Universe 250954

Twilight and FS were supervising everything on the Secret Society's HQ.

With the constant fear of knowing that Opaline was going to attack them at any second, FS didn't wasted time and made every single one of the members in the HQ, to the very last one, to get ready for the fight. Those with mechs or any kind of battle machinery were ordered to prepare every single weapon they have in stock.

Those that were skilled in 1v1 combat where ordered to prepare as well, training hard and pulling themselves to the limit so they could be ready to do so in case it's necessary during the final battle.

As for FS and Twilight themselves? They were busy supervising that everyone was ready for the war that awaits, because this is precisely what they've been preparing themselves for the whole year: Taking down a real menace that can destroy the entire multiverse, and therefore, their existence as a whole.

Soon, Future Sonic approached SatAM Sonic. "How's the sniper group doing?"

"Not a single one of them has failed a shot!" SatAM Sonic replied.

"Good. Let's keep it that way." Future Sonic instructed, then he walked ahead and whistled to Tails X. "Are those mechs ready, Tails?!"

"55% of capacity has been reached so far, but we're all updating to reach the 97%, boss!" Tails X replied.

"You better!" Future Sonic instructed, then he approached Boom Sonic with a frown, because he was changing Aurora's diaper for what felt like the millionth time ever since they got back to the HQ. "Didn't I told you to get her back with your wife and then supervise the 1v1 Combat fighting group?!"

"Amy's busy with something she didn't told me about when I told her, so here you have me, being a father, and making sure that these guys are doing their job, which they are." Boom Sonic replied. "Opaline won't know what hit her!"

"For your own good, and for everyone's, I hope so, Hedgehog." Future Sonic warned with a glare.

Meanwhile, Twilight was near another sector were she supervised the ponies from the team.

The Alicorn approached Firefly, who was checking that the pegasi were ready for air combat. "How are we doing here, Firefly?"

"Every pegasi is giving their 70%, but I wanna push it to a 95%!" Firefly instructed with a smirk.

"Good. Just try not to overwork them, we still need them in the fight against Opaline." Twilight instructed, and as Firefly nodded and got back to her job, she moved ahead and approached Dr. Hooves. "Are those machines ready, hooves? We need all the machinery on our hands and hooves to defeat that wacky Alicorn."

"I still need 10 minutes more, boss. This won't be ready with so much pressure." Hooves replied with concern.

"Is better than nothing, I guess..." Twilight muttered with concern, but then as she moved ahead, she saw a Zipp variant jumping over a device that was supposed to help Unicorns to get a small boost on their magic for a limited time, and she approached her with a frown. "Zephyrina! What the hell are you doing?!"

"The device is not working anymore!" The Zipp variant replied. "I'm trying to put it back on place, but it won't. Push. Down!" She added with anger, still jumping over the device in an attempt to close it.

Twilight rolled her eyes, then she turned to see everypony else: The Unicorns were blasting all kind of objects, the Pegasi kicking them, and the Earth Ponies were either using what they had close or their magic.

Everything seemed to be coming together, so she nodded to herself and spread her wings, then flew away towards a higher sector so she could watch both Mobians and Equestrians. It didn't took long for a blue blur to be seen, and so, FS was standing at her side after just a few seconds of running.

"Seems like everything's going well so far." Future Sonic pointed out. "Let's hope it stays that way."

"If not, it really doesn't matter." Twilight said with a determinate look. "Opaline's just another variant more we have to stop from getting out of hand, right? Nothing we haven't done before."

"Actually, it is." Future Sonic said with concern, and Twilight turned to him with a panicked expression. "What Sonic and I saw out there... This is totally out of hand for us, Twi. Like it or not."

"What?!" Twilight said in shock and fear.

"Doesn't mean we have lost without fighting." Future Sonic quickly added, then looked over at Twilight and smiled. "We're gonna show that damn witch that messing with the multiverse was a big mistake."

"If we live to tell that tale, that is." Twilight said, now frowning a bit. "I just hope that no lives have to be exchanged..."

"I would like to be that optimist, Twi... But I can't assure you that no one will die when I don't know that for sure..." Future Sonic said with concern and sadness.

Twilight frowned and was about to scold him, but before she could do so, the Tails variant with 9 natural tails arrived and landed in front of them with wide eyes and a surprised and urged expression.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, bosses, but you have to see this!" The Tails variant said, then he handled his own version of the Miles Electric, which was the exact same than our Tails' but in red, to FS.

