, at the bottom of the ocean, the motor attached to the iceberg was just sitting at the ocean floor. But there was a symbol on it.

This might not be over.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Mysteries of the Creepy, Old House

Episode 15: Mysteries of the Creepy, Old House

On a dark and stormy night, somewhere in the US, there was an SUV driving down a road. Inside were MC, Fluttershy and the Young Six. MC was driving the car.

"Wow," Fluttershy said. "This really is one nasty storm."

"Yeah," MC said, "This storm isn't letting up anytime soon."

"Yona really is freaking," Yona said, looking out the window.

"Don't worry, Yona," MC said. "We're 10 miles out of Green Hills. We'll be home in no time." Just then, the engine started sputtering. "Oh, no. Bad timing." MC then pulled the car over. "You all stay here." He then headed out of the car. He popped the hood and checked the engine. He then sighed and got back into the car. "Well, we're gonna have to wait until a repairman comes." He then pulled out his cell phone. He then got angry. "Great. No cell phone service."

"Well, what are we gonna do?" asked Gallus. "We can't just stay here in the car. We need to stretch our legs."

"Gallus is right," said Sandbar. "We need leg room."

"Ooooh! How about we go up there and see if there's someone who can help?" Silverstream said, pointing at a creepy looking house.

Yona started shuttering and said, "Yona not too sure. What if that place haunted?"

"Oh, c'mon, Yona," Ocellus said. "There are no such things as ghosts. You should know that."

"Well, looks like we don't have a choice," MC said. "Let's go in there, see if there's a phone, and call for some help." MC and Fluttershy got out of the car, the Young Six following. They headed towards the house, unbeknownst of the sound of creepy laughter coming from inside.

MC, Fluttershy and the Young Six headed for the door. There was a huge door knocker on the door. MC grabbed it, and used it to get the attention of someone inside.

"Sheesh, these are big knockers," MC said. He then used the knocker again. "Hello?! Is anyone there?! We need to use your phone!" Just then, the door opened slowly. The group looked inside, Yona was holding onto Ocellus, Silverstream and Smolder in fear.

"Yona! Can't... breathe...!" Smolder said. Yona then loosened her grip. Then they all headed inside. MC looked over at the door, but there was no one standing there to have opened the door.

"Okay, that's creepy," MC said. "Who opened the door?"

Fluttershy then held onto MC, just as afraid as Yona. She then said, "What do you think caused it to open?"

"I don't know," MC said. He then looked around. He then saw a phone by the stairs. He then looked to the right and saw a den. "Alright. You all go wait in the den. I'm gonna make a call." He was about to move to the phone, but Fluttershy was still holding onto him. "Fluttershy, could you please let go?"

"Sorry," Fluttershy said. She then headed for the den with the Young 6 following. MC then walked over to the phone.

Fluttershy and the Young 6 looked around the den. Ocellus wiped her finger on a table, seeing it was covered in dust. She then said, "Wow. Somebody must really be lazy. So much dust."

"Like we can clean this place up for the person, or people living here," Gallus said.

"Well, it would give us something to do," Sandbar said.

Smolder then walked over to the fireplace, placed some wood into it, and then she used her fire breath to ignite it.

"Oh, yeah," said Smolder. "That'll warm us up." Then Fluttershy and the Young 6 started cleaning up the den. MC then walked into the room.

"Bad news, everyone," MC said. "The mechanics are all off duty tonight. Looks like we're stuck here for the night."

"Oh, that's too bad," Fluttershy said. "Are you sure that this place is safe for us to stay?"

MC started smelling around. He then said, "By the smell of it, it smells like no one has been here for years."

"Well, who opened the door?" Smolder asked.

"The door must've been unlocked the entire time," MC said. "Let's see if there are any rooms here that we can sleep in for the night." MC then headed out of the den, Fluttershy and the Young 6 following. The group walked upstairs to see some bedroom doors and bathrooms.

"So, where do we sleep?" Fluttershy asked.

"No one alone," MC said. "I'll be with Gallus and Sandbar. "Fluttershy, you go with Yona and Ocellus. Smolder, Silverstream, you two stay in one room." The group nodded, and they split up into other rooms.

Smolder and Silverstream walked into the room they were going to share. Smolder and Silverstream took a look around the room.

"Meh, not bad," said Smolder.

"This room is fascinating," said Silverstream. "Let's see what other secrets this room has."

"Meh, you do what you want," said Smolder. "I need to use the toilet. Hopefully, there's still working plumbing in this old place." She then left the room.

Silverstream walked over to the closet and opened it up. She then saw something in there and said, "Hey! What is that thing? It's kinda creepy, yet funny." Then she heard the sound of children laughing coming from around her. "Who... who's there?" She then looked back at the thing in the closet, but she then started backing up in fear. "No. No! Get away from me!" She then screamed.

In the room with the boys, Sandbar was looking at a gramophone. He then said, "Hey, guys. Check out this gramophone." MC and Gallus walked over towards Sandbar to look at it.

"Oho, I've seen one of these in some antique stores," MC said. "These things are really old. Which some evolved into a record player, which then evolved into a CD player. I wonder if this thing still works." MC then turned the crank on the gramophone. There was the sound of cranks turning, but no sound was coming out. "Huh. Guess it's too dusty to play music." Then Sandbar started to stick his head into the horn. "Wait, Sandbar. Don't put your head in..."

Then came a puff of dust from the horn, making Sandbar get his head out of it and coughing. Then music started playing from the record. Which was from the song, "I Like Big Butts and I Cannot Lie." MC then pulled out the record and started blowing away the dust.

"Remind me never to do that again," said Sandbar.

That made Gallus laugh. MC then looked around the room to see something in a glass case. MC then walked over to it and asked, "What do you boys think of this?"

Sandbar and Gallus walked over towards it. It was a talisman that looked like a stone hourglass. Gallus then asked, "What is it supposed to be? An hourglass?"

"If it was an hourglass, it would be made of glass and full of sand," said Sandbar. "Do you think it has anything to do with magic or something?"

MC opened up the glass case and inspected it. He then said, "Weird. I sense some kind of energy emitting from it. It could be an ancient relic." Then Fluttershy came into the room. MC looked over at the door and asked, "What is it, Flutters?"

"It's Silverstream! She's missing!" Fluttershy said.

"What?!" MC asked. Then he and Sandbar headed out of the room.

"I'll stay here!" said Gallus, staying in the room.

MC, Fluttershy and Sandbar met up with Smolder, Ocellus and Yona in the hallway. MC then looked at Smolder and asked, "What happened?"

"Okay, Silverstream wanted to inspect the room," Smolder said. "But then I had to use the bathroom. But when I got back, Silverstream was just gone. I then tried to look for her all over the place, but she wasn't anywhere."

MC then went into the room, and smelled around. "I smell her coming in, but not going out. She's just... gone. Oh, crackers. Sparkles and Queen Novo are gonna kill me. Figuratively, since I have a healing factor, I can't die."

"We need to find Silverstream!" Ocellus said. "We can't just let one of our friends be lost here." She then looked around. "Hey, where's Gallus?"

"NO! NOOO!! STAY AWAY!!" came Gallus's voice from the room. The group ran into the room and saw Gallus being pulled into a wall. "HELP ME!! GHOSTS!! REAL GHOSTS!!" He then disappeared into the wall. MC headed over to the wall, but the wall went solid and MC bounced off.

"Okay, this is officially weird," MC said.

"Did griffon just say... g-g-g-ghosts?" Yona asked, getting nervous. Fluttershy hugged her and the two started shaking in fear.

"There are no such things as ghosts!" Ocellus said. "We don't know what caused Gallus to go into that wall. Perhaps it's how Silverstream disappeared as well." Sandbar then grabbed the talisman.

"There are a lot of spirits out there that get trapped in the living world," MC said. "It could be possible that there are ghosts here." Then the sound of children laughing came from around them. The group stuck together and MC asked, "Smolder. By any chance, did you hear the sound of children laughing?"

"Well, I did hear some laughter right before I came walking into that room," Smolder said. "It could be that..." She was then interrupted when some white faces came from the walls.

"What the heck is that?!" Sandbar asked. Then white arms came out of the walls, heading for Sandbar and Fluttershy. "WHOA!" Sandbar dropped the talisman as the white arms grabbed Fluttershy and Sandbar. Then the two screamed as the two were pulled into the wall.

"Still have doubts about ghosts, Ocellus?" MC asked.

"I didn't know!" Ocellus shouted. "We need to get out of here!" Then more white arms came out of the walls, grabbing Ocellus, making her scream. Smolder then grabbed Ocellus, but she was pulled in as well.

"Whoa!!" Smolder said as she and Ocellus were pulled into the wall. Then more white arms headed for MC and Yona. MC then grabbed the talisman and held it out to the white arms, which stopped. Then the ghosts headed away from the two of them, heading towards the window, heading to a hedge maze behind the old house.

"That... was messed up," MC said.

"Where Yona's friends?" Yona asked. "Are we only ones left?"

"I don't know, Yona," MC said, looking out the window. He could see a few purple flashes coming from the center of the maze. "But I think we're gonna have to go to where those ghosts went to get our friends back. We'll go in the morning."

Back in the car, MC and Yona were asleep in the car. The Talisman was sitting on the dash of the car. MC then woke up and looked around. He then moved his seat back to it's original sitting position. He then shook Yona.

"Yona," MC said. "Wake up."

Yona woke up and looked around. She then asked, "Why Yona sleeping in ponyless cart?"

"Remember what happened last night?" MC asked. "The ghosts."

"GHOSTS?!" Yona shouted. She then gasped. "Yona's friends!"

"C'mon," MC said, grabbing the talisman. "We got to get them back." MC and Yona got out of the car and headed back to the house. They then went towards the maze behind the house. Then the two of them reached the center of the Maze and saw a pedestal at the center of the clearing.

"What is this place?" Yona asked.

"Odd," MC said, walking over to the pedestal. He then looked at the pit in the center of the top of the pedestal. Then there was an inscription on the pedestal, which he read out loud. "'Appears under the moon, disappears under the sun.' Interesting." He then looked at the bottom of the pedestal. His eyes then went to a glowing golden aura color. "Okay. There we go."

"What is it?" Yona asked.

"There's a staircase under this pedestal," MC said. "C'mon, give me a hand." MC then put his hands on the pedestal. Yona followed with her hands. Then the two moved the pedestal away, revealing the staircase. "Okay, so this is where the ghosts hide during the day." MC then picked up the talisman. "Let's go."

"Wait!" Yona said. "Yona can't go! Yona scared."

MC then put a hand on Yona's shoulder and said, "Hey, I get it. Fear is a natural thing. But we have to face our fears to save our friends."

"But... But..." Yona said. She then thought about her friends. She then sighed and said, "Okay. Yona will go. For friends." MC nodded and the two of them headed down the staircase. It was getting darker and darker as the two were going down the stairs. Yona then asked, "Isn't fox scared of what's down there?"

"Everyone gets scared," MC said. "But to protect my friends, my fear just goes away. I just have to focus on what's important, and forget the fear. Hopefully, the others are still alive."

Meanwhile, in an unknown void, there laid Fluttershy and the rest of the Young Six. All of them were unconscious. There were a bunch of ghosts floating around them. Along with a much larger one.

The smaller ghosts were laughing in a much more creepy laugh.

Back with MC and Yona, the two reached the bottom of a staircase. Yona then said, "It's too dark. Yona wish we brought a unicorn pony."

"Hang on, I got this," MC said. Just then, his left hand started glowing in a golden aura. He then held it up. "There. That's better, ain't it?"

"How you do that?" Yona asked.

"It's a power I had," MC said. "It took me a while to master simple tricks like that, then again, I was only eight at the time." He then started smelling. "Hey, I got their scents. Follow me."

Just then, the sound of the ghosts laughing came into the room. Yona got closer to MC, hugging him tight. She then said, "Ghosts coming!"

"Yona... I need personal space!" MC said as his body was crushed. Then they saw the ghosts coming up towards them. MC then held out the talisman. "Hold it, ghosties. Stay back!"

The ghosts stopped and looked at the talisman in fear. Then they headed back down the hallway, screaming in fear.

"Okay, that was weird," MC said. "Usually, it's the ghosts who scare the living. Not the other way around." He then looked at the talisman. "Or perhaps it's this stone hourglass." He then inspected the talisman. One side had a sun while the other one was a moon. "Appears under the moon. Disappears under the sun. If this thing has anything to do with the ghosts, we're gonna have to go deeper into this place." Then the two of them headed down the hallway.

Back in the void, Ocellus was coming to. She looked around, seeing the ghosts around her. She then looked up and saw the largest ghost. She then tried backing up, but her body was too exhausted to even move back.

Back in the hallway, MC and Yona stopped at a dead end.

"Where ghosts go?" Yona asked.

"Ghosts are intangible, meaning they can pass through walls like light through glass," MC said. He then started smelling again. He then looked over and saw a smaller staircase, leading to a door. "There!" Yona turned her head towards the staircase and saw the ghosts going through a wooden door.

The two headed for the door. MC then kicked the door open. The two of them walked in, looking around for their friends. The two of them saw that they were in a small room with a small shelf in a wall.

"I don't get it," MC said, looking around. "This is where their scents lead. But they aren't anywhere in here."

"Gallus! Smolder! Any of Yona's friends in here!" Yona shouted. MC then covered Yona's mouth. Just then, they heard a voice coming from above.

"MC! YONA! Up here!"

The two looked up and gasped. They saw a skylight, showing the void. There in the middle of it was Ocellus, pounding on it.

"Ocellus!" MC shouted.

"Hurry! Get us out of here!" Ocellus shouted.

"Hang on, Ocellus, I'm coming!" MC said, about to unleash his claws. "Time for the Chaos Claw."

"Hold on!" came Ocellus's voice, but this time, it was a little different. "It won't work like that!" MC and Yona looked up at Ocellus. "The only way to get us out is to use that talisman you have."

"How stone thing gonna get you out?" Yona asked.

"Take that stone over towards the shelf on the wall, and place it on the shelf," Ocellus's voice said. MC paid attention to Ocellus's words and her lips. But that didn't stop Yona from taking the stone to the shelf.

"Hang on, Yona," MC said. "Something's not right."

"What fox talking about?" Yona asked.

"I hear the words, but her lips ain't matching the words," MC said. "I can read lips."

"It's an optical illusion!" came Ocellus's voice. "Yona, please. Put the stone on the shelf with the moon side facing upwards."

Yona looked at the talisman's sides. She then saw the moon side and started putting it on the shelf. MC then got angry, looked at Yona and shouted, "NOOO!!"

Yona put the talisman on the shelf. But then, a blue light emitted from the talisman, but then a blue light came from the ceiling. MC and Yona covered their eyes. When the light cleared, a bunch of ghosts came, including the big one.

"I knew something was up!" MC said, angrily. "Which one of you was impersonating Ocellus?!"

"Thank you, Yona!" the big ghost said in Ocellus's voice. Then he and the other ghosts started laughing.

"Who are you?!" MC shouted. "Or is it who were you?"

"I am King Boom Boo! King of the ghosts!" the big ghost said. "But in life, I was the original owner of this house. In life, I was a wealthy millionaire who had the good life. But ever since they built a school across the street from my house, I've been troubled by little kids, every Monday through Friday from Autumn to Summer. So I decided to try to scare them off. Using real ghosts."

He was flashbacking back to his past. He was a human man, reading a book on black magic.

"But when I got everything for it, not only did I summon real ghosts, I was transformed into one as well. And as for the children, it would seem that they've became the same ghosts I summoned."

It then went back to the present.

"That explains why the ghosts had the laughter of children," MC said.

"I can't find a way back to the living, but I will live on and take you all for myself!" King Boom Boo said.

"Never!" MC said, getting into a defensive stance in front of Yona.

"Oh, really?" asked King Boom Boo. "How about this?!"

Then a blue light came from the ceiling, and out came Fluttershy and the rest of the Young 6. Yona was about to walk towards them, but MC stopped her.

"Hang on," MC said. "Why would he let them go like that?"

Just then, Fluttershy and the others woke up, but they had the eyes and the teeth of the ghosts. That made Yona shout in fear. MC then had his fists glowing.

"Don't resist!" said the possessed Fluttershy. "It'll only make this worse for you two." Then the six possessed creatures started charging at MC and Yona.

"Run," MC said. Then the two of them started running around the room, trying to get to the door, but they were blocked by ghosts. "Oh, shoot!" Then the two of them were surrounded by the ghosts. "Talk about a dead end." He then looked around. "Sorry, bad choice of words."

MC and Yona were standing in the center of the room, looking around. MC then saw the talisman. He then thought about something.

"Appears under the moon. Disappears under the sun," MC said. He then got a realization. "That's it! That's their weakness! Yona! Get the talisman, and flip it over!"

"What?!" Yona asked. "Are you sure about this?!"

"Just trust me!" MC said. He then fired golden blasts at the ghosts, but the blasts went right through them. The ghosts were laughing. But then MC was tackled by the possessed creatures. "Do it!"

Yona then grabbed the talisman, and flipped it over. When she placed it back on the shelf, a yellow light came from the ceiling, making all of the ghosts scream in panic. Then the ghosts popped out of Fluttershy and the rest of the Young 6.

Gallus coughed and said, "That was horrible." He then looked down at MC, who was still tackled. "Oh, sorry, MC."

"You guys have five seconds to get off of me," MC said. Then the ones on MC got off of him. MC then rushed around the room, creating a small whirlwind, all the ghosts getting caught in it.

"Why you!" King Boom Boo said. Then MC charged at King Boom Boo, then punched the large ghost in the stomach, him heading towards the wall.

"Yona, get the talisman!" MC shouted. Yona then grabbed the talisman. "We're getting out of here!" Then MC, Fluttershy and the Young 6 ran out of the room. From the rumble, King Boom Boo came out, angrily.

The gang reached the staircase that lead outside. Fluttershy then said, "I have to admit. That big guy was the ugliest of all the ghosts."

"You got that right, Fluttershy," MC said. Just then, the sound of rumbling came from behind them. The group stopped and looked back. They saw King Boom Boo coming right towards them, destroying the floor on the way. "Man, this guy just won't quit. Let's go!" They all ran as fast as they could. As they reached outside, Smolder, Gallus and Sandbar pushed the pedestal back over the staircase. MC then grabbed the talisman from Yona's hands, looked at the sides, and then he placed the talisman on the pedestal.

Then a huge burst of sunlight came over the entire area. Then all of the ghosts from the entire place came out of the ground, heading up into the heavens, screaming in fright. Including King Boom Boo. Then they all vanished from sight. Then there was a small earthquake.

"Run!" MC said. They all started running, but the ground caved in. But luckily, Gallus grabbed Sandbar, Smolder and Silverstream grabbed Yona, and Fluttershy and Ocellus grabbed MC. They all flew back to where the car was.

"That... was crazy," MC said. When they landed, they saw a mechanic's truck parked in front of the car they came in.

"Alright, the car is all fixed," the mechanic said. "That'll be $150." MC then pulled out his wallet and payed the man. Then later, the group were all in the car, continuing their way back to Green Hills.

"Okay, that was crazy," MC said.

"When we get back to Equestria, let's get our story straight," Fluttershy said. "We had some traffic trouble."

"Sparkles ain't gonna fall for that," MC said. "We're just gonna have to tell her what happened. No matter how crazy things sound."

"Yeah, you're right," Fluttershy said. "I just hope that we won't have to worry about those ghosts again."

"I wouldn't worry about it," said Ocellus. "If those ghosts went up, they can finally rest in peace."

"Hopefully, you're right," Smolder said, smacking her lips. "I can still taste ghost slime."

"Yeah, that's ectoplasm," MC said. "All ghosts have it." Then the ones who were possessed smacked their lips. MC then used his rear view mirror to look at Yona. "Well, at least we're the only ones who weren't possessed, eh, Yona?"

"Ghost slime must be gross," Yona said.

"You have no idea," said Gallus. They kept on driving back to Green Hills. Hoping they would never have to deal with things like that again.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Bokkun

Episode 16: Bokkun

The episode starts off with Doctor Robotnik sitting in a jail cell. In the cell across from him was Sleet and Dingo. Doctor Robotnik was waiting for something while Dingo was looking at him.

"What do you supposed the doctor is doing?" asked Dingo.

"He's probably coming up with a plan to get us out," said Sleet. "Hopefully, soon. I'm tired of eating all of that slop those nasty people are serving us."

"Quiet, you two," said Doctor Robotnik. "There will soon be a jail break. And I will soon find a way to get the world to respect my genius."

Just then, the ceiling above Doctor Robotnik's cell blew up and down came a flying machine, coming into the cell. And piloting the machine was a little robot.

"Hi, Doctor Robotnik," the little robot said. "I got a surprise for you."

"Good," said Doctor Robotnik. "Let's get out of here. I've got big plans for the world."

"Hey! Doctor!" called out Dingo. "What about us?!"

"Yeah, you can't just leave us in here, can you?" Sleet asked.

"Hm, let me think about it. Yes," said Doctor Robotnik without a second thought. "You two failed me. So, I'm moving onto someone who knows what he's doing."

"See ya, suckers!" said the little robot.

"Bokkun, it's time to go," Doctor Robotnik said as he headed out of the hole, the little robot following. Then the guards came towards the cell, looking up at the hole.

"Call the president," one of the guards said. "Doctor Robotnik has escaped."

At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight was having a talk with a pony she hasn't seen since her Coronation as High Princess, Fizzlepop Berrytwist. Also known as Tempest Shadow.

"So you're thinking of becoming a part of the royal guard?" Twilight asked.

"Yep," said Tempest Shadow. "I've decided that now that the Storm King has been defeated and everyone is informed, I have to settle down somewhere and start a new career. Might as well do my best in the royal guard."

"Well, I'm sure that you'll be a fine addition to the royal guard," Twilight said. "Of course, we're gonna have to do some tailoring for your armor."

Then MC came in through the portal and said, "Yo, Sparkles. Gather your friends. We got..." He then noticed Tempest Shadow and her broken horn. "Sweet Jesus! What in the world happened to that girl's horn?!"

"It's a long story," said Twilight. "Now, what is it you wanted me to gather my friends about?"

"Doctor Robotnik escaped," MC said.

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted. "Okay, I'll gather my friends and the Crusaders. They should be protected at all times."

"Good call," MC said. "They'll need protection as well."

Later, the Mane 6, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in Knothole. Tempest Shadow followed to help with protecting the Crusaders.

"Okay," said Sonic. "Eggman is out there on the loose, and we need to be one step ahead of him."

"Won't work," MC said. "The doc is always one step ahead, and there's nothing we can do to know what he's up to until it's too late."

"So, what are we going to do?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," said Applejack. "We don't want anything bad ta happen ta the Crusaders. Since what the doctor tried ta do ta Josh. What are we gonna do?"

"We're gonna have to send them to Alex to protect them," MC said. "I'll take them there."

"As soon as you get them there, come back, and we'll go to where Doctor Robotnik was placed in prison," Sally said. "We're gonna need your sniffer to find out where he is."

MC nodded and said, "Gotcha." He then faced the Cutie Mark Crusaders and said, "Let's go, kids." Then Tempest Shadow put her hand on MC's right shoulder.

"I'll go with you," said Tempest. "Might as well have extra protection."

"Really?" MC asked. "Are you even that good?" Before MC could go any further, Tempest tripped him and had him in an arm lock. "Okay! That's starting to hurt!"

"Is that an answer for you?" Tempest asked, smirking.

"Yeah," MC said. "But now, you have five seconds to get off me or I'll cut off the rest of your horn."

"Like you can do that," Tempest said, thinking she was calling a bluff.

"He cut off Sombra's horn like a hot knife through butter," Twilight said. "Anyway, get the kids to San Francisco, and come back. You have the strongest senses out of everyone else here."

"Gotcha," MC said. "C'mon. Let's get these kids to San Francisco."

Later in San Francisco, Midpoint escorted the Cutie Mark Crusaders into his apartment. He led them into the living room.

"Some of you will have to share the sofa," Midpoint said. "Watch this." Midpoint then made a few adjustments to the couch and it turned into a bunk bed with a third bed.

"Whoa!" Apple Bloom said. "That's pretty cool! Wish we had something like that on Nyx's first sleepover."

"Yeah, that would've been useful," Nyx said.

"Originally, I was going to have these for when Cozy Glow hosted a sleepover," MC said. "She's gained a lot of friends at school ever since the whole racist principal incident."

"Golly!" came the voice of Cozy Glow. They all looked over and saw Cozy Glow coming out of her room. "I didn't know we were expecting company."

"Don't worry, Cozy," said Midpoint. "They're here under protection. Doctor Julian Robotnik has escaped. We're gonna left them stay here until we find out what the doctor's plans are. Also, I have agents of GUN find out who put that motor on that iceberg that tried to sink the ship the Freedom Fighters and three of Equestria's princesses were on."

"Wait, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were on that cruise?" Cozy Glow asked. "Now I'm glad we didn't go on that cruise."

"Yeah, that woulda been hard to explain to them," said Scootaloo.

"Hey, where's Tempest?" Joshua asked.

"Over here," came the voice of Tempest, coming into the apartment. "Wow, this place is huge. It's almost like Manehattan out there."

"Welcome to San Francisco," Midpoint said.

"So, what are we gonna do until the Freedom Fighters stop Doctor Robotnik?" asked Dinky.

"Who's up for some bowling?" Midpoint asked.

Later at the prison where Doctor Robotnik was taken to, Sonic, Tails, MC, Twilight and Starlight walked down the hallway of jail cells, escorted by a guard of course. The guard then opened the cell door where Doctor Robotnik was in before his escape.

"Alright," said the guard. "This is where Doctor Robotnik was held. Call me if you need anything."

Twilight, Starlight, Sonic, Tails and MC nodded as they headed in. MC then started sniffing around. Twilight and Starlight used their magic to see if they could find any clues.

"Well, I can't get a scent of a living being here," MC said. "Besides Robotnik. Let's check the roof."

Twilight and Tails started flying up the hole to look around. Twilight then said, "There aren't any signs of any tools to even break through."

"That's odd," said Tails. "Who or what could have been able to break out the doctor?"

"Stand back, everyone!" came another voice. "Professional detectives coming through." The group looked out of the cell and saw three Mobians coming towards them.

"Who are these guys?" Twilight asked.

MC groaned and said, "The Chaotix Detective Agency. They think they're so professional, they think they have the rights to take over someone else's investigation."

"What are you doing here, Vector?" Sonic asked. "We were here first."

"Sorry, Sonic," said the crocodile known as Vector. "But if there's someone going to be finding an escaped criminal, it's going to be us. Now, stand aside."

"I don't think so," MC said, holding out a form. "President's orders. Since we were the ones who locked up Doctor Robotnik, it's our job to find him." He then moved the paper out of the way from a dagger, then he caught the dagger. "Seriously, Espio? That's not gonna work on me."

"Sorry, Crayton, but this is our job now," said Espio. "We're going after Doctor Robotnik."

"Yeah, as long as we get paid for it!" said the bee.

"Quiet, Charmy!" Vector said. "Anyway, it's time you five leave. We got important work to do."

"Listen, Vector, we're already on the case," MC said. "Back off, or I'll have the guards put you in a jail cell and throw away the key."

"Like you can do that," Vector scoffed.

"Actually, he can!" came the guard's voice.

"Well boys, we're out of here," Vector said. Then the three detectives headed out of there.

"I just hope that the kids are doing alright," Twilight said.

"I'm sure they're fine," said Starlight. "Although, they said that the crime level in San Francisco is at a certain level than..."

"Not helping, Starlight," Twilight said.

Back in San Francisco, Midpoint, Tempest and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were finishing up their game of bowling. Midpoint arched his bowling arm, and spun the ball as it was going down the lane, heading towards the gutter. He had bowled a seven ten split. The ball went into the left gutter, but then it bounced out, hitting the pin on the left, sending it to the other pin, picking up the spare.

Everyone watching was amazed by Midpoint's throw. Scootaloo then shouted, "That was awesome!!"

"How did he do that?" Joshua asked.

Midpoint turned to the group and said, "It's all about trajectory and force. Even Nyx knows that."

"He's right," said Nyx. "I didn't even think it was possible to get the spare on the seven ten split. But physics proved me wrong."

"Golly," Cozy Glow said. "Is that how you're also a good shot with archery?"

"Believe it or not, but when I first went to summer camp when I was younger, I was a natural at the art of archery," Midpoint said. "I even surprised myself as well as the other campers."

"Wow," said Scootaloo. "Can ya teach us about archery?"

"Well, there is an archery range at Golden Gate Park," Midpoint said. "I can take you there tomorrow. All you have to do is focus on one single point to mark your target. Now, let's head on back to the apartment." The group headed on out of the place, but the thing that busted out Eggman came in, floating in front of them.

"Hi there!" the thing said.

"What the heck is that?" Joshua asked.

"I've never seen anything like that before," Midpoint said.

"I'm Bokkun!" said the thing now known as Bokkun. "And I've been searching for these creatures for a while now."

"Why would you be looking for them?" Midpoint asked, giving a grimace.

"Aw, you don't trust me?" Bokkun said. "Well then, how about this?!" Bokkun then grabbed a bomb out of his satchel and threw it at the group. They all jumped out of the way, scaring everyone around them. Bokkun then started laughing at everyone's turmoil.

"Okay," Midpoint said. "This guy is such an annoyance."

Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Tempest Shadow and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were running through the streets of San Francisco, being chased by Bokkun, who was madly throwing bombs towards them.

Tempest then turned and fired a blast towards Bokkun, which missed. Bokkun laughed and said, "Missed me!"

"But I won't!" Midpoint said, grabbing a manhole cover, and throwing it at Bokkun.

"GAH!!" Bokkun shouted as the manhole cover hit him. The manhole cover went back to it's original position back over the manhole.

"Whoa!" said Apple Bloom. "Nice shot!"

"How did you get it to go back over the hole?" Scootaloo asked.

"Practice and skill," said Midpoint. "C'mon. I need my trick arrows." They headed over towards the apartment building. They went inside, but Bokkun followed as well.

"You can't get away from me!" Bokkun said.

"Is that so?" asked Midpoint. The receptionist reached for something under her desk, and threw a quiver and bow towards Midpoint. Midpoint grabbed the quiver and attached it to the back of his shoulder belt, and the bow in his left hand. Midpoint then connected the wire on his arm to the quiver. "Let's do this." He then reached for a trick arrow, and fired it at Bokkun. Bokkun then got wrapped up in bands surrounding him.

"Gah!" Bokkun shouted before falling to the ground.

"Nice trick arrow," said Tempest.

"It's just something to keep the bad guys tied up until the authorities come," said Midpoint.

"I don't think so," said Bokkun. The bands then broke from around Bokkun and he came flying up. "Prepare to be taken down!" He then laughed and threw a bunch of bombs.

"Get down!" Midpoint said. But before they did anything, Nyx used her magic to teleport the group out of the way.

Nyx was panting heavily and said, "Need to... rest." She then went down on one knee. Joshua and Dinky headed over towards her to help her recover.

"Nyx!" Joshua said. "Are you okay, sis?"

"I'm fine," Nyx said. "Just need a little rest."

"Tempest, take the kids up to the apartment," Midpoint said, throwing the card key towards her.

"Okay," said Tempest, grabbing the card. Then she picked up Nyx, and she and the other kids headed to the stairs.

"You think you can hide from me?!" Bokkun asked. He then started chasing after the kids. But when the kids went through the door to the stairs, they closed the door behind them. Bokkun tried opening it, but it wouldn't open. "Hey! Let me in!"

"I don't think so," said Midpoint, preparing an arrow at Bokkun. "You need a key card to enter that door. But you're not welcome here." He then released the arrow. The arrow hit Bokkun, him getting surrounded in electricity. But instead of stunning him, it was making him laugh. "What the heck?!"

"Sorry! Sorry!" Bokkun said, laughing. "Tasers make me laugh!"

"You're a bot?!" Midpoint asked. "Alright, try this!" Midpoint then pulled out an explosive arrow, but it was countered by another explosive. The two explosives collided, covering everyone in soot. Midpoint then grumbled, "You're gonna pay for that."

"Why don't you come and make me?!" Bokkun asked, taunting Midpoint. "After all, you're not as smart as Doctor Eggman. Your intelligence is at an egghead level to my boss's level."

That made Midpoint grimace at Bokkun and in an angry voice, he said, "What was that?"

The receptionist called out to Bokkun, "Yeah, Midpoint is number one at the smartest people in the world."

"No one... insults... my intelligence!" Midpoint said, charging towards Bokkun. He then shifted his bow into a bow staff, and knocked Bokkun down to the ground. Midpoint then put his foot on Bokkun's stomach.

"Hey!" Bokkun shouted. "Get off me!"

"You're lucky I haven't punched you to the moon," Midpoint said. "I've done that once before. And believe me, sometimes, he's a royal pain."

Back in the prison where Doctor Robotnik was locked up, the group looked around for some other clues. But then MC sneezed twice, getting the attention of the others.

"Bless you," said Starlight.

"Alright, guys," Tails said. "There's nothing here. Perhaps the doctor was broken out without a plan."

"That's not like him at all," said Sonic. "Eggman always has a plan. But we don't see any plans here. He must've hid them well."

"This is unbelievable," MC said. "How are we going to find something... that's not..." MC then started sniffing around. MC then said, "That's odd. I smell... ink."

"Ink?" Sonic asked.

"I smell it on the walls," MC said, heading to one wall. He then put his left fore finger to his chin and thought of something. He then smirked and said, "I need a black light."

"What's a black light?" Twilight asked.

"It's a special light that in a dark room, it'll make anything white glow in the dark," Tails said.

"I'm guessing Rarity and Sweetie Belle would get a kick out of those kinds of lights," said Starlight.

Then a black light came in with nothing carrying it. Not even magic.

"Who's lifting that?" Twilight asked.

"That would be Espio," Sonic said. "He's a chameleon. So, he'll be able to camouflage himself, making it look like he's completely invisible to the naked eye."

"I am a ninja, after all," Espio's voice came from where the light is. MC then took the light out of Espio's invisible hands, held it up, and turned it on. The light gave a purple glow, showing invisible writing on the walls. Espio revealed himself.

"Invisible ink!" Twilight said. "I didn't even think that there was a way to make it visible through a certain light."

"Let's see here," MC said. "What are you up to, Robotnik?" The group looked at the writing.

It then went back to Midpoint, pinning down Bokkun. Midpoint smirked at Bokkun.

"Let's see what makes you tick," Midpoint said.

"How about this?!" Bokkun said, pulling something out of his bag. It was another explosive. It then went off, sending Midpoint out of the building.

"Okay," Midpoint said. "You're gonna regret that."

Bokkun then laughed and said, "You really should think about what I have up my sleeves! Now, will you excuse me, I got work to do!" Bokkun then started flying up the side of the building.

"NO!!" Midpoint said. He then pulled out another arrow, pulled out the cable on his belt, attached it to the arrow, then prepared to launch the arrow up the building. He then released, and the arrow went to the top of the building. Midpoint then pushed a button on his belt, the cable pulling him up the side of the building, faster than Bokkun.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Bokkun shouted.

"You're such a prick!" Midpoint said. He then came to one platform, where his apartment was. He then got another arrow ready to fire at Bokkun. He then released it, and a net came from the tip of the arrow, covering over Bokkun.

"Gah!!" Bokkun shouted. He then flew past the balcony, heading high into the sky.

Midpoint then knocked on the door. Cozy Glow ran over to the door, then opened it. Midpoint came in.

"Did you stop him?" Cozy Glow asked.

"That thing was a bot," Midpoint said. "I don't know who built it, or why, but it is really annoying." He then headed for the office room in the apartment. He then typed on the computer, and a force field appeared around the apartment. "There. That should keep that annoying bot out."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Nyx asked.

"As long as that force field is up, we're safe," Midpoint said. Just then, the power went out. "Of course, he would also go for the power box."

Then laughter from outside came to the attention of the group. They all looked over and saw Bokkun hovering outside. He then said, "You can't escape from me that easily!" Bokkun then pulled out another explosive and threw it at the window, making it blow up. The group then huddled together. "Now, it's time I give you a message you'll never forget."

Midpoint then pulled out another arrow, and fired it. The arrow released some more bindings, tying it around Bokkun.

"What are we gonna do?" Twist asked, afraid.

"It's time to go to work," Midpoint said. Then the group ran out of the room, Bokkun trying to get out of his bindings. The group then made it to the garage, and a limo came up to them.

"Get in, sir," came the voice of Sherman, Midpoint's butler. The group then got into the limo. It was a little crowded, but they got in.

"To Shadow Appliances!" Midpoint said. The limo then drove off, leaving skid marks. Bokkun then saw the limo driving off.

"Hey! No fair!" Bokkun said. "Get back here!" He then started chasing the limo.

Later, the limo arrived at Shadow Appliances. The group got out of the car and headed inside. Midpoint then led the group into his office. Midpoint then pushed a button on his desk after the Crusaders, Cozy Glow and Tempest got in. The room then went into lock down.

"Okay," Midpoint said. "We're under lock down. No one goes in, or out."

"So, what are we gonna do?" Scootaloo asked. "That thing is after us."

"I'm not so sure about that," said Midpoint. "Why would they send just one bot to kidnap six fillies and a human turned pony? Sorry. Rubbing salt in the wound."

"It's okay," said Joshua. "You got something for us to do while we're here?"

"I'm sure I got something in here," Midpoint said, heading over to a shelf. Nyx then looked over at a bin full of blueprints. Nyx then pulled one out, unrolled it, and read it. She was surprised.

"You're... you're the employer?" Nyx asked, looking at Midpoint.

Midpoint chuckled and said, "Looks like the cat's out of the bag. I am the employer. I made the Spirit of Freedom, I designed Nicole's holographic appearance. The artificial intelligence was based off of Sir Charles the Hedgehog's plans. And I supported the Freedom Fighters with what they need to survive."

"Well, that would explain why MC said that you knew how that spaceship's controls work," Joshua said.

"That Bokkun bot sure is annoying," Midpoint said. "But, I got a weird feeling that he's not really here for you kids."

"What do you suppose he's after than?" Tempest asked.

"I don't know," Midpoint said. "My precognition hasn't given me a vision of the future yet."

"A vision of the future?" Joshua asked. "You're a psychic?"

"Once in a while, I get visions of the future," Midpoint said. "It doesn't happen immediately. They just happen at random." Then an explosion came from somewhere. Midpoint then pushed a button on his phone and asked, "Julia? What's happening?"

"There's a break in the lab of sub-level 4."

"Sub-level 4?" Midpoint asked. "The only thing that's there is..." He then went wide eyed. "Oh, no. The Molecule Reinstater!"

"The what?" Cozy Glow asked.

"It's the machine that made you organic again," Midpoint said. Midpoint then shut off the lock down procedure, and they all ran out of the office and headed towards the elevator.

They all went down to Sub-level 4, seeing a lot of things missing.

"They got it!" Midpoint said.

"No way a small robot could do all of this," said Cozy.

"Bokkun must've been a distraction," said Midpoint. "But why would he..."

Then the sound of Bokkun laughing came. He was holding a small, yellow TV and said, "I got a message for you. From my creator, which no one is smarter than."

Then the screen showed Doctor Robotnik. The group gasped.

"So, you think you're smarter than me, huh, Alex Lynol?" Doctor Robotnik said on the screen. "I don't think so. I have made a few friends before I was locked up. So, I called in for them to come and get me. I've already have a back up plan. It has something to do with one of Equestria's most dangerous villains that they faced. Say goodbye to everything you know." Then a small countdown from 5 seconds came onto the screen. Bokkun then tossed it to the group as he was laughing.

Tempest then spun around, kicked the TV back towards Bokkun, and then it exploded when it made contact with him, sending Bokkun towards the far wall.

Bokkun then started tearing up and cried out, "That hurt! I'm telling the doctor on you!" He then flew out of there.

"What are we going to do?" Nyx asked.

Midpoint looked towards the elevator and said, "We call the Freedom Fighters."

Back with Twilight and the others, they walked out of the prison, heading towards the car. MC's phone then started ringing and MC answered it.

"Hello?" MC asked.

"MC, it's Nicole," came the voice of Nicole. "We got a problem at the Castle. One of the important artifacts that Twilight has stashed away is missing. Something called the Staff of Sacanas."

Then came a call from some guards in Canterlot. Spearhead was talking.

"It would seem that the remains of the Storm King are missing. Whatever got him got every single piece of his remains."

Then it went to the middle of the ocean. On a submarine, Olive was standing on a platform there. She was talking into her communicator.

"The motor that was attached to that iceberg you were talking about had a mark on it. It was of two lightning bolts, mirrored from each other."

Then it went to Midpoint back in his office with the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Cozy Glow and Tempest watching him.

"Apparently, whoever Doctor Robotnik is working with has stolen the device I used to get Cozy Glow moving again. It can only be powered by a Chaos Emerald. Which means you have to find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds before Doctor Robotnik finds them."

Back with Twilight's group, the group were looking at each other in frustration.

"It was all a distraction," Twilight said. "Doctor Robotnik was tricking us with what we thought was a crazy plan just so he cane revive the Storm King."

"Which means our world has gotten a little more dangerous," Sonic said. "You heard Midpoint. We have to find the rest of the Chaos Emeralds before Doctor Robotnik finds at least one of them."

"We need to find them before Doctor Robotnik and those who are loyal to the Storm King do," said Twilight.

The group then headed out of there, heading towards the Spirit of Freedom.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Crayton Castle's Secrets

Episode 17: Crayton Castle's Secrets

The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the lab in Knothole. They were all looking at a holographic globe. They were recapping on what was going on.

"Okay," Twilight said. "Here's what we know. Doctor Julien Robotnik, a brilliant scientist yet psychopath planned on taking over the world with his robots attempted to take over Equestria."

"But by our hands, he was stopped," Sonic said. "But apparently, he has teamed up with a group of hairy creatures that apparently work for someone called the Storm King."

"Eggman's mechs and the Storm King's creatures has stolen the remains of the Storm King, the Staff of Sacanas, and the machine that turned Cozy Glow back to her organic form," Twilight said.

"And the only way to power the machine is by a Chaos Emerald," Sally said. "So, we need to find the last four Chaos Emeralds before any of them find them."

The group stopped recapping. MC placed one of the Chaos Emeralds they had in a machine. He then said, "This Emerald will help us detect where the others are located in the world."

"The Chaos Emeralds could be anywhere," Rainbow Dash said. "How are we going to know where they are?"

"Chaos Emeralds found," came the voice of Nicole. "One is in Cairo, Egypt. One is in Beijing, China. One is in Sydney, Australia. And the last one is in a place that has no inhabitants." The group looked at the location and MC's eyes narrowed.

"It can't be," MC said.

"What is it, Michael?" Rarity asked.

MC sighed and said, "That one is mine. I'm going to that location alone."

"C'mon, MC," Sonic said. "We all have to stay in groups. Don't go at it alone."

Twilight looked at the location, and thought of something. She then asked, "That's where your kingdom is, isn't it?" That made the others look at MC. He tightened his fists as everyone looked at him.

"That place is very personal to me," MC said. "I'm going, alone." He then headed out. The group looked at him as he was leaving.

Sonic walked up to Twilight and asked, "We're so sneaking onto the ship he's taking, aren't we?"

"Oh, yeah," said Twilight.

In the Spirit of Freedom, MC was piloting it somewhere. He was sighing as he was almost to his location.

"After all this time, I'm heading home," MC said. He then remembered something from his past. He remembered his guards fighting to protect MC's family, his father trying to hold off some robots with a sword, and his mother giving him a sad smile.

"Be brave... my son..." the voice of MC's mother echoed in his head.

"Mom..." MC said, quietly. Then something came in from the back of the Spirit of Freedom. He then unbuckled and said, "Nicole, take over."

"Yes, sir, Michael," Nicole's voice came from the front. The ship was now on auto pilot.

MC walked over to the back of the ship. He looked around. He then started smelling and said, "I can smell you, Sparkles. I can smell all of you. Sonic, Pinkie, Nyx, Joshua. Come out of your hiding place."

Then the group appeared from an invisibility spell that Twilight had casted. Twilight then said, "Sorry, MC. But we had to know why you wanted to go to the location alone."

"It's personal," MC said. "I don't have to explain myself."

"Oh, c'mon!" Pinkie said, coming up from behind him. "Turn that frown upside down!" She then forced MC to smile, but his eyebrows were still angry. As soon as Pinkie let go of MC's mouth, he pulled the smile back down to a frown.

"Don't touch my face," MC said.

"MC, we're a team," Sonic said. "You can tell us why you're going to that place."

"It is where you were born, right?" Twilight asked. "Your kingdom?"

MC groaned and said, "You're right, Sparkles. That place is where my old kingdom was."

"So, why did you leave the kingdom to join the Freedom Fighters?" Nyx asked. "Did you not want the throne?"

MC tensed up. He then sighed and said, "You're wrong about that, Nyx." MC then went back to the controls. "It's just really personal."

Twilight looked over at Sonic and asked, "Do you know what's up?"

"I do," Sonic said. "He just told me to keep it a secret from the others."

"How did you two meet?" Pinkie asked, concerned.

Sonic sighed and said, "It was about eight years ago. We were little kids back then."

It then sequenced to the past. Sonic was rushing through dirt paths, enjoying his speed and tricky terrain. He then saw something coming up. He slowed down and stopped in front of a young MC.

"Whoa, I'm sorry," Young Sonic said. "I almost ran into you. You okay?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Young MC said, sadly. He then walked past Young Sonic. Young Sonic then turned around and put an arm around Young MC's shoulders.

"Oh, c'mon," Young Sonic said. "You seemed depressed. Tell me." Then both of their stomachs growled. Sonic then said, "While we're eating lunch. My treat."

Young MC then sighed and said, "I guess I could eat. I haven't eaten a proper meal in a week."

"Oh, you are definitely coming with me," Young Sonic said, grabbing young MC's arms. He then started speeding off somewhere.

"Whoa!" Young MC shouted.

"C'mon, kid!" Young Sonic said. "This isn't even my full speed! I'm Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Young MC was surprised on how fast Young Sonic was going. He then smirked and then started moving his legs to catch up with Sonic. He was moving at just about the same speed as Sonic.

"My name is Michael Crayton," Young MC said.

"Michael Crayton, huh?" Sonic asked. "Mind if I call you MC?"

"MC?" Young MC asked, thinking about what Sonic said. He then smirked and said, "I like that."

It then sequenced back to the present. "After that, MC told me about what happened to him. He had a tough life before that day. But, he refused to tell anyone else in the Freedom Fighters when we formed. It was actually a year ago that we formed the Freedom Fighters."

"So, how long until we can get to where we're going?" Joshua asked.

"We're almost there," came Nicole's voice. MC then went back to the controls.

"Give me the yoke," MC said. MC then took over the controls and took the Spirit of Freedom down. The Spirit of Freedom landed. The group then walked out of the Spirit of Freedom.

They landed in front of a jungle. They looked at the jungle. Twilight said, "This doesn't look like much."

"Oh, this isn't my kingdom," said MC. "This jungle is just the defense system."

"Defense system?" everyone else asked.

"The captain of the royal guards of my kingdom told me that this jungle was full of deadly traps," said MC. "He said that there are so many traps in this place that the only way through is to be a citizen of the kingdom."

"And what about those who aren't citizens to the kingdom?" Twilight asked.

"They would need to be escorted by one who is, and they need a code word to deactivate the traps," MC said.

"Well, what's the code word?" Sonic asked.

"I don't know," MC said. "I wasn't told."

"The captain forgot to tell you?" Twilight asked. "Why would he do that?"

"You'll find out later," Sonic said. "Now, c'mon. Let's get going."

"Okay, how do we basically dodge these traps?" Twilight asked.

"It won't be easy," said MC. "But if you follow my lead, we'll get through the forest without a scratch." The others nodded. Then they all headed in.

Later, the rest of the group made it out of the jungle wall. Twilight, Pinkie, Sonic, Nyx and Joshua were all unscathed. MC on the other hand had thorns, wooden stakes, and spiked chains. He walked out like he didn't have any injuries.

"Are you okay, MC?" Twilight asked. "You got hurt a lot protecting us."

"It's okay," said MC. "I've been through worse."

"It's true," Sonic said. "He's basically the toughest guy in the Freedom Fighters."

The group then walked over towards the gates to the kingdom as MC was removing the things attached to him, each wound he had healed instantly.

"You guys wanted to know why I left my kingdom," MC said, putting his hands on the gates. His hands then started glowing and the sound of metal gears turning came from the door. "Well, here's why."

As the gates opened, the group looked at what was behind the gates. Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasped. The kingdom was all in ruins, ash and carnage.

"What... what happened to this place?" Twilight asked.

"It's all that's left of my Kingdom," MC said, walking over to one place. There were the bones and clothing of a little girl creature. A little away from the girl's right arm was a stuffed animal. MC grabbed the doll, raised the bony arm of the girl, and put it under the girls hand when lowering the arm.

"Did you know that creature?" Pinkie asked.

"Yeah," MC said. "This was Emma. She was my friend when I was younger."

"I'm... so sorry, MC," Twilight said. "How long ago was your kingdom attacked?"

MC sighed and looked away from the group. He then said, "Nine years ago... today." MC then headed off somewhere.

"And it's his birthday today," Sonic said. That made Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasp.

"His birthday?!" Pinkie shouted. "That's... that's so sad!" Her hair then went flat.

"Let's... let's keep going," MC said. He then headed off somewhere. The others following.

The group headed over a hill. And as they reached the top of the hill, they saw something.

"Welcome to my family's castle," MC said, motioning his hand for all of them to look. That made Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua gasp.

"It... it looks like..." Nyx said, trying to find the words.

"Like Nyxie's castle before Lord Tirek destroyed it the first time he came to Ponyville!" Pinkie finished for Nyx.

MC looked at the group in confusion and asked, "Sparkles, is that true?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "This should be interesting."

"Well, we should be careful here," said MC. "There are a lot of defenses in this kingdom that haven't been set off yet. So be careful." The group headed for the front doors of the castle. They walked in and looked at everything. The texture, the armor, and the tapestry.

"Wow," Twilight said. "This is so amazing!" She was about to take a step forward, but MC stopped her.

"Hang on," MC said. "This place is full of traps, remember?" The group looked down at the tiled floor. There were black and white tiles like on a chess board. MC then stepped on one white tile. "Only step on the white tiles in a straight line."

"Why?" Twilight asked.

"Step on the wrong one, and you'll be falling down to the dungeon's torture chamber," MC said. "C'mon. We can't..." MC stopped when Twilight and Nyx were flying, them carrying the others in their magic. Then they flew over the tiled floor to the other side. "Okay, now you're just showing off." MC then stepped on the white tiles to the other side.

Then they headed into one room, where three thrones sat on the other side. All of them were against the wall. MC walked over to the thrones, went to his knees, and put his hands in a praying manner. He then bowed down to the ground.

"The throne room," Twilight said.

"MC said that this was where the last king made his final stand," Sonic said. He then looked around, and saw a red cloak with bones underneath, and a sword in the right hand and a crown on his head. "That must be him."

MC stood up, and walked over to the bones of the king. MC took a knee and bowed. MC then said, "Hey, dad." He then sighed. "I'm home."

Twilight walked over to MC and hugged him. She then said, "I'm sorry about this, MC. We should've known how personal this was to you."

MC then headed over to the throne and sat in it. MC then said, "This throne would have been mine. My parents would have wanted what was best for me, but I didn't know what was best when I last saw them alive. I'm a royal with a kingdom that only has one living citizen in it. And I'm that one citizen."

Sonic then walked over to MC and put a hand on MC's shoulder. Sonic then said, "You're gonna be okay. You've become a Freedom Fighter. That's like being a part of our family."

MC smirked. But then something caught his ears. He turned his head to the right, hearing something from behind him. It was some kind of roar.

"Do you guys hear that?" MC asked.

"Hear what?" Twilight asked. "I don't hear anything." MC then stood up and looked back at the throne. MC then remembered something. He then grabbed the sphere on the right side of the throne, and moved it back. Then the throne rose up, revealing a secret passage.

The others were jaw dropped and Nyx said, "That definitely wasn't there when my castle was up."

"Where do you think it leads?" Joshua asked.

"Wanna go find out?" Sonic asked. Then the group started walking down the hallway as the throne descended back to it's original place.

Twilight, Nyx and Joshua lit up their horns, showing what was there. MC was up ahead, trying to find the source of the roaring. Twilight then asked, "MC, are you sure you heard something?"

"I'm still hearing it," MC said as they continued walking.

"Well, what are you hearing?" Pinkie asked.

"It's... it's a dragon roar," MC said. That made the others stop. Twilight then used her magic to pull MC back.

"Are you serious?" Twilight asked. "You heard a dragon?"

"That's really surprising," Sonic said. "Before the entire continent of Equestria came, dragons have been really rare."

"I heard it," MC said. "It's coming from down there. Follow me."

Twilight teleported in front of MC and he stopped. She then said, "Are you sure you heard a dragon?" He then looked around and saw a pile of rubble. "We had to stop here."

"What? Why?" Twilight asked.

MC pointed at the rubble and said, "That's where I last saw my mom. Under that pile of rubble." Twilight gasped.

"You mean...?" Twilight asked. MC walked over to the rubble. Twilight followed. They looked around the rubble, but there was no sign of anyone there.

"She's gone?" MC asked. "But... but that can't be."

"Somebody took her corpse?" Sonic asked. "But how is that possible?"

MC then started smelling around. He then said, "I don't smell any scents here. No one has been in this hallway for years. Who could have done it." He then heard the roar again. He turned his head towards the source of the roar. He then started running at a slow pace towards it.

"Hey! MC!" Twilight shouted.

"Wait up!" Sonic called out. Then he, Twilight, Pinkie, Nyx and Joshua started following MC. They stopped at the base of a tower. There was a bridge that led to the middle of the room with a pool of water underneath.

"What is this place?" Twilight asked.

"Look at that!" Pinkie pointed at something. The group looked and saw a stone dragon, looking down at the middle of the room. "Wow! That is one scary looking dragon!"

Twilight looked over at the wall and saw an inscription. She then said, "Look at this. It's some kind of test. A test of only a member of the Royal Family should be able to do."

"A test?" Nyx asked. "What kind of test? I don't see anything."

"It says... the next king... must look at the eyes of the dragon," Twilight said. "Whoever has the power from the Spirit of the Dragoon, the power shall be awoken. The Dragoon Force."

"Dragoon Force?" Sonic asked. "It's just a myth."

"What if it's not?" MC asked. "Doctor Robotnik wanted the most powerful things so he could use them to take over the world." He then thought of something. "That's why he attacked my kingdom so long ago. He was after the Dragoon Force all along. But what he didn't know is that it was already inside..." MC then looked down at his hands. "...a Royal Family Member."

Twilight then noticed something. It was a small button. She pushed it, and a hidden compartment opened up. Inside it was a journal. She then said, "Look at this." The group looked over at Twilight and the journal. "It's the journal of someone named... Zachariah Crayton."

"The first King of the Kingdom," MC said. "From 800 years ago." He then looked at the journal.

"'I had claimed this kingdom to protect all of the people to live in peace and harmony,'" Twilight read. "'But there were others who wanted to claim the kingdom for their own. We were sworn to protect the land from whose who want the power of our great protector. Dragoon. He had been protecting the land from incoming invaders for a long time. But then, the time came. When he was gaining the age for him to depart from this world, my wife was almost about to give birth to our first child. But she got sick. She was dying. Dragoon had agreed to help save my wife, giving up his own. He had placed all of his power into my wife, and she lived on as she gave birth to my son, Jeremiah. Dragoon had told me that his body shall be forever stone, and any descendant of Zachariah, no matter how long it will take, shall look into the eyes of his stone body, shall be tested on what powers Dragoon might have, and the spirit shall awaken inside of the one who holds them.'"

The group looked into the eyes of the statue. MC didn't look at it as he was looking down at the journal. Sonic looked over to MC. He then walked over to him and said, "MC. You don't think it's you who has the powers, do you?"

"That depends," MC said. "What are they?"

Twilight looked at the journal. She read one section. "Dragoon's powers are... Super Strength, Super Speed, Vocal Manipulation, Healing, Self-Density Manipulation, Longevity, Molecular Manipulation, Elemental Mimicry, and the ability to slice through any solid, no matter what."

"Those are all MC's powers," Sonic said. "He must be..." He then looked at MC.

MC then started walking towards the center of the room. He then looked up at the statue and looked into the dragon's eyes. MC's eyes then started glowing in a golden aura. Then the room started shaking.

"What's happening?!" Joshua asked, holding onto Nyx.

Just then, the ground beneath MC crumbled, and he fell down into the water. The others called out, "NO!!" They tried grabbing MC, but he was descending into the water, in a trance.

The group watched as MC descended. Twilight then took off her jacket, socks and shoes, and she jumped into the water. She tried swimming to grab MC, but she was out of breath. She came out of the water, gasping deep.

"Twilight!" Pinkie shouted. She and Sonic reached for her and took one hand each. They pulled her up.

"Where's MC?" Sonic asked.

"He's still going down," Twilight said. "If he doesn't get out of that trans, he could die."

"I don't think that would be possible," Sonic said. "MC's tougher than he looks. He swam through lava in an active volcano."

"Hopefully, he can get out of there soon," Nyx said.

At the bottom of the water, MC hit the floor and fell on his back. His eyes were still glowing in a golden aura. His eyes then went back to normal. He then started swimming up the water to the surface. As he came up, there wasn't a single building around, and no one was there.

"Sonic? Sparkles? Pinks?" MC called out as he looked around. Then something caught his eyes. It was an egg bigger than him. Something about it was making him want to break it open. "What is this?" Just then, his hands moved on their own, clenched themselves into fists, and started glowing in a golden aura. They then smashed the egg open, and inside was a fox that MC knew too well. MC looked up at the fox and saw surprised. "D-Dad?"

"Welcome home, my son," the fox said, smiling. MC's eyes then started shedding tears. He ran up to his father and hugged him. "It's alright, Michael. You're safe here."

"But... I thought you were..." MC said until his father covered MC's mouth with a finger.

"I am, Michael," said MC's father. "I am gone from the living world. But that doesn't mean I'm not with you."

"But why did you just... give up your life?" MC asked. "I was the only survivor. You could have done something."

"I know, Michael," said MC's father. "But there are some things that even you must learn. The power you have in you, is nothing compared to what you have around you."

"And that is?" MC asked.

"You'll know when you get out of here," said MC's father. "Isn't that right, Zachariah."

MC turned around and saw the first king. Zachariah. He then looked down at MC and smiled. He then said, "So, this is the one who has the power. Paul, your son is rather... incredible."

"Zachariah," MC said.

"We might have lost the kingdom, but that doesn't mean you can't rebuild," Zachariah said. "Be a good king of wherever you want to be." He then pushed MC back into the water.

MC then got out of his trance, but he was still in the water. He looked around, and then he got up and started swimming. But something caught his eyes. He looked down and saw a green glow. He widened his eyes and opened his mouth a little. He then started swimming towards it.

Back above the water, Pinkie came back into the room with a diving suit with a hose and a pump. She then said, "Okay. I'm gonna put on this suit, go down, and get MC. All you have to do is keep pumping."

Just then, the water started turning green. The group looked at the water, and Twilight asked, "What's happening?"

Then coming out of the water was MC, and he landed in front of the group. And in his left hand was what they were originally looking for.

"The Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked. "You actually found it?"

MC was panting. He then smirked. "Yeah. I got it."

"That makes four Chaos Emeralds for the Freedom Fighters," Twilight said. "We have to find the other three before Doctor Robotnik finds one of them."

"And the Storm King would return," Joshua said.

"No way we're gonna let some meanie evil scientist bring back the monstrous Storm King!" Pinkie Pie said. "Let's get out of here and head on home!"

"Agreed," said MC. "And bring the journal. I have a lot to learn about my powers." Twilight smiled and held the book tight in her hands. Then they all headed out of there. They got back in the Spirit of Freedom. As they were heading home, Twilight thought of something.

"MC, if you didn't go through the jungle to get out, how did you?" Twilight asked.

"The Oracle of Delphius was a family friend," MC said. "He got me out of there when night fell on my seventh birthday, nine years ago. He taught me to control my powers when I was younger. But since my seventh birthday, I had to grow up pretty quickly."

"Must've been tough for you if you had lost everything," Joshua said. "Almost like what happened to me."

MC looked over at Joshua and said, "You haven't had the worst of it. You were saved and given a good home with a good family. Isn't that right, Sparkles?"

Twilight smiled, nodded and said, "Joshua needed a loving family. Sure, he lost his humanity, but he's learned to live with it."

Joshua ran over to Twilight, and the two hugged. The Spirit of Freedom continued heading back to Knothole.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Daring Down

Episode 18: Daring Down

The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the lab in Knothole. They were all looking at a holographic globe. They were recapping on what was going on.

"Okay," Twilight said. "Here's what we know. Doctor Julien Robotnik, a brilliant scientist yet psychopath planned on taking over the world with his robots attempted to take over Equestria."

"But by our hands, he was stopped," Sonic said. "But apparently, he has teamed up with a group of hairy creatures that apparently work for someone called the Storm King."

"Eggman's mechs and the Storm King's creatures has stolen the remains of the Storm King, the Staff of Sacanas, and the machine that turned Cozy Glow back to her organic form," Twilight said.

"And the only way to power the machine is by a Chaos Emerald," Sally said. "So, we need to find the last four Chaos Emeralds before any of them find them."

The group stopped recapping. Later, the X-Tornado, which had a crate underneath it, was flying over the sands of Egypt. Tails looked at the light blue Chaos Emerald that was helping power the X-Tornado. It was getting brighter.

"Okay, guys," Tails said. "The Chaos Emerald is responding. We're getting close." In the X-Tornado were Tails, Mutt, Bunnie and Maria. And in the box under the X-Tornado were Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Dinky and Antoine. Just as they came up to a dune, Tails pushed a button and the box dropped down, and a couple parachutes came from the box, landing neatly in the sand. Then the X-Tornado came down, and became the X-Cyclone. It then landed right by the box. Tails, Mutt, Bunnie and Maria came out of the X-Tornado. When Mutt landed, he felt a pain in his feet.

"Gah! Hot sand! Hot sand in my flip flops!" Mutt said as he was shaking the sand out of his flip flops.

"Told you to wear sneakers, Muttski," Tails said.

"I could have, but they're all too worn out," Mutt said, still trying to get the sand out of his flip flops.

Bunnie then walked over towards the box and opened it up. Rainbow Dash, Antoine, Scootaloo and Dinky walked out. Antoine then asked, "Why was I to be in there with ze ponies?"

"You pulled the short straw, Ant," said Mutt. "Let's get going." The group then headed over the dune, Tails carrying the Chaos Emerald. The group came over the sand dune, and saw a sphinx.

"Whoa!" said Rainbow Dash. "What an interesting statue!"

"It's called a sphinx," said Tails. He then looked down and saw tents and gazebos in front of the sphinx and a bunch of people restoring the sphinx to its former glory. "These guys must be restoring the sphinx. And some must be finding some lost treasure." Mutt looked at all the people around the place. But then one person, or more importantly, a Mobian dog woman, caught his attention.

"No... way..." Mutt said.

"What is it, Mutt?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I see my mom!" Mutt said. He then started running down the sand dune. The others started chasing him.

"Hey, wait up, Mutt!" Tails said as he and the others chased the dog.

Down in the tents, Mutt's mom was walking in with some plans rolled up. She took the plans into one tent, and put the plans onto the table. She then unrolled one plan and looked through it.

"Okay, just make a few alterations here, some there, and we should be done by dinner," said Mutt's mom.

Just then, Mutt came in and tapped his mom's shoulder. Mutt's mom turned around and saw Mutt standing there. Mutt said, "Hey, Mom!"

"Ben?" Mutt's mom asked. "Oh, my gosh. What a surprise."

"I know," said Mutt. "It's been so long." Then the rest of the group came into the tent. Mutt turned around to see them. He then introduced the group. "Guys, meet my mother, Ava Muttski. Mom, these are my friends from the Freedom Fighters and some Equestrian friends. Miles Prower, also known as Tails, Bunnie and Antoine D'Coolette, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, and Dinky Doo."

"Nice to meet you all," Ava said to the group. "But what brings all of you here to Egypt?"

"I can answer that," Tails said. He then held out the Chaos Emerald. "We're trying to stop Doctor Robotnik from reviving an Equestrian villain using a machine that can only be powered by a Chaos Emerald. We tracked one of the Emeralds to here."

"Well, it just so happens that we might have actually found some secret passages to a secret treasury," Ava said. "We have helpers from all over the world to help restore the sphinx, and some to help find the hidden treasury."

"Sweet!" Rainbow Dash said. "We're gonna find some treasure! But we can only leave with one item."

"Well, if the Chaos Emerald is inside the secret treasury, looks like we're going in as well," said Tails.

"Alright then, let's get going," Mutt said, taking a step. But sand got into his right flip flop. It hurt him. "Gah! Hot sand! Hot sand!" Rainbow and Maria helped Mutt recover. Mutt shook off the sand in his flip flop.

"Let me guess," Ava said. "You didn't have any sneakers that weren't worn out, do you?" She then walked over to a suitcase. "I was saving these for your birthday. But, I guess you could use them now." She opened up the suitcase and inside was an adventurer's fedora, a shoulder belt and some shoes with holes on the bottom.

"Whoa!" Mutt said. "Those are awesome!" Mutt was then carried to a chair, and then was given the stuff, starting with the shoes.

"Those shoes look kind of familiar," Maria said.

"A nice young otter from San Francisco made them," Ava said. "He said that these shoes are like roller skates, but with no wheels. They absorb and release air just by moving. They resistant to most of the planet's elements. Including sand."

"Wow," Mutt said. "Nice." He then grabbed the shoulder belt and put it on. Then he put on the hat, and his ears went through the ear holes."

"Cool," Scootaloo said. "He looks just like an adventurer."

"Yeah, gives me kind of an Indiana Jones look," Mutt said, looking at himself in a mirror.

"Who's Indiana Jones?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"He's a fictional adventurer who seeks treasure and college professor," said Ava. "Whenever he gets an opportunity to recover an artifact, he goes on an adventure."

"Sounds a lot like Daring Do," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, that reminds me," said Ava. "Another Equestrian is already here, and she's helping me with finding the hidden treasure. You just reminded me that I have to go back inside and help her with finding the treasure."

"Wait," said Rainbow Dash. "You said... that Daring Do... is inside the Sphinx?" She then widened her eyes and gave a huge grin.

"I thought Daring Do was a work of fiction," Scootaloo said.

"Nope!" Rainbow Dash said. "C'mon. Let's go!" Then she rushed off towards the sphinx. The others followed. They headed for the entrance of the sphinx, and they all headed down.

Tails was holding the Chaos Emerald in his hand and it got a little brighter. He then said, "We're getting close. The Chaos Emerald is responding."

"Okay, that's good," said Bunnie. "But, ain't there supposed ta be someone down here?"

"Right over here," came another voice. They all looked towards the left, and there stood a pegasus that looked almost identical to Rainbow Dash. Except, she had adventurer clothes and a pith helmet on.

"Daring Do!" Rainbow Dash said, rushing over towards her.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash," Daring Do said. "How's it going?"

"We were on our own mission," Rainbow Dash said. "It's a huge coincidence to see you here."

"A mission?" Daring Do asked. "What kind of mission?"

Rainbow Dash whistled over and Tails came up to the two pegasi. He then held out the Chaos Emerald and said, "This is a Chaos Emerald. It has a huge amount of power. They can even detect when another Emerald is around."

"So we came here to find another one," Rainbow Dash said. "And by the way it's glowing, there's another one somewhere in this place."

"Ah, I get it," said Daring Do. "Well, allow me to assist."

"What about Caballeron?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Where are he and his henchponies?"

"After our last book got overshadowed, Caballeron retired, along with his henchponies," Daring Do said. "But, I wasn't going to be done with adventure. So, when Equestria came to this world, I decided to do some travel in this world." She saw Ava and Mutt walking up to her. "And this dog gave me a job to help with finding the secret treasury and helping with translating these ancient hieroglyphics."

"Alright," said Rainbow Dash. "Let's get in there."

"Ah wouldn't be too excited just yet," Bunnie said. "In all of the Egyptian movies Ah've seen, places like these are always booby trapped ta protect the treasure."

"That's basically what we're expecting," said Daring Do. "We better be careful then." She then looked over at the rest of the group that came with Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo and Dinky Doo were jaw dropped.

"Right, sorry," said Rainbow Dash. "When we were coming here, we weren't expecting to see you here."

"Just like that one young stallion, Quibble Pants, right?" Daring Do asked.

"Yep," said Rainbow Dash. "Alright. Scootaloo, Dinky, meet Daring Do. She goes on adventures and then writes them down in a book series she has created as AK Yearling. Just... don't tell anypony else back in Ponyville."

Scootaloo and Dinky nodded. Tails then said, "Alright. Let's go find the treasury, and that Chaos Emerald."

"The only problem is that the stone door is too heavy," said Daring Do. "None of these guys are strong enough to open it." Daring Do motioned a hand towards all the people outside.

"Ah got that covered, sugah," Bunnie said. She then put her robot arm on the door, and pushed it open, revealing a hallway inside. Daring Do was astonished by how strong Bunnie was. Bunnie then replied, "Well, we goin' in or not?"

The others shrugged their shoulders, and they headed into the tomb. But then, coming inside the place were three different creatures.

"Alright, boys," said the purple weasel. "We got treasure to take." Then they went towards the door to follow the group.

The group was walking down an ancient Egyptian hallway. The group was heading through. Everything had cobwebs and lots of sand.

"The Chaos Emerald is getting brighter," Tails said. "We must be heading the right way." Tails was about to step on a tile, but was stopped by Daring Do.

"Whoa! Careful there," Daring Do said. They looked down at the floor and saw some tiles with certain symbols on it.

"What is this?" Mutt said, looking at the ground. He got onto his stomach and looked at a button on the floor. He then gently pushed it. Then a bunch of arrows came from the walls.

"Sacré bleu!" Antoine said.

"Whoa, good call," Daring Do said. She then looked over at Ava and said, "Smart kid you have. He sure is an adventurous one."

"Well, not as adventurous as Sonic, but I'm still good," Mutt said.

Rainbow Dash looked at the arrows coming from the walls and said, "The arrows are coming in a straight line from the walls. We can fly over or crawl under."

Scootaloo then started flapping her wings. Scootaloo smiled and said, "Lucky for me, MC had made my wings big enough to get me off the ground. And thanks to Rainbow Dash training me, I can finally fly."

"Alright, everyone," Ava said. "Whoever can fly will go over. Those who can't will go under."

The group nodded. Then Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Daring Do, Tails and Bunnie started flying over the arrows. Antoine, Bunnie, Mutt, Maria and Dinky Doo started crawling under the arrows. Maria was falling behind when the rest were getting to the end. When they reached the end, Maria stood up too early and an arrow jabbed into her right arm.

"GAH!!" Maria called out in pain.

"Maria!" Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo, Dinky and the other Freedom Fighters called out. Rainbow and Bunnie pulled Maria closer to them. Bunnie then grabbed the arrow in Maria's arm, snapped it, and pulled the side with the arrow tip out of the other side of her arm.

"Okay, we gotta get her some help," Rainbow Dash said.

"No need, sugah," Bunnie said. "Look." The group looked at Maria's arm, and the wound was closing up, and it disappeared.

"It's... completely healed," Maria said, looking at where the wound should have been. "How?"

"The one who revived ya gave ya powers as well," Bunnie said. "Ya took out all of them Artificial Chaos things on the ARK when me, Mutt and seven other fellars went up there ta get ya."

"One of your powers is a healing factor," Mutt said. "You can heal."

Maria looked at her arm and said, "I... thought I was dreaming." Maria then sighed. "I... I have no idea how that happened."

"Well, let's keep going," Daring Do said. "Let's be careful not to trigger any more traps." The group continued going through the chambers.

Then they came across one room full of sand. And going through the middle of the room were pendulum axes, and a bunch of flattening things on the sides of the room, giving no chance of survival.

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said. "This is intense!"

"You got that right, Rainbow Dash," Daring Do said. "Well, all we have to do is get through the middle section without getting cut. Simple enough."

"I don't zink it iz zat easy," Antoine said, pulling out his sword. He then put the sword into the sand, and it went down until there was nothing but the handle.

"Quicksand!" Ava said.

"Okay, okay," said Daring Do. "There's quicksand. But, we can still fly over... Oh, wait. Never mind." The group looked up and saw spikes coming from the roof. "We're not going anywhere through this mess."

Maria looked through the room. She looked and saw a straight line going through the center as the pendulums came swinging. Maria smiled and said, "Perhaps there is a way through. And that's straight."

"But how?" Ava asked. "We can't with the pendulums and the quicksand. How can we go?"

"Those jet shoes you gave to Mutt here," Maria said, pulling Mutt in and pulling up his left leg. "And with the right time. Mutt just has to start off right as the first pendulum has to reach the middle of the swing."

"Of course!" Rainbow Dash said. "A straight shot at just the right time, Mutt could make it to the other side."

"Are you sure?" Mutt asked. "I'm not sure I can do it."

Tails looked down the path, calculating the timing of the pendulums. He then smiled and said, "This should work." He then pulled Mutt over to the middle of the doorway, and put Mutt down on his hands.

"Tails, wait," Mutt said, worried. "I'm not sure I can do this."

"You got this, Mutt," Tails said. "We need to get through and get that Chaos Emerald. You're the only one who can go through at the moment."

Rainbow Dash walked over to Mutt and said, "You can do this, Mutt. Just believe in yourself." Mutt then exhaled. He looked through the room, seeing the pendulums.

Tails looked ahead to see the pendulums going across. He then said, "Alright, Mutt. When this pendulum reaches the middle, you take off." The pendulum then reached the middle of the swing. "Now!"

Mutt then rushed ahead, wind blowing out of his shoes, going across the quicksand, and dodging all the pendulums. He then reached the other side of the room, and into the hall.

"Woohoo!" Ava shouted. "That's my boy!" That made Mutt smile. He then looked around and he saw a wooden lever. He then pulled on it, and then the pendulums went into the ceiling, and some platforms rose from the quicksand.

"Alright, guys," said Daring Do. "Let's go." Then they all headed across the path to the other side of the room. Daring Do took off Mutt's hat, and noogied the dog. "Good job, kid."

"Yeah, Mutt," said Scootaloo. "That was awesome!"

Mutt then looked at his gloves, which were worn by pulling on the lever. He then said, "I need some new gloves as well. Mine have been torn up when pulling that lever."

"We'll get you some more gloves when we get out of here," Tails said.

Then they continued through the passage ways of the chambers. Then they came across another chamber. Inside it were four giant statues and a huge body of water.

"Whoa!" Rainbow Dash said. "What is this?"

"Looks like we're getting somewhere," said Daring Do. "This is what we're talking about."

"Ah've seen two of them statues in a movie from a long time ago," Bunny said. "Anubis and Horus."

"Good catch, Bunnie," Ava said.

"What about the other two?" Dinky asked.

Tails looked at one of the statues. The one that was a woman with wings. Tails then said, "That must be Isis. Goddess of Fertility."

"Anubis was known as the god of mummification and afterlife," Ava said. "And Horus is the god of the sun."

"Well, what about him," Scootaloo said, pointing at the last statue. It was of a man with a crocodile head.

"That is Sobek," Ava said. "Lord of the waters." Ava then looked over the water. She then said, "We can't go into the water. It's probably filled with crocodiles."

"Okay," Bunnie said. "All we have to do is fly over. Piece o' cake." Maria was looking at some hieroglyphics. Seeing some bugs over water, and an arrow passing through the water.

"Hey, Ava," Maria said. "What's this?"

Ava walked over and asked, "What is it?" She then looked at the hieroglyphics. Ava then said, "This can't be good." Just then, the sound of bugs came in from the room. The group looked throughout the room. Then a bunch of bugs came from the halls.

"What's that noise?" Mutt asked.

Coming in from a tunnel were a bunch of flying bugs.

"Scarabs!" Ava shouted.

"Them flesh eatin' bugs?" Bunnie asked.

"Maybe we're supposed to go into the water to evade those bugs," Maria said.

"Then let's go!" Ava said. Then all of them went into the water to avoid the scarabs. Then they saw a doorway under the water. They swam towards the doorway. But as they were almost at the end, Maria was running out of breath. Her face was turning blue.

She was then pulled up by Bunnie's extending robot arm, and pulled out of the water. She then got a big breath of air, and started coughing.

"Oh, man," Maria said. "Maybe I should get some swimming lessons when we get back."

"It's already October," Tails said. "Swimming season is over." Tails then looked around and he and the others were astonished by what they were in. Everywhere, there was Egyptian Treasure.

"Sweet Celestia!" Daring Do said, looking around. "This is so much treasure!"

"Alright, everyone," Ava said. "You guys can help with getting some of the treasure out of here, while you search for the Chaos Emerald."

Tails then pulled out the Chaos Emerald, and started holding it out. He then started walking towards one side of the room and came across a sarcophagus.

"Hey, guys!" Tails called out. "Over here!" The guys headed over to the sarcophagus. Rainbow Dash, Daring Do, Bunnie and Antoine tried to open the sarcophagus. It was sealed tight, but eventually, they got it open. It was still a little wet.

"WHOA!!" the four shouted. Ava ran over to it.

"Oh, I hate it when those things do that," Ava said.

"Is this guy supposed to look like that?" Rainbow Dash asked, a little disgusted.

"It's very rare to see a mummy like this," said Ava.

"Oh, there it is," Tails said, looking at the Mummy's hands. In its hands was a Chaos Emerald.

"Okay," Antoine said, reaching in to grab the Chaos Emerald. "I am... grabbing the emerald. Trying... no to..." His cheeks then filled up and his face turned a little green.

"Oh, with that face Antoine's making, it makes me want to throw up," Mutt said.

"Let me do this," Ava said, putting a hand on Antoine's shoulder.

"I don't think so," came a voice. They all looked over by the pool and saw the group from before.

"Not these guys again!" Tails said.

"Who are they?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"These guys are the Hooligans!" Tails said. "They're no good treasure thieves."

"Bean, Bark! Pack up as much treasure as you can!" the weasel said. "And tie up those useless creatures."

"You got it, boss," said the duck known as Bean. Then Bean and the polar bear, Bark, charged at the group.

The group were tied to a couple posts. Rainbow Dash, Daring Do, Bunnie, Antoine and Ava were tied to one while Tails, Maria, Mutt, Scootaloo and Dinky were tied to the other one.

"Sorry, folks," said the weasel. "But this treasure now belongs to us. Thanks for leading us safely inside."

"I've seen ponies similar to you guys who take the treasure to sell for money," Daring Do said. "You'll never get away with this!"

"Oh, I think we have," said the weasel.

"Let us go, Nack!" Tails said.

"No way!" said Nack, grabbing both of the Chaos Emeralds from Tails. "We got a high payer in England to sell this stuff to. So, we got to get this stuff out of here so we can sell it." He then held out the Chaos Emeralds. "And these will be a lot more money."

Then the Hooligans spread out, getting as much treasure as they could get and put them in sacks.

"All this way to get the Chaos Emerald, and these guys take both the one we had and the one we were looking for," Scootaloo said.

"We need to get out of here!" Dinky said.

Mutt then looked in front of him and saw a Khopesh. He then slid his shoes off, got his feet out of the ropes, and reached for the Khopesh's handle with his feet. He then cut the ropes holding the torsos of the five on the post. He then came down and cut the bottom ropes.

Tails looked over and saw Mutt with the Khopesh. He then said, "Nice job, Mutt. We better go help the others." Then the others ran over to the others and freed them.

The Hooligans then noticed and Nack shouted, "Hey! They're escaping!" Nack then pulled out a gun, but it was knocked out of his hands by the Khopesh. "Hey!"

Daring Do and Rainbow Dash jumped on top of Nack and held him down.

Bark tried going after Bunnie and Antoine. Bunnie then used her robot arm to block Bark's slam attack, and then Antoine kicked Bark down. Then Bunnie and Antoine stepped on Bark's arms, and Antoine pulled out his sword, having it in front of Bark's face.

Scootaloo, Dinky, Tails and Mutt tackled Bean to the ground as he was calling out, "Hey! Lemme go! Lemme go!"

Then later, that night, the Sphinx was restored to it's former glory. There were fireworks going off around the place. And tied up to a podium outside of the Sphinx were the Hooligans.

The group that went inside the Sphinx were watching the fireworks show. Tails was holding both of the Chaos Emeralds.

"This was one heck of an adventure," Rainbow Dash said.

"Yeah it was," said Daring Do. "This would make a good book. Especially with those creeps as the villains of this series."

"That is if they have to escape from the prison they're gonna be sent to," said Ava, handing Mutt a new pair of gloves. They were brown.

"Whoa," Mutt said. "Are these insulated gloves?"

"More durable gloves," Tails said. "Interesting choice."

"Mutt definitely deserves it, guys," Bunnie said. "He really stepped up."

"Yeah," Maria said. "He got us out of those traps and ropes. And went through that one room without trouble."

"Way to go, Mutt," Tails said, taking off Mutt's hat and noogying the dog's head. "You've made the Freedom Fighters proud."

"Hey guys!" Scootaloo said, her and Dinky coming up with a huge firework. "Look at what we got for helping find the treasure!"

"Whoa, Scootaloo!" Mutt said. "Don't you think that's a little extreme?"

"Well, for what you've done for us," Rainbow Dash said, holding out a lighter, "you deserve this." She then lit up the firework, and it was sent flying into the air. But then it went off course and headed for the sphinx. The firework made collision with the face of the sphinx. The sphinx's nose then fell off, heading down to the ground.

Ava stepped towards the sphinx a little, smiled and said, "You know, I think it looks better that way." Then the group laughed at what Ava said.

Mutt then said, "How come in every movie or TV show with the sphinx, the nose always falls off?"

Tails, Scootaloo and Dinky shrugged their shoulders.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Beijing's Martial Arts Tournament

Episode 19: Beijing's Martial Arts Tournament

The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the lab in Knothole. They were all looking at a holographic globe. They were recapping on what was going on.

"Okay," Twilight said. "Here's what we know. Doctor Julien Robotnik, a brilliant scientist yet psychopath planned on taking over the world with his robots attempted to take over Equestria."

"But by our hands, he was stopped," Sonic said. "But apparently, he has teamed up with a group of hairy creatures that apparently work for someone called the Storm King."

"Eggman's mechs and the Storm King's creatures has stolen the remains of the Storm King, the Staff of Sacanas, and the machine that turned Cozy Glow back to her organic form," Twilight said.

"And the only way to power the machine is by a Chaos Emerald," Sally said. "So, we need to find the last four Chaos Emeralds before any of them find them."

Later, in the Freedom Fighters Space Ship, there were Rarity Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Spike, Rotor, Cream, Cheese and Knuckles. The space ship landed right outside of the city, and they all walked out of the spaceship.

"Alright, guys," Rotor said, holding the red Chaos Emerald. "We're here to find the Chaos Emerald that's here. We have to look everywhere for it."

"That won't be necessary," Knuckles said. "You're lucky I tagged along. I know a guy here in Beijing. He told me he has one of the seven Chaos Emeralds stashed somewhere. We find Hawk, we find the Emerald."

"That shouldn't be a problem then," Rarity said. Then she looked at the city. "But this city is beautiful. The decor, the fabrics, the beauty!"

The others were deadpanned at Rarity's speech. Knuckles then asked, "Is she always like this?"

"You have no idea," Sweetie Belle responded. "Now, how do we get to this... Hawk guy's place?"

"According to this letter, we just have to find the returning address," Knuckles said, pulling out the letter. "If only I read Chinese." Fluttershy then grabbed the letter and read it. She then walked over towards one man.

"Duìbùqǐ, xiānshēng. Nǐ néng gàosù wǒmen hǎidiàn qū zài nǎlǐ ma?" Fluttershy asked. What she said was translated. "Excuse me, mister. Can you tell us where the Haidian District is?"

"Lí zhè tiáo lù zhǐyǒu shí gè jiēqū," the man replied. Fluttershy then walked back to the others.

"He said that it's ten blocks down the road," Fluttershy said to the others.

"Fluttershy!" Rarity said in shock. "You speak their language?"

"It's really not that different than Chineighse," Fluttershy said. "Anyway, we should get going."

"Wow," said Rotor. "Okay, Fluttershy is our translator."

"Is she a linguist?" Knuckles asked.

"She might as well be since she can understand animals," Sweetie Belle said. Then they all followed Fluttershy through the capital of China.

The group stopped at one building. Fluttershy looked at the address, seeing if it was the place.

"Well, this is where the return address is," Fluttershy said.

"Alright, guys," Knuckles said. "Wait here. I'm going in to go talk to Hawk." But as soon as he was about to head into the building, there was the sound of something pounding on metal. The group looked towards the pounding. They all headed around the building and saw a dumpster, and something inside was pounding the side of it.

"What's in there?" Fluttershy asked, nervously.

"Only one way to find out," Rotor said, walking up to the dumpster. He then opened the dumpster and looked inside. "Hey, guys! There's some dude tied up in here!" The others looked into the dumpster and saw a man tied up and gagged.

"It's Hawk!" Knuckles said after gasping. Then they pulled Hawk out of the dumpster. Knuckles ungagged Hawk and asked, "What happened?"

"Knuckles!" Hawk said. "When I heard you were coming, I went to get the Chaos Emerald from my hiding place. But when I got back here, some dirtbags ambushed me and took the Emerald."