FS grabbed the device, and Twilight approached to see what was the whole noise about, but then, their eyes widened: Universe 151222, once having five different colors on the line that represents its universe, now only had the regular white line like every single other one.

"This... This is not possible..." Future Sonic said with shock and wide eyes.

"But it is!" The Tails variant said. "I already ran all the calculations, and... It's real!"

"The Forbidden Universe... Has come back to normal?!" Twilight said with shock, as she levitated the device in front of her and stared with surprise at the image.

Future Sonic, on the other hand, smiled to himself. "This has to be 220822's Sonic's doing... That lucky rascal."

"So they might had succeeded on finding a weakness on Opaline's new power?!" Twilight asked hopefully.

"Well have to ask him and Sunset once we see them again." Future Sonic stated with a smile.

However, just as he was going to open a portal to Universe 220822, a random portal that leads to said universe opened up, startling the three of them. Then, from said portal, Sunset came out while breathing heavily.

This should be motive of joy, but when they noticed that she was a bit beaten up, that little joy faded away.

"...Chief..." Sunset said as she looked at FS. "...Time's up... She's coming."

Universe 220822

Sonic, Sunny, Tails and Chip bursted thought the doors of Eggman's lab in Mobius.

Of course, nobody expected them to arrive all beaten up and with a creature that resembled different characters for each one of them. But the moment Zipp's eyes lay on Tails' burned chest, she couldn't care less about the strange critter that looked like her father anymore, and instead focused on him.

Eggman was quick on bringing over some cold water to ease the burn a bit, and even though Tails did grunted in pain, it started to fade away thanks to the water's effect.

Meanwhile, Chip explained himself on what happened with Opaline: After he made sure that the four in charge of entering Universe 151222 actually entered there, Opaline ambushed him and tried to make him talk about where was Sonic, because to be at her full power, she needed Sonic's Prismatic Energy.

Chip refused to talk, and so they confronted each other across the multiverse, but even if he never said a thing, Opaline still won and damaged him, accidentally guiding her to Sonic and company on Universe 100711.

They already know what happened after that, and now, Sonic felt weak because of what Opaline did to him.

After that, Eggman proceed to place some wet towels over Tails' burn for around 10-15 minutes, and once the burn was eased (not cured), he proceed to check it over. The burn left an X-shaped scar over Tails' body, but beyond that, Eggman found nothing to worry about.

"It seems like the burn only left that big scar." Eggman pointed out. "But he'll be fine. He just needs to rest for 10 minutes, I think. However, I can't assure you that he'll survive a similar kind of blast if he gets shot at again."

"But he'll be fine, right?!" Misty asked with concern, while Sunny and Zipp stood close to Tails, who was resting over a bed.

"So long as he rests for the next 10 minutes, that is." Eggman pointed out.

"Well, sorry to brake your bubble, but we don't have 10 minutes!" Sonic said with an angry frown, also sitting on a bench since he felt tired because of Opaline draining his Prismatic Energy. "Opaline attacked us, Egghead. Whatever chance we had to plan is over. A massive war is coming, and if we don't move now, is Game Over!"

"But what can we do?!" Knuckles asked with anger, as he approached Sonic with a frown. "You said it when you arrived: The plan was a failure! We have no idea on how to beat Opaline, and now one of our friends almost died! You really want us to go into a blind battlefield when we already lost without even fighting?!"

"Knuckles has point." Shadow agreed, approaching Sonic as well. "If Opaline has a weakness, we have no idea of what is is, meaning this is a lost cause."

"Standing here and do nothing won't help anyone, either." Amy pointed out. "If we have a chance to fight back, I say we take it! Lost cause or not, I won't stay here and watch our home die without doing something about it!"

"Even if costs your own life?!" Knuckles asked with panic.

"It never stopped us before. Why should it now?" Amy pointed out with anger, crossing her arms.

"You are nuts!" Knuckles said with anger.

"And that's precisely why we have to do something." Sonic said with a frown. "Fighting here, between each other, is precisely what Opaline wants. She wants us to destroy ourselves before go and destroy her. We can't let her have that, at the very least!"

"Sonic, as much as I'll like to be optimistic, don't you think that getting straight to Opaline might not be the best?" Hitch pointed out, joining the conversation while Sparky on his back just watched concerned. "Is like literally putting yourself in the middle so they can shoot you."

"And look how Tails ended up!" Misty added, also joining the conversation, but she also seemed incredibly mad at Sonic, probably because she thinks he could've done something to protect Tails. "You want the rest of us to end like him? At the edge of dying?!"