"What?!" Knuckles shouted, angrily. "How could someone just take it for their own personal purpose?"

"I don't know!" Hawk said. "I didn't get a good look at the guy." He then saw the group. "Interesting friends you have."

"Well, we can still find the Chaos Emerald using this one," Rotor said, holding up the Chaos Emerald. "All we have to do is go when it's brighter."

They walked through the entire city. As they continued walking, they noticed that the Chaos Emerald was getting brighter.

"Looks like we're getting closer," Rotor said. But then a Chinese kid ran past them and headed in somewhere. They looked and saw the Forbidden City. "Whoa! The Forbidden City!"

"Forbidden?" Rarity asked.

"It's an ancient city turned into a museum," Rotor said. "But... I don't know why people are coming in like this."

"Maybe it has something to do with that," Knuckles said, pointing at the banner over the doors.

Fluttershy walked over in front of the gates to read the banner. She then said, "It says, 'Forbidden City Martial Arts Tournament. Grand Prize, one Chaos Emerald.'"

"Seriously?" Spike asked. "All we have to do is fight in a tournament for the Chaos Emerald?"

"That Emerald was stolen from me!" Hawk said. "We have to get it back."

"Hawk's right," Knuckles said. "We have to get it back."

"But how?" Sweetie Belle asked. "We don't have a lot of fighters on our group."

"Who all can fight?" Rotor asked. "Raise your hands if you can."

Knuckles, Rotor, Spike and Hawk raised their hands. The others looked over at Spike and Rarity asked, "Spike? You've learned how to fight?"

"Yeah, MC and Bunnie have been teaching me martial arts," Spike said. "Twilight wasn't too fond with me learning fighting styles."

"Then, we'll just have to fight," Knuckles said. "Let's go in and sign up. Then we'll fight for the Chaos Emerald."

Then the group walked inside. As they went in, the group headed for the sign up table. Fluttershy helped Knuckles, Spike and Rotor sign up, due to the sign up sheet was spelled in Chinese. As soon as they went in, they were guided to the locker rooms.

"Okay, it says that the fighters are allowed in there," Fluttershy said.

"We'll be cheering for all of you," Rarity said as she, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Cream and Cheese were escorted to the seating area for the people to watch.

As soon as they were seated, an announcer came from the temple. The announcer then called out to everyone in English, since a lot of people spoke English.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Beijing Martial Arts Tournament! As you all know, the winner will receive an interesting prize!"

"A stolen prize," Rarity quietly said, making the others nod.

"Now, before we get the tournament started, let us introduce our sponsor, from the new continent of Equestria, Mr. Gladmane!" Then coming from the stairs was Gladmane, with a smirk on his face.

"Not him," Fluttershy said, a slight scowl on her face.

"You know him, Fluttershy?" Rarity asked.

"We've met when Applejack and I had to solve a friendship problem in Las Pegasus," Fluttershy said. "He was causing friendships to end just to keep his resort running, and those ponies from leaving. He even split up Flim and Flam so they wouldn't take over the resort."

"Well, if this Gladmane is somepony we should be careful of, we should be on guard around him," Rarity said. The others nodded.

"Now, let's get this tournament started," Gladmane started.

The tournament started off with Knuckles fighting a Chinese teenage fighter. Then it showed Rotor pushing down one more fighter. Then It showed a montage of other fighters. Then it showed Spike, tripping a fighter with his tail. Then it went to the final match, where Hawk was going up against someone with a red bodysuit, a red coat, and a red mask.

"Okay, everyone," said Gladmane. "This is the last match in the first round. We have the clumsy Hawk verses the mysterious red ninja."

"Clumsy?!" Hawk shouted. "Says the guy who stole the Chaos Emerald from me to use as a prize!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about, my good sir," said Gladmane, before doing his signature laugh. "Now, let's get this final match started."

Then the red ninja charged at Hawk. Hawk countered by throwing his fists at the ninja very quickly. The ninja blocked all of Hawk's attacks with swift blocks.

"The red ninja is blocking Hawk's attacks!" the announcer called out. "What precise blocking!"

The group was watching from the audience. Knuckles then said, "This guy is good."

"I've never seen anyone move so swiftly," Rotor said.

The red ninja then did a sweep kick, and knocked over Hawk. The ninja's foot pinned Hawk to the ground.

"The red ninja takes victory!" the announcer proclaimed. "We're moving onto the next round!"

Then it showed a montage of more and more rounds. Knuckles, Spike, Rotor and the red ninja were moving up the tournament. Just then, it showed the results in the quarter finals. Knuckles facing a guy with a Mohawk, guy with a headband taking on a bald kid, Spike facing a Mobian Red Panda, and Rotor facing the red ninja.

"And we have our quarter finalists!" the announcer called out. "We have Knuckles the Echidna taking on Chao Xiao! And we have Baihu Wen going against Dashan Wu. And we have the little dragon, Spike, going against Bao. And lastly, we have Rotor the Walrus going against the mysterious red ninja. Which one of these eight fighters shall win the prize?"

It then went to the locker room. Knuckles was coming out of the shower, wiping off the water off his head. Knuckles then sighed. Just then, he was blocked off by Gladmane.

"I'd hate to be a bother, my good creature," Gladmane said. "You mind if I have a quick chat with you?"

"Not interested, bud," Knuckles said, walking past Gladmane.

"Now, now," Gladmane said, trying to stop Knuckles. "You don't understand. I saw that you were hanging out with that pony, Fluttershy."

"I'm only helping her and the Freedom Fighters get the Chaos Emerald to keep them away from Doctor Robotnik," Knuckles said. "Plus, I heard what you've done. You're not getting into my head."

"You don't understand, my good sir," Gladmane said. "Fluttershy ruined my business."

That made Knuckles stop. He then turned his head and looked at Gladmane. He then asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I was trying to help my employees to help them with their individualities," Gladmane said. "I was wanting to see what they would do separately to see if they can show my guests a good time. And that mare and her country friend ruined it for me and my business."

"You're saying they made everyone in your casino hate you for an untrue reason?" Knuckles asked.

"I don't know why they've done it, but I want to be cleared of my name for what they done to me," Gladmane said. "You help me with this, and reveal what she has done, then I'll just give you the Chaos Emerald."

Knuckles then put his hand to his chin, and said, "I'll have to think about it." He then walked out of the locker room.

Gladmane smirked and said, "Seed planted. He's all mine." He then walked out of there in the opposite direction of where Knuckles was going. But then, coming out of invisibility, the red ninja appeared.

It then went back to the fighting arena. It showed Knuckles fighting his next opponent. Knuckles pounded the ground in front of his opponent, sending his opponent out of the ring.

"And Knuckles moves onto the semi-finals!" the announcer called out.

The heroes in the audience called out, happy that Knuckles won the match. Knuckles looked over at them. He then humphed and turned his head.

Rarity and Sweetie Belle were confused, and Rarity asked, "What was that all about?"

"I don't know," Fluttershy said. "Is that normal?"

"We don't know much about Knuckles," Rotor said. "All we know that he's the Guardian of the Master Emerald."

"Wait, then who's watching the Master Emerald?" Rarity asked.

Meanwhile, back on Angel Island, Omega was standing guard of the Master Emerald. He looked around, looking after intruders.

Back in Beijing, Spike just defeated his opponent. The announcer came up to Spike, pulled up his hand and called out, "And Spike moves on to the semi-finals!"

Spike then ran off the stage, unfolded his wings, and flew to his friends. Rarity then said, "Good job, Spike. But there is the fact that you have to face Rotor in the next round."

"That is... if Rotor wins against the red ninja," Fluttershy said.

"And now, it's time for the last battle of the quarter finals!" the announcer called out. "Rotor the Walrus vs the red ninja. Who shall be the winner and move onto the semi-finals?"

Then coming onto the stage was Rotor and the red ninja. They faced each other and got into a battle stance. Then the sound of a bell going off started, and the two started fighting. Rotor tried blocking the red ninja's attacks and kicks. But then she sweep kicked Rotor, having him fall down to the ground. The red ninja then pinned Rotor down with a foot.

"It's over," the announcer called out. "The red ninja is going to the semi-finals."

"Whoa!" Sweetie Belle said. "Rotor lost."

"We only have two more rounds to make it to the finals," Spike said. "I can't believe that I have to face that ninja next."

"Something about that red ninja is familiar," Cream said.

"Chao chao," Cheese said.

"What makes you say that?" Sweetie Belle asked.

"The moves the ninja did remind me of someone I know," Cream said.

Rotor then came up to them and said, "Sorry, guys. I thought I had the ninja there, but man was that guy fast."

"Where's Knuckles?" Rarity asked.

"Who knows?" Rotor said.

Knuckles then walked over towards the restroom. But then he was stopped by Gladmane, blocking his path.

"Now, boy, I'm glad you're moving on to the Semi-Finals, but why didn't you try to convince those guys to drop out?" Gladmane asked with a smirk on his face.

"I'd rather win that Chaos Emerald on my own," Knuckles said. "So Rotor got eliminated by the red ninja. I can handle some ninja on my own. Plus, it wouldn't be fair for anyone to see you give away the Chaos Emerald before the finals of the tournament."

"Fair? What's fair about anything?!" Gladmane asked, getting angry. "I lost everything to those pathetic bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I want them to get what they deserve. Nothing. Now, I want you to get those Equestrians kicked out of my tournament so I wouldn't give them that Chaos Emerald I fairly stolen from that pathetic human known as Hawk."

Knuckles then walked around Gladmane, heading into the bathroom and said, "There are some actions that come with consequences. You should know that." Knuckles then headed into the bathroom, moved his eyes back to look back at Gladmane, smirked and quietly said, "He fell for it."

He then flashbacked to when he was talking with Fluttershy.

"Seriously?" Knuckles asked. "That guy will do anything to get what he wants?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said. "He's very manipulative. He deliberately causes arguments between his employees so they wouldn't leave and have them do what he wants."

"So, what are we going to do about him?" Knuckles asked.

"Here's what we're going to do," Fluttershy said, before she started whispering something into Knuckles's ear.

It then went back to the present time. Knuckles walked over to the others. He then held out a recording device and handed it to Rotor. He then smirked and nodded. Rotor did the same.

Then later, in the first fight of the Semi-Finals, Knuckles had knocked his opponent out of the stage.

The announcer calls out, "And with that, Knuckles moves onto the finals!" That made the crowd cheer for Knuckles. Knuckles then headed out of the stage, walking past Spike and the red ninja. The announcer then called out, and here comes the two contestants of the second match of the Semi-Finals. Spike the Dragon, and the red ninja! Who shall win this match?!"

Spike then held out his right hand and said, "Let's make this a good match." Spike smiled at the ninja. The ninja had its right arm extended, and the two shook hands.

"What respect!" the announcer called out. "Now, let's see where this match will lead!" Then Spike and the red ninja let go and stepped back. Then the sound of a bell rang while the announcer called out, "And, begin!"

Then the ninja charged at Spike. The ninja jumped and was about to do an aerial kick.

Spike thought to himself, "Okay, Spike. Remember what MC taught you. When you see an aerial kick, watch your opponent's movements, and divert their kick." Spike then moved the ninja's leg, making the ninja move in mid air, almost falling off the stage.

"Whoa!" the announcer called out. "Spike had dodged the ninja's attack. How will the red ninja react?!"

The ninja then started backflipping towards Spike, and landed on Spike's shoulders, him calling out, "Hey! Get off me!" Spike then started moving away to get the ninja off of him.

The ninja then jumped off, and tripped Spike. The ninja was about to pin Spike down with its right leg, but Spike unfolded his wings, and flew up towards the front of the ninja's torso, taking the ninja into the air.

"Whoa!" the announcer called out. "This match has gone sky high! Literally!"

The ninja then kicked Spike in the crotch, making him drop the ninja, and him grabbing his crotch. He then called out, "AAAAAAHH! That hurt!"

"Oooooh!" Fluttershy, Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Rotor, Cream and Hawk said in unison.

"That's gotta hurt!" Sweetie Belle said.

"Spikey Wikey!" Rarity called out. "Use your fire breath!"

"Oh, right!" Spike said, recovering. He then fired a burst of fire, aiming it at the red ninja. The red ninja dodged it, and then kicked Spike between the shoulder blades. "Gah!!" Spike then fell onto the ground, he tried getting up, but was pinned by the ninja's right leg.

"It's over!" the announcer called out. "The red ninja shall take on Knuckles in the finals!"

The ninja then picked up Spike and carried him over towards Fluttershy and Rarity. They took him and Fluttershy put an ice pack on Spike's back.

"Ooh!" Spike said. "Okay, that stings."

The red ninja then turned around, walking towards the stage. Knuckles was watching from high in the stands, looking at the ninja walking away. Knuckles then walked away.

Later, the announcer then called out, "Ladies and gentlemen! Here we are! The finals of the martial arts tournament is about to begin! We have our favorite echidna, Knuckles!" The crowd then cheered for Knuckles, making him smirk. "And our other finalist, the red ninja!" The crowd also cheered for the ninja.

Just then, Gladmane walked onto the stage and called out, "Alright, everyone! Now that we got the finalists on stage, let's show them what they've come here to fight for." He then pulled out the grand prize.

Gladmane held out the purple Chaos Emerald, showing it to the finalists. Knuckles then looked over towards Rotor and nodded. Rotor nodded and pushed a button, and all of the speakers started buzzing, and a recording of Gladmane was coming out of the speakers.

"Fair? What's fair about anything?! I lost everything to those pathetic bearers of the Elements of Harmony. I want them to get what they deserve. Nothing. Now, I want you to get those Equestrians kicked out of my tournament so I wouldn't give them that Chaos Emerald I fairly stolen from that pathetic human known as Hawk."

That made the crowd gasp, and everyone looked at Gladmane. The announcer then called out, "You stole that Chaos Emerald? How could you do something so cruel?!"

"How could those guys have...?" Gladmane asked before he was interrupted.

"You seriously didn't think I'd fall for that, did you?" Knuckles said, smirking and his arms crossed. "I got information on you before you tried to make a deal with me."

Gladmane growled at Knuckles, then shouted, "You unforgivable creature!" He then jumped on Knuckles, trying to choke him. "I'll make sure you will never walk out of here!"

Gladmane was trying to choke Knuckles, who was trying to get up.

"I'll make sure that you shall be... a worthless echidna!" Gladmane said, but then he was kicked in the back by the red ninja. "Gah!" Gladmane looked back at the ninja and shouted, "You're gonna get your punishment for doing that!"

"I don't think so," came a girl's voice from the ninja. The ninja removed the mask, and revealed to be Olive, Cream's big sister. "You shall be the one who receives punishments."

"OLIVE?!" Cream shouted.

"What?!" Gladmane exclaimed. "Who do you think you are?"

"I am Olive the Rabbit, agent of GUN," Olive said. "And you're under arrest."

Gladmane then tripped Olive, and headed out of the Forbidden City, taking the Chaos Emerald with him. Spike, Rarity, Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle, Rotor, Cream, Cheese, Knuckles and Olive were in pursuit. Rarity then used her magic to move a trashcan in front of Gladmane, making him trip over it, and falling into garbage.

Gladmane got his head out of the garbage, and looking up at his mane, seeing it was a mess, shouting out, "My mane! It's so messy!"

Then Olive came up to Gladmane, and put handcuffs on his wrists, saying, "You have the right to remain silent." She then reached into the garbage and tossed it over to Sweetie Belle, who caught it. "I'll take this guy to GUN and have him placed behind bars."

"Thanks, Olive," Cream said.

"Chao chao!" Cheese said.

Then Hawk came up to the group, saw Gladmane, and then slapped him in the face. He then said, "That was for robbing me of the Chaos Emerald that I was going to give to Knuckles and his friends!"

"Well, we got to go," Knuckles said. Just then, his stomach growled. "After we get something to eat."

"Hey, I know a great place that makes some good stir fry," Hawk said. "My treat."

"I could eat," Knuckles said. Then the group followed Hawk, leaving Olive and Gladmane standing there. Olive then dragged Gladmane away.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Trouble From Down Under

Episode 20: Trouble From Down Under

The Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were in the lab in Knothole. They were all looking at a holographic globe. They were recapping on what was going on.

"Okay," Twilight said. "Here's what we know. Doctor Julien Robotnik, a brilliant scientist yet psychopath planned on taking over the world with his robots attempted to take over Equestria."

"But by our hands, he was stopped," Sonic said. "But apparently, he has teamed up with a group of hairy creatures that apparently work for someone called the Storm King."

"Eggman's mechs and the Storm King's creatures has stolen the remains of the Storm King, the Staff of Sacanas, and the machine that turned Cozy Glow back to her organic form," Twilight said.

"And the only way to power the machine is by a Chaos Emerald," Sally said. "So, we need to find the last four Chaos Emeralds before any of them find them."

The group stopped recapping. It then went to a private jet flying through the sky, heading southwest. In the plane were Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twist, Sally, Amy, Midpoint and Cozy Glow.

"Thanks for giving us a ride to Australia, Alex," Sally said.

"No problem, Sally," Midpoint said. "In fact, I always wanted to see the Outback for a long time, so I might as well do it right now."

"Really?" Cozy Glow asked. "Why didn't you?"

"I wanted to," Midpoint said. "But I was too busy studying at MIT, then there was when I got impaled on my last camping trip, luckily my grandfather had something to keep me alive."

"The same tech used to turn Maria Robotnik into a hedgehog?" Amy asked.

"Bingo," Midpoint said. "Then my grandpa got sick, and since my dad's in prison, I had to take over the business. And boy, was it difficult."

"Ah know how ya feel, Sugarcube," Applejack said. "When mah ma and pa left us, Big Mac and Ah had ta do double duty on the farm until Apple Bloom was old enough ta help."

"Ah wish Ah could remember them," Apple Bloom said, looking down. Applejack then pulled her in for a hug.

Then there was a beeping coming from the front and Midpoint said, "We're about to land. Everyone buckle your seat belts." Then everyone buckled up as the private jet was descending.

At the Sydney, Australia airport, the group came out of the building, looking around at the place.

"Hoowee," Applejack said. "Sure is hot down here."

"Sure is," Midpoint said. He then pulled out the blue Chaos Emerald. "We got to find that Chaos Emerald that's here."

"How are we going to do that?" Cozy Glow asked.

"We're just going to have to go to look around the place," Sally said. Then a limo jeep pulled up in front of them. Inside was Sherman, Midpoint's butler.

"Alright, guys," Midpoint said. "Let's head on out . We'll use the Chaos Emerald as a GPS." Midpoint got into the front seat while the rest got into the rear seating. Then the limo drove off.

Later, the group stopped at a restaurant, eating lunch outside. Midpoint was using his tablet to see anything. Sally was taking a bite out of her salad. After she swallowed, she looked over at Midpoint.

"Alex, are you looking for the Chaos Emerald?" Sally asked.

"The Chaos Emerald should be around here," Midpoint said. "Wherever it is, we have to find it."

"I'm sure we can find it," Amy said. "After all, I'm sure Sonic and the others can find the other Chaos Emeralds."

Then a waiter came back with a check, and Midpoint pulled out some Australian dollars, and put it onto the check.

"Guess ya're prepared for whatever country ta go ta," Applejack said.

"It's best to be prepared," said Midpoint. "Now, let's get going."

"So, where are we gonna head ta?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We'll just have to follow the glow of the Chaos Emerald," Midpoint said, holding the Chaos Emerald he had. "The Chaos Emeralds can sense each other, which is how they can glow brighter."

"Help! My purse!" came the voice of a woman. The group looked over and saw a human thief running with a purse.

"Oh, no!" Sally said.

"I got him!" Midpoint said, jumping over the gate. Applejack and Amy followed. They started chasing the thief. "Stop!"

"Ya can't get away from us!" Applejack called out.

The thief was about to turn a corner, but Midpoint got out his bow and a trick arrow, and fired it towards the thief. The thief turned a corner, and the arrow hit the wall of an alley, and a net sprang from the back end of the arrow, catching something. Midpoint, Applejack and Amy came around the corner and saw the net had caught... a puppy.

"What the heck?" Midpoint asked.

Then they looked ahead and saw the thief from earlier picking up the purse. But then the police came in and grabbed the thief.

"Freeze!" one of the policemen asked. "You are under arrest!"

"What did I do, mates?" the thief asked.

"You know what you've done!" the policeman shouted. Then they escorted the man away.

Midpoint's eyes narrowed. Applejack and Amy looked at Midpoint, and then Amy asked, "Are you okay?"

"I... I never miss," Midpoint said. He then grabbed the arrow from the wall, and then grabbed the net covering the puppy. The policeman from before came back.

"Hey, thanks for trying to help, mate," the policeman said. "Even though you didn't hit your target, you still tried to help out." The policeman patted Midpoint's shoulder as he walked back towards the car.

Later, the group were at the beach, Midpoint sitting in the sand with Apple Bloom and Twist making a sand castle. Sally and Amy weren't there. They had to focus on finding the Chaos Emerald. Cozy Glow walked up to Midpoint and sat next to him.

"So you missed the guy," Cozy Glow said. "It's not the end of the world."

"I never missed a shot in my entire life," Midpoint said. "Even in Archery Camp, I was a natural. I just don't get it."

Applejack walked up to Midpoint and said, "Hey, Ah get it. Ya made a mistake. It happens from time ta time."

"This... was the first time I've ever made a mistake," Midpoint said.

"Hey, even Twi made a mistake before," Applejack said. "She thought it would have destroyed Equestria." She then sighed. Then something caught her mind. "Isn't it weird that the thief had no memory of stealin' that purse?"

"Now that you think about it," Midpoint said. "It does seem weird. It looked like he was picking it up after someone dropped it or threw it towards him."

"What are you saying?" Cozy Glow asked.

"Either there's an evil telepath around, or... we're dealing with a shapeshifter," Midpoint said.

"A shapeshifter?" Applejack asked.

"Like Chrysalis?" Cozy Glow asked. "Is she out?"

"Not likely," Midpoint said. "We checked the statue. Chrysalis and Tirek are still sealed in stone."

"Ya think we should investigate?" Applejack asked.

"I'm sure we can find something out," said Midpoint. "Sally and Amy are looking for the Chaos Emerald."

"Mind if we help out?" The group looked to the right, and there stood two hedgehogs.

Applejack tilted her head and asked, "Who are ya two?"

"Those are Sonia and Manic," Midpoint said. "I have a file on these two. Apparently, they're Sonic's sister and brother."

"Really?" Applejack asked.

"Apparently, they were separated at birth," Midpoint said. "Sonia was raised in a high class mansion while Manic, who was supposed to be taken in by a nice woman, was taken by street rats, who were homeless people who only survive by stealing from any passerby."

"Wow," said Applejack. "High and low class, eh?"

"It was actually no class," the green hedgehog, known as Manic, said. "Anyway, Sonia and I stayed together and overheard that there has been trouble going on."

"Apparently, there were people arrested, and they claim that they didn't do any crimes," Sonia said. "We think it's the Freedom Fighter that went rogue."

"A rogue Freedom Fighter?" Cozy Glow asked.

"I think I know which one you're talking about," Midpoint said, pulling out his tablet. He then showed a picture.

"Whoa!" Applejack said. "He looks creepy!"

"No arguing with that," Cozy Glow said.

"They call him Mimic," Midpoint said. "He's a shapeshifter. He's been stealing stuff and blaming it on others by changing into another person or a different creature."

"That means that dog wasn't a dog!" Applejack said. "That was Mimic!"

"And I didn't miss," Midpoint said. "Alright guys, we got a shapeshifter to catch."

Then from out of nowhere, a certain draconequus showed up.

"Oh, this should be exciting!"

"Discord?!" Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twist and Cozy Glow asked in shock.

"What is that?" Sonia asked, looking at Discord.

"That's Discord," Applejack said. "The lord of Chaos from Equestria. He likes to cause a little chaos. We have him do it as minimal as possible."

"As long as I keep it in check and not cause too much chaos, I can roam free," Discord said. "So, where do we go from here?"

At some other place in the city of Sydney, the same dog from before was walking through some streets until a dog catcher came up to it and swooped it up in a net.

"Now I got ya, ya little critter," said the dog catcher. As soon as the dog was out of sight from viewers, some tentacles came from the net, and wrapped around the dog catcher's neck. Then the dog catcher was flung towards the wall, getting knocked out.

"Sorry, my good man." The dog was now back to his normal form, which was Mimic the Octopus. "But I'm getting something that my boss needs." He then headed towards somewhere.

Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twist, Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Sonia, Manic and Discord headed back to the place where the arrest happened earlier. Midpoint looked at where the dog was.

"This was where the dog was," Midpoint said.

Discord then snapped his fingers and an illusion of the dog showed up. The dog then headed away from there. Discord then said, "This is an illusion of what happened earlier. If we follow it, it should lead us to where he's headed."

"That's not a bad idea," Manic said.

"Yeah, it could work," Sonia said. "Let's follow the path."

They followed where the illusion dog was heading to. Meanwhile, with Sally and Amy, the two were heading down to a certain part of the city. They came towards a jewelry store. They headed inside and headed for a glass case. They looked inside it, and saw the thing they were looking for.

"That's it," said Sally. She then called out to the jeweler and said, "Excuse me, sir."

The jeweler walked up to the counter and asked, "What can I do for you sheilas today?"

"We need that gem right there," said Sally. "It's a Chaos Emerald."

"A Chaos Emerald?!" the jeweler asked. "Oh, I didn't know it was one of them power gems. Since ya are two of the Freedom Fighters from America, I'll give ya a fair price. One thousand Australian dollars."

The two pulled their money. Amy said, "Looks like we got up to eight hundred American dollars. Too bad we can't afford it."

"Actually, my good sheilas," the jeweler said. "I can exchange them American dollars for Australian ones. Look up the price difference online between the currency of America and Australia."

Sally pulled out her handheld Nicole and said, "Nicole, what's the difference of currency of American dollars and Australian dollars?"

"One American Dollar is actually a dollar thirty-six in Australia," Nicole responded. "To round it up to 800 American dollars, it's actually one thousand, eighty-seven dollars and eighty cents."

"So we have enough," Amy said.

"Ya sure do," said the jeweler. He then pulled out the Chaos Emerald, and handed it to Sally. Amy then handed the man the 800 American dollars. Then she was given the change in Australian dollars. "Have a good day." Then Amy and Sally left the place with the Chaos Emerald they purchased.

"That wasn't so hard," Sally said.

"Let's go meet up with the others," Amy said. Then the two of them walked away. Unaware that the dogcatcher from before was watching them, but his eyes were different.

Back with the others, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twist, Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Sonia, Manic and Discord went into the alley where they followed the illusion dog to where he was caught by the dog catcher, and then changed into his real form.

"Yep," Sonia said. "That's Mimic."

"Guys, over here!" Manic said, running over to the unconscious dogcatcher.

"Looks like Mimic has a new guy to frame," Midpoint said. He then pulled out a water bottle, Manic lifted the dogcatcher's head, and Midpoint poured the water all over the dogcatcher's face.

The dogcatcher coughed, looked up and asked, "What happened, mates?"

"You were duped by a shapeshifter," Midpoint said. "He's copied your form and is about to cause a crime, using your face."

"That explains why the people who have been arrested claimed they didn't do it," the dogcatcher said. "Includin' my best mate."

"Let's go!" Applejack said. Then all of them headed out of the alley.

Back with Sally and Amy, the two were heading for the beach. Amy then pointed out, "This seemed a little too easy."

"What do you mean, Amy?" Sally asked.

"I was almost expecting to get mobbed by someone who wanted the Chaos Emeralds by now," Amy said, not knowing that Mimic, disguised at the dogcatcher, knocked them down, and used the dog net to swoop up the Chaos Emeralds.

"Gotcha!" Mimic, as the dogcatcher, said.

"Hey!" Amy shouted. "Give those back!"

"Not on your life, darling," said Mimic as the dogcatcher. "I got plans with these lovely gems." Then he started running away. Just then, a trick arrow headed towards him, rubber bands coming out of the arrow tip, and tying up the shapeshifter.

"Gotcha!" Midpoint said, holding out his bow, like he released an arrow. Then Applejack ran over towards the shapeshifter, getting the net, grabbing the Chaos Emeralds, and running back to the group.

"Got 'em," Applejack said. Then a police car came up to the group.

The policemen from before came out, and one of them asked, "What happened here?"

"Sir, turns out those guys who were arrested for crimes they claim they didn't do were all innocent," said Midpoint. "It was all him." Midpoint pointed at the tied up creature. "He's a shapeshifting octopus who goes by the name 'Mimic'."

"A shapeshifter?!" asked the police officer. "We never put that into account."

"I have no idea what these lads and lasses are talking about," Mimic, still as the dogcatcher, said. "They just tied me up for trying to catch a stray dog."

"You're not fooling me!" came the voice of the dogcatcher, who was behind Discord. "You knocked me out, and took my form. You even got the wrong accent, mate!"

"He's right," said Midpoint. "Lads and lasses are from the British accent. The Australians call them mates and sheilas."

"Oh, darn it!" Mimic said, still in his disguise. Then he shape shifts back into his original form, getting out of the bindings. "You're all gonna regret this!"

Mimic then shape shifted into a bull, and charged at the group. The group, minus Applejack, jumped out of the way. Applejack turned around, got on her hands, and into apple bucking position, and bucked the bull in the face, knocking him back.

"Now that's what happens when ya're working on an apple farm!" Applejack said.

Mimic then recovered and turned back into his original form. He then pulled out a couple daggers, and tried to attack the group. Amy then pulled out her hammer.

"Hyaaaaah! There's no way I'm gonna be taken down by a calamari!" Amy shouted, before swinging her hammer at Mimic, who was knocked towards a dumpster, who got unconscious when he made contact.

The group then walked over towards Mimic, and Midpoint asked, "Who else did this guy impersonate and frame?"

Discord then pulled out a list, which had pictures and names of people, along with their date of births, and crimes committed. Discord then said, "Wow. He's framed a lot of people. Including your old man."

"What?!" Midpoint said, pulling the list towards him. He then saw a picture of his father. "My father was framed by Mimic?!"

"We'll get to informing the police in San Francisco, mate," the policeman said. "You might as well head out."

Back at Freedom Fighters HQ, the Freedom Fighters, the Mane 6, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came back with the Chaos Emeralds. The Emeralds were all placed into the special case.

"Looks like we got all of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic said. "Nice job guys."

"Now all we have to do is keep them from Robotnik and anyone who follows the Storm King," MC said.

"Knuckles went back to Angel Island to guard the Master Emerald," Rarity said. "Olive and Omega went back to GUN HQ.

"And Alex and Cozy Glow went back to San Francisco ta get Alex's father out of jail," Applejack said. "We ran into trouble in Australia. A shapeshifter was framin' people all over the world."

"Well, I hope that things will go back to normal for them," Twilight said. "Now that we don't have to worry about any trouble, I think we should take a nice, relaxing break."

Back in San Francisco, Midpoint, Cozy Glow and Sherman were standing out in front of the county jail, waiting for someone to come out.

"So, how long are we supposed to wait here?" Cozy Glow asked. Just then, the sound of a gate opening came to their attention, and coming towards them was a handsome man.

"Hey, dad!" Midpoint said.

"Alex?" the man asked. "Wow, I heard you were turned into a Mobian Otter, but, wow. You look good."

Midpoint smiled, looking up at his dad. He then said, "You don't know how many times I waited for this day."

Bruce then looked up at Sherman and said, "Thanks for watching over Alex, Sherman. I can take it from here."

"Of course, sir," said Sherman. "I might as well get you a ride home." Then they got into the limo, and headed on back to their home.

Somewhere, in the sewers, Doctor Robotnik was working on something until Grubber came up to him. He then said, "Um, Doctor Robotnik?"

"What is it?" Doctor Robotnik asked.

"It would seem that the Freedom Fighters has gotten all of the Chaos Emeralds," Grubber said. "They got them all!"

"Drat!" Doctor Robotnik said, punching the wall. "Those fools are gonna regret trying to stop my master plan!" He then looked over and saw some of his robots trying to reassemble the Storm King's statue. "I'll get those Chaos Emeralds, and I shall rule this world." He then cackled loudly.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Take It to the Source! Swamp Fever!

Episode 21: Take It to the Source! Swamp Fever!

Fluttershy and MC were at a swamp. MC was in the water, collecting crisscross moss, putting the stuff into a burlap sack that Fluttershy was holding.

"Sheesh, this stuff is nasty!" MC said.

Fluttershy giggled and said, "You'll get used to it. I sure am grateful that you agreed to help me with this. I'm gonna need a little more than this for my animal shelter."

"No problem, Flutters," MC said. He then floated over towards another patch. He grabbed a section of it, and headed back to Fluttershy. He then put it into the sack. "That should do it." Just then, a blue flower with orange spots on a lily pad was passing by. It then sprayed pollen onto MC's face, making him cough.

Fluttershy gasped in fright and said, "Oh, no! Get out of the water, and lay on the tree! I'll get help!" She then ran off.

MC stood there confused. He then looked at the flower, and looked at it. His eyes then went to a golden aura. His mind sight then took him towards Twilight's library, and looked at all books of plants and diseases. Then he stopped at one. "Swamp Fever. A disease that causes a pony to slowly part from the living world. Side effects include gaining orange spots, coughing bubbles, sneezing bolts of lightning, confusion, and slowly transforms the diseased creature into a tree that grows the same flowers that caused the disease in the first place." It then went back to MC, who closed his eyes and went back to his normal eyes. He then said, "H'oh, boy."

MC then held out his hands, and had his eyes closed. He then breathed in and out.

"Concentrate, MC," he thought to himself. "Remember what the Oracle taught you. Take it all back to it's source. Find the source, and manipulate it's molecules." His hands then started glowing as they were coming together. Then he grasped his hands, and then when he pulled his hands away, there was a small, orange orb. He then threw it down to the ground, the orb shattering, and its molecules disappearing. MC looked down at where the orb was. Then he looked at the tree that sprouted the flowers. "Hm. I wonder..."

MC then walked over towards the tree. He then put his left hand on the tree, and then his hand started glowing.

Meanwhile, at Twilight's castle, Twilight, Applejack, Mage Meadowbrook and Rockhoof were all talking with each other. Then Fluttershy came barging in.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy shouted. "We got a problem!"

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, starting to get worried.

"MC was helping me get some crisscross moss," Fluttershy explained. "But when he finished up, he was sprayed by one of those flowers that cause Swamp Fever!"

"WHAT?!" Twilight and Mage Meadowbrook shouted.

"We better get this Flash Bee Honey to him," Mage Meadowbrook said, getting out a jar of Flash Bee Honey.

"That won't be an issue," came Nicole's voice. "Michael is immune to all diseases. He's the only one of the Freedom Fighters who hasn't, or ever will, get sick. It's part of his healing factor."

Twilight looked over at Fluttershy and said, "A healing factor."

"So, MC's probably fine," Applejack said.

"This MC fella must be one tough lad," Rockhoof said.

"But if this guy does somehow get it, we might as well see if hes okay," Mage Meadowbrook said. Then the five of them headed out.

They arrived back at the place where Fluttershy and MC were getting Crisscross Moss, but there was something missing.

"Wait... where's the tree?" Fluttershy asked. She ran over to where the tree was. "I swear, there was a Swamp Fever tree right here." Then the sound of somepony groaning came to their attention. The group walked over and saw an Earth Pony Stallion rubbing his head.

"What happened?" the stallion said, rubbing his head.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked the stallion, helping him up. He was losing his sense of gravity.

"Who are you?" the stallion asked, looking at Twilight. Then he saw Twilight's wings, and then her horn. "Oh, my Celestia. A new alicorn? A new princess?"

"I've been a princess for..." Twilight said, before thinking about something. "When was the last major incident you remember? Just to clarify?"

"Well, I was running late to the 1000th Summer Sun Celebration and..." the stallion said before Twilight gasped.

"That was at least five years ago!" Twilight said.

"Five years?" the stallion asked, before his eyes widened. "How much did I miss?"

"A lot," Twilight said. "Including when Princess Celestia, and her sister, Princess Luna, who was the original Nightmare Moon, recently retired, making me the new High Princess of Equestria. I am Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"Is there anything else I have to know?" the stallion asked.

Later, with MC, he was heading down a path, heading somewhere. He then heard the sound of a child coughing. He ran over towards it and saw a family of pegasus ponies. One mare, one stallion, two fillies and a colt. The colt was covered in orange spots, and was coughing bubbles.

"Don't worry, son," the father said. "We'll rest here until you get better."

MC sighed and walked towards them. He then said, "Not unless you have some Flash Bee honey on you." The family looked towards MC, who was walking up to them. "He's got Swamp Fever. If he doesn't get some Flash Bee honey, he'll eventually be turned into a tree."

"Come to think of it," the mother said, reaching into her backpack, "I did recently get Flash Bee Honey. But I don't have anything to scoop some up." She pulled out a jar of Flash Bee honey. MC walked up to the mother, and his left hand started glowing. The glowing then stopped and MC held out a spoon.

"Give this a try," MC said, smiling. The mother smiled and took the spoon from MC's hand. She then scooped up the honey from the jar, the father opened his son's mouth, and the spoon with honey, was put into the colt's mouth. The colt then smiled and looked up. The spots on him disappeared.

"I'm starting to feel better," the colt said.

"Just lay here for about an hour," MC said. "Rest up so you can get your energy back." The colt nodded.

The father then said, "Thank you."

"No problem," said MC, giving the father a fist bump. Just then, the sound of a roar came to their attention. They looked over and saw a Chimera coming towards them. "Oh, you have got to be kidding."

The Chimera charged towards MC and the pony family. MC then counter charged, and did an uppercut, sending the Chimera up into the vines above, it getting tied up.

"Never mind," MC said, picking up the colt. "Let's get you to a nearby town, and get you some help." Then they all headed out of there.

Back at the Castle of Friendship, Twilight came back from the portal to Knothole with Sonic, Tails and Mutt. Twilight also had a Nicole handheld device.

"Okay, guys," Twilight said. "We'll use Nicole to track MC wherever he's going in Equestria. Wherever he's going."

"MC's pretty tough to follow," Sonic said. "He's the hardest to find whenever we have to find him."

"The only way we do find him is when his homing device on his glove is active," Tails said. "He's able to turn it on and off whenever he feels like it."

"So, where is he going?" Fluttershy asked.

"Accessing," came Nicole's voice. "It would seem that he's heading East, towards Hayseed Swamp."

"That's where Swamp Fever originated," said Mage Meadowbrook. "Is he going after the source?"

"It is a possibility," said Sonic. "The Oracle of Delphius taught him that the start of something bad has to be taken down from the source."

"If MC finds the source of Swamp Fever, there's a good chance that he can stop it," Mutt said. "We'll just have to follow him. Wherever the source of this disease is."

"Well, we have to get a bunch of stuff in case we get Swamp Fever," Mage Meadowbrook said. "We're going to need masks, Flash Bee honey, and some first aid kits." She then pulled out her mask from her glory days. "Luckily, I got my mask from 1000 years ago back from my descendant."

"When did you even have a baby?" Tails asked.

"I had a baby five years before my friends and I had to deal with Stygian when he became the Pony of Shadows," said Mage Meadowbrook. "My sister had to take care of my baby when I was... trapped in limbo... with the other Pillars."

"What exactly does this Pony of Shadows look like?" Tails asked.

"Well, it's kinda like this," Twilight started explaining. But Mutt got in her face.

"We'll talk about it later!" Mutt said. "We need to find MC, remember?"

"Right," Twilight said. "We need to get to Hayseed Swamp." Then they all headed out.

Back in Hayseed Swamp, MC was helping another family of ponies. MC was using his power to remove the Swamp Fever from a young unicorn filly.

"There," MC said, holding up the orb. The orb then turned to dust. "That's it. Just lay here and relax for an hour."

"Okay, sir," the filly said.

MC then stood up, and walked away. He continued through the swampy area. MC then came across a gorge. He then looked down, seeing how deep the gorge was. There was a black abyss at the bottom.

"A bottomless pit?" MC asked. "Must be where Discord lives." He then looked over and saw a mailbox with Discord's name on it. "Should've seen that coming."

"Is somepony there?!" came a woman's voice. MC looked around. The voice then returned. "Can somepony help us?!"

MC looked towards the source of the voice, which was on the other side of the pit. MC then said, "I can't believe I'm doing this." He then took a few steps back, and then he started running, then he jumped over the pit, but he almost fell in, but he grabbed the edge of the cliff with his claws. He then pulled himself up and out of the pit, and headed towards the voices. He then saw two ponies. A pink pegasus mare wearing Egyptian clothing, and a brown earth pony filly with a dark gray jacket, and a short skirt. Under the skirt, you could see a pair of scissors with the handles looking like an apple. He then said, "Is there anything I can help you two with?"

"Oh, my," the mare said, looking at MC. "You must be Prince Michael Crayton. I have heard a great tale about you from Starswirl."

"And you must be Somnambula," MC said. "The bringer of hope to the town named after you."

"You know the history of Equestria," Somnambula said. "Not bad, young man." She then looked down at the filly. "I'm afraid that this young filly has gotten herself lost. Her name is..."

"Babs Seed," MC said. "I've seen her picture in the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse."

"You know my cuz from Ponyville?" Babs Seed asked.

"That's right," MC said. "I'm on a mission to stop the disease that is... Swamp Fever."

"Swamp Fever!" Somnambula shouted. "There's no way to end it. Nopony has ever reverted back to pony form after they fully transformed."

"Well I undid one transformation," MC said. "I absorbed the disease right out of one tree, and he reverted back to a pony. He was unconscious when I reverted him back. His vitals were stable, so he would only be out for a few minutes."

"Well, can you direct us to Ponyville?" Somnambula asked. "I promised to take this filly to her family at Sweet Apple Acres after she accidentally got on the wrong train."

"How did that happen?" MC asked.

"I was getting on the train from Manehattan, but the crowd pushed me onto the wrong train," Babs Seed said. "I ended up at Hayseed Swamp. And a lot of ponies there are starting to get Swamp Fever."

"I was there to give the ponies of that town hope until Mage Meadowbrook came back," Somnambula said. "I tried to escort this filly towards Ponyville, but so much has changed for over a thousand years."

"I guess it has," MC said. He then looked at Babs Seed and asked, "Why are you heading to Ponyville?"

"The apartment my sister and I live in caught fire, and I sent a letter to Apple Bloom and the others at Sweet Apple Acres if I could stay with them," Babs Seed said.

"I know someone who can help," MC said. He then walked back to the bottomless pit, and whistled down it. The whistle echoed down the pit. Just then, Discord appeared by sticking his head out of the pit.

"Yes?" Discord asked.

"Discord, this filly got on the wrong train," MC said, pulling Babs towards the draconequus. "She was on her way to Ponyville to stay at Sweet Apple Acres."

"Oh, yes," Discord said, looking at Babs Seed. "Babs Seed. Cousin of Applejack, Apple Bloom and Big Mac. Allow me to personally take this filly to Sweet Apple Acres." He then grabbed Babs's hand with his lion paw, and then he snapped his talon fingers, and the two disappeared in a flash of light.

"So, what brings you here to Hayseed Swamp?" Somnambula asked.

"Ending the disease known as Swamp Fever," MC replied. "Since I am immune and able to reverse the final stage of it."

"My prayers have been answered," Somnambula said. "Two more pillars are helping with trying to keep the ponies of Hayseed Swamp calm during this pandemic. Flash Magnus and Mistmane are the two there."

MC then looked over and saw a couple of trees with the flowers that caused Swamp Fever. He then said, "I'll meet you there. There's something over there I gotta do." MC then walked over towards the trees as Somnambula was heading back to town. He then looked up at the night sky and saw that it was nearly sunset. "Well, I'll cure these two before I head to the local motel." He then lit up his hands and put them on the trees. Then they started glowing in the golden aura.

The trees then transformed into Mobian Ponies. The ponies were Bright Mac and Pear Butter. They passed out as soon as they were drained of the Swamp Fever. MC held out two orbs, which turned to dust. MC was exhausted after that.

"That... was more... tiring... than I thought," MC said before he fell backwards and passed out, making a body shaped pit right under him.

Meanwhile at a hotel, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rockhoof, Mage Meadowbrook, Sonic, Tails and Mutt arrived at the lobby. Sonic was looking at his glove, which had a holographic map hovering above it.

"Looks like MC just passed out somewhere near the place known as Hayseed Swamp," Sonic said.

"I thought he was more powerful than all of you," Twilight said. "He should have more endurance in him."

"MC must be using a lot of power to keep himself from suffering Swamp Fever," Tails said. "Using a lot of power is also using a lot of self energy. He eventually burns himself out if he uses too much."

"Makes sense, laddie," Rockhoof said. "Even I use up a lot of energy when I was in with the Mighty Helm o'er a thousand years ago."

"And there was the time when Ah had ta fill in for Big Mac when he got injured... and..." Applejack said, remembering what she did not too long after Twilight moved to Ponyville before she became a princess.

"Yeah, I get it," Twilight said. "Well, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had a bunch of trouble when doing their duties of day and night." She then thought of something. "And I think Princess Luna is teaching Nyx how to dream walk. Since she is getting better with her magic again."

"I thought I saw her and Princess Luna in my dream when the royal sisters were about to retire," Fluttershy said, remembering a dream of hers.

"Well, we might as well get rested up," Twilight said. Then they headed towards the front desk to get some room keys.

The next morning, in a home that was built in a tree, MC was waking up. He looked around, and then sat up. He turned his body to out of bed, and got his shoes on.

"Where am I?" MC asked. He then got up and headed out the door. When he looked outside, he saw a bunch of ponies with the same illness. Swamp Fever. "Holy moly!" All of the ponies were covered in orange spots. Some ponies were coughing bubbles. Some ponies were sneezing lightning. Even some ponies had branches growing from the sides of their heads. "I'm running out of time."

"I'd say you are," came a voice from behind him. MC turned around and saw Flash Magnus and Mistmane standing behind him. Flash then said, "You're here to help with this pandemic?"

"I think I'm the only one who can stop this pandemic," MC said. "But for me to do so, I need to find the source of the problem. So, I have two questions. Do any of you know where the possible source is, and who brought me here?"

"Well, all I can say is the two ponies who brought you here are right over there," Mistmane said, pointing at the two ponies, who were helping a sick pony. Both of the ponies were wearing masks.

MC recognized those two ponies and said, "I seen those two in a picture at Sweet Apple Acres. That's Bright Mac and Pear Butter. They're Applejack's parents."

"Okay," said Flash Magnus. "That would make sense. Anyway, follow me." Flash Magnus then led MC through the swamp, and they came across a sinkhole with huge tree roots coming out of it.

MC and Flash looked down it and saw a huge flower that makes Swamp Fever. MC then shouted, "Holy shoot! That thing's huge!"

"You think that's the source of it all?" Flash Magnus asked.

"Are you kidding me?" MC asked. "Look at that thing. That's the same flower that cause ponies to sprout branches and flowers."

"I'm gonna go back to help ponies cope with what they're going through," Flash Magnus said. "You think you can stop this from spreading?"

"I don't know," MC said. "But if I don't make it, get a message to the Freedom Fighters. Tell them, I tried my best. And if you don't know who the Freedom Fighters are, ask Princess Twilight Sparkle." He then jumped into the sinkhole. Flash Magnus then walked away.

Back in town, Mistmane and Somnambula were helping ponies trying to recover from Swamp Fever. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rockhoof, Mage Meadowbrook, Sonic, Tails and Mutt came in and saw all of the ponies there.

"Oh, this isn't good," Fluttershy said.

"So many ponies with Swamp Fever," Twilight said. "It's a pandemic!"

"How are we gonna help all of these ponies?" Applejack asked. But then came a couple voices she never thought she'd hear.

"Applejack?"

The group looked over towards the source of the two voices, and saw Bright Mac and Pear Butter. Applejack was surprised at the two ponies walking up to her.

"M-Ma? P-Pa?" Applejack asked, with tears coming out of he corners of her eyes. Then she ran towards the two ponies. The three of them got into a group hug.

"Okay," Mutt said. "Unexpected family reunion. That was unexpected to all of us."

"Aye," Rockhoof agreed.

Sonic then held up his left hand and said, "Nicole. Get a message to one of the other Freedom Fighters, and tell that one to get that message to Applejack's family."

"What's the message?" Nicole asked.

"Tell them that Applejack's parents are alive," Sonic said. "Whatever their names are."

"It's Bright Mac and Pear Butter!" came Applejack's voice.

"You got that?" Sonic asked.

"Yes," said Nicole. "I'm sending Maria to Sweet Apple Acres, telling the Apples that Bright Mac and Pear Butter are alive. I'm sure they'll pass it on to Grand Pear."

"Okay," Twilight said. "Now that that's taken care of, we need to find MC."

Applejack and her parents came up to Twilight, and Pear Butter asked, "MC? You mean the gray fox with white gloves with an orange stripe going down the middle..."

"Has orange highlights on his muzzle..." Bright Mac continued.

"And hair as black as coal..." Pear Butter continued.

"And was small yet heavy?" Bright Mac finished.

"He can manipulate his own density," Tails said. "He's a really heavy sleeper. Literally."

"Last time we saw him, we put him into the bed in that place," Bright Mac said.

"That's my house!" Mage Meadowbrook said. Then Somnambula and Mistmane came up to them.

"I'm afraid you just missed him," Mistmane said. "Flash Magnus just led him to, what could possibly be, the source of Swamp Fever."

"He's already there!" came Flash Magnus's voice. The group looked towards Flash. "He's gonna try to stop it once and for all."

"Did he have any orange spot on him?" Fluttershy asked. "He was sprayed by one of those flowers."

"No," Flash Magnus said.

"Told ya," Sonic said. Twilight then shook her head and handed Sonic ten bits.

"His healing factor is giving MC an immunity," Twilight said. "Let's get to him before something bad happens." Then they all headed to where Flash Magnus took MC.

Back with MC, he grabbed a root of the plant and lifted it. He then said, "Okay. Time to end this once and for all." He then held out his left hand, and then released the claw on his left forefinger, and cut the root. Just then, the sound of a monster roaring came. MC then said, "That can't be good."

Then the giant flower started moving. It showed that the roots were shaped like a body, and had a bunch of tentacle vines, and the head of the flower looked towards MC, it had eyes on the sides of it, and the center of the flower was all teeth and tongues.

"Ah, crud!" MC said. The plant then grabbed MC with a vine and held him up. It was at that moment that Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, Sonic, Tails, Mutt, Bright Mac, Pear Butter, and five of the six pillars arrive. They saw MC tied up by the vines and saw the giant plant monster.

"Sweet Celestia!" Twilight shouted. "MC!"

MC looked towards the group and saw them. He then shouted, "Get out of here! Go!" The monstrous flower then closed up, and then sprayed the pollen all over MC, making him cough. He then got angry. Then he saw something coming from inside the monster's mouth. Something was shining. "What do we have here?" He then smirked. With his strength, he broke out of the vines, rolled up into a ball, and headed straight for the monster's mouth. The monster then ate him whole.

"NO!!" the others all shouted.

"Why you...!" Sonic said, getting ready to speed towards it. But then, the sound of gurgling came from the stomach of the monster. Just then, the monster looked up, opened it's mouth wide, and a golden beacon came directly from it. The beacon then broke apart, and it spreaded across Equestria. All of the ponies who had Swamp Fever, or had been turned into trees that spread Swamp Fever, were back to their healthy state.

The plant monster was turning black, and was crumbling up. It crumbled up enough for MC to come out, covered in green saliva. He then headed for the side of the sinkhole, and started climbing up it.

The group then walked up to MC, and Twilight said, "How... how did you do that?"

"I saw something inside the plant," MC said. "It would seem that the core of the plant was the source of it all. It was both the cause and the cure. I had to go in and take down the plant... from the inside."

"You used the Chaos Rogue, didn't you?" Sonic asked.

"Chaos what?" Twilight asked.

"The Chaos Rogue," Tails said. "MC fires a huge burst of gold energy that can stop a threat by purifying the threat back to it's good side, or manipulating it's molecules."

"It was time I took it down at it's core," MC said. "Since Swamp Fever started in Hayseed Swamp, then that was where the source of it started. Hopefully, everypony will get back to their normal lives. Some, having to experience a new body since this entire continent showed up out from somewhere. Now, let's go home."

"Before we do... you really stink," Twilight said. Then most of them fanned the stench coming from MC, Mutt and Applejack using their hats.

MC then sniffed himself and said, "Whoo!! That stinks worse than the time Tails accidentally enlarged a normal skunk! You think tomato juice would help after I get sprayed with water?"

"It could work," Twilight said. Then they all headed out of there.

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, the Apples and Grand Pear were having a family group hug, now that Bright Mac and Pear Butter were back. Twilight, Nyx and Joshua were looking inside from the door.

"Turns out that Applejack's parents survived the fall," Twilight said. "The ravine was full of water, but the current of the river was so strong, it got them to Hayseed Swamp. Then they got infected with Swamp Fever, which MC was the one who cured them of it."

"At least they're back with their family," Joshua said.

"What about Babs?" Nyx asked.

"Turns out, the apartment she lived in caught fire," Twilight said. "Applejack and Apple Bloom agreed to let Babs stay with them here at the farm. Who knows. Maybe she'll stay here permanently and maybe open up a hair salon." She then noticed Joshua's mane and said, "Speaking of which. Josh, I think it's time you got a haircut." Then the three of them headed out of there, heading back to town.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Crusaders Meet Halloween

Episode 22: Crusaders Meet Halloween

The episode starts off at the Castle of Friendship. Twilight was talking with Applejack's family. Now that Bright Mac and Pear Butter were back in Ponyville, they had a lot to catch up on.

"And basically, that's all that happened," Twilight said.

"Ah still can't believe we missed so much," Pear Butter said.

"Our little McIntosh has found himself a wife," Bright Mac said.

"And we missed our little Apple Bloom get her Cutie Mark," Pear Butter said. "And how long ago have you been the new High Princess?"

"Not too long before we all transformed into... well... these..." Twilight said, showing the Apple parents her new body.

"Well, at least nopony is missing out on this," said Pear Butter.

Just then, MC came in through the doors with Nurse Redheart following and convincing him.

"All I'm saying is that you might not be 100% healthy," Nurse Redheart said, trying to convince MC. "Just come back to the hospital to see if the Swamp Fever isn't inside of you."

"I was immune to the Swamp Fever, just like the flash bees were," MC said. "My healing factor kept me safe from all of that. Now, will you excuse me, I gotta set up a haunted house for Halloween back in Green Hills."

"Halloween?" Twilight asked. "Wait, that's this world's version of Nightmare Night. Is it that time already?" She then used her magic to bring in a calendar. "Oh, wow. I didn't know it'd be here this soon."

"You know, you're always welcome to come and attend it," MC said.

Then, the mare who's assistant to the high princess, Raven Inkwell, came into the room, saying, "Excuse me, Princess Twilight. But we got a lot of paperwork to do. This is one of the most busiest times for us."

"Oh, right," Twilight said. She then sighed. "Guess I can't enjoy Nightmare Night this year with my friends." She then sighed.

Applejack walked up to Twilight and said, "It'll be okay, Twi. We'll come by after the festivities ta catch up."

"What about the Crusaders?" MC asked. "We could show them all the things we do on Halloween."

"Can we?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at her parents.

"We might as well let you and your friends enjoy it," Pear Butter said. "We missed a lot of holidays together. One more can't hurt."

"Ah guess so," Bright Mac said.

"Just make sure it's alright with the families of the other Crusaders," Twilight said.

"Nicole, print up some permission slips," MC said.

"Yes, sir, Michael," came Nicole's voice.

"What was that?!" Pear Butter asked, looking around.

"That was Nicole," MC said. "She's an artificial intelligence designed to help the Freedom Fighters. "I gotta go." MC then jumped into the portal just as the printer next to the portal was printing some permission slips. Twilight then used her magic to bring over the permission slips.

"Apple Bloom, Babs, and the rest of the Crusaders are in Nyx and Joshua's room," Twilight said. "Bring them in here, please." Apple Bloom and Babs nodded and headed out of the throne room.

At Knothole, Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor were loading stuff onto a truck, which MC was in the driver's seat. He looked back to see how it was going.

"You guys almost done?!" MC asked.

"Almost done, sugah," Bunnie said. "Looks like we won't have enough room fer the rest of the decorations and the apple cider that the Apples are bringing here, along with the Crusaders."

"Zis is going to be one of the best parties we're going to throw," Antoine said.

"Ant, this isn't just a party," MC said. "It's gonna be one of the biggest, bashes we all have ever thrown. Thanks to Sheriff Tom Wachowski. I'll head on over to the Community Center with this stuff, unload, and come back."

"Alright, sugah," Bunnie said.

"We'll wait here," Rotor said. "We might as well wait for the Crusaders."

"Oh, the Crusaders showed up last night," MC said. "Sparkles made them stay up all night in Equestria so they'd be up and at 'em in the morning. They're in the guest bungalow."

"Ah'll go wake 'em up if they ain't up yet," Bunnie said. MC then drove off with the stuff. Bunnie then headed into the guest bungalow, seeing the Crusaders asleep in four bunk beds. On one, Apple Bloom was on the top bunk and Babs Seed on the other. On the second bunk bed, there were Sweetie Belle on the top bunk and Dinky on the bottom. On the third bunk, Nyx was on the top bunk and Joshua on the bottom bunk. And on the last bunk, Scootaloo was on the top bunk and Twist on the bottom bunk. Bunnie then smiled at the group and then said, "Oh, Ah really don't wanna wake 'em up like this, but they should get up." She then put her two organic fingers into her mouth, and whistled, waking up the Crusaders. "Up 'n' at 'em, sugahs."

"Is it morning already?" Joshua asked.

"That's right, Josh," Bunnie said. "Ya'll should head on into the mess hall before they stop makin' breakfast."

"Let us get dressed first," Sweetie Belle said as Nyx and Scootaloo glided from the top bunks.

"Alright, kiddos," Bunnie said. "By the way, Apple Bloom, when will yer family send that apple cider?"

"Oh, Nicole will let them know when we wake up," Apple Bloom said. "That's yer cue, Nicole!"

"I have already sent word to Princess Twilight," came Nicole's voice.

"All right, kids," Bunnie said. "Let's get some grub in yer stomachs when ya'll get done changing." She then headed out.

Meanwhile, in her own bungalow, Maria was watching something on the TV. Her room was set up in a mixture of her old time with the current time. Then there was a knocking on the door.

"Come in," Maria said.

Coming into the bungalow was Rotor. He then asked, "How you doing, Maria? You interested in joining us for the Halloween bash tonight?"

"No, I'm good," Maria said. "I've... never really celebrated Halloween."

"Never?" Rotor asked. "Why haven't...?" Rotor then stopped himself and said, "Oh, right. You were raised most of your life on a Space Colony with no other children to show you the basics of Halloween."

"And times have changed for me," Maria said. "Here I am, stuck in the future as a Hedgehog, and have a lot of power that I barely have any control of."

"Yeah, I saw that power on Space Colony ARK when you took out all of those Artificial Chaos all by yourself," Rotor said. "I'd like to study that power you have."

"I don't know how to let it all out," Maria said. "All I know how to do freely is Super Speed and my healing factor."

"I'm sure you'll be able to let it out," Rotor said. "Why not come to the party tonight? You should enjoy yourself there. Make new friends, play games, wear fun costumes, and get plenty of candy."

"I... haven't... had candy before," Maria said.

"So, what did you get for snacks on our road trip to DC?" Rotor asked.

"Protein bars," Maria said. "And bottles of water."

"Okay, you are going to the party, tonight," Rotor said. "You should enjoy something fun that you missed out on about... fifty to sixty years."

"I almost feel like Captain America," Maria said. "Sure, foods a lot better."

"C'mon," Rotor said. "We got a lot to show you how Halloween works." He then grabbed Maria's arm and pulled her off the couch.

"Oh, c'mon," Maria said. "I'm gonna miss the "I Love Lucy" marathon!"

"We got the entire series on DVD for you," Rotor said. "Maybe I can get Joshua to show you all about Halloween, since he's the one who had the most experience from his time on his world before he came to Equestria." The two of them headed out of the bungalow.

Later, MC came back with the truck backing up towards the bungalow with the portal. Coming out of the bungalow were Big Mac and Bright Mac, along with Sugar Belle with trays of baked apple sweets.

"Hey, you guys made it," MC said. "Sugar Belle, I presume?"

"You presume correctly, your highness," Sugar Belle said, before bowing.

"In my kingdom, we don't do that," MC said. "We move past that about twenty years before I was born."

"Oh," Sugar Belle said. "Well, I'd just thought you might enjoy some sweets."

"Thank you, Sugar Belle," MC said. He then got a good whiff of them. "Wow. These smell delicious. We could serve these for the baked goods eating contest."

"That could work," said Sugar Belle. "Of course, there would have to be a big prize."

"Of course," MC said. "A hundred dollar gift card to Olive Garden. Sheriff Wachowski and his wife, Maddie, are no doubt gonna compete in that competition. Now, let's get these barrels loaded up."

"Eeyup," Big Mac said. Then he, MC and Bright Mac lifted the barrels into the bed of the truck after MC opened up the back. Big Mac notice MC lifting three barrels, one with his left hand, one with his right, and one with his tail. Big Mac then said, "Boy, ya are stronger than ya look."

"You should've seen me arm arm wrestle Rockhoof," MC said. "Our strengths were so equal, we started the volcano on the island where Rockhoof was from. Luckily, I used my super speed to get there, and we evacuated everypony there and diverted the lava into the sea."

"Ya hoof wrestled Rockhoof and tied?" Big Mac asked.

"They had ta," Bright Mac said. "When MC realized that the two started the volcano, they booked it out of there like a stampeding heard of cattle."

Five barrels of Apple Cider were loaded into the truck, then MC put the trays of apple sweets on, which were contained in a couple of carts with covers. Then it was all covered in a tarp, and strapped down.

MC then called out, "Rotor, Ant, Bunnie! Time to go!" Then Bunnie, Antoine, Rotor and Maria came towards the truck. MC then asked, "Whoa, Maria? You're coming?"

"Rotor talked me into it," Maria said. "Joshua basically gave me the basics on what to expect on Halloween."

"That was actually mah idea, sugah," Bunnie said, wrapping her non-metallic arm around Maria's shoulders. "We're gonna have some fun." Then they all got into the truck. MC was in the driver's seat, Rotor in the passenger seat, and in the back, from left to right were Antoine, Bunnie, and Maria.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "Buckle up. Time to head to the community center." Then the truck headed out. From the mess hall, the Crusaders were just standing there, all of them in their costumes.

"Did they just leave us all alone?" Joshua asked.

"Of course they didn't," came the voice of Sugar Belle. The group turned around and saw her standing there. "I wanted to spend some quality time with my little sister-in-law and her friends. I was also told to bring this." She then held out a Nicole Handheld device.

"Oh, that's a handheld device for Nicole," Nyx said. "MC, Bunnie, Rotor and Mutt brought it when we were going up to Space Colony ARK to get Maria."

"That's right, Nyx," came Nicole's voice from the device. "I'll show you the places around town, tell you where to go and where not to go. We'll meet the rest of the Freedom Fighters at the Community Center."

"Alright!!" shouted the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

"Well, let's get going," Sugar Belle said. She then looked at Joshua and asked, "Are you sure that this "Halloween" is similar to Nightmare Night?"

"It sure is," Joshua said as the nine ponies were leaving Knothole.

Later that night, at the Community Center, a lot of people were there, dancing to the music playing there, playing a bunch of games, tons of food, and everyone was in costume. On the stage, playing music for the party, there was Sonic on Electric Guitar, Sonia on the electric keyboard, Manic on the drums, Sally was on Bass Guitar, and Tails was in charge of the soundboard.

MC, who was dressed up as Sherlock Holmes, looking around the place. He was smiling that everything was in place. Just then, Mutt, who was dressed up as Doctor Watson, came up to him.

"Everything is awesome, MC," Mutt said. "I can't believe this is happening."

"Yeah, it is," MC said. "All of the games are set up, the music is on point. Let's see how the maze is going." Then they headed outside to see Amy, dressed as the devil, and Cream and Cheese, who were dressed up as angels. "Good evening, Amy. How's the maze doing?"

"Pretty amazing!" Amy said. "All of the surprise jump scares got all of the kids going in freaked out and then go excited."

"All of the kids there are enjoying them," Cream said.

"Chao," Cheese replied.

"Alright," MC said. "See you all later." Then MC and Mutt headed back inside. There, he saw Rotor looking around for someone. MC walked up to him and asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Trying to find Maria," Rotor said. "I haven't seen her ever since she had her first taste of candy."

"Wait, first taste of candy?" MC asked. "That doesn't sound good."

"What do you mean?" Rotor asked.

"Usually when someone tries candy for the first time, that person tends to have a lot more," MC said. "And when they have a certain amount of candy..."

Just then, Maria came zooming in, and she was dressed up as a Disney Princess. Her eyes were getting bigger and smaller very quickly. She then quickly said, "Hey guys! All that candy was so good, I couldn't help myself! I can't get enough of it! I'm going out to try that maze! See ya!" She then zoomed outside, making MC and Rotor go wide eyed through her entire talk.

"What... have I... done?" Rotor asked.

"Super Speed and a sugar rush should never mix," MC said. "Don't let Maria near the left over candy."

"You know what, we're just gonna limit her candy to one bar a day," Rotor said.

"Good call," MC said. He then headed towards somewhere, Mutt following.

Mutt looked up at MC and asked, "Should we be worried about Maria?"

"She's never had candy before," MC said. "Eventually, she'll end up..." Just then a crashing noise came from somewhere, making people scream in fright. MC and Mutt looked towards the crash and saw Maria passed out on the table where Bunnie had the face painting booth. MC then looked at Mutt and said, "In a sugar crash. Better take her into the back room and get her an ice pack."

"You got it, MC," Mutt said, walking towards Maria. Then Sheriff Tom Wachowski walked up to MC.

"What happened here?" Tom asked.

"Maria had her first experience with candy," MC said. "Didn't go too well." Then a woman came up to them, that woman being Tom's wife, Maddie.

"I'll help out with her," Maddie said. "I am a certified vet, but Mobians are a little different than both humans and animals. I'll go help her recover." Maddie then headed towards the back room, helping Mutt with taking Maria there.

"So, you here for the baked sweets eating contest?" MC asked.

"Well, originally I was, but recently, I found Carl caught up in one of his own traps," Tom said.

MC sighed, and looked towards the stage as the group were finishing up the song. Sonic then called out, "Thank you, people of Green Hills! We're gonna take a quick break! We'll be right back!" Then the group got off the stage.

MC and Tom walked up to Sonic and MC asked, "Sonic? Did you mess with Crazy Carl again?"

"What can I say? We have fun," Sonic replied. Just then MC and Tom started waving their arms in front of their faces.

"Did you get into the chili dogs again?" MC asked. Sonic just laughed and zoomed off.

Just then, Sugar Belle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came in, and the Crusaders had their sacks full of candy. They were all amazed by the decorations. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were dressed as Royal Equestrian Guards, Nyx was dressed up as Nightmare Moon, Joshua was dressed as Mario, Dinky was dressed as Princess Peach, Twist was dressed up in a suit similar to Willy Wonka's suit, and Babs Seed was dressed as Somnambula. Even had fake wings on her back. And Sugar Belle was dressed up as a big muffin.

MC walked up to them and said, "Hey, guys. You made it."

"This is awesome!" Scootaloo said, looking around.

"Go on," MC said. "Enjoy yourselves. I'll take your candy bags and put them into the truck I drove here."

"Are ya sure?" Apple Bloom asked.

"I can handle it," MC said. "As long as nothing bad unexpectedly shows up."

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Give it up for our surprise singer, who was also a surprise for us all, "Weird Al" Yankovic!" came the voice of someone on the microphone.

Everyone cheered for Weird Al's performance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders were all surprised at that. MC then looked at them and asked, "What is it?"

"That guy looks and sounds like Cheese Sandwich!" Sweetie Belle said.

"I didn't even know that was possible," Dinky said.

"Who is that?" Nyx asked.

"Al Yankovic, also known as "Weird Al" Yankovic," MC said. "He's a famous comedic artist who makes parodies of many songs. I have no idea why he's here."

"Twilight would be surprised at this," Nyx said. "Where's Maria?"

"She was just taken into the back room," MC said. "Let's just say she had candy for the first time."

"Sugar crash?" Nyx asked.

"Big time," MC said. "She was taken into the back room." Nyx nodded and headed to the back room. She walked in and saw Maddie putting an ice pack on Maria's head.

"Just remember, a little sugar is okay, but too much can be a problem," Maddie said.

"Thanks," Maria said. She then sighed. "I hope that they put a limit on how much candy I can have."

"Hey, Maria," Nyx said, coming in.

Maria looked towards Nyx, smiled and said, "Hey, Nyx. How was trick or treating?"

"Not much different than how we did things on Nightmare Night," Nyx said.

"Just rest here," Maddie said. "You need to rest until the sugar crash is out of you." Maddie then left the room.

Nyx walked up to Maria and said, "You've really have adjusted well to being here."

"Yeah," Maria said. "Although, there are a lot of things I miss about the past." She then sighed and covered her face with her arm.

Nyx then thought of something. Then she said, "Lately, Princess Luna has been teaching me how to dream walk. And there's something I have to ask. Who's Shadow?"

Maria looked at Nyx. She then sighed and said, "Shadow was my best friend when I was still human. I was always there for me whenever I needed company. Sure, he was supposed to be a government project, but he would always be there for me whenever I feel down. Especially during the holidays."

"When was the last time you saw him?" Nyx asked.

"When I was shot," Maria said. "I sent him down to Earth somewhere. I don't know where the capsule he was in landed, but I hope he's alright."

"I'm sure he's fine," Nyx said. "He is a tough guy, right?"

"He is," Maria said. "Although, every time I look at Sonic, I almost see a bit of Shadow within him. Since the two of them look almost exactly alike."

Then there was an explosion coming from out of the room. The two of them looked at each other, and the two of them saw something hovering over the middle of the gym of the room. It was Bokkun.

Bokkun laughed and said, "I hope you're having a good Halloween, because I'm about to ruin it! Here! Have a message!" Bokkun then pulled out an exploding TV and threw it at the stage.

The exploding TV was about to hit the stage, but Sonic rushed in, kicked the TV, and it headed back towards Bokkun, but it exploded when it was half way there.

"Not gonna happen!" Sonic said.

MC looked at Bokkun, then got a whiff. MC then said, "This guy's a bot. He has no organic life."

"Prepare to have your fun times ruined!" Bokkun shouted.

MC then jumped on Bokkun and pulled him down to the ground. MC then shouted, "Where's Robotnik?!"

"I'll never tell ya!" Bokkun said, giving MC a bomb. He then got out of MC's grip, and the bomb exploded. MC was left there, covered in black soot, and his costume ruined.

"Oh, great," MC said, looking at his costume. "There goes the deposit."

Bokkun was laughing at MC's trouble. Then he was grabbed by Bunnie's robotic arm. Bokkun was struggling to get out.

"Ya ain't goin' anywhere!" Bunnie said.

"Oh, yes I am!" Bokkun said. He then pulled out another bomb and threw it towards Bunnie, but Sonic used his super speed to get the bomb, put it back in Bokkun's pouch, then rushed Bokkun outside and came back in. There was an explosion from outside. Then Bokkun came back in, angry at Sonic. "You're gonna regret that! Besides, I already placed bombs all over the place, so nobody's going anywhere!"

Everyone looked all around the place, seeing bombs across the ceiling. Everyone, including the Cutie Mark Crusaders, were getting scared.

"Now where are ya gonna go?!" Bokkun asked before laughing. Just then, something fast took all of the bombs from where they were. Bokkun just noticed and shouted, "Wait, what?!" He was then hit hard and thrown outside. He looked at who threw him and he saw Maria standing there. Her eyes were red and she was giving off a huge orange aura. "Who are you?!"

"Someone you don't want to mess with!" Maria responded. She then held her arms out and shouted when a huge aura came from her, and that aura became the shape of a phoenix. It even screeched.

Bokkun shouted and Maria charged at the bot, sending Bokkun flying off somewhere. The aura dissipated, and Maria's eyes went back to normal. She then fell onto her back. The Freedom Fighters, the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Sugar Belle ran up to Maria.

"That... was... AWESOME!!" Scootaloo shouted.

"What was that?!" Babs asked.

"That... was the Phoenix Flare," MC said. "It's part of her real power. Although, there is something that bother's me."

"What's that?" Sonic asked.

"Whenever Maria uses the flare, she always goes out cold right after she uses it," MC said. "Is there a way of sustaining that much power?"

"There might be," Tails said. "Although, we're gonna need to run some tests on her to make sure of it."

"Wow," Twist said. "That was intense."

"You think she'll be okay?" Dinky asked.

Sonic and MC picked Maria up and MC said, "I don't know, Dinks. But, what I do know is that the Phoenix Flare will come in handy, if she chooses to use it against a real threat to our world."

"Not just her Phoenix Flare," Sonic said. "There's also your Dragoon Force."

MC chuckled and said, "Oh, please. I'm saving that for the Storm King."

"You want to go up against the Storm King?!" Nyx asked. "He's a powerful creature."

"Not as powerful as me," MC said. "Besides, I hope that day never comes. We have all the Chaos Emeralds. There's no way that Eggman's gonna get the Emeralds from us."

"I hope you're right," Sonic said. Then they all headed out of there."

The next day at Twilight's castle, Twilight was working on some important documents and was finishing up.

"And... done," Twilight said. Just then, Sugar Belle and the Cutie Mark Crusaders came in through the portal. Twilight turned to them and said, "Hey, everypony. How was the festivities?"

"Pretty good," Nyx said. "Although, something really weird happened."

"What happened?" Twilight asked.

"Hey, Twilight!" came Pinkie's voice. The group saw Pinkie and Cheese Sandwich walking towards them. "Guess who came to visit?!"

"Hiya, everypony!" Cheese Sandwich said. "How's it going?"

"What's this?!" came another voice, that sounded just like Cheese Sandwich. Everyone looked towards the portal and saw "Weird Al" Yankovic standing there. Then "Weird Al" and Cheese Sandwich looked towards each other. The two of them walked towards each other and "Weird Al" said, "Who is this handsome stallion?"

"I was just about to ask the same thing," Cheese Sandwich replied. Then the two of them danced together.

Twilight leaned her head towards Nyx and asked, "The weird thing?" That made Nyx nod.

Author's Note

Next episode:
A Hearth's Warming Christmas

Episode 23: A Hearth's Warming Christmas

The streets of Ponyville were covered in holiday decorations. At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight and Spike were getting things ready. Twilight was packing some presents into a huge bag.

"There," Twilight said. "To surprise Joshua this year, we're going to be spending Hearth's Warming and Christmas with the Freedom Fighters."

"That's why you wanted him and Nyx to meet your parents, Shining, Cadance, Guard and Flurry Heart at the Train Station," Spike said. "That's a big surprise for him."

"That's right," Twilight said. "Hearth's Warming and Christmas are very similar holidays. And we'll be able to see all the things humans do for the holidays." Just then, Nyx, Joshua, and the rest of Twilight's family came in. Twilight smiled at them. "So, are you all ready?"

"Ready?" Joshua asked. "For what?" The rest of them were looking at each other with smug faces. "What is it? Tell me!"

"Well, Joshua, Twilight has come up with a very good idea," Cadance told Joshua. "Twilight has planned a special holiday for all of us."

"We're going to be spending Hearth's Warming and Christmas with the Freedom Fighters," Twilight said.

"What?!" Joshua asked, excitedly.

"That's right, Joshua," Twilight said. "Your bags have already been packed. Now, everypony, let's get going." Then they all headed through the portal to Knothole. Twilight then called out, "Hey, everyone! Mind if we tag along on your Christmas?" But then, all of the ponies and Spike gasped, seeing that no one was there. "Were they... taken?"

The royal family walked around Knothole, looking for any of the Freedom Fighters. There were decorations set up all over the place, but there weren't any sign of any attack.

"Where could they be?" Velvet asked.

"Everyone's gone, but no sign of any struggle," Night Light said. "What could have done this?"

"I can tell you," came Nicole's voice. Then Nicole appeared in front of them, and she was wearing a green dress. "Good day, all of you. What brings you all here?"

"We... were expecting to see how the Freedom Fighters celebrate Christmas," Twilight said.

"I'm... afraid you missed most of them," Nicole said. "The Freedom Fighters have all went away to their families. All... but two."

"Two?" Twilight asked. Then a realization came to her and asked, "MC and Maria?"

"Bingo," Nicole said. "They're in the mess hall."

In the mess hall, MC was walking up to Maria with plates of spaghetti. He then set one of the plates in front of Maria and said, "Here you go, Maria. At least I won't have to go through this holiday alone."

"What are we going to do now that it's just us?" Maria asked.

"I don't know," MC said.

"Hey, you two," came the voice of Twilight. MC and Maria looked towards the voice and saw Twilight and her family there. "Is it just you two that's here?" The Sparkle family walked towards the two remaining Freedom Fighters.

"Yeah," MC said. "It's just us. Sonic, Sonia and Manic are spending Christmas with their family in Florida, Tails has got family over in southern California, Amy's got family in England, Cream and Cheese are spending Christmas with her mom and her sister in Station Square, Sally's gone over to Denmark with her family, Antoine and Bunnie are in Texas, Mutt is spending Christmas with his mom in Egypt, and Rotor is in Alaska with his family."

"So, there's no one left but you two," Cadance said.

"It must be hard spending Christmas alone," Shining Armor added.

"It is," MC said. "Makes it even more difficult when you have family that's either dead, or on the most wanted list. Sorry, Maria."

"So, there's nothing much for you to do?" Twilight asked.

"Well, I was planning on renting a house for the holidays in Denver, Colorado with the Freedom Fighters, but with no one to go with me, that plan was a bust," MC said.

Twilight looked around at her family and smiled. She then said, "Go ahead and book it. We're all going with you."

"Seriously?" MC asked.

"Seriously," Twilight said. "So, what are we waiting for?"

MC smiled and said, "Nicole, book us all a trip to Denver, and a vacation house big enough for..." He then looked around at those around him. He said, "...twelve."

Maria looked up at MC and asked, "Me, too?"

"No one should be alone on Christmas," MC said. "Start packing your stuff."

Maria smiled, nodded, and headed back to her bungalow.

Later at the airport in Billings, Montana, Twilight and her family, MC and Maria were getting off a bus, which was driven by Tom Wachowski.

"Thanks, Tom," MC said. "Enjoy your Christmas."

"You, too, MC," Tom said. "At lease you won't be spending Christmas alone."

"Yeah," MC said, looking at the Sparkle family. He saw Twilight talking to one employee of the airport, asking how things work at the airport. The employee happened to be the one who gave off the tickets to who bought them in person or online. "Well, see you later, Tom. We got a flight to catch." Then they all headed for the waiting area of their plane. Not knowing they were being watched from above. A figure wearing a black shirt, a long red coat, brown pants, black boots, and a metal mask with yellow lenses and a wig of blue hair, similar to Night Light's and Joshua's coats.

Later, the group got onto the plane. Shining and Cadance were setting up airplane seats for Guard Armor and Flurry Heart to be sitting in. Cadance then put a collar on Flurry Heart.

"Sorry, Flurry," Cadance said. "But, we don't want you to cause trouble on this flight."

"Speaking of which," MC said, handing Shining Armor a couple pills. "You might want to take these, Shining."

"Why?" Shining Armor asked.

"Airsickness pills," MC said. "Sparkles told me about your... problem."

"Like I'd need them," Shining Armor said.

"I have to agree with Michael, Shining," Cadance replied. "You're gonna need them. Remember the last time we were on an air vessel?"

"Fine," Shining said, taking the pills. Luckily, a stewardess came to them with a cup of water. She handed the cup to MC, who gave it to Shining. Shining put the pills into his mouth, and then drank the water. "Hopefully this won't be a long flight." They all got into their seats. In the sitting positions, they were all sitting close together. In row 6, from left to right; Shining Armor, Guard Armor, MC, Nyx, Joshua and Spike. In row 7; Cadance, Flurry Heart, Twilight, Night Light, Velvet and Maria.

Later, the group arrived at the Denver Airport, and MC was getting a rental vehicle.

"How can I help you?" the woman at the rental car desk asked.

"Good day," MC said. "What ride do you have that can fit six adults and six children?"

"Well, we do have a Transit," the woman replied. "Up to 15 seats. Of course, with all of your luggage, you're gonna have to make some seating arrangements."

"No problem," MC said.

"Just sign right here, and you're going to need a good payment," the woman replied.

"No problem," MC said, pulling out a card from his wallet.

"Aren't you cold?" the woman asked. "You don't seem to have any winter gear on you."

"I'm tougher than I look," MC replied when he was signing the paper work. He then finished up, and slid the paper back to the woman.

"Alright," the woman replied. "There you go." She then handed MC back the card, the information and the key. "Merry Christmas."

MC then headed back to the group and said, "Alright guys, we'll get the car, and we'll head on up to the vacation house, which is near Winter Park Resort."

"What is that?" Nyx asked.

"A ski resort," MC said.

"A ski resort?!" Velvet asked excitedly. "Oh, that's something I don't want to pass up!"

MC then looked at Twilight and asked, "Are you sure you and Rainbow Dash aren't related? Or Scootaloo?"

"Nope," Twilight said. "We're all born unicorns in the family. Well, except for Cadance. And Guard. And Flurry."

"Oh, right," MC said. "Cadance was born a pegasus." He then clapped his hands and said, "Let's get going, everyone."

Then they all headed out of there. Not knowing that someone was giving them the stink eye. It was the former Principal of Cozy Glow's current school, Principal Hunter. He then snarled at the group as he saw them heading out and towards the garage of the rental cars.

Later, they all arrived at the place where they'll be staying.

"And here we are," MC said, everyone being amazed by where they were staying.

"Whoa!!" Twilight said. "This place is big!"

"So much space!" Nyx said.

"Are we going to get a Christmas Tree here?" Joshua asked.

"Oh, yeah," MC said. "We'll get a tree as soon as we get our stuff into our rooms. Nyx and Joshua, you two will be sharing one room. Shining, Cadance and their babies will be in the master bedroom. The rest of you, go find yourselves your own room."

"What about you?" Twilight asked.

"I'm cool with sleeping on the sofa," MC said. "No open windows, no raising the temperature past a certain temperature, and no searching for the presents to open them early." He then looked at Flurry Heart and said, "That last one's for you, Flurry."

Flurry Heart giggled and said, "Fox funny."

"Good call," Twilight said. "I don't want a repeat of what happened on the last Hearth's Warming."

"That was a lot of pudding," Shining said.

"And don't forget the Winterzilla," Cadance added.

"I really have to ask how you all do things for the holidays," Maria said. "Besides the Secret Santa we did before the other Freedom Fighters."

"Secret Santa?" Twilight asked.

"It was similar to what you did last year with your friends and Spike," Joshua said.

"Oh!" Twilight said.

"We started doing this when we started the Freedom Fighters," MC said. "Since I don't have a family. Alright, go on up and find the rooms." Then they all headed to different rooms. MC then looked out the window, smiled and headed over to the sofa.

The next morning, Twilight and her family, MC and Maria were at the resort. Velvet was getting excited about going down the slopes for the resort.

"You seem excited," Maria said, looking at Velvet.

"Are you kidding?!" Velvet asked. "This place will bring me so much excitement! Luckily, I practiced some snowboarding in this form the last time we came to visit Shining, Cadance and their foals."

MC chuckled and said, "You have got some excitable activities." He then pulled a snowboard out from his backside and said, "I'll be on the slopes."

"Whoa!" Twilight said. "That's a nice looking snowboard."

"This was a gift from Sonic last year," MC said. "He was my secret Santa last year. I was Antoine's Secret Santa last year. I made that sword he uses now."

"Alright, everyone," Velvet said. "We'll meet back here around lunch time. Do what you want to do."

"Maria, why don't you go with Nyx and Joshua?" MC asked. "Just be careful around certain areas of the snow."

"Okay, MC," Maria said, walking over to Nyx and Joshua. Then they all headed off in different directions. Velvet was following MC.

MC looked back and asked, "You're wanting to go down the mountain on a snowboard?"

"I could use some action," Velvet said. "Plus, with you without a family, I thought I'd keep you company."

MC smiled at that, feeling something he hadn't felt in a long time. Then the two of them headed outside. MC and Velvet got into their gear. They later got into the chairlift, and they were riding it to the top of the mountain. They were putting the snowboards onto their feet.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" MC asked.

"I am," Velvet said. She then used her magic to put the snowboard onto her feet. "So, how does your magic work?"

"I don't have magic," MC said. "The Oracle of Delphius told me that himself. My power is all kinetic and through resonance." He then sighed. "Sometimes, it's hard for me around this time of year. Seeing different people with their families, spending a lot of time with them, family dinners. Joshua's lucky he didn't end up like me."

Velvet then pulled him in for a hug and said, "I know. I know it must be tough. For you and Maria."

"Well, Maria still has family, but..." MC said, biting his lip. "Her last remaining relative, to our knowledge, happens to be public enemy number one."

"Are you sure she doesn't have any remaining family left?" Velvet asked.

"Not to our knowledge," MC said. He then looked around and saw that they reached the top. "Oh, we reached the top." He then took off his seat belt. Velvet did the same with her seat belt. "You ready?" Velvet nodded to reply. "Then let's go!" Then MC got off the seat, then started snowboarding down the mountain, Velvet close behind.

Back at the lodge, Shining Armor and Cadance were looking around. Cadance then pointed over at one part of the lodge.