"You're exaggerating things, Misty." Eggman deadpanned. "He's not going to die, he's fine!"

"Which side are you on, Eggman?!" Misty asked him, while glaring daggers at him.

"There's no sides in this story!" Sunny snapped as well. "We're all in the same team, and we're all against the same enemy here. Blaming each other and shouting won't solve a thing. Yes, Tails is hurt because of Opaline; and yes, we have no clue on a possible weakness for that damn Alicorn, but for hoofness' sake, stop fighting! This won't guide us anywhere!"

Everyone immediately shut up once Sunny started talking. It was like her super power along Sonic's: Just one call of attention, and everyone would be looking up at them.

"If you want someone to blame, then blame Opaline herself!" Sunny continued. "She's the cause of everything that's been happening for the past few days! Tails' burn, those universes dying, the little chance of winning... Is all because of her! She's the enemy, the one you should lead your anger to. Not Sonic, not me, not Tails, not even Sunset or the Secret Society... HER, OPALINE!"

After shouting all of this, she took a deep breath to calm herself down, then looked around at everyone.

"I know you're all afraid." Sunny kept going. "I know I am. We couldn't even touch Opaline when she came out of nowhere, and I know she's gonna be a very thought enemy to deal with... But it can't stop us from trying. Our home, our universe, every single one of them is in danger. You're gonna back down because you feel afraid? Or you're gonna stand up and try to confront the challenge?"

Once Sunny finished saying this, Sonic let out a sigh. "You guys have all your right to be afraid. To be mad. To feel hopeless. Which is why I won't ask you to come and beat an enemy we are not sure can be defeated if you don't want to."

"...I'm sorry, what?" Knuckles asked confused after he heard Sonic saying that.

"There's no guarantee that any of us is coming back alive from this." Sonic pointed out. "This battle goes beyond ourselves. Every single reality is at stake, and that's bad as it is, but Opaline knows we'll try to stop her, and she won't hesitate on killing us, guys. She simply won't."

"She has taken a lot already." Sunny added. "She brainwashed lives..." Misty flinched after hearing this, and she looked away in concern. "She has tried to steal lives..." Sparky hid on Hitch's neck after hearing this, and Hitch brought him over to coo him and call him down. "She has taken lives away..." Eggman frowned after hearing this, but he also looked away in case he started to tear up again.

"And considering that we couldn't even touch her... Is clear this is a suicide mission." Sonic added with a frown. "But that won't stop me from fighting."

"You are nuts..." Shadow muttered to Sonic with anger.

"No, Shadow. I'm just not in the mood to joke this time." Sonic said with a serious tone that actually startled the Ultimate Life Form, because he has never seen or heard Sonic being this serious about something. "Our lives are at stake here, and as long as they still are, I'm gonna fight. I have faced world-ending threats before thanks to someone..." He looked at Eggman, and Eggman simply shrugged. "Opaline won't intimidate me. She doesn't, anyways, not even with all that power."

"So you really are willing to go into a fight that could get yourself killed?" Pipp asked, finally interfering after staying quiet for so long.

"I have to." Sonic stated, not even flinching when Pipp glared daggers at him. "I won't rest in peace if I just stand here and let her do whatever she wants with the multiverse. I simply won't. That's why I'm fighting. And if die, then I'll die. Nothing can be done about that."

"So that's it?!" Knuckles said again with anger. "You're just going to launch straight into danger without measuring the consequences?!"

"Knuckles––" Sonic tried to counter back in anger as well, but Knuckles cut him off.

"I'm not talking about the consequences about Opaline, you idiot! I know she's gonna trash it all." Knuckles pointed out. "I'm talking about the consequences for you!"

That actually made Sonic's eyes open a bit widely and look at Knuckles confused.

"The End almost got you that time, remember?!" Knuckles said with a frown. "What if Opaline takes control over you instead of killing you? You think any of us would like that? To face a friend mind-controlled? To face the chance that we might have to kill you if we want to defeat Opaline?!"

"...I know none of you are prepared for that." Sonic said. "Like I said. If I die, then I'll die. Is it nuts? Reckless? Stupid? All of them? Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. I don't know, I don't care."

Knuckles growled in anger at Sonic's attitude, but Sonic had some kind of determinate look that clearly said he was willing to keep fighting until the end. Of course, Knuckles should already know that Sonic can reach levels of stubbornness never reached before, so he should not be surprised Sonic's acting like this.