"Oh, look, Shining! A spa!" Cadance said. "How about a nice relaxing day there?"

"Well, we could go there for a quick massage," Shining said. "This is supposed to be a family Christmas and Hearth's Warming vacation. Plus, Twylie is watching Flurry and Guard."

"Hopefully, it won't be too stressful since we brought them for Twilight to watch in Ponyville," Cadance said. "It was too much for her to handle."

"Good thing we agreed to let her know before we agree on her watching our kids," Shining said. "Let's get going." Then the two of them headed into the spa.

Meanwhile, Maria, Nyx and Joshua were walking through the resort, looking around at what was there.

"Wow," Maria said. "This place has about everything."

"Yeah, it does!" Joshua said. He looked around and he saw a bowling alley. "Hey! There's a bowling alley!"

"Well, we could go, but we need some money to pay for a game," Maria said. "And your mom, your aunt and uncle and grandparents have the money. Along with MC."

"Maria's right," Nyx said. "We don't have the money to buy anything."

Just then, Night Light walked up to them and said, "A bowling alley, huh? Well, I think we should be here for lunch to eat and bowl. Have you been bowling before, Maria?"

Maria looked at Night Light and said, "I've lived on a Colony that's been in orbit for over sixty years. There aren't any bowling alleys up there. Plus, the scientists there weren't good at sports."

"Okay," Night Light said. "We'll show you the basics when everyone else comes in." Just then, Flurry Heart teleported in, surprising all of them. Flurry cooed and then she nuzzled Nyx. "Flurry Heart? Why aren't you with Twilight?"

"Flurry!" came Twilight's voice. The group looked over and saw Twilight with Guard Armor. "Sorry, guys. She just got out from my watch."

"It's okay, Twilight," Night Light said. "We're gonna do some bowling. You want to join us?"

"Well, maybe we should wait for the others to come in," Twilight said.

"Way ahead of you," came Shining's voice. They all saw Shining and Cadance coming towards them. "The spa was backed up on customers for today. But we got a scheduled massage for tomorrow. We can always come back tomorrow."

"That was a good idea," came MC's voice. They all looked over and saw MC, carrying Velvet on his side, with Velvet holding an ice pack on her head.

"M-Mom?!" Twilight asked. Twilight and Night Light ran towards Velvet and helped her. "What happened?"

"Well, we were snowboarding down the mountain, but when we got to the final slope, I tripped on a rock, and then I was launched into a pen," Velvet explained. "And then I got trampled by something that was named Blitzen."

"Basically, this grandma got ran over by a reindeer," MC said.

Joshua snickered, making Shining smack the back of Joshua's head. Joshua then said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. What MC said reminded me of an old Christmas Song."

"Yeah, I couldn't resist," MC said.

"How come you're not hurt?" Shining asked.

"It's called a healing factor," MC said. "I can heal faster than any other creature. Maria has that ability, too."

"It's true," Maria said. "I got scratched by a little cat, and the scratch marks just faded instantly."

"Well, we can do something together when I can recover," Velvet said. "Let's go pick out a lane."

"We can get two lanes," MC said. "We can change lanes as we bowl on them. Just be on the look out for the arrow on where to bowl in which lane."

"That's a thing here?" Shining asked.

"Yep," MC said. "Now, c'mon. Then after lunch, we'll go find a tree for Christmas. Hopefully, we won't find a cell phone tower that looks like a tree. That would be a mistake."

"Does that often happen?" Twilight asked.

"Only in movies and TV shows," MC said.

Then later, MC, Shining Armor, Cadance, Night Light and Joshua were at a Christmas Tree lot, searching for the perfect one for their cabin.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "We're here looking for the perfect tree. Maria and the others are looking for decorations for the tree. And also some Christmas Stockings."

"Well, I have an eye for searching for the best Christmas Trees," Night Light said. "Just like when we pick out logs for the Hearth's Warming Fire."

"Yeah, good thing you left them in the Spirit of Freedom," MC said. "Nicole's sending them with the Spirit of Freedom to the cabin this evening." He then came to one tree and inspected it. He then smiled and said, "This reminds me of the time my parents and I went to pick out a tree before Christmas when I was five years old. Dad said to always pick the one with the most beautiful texture, a perfectly straight trunk, and the least amount of needles falling off it." He then shook the tree. A lot of needles came out from under the tree. "Nope." He then went over to another tree.

"Wow," Shining said. "So much memories from his past."

"Yes," Cadance said. "Although, he has had a tough life, remember?"

"Oh, that's right," Shining said. "I don't know what I would do if Twylie and I lost our family when we were foals."

"I'm sure Celestia would've done something," Cadance said. "At least the Freedom Fighters got him and were able to give him a family."

"They might not be blood, but that doesn't mean they're not family," Night Light said. "Like Spike, Nyx and Joshua. They're not related to us by blood, but they're still family because of love."

"That's true," Joshua said. "I was born human, and have been turned into a pony, twice, but it doesn't mean that we're not family."

"There you go, bud," Night Light said. He then looked over at a tree. He checked it out.

Cadance walked over and smiled. She then said, "A high level of texture. A perfectly straight trunk." She then used her magic to shake the tree. Not a lot of needles came from under the tree. She then called out, "Hey, Michael!" Just then, MC rushed over. "I think we found one."

MC inspected it. He then turned to Cadance and said, "You shook it?" Cadance nodded. MC smiled and said, "I'm impressed." He then whistled to get a tree seller's attention.

Later, the five of them went into the store where the rest were. They found the group in the Christmas decoration areas. They saw Flurry Heart trying to race around the place, the others chasing her.

MC looked towards Cadance and said, "You might want to start flying. Get ready to catch her." Cadance nodded and started flying. MC then rushed towards the cart to meet collision, stood his ground, and then the cart bumped into him, sending Flurry and everything in the cart out of it. Cadance then used her magic to catch everything, and her arms to catch Flurry.

"Flurry, have you been causing trouble again?" Cadance asked.

Flurry Heart giggled and snuggled herself into Cadance's chest. She then said, "Mama."

Cadance then used her magic to put the stuff back into the cart. MC walked over towards the others and said, "Good job, Sparkles."

"Good thing you made me a list," Twilight said. "Now all we need is a Christmas topper. Although..." Twilight then brought up two Christmas Toppers, one being a star, and the other being an angel. "It's hard to choose the right one. What do you think is the best?"

MC then brought out a quarter and said, "We'll flip for the decision. Heads being for the Star, tails for the Angel." He then flipped the coin and the coin landed on heads. "Star it is." Then Twilight put the Star into the cart, and she handed the Angel to Maria.

"Can you please put the Angel back?" Twilight asked, looking at Maria.

"Sure," Maria answered. She then walked towards where they got the Angel. She then came back to the group where they were on their way to the checkout place.

Later, they all headed outside, and loaded the Christmas Supplies into the car. MC then said, "Alright, everyone. Once we get back to the cabin, we're all gonna have to pitch in and decorate."

"That will be no problem," Spike said. "Twilight is basically the princess of organization."

"I thought she was the Princess of Friendship," Maria said. That made everyone, but Twilight, laugh.

"Alright, alright," Twilight said. "Let's get going." Just then, Flurry called out in fright. Everyone looked towards her and they saw a man, holding Flurry and a knife in front of her neck. "Principal Hunter?!"

"You ruined my life, I'm here to return the favor," Principal Hunter said.

Principal Hunter was slowly walking away with Flurry Heart, the Royal Family, MC and Maria were angry at Principal Hunter for taking Flurry.

Maria leaned towards MC and asked, "Who is that?"

"Former Principal of the school that Cozy Glow currently attends," MC said. "He was fired for trying to frame Cozy Glow so she wouldn't be able to attend his school. He's been trying to convince the school board to not letting anything not human to attend school. He's extremely racist."

"And because of you, I can't even get a teaching job!" Principal Hunter shouted.

"You smuggled a switchblade and marijuana into a public school just to frame non-human children!" Twilight shouted. "You were supposed to be in prison!"

"And this is my revenge!" Principal Hunter said. He then held up the knife, but then his arm was grabbed by someone. The one in the Iron Mask. "What?!"

"I don't think so!" came a voice from the mask, which had a vocoder in it to disguise the person's voice.

"Who is that?!" Shining Armor asked.

MC then pulled out the Nicole handheld device and said, "Nicole, we got an unknown figure. Can you figure out who this guy is?"

Nicole then scanned the figure in the iron mask and said, "This person is known as the Iron Mask. Species: Unknown. Age: Unknown. Place of Origin: Unknown."

"Whoa," MC said. "Wait. Did you say... Iron Mask?" He then frowned. "Wait, I think there was a section in my family's journal about the Iron Mask."

"Oh, yeah, I saw it!" Twilight said. "The Iron Mask was a hero to MC's kingdom, long before MC was even born."

Principal Hunter was about to punch Iron Mask in the face, but it hurt his hand, making him drop Flurry. Iron Mask caught Flurry Heart, and rushed towards Cadance.

"I believe this is yours," Iron Mask said to Cadance. Iron Mask then stood up. "I think it's time you alerted the proper authorities." Iron Mask then rushed towards the former Principal and pinned him down.

Later, the Police showed up and apprehended Principal Hunter. Iron Mask then climbed up a lamppost, jumped, and the coat Iron Mask was wearing spread out and formed a hang glider.

"Whoa! That guy is awesome!" Spike said.

"That was the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Nyx said.

MC looked at the Iron Mask as the latter was gliding away. Shining Armor then walked up to MC and asked, "Are you okay?"

"I don't know," MC said. "But there's something about the Iron Mask that's... familiar to me."

"Like you've seen him before?" Cadance asked, looking towards MC.

"The Iron Mask was never confirmed as male or female," MC said. "Let's just forget about this and head back to the cabin." Then they all got into the vehicle with all the stuff.

On Christmas Eve evening, MC was looking out the window as the Sparkle Family and Maria were watching "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" starring Jim Carrey as the Grinch.

Twilight then said, "There's something about the Grinch that seems familiar."

"Now that you think about it, he does look familiar," Maria said.

"Maria..." MC called out. Maria looked towards MC. "It's time to open our presents from the Freedom Fighters." Maria nodded, heading for her room, and came back down. MC then came over to a large package, which came with the Hearth's Warming logs. "Thank god Nicole brought this with the Hearth's Warming logs. This thing is heavy. What's in here, and who packed it?"

Maria came back into the room with a small box in wrapping paper. It was barely bigger than her hand. She walked over towards MC and asked, "Who should go first?"

"Ladies first," MC said, answering Maria's question.

Maria then opened up her gift, and inside was a necklace. She then gasped and said, "This... this was my mother's. Who got this... and how?"

"You're welcome," MC said, looking at Maria.

Maria looked towards MC and asked, "You? You did this?"

"Luckily for me, Alex Lynol had some of your family's stuff from fifty years ago," MC said. "I asked for something with his sentimental value to you. Luckily, I got to him before he, Bruce and Cozy Glow left for Hawaii. He's an otter, and those creatures love water."

Maria smiled and said, "Thank you." Maria then took the necklace out of the box and tried to put it around her neck. MC helped Maria by holding up her hair.

MC then opened up the package and inside was something rolled up. He unrolled it and gasped. He then said, "It can't be!" What he unrolled was a tapestry of him and his parents. "The tapestry?!"

"The Oracle of Delphius found me after I picked your name from the hat," Maria said. "He brought me to your old kingdom, I found your family's tapestry, and restored it as much as I could."

MC smiled and said, "Thank you." The Sparkle family looked over at MC and Maria, the two of them getting things that had something that reminds them of the good people of their families. MC then rolled it up and said, "I'm gonna have to put this back into the Spirit of Freedom, and have Nicole take it home." He then headed out and took the tapestry out to the Spirit of Freedom.

At the top of the mountain, the Iron Mask was looking down at the cabin, seeing MC putting the tapestry into the Spirit of Freedom. The Iron Mask then said, "Michael Crayton, I know you will be the greatest Crayton in the entire royal family. I just know it. Merry Christmas." Iron Mask then got up, pulled out some ski poles, and the shoes the creature was wearing extended into skis and the creature started skiing down the mountain.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
There's An Answer to Everything...

Episode 24: There's An Answer to Everything...

At Freedom Fighters Headquarters, MC put the Chaos Emeralds into a big case. Sonic, Sally, Tails, and MC then headed towards the portal to Equestria.

"You got them?" Sally asked.

"Yep," MC said, holding the case. "No way we're gonna let Robotnik get his hands on the Chaos Emeralds."

"Good thing we had the idea of taking the Chaos Emeralds to Equestria," Sonic said. "Hopefully, there's a place there that Eggman won't find them."

"Let's get going," Tails said. Then the four of them headed into the portal. When they went through, they gasped when they reached the other side. There were some of Eggman's robots attacking the Castle of Friendship on the inside.

"Great!" came Rainbow Dash's voice. "Reinforcements!"

The four Freedom Fighters looked over and saw the Mane 6 and Spike, trying to fend off the robots. The four Freedom Fighters then charged at the robots.

Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC ran towards the Mane 6 to help stop the robots. MC then put the case under the Cutie Map, and then jumped on the largest of the robots. They all started fighting the robots. Basically, a bunch of robots were broken, but a lot of them retreated.

"That's odd," Twilight said. "Did they give up?"

"No way," MC said. "Robotnik wouldn't want to give up that easily." He then pulled out the case containing the Chaos Emeralds. They all looked in and all seven Chaos Emeralds were still in there. "Good. They're all still there."

"Why were those robots here?" Sonic asked.

"We don't know," Twilight said. "All we know is that they're looking for something."

"Well, we better get the Chaos Emeralds somewhere safe," Sally said. "We don't want them to fall into Robotnik's hands like last time."

"What happened last time?" Rarity asked, looking towards MC.

"Classified," MC said. "It's something we shouldn't talk about it. Let's get these somewhere safe."

"Well, we can start at Mount Aris and Seaquestria," Applejack said. "There's a lot of protection there."

"That's a good start," Sonic said. "Although, if it means I have to go into the water, I'm not going in."

"H'oh, boy," MC said. "Let's just go!"

Then they all headed out of there. As they were heading for the front door, Spike was coming down the stairs on the left. Twilight looked towards him.

"Spike, keep an eye on Nyx and Joshua," Twilight said. "We're going out."

"You got it, Twilight," Spike said. Then the Mane 6, Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC headed out of the Castle.

Later, the ten of them were on a train heading to Mount Aris. They got off the train, passing a bunch of Hippogriffs.

"Alright, everyone," Twilight said. "We're gonna head down to Seaquestria to see if Queen Novo can protect the Chaos Emeralds."

MC then handed Twilight the Chaos Emeralds and said, "Be careful. These Emeralds are really powerful."

"We'll be careful," Twilight said. Then the Mane 6 started going towards the water. Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC sat on the beach. Just then, a seapony, Terramar, came out of the water, and transformed back into a hippogriff.

"You girls ready?" Terramar asked. The Mane 6 nodded. Then the seven of them then transformed into seaponies. They swam down to Seaquestria, taking the Chaos Emeralds with them.

Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC saw them go under and Tails said, "Hopefully, there's someone down there who can help them."

MC then looked around as Sonic said, "But it's gonna be hard to get the Chaos Emeralds when we need them."

"That's why we're bringing them here," Sally said. MC then saw something.

"Oh, great!" MC said. "We got trouble!" The other three Freedom Fighters looked up and saw a blimp with the Storm King's symbol on it. All of the Hippogriffs retreated into the water.

"Let's hold 'em off!" Sonic said. Just then, the Storm Creatures came down, and tried to attack the four Freedom Fighters. Sonic then did a spin dash at one of the Storm Creature's heading towards them.

Sally's cuffs brought out light blue laser sabers. A Storm Creature tried fighting back with a spear, but it was cut in half. Sally then kicked the creature's head.

Tails helped the hippogriffs towards the water when MC was keeping the Storm Creatures busy. He put up two stone columns, then small rocks came out of the columns, then they were fired towards the Storm Creatures. The Storm Creatures were then knocked out.

Just then, the Mane 6 and Terramar came out of the water. Then they all turned back into ponies and a hippogriff. Twilight then said, "We need to get out of here!" Terramar then turned back into a seapony and went under the water.

"Where can we go?!" Rainbow Dash asked.

Sally pulled out her Nicole handheld device and said, "Nicole, bring out the Spirit of Freedom!"

"Already done, Sally," came Nicole's voice from the device. Just then, the Spirit of Freedom came in and landed over the water. The back opened up and the ten heroes got into the Spirit of Freedom. Tails and Sally got into the front seats, and then the Spirit of Freedom took off, heading North.

Then a holographic map of Equestria and beyond came up with MC standing next to it. He then said, "Well, that plan was a bust. Good thing we always come up with a backup plan."

"So, where do we go next?" Fluttershy asked.

"We go to the Changeling Hive," Twilight said. "Luckily, Thorax is trustworthy with protecting the Chaos Emeralds."

"Alright," Tails said. "Next stop, the Changeling Hive." Then the Spirit of Freedom sped off towards the Changeling Hive.

The Spirit of Freedom then arrived outside of the Changeling Hive. The Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters walked out and headed for the throne room of the hive. There, Thorax was sitting.

"Princess Twilight!" Thorax said in surprise. "You're here! This is a surprise!"

"Thorax, we need your help," Twilight said. MC then held out the case containing the Chaos Emeralds. "We need to hide these from Doctor Robotnik."

"Whoa!" Thorax said. "So... powerful..." He then started twitching. "No! I... it's... too much!"

"Oh, boy," Twilight said. "Changelings feed on love and power!"

"Alright, this was a bad idea," Sonic said.

"Sorry, Thorax!" Twilight said. "Everyone, move out!"

Thorax then calmed down when the Chaos Emeralds were enough distance from him. He then called out, "Don't bring those things anywhere near us! We don't want to go back to the old ways!"

"We promise!" came Rainbow Dash's voice.

Then back in the air, in the Spirit of Freedom, MC crossed the Changeling Hive off the list. He then said, "Well, that backfired. The Storm Creatures attacked Mount Aris, and the Chaos Emeralds almost made the Changeling King go back to his original form."

"So, where should we take the Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked.

"Well, I think we should take them to the Dragon Lands," Rarity suggested. "The dragons are very protective of their hoards and hopefully, there's someone there who can help."

"Alright," Tails said. "Although, looking at the map, I think we should land somewhere outside of the lands since the place is full of lava."

"That's for the best," MC said. "Let's go." Then the Spirit of Freedom headed for the Dragon Lands.

The Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters headed in the entrance of the Dragon Lands. The Mane 6, and the four Freedom Fighters headed towards where Dragon Lord Ember was sitting.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle and friends," Ember said. "What may I be doing for your assistance?"

"Ember, we need to store these Chaos Emeralds somewhere where Doctor Robotnik can't find them," Twilight said. "Do you know where we can stash these?"

"I might know a place," Ember said, starting to fly. But then, a bunch of robots came from the sky, landing around the area, surrounding the group. "What?!"

"It's an ambush!" Tails shouted.

"Not on my watch!" MC shouted, charging at one robot. As he was about to jump on the robot, the robot caught him, and threw him into a pit of lava below.

"NO!!" the Mane 6 shouted.

"Surrender... in the name of Doctor Robotnik!" one robot said, aiming his gun at the Mane 6.

Sonic then did a spin dash towards the robot that was about to attack. The Mane 6, Tails and Sally joined in. They kept fighting as much as they could, but there were too many robots.

"There's too many!" Tails called out.

Ember then tried joining in with the fight, but she was pinned down. The Mane 6, Sonic, Sally and Tails were surrounded, the robots trying to force them into the lava.

"That's not good," Sonic said.

"What are we going to do?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "When we try to fly away, the robots will just shoot us!"

Then the ground around them started cracking, and lava came through the cracks, heading towards only the robots. The robots started getting covered in lava.

"What's happening?" Ember asked.

"Oh, that's just MC," Tails said.

"WHAT?!" The Mane 6 and Ember asked in shock.

Then more robots appeared, aiming their guns at the Mane 6, Ember and the other Freedom Fighters. Just then, beings made of lava came from the cracks, taking the forms of MC. They all took down the robots. One of the MC lava beings stood tall in front of the heroes.

"Is that all you can throw at us, Robotnik?!" MC's voice came from the primary lava figure, it's golden eyes glowing brighter when speaking. "I can do this all day!" He then roared, and a huge bursting golden aura came up, taking the form of a dragon, and it roaring.

"So that's the Dragoon Force," Twilight said, looking up at the aura.

Then all of the robots got taken down. Then the lava figures went back down through the cracks, which they then sealed up. Then coming out of the lava came MC, his body smoking.

"That... was awesome," MC said.

"I knew you had Elemental Mimicry, but I didn't know you could absorb and become lava," Sonic said.

"Neither did I," MC replied. Then the two fist bumped, then Sonic pulling his hand away and shaking it.

"Ow! Dude, you're still hot!" Sonic said.

"Sorry," MC said.

"Here!" Ember said, handing the Chaos Emeralds back to the heroes. "With those things coming here, I don't think it's safe to keep them here."

"I'm afraid that Ember is right," Sally said. "Let's get out of here." Then the Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters headed out of there.

The Mane 6, Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC were in the Spirit of Freedom. MC and Sonic were looking at the map of Equestria, MC crossing off the Dragon Lands.

"That's three places that can't be trusted with the Chaos Emeralds," MC said. "Two we were attacked, one being too much for even to handle the Chaos Emeralds."

"So, where are we going to take them?" Fluttershy asked. "We need someplace with somepony we can trust to watch the Chaos Emeralds."

Rainbow Dash then looked at the Map and said, "I know someone who can help. Tails, take us to Griffonstone!"

"You got it," Tails said. Then he turned the yoke towards the right, making the Spirit of Freedom heading towards Griffonstone.

They eventually landed outside of Griffonstone. The group headed up the stairs leading to the town, and they saw the place getting fixed up by the griffons. Rainbow Dash looked around, trying to find a griffon she knows. Then one griffon caught her eye.

"Yo, Gilda!" Rainbow Dash called out. The griffon looked towards her, smiled and walked towards the group.

"Yo, Rainbow Dash!" Gilda responded, the two bumping fists. "What brings you here?"

"We need some help," Rainbow Dash said. She turned towards MC, who was holding up the case containing the Chaos Emeralds, and she opened it up. They then showed the Chaos Emeralds to Gilda. "These are the Chaos Emeralds. In the wrong hands, they're extremely dangerous. You think you can find a place that we can stash these?"

"I'm sure I can find a place to put these," Gilda said. "Follow me." Gilda then led the group to the abandoned Castle, but the only way there was across Abysmal Abyss. "One of us is going to have to make two trips."

"I'll jump," MC said. He then took about ten steps back, and then rushed towards the abyss, jumped over it, and landed on the other side. "You were saying about taking two trips?!"

Gilda smirked and then later, they all entered the old castle of Griffonstone. The group looked around.

"This place is even creepier than whenever we went to the Castle of the Two Sisters," Fluttershy said.

"I see what you mean," Tails said.

MC started sniffing around. He then stopped and Fluttershy bumped into him, making her eep in surprise.

"Sorry," MC said.

"W-why did you stop?" Fluttershy asked.

MC kept sniffing and then said, "We're not alone." Just then, Storm Creatures came out of every doorway inside the castle. "Storm Creatures!"

"Run for it!" Twilight shouted. The Storm Creatures chased the Mane 6, the four Freedom Fighters and Gilda out of the Castle. Twilight was saying, "Wow, these guys are persistent!"

"But their persistence will eventually go down!" Sonic said. "MC, Super Sonic Fastball!"

MC nodded, then Sonic did a Spin Dash towards him, MC caught Sonic, who was still spinning, and with his left hand, MC threw Sonic towards the Storm Creatures, ricocheting off of them, and all of them getting knocked out. Sonic then came back to the group.

"Dang!" Rainbow Dash said. "Nice combo attack!"

"We need to get out of here!" Twilight said. "C'mon!" Then they all headed down to the town limits. Gilda stayed behind.

"I'll go alert the other Griffons about the Storm Creatures!" Gilda said. "I'll send Gabby to Ponyville when things cool down."

"Got it," Rainbow Dash said. Then the Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters headed down the stairs and towards the Spirit of Freedom.

"I don't believe this!" Twilight said as they were going in. "How are they finding us?"

"I don't know!" Sally said. "But we have to get the Chaos Emeralds somewhere safe where Doctor Robotnik can't find them. But where?"

"Well, I don't know about you guys, but maybe I should go by Yakyakistan to check on Prince Rutherford," Pinkie said. "You can just drop me off there."

"Wait a minute!" Twilight said. "Pinkie, you're a genius! Let's take the Chaos Emeralds to Yakyakistan!"

"On it!" Tails said. He then flew the Spirit of Freedom North West towards Yakyakistan.

The Spirit of Freedom then arrived outside of the gates to Yakyakistan. The Mane 6, Sonic, Tails and Sally were putting on some winter gear.

"Okay, everyone," Twilight said. "This is our last hope. If the yaks can help guard the Chaos Emeralds, than we will have to rest easy."

"Let's hope so," Sonic said. "We need this to be our last hope." Then they all headed out and towards the gate.

"Halt!" came the voice of a yak. The Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters looked up and saw a couple yak guards at the top. "Why are ponies and other creatures here?!"

"Hey! Don't worry about it!" Pinkie Pie called out. "It's me! Honorary yak, Pinkie Pie!"

"Pink Pony has returned!" the yak continued. "Let Pink Pony and friends in!" Then the gates opened. Then they all headed to where Prince Rutherford was.

"Hey! Prince Rutherford!" Pinkie called out.

Prince Rutherford turned his head towards Pinkie, smiled and said, "Pink Pony! Welcome back to Yakyakistan. You're just in time for Smash-and-Crash!"

"I thought that was months ago," Sally said.

"Oh, no," Prince Rutherford said. "That was Smash-A-Palooza! Only young yaks are able to join! Yona came close to winning. She lost by one point."

"Anyway, Prince Rutherford," Twilight said. "We need your help. We got some powerful artifacts that we need to hide. You think you can hide them somewhere where they can't be stolen, or smashed?"

"Prince Rutherford can try his best," Prince Rutherford replied. But then, the sound of something caught their attention, and the light from the sun was dimming down. Everyone there looked up and saw a blimp above them.

"A blimp?!" Sally asked.

MC was inspecting it. He then asked, "Hey, Sonic? You think we got trouble?"

"I hope not," Sonic replied. Then coming from the bottom of the blimp were robots, coming in to attack. "Great! Eggman's robots!"

MC smirked and said, "Yo, Rutherford!" Prince Rutherford looked towards MC. "Looks like you have something else to smash. Wanna give it a go?"

"Fuzzy creature read yak's mind!" Prince Rutherford said. Then all of the yaks charged and jumped towards the robots, smashing them. Then the Mane 6 and the four Freedom Fighters headed towards the Spirit of Freedom.

Just as they got in, the yaks finished smashing the robots that came down. Then the blimp started pursuing the Spirit of Freedom, firing some lasers towards it.

"They're firing at us!" Twilight shouted.

"Hang on, everyone!" Tails said. They then did a flip over the blimp, and came in behind it. MC came to the front of the ship and got on the weapons.

"Weapons ready," MC said.

"Take it out!" Tails said.

MC then fired the lasers towards the blimp, taking it down. But then jets with robots piloting came in, firing at the Spirit of Freedom.

"Oh, c'mon!" MC shouted. Tails then maneuvered the Spirit of Freedom out of the line of fire coming from the jets.

"MC, fire the electromagnetic field," Tails said.

"Isn't it still in beta testing?!" MC shouted.

"We don't have a choice!" Tails said. "Fire it!"

MC sighed, and pushed a certain button, and a cannon came from under the Spirit of Freedom. MC aimed the Cannon in between all of the missiles, and then MC fired a blast at the spot, and all of the jets, except for the Spirit of Freedom, got caught in an electromagnetic field, then all of the jets blew up.

Everyone sighed in relief.

"That was close," Applejack said.

"Yes, yes," Rarity said. "But, how are they finding us so easily?"

"Yeah, Rarity, you're right," Sonic said. "These guys have been lucky just by finding us."

"No," MC said. "It's not luck, nor a coincidence. I don't know what it is."

"Yeah, MC's right!" Pinkie said. "No way these party poopers can be that lucky four times! Something like this really bugs me!" That comment made MC's eyebrows heighten in shock. He then got his golden aura eyes after he blinked. He then checked and saw small specks on the shoes of everyone else.

MC then walked towards the back and said, "I have to admit. Robotnik has gotten us beat. It's like he's really here in the room with us." MC then pulled up the holographic screen them typed on it. "He has gotten us beat this time." What he typed on the screen said, "Microphones on shoes." "He's got to be really clever to know what we're up to."

Somewhere in the world, Doctor Robotnik and Grubber were listening to what they were saying through the microphones that were planted on their shoes.

"Now that you think about it, Eggman has been getting lucky," Sonic's voice said through the speakers. "I just don't know how he's doing it."

"Yeah!" Pinkie said. "We've been running all over Equestria and beyond all day, but he's always known where we're going. Who knows where he might attack us next. Hopefully not when we're in the shower."

That made Doctor Robotnik and Grubber wince in disgust. Doctor Robotnik then said, "I wouldn't take it that far."

Back on the Spirit of Freedom, the Mane 6, Sonic, Tails and Sally removed the microphones from the bottom of their shoes. Luckily for MC, his was melted off when he was thrown into the lava at the Dragon Lands.

"Sure, Doctor Robotnik is clever, but he's sure to have a secret that's keeping us from figuring it out," Twilight said.

"Do you know what I would say to that pathetic human being if he was here right now?" MC asked.

"What would you say?" the Mane 6 asked in unison, while MC was getting in a big breath of air. He then screamed into the microphones.

"HOW STUPID DO YOU THINK I AM?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!"

That made Doctor Robotnik and Grubber removed the headphones they were wearing, screaming in pain. The two then looked at each other.

"They're onto us," Grubber said.

"Yes, I can tell," Doctor Robotnik said. He then smirked. "Well, I'm not going to let them get the best of me. I'll show them how stupid they really are. I'm going to get those Chaos Emeralds myself. I'm glad they collected them for me."

The Spirit of Freedom then arrived back at the Castle of Friendship in Ponyville. What surprised them was that a lot of ponies were standing there, along with the Young 6.

The Spirit of Freedom landed by the entrance to the Castle of Friendship and the Mane 6, Sonic, Sally, Tails and MC came out. Twilight then called out, "What's going on here?!"

"Twylie!" came the voice of Shining Armor, coming from the top of the stairs. "So glad you made it back!"

"Shining Armor?" Twilight asked, flying up to her brother. "What's going on?"

"Twylie, there's been a big problem!" Shining Armor said. "Robots came to the Crystal Empire, and took Cadance, Guard, and Flurry!"

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted.

"I came here, and I found out from Joshua that robots came in here, and took Nyx!" Shining Armor said.

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted, her coat turning white, her eyes turning red and her mane and tail becoming flames.

"WHOA!!" MC shouted. "I heard some girls were hot, but that's just ridiculous!"

Sonic, Tails and Sally nodded in response. Shining Armor then continued. He then said, "I also sent some guards to check on where Princesses Celestia and Luna were. The workers at the retirement home said that they're gone, too."

"WHAAAAAAAT?!!" Twilight shouted, a circle of fire surrounding her.

"Oh, jeez!" Sonic said. He then went into the Spirit of Freedom, and brought out a fire extinguisher. He then sprayed the stuff onto Twilight, cooling her off. "Take it easy, Twilight! We'll get them back!"

"Take it easy? TAKE IT EASY?!" Twilight shouted. "All of the other alicorns of Equestria have been taken! What else can we do?!"

"Surrender!" came the voice of Doctor Robotnik. Everyone looked towards the voice and saw Doctor Robotnik in his flying vehicle. "It's all over, Twilight Sparkle and friends! Give me the Chaos Emeralds!"

"Never!" Sonic shouted. "We won't let you reawaken the Storm King!"

"The Storm King?!" Silverstream shouted, putting her hands to her cheeks.

"Sorry, Silverstream," Applejack said. "We tried keepin' this a secret from ya since the Storm King has traumatized ya."

MC then pointed his left fist towards Doctor Robotnik and said, "You're under arrest. Kidnapping all of the other alicorn princesses, attacking us at many locations, attempted murder!"

"Oh, ho, ho!" Doctor Robotnik laughed. "You think that's all I've done. Let's not forget what you've done to this entire continent!" That made Sonic, Tails, Sally and MC go wide eyed.

"Oh, no," MC said.

Twilight, who was back to normal, looked towards the Freedom Fighters and said, "What? What is he talking about?"

"You wouldn't," MC said, looking up at Doctor Robotnik.

"Oh, Princess Twilight Sparkle," Doctor Robotnik said. "Do you think it was a coincidence that your kingdoms came to this world. You really aren't as smart as you think. You see, it was all thanks to the Freedom Fighters that I've made it possible."

All of the Equestrians looked at the Freedom Fighters. Twilight then looked at MC and asked, "Is it true?! Were you planning on bringing our worlds together?!"

"What? No!" MC said. "It's not like that!"

"Then what is it?!" Twilight said.

"The Freedom Fighters were thinking of escaping this world after the crimes they did," Doctor Robotnik said.

"We haven't done any crimes!" Sally shouted. "It's was all you! You took our defense weapons, and used them to attack random places all over the world, and blamed it on us!"

Twilight then looked at the Freedom Fighters and said, "Then how did we end up here?!"

MC sighed and said, "When we were in hiding, we were coming up with one last plan in case the world's governments ever signed the order of exterminating our kind. The plan... was to escape to another world. Your world."

"We built a machine designed to send all of the Freedom Fighters, and every Mobian on Earth to your world," Tails said. "But to do that, we needed a lot of power. The Chaos Emeralds."

"We also planned on sending only MC to your world first so he can build us an entire country of our own so we can rebuild," Sonic said. "But, there was one problem."

"Before we could do it, we had to know what all was there," MC said. "And... we found you. All the adventures you been through, all the troubles, all the forgiveness, and all the peace and harmony you all created. We were impressed."

"You were trying to escape to our world?" Rarity asked, putting a hand to her mouth. "But... how did we end up on your world."

"We had the machine ready for transport of all Mobians, but it was stolen, by him!" Tails said, pointing at Doctor Robotnik.

"He even killed my Uncle Chuck when getting it," Sonic said. "And he laughed when doing it." All of the ponies gasped, Fluttershy and Rarity putting their hands over their mouths.

"You see, creatures of Equestria, the ones who you thought were your friends were actually the ones who ruined you!" Doctor Robotnik announced. "And the only way for you to be back in your world... is to join forces with me, and eliminate all the Mobians!"

The crowd, except for the Mane 6 and Shining Armor, then started ganging up on the Freedom Fighters. The Freedom Fighters were being backed up into the Spirit of Freedom.

"STOP!!!!" Twilight shouted, using the Royal Canterlot Voice. All of the ponies and the Young 6 stopped, looking at Twilight. "Listen, I know things are bad, but these guys were just trying to protect their species from extinction. The illegal actions, all of us ending up in this world, the kidnapping of all of the other alicorn princesses, trying to bring back the Storm King, those are all actions by Doctor Robotnik. The Freedom Fighters were just doing what their team name tells us. They're fighting for Freedom. They're just trying to stop Doctor Robotnik from causing a ruckus between humans, Mobians and Equestrians. These guys might have started a mess, but they were the ones cleaning it up."

"What?!" Doctor Robotnik shouted. "No! Don't listen to her! She's trying to trick you by pretending to be your friend when really, she's joining the enemy!"

"Wrong, Doctor Robotnik! It's you who's pretending to be a friend!" Twilight said. "It's time you received justice."

"Well, in that case," Doctor Robotnik said. He then pushed a button and a missile fired towards the Freedom Fighters. They all jumped out of the way and MC dropped the case containing the Chaos Emeralds. Then a robotic arm came in and grabbed the case, taking it to the airship of Doctor Robotnik. "Thanks for the final piece!" He then took off with the Chaos Emeralds.

"NO!!" Sonic shouted. He then rushed up the Castle wall, and jumped off the needle at the top, and was about to hit Doctor Robotnik's airship, but he missed, him falling to the ground. But before he made collision, he saw that Smolder and Silverstream caught him in midair. "Thanks, girls."

Tails, Sally and MC looked towards where Doctor Robotnik was going. Sally then said, "Now there's nothing stopping him from bringing back the Storm King."

"And with the Chaos Emeralds, the Storm King is probably going to create the mother of all storms," Tails said.

"But, how are we going to know where he has the Chaos Emeralds stashed without even one Chaos Emerald?" Twilight asked, looking at the Freedom Fighters.

"Yeah, about that," MC said, smirking. He then pulled the yellow Chaos Emerald out of a pocket. "I stashed an Emerald top made of tinted glass and a light underneath it, to make it look like a real Chaos Emerald from over it. What I didn't count on was Doctor Eggman's robots here in the castle putting microphones on the bottoms of our shoes."

"That was a good plan, though," Twilight said. "Now. We have to save the world from Doctor Robotnik and the Storm King. He's got six of the seven Chaos Emeralds. You got a plan for that?"

"Oh, we'll come up with something," Sonic said, walking up to them. "We'll show Eggman the true power of teamwork, and the Magic of Friendship!"

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Rise Above the Storm! (Part 1)

Episode 25: Rise Above the Storm! (Part 1)

The Mane 6 and all of the Freedom Fighters were in the Castle of Friendship, looking at the world map above the Cutie Map. Twilight was giving an angry look.

"So, Doctor Robotnik now has the Chaos Emeralds," Mutt said.

"Not all of them," MC said. "I still have one of them." He then held out the yellow Chaos Emerald. "We have a way to track where Doctor Robotnik and the Storm King are."

"But even with our combined strength, we're not going to be a match to the Storm King's power," Twilight said. "How are we going to stop him and Doctor Robotnik?"

"We call in reinforcements," Sonic said. "All of our friends we made along the way. Nicole, get in touch with our strongest allies." Then a list of heroes, Mobians and Equestrians, came up where the world map was.

The list of heroes included the Six Pillars, Stygian, the Young Six, Tempest Shadow, Olive the Rabbit, Rouge the Bat, Omega, Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Sonia, Manic, and Knuckles the Echidna.

"You wanted a war, Doctor Robotnik? You got one," MC said. "And we're going to end it."

Alex Lynol's ship, the Patriot Arrow, arrived and landed in front of the Castle of Friendship. Coming out of it were Alex Lynol, Cozy Glow, Olive the Rabbit, Rouge the Bat, Omega, Sonia, Manic and Knuckles. They all headed into the Castle.

"So, this is Equestria," Sonia said.

"Yeah," said Midpoint. "C'mon. We got to get to the Throne Room." Then they all headed in and came into the throne room of the Castle of Friendship, where the Mane 6, the Freedom Fighters, Shining Armor, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Tempest Shadow, Trixie, the Six Pillars, Stygian and the Young Six were standing in.

"They're here," Rainbow Dash said.

"Good," Twilight said. "Now, we can get started on finding Doctor Robotnik and the Storm King."

"Do we really have to stop him like this?" Maria asked, getting nervous. "He's still my only relative."

"I know, Maria," Sally said, pulling Maria in for a hug. "But, for us to stop Doctor Robotnik, we have to take him down."

"Let's see where we have to go," Sonic said. MC then put the Chaos Emeralds in the center of the Cutie Map. Then the World Map reappeared, and it zoomed in at one spot. Then it showed the locations of the Chaos Emeralds, in six different places. "Okay. He split the Emeralds up. That's weird."

"Oh, no," Sally said. "That's not good."

"What? What is it?" Twilight asked.

"Nicole, place two straight lines connecting three Chaos Emeralds," Sally said. Then two lines came into view over the Chaos Emeralds, making one large X. "What does this look like to you?"

Most of them didn't know what it meant. But Midpoint, Tails, MC, Maria, Omega, Olive and Rotor told them, "Leylines."

"What are Leylines?" Twilight asked.

"They're like special landmarks that have special resonances around them," Tails said. "But if something gets supercharged there in those spots, something bad might happen."

"So that's why the Chaos Emeralds are in those spots," MC said. "There has to be some kind of generator or something in each location of those spots."

"Your highness!" came a guard's voice. The guards came in. "We just checked the room where the statue of Queen Chrysalis and Lord Tirek are located. It's gone!"

"He's got Equestrian villains on his side," Twilight said.

"Good thing Cozy Glow is now on our side," Sonic said. "Thanks to Alex Lynol."

"Looks like we're gonna have to split up into seven teams," MC said.

"Seven teams?" Shining Armor asked.

"Of course," Midpoint said. "Six teams to handle the trouble that's where the Chaos Emeralds are located, and one team to go up against the big boss, which is located in the center of the big X. Nicole, show us the location of that spot."

"Yes sir..." Nicole said, but when she tried saying Alex's name, the alarming noise came up, making everyone cover their ears.

"Sorry!" Midpoint said. "I forgot to turn that alarm off!" He then walked over to a panel and attached a cable from his left glove to it. The a holographic screen came from his left wrist and he started typing. "Alright, Nicole, say my name again."

"Yes, sir, Alex Lynol," Nicole said. "Now, as for the location of where the X is, it's right around Times Square."

"Alright, everyone," Sonic said. "We have to split into seven teams. I'll go with Twilight and her five friends, MC, and Maria." That made Maria go wide eyed.

"What?" Maria asked, surprised. "Why me?"

"We're going to need both the Dragoon Force and the Phoenix Flare if we're going to stop a turbocharged Storm King," Sonic replied. "Everyone else, choose your team."

"Yona would like to smash things!" Yona said, pounding her right fist to her left hand.

"Sounds like my kind of party," Knuckles said. "I'm in."

"Alright," MC said. "Omega, you and the strongest ones here go to where the gray Emerald is. Which is you, Knuckles, Yona, Rockhoof, Amy and Manic."

"Manic is a tactician," Omega said. "Of course he'll be able to help me shut down that generator."

"Those going after the light blue Emerald will be Sally, Bunnie, Ocellus, Starlight, and Mistmane," MC said. Sally nodded, the chosen few going into her group. "Next, going to get the blue one, Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Star Swirl, Stygian, Mutt, and Sandbar." The ones called got called into that group with Midpoint nodding. "The red one will consist of Olive, Cream and Cheese, Somnambula, Silverstream and Sonia." They all got into the group, and Olive nodded. "The Purple one will consist of Rotor, Antoine, Mage Meadowbrook, Smolder and Shining Armor." The ones chosen grouped up and Rotor nodded.

"That just leaves me with Rouge, Trixie, Sunburst, Tempest, Gallus and Flash Magnus to get the Green one," Tails said.

"Alright, everyone," Sonic said. "You know your groups, you know your locations. Let's get ready to move on out."

Meanwhile in New York City, Doctor Robotnik was finishing up the last generator in the last location, which was on top of Times Square, and he was smirking all the way.