So, Knuckles ended up sighing and rubbing his face with a hand. "You are gonna get yourself killed and you know it, yet you're still heading into danger... Might as well be there to pick up your corpse when you die."

Sonic smirked after hearing that. "What a weird way to say you care about me, Knux. But, suit yourself!"

Knuckles just crossed his arms and rolled his eyes annoyed, still thinking this is a bad idea.

On the other hand, Amy pushed Sonic on his shoulder slightly. "Count with me, too! I've been seeking to have a good fight in a while, anyways!"

"This is stupid... But I refuse to let you have all the attention." Shadow said, looking at Sonic. "If I can crush down Opaline's wings, then I'm down."

"Me too. I was planning to come along, anyways, but I'm glad to be a part of this as well!" Sunny stated.

"Well, if we're actually getting ourselves killed, then there's no point on standing back if everyone else is going. Count me in." Rouge said with a determinate expression.

"I will join the cause as well." Omega stated, closing his robotic hand into a fist.

"...Guess there's no point on standing back." Hitch said with a resigned sigh. "Fine. I'll go, too. I want a home where Sparky can grow. If taking Opaline down is gonna help, then so be it."

"I'll go too!" Izzy declared. "As long as I have my friends at my side, I don't fear anything!"

"Count with me as well!" Zipp stated. "I know for sure that once Tails wakes up, he'll agree to go, and since I know I won't convince him to not go, I'll be there to protect him, and to protect everyone else that's going."

"Count with me as well." Pipp declared. "I was serious when I said that I won't let you ran into danger without me, Sonic. This time, we'll face that Alicorn together."

Sonic smiled and nodded at her, although deep down he hated the idea, but he also knew that trying to convince Pipp into not going was a waste of time, so he wasn't going to bother.

"I'll go as well." Misty stated. "Like Zipp said, if we have the chance to at least protect everyone else, is the best that we take it. Besides, Opaline and I go way back, maybe is time I finally face her as I should've ages ago!"

"And I'll be there to make sure you won't get yourself hurt." Eggman said, standing at Misty's side. "I already lost one daughter. I won't loose the other one so long as I can protect her."

"Then it's settled." Sonic said, standing up a bit painfully while grabbing his belly. "We're about to head into the lion's dent. And if we're getting real, maybe one, many, or all of us are gonna die. Are you ready to risk it all to save it all at the same time? Because there's no turning back if we keep moving."

"We have come this far to back down, Sonic..." Tails' voice spoke, as he finally woke up and sat down on the edge of the bed. "We knew since the beginning that this wasn't going to be easy. I say let's just get this over with."

Sonic smiled after seeing Tails fine, then nodded. "Gather up everything you'll need. Because we're gonna take that Alicorn down, no matter what."

"Whatever it takes, right?" Sunny asked with a smile, while Sonic nodded with a determined look.

"Well, since we must take everything we have in ur power to take Opaline down, perhaps you'll like to hear what I have in mind, Sonic." Eggman said suddenly.

"Which is?" Sonic asked with half a glare, but also with a raised eyebrow.

Eggman only grinned confidently, which already told Sonic this could be either very good, or very bad.

Eggman was flying across the sky at top speed.

Sunny, Zipp, and Tails, this last one carrying Sonic, followed behind, and all of them were back in Equestria, now heading as fast as they could towards a place that none of them have visited in a very, very long time: The Starfall Islands. More specifically, Chaos Island, where the Death Egg Titan remained inactive.

Sunny felt a shiver running down her spine after seeing the inactive Death Egg Titan on the ground. It's been 2 years since Eggman used it, but even with her therapy sessions, plus the fact she beat the crap out of Eggman already, she still didn't liked to remember.

Soon, they descended and... Passed by the Titan. Eggman didn't even turned to see it, but the rest did, and they did it with confused expressions, specially Sonic and Tails. The brothers though that he dragged them towards Chaos Island to reactivate the robot and use it against Opaline, but it seems that's not the case.

"Uh, Eggman?" Sonic called out with a raised eyebrow. "What the hell are we doing here?"

"I thought that we came here because of the Titan." Tails confessed. "I mean, it is one your most powerful badniks you have ever created."

"Maybe too powerful..." Sunny rolled her eyes annoyed.

"While I agree that my magnificent Death Egg Titan is powerful, it is not powerful enough to take Opaline down." Eggman said, surprising the rest in the fact that he didn't praised his creation that much. "It might be a good distractor for her, but not to take her down. We need something more powerful than a giant robot with my face."