"So, this is going to work?" came a voice. Doctor Robotnik turned around and saw the Storm King standing there, with his Staff of Sacanas.

"Oh, positive, your excellency," Doctor Robotnik said, bowing. "With this, we shall finally rule the world together, and no one to take us down. Not even those insignificant Freedom Fighters or those pathetic ponies."

"You better be right about this, Doctor!" the Storm King said. "I didn't get turned into Obsidian, broken apart, put back together, and reanimated just to lose to those beings again."

"Oh, don't worry," said Doctor Robotnik. "I've got some backup to help you with keeping the generators of this mega storm active. It would have been better if those foolish Freedom Fighters haven't swapped out one of the Chaos Emeralds with a fake copy."

"Good," the Storm King said. "I want everything to go as I plan to happen! Let's get this thing ready!"

Back in Equestria, the Mane 6, and all of the others who are joining in the Crusade were getting ready to head out. As they were loading up, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, minus Nyx because she was taken, were watching them. They wanted to go into the Spirit of Freedom, but then they were blocked by MC.

"And just where do you seven think you're going?" MC asked, looking at them.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders looked up at MC, nervously. But Joshua stood tall and said, "Nyx is my sister! I want to help her as best as I can."

"This isn't like all the other adventures you kids gotten yourselves into," MC said. "Last time you were around Doctor Robotnik, Joshua was almost Roboticized."

"What does that even mean?" Babs asked.

"Let's just say Bunnie's arm and legs weren't always metal," MC said.

"MC's right," Twilight's voice came. The Crusaders looked towards Twilight and she was walking up to the Crusaders. "This is the most dangerous mission we're going on, and we can't risk you all getting hurt."

"And we've already made an announcement to all of the ponies of Equestria and beyond to seal up all of their doors and windows," Sonic said. "With the Chaos Emeralds and the Storm King's power, we might have to face the mother of all storms."

"Get into the Castle," Twilight said. "And don't even think about using the portal to Knothole. We had to close it so you wouldn't use it to sneak to the United States without our supervision."

The Crusaders were about to argue, but Spike pushed them towards the Castle Doors, saying, "C'mon, Crusaders. Let the grown ups go."

"But Cozy Glow gets to go!" Sweetie Belle complained.

"Yeah, why is Cozy Glow going?" Twilight asked.

"Alex said with her experience with villains, it might give us an advantage on what to expect," Sonic replied. "Now, let's get going." Then they all headed into the individual ships, leaving Equestria, and heading West towards New York City.

Spike and the Crusaders watched the ships take off. Scootaloo then said, "I wish that we could help with saving Nyx and the other Princesses."

"Yeah, yer right 'bout that, Scoots," Apple Bloom added. "Nyx was always there fer us when she first came inta our club, it's time we be there fer her."

"But how are we gonna get there?" Twist asked.

"I have ta agree with Twist," Babs added. "We don't have a way ta get there."

"What are we going to do?" Dinky asked.

They were all thinking of ideas, but Spike admitted defeat and said, "You're right. Even we can't stay here and wait for things to blow over. We need to find a way to get to this place, New York City, without the others knowing. But how?"

What they didn't know was that someone came up from behind them and said, "Perhaps I could be of some assistance." They all looked back to see who was there and gasped.

In New York City, the heroes arrived there and landed at the Chelsea Piers. All of them got out and came together and got into their chosen groups.

"Alright, everyone," Sonic said. "You know where to go. Stick with your group. Time to go to those spots." Sonic then looked up and said, "Anyone got the feeling this is gonna end up similar to Ghostbusters?"

"I thought I was the only one," MC said. Then all seven groups headed out.

At one location, there was a mansion. Midpoint, Cozy Glow, Star Swirl, Stygian, Mutt, and Sandbar were heading towards it, but then someone called out to them.

"I'm sorry, people. But we're closed." The group looked towards who called out, and there stood a tour guide. "We're actually waiting for the Bomb Squad to arrive."

"We were informed about this by the President," Midpoint said. "It isn't a bomb. It's something build by Doctor Robotnik to create something that would made him and the Storm King rule the world with Iron Fists. We're going in to stop their plan."

The tour guide sighed and tossed the keys towards them, and Star Swirl caught the keys with his magic. The tour guide said, "Just be careful in there. You don't know what else is in there." The group nodded. Star Swirl handed Midpoint the keys, and Midpoint unlocked the door, and they all walked in.

At another location, which was a subway station, Sally, Bunnie, Ocellus, Starlight, and Mistmane arrived. People were gathered up at one end of the Subway Station.

"Alright, everyone!" Sally called out. "Out of the way! Heroes coming through!" The people moved out of the way. Ocellus was about to step on a rail but Bunnie grabbed her.

"Whoa! Easy there!" Bunnie said. "Ya don't wanna step on that rail, unless ya can handle 750 volts of electricity."

"Oh, thank you," Ocellus said.

At another location, which was at a theater place. Knuckles, Omega, Yona, Rockhoof, Amy and Manic went in. There was something on the stage.

"Everyone spread out," Amy said. "Omega, Manic, get to that machine."

"You got it, girl!" Manic said, making a clicking noise with his mouth, pointing at her with a forefinger and a thumb raised. Amy scoffed at Manic's attempt of a flirt. Manic and Omega then walked over towards the stage.

At another place, at the corner of 26th street and 6th avenue, Olive, Cream and Cheese, Somnambula, Silverstream and Sonia arrived. The group looked around.

"So where is that device?!" Sonia asked.

"It's gotta be close," Silverstream said.

Olive then taps on her cyber eye patch, and looked around. Something came in from below the apartment building. Olive smirked and said, "C'mon. We're going in there." Olive pointed at the apartment building.

Then at the Central Park Zoo, Rotor, Antoine, Mage Meadowbrook, Smolder and Shining Armor headed in, but they had to pay admission first. They all headed towards the southern part of the Zoo, looking around.

"Keep an eye out for that device," Rotor said. "It should be around here somewhere."

"It shouldn't be that hard to find something," Smolder said. She then started sniffing around. "Wait. I think I smell a gem!"

"Oh, that's good!" Shining Armor said. "She must be smelling the Chaos Emerald! Lead the way!"

Smolder then started running, the others following.

And over at Graffiti Kobra Museum, Tails, Rouge, Trixie, Sunburst, Tempest, Gallus and Flash Magnus headed in. The group looked around.

"How are we going to find something in a place that's nothing but art?" Gallus asked. "This place is so boring. How'd I get stuck with this bunch?"

"Oh, quiet, Gallus," Tails said. "Let's get down to the basement. That's probably where they stashed the device with the Chaos Emerald." Then they headed over to a stairwell.

And at the last location, Sonic, MC, Maria and the Mane 6 arrived.

"Now that you think about it, this place reminds me of Manehattan," Rarity said.

"Well, here, this is the island of Manhattan," MC said. "Now, let's head in."

They all were about to go in, but Maria stopped and put on a hat and sunglasses. Pinkie then asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Julian is bound to recognize me just by looking at me," Maria said. "If he finds out I'm his cousin, he might take me and force me to do bad things with him."

"No way we're gonna let that happen," Rainbow Dash said. "We got your back, no matter what." They all headed up the stairs to where the New Year's Ball was usually hosted in New York.

When they saw the New Year's Ball covered, Twilight asked, "What is that?!"

"That's the New Year's Ball," Sonic said. "They usually have this ready for New Year's Eve to countdown when the New Year officially starts."

"Okay," Twilight said. "That's a pretty good idea. Nice thinking. A way to celebrate the New Year with class."

MC then started sniffing around. He then said, "Hey. I got Nyx's scent."

The Mane 6, Sonic and Maria looked towards MC. Twilight then said, "Lead the way. If we find my daughter, we'll find the other princesses, Guard and Robotnik." Then they all followed MC to where Nyx's location was. They stopped at a tool shed.

"Oh, c'mon," MC said. "It can't be that simple." MC then opened the shack and inside there were some tools on the sides of the shed, but none in the back. MC looked around and saw a plunger. "Seriously? A plunger doesn't belong in a tool shed." He then pushed the plunger handle, and the back of the shed opened up, revealing a stairway going down.

"And he calls us dumb?!" Applejack asked. "Every creature knows that a plunger don't belong in a tool shed. They belong in a janitor's closet."

"Let's get going," Sonic said. Then the nine of them go down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, they saw a giant generator thing, with six alicorn statues surrounding them.

"NO!!" Twilight shouted. She then flew over towards one of the statues, which was the third smallest one. "Nyx." She had tears coming out of her eyes.

MC walked over towards Twilight, pulled her aside slightly, cracked his knuckles, and put his hands on Nyx's head. His hands then started glowing in a golden aura, which surrounded Nyx's body. Then her body then turned back into her organic form. Nyx gasped and landed on her knees. She then coughed.

"Nyx!" Twilight shouted. She then picked Nyx up. "Are you okay?"

"Tw-Twilight?" Nyx asked. "How did I...?" She then noticed the other alicorns turned into Obsidian statues. She then gasped. "Did I...?"

"I'm afraid so," Twilight said. She then looked at MC and asked, "How did you do that?"

"It's called Molecular Manipulation," MC said. "It's part of my Materiokinetic powers." He then used his powers to turn the other alicorns back to normal, all gasping and coughing.

"Where are we?" Princess Luna asked. The Mane 6 helped them up. Pinkie and Fluttershy picked up Guard and Flurry, Rainbow Dash helped up Celestia, Applejack helped up Luna and Rarity helped up Cadance.

"We got to get out of here," Sonic said. "MC, destroy that generator."

"On it," MC said. Just then, the room started shaking. The floor then started elevating up. The fifteen figures looked around to see what was going on.

"Welcome, you insignificant fools!" came Doctor Robotnik's voice. They all looked towards the voice and saw Doctor Robotnik and the Storm King. "Glad you all could make it to your end."

"Robotnik," MC said, crossing his arms. He then looked at the Storm King. "And you must be the Storm King. You must be so weak if you want to take power that's not your own."

"You're the ones that are weak!" the Storm King replied. "Now that I have this!" The Storm King held up the Staff of Sacanas. "And with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, we shall rule this world and we shall get what we deserve!"

"Not on your life!" Sonic said. "We're going to stop you!"

"I don't think so," Doctor Robotnik said. "Let's show them why we deserve to rule this world!" The Storm King nodded, and jumped towards the group. He was about to attack Twilight, but MC blocked his attack, and pushed the Storm King back.

"You're stronger than you look," the Storm King said, smirking.

"And powerful," MC said, his tail attaching to the generator. Then his tail started getting coated in the same metal as the shell of the generator, spreading across his body. His mouth vanished and his eyes became golden aura.

"I didn't know he could do that," Fluttershy said.

"Also part of his Materiokinetic abilities," Sonic said.

MC's left hand then transformed into a hammer. Then he started fighting the Storm King. MC did a left handed uppercut, sending the Storm King towards the wall.

"Oh ho ho!" The Storm King said, wiping his lower lip. "So you're one of the Freedom Fighters, huh? Well, your fight will end in defeat! It's Freedom that's keeping you from your destiny!"

"It's only destiny by our own choices," MC said. "It's people like you who don't deserve to make choices for us. The life we make is determined by the life we choose."

"That is where you're wrong!" Doctor Robotnik said. "It's time you see the consequences of defying my will!"

The Mane 6, Sonic, Maria, and the alicorns were expecting something instantly but nothing happened. But then, they got a communication.

"Sonic! We got a problem here!" Tails's voice came from Sonic's communicator. It then went over to Tails's group, all of them being attacked by Metal Sonic. "It's a trap! It's that robotic copy of yours!"

Then it went over towards Knuckles's group. Knuckles then called out. "That's nothing! We got a power hungry centaur here!" In the theater, Knuckles's group was fighting Lord Tirek.

Then it went to the subway. Sally was saying into her communicator, "Guys, we also have trouble. According to Ocellus, it's the former Queen of the Changelings! Chrysalis!" She then was shot by green goop, stuck to a wall.

Then it went over to the zoo. Rotor was being pinned down by a pony. He then said into his communicator, "We got trouble, too! We got a pony named Lightning Dust!"

Then it went to Olive's group. She was kicked back by someone. She then said into her communicator. "I think I got the easiest one. An old pony stallion who's an ex-Wonderbolt."

"You're fighting Wind Rider?!" Rainbow's voice came from Olive's communicator.

"Yep," Olive said. "No wonder he was booted. He's a jerk."

Then it went to Midpoint's group. He called out to his group, "Everyone stay together!" They all came together. But then something came from above. It was Bokkun. "You again?! Haven't you caused enough trouble back in San Francisco?!"

"Oh, I have something else in mind!" Bokkun said, pulling a two-handed gun out of his satchel. He then fired it and a container came out of it, hitting Stygian.

"GAH!!" Stygian cried out in pain.

"Stygian!" Star Swirl exclaimed. He then looked up at Bokkun and shouted, "What did you do?!"

"Oh, I'm just introducing you to an old friend of yours, Star Swirl!" Bokkun said. Then black goop came out of where Stygian was hit, and then Stygian started getting bigger.

"What is that?!" Mutt asked.

"You got to be kidding me!" Midpoint said. "A symbiote?! Dang it, Stan Lee!"

Stygian had turned back to the Pony of Shadows. He then called out, "It's time to take you down once and for all!"

Then it went back to the Mane 6, Sonic, MC, Maria and the other Alicorns were shocked by what the others said. Sonic then got angry and shouted, "What have you done?!"

"It's time you got what all of you deserve!" Doctor Robotnik said. "It's time you all feel the wrath of the Storm King, and Doctor Eggman!" He then cackled loudly.

The Storm King then did a diving slam with the staff, but MC blocked the attack. MC was still metal. MC then turned around and his tail smacked the Storm King back into the wall.

MC then looked at Princesses Celestia, Luna and Cadance and said, "You three get those kids out of here! We'll take care of these idiots!"

"Oh, we're the idiots?!" Doctor Eggman said. "You're not even as smart as I am!"

"Who puts a plunger in a tool shed?!" MC called back.

"Oh, that's right," Doctor Eggman said. "That was not smart of me!" That caused MC to get smacked towards the Mane 6, Sonic and Maria, knocking them all down.

"You let your guard down!" the Storm King said. "Now, feel my wrath!" The Storm King then fired a beam from the Staff of Sacanas, heading towards the group.

"Chaos Shield!" MC shouted, putting his hands out and a golden aura emitting a shield in front of the group.

"What?!" the Storm King shouted.

MC then stood up, and the metal coating around him broke off, and he was in his natural form. He then said, "No one hurts my friends and family and gets away with it. Even though we're not related by blood, it doesn't mean we're family."

Sonic smirked at that, put a hand on MC's left shoulder and said, "You got that right, buddy." Then the Mane 6 and Maria stood along side the two of them.

"We must get going," Princess Luna said.

"C'mon," Cadance said. Cadance then picked up Flurry Heart, Celestia picked up Guard and Luna picked up Nyx.

MC then called out, "Get to Chelsea Piers! That's where we parked our flying machines!" Celestia nodded and they all headed towards the proper location.

Then the Storm King grabbed MC, shook him, and the Chaos Emerald fell out of him. He then grabbed it and pushed the group back down to the floor. The Storm King then opened up the generator, and placed the Chaos Emerald inside of it.

"NO!!" Sonic called out.

"It's too late, Hedgehog!" Doctor Eggman said. "It's time this world knows who's truly the greatest person of all worlds!" He then raised his hand, extended his forefinger, and then quickly went down and pushed a button. Then the generator started activating, releasing a yellow light. Then the generators from the other locations activate, emitting a light from the Chaos Emeralds. Then all the lights came together and the power headed to the sky, creating a huge dark cloud throughout the entire planet, coating everything in darkness.

Then seven colors came down and they headed towards the Staff of Sacanas. The Storm King then got supercharged with power, him laughing at the Mane 6, Sonic, MC and Maria.

"You lose!" the Storm King said, firing a beam at the heroes, them being pushed back and weakened.

"Prepare, you fools, for the Chaotic Storm of the Century!" Doctor Eggman called out. He then laughed out loud to the world. The Mane 6, Sonic, MC and Maria getting angry at them not stopping them in time.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
Rise Above the Storm! (Part 2)
(Season Finale)

Episode 26: Rise Above the Storm! (Part 2)

All across the world, the sky was gray and cloudy. And there were some spirals in the clouds. All the creatures were heading into the most secure places in the nearest location.

The Mane 6, Sonic, MC and Maria looked around them at the growing storm. The heroes looked at them, all but Fluttershy, with angry looks.

"You won't get away with this!" Sonic said.

"Oh, we already have!" Doctor Eggman said. "Prepare for the end of your precious freedom!"

Sonic and MC charged at the Storm King, but he countered them. MC quickly recovered, held out his left hand, and golden energy came from his hand, emitting a giant battle ax of solid gold.

"Oh ho! You wanna get personal, huh?!" the Storm King asked. "Not today!" He fired a beam from the Staff of Sacanas, MC blocking with the ax, and being pushed back. He was pushed over the edge of the building, making him fall over.

"NOOOOOO!!!!! The Mane 6 called out.

Doctor Eggman laughed and said, "That's the end of that Freedom Fighter. Now, we shall rule the world!" He then cackled loudly.

"Yeah, about that..." the Storm King said, looking over at Doctor Eggman. "Now that I have all of this power, I don't need you anymore!"

"What?!" Doctor Eggman shouted. "We had a deal! I'd give you all this power, and we'd share the world fifty-fifty!"

"Oh, I never promised anything," the Storm King said, smirking. He then spun his Staff around, causing a tornado to appear over Doctor Eggman, sending him up into the air.

"Whoa!!" Doctor Eggman shouted when he got swooped up in the tornado, and he fell off the building.

"Julian!" Maria shouted when holding out a hand.

Then it went to Eggman falling down the side of the building, but something caught him, by his underwear. He looked over at what caught him, and he saw MC, his legs wrapped around a flagpole.

"What?! You?!" Eggman shouted.

"Believe me, I didn't want to do this either," MC said. "Not after all the things you've done. But seeing you coming down and after the Storm King's history, you were used."

"What do you mean the Storm King's history?" Doctor Eggman asked.

"The Storm King had a pony working for him," MC said. "She only joined him just because he promised her that he'd restore her broken horn when he gets what he wants. He only makes promises so he can break them later."

"Oh, I should've known," Doctor Eggman said.

"Now tell me how to..." MC started to threat, but he was interrupted.

"Okay, I'll talk!" Doctor Eggman interrupted.

"Sheesh! I didn't even finish the threat!" MC said.

"The Storm King's amped up energy came from the generators with the Chaos Emeralds!" Doctor Eggman said. "The only way to stop the Storm King's power is to destroy the generators!"

"That's it?" MC asked. "That's all we have to do? That seems a little too..." He was interrupted by the sound of metal bending. They looked over at the source and saw the flagpole bending. "Aw, fish traps!" Then the two of them started falling, both of them screaming all the way down.

But then, something soft broke their fall. They landed in a truck bed full of mattresses. Then the two of them got out of the truck bed and the two looked at each other.

"Well, I'll be leaving now," Doctor Eggman said. He then walked away. "By the way, because you saved me, I owe you one favor. Use it on me whenever you want. I still can't believe you did that for me."

"I didn't," MC said. "I did it for someone else. Someone you probably haven't seen in a long time."

"Who?" Doctor Eggman said.

"I ain't talkin'," MC said. "Now go." MC pointed towards behind Doctor Eggman and the doctor started walking away. MC then got out of the bed of the truck and headed for the front. "Guess we were just lucky that we landed in that."

"Don't get your hopes up," came a voice from inside the truck.

MC looked at who was there and asked, "Who the heck are you?"

"Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer?!" MC asked. "Princess Celestia's star student before Sparkles came into the picture? What are you...?" MC's vision trailed off when he saw the Cutie Mark Crusaders in front of the truck. "You brought the kids?!"

"We wanted ta help!" Apple Bloom said. She then looked up. "But with that, Ah'd say we'd shoulda stayed at home."

"Actually, I think it's the best time you came here," MC said. "Listen, this storm is interfering with our communication devices. So, I need you all to get to these locations." MC then showed a map where the locations of the other Chaos Emeralds are. "Get to them, and get the Chaos Emeralds!"

"But how are we gonna get there through this storm?" Scootaloo asked.

"Oh yes, how indeed," came another voice. They all looked on top of the truck, and there was Discord, knitting a quilt of him and Fluttershy.

"You've got to be kidding me," MC said. "The Lord of Chaos himself. Just what we need. Get the Crusaders to where the Chaos Emeralds are. Apple Bloom and Babs in the same location."

"Of course," Discord said. "I'll even snap them to the center once all seven generators are destroyed." Discord snapped his fingers and the Crusaders disappeared.

MC then looked towards Sunset and asked, "Can you fight?"

"Let's find out," Sunset said.

"Get on my back," MC said.

"Why would I...?" Sunset asked as she was getting onto MC's back. Then MC rushed up the side of the building, climbing all the way, and Sunset screaming all the way.

Back on top of the building, Sonic and the Mane 6 were fighting the Storm King. The Storm King then slammed the bottom of the Staff of Sacanas on the floor, sending them away.

"We can't get close to him!" Twilight said. "What are we gonna do?!"

"Say goodbye," the Storm King said. "So much for..." He then spoke in a mocking tone. "Magic of Friendship." He then blew a raspberry. "What are ya gonna do?!"

Then two beams hit him. One gold, one red. The group looked back and saw MC and Sunset Shimmer standing there.

"MC?" Sonic asked.

"Sunset Shimmer?!" Twilight asked in surprise.

"Sorry, Stormy," MC said to the Storm King. "Weather calls for clear skies." MC then charged at the Storm King.

Then it went to the location with Midpoint and his group. They were fighting Stygian as the Pony of Shadows. Standing clear of the debris incoming.

"The generator is in the basement," Midpoint said. "How are we going to get to it?" Then in a flash of light, Joshua appeared. "Joshua? What are you doing here?"

"Don't worry about deactivating it," Joshua said. "It has to be destroyed." Then his eyes caught the Pony of Shadows. "WHOA!!"

"Got you!" the Pony of Shadows said. He then sent a tentacle towards Joshua. Star Swirl jumped towards Joshua and rolled over at the other side, and a bunch of metal weapons fell down to the ground, making loud noises. The noises were making the Pony of Shadows freak out.

"Whoa!" Mutt said. "Are you guys seeing that?!"

"It is a symbiote!" Midpoint said. "Dang it, Stan Lee!" Midpoint then grabbed metal poles and shot one individually, them landing around the Pony of Shadows. "Let's make some noise!"

Star Swirl then used his magic to pick up metal objects and made them hit the poles around the Pony of Shadows. The Pony of Shadows cried out in pain, starting to separate from Stygian.

Midpoint then handed Mutt something and said, "Mutt, use this. Elemental Whip. Made with some elemental crystals from Equestria. Start with the vine to pull Stygian out."

Mutt nodded, looked at the buttons, pushed the button that was marked vine, and he cracked the whip and vines came from the handle, grabbing Stygian and ripped him out of the grip of the symbiote. The symbiote started freaking out, trying to grab the heroes.

"Star Swirl, keep making noise," Midpoint said. Star Swirl nodded and used his magic to keep making loud noise. The symbiote then started shrinking. Midpoint then pulled out one arrow and took off his quiver. He then threw his quiver into the symbiote.

"What are you doing?!" Cozy Glow asked.

"What makes you the hero isn't the tools you use, but the actions you do," Midpoint said. He then aimed his arrow at the quiver. He then released the arrow, making contact with the quiver. Then there was an explosion, swallowing up the symbiote.

"Wow," Mutt said. "That was intense!"

"C'mon," Midpoint said. "Let's go." Then they headed down to the basement and headed for the generator. "Time to smash this thing."

"How? None of us have Super Strength," Star Swirl said.

"That's what you think," Midpoint said, running towards the generator faster than the others. He then got ready to punch the generator, and he smashed the generator, with blue energy heading towards his eyes. Then a small explosion came from the generator.

Meanwhile, back where the Storm King was fighting the Mane 6, Sunset Shimmer, Sonic, MC and Maria, MC was blocking the Storm King's energy attack. But then his Staff flickered a little bit.

"What?!" the Storm King asked. "What's happening?!"

"We got your weakness figured out, Stormy," MC replied. "Sunset Shimmer didn't come here alone."

"That's right," Sunset said. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Discord came. Discord sent the Crusaders to the locations of the generators to tell the others to destroy the generators."

"As long as they're messenger foals," Twilight said. "Now let's take him down!" Then the Mane 6, Sunset Shimmer, Sonic, MC and Maria charged at the Storm King.

Back where the first generator was destroyed, Midpoint was unconscious. The group tried to get him up.

"C'mon, Alex," Cozy Glow said. "Wake up." She then tried slapping him, but her arm was grabbed by Midpoint's right arm. He then opened his eyes.

"Looks like that explosion caused my precognition to increase," Midpoint said.

"What does that mean?" Sandbar asked.

"It means instead of seeing just one future at random times, I now see all possible futures up to 72 hours," Midpoint said. "Now, let's get going." Midpoint then picked up Joshua and they all headed out of there.

Back with Knuckles's group, Omega was firing missiles at Lord Tirek. Lord Tirek wasn't getting hurt at all.

Lord Tirek laughed and said, "Is that all that you got?! I absorbed some energy from the Chaos Emeralds to get this big! You can't hurt me!"

Rockhoof then tapped Omega's shoulder and said, "I got an idea, laddie. Help me throw Yona towards his stomach."

"Idea's percentage of success, 85%," Omega responded. He and Rockhoof picked up Yona by an arm and a leg each. Then they threw Yona towards the stomach of Tirek, making him throw up the energy he absorbed, shrinking back to his normal size. And a huge collar was around him.

"What?" Tirek asked, looking around. "What happened?" Just then, Knuckles ran towards him, and punched Lord Tirek in the face, knocking him out.

"A mind controlling collar?" Knuckles asked. "The Doctor must've gone all out to get this on him."

"That means that the other villains must have them," Manic said.

"Maybe," came Apple Bloom's voice. Then they all saw Apple Bloom and Babs coming towards them.

"Forget trying to shut down the generator," Babs said. "Ya have ta destroy it."

"Destruction of Robotnik property, I approve," Omega replied. Then he headed towards where the generator was, which was behind the curtain on stage. Then there was an explosion and the Chaos Emerald came from behind the curtain. Babs grabbed the Chaos Emerald.

Then it went to the Subway Station where Sally's group were fighting Queen Chrysalis. Queen Chrysalis was trying her best to slime the heroes. Then Sweetie Belle appeared.

"Where am I?" Sweetie Belle asked. Just then she was grabbed by Mistmane.

"What are you doing here?" Mistmane asked.

"I was told to tell you to destroy the generator," Sweetie Belle said. "It's the only way to stop the Storm King."

"We can sure as heck do that, sugah," Bunnie said. "But first we have ta stop this ex-queen of the bug-ponies."

Ocellus was trying to get away from Queen Chrysalis, but she was cornered. What Chrysalis didn't see was the third rail and she stepped on it, making electricity going through her body. She was then flung back towards the generator, making it explode. Queen Chrysalis fell to the floor next to the Chaos Emerald.

"Wow," Ocellus said. "What a lucky break."

"Yeah, I'll say it was," Sally said.

Sweetie Belle then picked up the Chaos Emerald.

Then it went to Tails's group. They were all fighting Metal Sonic.

"This thing is causing us major trouble," Tempest said.

"Not even the Great and Powerful Trixie can stop it," Trixie said.

Just then, Scootaloo appeared next to Gallus. Gallus saw her and asked, "What are you doing here?!"

"I came to tell you all something," Scootaloo said. "Don't worry about turning the generators off. Destroy them!"

"But how?" Sunburst asked. "We can't even get near it without this metal creep trying to stop us."

Tempest tried going for the generator, but Metal Sonic charged at her from in front of her. Tempest jumped up, spun around in mid-air, and kicked Metal Sonic, and it got shot towards the generator, destroying it.

"Wow!" Tails said. "She's stronger than she looks."

"After everything the Storm King did, and him tricking me, I have every right to do whatever it takes to stop him," Tempest said. She then picked up the Chaos Emerald and gave it to Scootaloo.

Then it went to the Central Park Zoo. Then it went to Rotor's group. Lightning Dust was flying circles around them and she was laughing.

"You can't pass me that easily!" Lightning Dust said. "I got you all wrapped around my trail!"

Smolder smirked and then blew a fireball, and Lightning Dust's face caught it. She went off course and she hit a lamp post. Smolder than said, "Really? Doesn't look like it."

"Nice thinking, Smolder," Shining Armor said. "I'll contain her." Shining Armor then put in a barrier to contain Lightning Dust, but then it dissipated when he saw the collar. He then removed it. Then Dinky appeared in front of Shining Armor. "Dinky? What are you doing here?"

"I was told to tell you to destroy the generators," Dinky said.

"Destroy them?" Shining Armor asked.

"Not to shut down ze generators?" Antoine asked. "Well, it's a good zing I brought some explosives how ze Americans call 'C-4'." Antoine then pulled out some explosives. Then later, the C-4 was wrapped around the Generator, and then it exploded. The Chaos Emerald came flying out and Shining caught it.

"Wow," Shining said. "How did this not get broken?"

"The Chaos Emeralds are tougher than they look," Rotor said.

Shining then handed the Chaos Emerald to Dinky.

Then it went to Olive's group. Olive was fighting Wind Rider. She already broken off the mind controlling collar.

"Where have you taken me?!" Wind Rider shouted.

"We didn't bring you here!" Olive said. "You were taken here by Doctor Robotnik. Forced to guard that." Olive pointed at the generator.

"How dare you lie to me?!" Wind Rider shouted. "I will...!" He was then knocked out by Cream and Cheese.

"No one talks that way about my sister!" Cream said.

"Chao chao chao!" Cheese said.

Olive smiled at her sister. Just then, Twist appeared. Twist then said, "Alright guys. I got a methage for you."

"Destroy the generator?" Olive, Sonia and Somnambula asked in unison.

"Wow," Twist said. "You're good."

Sonia then picked up the generator, and then slammed it onto the floor. The Chaos Emerald bounced out of the generator, and Twist caught it.

Then it went back to the battle of the Storm King. His power from the Chaos Emeralds was almost down. He was losing his own energy as well.

"How is this happening?!" the Storm King asked.

"Looks like the other generators are all down," MC said. "Six down, one to go."

"I won't let that happen!" the Storm King shouted. He then jumped to stand between them and the last generator. "All the power in all worlds belong to me!"

"MC, time for Chaos Fastball!" Sonic said, before doing a spin dash towards MC.

"Chaos... Circle!!" MC shouted, unleashing the Chaos Circle, and catching Sonic. He then did a jump flip, and threw Sonic towards the Storm King, pushing him through and destroying the last generator. Sonic then spun back towards the group and he had the Chaos Emerald.

"Now, Discord!" Sunset Shimmer called out. Then in a few flashes of light, the Cutie Mark Crusaders arrived with the other six Chaos Emeralds.

"NO!!" the Storm King shouted.

"It's over, Stormy!" MC said.

"You can't defeat us!" Twilight said. "The greatest power and the most powerful magic doesn't belong to you. It belongs to every good soul in the world!"

"No one's allowed to have the greatest power except for me!" the Storm King shouted. "I shall have them all!"

"I don't think so!" Sonic said. "It's up to us to stop monsters like you! Prepare to be taken down!"

"Never!" the Storm King said before spinning his staff around, and a tornado formed around him, taking him up into the sky.

"Sunset, get the Crusaders to Chelsea Piers!" Twilight said. "We'll take care of the Storm King."

Sunset nodded. But before they could respond, the Chaos Emeralds started hovering and they started spinning around the Mane 6, Sonic, MC and Maria.

The Mane 6 then got the Rainbow Power back and they started hovering in place.

Then it showed Maria glowing in an orange aura. Orange feathers sprouted from over her eyes and between her eyebrows, her hands became talons, her tail became the tail feathers of a phoenix, and she sprouted large orange and red wings from her back. Her eyes became red.

Then it went to MC glowing in a golden aura. His muzzle became a dragon's muzzle, his hands became dragon claws, his tail tip became the tail of a dragon, and then he sprouted dragon wings, the dragon parts all orange and gold. His eyes turned into a light orange color.

Then it showed Sonic, his blue quills turned golden yellow, his quills changed style, and his eyes became a bright red. All of the heroes were floating in front of Sunset and the Crusaders.

"That is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" Scootaloo said.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends and said, "This... is... AWESOME!!"

"Time to take down the Storm King! Super Sonic Style!" Sonic said.

"That also goes for Maximum MC!!" MC said.

"What does that make me?" Maria asked. "Meteor Maria?"

"Actually, that could work," MC said. "Now, let's go take down the Storm King." Then the nine heroes started flying up into the sky, chasing after the Storm King.

In the skies above New York, the Mane 6, Super Sonic, Maximum MC and Meteor Maria were all chasing the Storm King. The Storm King fired a beam at the heroes, but they all vanished.

"What?!" the Storm King shouted. But then Maximum MC appeared right behind him. He then slammed the Storm King below, landing on Liberty Island. The Mane 6, Super Sonic, Maximum MC and Meteor Maria surrounded him in the air.

"It's over, Storm King!" Twilight said. "With everything you've done, it's time you got your punishment!"

"I don't think so!" the Storm King said, holding out an orb. The same kind of orb used on the other princesses. He then threw it towards Twilight but then it was grabbed in a golden aura, and then it became bubbles. "WHAT?!"

"Not gonna happen, Stormy!" Maximum MC said.

"It's time you got what you deserved!" Super Sonic said. Then rainbows came from the group, making a circle of Rainbow. Then a rainbow explosion was shot into the sky, clearing the skies all over the world. Then the Mane 6, Super Sonic, Maximum MC and Meteor Maria landed, all turning back to normal.

They looked over at the Storm King and they saw that the Storm King was turned to stone. MC then sighed and said, "As soon as we get the Chaos Emeralds back and have that machine rebuilt, we'll get you all, your people and your continent back to your world."

Twilight and her friends looked at each other, smiled and Twilight said, "Don't worry about it, MC. All of the creatures in Equestria has already adjusted to life here. So, I think we're going to stay."

"You want to stay?" Sonic asked.

"You made everything interesting for all of us," Twilight said. "Recently, Bruce Lynol has asked me for the adoption form for Cozy Glow."

"Now this was one of the greatest adventures we ever had," Pinkie Pie said. "So much more fun then the time we..."

It then went over to the White House, where Twilight was making an announcement to all of the people.

"And with all the things that happened to us, I decided that Equestria shall stay here on Earth. Thanks to all of the friendships we made along the way, all the things we learned, and all we did to help with all of you, we are going to let Equestria be a part of your world. We are even intending on having Equestria have as much technology as some of the other worlds here. Thanks to the propositions of Miles "Tails" Prower and Alex "Midpoint" Lynol. Don't worry, we will be helping keep a peace treaty between all worlds, and let me assure you, we're only as strong as the friendships we make." All of the people watching cheered at Twilight's speech.

The Freedom Fighters were all there, except for MC and Maria. Mutt looked around and asked, "Where are MC and Maria?" The others looked around, looking for the two Freedom Fighters.

Maria was standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial. She sighed.

"I thought you'd be here," MC said, walking up to Maria. Maria looked at MC.

"I can't believe that I'm finally alone," Maria said. "Julian's gone and..."

"Relax," MC said. "He ain't dead. I caught him, and he's gone into hiding."

"You didn't... You didn't kill him?" Maria asked, surprised.

"I didn't want you to feel the way I feel," MC said. "You want to get something to eat?"

Maria looked around and said, "Yeah, I could eat." She then sighed happily. "Thank you."

MC smiled back at her and said, "You're welcome." Then they headed away from there. Not knowing that Princesses Celestia and Luna were standing there. They turned around and Luna looked down and saw Nyx.

"So, you ready for your next lesson on dream walking?" Luna asked.

"I am, Princess Luna," Nyx said. Then they headed out of there. And a whole new life has been set for the world.

Author's Note

That's it folks. This is the end for this series. For now. Who knows, maybe I'll do a season 2 for this show. Maybe. Thank you all for reading this story.

Episode 1: Downfall of Equestria (Part 1)

My Little Pony:
The Mobian Era

Episode 1: Downfall of Equestria (Part 1)

In the land of Equestria, things have been peaceful for all of the ponies, and other creatures. Twilight Sparkle, the now high princess of Equestria, was sitting in her throne, her royal advisor, Spike the Dragon, was right by her side as they were going through day court, where some of the nobles were trying to get some demands that didn't make Twilight Sparkle happy. Especially with the current request from one of the most pompous stallions in Canterlot, Prince Blueblood.

"I'm not leaving until my demands are requested!" Prince Blueblood demanded, stomping his foreleg.

"No," Twilight said, looking down at Blueblood. "Your request is to have Ponyville demolished. I lived in that town for a few years. Even before I became an alicorn." She unfolded her wings, showing them off to Blueblood. She then folded them back up. "I will not have one of the greatest towns in Equestria be demolished, and then turned into a high classed vacation spots for nobles only. Think about it, where are the ponies that live there going to be living?"

"Don't know, don't care," Prince Blueblood said. "That's there problem. Now, accept my demands."

Twilight scrunched her face. Then Blueblood was blasted out of the throne room doors. Twilight then shouted, "Court is over for the day." Twilight sighed heavily. "I didn't know court would be that tiring."

"I know," Spike said, shaking his writing claw. "My claws are aching from writing all day. Guess it was hard for Nyx to do this when she was Nightmare Moon."

Twilight tilted her head and nodded. She then said, "At least she won't have to do that for a while." Just then, a couple royal guards entered the throne room. "Oh, what now?"

"Your Highness, two things," one of the royal guards said. "One, your meeting with the Council of Friendship is about to start."

Twilight leaned her head back and groaned. She then said, "Blueblood has been keeping up his unruly demands to demolish Ponyville for no real reason, that his demands have been keeping me from my friends." She then sighed, putting her right forehoof to her face. "I'm just glad it's over. And what's the other thing."

"It would seem that your daughter and son have returned from school early," said the other guard. "And young Joshua has a black eye."

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted. She then sighed. "Spike, go get both Nyx and Joshua, and bring them to me during the meeting." Spike nodded and headed out. "I better get to meet my friends." She then walked down the halls of the castle, heading towards the council room.

Twilight had arrived in the Council of Friendship, where her five friends from Ponyville, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack and Rarity, were all talking with each other. They looked over towards Twilight, who had an upset look on her face.

"Whoa, Twi," Applejack said. "What's got yer tail in a bun?"

"Yes, Darling," Rarity added. "It would seem that you're upset at something."

"Well, one request from the snarky prince, Blueblood, demanded that Ponyville would be demolished, and replaced with a high class vacation destination for nobles only," Twilight said. "And he doesn't even care about the ponies being kicked out of their homes."

"Now, that ain't right," Applejack stated.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash added, jumping onto the table. "Ponyville is our home. Taking away our home is like taking away our kingdom."

"I know," Twilight said. "But, he's not going to get what he wants. No matter how many times he requests it. I'm not going to let the homes of my closest friends be demolished."

Just then, the doors swung open, and in walked Spike and Nyx, with Joshua riding Nyx's back, with an ice pack over his left eye. The Mane 6 looked over.

"Holy Moly!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed. She then zoomed over towards the three of them, grabbed Joshua, and brought him to the table. She then removed the ice pack from over Joshua's eye. "Yikes! That's one big shiner!"

Twilight used her magic to pull Joshua over to her. She then got a good look at Joshua's eye. She then said, "Oh, Joshua. Who did this to you?"

"It was actually a nasty minded unicorn colt," Nyx answered for Joshua. "He caught both of us off guard. He said that we didn't belong here, but in the dungeon or a lab for dissection."

"That's awful," Twilight said. "But, how did Joshua get a black eye?"

"He got it when trying to push the colt off of us," Nyx said.

"This wouldn't have happened if we stayed in Ponyville," Joshua said, tears coming from the corners of his eyes.

Twilight pulled him in for a hug, saying, "I know, Joshua. I know." She then sighed. "But, we can't. We can't leave Canterlot. I'm the High Princess. I can't just give up the throne to let somepony else like Blueblood take over and let him do whatever he wants to the kingdom." She then sighed. "We're just going to have to make the best of it."

Nyx looked up at Rarity and asked, "How are they doing without us? The other Crusaders?"

"Things haven't been the same for them since the two of you left," Rarity said. "They were planning on running away from home just to come up here to stay with you."

"All o' them," Applejack said. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, Dinky, even Twist. But, we all stopped them from makin' that decision."

"But, we'd say that one day, we would bring them up here to see you two," Rarity said. "Or, they'll get a chance to when they get a field trip up here."

"And I'm guessing that today isn't one of those days?" Nyx asked, getting a little upset. Applejack and Rarity looked at each other, smirking. Then Applejack knocked on the table, and from below the table, five fillies came out from under there. All of them that Nyx and Joshua knew too well.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders forever!" the five fillies said, pulling in Nyx and Joshua for a hug. The two laughed in happiness that their friends came up to Canterlot to visit them.

"Hold on, girls," Twilight said, pulling Joshua back to her. "Just let me heal up Joshua's black eye." Twilight then lit up her horn, using a healing spell on Joshua's eye. The black eye mostly faded. "It's not a perfect heal, but it's as good as I can get it. It's still going to be a little tender, but you'll be fine."

Joshua nodded, and headed back to the Crusaders. Joshua then said, "I can't believe you all came up here. But, isn't Miss Cheerilee going to be mad that you all came up here with Mommy's friends?"

"Nah," Apple Bloom explained. "Applejack and Rarity got permission from Scootaloo's, Dinky's and Twist's families if it was alright fer them ta pull them, along with us, out of school fer the day so we can come and visit y'all here in Canterlot."

"It's not the same without the two of you here," Sweetie Belle said.

"Yeah," said Scootaloo. "We missed having you two bein our club."

"We missed you girls, too," Nyx said. "But, there's nothing we can do to come back to Ponyville if we wanted to."

Fluttershy looked over at the six fillies and Joshua with a sad expression. She then said, "The poor things. Was it right ta have them separated from each other? Couldn't they just stayed registered in the Ponyville Schoolhouse?"

"I thought about it," Twilight said. "But none of the guards wanted to make the trip to the Ponyville Schoolhouse, or their clubhouse, over and over again."

"Oh," Fluttershy said, lowering her head.

"I'm sorry, girls and Josh," Twilight said. "But, there's nothing we can do. If only there was a way for me to run Equestria, and for Nyx and Joshua to be happy without one of them coming home with an injury."

The group of ponies, Spike and Joshua started thinking, but then something happened. There was an earthquake happening around them.

"Earthquake!" Pinkie Pie said. "Everypony get down!"

Then all of them got down on the floor, Twilight putting a barrier around all of them. Then the windows let in a bright light, which spread throughout the room, and the light was also spreading across Equestria, and a small section beyond its boarder.

But during the spreading lights, all of the creatures, except for Joshua, went through a mild transformation. The ponies, their bodies gaining the straightness of a bipedal creature, their forehooves spreading out, and gaining fingers, their haunches gaining length and their hind legs shrinking down, gaining toes. And clothing came out of nowhere, covering their bodies, especially their private areas, and still having some holes for their tails and wings. That is if they have wings.

When the light faded, all of those within the light had been unconscious. In Canterlot Castle, the group of ponies, Spike and Joshua were getting up from what happened. Twilight looked around, but when she saw her friends and her kids, she gasped. She then looked down at her body and saw that she was some weird humanoid creature with clothes over her body.

"What? What's happened to us?" Twilight asked quietly. She then shouted, "WAKE UP!!"

Then all of those knocked out in the room woke up. When most of them saw each other, they were surprised. Joshua, on the other hand, was really confused.

"What in tarnation has happened ta us?!" Applejack asked loudly.

"This... is really freaky," Fluttershy said, looking at her hands.

"What in Equestria has happened to us?" Scootaloo said, looking down at her body. "And where did these clothes come from?"

"This is a predicament," Twilight said. She then got up, and started walking on two legs. "This is similar to the Canterlot High world."

"The world where everypony in Equestria is a human like Joshua?" Rainbow Dash asked. "So, you know what's happening?"

"This isn't me," Twilight said. "But, it's like we're something in between human and pony. I have no idea what's going on." She then started walking over to the fillies, and picked them up. "But at least we still have our horns and wings. Let's get you all walking like a human. Joshua, you think you can help me teach our friends?"

"Sure, Mommy," Joshua said. Twilight helped all of them walk like humans. When they finished learning how to walk and run like humans, they all headed outside. They saw through the streets of Canterlot that all of the ponies there were freaking out of their new appearances.

"This is awful!" Twilight said. "Everypony has gone through a transformation and they're all freaking out."

"Even the statue of Tirek, Chrysalis and Cozy Glow is different!" Rainbow Dash said, pointing at the statue of the three villains. Two of the three villains went through a transformation as well, but still sealed in stone. Tirek was the only one who didn't transform.

"Ah just hope it's just all in Canterlot who was the only ponies that changed," Applejack said. "Ah don't think that all of Equestria can handle this."

"It's not just Canterlot that's changed," came another voice. The group looked over to their right and saw Starlight Glimmer, and the Young Six (Sandbar, Gallus, Ocellus, Silverstream, Smolder and Yona) all transformed as well. "It affected everypony in Ponyville."

"Okay, so it affected Canterlot and Ponyville," Twilight said, nervously. "It's a good thing that not everypony in Equestria went through a wild transformation."

Then a popping sound came, and over them, Discord, who wasn't transformed either, was hovering over them, saying, "I wouldn't be too sure about that. I checked over all of Equestria, and it would seem that everypony, and those beyond its border has transformed."

That made Twilight's pupils shrink, giving a weird smile, and saying, "Oh boy."

"When I sensed it happening, it all seem to happen by a great amount of chaotic energy," Discord said.

"Chaotic energy?!" all of them asked.

"So it was you that did all of this?!" Rainbow Dash accused.

"What?!" Discord asked. "No way! This was way more powerful than the Chaos I can cause. Way more powerful."

"So, this is a work of some kind of chaotic energy, but way more powerful than Discord's chaos magic?" Fluttershy asked. "This is really confusing."

"What are we going ta do?" Applejack asked.

"Ooh, ooh! How about we asked them?" Pinkie Pie said, pointing a finger towards the sky. The group looked up into the sky, seeing some flying machines coming towards them.

"Helicopters?" Joshua asked.

"What are helicopters?" Scootaloo asked.

"Flying transport machines from my world," Joshua said. "But, how did they get here?"

The helicopters headed for the entrance of the castle, landing on the flattest part of the area. Then a bunch of humans in black suits walked out of them, but another human wearing a red suit came out.

"Which one of you is in charge?" the man in red asked, giving a creepy smile.

The man in red approached the group slowly. Discord snapped his lion paw and disappeared while the others stepped back behind Twilight. Twilight stood strong, extending her wings.

The man in red looked down at Twilight and asked, "Are you in charge?"

"Yes I am," Twilight said. "I am Twilight Sparkle, High Princess of the Land of Equestria. Might I ask what..."

She was interrupted when the man in red started laughing. He then said, "Oh, that's cute. Thinking that she's still in charge of this kingdom. But, I'm afraid that you are no longer in charge of this land. This whole land is now under custody of our country."

"You can't just take custody of..." Twilight was saying until she was interrupted.

"NO!" the man in red shouted.

"But..." Twilight tried talking again, but was interrupted.

"WRONG!"

"I'm the High Princess of..."

"I'M IN CHARGE!" the man in red interrupted again. "Men, take every creature in this land to the maximum security prison. Not one of these guys gets out."

The men in black suits held out some guns, aiming them at the Mane 6, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Spike, Starlight Glimmer and the Young Six. Starlight Glimmer lit up her horn, and she teleported herself and the Young Six away. The men fired and the Mane 6, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were hit by tranquilizer darts, making them all fall to the ground.

The man in red looked down at the group, and took one look at Joshua. He then called out, "Agent Stone."

Then another man came out of the helicopter, walking up to the man in red, saying, "Yes, Doctor Robotnik?"

"Take this boy to an orphanage in the Capital City," the man known as Doctor Robotnik said. "He doesn't belong here."

Then the men in black aimed their guns towards the other ponies in Canterlot, but all of them disappeared in a flash of light. The humans looked around.

"I will not be messed with," Doctor Robotnik said. "Let's take these ones away."

The men then grabbed the bodies of the ponies and dragon while Agent Stone grabbed Joshua. They loaded them up in a much larger helicopter that landed not too far away from them.

(THREE HOURS LATER...)

Twilight was waking up. She woke up and saw that she was in a concrete prison with a glass door that was the only way in. She looked all over the room and saw that she was the only one in the room. And there was a camera on the center of the ceiling.

"What's going on?" Twilight asked. She then got up from the bed, and started shaking the door.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," came the voice of Doctor Robotnik. Twilight looked around the room to see where the voice was coming from. "Up here!" Twilight then looked up at the camera. "Welcome to your new permanent home. I really hope you find your accommodations really uncomfortable. You're not getting out of this any time soon."

"Where are my friends and my kids?" Twilight asked, angrily. "My kids are the dragon, the black alicorn and the human child. Give them back!"

"Oh, I don't think you'll ever be seeing them again," Doctor Robotnik's voice came from the camera. "The dragon and the black alicorn are with the other little ponies. But, you're never going to see that boy again. I had Agent Stone take him to an orphanage. So you'll never see him again."

"NO!" Twilight shouted. "You can't do that! Do you know how many laws you have broken?!"

"Nobody cares!" Doctor Robotnik's voice came from the camera. "Your country is now under our jurisdiction. I'm running the show now. You might as well give up on trying to get out. Get used to your new accommodations. Because you're not leaving this place any time soon." Then there was static, and red light on the camera turned off.

"No!" Twilight said. She then looked at the door, and fired a beam of magic, breaking the glass. She then stepped through, and ran through the halls, looking for her friends. When none of her friends were on the floor, she decided to head to a different floor, which had no sign of her friends. When she got to the top floor, she found them, in normal jail cells. "Girls! Spike!"

The group looked towards Twilight and called out for help.

"Stand back, everypony!" Twilight said. She then lit up her horn, and all of the cells containing her friends, Spike and the Crusaders were forced open. They all ran out of the cells, meeting with Twilight. "Let's get out of here."

"I don't think so!" came Doctor Robotnik's voice. Then a steel door blocked the exit. "None of you are getting out of here!"

Twilight scrunched her face in anger. She then smirked, and used her magic to force the steel door open, making the others run through the door. But when they got outside, there were a bunch of men with weapons aimed at them. Then a flying craft came up from over them. The window opened up and revealed Doctor Robotnik.

"You shouldn't have left," Doctor Robotnik said. "You're better off in your cells."

"You took us from our home and tried taking it for yourself!" Twilight shouted. "You're a villain!"

"Oh, I don't think so," Doctor Robotnik said. "I'm going to make sure that none of you are getting out of here."

"Says the guy wearing something for a comic book convention!" Spike said, making some of them laugh.

"Yes, what are you wearing?" Rarity asked. "It looks so tacky."

Doctor Robotnik looked down at his outfit, looked back at the group and said, "It's a flight suit. Designed to modulate my body temperature and reduce drag."

"And yet, you still are one," Rainbow Dash said, smirking.

"Ohoh, good one!" Doctor Robotnik said. "This will be quick. You're going back to your cells, and staying there for the rest of your lives."

Just then, the sound of something breaking the sound barrier caught everyone's attention. They all looked towards where the sonic boom came from, and saw a giant steel door. Then it was knocked over by something. And out came a blue blur, pushing away all of the men with the guns, and then hitting the flying craft multiple times, then it fell to the ground.

"Goh! Now ya done it!" Doctor Robotnik said.

The blue blur stopped, landing in front of the group, making all of them surprised by what it was.

"Guess what, Eggman?!" the blue creature said, looking at Doctor Robotnik. "Your reign of terror is coming to an end!" Just then, another hover craft with a box under it came in and landed. "Alright, all of you. Into the box."

The ponies and Spike then ran to the box, getting into the seats that were installed in there. Twilight then looked back outside, saying, "We still need to find Joshua."

"Who's Joshua?" the blue creature asked.

"He's my human son," Twilight said. "He comes from an entirely different human world which was destroyed. I took him in. That old man in that flying machine had him taken to an orphanage."

"You got a picture of the guy?" Sonic asked.

Twilight then lit up her horn, and an illusion of Joshua appeared. The blue creature got a good look at him, smirked and said, "I'll have him back to our home base, where you'll be going, in no time."

"Wait, who are you?" Twilight asked, before the creature zoomed off.

The creature looked towards the others and said, "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog." He then zoomed off. Then the doors sealed off, and everyone got into the seats. When they sat down, some seat belts came in and strapped them in. The air craft then took off, heading off somewhere.

"Twilight?" Nyx asked. "Is Joshua going to be okay?"

"I'm sure that Joshie will be fine," Dinky said. "I just hope our families will be okay."

Twilight looked around at the group and said, "Things are getting weirder and weirder by the second." She then looked out the window. "Joshua, I hope you're alright."

Joshua was waking up, he felt a seat belt across his body. He saw that he was in a car. He then saw the ones in the front seat, one man and one woman.

"Where... where am I?" Joshua asked.

"Oh good, you're awake," the woman said.

"We're going to take you to the orphanage," said the man. "There, you'll be taken care of and given a nice family."

"NO!" Joshua shouted. "I already have a family! You took me away from them!"

"Sorry, kid," said the man driving. "We're under strict order to take you to the orphanage, so you'll be going to a loving family." Joshua scrunched his face in sadness, and then he lowered his head.

"NO WAY!!"

That voice surprised all three of them, and they all looked out of the passenger side window, seeing Sonic the Hedgehog running along side the car. He grinned at them. He then spun and cut the rear passenger door, which made the door fall off. Sonic then jumped in and unstrapped Joshua's seat belt.

"You guys don't have the right to take this kid to an orphanage if he's not an orphan," Sonic said. "What you're basically doing is Grade A kidnapping." Sonic then picked Joshua up, and jumped out of the car.

The two humans in the front seat were surprised at that. The woman then asked, "Did we kidnap a child without the full story?"

"I think we need to get the full story," the man said.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, the aircraft was flying somewhere over a desert valley. The cargo box containing the Mane 6, Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders were enjoying the ride, but they were getting hot.

"Boy, sure is gettin' hot in here," Apple Bloom said.

"I thought I wath the only one," Twist said, trying to fan herself with her hand.

"This heat is making my mane splitting," Rarity said. "If only we could make this room cooler."

"Request granted. Activating air conditioning."

All of the ponies and Spike were confused by the voice coming from somewhere. Then a bunch of cool air started blowing into the cargo box. Everyone there started to feel cooler.

"Hoowee!" Applejack said. "That feels so good!"

"But who's voice was that, and why did she do that for us?" Twilight asked.

The voice from earlier giggled and said, "How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself." Then a light from the front of the box emitted, and a creature appeared from the light.

"Call me Nicole."

"What are you?" Twilight asked.

"I appear as a lynx, but I cannot be given a physical touch to any of you," Nicole said. "I am just an artificial intelligence to help Mobian kind from being harmed. The humans are afraid of the Mobians for being different. Having unique abilities, skills and brain power."

"But not all of the humans are accepting of you," Rainbow Dash said.

"That ain't right," Applejack said. "Ya should get the rights to be rightful citizens."

"I wish it was that easy," said Nicole. "Doctor Robotnik has made sure that the Mobians are a threat to the humans. We're just fighting for freedom. Which is why we're called the Freedom Fighters."

"Interesting name," Scootaloo said.

In the cockpit of the aircraft, there were two Mobian foxes. One young with yellowish orange fur and some white fur, and he had two tails. The other one was about twice his age, had gray fur, had a white muzzle with orange highlights and orange chest fur and the tip of his single tail was also orange. His muzzle was slightly bigger, and he had black hair on top of his head, with his ears sticking out. The gray fox was checking ahead.

Then there was some beeping coming from the console in front of the gray fox while the younger was on the yoke. The younger one looked over towards the gray fox and asked, "What do we have?"

The gray fox looked at the radar that was on his console and said, "It's the Air Force, Tails." He then pulled down a CB radio with his left hand and spoke into it. "Alright, all you down there, hold on to your butts! We're about to take some aerial assault! Prepare for some evasive actions!"

The ponies and Spike from in the cargo box looked up at the speakers got worried. Twilight then asked, "Who was that?"

"That was Michael Crayton. Also known as MC the Fox," Nicole explained. "You better listen to what he says. Looks like the government has unleashed the Air Force to get us to land." Just then, there was a whooshing sound coming from behind. The straps then gotten tighter for them.

The Air Force Jets fired among the air craft using missiles. The air craft started evading the missiles before they could make contact. In the cockpit, Tails and MC were struggling to hold on. MC then got up from his seat and headed for the rear door.

Tails turned his head quickly to MC, then looked back forward and asked, "Where are you going?"

"To disable their fire power," MC said.

"But you can't fly!" Tails stated. "How are you going to handle all of their fire power?"

"I can manage, remember?" MC asked before climbing up the ladder to the top of the air craft. He then opened up the hatch door. As he turned the hatch lock, there came a tube sealing the inside from the gale force winds. As soon as he came out, the wind was roaring. As soon as he was up top, he closed and sealed the hatch. MC slowly took steps towards the rear part of the air craft. "Nicole, release my Extreme Gear, the Roaring Dragon." He then jumped off the air craft as it fired a board, heading right towards MC, him landing on it. He then rode the board towards the persuders.

"It's one of the Mobians! Fire on sight!" One of the pilots of the crafts said. Then the air crafts started firing at MC.

MC gave the missiles cold glares. He held out his hands, and through small holes in the fingertips of his gloves, silver claws emerged from them. He then said, "Time for Chaos Claw." As soon as the missiles came in close range, MC swung both of his hands, and all of the missiles that passed him got sliced up, then they exploded, with MC getting enough distance from the explosion.

The ponies were awestruck by what happened. Rainbow Dash then said, "That... was... AWESOME!!"

"That guy just sliced those things with his claws like a knife through butter!" Spike said. "How did he do that?"

"Good question, Spike," Twilight said. "And how did he get through that without being blown up immediately."

"That was MC," said Nicole. "He has a lot of power in him, but there's a lot we don't know about him. His power level is unknown to us. It's like he's keeping us in the dark about his full power."

"Why would he hold back so much power if he's able to stop those guys?" Nyx asked. "Is he saving his power for a bigger fight?"

"Either that, or he wants to fight for what's right, even if it means not having to use his powers," Nicole said.

MC was fighting off the missiles fired from the persuders. As they kept firing, he countered them with his claws. He then got close to one craft, and sliced off one of the wings of one of the planes, making them dive and spin. Then the pilot of the air craft ejected, with a parachute coming out, sending them to the ground safely. He then did with the other six, all who ejected and unleashed their parachutes. Except for one pilot. He was having trouble pulling the chord to release his parachute.

"My chute won't shoot!" the falling pilot said as he was trying to pull the chord.

Just then, MC came speeding down. He grabbed the box where the chord to the parachute was, and he pulled on it, pulling on the chord as well, and the parachute was released, and the pilot safely going down.

"I don't believe it! That Mobian saved me!" the pilot said.

"Captain, is it just me, or are we just going on these missions by false information?" another pilot asked over their intercom.

"If that Mobian had saved Higgins instead of finishing him off, I think we are all duped," the captain said over the intercom. "Has the doctor been lying to us this whole time?"

MC flew on his Extreme Gear to right in front of the air craft. Tails saw him coming in front of the ship. Tails then asked, "Is that one pilot okay?"

"He's fine," MC replied over their intercom. "We got a mission to accomplish. I'll meet you back at Knothole." MC then rushed forward, heading ahead to their home base.

Later, the air craft went past a place and landed in an a forest near a small town. The air craft landed in a place full of bungalows. The doors of the cargo box opened up, the ponies and Spike walking out. Then from outside, Sonic the Hedgehog rushed in, carrying Joshua.

"Sorry I'm late," Sonic said, putting Joshua down. "Had to stop for a bathroom break."

"Mom!" Joshua said, running towards Twilight. Twilight pulled him in for a hug.

"I'm glad to have you back, Joshua," Twilight said. The ponies, Spike and Joshua looked towards the Blue Hedgehog, and saw a bunch of other Mobians. A female chipmunk, the two foxes from the ship, a pink hedgehog in a red dress, a purple walrus, an orange coyote, a yellow bunny that has a robotic arm and robotic legs, a young tan rabbit girl with orange spots in an orange dress, a little blue creature floating right next to the young rabbit, and Nicole, all standing in front of them.

"Welcome... to the Freedom Fighters," Sonic said to the ponies, Spike and Joshua.

The group of ponies, Spike and Joshua were all worried. They knew all of a sudden that if they wanted their home back, they were going to have to fight for it.

Episode 7: Secrets of the Psychotic Pegasus Filly

At the Castle of Friendship, MC, Rotor and Bunnie were loading a large crate into the castle, being supervised by Twilight and Spike. The three of them were having a hard time keeping it level.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" MC said. "Careful! We got some fragile cargo in here!"

"We're trying, MC!" Rotor said. "This thing is really heavy!"

"Luckily for us, we brought the moving dollies," Bunnie said.

Spike then brought the dollies over and placed them under the four corners of the bottom of the crate. Then the three Mobians put the crate down onto them. Then they went over to the back of the crate, and started pushing it. Twilight then said, "A little more! A little more! There! Stop!" She then used her magic and lifted the crate, and the four dollies got pulled out from under the crate. Then the crate was set down.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" Rotor asked.

"Forget it, Rotor," MC said, waving a hand.

"What's in this thing, anyway?" Bunnie asked.

"It's a statue made of our most recently defeated villains of Equestria," Twilight said. "The three villains we faced before I became High Princess of Equestria."

MC's eyes then glowed and said, "Two."

"What?" Twilight asked. "No, I'm pretty sure it's three."

"You said that some of Equestria's most dangerous villains were turned to stone, right?" MC asked. Twilight nodded in response. "I'm looking on the inside of this crate. I see a statue of the villains. But there's one problem. There are only two inside."

"WHAT?!" Twilight shouted. MC then held up two fingers on his left hand, and he hit a sweet spot on the crate, causing it to come apart, revealing the statue inside. The statue had Lord Tirek and Queen Chrysalis, but Cozy Glow was missing. "Cozy Glow?! Where'd she go?!"

Somewhere else on the other side of the planet, the statue of Cozy Glow was hovering in a blue field of energy. At a control console, there was someone there, turning a dial. That someone was Midpoint.

"Okay," Midpoint said. "Let's open her up." He then pulled out a briefcase. Inside, there was a blue gem.

He then installed the blue gem into a tube. He then turned the dial on the control console, and then a burst of energy came down on the statue of Cozy Glow, the stone crumbling off of her, and her falling to the ground when the field of energy dissipated.

"Jackpot," Midpoint said. He then walked over towards Cozy Glow, who was unconscious at the moment. He then smiled and said, "Alright, Cozy Glow. Let's see what caused you to be psychotic."

MC was inspecting the statue, trying to find out if there were any clues to the missing filly that was there. Twilight was pacing back and forth, thinking about what Cozy Glow would do if she got out.

"Okay," Twilight said. "If Cozy Glow is out, then there's not much she can do." She then started panicking. "Oh, who am I kidding? Cozy Glow's a mastermind of getting what she wants. She could do anything to turn everypony against us."

"Hold on!" MC said. The group looked towards MC and he was inspecting something. "This cut... it was from a laser blade. Only someone smart would have one of them." He then started sniffing around.

"Are you sure this is the precise description of this character?" came Rarity's voice. The group looked towards the door and saw Rarity with Smolder as the two were walking in.

"Yeah," Smolder said. "That's the guy who helped save the School of Friendship from Blueblood and those other two unicorns. But wow. He's one heck of a shot."

MC then jumped off of the statue, and took a look at the picture that Rarity was drawing. It was a picture of who Smolder was describing.

"That's Midpoint," MC said. "Tech genius and one heck of a marksman." He then realized something. "Wait a minute!" He then rushed back to the statue, and got a good whiff of something. "Yep! That was him! Midpoint was here!"

"What? What do you...?" Smolder asked when she saw the statue. Her eyes shrank and she said, "Cozy Glow's gone?!"

"Oh, goodness!" Rarity said, covering her mouth. "Where could she have been taken to?"

"If I know Midpoint, he'd take Cozy Glow somewhere to do something," MC said. "Something good. Something bad. A bit of both."

"You think he'd take him back to his home?" Bunnie asked.

"Only one way to find out," MC said. "Looks like we're going to San Francisco. That's where he has been staying."

"Alright," Twilight said. "We need to be careful around Cozy Glow. She'll get whatever she wants, just because she's cute and innocent looking."

Somewhere, Cozy Glow was coming to. She leaned forward from the bed she was in. She then opened her eyes and looked around. She had no idea where she was.

"Golly," Cozy Glow said. She then put her hand to her head. "Where am I?" She then realized that her hand was not a hoof. She looked at it and gasped. She then looked at her other hand. Then she uncovered her body just to take a look at it. "What the heck?! What am I?" She then tried getting out of bed, trying to walk like Smolder. She was a little off balance, and then she fell to the floor. "Oof!" She then pushed herself off the floor, and headed over to the window, and she saw that she was somewhere really high up in a building. "Where am I?"

Then the door opened and in came Midpoint. He then leaned against the doorway, saying, "You have a good nap?"

Cozy Glow got nervous. She was freaked out by a creature she hadn't seen before. She then looked right by the window, and saw an arrow. She grabbed it and threw it at Midpoint, who caught it, got his bow ready, and aimed the bow and arrow towards Cozy Glow, who was getting nervous.

"Alright, Cozy Glow, I have a bunch of questions about your actions, and you are gonna give me answers," Midpoint said. "Do you understand?"

Cozy Glow growled and said, "Like I'd ever tell you!" She was grabbing a round vase and threw it at Midpoint, hitting him in the head, pushing him back. At that moment, Cozy Glow flew out of the room, heading away from him.

Midpoint chuckled and said, "You won't get away from me that easily."

Cozy Glow was flying through the apartment, looking for an exit. When she saw a door heading out, she flew towards it. She opened the door, but something held her ankle back. She looked and saw a barrier keeping in a teched up anklet, preventing her from leaving the apartment.

"What?! What kind of magic is this?!" Cozy Glow asked. She then saw Midpoint walking towards her. "How did you get this type of magic?!"

"It's not magic," Midpoint said. "I happen to be a tech genius. I invented that anklet, along with the barrier, to keep criminals under house arrest."

"Where have you brought me?" Cozy Glow asked.

"To my apartment, in San Francisco," Midpoint said.

"Never heard of this place," Cozy Glow said.

"Of course not," Midpoint said. "Because you were sealed in stone when your continent just appeared in the Atlantic Ocean two months ago."

"What?!" Cozy Glow asked. She then looked down at her hands and asked, "Did this also involve me changing?"

"You and almost every creature in Equestria," Midpoint said. "But, I want to know something. What made you go crazy and try to take over Equestria?"

"I don't have to tell you anything!" Cozy Glow said, crossing her arms. But then, her arms were crossed, an arrow came to her and coming from the arrow tip were a bunch of bands, wrapping around her body and wings. She then fell to the ground. Midpoint then walked over to her, grabbed her, and brought her back into the apartment. She was then placed on the sofa.

"You're not going anywhere until you answer the questions I have for you," Midpoint said. "Which is why I'm going to induce this into you." Midpoint held out a needle with a clear liquid inside.

"What is that?" Cozy Glow asked, getting nervous.

"This serum is a special concoction I made when I watched a certain movie," Midpoint said. "It'll make you suggestible and highly responsive." Midpoint looked over at Cozy Glow, who was giving a confused look. "It's a truth serum."

Cozy Glow then went wide eyed as Midpoint was walking towards her. She tried struggling out of the bands, but she couldn't do anything to stop Midpoint from approaching her.

The Spirit of Freedom had just reached over the city limits of San Francisco. Inside, there was Sonic, MC (who was piloting), Twilight, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Smolder and Silverstream.

"Wow!" Twilight said. "This place is big!"

"Welcome to San Francisco, Sparkles," MC said. "But right now, we have to find Midpoint."

"That guy is one heck of a shot," Smolder said. "What if we don't find him, but he finds us?"

"Oh, don't worry," MC said. "I know where he usually goes here in San Francisco."

"There it is!" Sonic said, pointing towards one building. MC then started to descend the Spirit of Freedom on a helicopter pad. The group then walked out of the Spirit of Freedom. MC then turned around and looked towards the group.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "Stick together." He was about to turn around until he noticed something about Joshua. He got closer to him and asked, "Joshua, is that a pimple on your forehead?"

Joshua tried looking up at his forehead, but he had a hard time seeing it. Twilight then produced a temporary mirror, showing Joshua his reflection. And there on Joshua's forehead was a small bump on his forehead.

"I didn't even notice it," Joshua said.

"We'll get you something to take care of that," Sonic said. "Now, let's go find Midpoint." They then walked over towards the building, and on the sign, there was the company title, "Shadow Appliances."

"Shadow Appliances?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah," MC said. "This is where he runs his company. Midpoint, AKA Alex Lynol, is a tech genius, and he took over the company when his grandfather passed away. And his father couldn't do it because he's in prison. But Bruce Lynol claimed that he hadn't done it."

"Well, we're not here about Bruce Lynol," Sonic said. "We're here to talk to Midpoint." Then the group walked inside, and saw a woman at the front desk.

"May I help you?" the woman asked.

"Hello, Julia," MC said. "We're here to talk to Alex."

The group was standing in front of the front desk, talking to Julia about seeing Midpoint. She looked in her computer to search for Midpoint.

"I'm... sorry to disappoint you," Julia said. "But Alex isn't here today. He's at home trying to figure out the past of a psychotic Equestrian Filly, and what drove her to villainy in the first place."

The others looked at each other, and MC asked, "That's what he's doing?"

"Come to think of it, we never did hear Cozy Glow's story," Silverstream said.

"We tried getting her to talk, but she kept refusing," Twilight said. "This Midpoint must really have a way of getting Cozy Glow to talk."

"Where's his home address?" Sonic asked.

"That, I'm afraid, is confidential," Julia said. "I'm the only one here who knows where his home address is. Well, him and his butler, Sherman Wilkins."

"He has a butler?" Nyx asked.

"The butler he has is a family friend, and he's not allowed to live by himself," Julia said.

"Don't bother," MC said. "I already found him." Then he headed out, the others following.

Julia then grabbed the phone, and dialed a number. She then said, "Alex, this is Julia. There are some group heading towards your apartment as we speak."

Back in Midpoint's apartment, Midpoint injected the truth serum into Cozy Glow's arm as she was set down on the couch. Midpoint then sat in another seat, looking at Cozy Glow.

"Alright, Cozy Glow," Midpoint said. "I'm going to ask you some questions, and you are going to answer. I want you to tell me how you became psychotic. What drew you to villainy in the first place."

Cozy Glow tried to keep it in, but the serum was kicking in. She then said, "Alright. I'll tell you. It all started in Cloudsdale. I was raised by my parents. My mother was kind and caring. Although, she was really sick. My father, on the other hand, he was really rude, and not caring for me. He said that he he didn't want a daughter, or a pegasus foal. He wanted a unicorn colt since his parents were both unicorns."

"Hm," Midpoint said. "Interesting. Continue."

"Then one day, my mother died," Cozy Glow said. "My school wasn't too caring about me. My class always teased me because of my mother's illness. They kept telling me that it was because of me that my mother got sick. Which led me to starting fights with them. Of course I stayed after school, waiting for my father to come pick me up. He never did."

"That's a bad move," Midpoint said. "He helped bring you into the living world, he should be able to take care of you."

"But one day, he took me out of that school, and he was transferring me to another school," Cozy Glow said. "An Equestrian Military School. But all of that changed when he came below Cloudsdale. Lord Tirek."

"Your father tried to get away, leaving you by yourself?" Midpoint asked.

"Yes," Cozy Glow said. "But when he was down, that was my time to get away from him. But when I saw Tirek draining Dad's magic, I was thinking of ways to think of how to make my dad actually care about me so he wouldn't wish he had a unicorn colt."

"Your father sounded like a total butt head," Midpoint said.

"Yeah," Cozy Glow said. "Because he didn't care about my well being, I ran away. I went from place to place throughout Equestria. I've been staying in group homes across the country. But, each new school I went to, I've been picked on, humiliated, and the stuff I had kept getting stolen or broken. All done by unicorns. They always had the advantage because of their magic."

"So that was when you started to hate magic," Midpoint said. "But why did you end up going to Princess Twilight's School of Friendship?"

"My mom told me that Friendship was the greatest magic of all before she died," Cozy Glow said. "I didn't have any friends throughout Equestria. So, I got transferred to the School of Friendship. I didn't know much about the main subject."

"Well, until you met six fillies and a human boy, right?" Midpoint asked. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"Yeah," Cozy Glow said. "They taught me everything about Friendship. But when I heard that they wouldn't be able to join the school of friendship, I flunked a test on purpose. But I didn't mean for them to get in trouble. So, I told the Princess everything. But then I looked at all of the unicorns using their magic. They seemed to get better at magic from what they learned there. But then I remembered what my father said. That was the last straw."

"You devised a plan to get rid of the magic?" Midpoint asked.

"Yeah," Cozy Glow said. "When I saw Sandbar and his friends coming out of a vent in the school library, I went down there to check it out. I saw something that could be my key to getting rid of magic."

"The artifacts all over the school," Midpoint said. "And you somehow found a spell that could lead to making all magic disappear."

"Exactly," Cozy Glow said. "I was... I was really angry that I didn't have the magic. But if I couldn't have the magic, then nopony could. Starlight Glimmer saw what I was doing, and when she tried to stop me, I trapped her in a barrier of the magic which was leading to a place where whatever goes in there never comes back. But Sandbar and his friends stopped my plan, getting all of Equestria's magic to return. Then I was sent to Tartarus." She then started to shed some tears. "But when my dad heard about this... he..." She then let out a couple sobs. "He... he didn't even protest. He didn't care about me. I'm his daughter."

Midpoint walked over to Cozy Glow and hugged her. He moved his right hand from the top of Cozy Glow's head, trying to sooth her. He then said, "He may have been your father, but he wasn't your daddy." He then sighed. "Family isn't just who's blood you carry. It's who cares about you, and who loves you."

"I... I never thought about that," Cozy Glow said.

"How about this?" Midpoint said. "I'll have you stay here with me, and I'll make sure that you'll get some real friends. And if anyone ever tries to mess with you, you tell me or your teachers."

Cozy Glow looked up at Midpoint and asked, "You'd really do that?"

"Yes," Midpoint said. He then started removing the bindings off of Cozy Glow. Cozy Glow then wrapped her arms around Midpoint. "I'll make sure you'll be taken care of, if you promise me you won't be doing any more evil doings, and tell me if you're having problems."

"I... I will," Cozy Glow said. Just then, her stomach started to growl.

Midpoint smirked and asked, "How about we go out for some lunch?" He then pulled out a small key, and inserted it into the anklet on Cozy Glow's ankle. He then called out, "Sherman! Prepare the car! We're going out for lunch!"

Then a human butler came out and said, "Sure thing, Alex." Then he headed out of the apartment.

Alex then stood up, and he brought Cozy Glow to her feet. He then said, "Alright. You're not used to walking on two legs, so let's take it one step at a time." Cozy Glow then nodded, and then she took one step. She tried to keep her balance. Then she took another. Midpoint was helping her with walking.

Outside the building, Twilight, Sonic, MC, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Smolder and Silverstream were heading towards one building. They all headed inside and towards the front desk. There was a woman there on the computer.

"Hello," MC said. "We're here to see Alex Lynol."

"Sorry, but you just missed him," the woman said. "Alex Lynol just left with his butler and an Equestrian filly. They're going out for lunch."

"Did they say where?" Twilight asked.

"I believe they're heading to the Mel's Diner behind the Westfield Mall," the woman said. "He loves their tuna melts."

"Of course he'd go for the tuna melt, he's an otter," MC said. "Otters love eating fish."

"I could go for some chili dogs there," Sonic said.

"And from him, there'll be a musical program to follow," MC said. That made the rest of the group, except for Twilight and Nyx to laugh.

"I get it," Smolder said. "Because chili is made with beans, and beans are known as the musical fruit."

Twilight shook her head and said, "Alright. I'll teleport us to in front of that mall. Luckily, I saw it when we were flying overhead." Twilight then lit up her horn and the twelve of them ended up in front of the mall.

"Alright, it's just around the corner," MC said. Then they rushed over around the corner, and they went around the block. The group stopped at the crosswalk. Then the crosswalk went green, and they all headed over towards the diner. They arrived at the Diner. They looked around, and they didn't see any sign of either Midpoint or Cozy Glow. "No sign of them. They must not be here yet."

Then the waitress walked up to them and asked, "How many in your party?"

"Twelve," MC said.

"Alright," the waitress said. "Follow me." The waitress grabbed twelve menus, and led the group to some tables. Sonic and MC rushed over and moved the tables closer together. The waitress then placed the twelve menus on the table for the group to look at.

"So, Midpoint isn't here yet," MC said. "We'll be waiting for him."

The group sat down and looked at their menus. Sweetie Belle looked all over the menu. She then looked up from her menu, and she went wide eyed. She saw Cozy Glow walking in with Midpoint and the butler he had.

"Uh, guys," Sweetie Belle said. "There she is." The group looked towards Cozy Glow and saw her. Cozy Glow stopped in fear, but Midpoint put his hand on Cozy's left shoulder.

"Just let me do the talking," Alex said. MC and Twilight got up from their seats and walked over towards them. "Michael Crayton. Twilight Sparkle."

"Alex Lynol," MC said. "So it was you who took Cozy Glow from her stone prison. The real question is, why did you take her out of her stone prison?"

"How did you take her out of her stone prison?" Twilight asked.

Cozy Glow got surprised at that and then raised an eyebrow. She then looked up and asked, "Yeah, how did you do that in the first place?"

"Allow me to explain, over lunch," Midpoint said.

As the group were eating their lunch, Midpoint explained everything to Twilight, MC and the others.

"So, you broke Cozy Glow out of her stone prison just to see what drove her to villainy in the first place?" MC asked. "That's interesting. Using a truth serum just to get her to talk."

"But that doesn't exactly explain how you got her out of the stone prison," Twilight said.

"It was all based on what was used in what contained her, along with Tirek and the former queen of the changelings," Midpoint said. "Who sealed them up in the first place?"

"It was Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Discord," Silverstream answered.

"Discord's Chaos Energy helped out with the containing of the three villains," Smolder said. "It would take something with similar power to unleash her like that. But that would mean..."

"He has a Chaos Emerald," Sonic said.

Midpoint smirked, and then he held out the blue gem to the group. He then said, "That's right. It was this blue emerald right here that broke her containment. Of course, she passed out immediately."

"Yeah, the Chaos Emeralds have a lot of power in them," Sonic said. "There's still a lot of things we don't know about the Chaos Emeralds."

"But there is still the fact that Cozy Glow has to pay for her crimes," Twilight said, looking at Cozy Glow.

"Don't worry about it," Midpoint said. "I'll be keeping an eye on her. She'll be fine under my care. I can promise you that."

"You've known what she's done," Scootaloo said. "What makes you so confident that you can change Cozy Glow?"

"I'd be giving her what she's never had," Midpoint said. "A family that cares. Her father didn't even care that she ended up locked up in Tartarus."

"WHAT?!" The Equestrians in the group asked in shock.

"But he was informed about Cozy Glow, and he never protested or even saw her?!" Twilight asked, getting angry. "We're gonna have to have a talk with this pegasus."

Then Midpoint's cell phone started buzzing. He pulled it out and got surprised. "Looks like we're gonna have to cut lunch short. The boat for the Alcatraz tours has malfunctioned and is speeding towards the dock with no control and no deceleration."

Then the waitress came by, leaving the check. Then the group headed out of there, but Wilkins just stayed there, saying, "I'll meet you all at the dock."

Coming in from the bay, the tour boat was speeding out of control. The people on board were panicking. On the docks, Twilight, Sonic, MC, Smolder, Silverstream, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Midpoint and Cozy Glow were there watching at the boat was speeding towards them.

"Okay, that's not good," MC said.

"It just had to be over the water," Sonic said. "This is an intense mission."

Midpoint then removed his shoulder belt and quiver, and he handed them to Sonic. He then said, "Hold this. I'll slow down it's momentum." He then jumped into the bay.

"He's going to slow down the boat's momentum," MC said. "Looks like we're on evacuation duty."

"I'll go help Midpoint," Silverstream said. She then jumped up, grabbed her necklace, and the magic transformed her into a seapony. She then went into the water, and swam towards Midpoint. The two of them started pushing on each side of the boat, attempting to slow down the boat. They got pushed back when trying to slow down the boat. "It's not enough!"

"We might not use strength to slow it down," Midpoint said, surprising Silverstream that he was able to speak underwater. "But I have some more aquatic skills to slow it down." Then the water started rising in front of the boat, pushing against the boat, slowing its acceleration.

"He's manipulating the water," MC said. "His hydrokinesis is amazing."

"We better get those people off the boat," Twilight said. "Let's go!" Then Twilight started flapping her wings. Smolder followed her. Then MC rushed across the water with super speed.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders and Cozy Glow looked towards Sonic, and Cozy Glow asked, "Aren't you gonna go?"

"No way," Sonic said. "I just don't like getting wet."

MC rushed onto the boat, all of the people surprised by his appearance. He then said, "Alright, everyone. Prepare to disembark the boat." He then saw Twilight and Smolder flying overhead. Twilight then used her magic to make magic made boats. Twilight, Smolder and MC were getting people loaded onto the boats. A bunch of people were put onto the boats. As soon as one boat was fully loaded, Smolder pushed the boat towards the docks. MC did the same as soon as another boat was loaded. When they finished getting the people back to shore, MC and Smolder rushed back to the speeding boat.

The Crusaders were helping the people off of the magically induced boats, and as soon as the last person came off, the boat vanished. Cozy Glow looked towards the boat, seeing the boat was turning to the right. She then started flying towards the boat. She saw that about everyone there was off of the boat, until she heard a voice. It was the sound of a little girl crying. She flew towards the boat and followed the voice. There was a little girl, hugging a teddy bear tightly.

Cozy Glow looked over at the girl, who was scared. She looked towards Twilight, and then she thought, "Should I? I mean, Twilight doesn't trust me because of what I've done." She then looked back at the little girl. "But, this girl is alone and scared. And since that Midpoint guy is offering to keep an eye on me, guess I have no choice but to do the right thing." Cozy Glow pulled the girl up to her feet, and she escorted the little girl over to the back of the boat.

"Okay, that's everyone," Twilight said.

"Twilight!" Cozy Glow shouted, getting Twilight's attention. Twilight looked down at Cozy Glow and she gasped, seeing that she missed one.

"Oh, boy," Twilight said. She then came down and picked the girl up, and started flying her to shore. Cozy Glow followed. But then the girl dropped her teddy bear.

"My teddy!" the girl shouted.

Before the teddy bear hit the water, Cozy Glow caught it. She looked up at Twilight with a smile as the two were heading back to shore. They reached the docks and Twilight let go of the girl. Cozy Glow then handed the girl her teddy. The girl smiled, and looked around. She ran over to a woman who was her mother. Just then, Midpoint and Silverstream came out of the water. Of course, Silverstream was still in her seapony form. She then tapped her necklace, and she turned back to her hippogriff form. Midpoint then grabbed his bow and some arrows from his quiver, aiming the arrows towards the boat.

"Tell the owners of the tour company to send me a bill for a new tour boat," Midpoint said. He then released the arrows, heading towards the boat. When they made contact, the boat exploded.

Twilight looked over towards Cozy Glow and asked, "You did something good. I didn't even expect that for what you've done."

"If I'm gonna start over, I might as well do something right," Cozy Glow said. "Even if I have to stay here."

"So you really are going to stay here, aren't you?" Silverstream asked.

"I've done a lot of bad things," Cozy Glow said. "Might as well start over." She then walked over towards Midpoint and a limo came up to the sidewalk.

"Hey, what cause the boat to go out of control in the first place?" Sonic asked.

Midpoint then pulled something from his backside, and there was a box with a black face and a mustache on it. Midpoint then said, "This was attached to the motor. No doubt it was Doctor Robotnik."

"Of course," Sonic said. "Only he'd do something so cruel."

"Yeah," Midpoint said. He then reached into the quiver and said, "Oh, and one more thing." He then tossed the Chaos Emerald towards Sonic. Sonic caught it, and looked at it in surprise. "I don't need it at the moment. So, I hope the Freedom Fighters would take good care of it." He then looked towards Joshua. He then reached for something inside the limo, pulled it out and said, "And Joshua. Let's hope this pimple cream will take care of that pimple on your forehead. He then tossed the cream towards Joshua. Joshua caught it and smiled. Midpoint and Cozy Glow then got into the limo, and the limo drove off.

Then Twilight, Sonic, MC, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Smolder and Silverstream were later on the Spirit of Freedom, heading back East. Twilight then asked, "Was it wise to leave Cozy Glow under the watch of Midpoint?"

"Alex Lynol is a multi millionaire and CEO of Shadow Appliances," MC said. "I'm sure he's able to take care of a reforming psychotic filly. Although, we're going to have to do something about her father, though."