"Okay, what's with this change of attitude?" Zipp asked with a raised eyebrow. "You barely talk low about your own stuff... If anything, I don't recall you ever talking bad about your creations unless they're AI's that aren't Sage."

"Even a genius like me knows when he makes a mistake, Zephyrina." Eggman said. "Our trip to this place is for not other thing than what I believe can saves us all: Cyberspace."

"Huh?/What?!/No way!/Should've seen it coming." Sonic, Tails, Sunny and Zipp all said in that exact order.

"You wanna use Cyberspace against Opaline?!" Tails said with shock and wide eyes, then frowned and looked away. "Should've trademarked the idea..."

"I don't want to use Cyberspace in the same silly way you wanted, Tails." Eggman replied, and just when Tails was going to question him, Eggman spoke quickly again. "Yes, I knew about your plan. It wasn't going to work, because Opaline knows what that thing is. She had books on Cyberspace and the Ancients for a reason."

Tails was surprised that Eggman guessed so fast what was he going to ask, so he just shut his mouth.

"Then what do you want from Cyberspace?" Zipp asked. "Because the last time that thing was activated, these three were dragged into it and had to make challenges to get out." She pointed at Sonic, Tails and Sunny.

"I'm gonna use Cyberspace to turn online the islands defensive measures, then hack them into my EggNet and make sure I can use the Ancients' tech against Opaline." Eggman explained, as he finally came to a stop in front of one of Chaos Island's Cyberspace portals, while the two Mobians and two ponies landed behind him.

"Hold on... Using the Ancients' tech?!" Sunny exclaimed with wide eyes. "You want to use all those guardians and enemies to fight against Opaline?! That... That's actually cool and very useful!" She smiled eventually.

"Wait, wouldn't this mean that you can use the Titans as well?" Sonic questioned with a raised eyebrow. "Because if so, that would also be cool and useful!"

"That's exactly the game plan here." Eggman replied, getting off his Eggmobile and then pulling out some wires from below it that he connected to the Cyberspace portal. "Now, I should put this thing back online, and then we're good to go."

But as Eggman started to hack into Cyberspace, Tails remembered something that made him gasp.

"Hang on a second!!" Tails called out suddenly, then he turned to Sonic. "Remember what we told you long time ago? About there being a way to turn the Cyber Corruption into a new power?"

"Um, yeah?" Sonic said confused at first, but it didn't took him long to realize what he wanted to do. "Wait, hold on... You want me to go back into Cyberspace to get corrupted again?!"

"And then turn that corruption into a power-up!" Zipp realized with a smile, then she looked over at Sonic and smirked. "Tails has a very good plan here, dude."

"Oh, yeah! A great plan! One that involves me getting corrupted again! And for what, exactly?!" Sonic asked in panic.

"Sonic, don't you see? Maybe this new power can be the key we need to take Opaline down!" Sunny pointed out, also smiling. "We're not fans of the idea of you getting the Cyber Corruption again, if that's what worries you, but we think we know how to help you keep it under control, and then redirect it as a new power."

"Doesn't makes me any more eager to get controlled by Cyberspace!" Sonic pointed out with a frown. "What if he controls me again?!"

"He won't!" Tails assured, but Sonic still seemed to be unsure. "Do you trust us, Sonic?"

"What kind of question is that? of course I do!" Sonic said, almost offended that Tails seemed to believe he didn't trusted him.

"Then trust us with this, bro." Tails pled, now making sad puppy eyes. "Please?"

"Oh, no. Don't you dare to pull that to me!" Sonic warned with a frown, but then Sunny approached and same a similar expression. "Oh, now you too?! Come on, guys! You know I can't resist those sad puppy eyes! Please don't torture me like this!"

But it didn't mattered how much he wanted to resist those sad puppy eyes, because in the end, he let out a long resigned sigh and looked down to the floor in defeat.

"What am I doing with my life?" Sonic asked, passing his hands over his quills, and then looking at his siblings with a bored expression. "Fine... I'll let the Cyber Corruption get over me again. But if I die, I'll be waiting on the other side for you two so I can smack your heads harder than I'll ever done alive!"

"You still agreed to this, so we win!" Sunny said cheerfully with a smile.

"If I didn't loved you as a sister, I'll smack you right here and now." Sonic deadpanned.