"That's true," Twilight said. Twilight then looked over at Joshua, who was putting some pimple cream on the bump of his forehead. "Need any help with that, Josh?"

"I'm good, Mom," Joshua said. "Hopefully this pimple will clear up by tomorrow."

"Alright, time to head on home," Sonic said. The group cheered as they heard they were going home, not having to worry about Cozy Glow. But getting a good look at the pimple on Joshua's forehead, there were a few white sparks coming from the bump.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
The Floating Isle, Angel Island

Episode 9: The Oracle of Delphius

In the lab of Knothole, Joshua was laying down on a table for an MRI Scanner. Joshua was strapped down by MC and Sally. Sally put a hand on the side of Joshua's head. Joshua was also wearing a hospital gown.

"It'll be okay, Joshua," Sally said. "We're just gonna see what's going on with you."

Joshua nodded, starting to get worried. Then the table started moving into the MRI scanner. MC and Sally stepped out of the room. Standing there at the computer was Rotor, Mutt, Bunnie and Antoine. MC and Sally walked and stopped right beside them.

"Alright, everyone," Rotor said. "To those with sensitive hearing, put on your sound cancelling headphones." MC, Mutt, Bunnie and Antoine did. Rotor pushed a button and a high pitched noise came from the MRI.

Outside, Starlight, Spike and Nyx were waiting outside. Then Twilight, Sonic, Tails and Maria came running towards them. Twilight then asked, "Is he okay? Where is Joshua?"

"He's in the medical bay," Starlight said. "He's being scanned as we speak. We have no idea what's happening with him at the moment."

"Oh, I hope Joshua is gonna be alright," Twilight said. She then ran in. Spike and Nyx followed.

Back over at the computer connected to the MRI, Rotor was checking the test results.

"This doesn't make any sense," Rotor said. "It says here that something in him is causing him to transform. What could be happening to him?"

"Back on the ARK, Twilight did say he was turned into a unicorn," MC said. "When he became human again, he did keep the magic." He then got a realization. "That's it. It's his magic."

"It must be," Rotor said. Then Twilight ran into the room.

"Where is he?" Twilight asked, worried.

"He's right over there," Antoine said, pointing at the machine. Joshua was coming out of the machine. Sally and MC then walked into the room, and unstrapped Joshua. Twilight ran in to hug Joshua.

"Mom?" Joshua asked, tears coming from the corners of his eyes. "What's gonna happen to me?"

"I don't know, Joshua," Twilight said. "But, we're gonna fix this. I promise."

"I don't think it's gonna be easy," Rotor said. "It would seem that Joshua's magic is evolving, turning him back into a pony. He's already gaining a horn, his ears are getting pointed, and I see his tailbone is starting to extend."

"WHAT?!" Joshua asked. He then put his hands to his head. "Oh, this isn't good." He then scrunched his face. "I can't go back to being a pony! What am I going to do?!" As Joshua asked that last question, the growing horn on his head started glowing white. That caused a chain reaction, making his horn grow, his ears changed, and a tail coming out from the bottom of the hospital gown, then growing brown hair. He then looked over at the mirror in the room, ran over to it and shouted, "Oh, c'mon!"

"We're gonna fix this, Joshua," Twilight said. "We just need to find someone else with really powerful magic. Since Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are retired."

MC was thinking as Twilight was talking. He then smirked and said, "I know a guy."

In the Spirit of Freedom, MC was piloting. Riding with him was Twilight, Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Sonic and Mutt. They were heading over somewhere. Although, everyone but MC was wearing a blindfold.

"Why are we even wearing these blindfolds anyway?" Scootaloo asked.

"Who I am taking you all to prefers to keep his location a secret," MC said.

"So, how do you know this guy?" Twilight asked.

"He's my mentor," MC said. "He taught me how to control my power. Although, he's a really powerful sorcerer. But I am the only one he trusts to know the directions to this place."

"And where is that?" Spike asked, smirking.

"Don't get me started," MC said. "Sparkles, how's Joshua doing?"

Joshua was still trembling, knowing that his humanity was fading away. Joshua's tears were coming out of the blindfold he was wearing. Twilight was rubbing her hand down the side of Joshua's head.

"He's not taking it so well," Twilight said. "I'm trying to calm him down."

"It's gonna take us forever to get there," Sonic said, crossing his arms. "Just how long until we arrive?"

"We're almost there, actually," MC said. Outside the Spirit of Freedom, they were flying through a frozen wasteland. Then the Spirit of Freedom came down, flying into a frozen cavern, and then flying into a tunnel. The Spirit of Freedom then made it to a beautiful valley with some hot springs. The Spirit of Freedom landed at the bottom of a cliff side that was near the entrance/exit to the place. MC then unbuckled and said, "Alright, everyone. From here on, we walk." The back of the ship opened up as the ponies, Joshua, Sonic and Mutt started unstrapping. Then they all walked out of the Spirit of Freedom.

"Where are we?" Twilight asked as the group walked out and got in front of the Spirit of Freedom.

"Take off your blindfolds," MC said. The group then removed their blindfolds, and what they saw, they all gasped. "Welcome... to Delphius."

To the amazement of how spectacular the place was, the group, except MC, reacted with awe. "Awwwww..." I said awe. A-W-E. "Oooooooooh!" That's better.

Then they headed through the valley, heading to a temple on the other side of the valley. They headed up the stairs that leads to the temple. When they reached the temple, the group stopped.

"Alright, everyone," MC said. "My mentor is inside this temple. Everyone behave yourselves. And don't touch or break anything. He will know."

Then the doors started opening themselves. They all then started walking in, and sitting there in the center of the front room, behind a crystal ball, there was a green creature, some kind of reptilian anteater, in a purple robe. He looked over towards the group and saw MC in front of the group.

"Michael Crayton," the creature said. "A pleasure to see you again, my pupil."

"Namaste, Oracle," MC said, putting his hands together and getting on his knees. "It is good to see you again as well. But, I did not come here for a visit. I bring bad tidings."

"You have brought a young human boy on the brink of losing his humanity," the Oracle said. "I am aware of what is happening."

"Of course you are," MC said. "You always know before I tell you something."

"And I always will know the future," the Oracle said. He then looked over at Joshua, who was worried. "Step forward, Joshua." Joshua looked up at Twilight. Twilight stepped forward, carrying Joshua with her. Twilight then placed Joshua into the seat across from the Oracle, Twilight standing right beside him.

"Are you able to help him be fully human?" Twilight asked. "He wasn't a full pony since he was seven. He was really scared."

"I know, Princess Twilight," the Oracle said. "But, I'm afraid... that not even the spell you used last time will be able to help again."

"Oh, no," Twilight said. "So there's nothing we can do?"

"The magic he wields is what's causing him to transform back into a pony," the Oracle said. "It's the only reason what's causing his transformation."

"So, for Joshua to stop transforming, we need to get rid of his magic?" Twilight asked.

"It's not as simple as that," the Oracle said. "The magic will not be able to be removed from him without him... surviving. It'll be too fatal."

"You... you mean..." Joshua said. "I won't be human again?"

"I'm sorry," said the Oracle. "But there is nothing that I can do. Not even your bearded friend will be able to help."

"Bearded friend?" Twilight asked.

"He's talking about me," came another voice. The group looked towards the source, and there came Star Swirl the Bearded.

"Star Swirl?!" Twilight asked. "What are you doing here?"

"I had left Equestria to check out the rest of this new world," Star Swirl said. "My exploration of this world was interesting. But then I met this fine creature." He then looked towards the Oracle and said, "Are you sure my curing spell won't do it again?"

"I've already seen it," the Oracle said. "Sadly, there's nothing we can do."

"Is there anything we can do?" Twilight asked.

"I'm sorry," the Oracle apologized. "His magic has already built up an immunity against any curing spell against it. Although, for him to get his humanity back, it would involve that mirror."

"The mirror that leads to Canterlot High?!" Twilight asked.

"I'm afraid so," said the Oracle. "But he will have a loving family that'll love him whether he's human or not."

Joshua then got up from his seat, and ran out of the place. Twilight reached a hand out and said, "Joshua!"

MC put a hand on Twilight's shoulder and said, "Let me talk to him." He then walked out of the building.

Twilight looked over at Sonic and asked, "Are you sure he's gonna help Joshua cope with this?"

"Twilight, if there's anyone who can help a young child cope through loss, it's MC," Sonic said. "He'll be able to help with Joshua's suffering."

Outside, Joshua was sitting by the water of one of the hot springs. He was looking down at the water while he had his legs folded in front of his chest and his arms wrapped around them. Just then, he felt pain in his face, which caused his horn to glow in a white aura. The lower half of his face then extended, and his nose started to shrink and turn black. Joshua's horn stopped glowing. He then felt his muzzle and nose. He then cried harder.

"Ooh. That looks like it hurt," came MC's voice. Joshua looked over and saw MC standing there. MC walked over to Joshua and said, "I know you're scared. Everyone gets scared once in a while."

"Like you would know how I feel," Joshua said in an angry tone, but was still shedding tears.

MC then said, "I might not know about my species changing, but I know two people who do. And you met both of them. Maria Robotnik... and Midpoint."

"Oh, I forgot about Maria," Joshua said. "But, wait. Midpoint was born human?"

"Yeah, that's right," MC said. "Midpoint was a young genius. Graduated from MIT at age 10. Got degrees in engineering, computer coding, and even how to run a business from his grandfather."

"And he couldn't find a way to get his humanity back?" Joshua asked.

"Afraid not," MC said. "But, he learned to embrace his change."

"I don't want to embrace it," Joshua said. "I want my human life back."

"Hey, listen," MC said, putting a hand on Joshua's shoulder. "It's gonna be okay. When something gets you down, you need to know when to get back on your feet."

"Do... do you think I'll be able to be human again?" Joshua asked.

"I think there might be a reason that you kept your magic," MC said. "If I was given these powers, it means I have a reason to keep them. Perhaps... you need to find your reason."

Joshua looked down at his hands. He then sighed and said, "Do you think my old mom and dad would be ashamed if I let my humanity go?"

"If they were here, they wouldn't care what you are, but that you're still alive," MC said. He then put a hand to Joshua's chest. "Remember, family doesn't leave your heart."

Joshua smiled. He then hugged MC.

MC was running over an old training course that was set up by the Oracle. Walking across the top of bamboo over a very deep pit, jumping over rock to rock that were on a lava pit, and swinging across vines over a gap with a river of lava at the bottom. Twilight, Sonic, Mutt, Spike and the Crusaders were watching him train from the Crystal Ball that belonged to the Oracle.

"Wow," Twilight said. "He's got a lot of skill."

"This guy is always full of surprises," Sonic said.

MC then flipped over and landed on some small, foot sized footholds coming out of a pool of lava. MC looked around and smirked. He then called out, "C'mon, Oracle! Is that the best you got?! Give me more of a challenge!"

Then from the center of the pool of lava, there came a giant worm made of lava rock.

"Whoa!" Twilight said as she was looking at MC standing his ground against the lava worm. "That thing is enormous!"

The lava worm then charge at MC, who then closed his left hand into a fist, it started gaining a golden aura around it, and he punched the worm, shattering it into pieces.

"Wow!" Twilight said. "He's powerful!"

"Michael Crayton has trained through all of his senses," the Oracle said. "He learned to use all of his senses, and unique skills to make himself stronger."

"How did he even get this power?" Mutt asked.

"The only ones who knows how he got his powers is his family," the Oracle said. "But sadly, Michael Crayton is the last member of his family."

MC then climbed up a wall, where Joshua was standing. Joshua handed MC a reusable water bottle. MC took it, and he squirted the water into his mouth.

"So, you come here whenever someone is in magical trouble or for training sessions?" Joshua asked.

"Or, whenever I needed to talk to someone," MC said. Joshua then felt pain in his body. MC looked over at Joshua, and asked, "What's wrong?" Joshua's horn then started glowing, then he got shorter, making his clothes be so baggy. He was about the same height as Nyx and her friends are. "Oh, boy. You've gotten shorter. By the look of it, it seems that you got one thing left to gain before you are fully a Mobian Pony. Fur."

"I'm really scared, MC," Joshua said, before his pants fell down. His underpants were about to follow, but he pulled up his pants before his underpants could fall.

"Well, you wouldn't have to worry about too much clothing," MC said. "Having fur can give you the advantage of being warm. Like you're already wearing clothes, even though you're not."

"Then why do the female Mobians wear clothes?" Joshua asked.

"They have to," MC said. "Some parts of their bodies aren't as secure as the male Mobians. Let's get back to the Oracle's place. I'll make you some quesadillas."

"As long as Mom doesn't see them," Joshua said. "She's afraid of quesadillas."

The group looking in the crystal ball heard that. Sonic and Mutt were laughing. Sonic then asked, "You're afraid of quesadillas?!"

"I am not!" Twilight debated, but she was losing that battle. "They're just so... cheesy."

MC and Joshua continued walking towards the Oracle's place. MC then said, "I know what it's like to lose a family." Joshua looked up at MC. "Like you, I lost my family and my home on my seventh birthday."

"How did you take it?" Joshua asked.

"It... it's something I don't want to talk about," MC said. "But, there are a lot of things you don't know about. For example, there is something that you can use to make sure no other magical being can use their magic."

"How would I do that?" Joshua asked.

MC then held out his hands, firing magical blasts at the ground around them in a circle. He made six symbols. Joshua looked at the marks. Then MC pulled Joshua out of the circle of symbols.

"What is this?" Joshua asked.

"These... are runes," MC said. "Only the one who cast them are allowed to use their magic." Joshua then winced in pain. Then blue fur covered his entire body, except for his muzzle. He looked down at his body, dropping his pants. Luckily, his private parts were covered in a thick amount of fur. "Okay, now that you're fully transformed, I need you to focus your magic in your horn."

Joshua then concentrated. He was having a hard time getting magic to come from his horn. But then he remembered what his mom told him when she, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were preparing the curing spell. He then calmed down. His horn then started sparkling. His horn glowed in a white aura.

"Good," MC said. "Now, point your horn towards the circle, and slowly move it into it." Joshua nodded. He opened his eyes to look at his horn as he was slowly walking to the circle. Just then, the magic in his horn dissipated.

"What just happened?" Joshua asked.

"Those markings are actually runes," MC said. "Only the one who cast them are allowed to use their magic or aura. For example..." MC then lifted his left hand, closing it into a fist, and it was surrounded by a golden aura. He then moved towards the circle. His hand didn't stop glowing.

"Whoa!" Joshua said, astonished.

"If any magical villain comes in between these runes, they wouldn't do anything to do about it," MC said.

"Well, I guess that can be useful," Joshua said. Just then, his stomach growled.

MC chuckled and said, "C'mon. Let's get you some food." MC and Joshua continued heading to the place. Just then MC sensed something and stopped as Joshua kept going. Joshua looked back when MC wasn't moving.

"What is it, MC?" Joshua asked.

MC looked around and said, "I sense a dark presence. Someone is around."

Back at the Oracle's place, the Oracle gave a bit of a grimace.

"I sense it, too," the Oracle said. "Someone unwelcome has found Delphius."

"But how?" Twilight asked. "I thought that MC was the only one on the outside who could find this place. As long as his guests don't see where they're going."

"Joshie is still outside with MC," Dinky said. "We should go out and get them inside."

"Good idea, Dinky," Twilight said. She and Sonic ran towards the door, and tried pushing it open, but it wouldn't budge. "What the heck? Why isn't it opening?"

"Let me try something," Sonic said. "Stand back." Twilight moved out of the way, Sonic jumped back at least 20 feet, and then he started spin dashing, and he sped to the door, trying to bash it open, but it didn't budge. "Ow."

"No way," Mutt said. "Sonic's Spin Dash attack had no effect? How did that not work?"

The rest of the Crusaders then tried pushing the door open, but only succeeded in opening it a little, making a centimeter of sight from behind the door. Their sight was blocked by a black crystal.

"A black crystal?" Apple Bloom asked.

"What?!" Twilight and Star Swirl asked.

MC and Joshua made it to the steps of the Oracle's place, but when they saw the door, it was blocked by black crystals.

"What the heck is this?" MC asked.

"Wait," Joshua said, taking a step back. "Those crystals look familiar."

MC then started sniffing. He grimaced and said, "You... are not welcome... here." MC then charged his left fist, and fired behind him, where a black crystal stood. Then coming around the crystal was a gray unicorn stallion with a crimson red horn and a smokey black mane. He wore a silver crown with red crescent moons and a silver neck collar with a red cape with white fuzz with black spots.

"I should have known you would try and hide my bargain to getting Equestria all for my own," the unicorn said.

"You must be Sombra," MC said.

"That's King Sombra to you, peasant," the unicorn stated. "And you aren't going to have to be keeping my prisoner away from me. Now that he's separated from his mother, and stuck in that cursed form."

Twilight was looking through the cracked open door and gasped. "It's Sombra!"

"That creep is back?" Star Swirl asked. "We have to stop him!"

"Just teleport us all out of here!" Sonic said.

"We can't," Twilight said.

"Teleportation spells won't let us go around Sombra's black crystals," Spike said.

The group then went over to the Crystal Ball, and saw MC standing his ground, protecting Joshua, facing Sombra. Sombra then said, "It's time you had to witness your greatest fear, peasant. And then, I'll take that pathetic kid for my kingdom."

"Not gonna happen," MC said, both his fists glowing in a golden aura. "So says I, Prince Michael Crayton." MC then glared at King Sombra. "You want a war between two kingdoms, then so be it."

"Challenge accepted," Sombra said, both him and MC giving each other the death glare.

MC stood in a defensive stance in front of Joshua as the two were looking at Sombra, who was charging up his horn, the whites of his eyes were green, purple smoke was coming out of his eyes, and his horn was covered in a purple bubbly magic.

King Sombra then fired a blast at MC and Joshua, but MC rushed himself and Joshua out of the way, running past King Sombra. The two of them were being watched by the group inside.

"Why are they running away?!" Twilight asked. "Sombra will just find them again!"

"MC isn't running away," Mutt said. "He's leading Sombra to his training course."

"Michael has a home court advantage, and Sombra doesn't," the Oracle said.

"Can he actually beat King Sombra?" Nyx asked.

"No spoilers," the Oracle said. He then broke the 4th wall, winking at the ones watching.

MC took Joshua through his training course. Starting with swinging on the vines. Joshua had his arms wrapped around MC's neck. MC then landed on a branch, looking back.

King Sombra was coming in his smokey form, saying, "Get back here!"

"Hey, Smokey, where's the fire?!" MC joked, smirking towards Sombra. MC then jumped off the tree, Joshua still on his back. They then headed for the lava pit. MC took Joshua to a small cave with a hiding spot on the side of the pit and told him, "Stay here."

"Okay," Joshua said, nodding.

MC then went across the small stepping stones, waiting on a couple stones. Then King Sombra came in. He went to his solid form, but almost lost his balance when he realized what he was standing on.

"What is this?" Sombra asked, looking around him.

"The volcanic challenge," MC said. "I'm gonna teach you a lesson. It's not right to make creatures your own personal slaves and have them follow your rule without will."

"How dare you!" Sombra said. His horn charged up and fired at MC. MC jumped out of the way and his legs landed on two stones while he used his left hand to balance out on a third stone. "How did you do that?!"

"Home court advantage," MC said, smirking. "I've been training in this place for years, before I joined the Freedom Fighters. Looks like I have a new fight for freedom to fight for. Freedom of will."

"You think you can stop me?" Sombra asked with a grimace. "I will stop you. Surrender, or I will fire at will."

"What did Will ever do to you?" MC asked, smirking.

The group watching was confused. But not Sonic and Mutt. They laughed.

"Hahahahaha! He said it! He actually said it!" Sonic laughed.

Then it went back to the fight between MC and Sombra. MC rushed over the stepping stones towards Sombra, then punching Sombra towards a wall of the lava pit.

"Gaah!" Sombra cried out. He then recovered, and then fired a beam at MC. MC countered the beam with a golden aura blast from his left hand. "How?! How are you doing that?!"

"Many Mobians have special powers," MC said. "Some do not. You're facing with a being who has multiple powers."

"Then you shall be under my control," Sombra said. He then charged at MC.

MC then put a golden aura shield around his entire body, shouting, "Chaos... Shield!" his voice echoed as he said the second word.

King Sombra collided with the shield. He then tried bashing the shield.

Twilight was astonished by the shield that MC had made. She then said, "His power really is incredible."

"Yes," said the Oracle. "It is."

Then MC's foot collided with Sombra's face. MC then landed back on two stepping stones. King Sombra then fired at MC with another blast, but MC dodged. But the blast obliterated the wall, revealing Joshua.

"Ah, there's my little hostage," King Sombra said. He then jumped from stone to stone towards Joshua.

"NO!" MC yelled, rushing towards Sombra. But Sombra levitated MC, and threw him towards a wall, and then he was surrounded in black crystal.

"No!" Twilight shouted. "Joshua!"

Back in the lava pit, Sombra was approaching Joshua. Joshua was really scared. But then he remembered something that he learned that day. He then fired three random white blasts from his horn. Thinking that Joshua was aiming at him, King Sombra moved away. Joshua then started running across the pits of lava, watching his step as he was running. He then looked back at Sombra and fired three more blasts. But King Sombra grabbed him and held him up.

"Foolish boy," Sombra said. "You think you can stop me like that?" Sombra then smirked. "From now on, you're... mine!" Sombra then tried firing a blast towards Joshua's face, but nothing came out of his horn. He looked up at his horn, confused. "What? What did you..." He then noticed that Joshua's horn was still glowing. He then looked up and saw a magic made rune on one of the walls. He then looked around and saw five more runes.

"Chaos Claw!" MC called out. Then the black crystals crumbled. MC then smirked at Sombra and said, "I taught him that. Only the ones who cast these runes are allowed to use their magic or power."

"NO!" King Sombra shouted. MC then rushed towards the two, and MC punched King Sombra, knocking him down to the walking area at the side of the pit. Joshua was on the ground next to him.

"You're done for, Sombra," MC said. "Time to be taken down." MC then grabbed Sombra's horn, cut it off, and threw it into the lava. Just then, Sombra and his horn turned into a huge body of smoke. Like how the Scorpion King died in "The Mummy Returns." Then the smoke dissipated.

MC and Joshua coughed when King Sombra's smoke vanished.

MC then said, "I knew that smoke was bad for you, but that was ridiculous."

Then the two of them were lifted in a magenta aura. The two of them looked over and saw Twilight, the other Crusaders, Spike, Sonic, Mutt, Star Swirl and the Oracle standing there.

"How did you know that his weakness was his horn?" Star Swirl asked.

"It was obvious," MC said. "His horn was obviously different than the rest of his body, and if he was alive because of his dark magic, it had to be the horn. But the only way for me to get a clear shot was for his magic to be deactivated."

"So I had to use those runes to deactivate his magic," Joshua said.

"That... was a good idea," Twilight said.

"Well, you all have enjoyed your time here in Delphius," the Oracle said. "I hope that you all enjoyed your time here." He then looked at Joshua. "And I hope that you'll be able to embrace the change."

Joshua bowed his head and said, "I... I hope so, too." Then the group started walking away until they heard the voice of a young boy.

"Som... bra?"

The group stopped and looked back. They looked down the cliff side, and saw a gray unicorn colt with a messy black mane. And he had green eyes.

"Is that... Sombra?" Nyx asked.

"I think it is," Twilight said.

"But how?" Sonic asked.

"I think this is a mystery best left unsolved," MC said.

"But, what are we going to do with him?" Twilight asked.

"Perhaps I shall keep an eye on him," Star Swirl said. "To at least make sure he doesn't end up... like that again."

"You sure about this, Star Swirl?" Sonic asked. "You saw what he was capable of."

"I'll make sure it doesn't happen," Star Swirl said. He then looked over at Twilight. "After all, you did make sure that Nyx would live a happy life when you took her in."

Twilight looked down at Nyx, and then smiled. Twilight then said, "Then promise me, you'll keep an eye on Sombra. And make sure he doesn't turn to the dark side."

"I don't think that'll be a problem," said the Oracle. "He has been cleared of all of the darkness in his being. Being raised by Star Swirl, he shall not fall under darkness."

"Then, we shall make our leave," MC said. "Good luck, Star Swirl."

Star Swirl nodded. He then looked down at the colt in the pit of lava and lit up his horn. The now young colt was lifted out of the pit, and was put in the arms of Star Swirl. Then Twilight, the Crusaders, Spike, Sonic, MC and Mutt headed back to the Spirit of Freedom.

"Do you think he'll have a chance of taking good care of Sombra?" Sonic asked, his hands behind his head.

"I don't know," Twilight said. "But if there was a chance of Nightmare Moon becoming a good little filly named Nyx, I'm sure Sombra can be changed just as much."

MC then smirked and said, "When we get back on the ship, after strapping yourselves in, you gotta put your blindfolds on."

"Awww!!" Mutt and the Crusaders said. That made MC chuckle. The group looked back to see the Oracle, Star Swirl, and the young Sombra heading back to the building before going back onto the Spirit of Freedom. They then headed on out of there, heading straight for home.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
You Stole My Crystal Heart

Chapter 10: You Stole My Crystal Heart

It had been a week since Joshua had been turned back into a pony. Joshua's classmates at the Ponyville Schoolhouse were shocked to see Joshua as a pony, but they had to go with it. Joshua had to get over what he went through. Right now, he was playing table tennis with Mutt in another room. Nyx, Cream and Cheese were watching them play.

"Finishing move!" Joshua said, hitting the ping pong ball with a powerful hit.

"Rejected!" Mutt said, sending the ping pong ball over to Joshua's side of the table, making Joshua miss.

"That's five to four," Nyx said. "We have a winner."

Twilight then walked into the room with bags under her eyes. Twilight slowly walked in, very tired. She then said, "Hey, kids. You mind if I ask you something?"

"Whoa, Twilight," Mutt said. "Are you alright?"

"You look exhausted," Cream said.

"Chao," Cheese said.

"I... have been up... for three days straight..." Twilight said. "Signing important forms... dealing with the nobles... and searching for a unique student from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns." She then fell over.

"Whoa!" Nyx and Joshua said, running up to Twilight.

"Are you alright?" Mutt asked.

"I'm fine...!" Twilight said, stressing. "Totally fine! I just have to do a lot more things, and then I'll have to talk with Spell Nexus about any unique students in the school!" She then laughed psychotically.

"Whoa, okay," Mutt said. "I know that look. She's sleep deprived."

"Yeah," Nyx said. "Last time this happened, Spike almost ruined the Grand Equestria Pony Summit."

"That was an eventful day," Joshua said.

Spike walked in and said, "Worst decision I had made that day. This time, it's gonna be different. I wrote to Cadance about Twilight's sleep deprivation, and she would watch the five of you while Twilight gets some sleep. The guards will escort you to the train station and you'll be heading over to the Crystal Empire."

"Sweet," Mutt said. He then thought of something and asked, "Wait, is everything there reflective?"

"Yeah, you're gonna need sunglasses," Spike said. "I also had Nicole inform the Freedom Fighters about this. Go ahead and pack your stuff."

Then Nyx, Joshua, Mutt, Cream and Cheese left the room, leaving Twilight sleeping on the floor, talking in her sleep. "Sure, Princess Celestia. I'll help shine the bells of the Canterlot bell tower."

"H'oh, boy," Spike said. "Not this dream again." He then started pulling Twilight out of the room.

The train stopped at the Crystal Empire train station. Coming out of the train were some ponies. Then when the train left, there stood Nyx, Joshua, Mutt, Cream and Cheese.

"So, are we supposed to wait here until someone picks us up?" Mutt asked.

"I'm sure somepony from the Crystal Castle will come to pick us up," Nyx said.

Then walking up to them was a pony they all recognized.

"Hey, guys." The five young ones looked towards the voice, and there stood Shining Armor. "Ready to go?"

"Uncle Shining!" Nyx and Joshua said, running up to Shining Armor. Then the three hugged each other.

"I heard what happened to you, Josh," Shining Armor said. "But, don't worry. No matter what happens, you're still family. Whether you're a human or a pony." Joshua nodded. "Alright, you five. Let's get to the castle." Then the six of them headed towards the Crystal Castle.

Unbeknownst to them, there was someone watching from on top of the train station.

"So, this is the Crystal Empire," the bat girl said, looking out at the place. "I wonder what jewels there are that I can take." She then flew off towards the Empire, trying to get out of sight.

Later, the group entered the castle throne room, and sitting at the throne was Princess Cadance, along with Guard Armor and Flurry Heart.

"It's about time you kids got here," Cadance said, smiling. Nyx and Joshua ran towards her. Cadance lowered to hug the two of them. "I already prepared rooms for you all. Of course, Nyx and Joshua are sharing the same room."

"Good call, aunt Cadance," Joshua said. His stomach then growled.

Cadance giggled and said, "Let's get you kids something to eat. It's just about dinner time." Then they all walked out of the throne room, heading towards the dining hall. Hiding from the shadows, the bat girl was watching.

"So many jewels here for the taking," the bat girl said. "Might as well see what's here before I come and get them tonight." She then flew out the window.

Then it went to the dining hall, where Cadance, Shining Armor, Nyx, Joshua, Guard Armor, Flurry Heart, Mutt, Cream and Cheese were all eating.

"This is good corn," Mutt said.

"I agree," Cream said. "It's so good."

"Chao!" Cheese cheered.

"So, Mutt," Cadance said, looking at the young Mobian in question. "What brings you and Cream here to Equestria."

"Chao chao chao!" Cheese said, angrily.

"Oh, right. And Cheese as well," Cadance said. "My apologies."

"Well, the others are on a big mission to find Doctor Robotnik," Mutt said. "Maria's a little upset that she has to help take down her cousin, but she knows what her cousin has done."

"Well, I hope for her sake, they will just put him in prison," Princess Cadance said. "I'm going to prepare Guard and Flurry for bed. You kids finish up."

"Okay, Aunt Cadance," Nyx and Joshua said in unison.

They all kept eating, but as Cadance was walking out with Guard and Flurry, the place started shaking. Everything and everyone there fell over.

"What was that?!" Mutt asked.

"It can't be good!" Cream said.

"Chao chao!" Cheese said.

"Princess Cadance!" came a guard's voice. They all looked over and saw some guards running towards them. "Something has taken the Crystal Heart!"

"WHAT?!" Cadance, Shining Armor, Nyx and Joshua shouted. Then they all headed outside to see where the Crystal Heart was supposed to be, but it was no longer there.

"Oh, no," Nyx said. "That's not good."

"What has the Crystal Heart missing have to do with the Earthquake?" Mutt asked.

"The Crystal Heart has protected the Crystal Empire from a terrible snow storm," Nyx said.

"And if the Crystal Heart isn't in it's proper place for long, then the Crystal Empire could be lost again!" Cadance said, looking out at the horizon. Seeing a snow storm was coming in. Cadance then lit up her horn, blocking out the snow storm.

"This is a disaster!" Joshua said. "What are we going to do?"

"We're just gonna have to find it," Mutt said. "Hopefully the Crystal Heart is still somewhere in the Empire. We should put up a barrier around the Empire. No one comes in, and no one goes out."

"That, I can do," Shining Armor said. He then lit up his horn. Then a magenta barrier appeared inside the blue barrier. "Since Cadance and I are gonna be occupied, it's up to you kids to find it."

"And please, take Guard and Flurry to bed," Cadance said.

Nyx and Joshua took Guard and Flurry into the royal nursery, and put the two to bed. Mutt, Cream and Cheese were watching them put the two to bed. Nyx and Joshua walked out of the room, and quietly closed the door.

"Alright, guys," Mutt said. "MC said that the best way to find whoever took something is to go back to the scene of the crime. Perhaps there are some clues there that can help with finding out who's responsible."

"You're a pretty smart kid," came a new voice. The group looked around for the source of the voice but there was no one there. "Oh, pardon. I forgot I was cloaked." Then the group looked towards the voice and coming into view from an invisible state was another rabbit, but looked about twice as old as Cream. Even looked like her. She had three sharp ends of hair with red highlights at the tip, she was wearing a digital eye patch with a microphone attached, a red jumpsuit with black tightening belts, a black and red fanny pack, and red boots.

Cream was astonished by the rabbit who appeared in front of her. Cream then smiled, ran up to the older rabbit, and cried out, "OLIVE!" The two of them hugged each other.

Joshua whispered into Mutt's ear and asked, "Who is that?"

"That's Olive," Mutt responded. "She's Cream's older sister. She's also a top level spy for the Guardian Units of Nations. Or for short, GUN."

"And I've come here to apprehend a known Mobian thief," Olive said. "Rouge the Bat. A professional jewel thief."

"That would explain it," Nyx said. "How will we find her?"

"She's a bat," Olive said. "She'll be hard to find."

Cadance and Shining Armor were introduced to Olive as they were keeping the barriers up. They were informed that the intruder would be captured and taken to GUN, and the Crystal Heart would be returned to its place.

Right at the moment, Olive and the kids were looking around the city. They even had some winter gear on. It was getting colder by the second.

"This is one big place," Mutt said, looking around. "How are we going to find a bat in this place?"

"Cream, I'm gonna do a scan with my cybernetic eye patch," Olive said. "I'm gonna need a lift."

Cream nodded, and started flying. She grabbed Olive's right arm, and carried her up. As soon as they reached a good enough height, Olive pushed the buttons on her cybernetic eye patch, and started scanning the place.

Olive sighed and said, "No such luck."

Since Olive gave the kids some earpieces, Nyx put a finger to her ear piece and asked, "What about the Crystal Heart? Can't you scan for that?"

That made Olive's eyes go narrow in realization. She then said, "Of course. We might not be able to find the bat, but we could find the Crystal Heart. She then said, "I'm gonna need a proper energy signature to find it. Do you know what it is?"

Somewhere in the Crystal Empire, at an abandoned building, Rouge the Bat was cleaning the Crystal Heart. When it was cleaned, she saw her reflection in it.

"Hello, beautiful," Rouge said. "I'd appreciate you in my collection." She then turned towards the door, but it was busted open... by Olive. She then pulled out a couple of night sticks with electricity coming from them.

"I don't think so," Olive said, pointing one of the night sticks at Rouge. "Surrender the Crystal Heart, now."

"Oh, honey," Rouge said, not amused. "You think you can take back what I worked hard to get? Well, you are dead wrong." She then charged at Olive with a kick, but Olive got out of the way, and sweep kicked Rouge, making her trip out the door. Rouge looked back at Olive in anger. Then the two of them started fighting each other outside of the building. While that was happening, Nyx and Joshua snuck in, grabbed the Crystal Heart, and got it out of there.

"We better get this back to the castle," Joshua said.

Nyx nodded as the two of them took the Crystal Heart towards the castle. But that did not go unnoticed by Rouge.

"Hey!" Rouge shouted. She then kicked Olive in the face, and started flying towards the two of them. She grabbed the Crystal Heart with the two still holding it.

"WHOA!!" Nyx and Joshua said in unison.

"Sorry, kids," Rouge said. "But I'm not gonna let my jewels gonna be taken like that." She then tried shaking the two off. Then Nyx and Joshua lost their grip on the Crystal Heart, and the two of them fell. Nyx then flapped her wings and then used her magic to catch Joshua. She then took herself and Joshua down to the ground.

Olive, along with Mutt, Cream and Cheese, ran over to them. Olive then asked, "Are you two alright?"

"We're fine," Nyx said. "Lucky that I had flight training after I got turned back into a filly."

Mutt then asked, "I thought you didn't get affected by that flower."

"I meant when I became Nightmare Moon," Nyx said.

"Oh, that makes sense," Mutt said. "I almost forgot about that part." They then followed Rouge to the Castle. Rouge was about to fly into the castle, but was blocked by a bunch of pegasus guards.

"Whoa, boys," Rouge said, holding the Crystal Heart to her chest. "You probably don't want to hurt little ol' me, do you? After all..." She then flew towards one guard and kicked him in the face. "You might get hurt!"

The guards then started going after Rouge, and tried to get her to drop the Crystal Heart. But she kept a tight grip on the Crystal Heart. She was then knocked down.

"Gah!" Rouge said, after a guard slammed her back. She dropped the Crystal Heart, and it was heading towards the ground. "No!"

Then Cream and Cheese came in, and they grabbed the Crystal Heart, and took it to the ground. Cream called out, "I got it!" The others then came towards her.

The Crystal Guards then tried surrounding Rouge, but she did an aerial spiral kick, knocking them all out. She then came flying down to the ground, saying, "I'm not leaving without that gem!" She then came down, and tried getting the Crystal Heart from Cream.

"Run, Cream!" Olive said. She then got in a defensive position to protect her sister. Cream and Cheese then started running away into the castle.

Olive then jumped up onto Rouge, and tried to pull her down to the ground. Rouge then punched Olive, saying, "Get off!" Olive then went down. Lucky they were five feet from the ground. Rouge then slammed into the closed door. "Ow. Okay, that hurt."

She was about to get back up until she saw Olive pointing an electric nightstick at her. Olive then said, "Sorry, Rouge, but I'm afraid that I'm going to have to apprehend you."

"Sorry, girl. Orange isn't my color," Rouge said, she then kicked Olive's stomach. Olive then fell to the ground in pain. Nyx, Joshua and Mutt went over to get her up, and Rouge went inside.

Cream and Cheese ran across the place, looking for a place to hide the Crystal Heart. She then stopped in front of the nursery. She looked around. She then quietly went into the nursery, and headed for the crib. She hid under the crib. Thankfully, the bottom of the crib had some curtains.

Just then, the door opened up, and in came Rouge. She looked around for Cream and Cheese. She looked around for her. She was about to look for Cream under the crib, but then the smell of a dirty diaper came to her nostrils.

"Oh, gross," Rouge quietly said, heading out of the room. Luckily, she didn't get the chance to look through the room.

Cream and Cheese then came out from under the crib, and looked around. Cream looked around and exhaled in relief. Then the door opened quietly, and in came Olive.

"Cream," Olive whispered. "Are you alright." Cream nodded, but then she smelled the dirty diaper. "Hoo. That reeks." She then walked over to the source of the smell, and saw that it was Flurry Heart, who was awake and struggling her lower half. "I hope that the princess here won't mind that I changed this little cutie's diaper." Olive picked up Flurry Heart, took her to the changing table, and removed the diaper.

"Ohh..." Cream and Olive said in unison.

"That stinks!" Olive whispered loudly. She then grabbed the dirty diaper, put it into a trashcan, and then prepared a new diaper. She also got the baby powder, and sprinkled it onto Flurry's rear end. She then put the diaper back on, and closed the diaper, and put Flurry back in the crib. "It didn't stink as much as your diapers did."

Cream giggled. She then grabbed the Crystal Heart from under the crib, and they headed out. Cream then said, "Now, let's get the Crystal Heart back to where it belongs."

"Oh, I don't think so!" came Rouge's voice. The three looked towards Rouge's voice, which was above them. Rouge came down, and took the Crystal Heart out of Creams grip. "Thanks for holding on to it, little girl."

"Stop!" Olive said. "Don't you get it?! Without the Crystal Heart, this place will be lost in an unstoppable winter storm."

"Oh, you think I'm gonna fall for that?" Rouge asked, smirking.

Then Nyx, Joshua and Mutt ran towards them.

"According to Aunt Cadance, this entire empire disappeared for a thousand years," Joshua said. "If the Crystal Heart isn't in it's proper spot, this place will get destroyed by an all powerful blizzard."

"What?" Rouge said. She then flew to a window, and saw a storm trying to get into the Empire. It was only a matter of time until the storm gets through the barrier.

Olive, Rouge and the kids ran towards the pedestal where the Crystal Heart is supposed to go. Standing there were Princess Cadance and Shining Armor. They were having a hard time keeping the barriers up.

"You can stop your barrier, Shining Armor," Olive said. "Rouge here is under my watch, and she is complied to help."

"I do anything for jewels, anything except death of innocent people," Rouge said. "I'll help as much as I can to protect these people here."

Shining Armor dropped his barrier, took the Crystal Heart, and placed it over the pedestal. Shining Armor then said, "It's not strong enough. We need everypony to share their love to activate the Crystal Heart."

"And just about everypony here has fallen asleep," Cadance said, starting to lost focus on the barrier.

"Then we're just gonna have to wake everyone up," Rouge said.

"Guards!" Shining Armor said, a bunch of guards responding. "Get everyone up and over here. It's time we stop the storm."

Then the guards started running towards the buildings in the Empire, waking everyone up who lived their. Olive and Rouge even helped out with waking the ponies up. The Crystal Ponies ran towards the castle. They all got into position. They all started spreading their love, and the roads of the Crystal Empire started glowing.

"Whoa," Rouge said. "What is this?"

"This is supposed to happen," Nyx said.

Then the Crystal Heart started spinning around, and then a bunch of energy emitted from the top of the castle, and the storm diminished. Everyone there looked around to see the storm gone.

"Well..." Nyx said, tired. "That's that."

"Now I know the consequences of trying to steal something here," Rouge said. She then walked off. "I might as well find something else to do."

Olive then placed a hand on Rouge's shoulder and said, "Perhaps... there is another way. Since you want to get some jewels without hurting anyone, how about this? You come work for GUN, and we'll pay you a decent amount so you'll be able to buy your own jewels. It's better to get something when you earned it."

Rouge thought about it, and said, "Meh. I got nothing else to do, so I might as well. As long as I get payed."

Olive then ran over to Cream and said, "I'll see you later, Cream. You too, Cheese." Then the three of them hugged. When they finished the hug, a GUN airship came in for a landing. Olive escorted Rouge onto the ship. When they loaded up, the ship took off.

Nyx, Joshua, Mutt, Cream and Cheese then yawned. Shining Armor and Cadance looked at them, and Cadance said, "Well, I guess it is past your bedtimes. Might as well be in bed." Then everyone there started heading for their homes.

The next morning, Twilight teleported inside the Crystal Empire Castle Throne Room. She then called out, "Shining! Cadance! I'm here!" Nopony responded. "Shining? Cadance?" Twilight then started flying around, but all she got was Flurry Heart, teleporting in front of her, making Twilight stop. "Flurry!"

Flurry Heart then hugged Twilight and cooed. Twilight then pulled Flurry Heart from her chest and the two were face to face.

"Alright, Flurry," Twilight said. "Where are your parents?"

"Princess Twilight," came the voice of a Crystal Guard. The same guard walked up to her. "It would seem that there was an incident, which caused your brother and sister-in-law to sleep in. Along with your kids and their guests."

"Oh," Twilight said. "So, everything's okay?"

"Yes," said the guard. "Let me escort you to where the kids are sleeping." The guard escorted Twilight to the room where the kids were sleeping.

"Must've been one heck of a night for them to sleep in this morning," Twilight said.

"You have no idea," said the guard.

"Well, I might as well watch Flurry and Guard until they wake up," Twilight said. She then carried Flurry Heart out of the room, the guard following. Twilight was going to play with her niece and nephew until her kids wake up.

Author's Note

Next Episode:
San Francisco School Troubles