After saying this, Eggman grinned while staring down at his Eggmobile. "Yes! I have access to Cyberspace's network again!" He cheered, then turned to see the group, and then raised an eyebrow when they were looking at him expectantly, although Sonic was doing it with a bored expression, his arms crossed, and desperately stomping a foot on the ground. "Do I have something in my face, or...?"

"No, no... We just wanna know if... If you can corrupt me again with Cyber Energy..." Sonic deadpanned and let out a long and resigned sigh. "I don't get paid enough for all this crap..."

"The what now?!" Eggman exclaimed in panic with wide eyes. "What do you mean with that?! Why would you want to get corrupted again?! You are one of our key members to take Opaline down! And you know that I'm not talking lightly when I of all people admits something!"

"We know this is confusing, Eggman, but we know how to turn the Cyber Corruption into a power up!" Tails explained. "Of course, he first needs to get corrupted again if he wants to transform said energy!"

"Turn Cyber Corruption into a power up?" Eggman asked with a raised eyebrow. "You said that like if someone else already tried to make such a thing... Or rather as if someone else already did."

"That's because it has happened before!" Sunny revealed. "We found a book about Cyberspace that told the tale of an Ancient that also got corrupted with Energy from Cyberspace, but that Ancient managed to train themself hard enough to transform the Corruption into a new super power!"

"We think that, if an Ancient could do that, maybe Sonic can, too!" Zipp added with a smile. "After all, you know better than anyone that if someone can become an impossible odd like survive Cyber Corruption without actually getting corrupted, is him!"

"Aw, you guys! Stop it! You're gonna make me blush." Sonic said mockingly, but also acting like a diva for fun.

Eggman growled at Sonic's attitude, but then he looked over at Sonic's friends and sighed defeated. As much as he hated to do it, he had to admit that they were right: Sonic has overcome impossible odds in the past, and it was very accurate to assume that he could turn the Cyber Corruption into a power without sweating.

So, with another sigh, Eggman looked over at Sonic and frowned slightly. "You better survive whatever's coming your way, hedgehog, because if you actually die after I turn the corruption back, then it won't be as satisfying as I thought it'll be..."

"You've tried to kill me before, Eggy. You failed miserably. So don't worry. I won't kick the buck just yet!" Sonic said with a confident smirk.

"For the whole multiverse's sake, I hope you don't." Eggman warned with a frown, then turned his Eggmobile so it could point only at Sonic.

Everyone else stood back, allowing Sonic to be the only one getting corrupted again by Cyber Energy. Then, Eggman charged a small ray with said energy and shoot at Sonic.

Of course, this didn't killed Sonic, but it did made him groan in pain and then kneel down while grabbing his head, as his entire body started to glitch with red and black colors that clearly indicated what happened: The Cyber Corruption was back, and now Sonic was in danger.

Or so it seemed at first, because after a few seconds, Sonic's body stopped showing that strange effect, and then Sonic opened his eyes to look ahead, feeling good and not in pain anymore.

Sonic stood up and looked at his friends with a smile. "Okay... That wasn't as bad as I thought it'll be."

"Yeah I honestly thought you'll be suffering in pain, but I'm glad I was wrong!" Sunny said with a smile, but her words made Sonic deadpan.

"Well, now that the corruption is back, we have to move into the next thing: Getting yourself ready to turn that into a new and cool super power!" Zipp declared confidently.

"I can guide him on that aspect. You two should keep an eye on mister "I'm on your side now, but just you wait until Opaline is done so I can take her place"." Tails said with a frown, glaring and pointing over at Eggman.

"What a way to treat a teammate." Eggman deadpanned as well.

With that, Tails boosted away and Sonic followed behind, while the mares stood with Eggman.

Universe 010921

A heptagon-shaped portal opened over Maretime Bay.

From it, Sunset came out flying, and she then headed towards the Brighthouse as fast as her wings allowed her.

She explained the entire situation to FS and Twilight, about how not only they got nothing regarding a weakness against Opaline, but also how she has all the Prismatic Energy of the Paradox Prism, and how she was now basically unstoppable because they had nothing against her.

This made FS and Twilight panic a lot, so they rushed into making everyone in the HQ stop training and finally go to their stations to prepare, because it was finally time to go and take Opaline down.

Knowing that this was getting serious, Sunset asked if it wouldn't be best for some members to go and get extra help from their respective universes, and FS actually agreed without hesitating, even telling her to be one of the many members to go and recruit their friends to participate against the war for all the realities' destiny.

Sunset didn't hesitated into accepting, and now here she is, back into her universe and heading towards the Brighthouse, where she burst through the door without thinking and startling her friends inside.

"She's coming! She's coming to kill us all!" Sunset yelled in panic.

"Sunset?!" Sunny asked, surprised to see Sunset back so soon, as she was sitting next to Hitch, both cooing Sparky like the parent figures they are to him.

"What's going on?!" Zipp asked, since she and everypony else noticed Sunset's expression.

"Opaline! Gone insane! Multiverse in danger! Paradox Prism!" Sunset cried out in panic, then she started to hyperventilate, so her friends rushed up to her in concern.

"Give her some water!" Sunny cried out, as she and Izzy guided Sunset into the Brighthouse.

"Give her some room!" Hitch added with concern for his friend.

It took some minutes, but the group managed to calm Sunset down a bit.

As the Alicorn sat on a couch with Sunny and Pipp on her sides, Misty and Izzy approached her, with the former levitating a cup of tea that was letting out a bit of smoke because of how hot it was, while Izzy was levitating a teapot that also released some smoke, pretty much with more of the cup's content.

"Here, Sunset. This should help you calm down." Misty said, extending the cup to Sunset with her magic.

"It's a special blend we made together." Izzy added with a small smile.

Sunset levitated the cup close to her and took a sip of the tea slowly, then she sighed, now feeling more calmed. "This... Is delicious." She smiled a bit, then looked at the two Unicorn mares. "Thanks, girls."

"You're welcome Sunset." Misty said with a smile.

Now that she was a bit more calmed, Zipp flew up to Sunset with concern. "Okay, now that you have your tea and you calmed down, mind telling us why you were panicking so much?"

"Yeah, you came in faster than when Misty rushed in to tell us what Opaline was planning." Pipp noted, which made Misty blush sheepishly from that, rubbing her hoof and feeling a bit embarrassed.

"And you did said something about Opaline." Sunny pointed out with concern. "What happened? Because the last time we saw each other, you left to help Sonic and his Sunny to stay away from the Society after your friend gave you that watch." She pointed out again, also gesturing to the dimensional watch on Sunset's hoof. "And now, you just came back all anxious and worried."

"Sunny's got a good point, Sunset. What happened that cause you to get like that?" Hitch asked concerned.

Sunset took a deep breath after taking another sip of tea, and then she stared down at her reflection on the tea for a while before finally speaking. "After some twists here and there, we managed to take Sonic out of the Society. Well, my dimensional friends did. I more of stayed with the other Sunny because she was fine, and I wanted to gain her trust back first before we could focus on anything else."

"And how did that went?" Izzy asked curiously.

"I still feel that she doesn't trust me, but she seems to be comfortable around me. I think that's good progress." Sunset replied with a little smile.

"Very good progress if you ask me!" Pipp agreed with a smile, and everypony else agreed as well.

Sunset smiled a bit more after that, but then she looked down in concern. "After that, Sonic eventually ran into us, then he told me we're on good terms, which is good, then we tried to get more info on the artifact that Opaline stole from his universe––"

"The Paradox Prism?" Zipp asked.

"Yes, that thing." Sunset nodded. "And after that, we could not get that info, but we still did something very good in the end, and then... And then Sonic was suddenly attacked and thrown into a random universe. We followed and checked on him, but even if he was fine, we didn't counted with the fact that... That the same Opaline variant that's been causing a mess around for months would show up. She came to us with an unfamiliar power I've never seen before..."

"What do you mean?" Hitch asked with concerned frown.

"This Opaline's power was beyond anything in her wildest imagination, or even in ours!" Sunset said in dread. "We tried to fight her, but she swatted us like a bunch of flies, that not even my magic could beat her. By a miracle she didn't killed any of us, but she did stole Sonic's energy and left..."

The rest of the Mane 7 and Sparky all gasped in shock, while Sparky even released a dragon fire in fear, which turned a plant near by into cookies, and Izzy started to eat them, but she was still in shock.

"Okay... That's a thought I wish I never have to hear nor imagine." Misty said in fright, because she never imagined that any Opaline variant could get any more crazy with power.

"Isn't there anything your friends or the society could do?" Sunny asked in concern.

"I... I don't know. This is beyond even to what FS and his Society can throw at her." Sunset said uncertainly. "I don't think all the preparations they're doing will be enough to stop her. If defeating our Opaline was already tough when we faced her, this new one might be impossible to defeat with all the power she has gathered!"

"Isn't there something to stop her? A plan? Magic? Maybe even––" Zipp tried to say, but then Sunset cut her off.

"Zipp, right now, no one has any idea on how to defeat her." Sunset said seriously, interrupting Zipp into questioning. "We were lucky that she simply let us live. And right now as we speak, she is starting to drain the magic of every single universe to be more powerful than any other Opaline has ever been. She will not stop until she's the one ruler of every reality. She's been traveling between worlds, draining their magic and causing them to tear apart until they become nothing. I've seen many worlds she's been to fall into flames or destroyed. This new Opaline has no morals, no hesitation, and she's more cruel than the one we faced." She said, now giving a solemn look. "Not even Sonic stood a chance against her."

The others all looked shocked, and they started to feel the same dread than Sunset after what she told them.

"This pony sparkle is cruel to bone..." Izzy muttered.

"I never knew that Opaline could get this cruel in my life." Misty said, as she rubbed her mane nervously.

"That's just messed up!" Zipp exclaimed loudly in shock.

"And scary." Hitch added with a frown, as he clutched Sparky protectively, while the baby dragon whimpered in fear.

"Yeah, that's something I'd rather not record for anyone." Pipp said, really glad she's not using her phone at the moment.

"Opaline is more powerful than we last saw her. How do they expect you to fight her now?" Sunny said with concern, because it was hard for them to beat their Opaline, but now from what Sunset explained, this variant seems impossible to beat.

"I have no idea." Sunset said, but then she shook her head and gave a determined look. "But this isn't over. Even if Opaline has got more powerful than ever, I know that there has to be a way to defeat her."

"What are you saying, Sunset?" Sunny asked, as she and the rest of them look at Sunset in wonder.

"We've done the impossible before, and we've gone through so many adventures, always discovering new ways to make the impossible, possible." Sunset said seriously with a determined smile. "I don't know when or how we'll defeat Opaline, nor if we'll live to tell such a story, but just because she's more powerful doesn't mean she's undefeatable. Everypony has a weakness, even Opaline. We just have to find it."

"Yeah, but what if she's too strong to be defeated?" Misty asked concerned.

"If we're going down, I'd rather go down beside my friends." Sunset said with a warm smile, and they all smiled back at her. "I don't know when is Opaline going to strike against the Multiverse, because it could be at any second, when we least expect it... But when she does, we'll be prepared for her and whatever she throws at us. And we'll face it together with our friends and allies."

"As a team." Sunny said with a smile.

"No, as family." Sunset corrected, and they all smiled before gathering into a group hug, a hug they decided to preserve for as long as they could, because they didn't knew how much time left they had, probably none, but they were ready to counter back at Opaline together, as one.

But then, just when they broke the hug, the entire ground started to rumble violently, even more violently than when an earthquake happens around, which barely happened anyways. Still, it was hard enough to make the Mane 7 and Sparky look around in concern, but Sunset did it more out of panic.

"Oh no..." Sunset muttered, then she rushed outside of the Brighthouse, while her friends followed behind.

Once outside, they all gasped in horror, because the sky literally has broken with the shape of a giant X, and at the other side, they could see a figure floating in the middle of the Multiversal Wasteland.

Said figure was none other than Opaline, who was already draining magic from several universes at a time, and it seemed that Sunset's world was one of those poor universes to get affected by the Fire Alicorn's new and strange power, as several white lines came from several universes and all of them landed on her horn.

This was granting her more and more power by each passing minute, and she couldn't help but grin sinisterly, then she opened her eyes, which were fully white in power now, and laughed maniacally in glee.

Her laugh made Sunset and her friends panic, but it also made Misty duck down and feel so small, since she was getting terrible flashbacks on how her life used to be with her, while the other six ponies and baby dragon were terrified, and Sparky even hid behind Hitch in fear.

Sunset, on the other hand, stared anxiously at Opaline's variant.

"...She's not coming anymore, ponies..." Sunset informed terrified. "She's here."

Author's Note

This is getting more and more serious.

I did ended up implementing aspects from "Sonic Frontiers: The Final Horizon" into this story, like turning Cyber Corruption into a power up... But that's still gonna have to wait one more episode, because in the next one, the Secret Society and an unexpected ally will deal with Opaline first.

I wanna thank JesusG0987 once again for helping me write the Sunset bit of this episode. You seriously saved my butt, man.

I'll go and cook something with the next chapter. Bye!