The next morning, the sunrise greeted New York City once more and life in the Big Apple was the same as any other day. Inside the small hideout below the Statue of Liberty, Knuckles and Twilight were still snoozing away on the bed cuddling in each other's arms. Even though Knuckles was a very heavy sleeper, his snoring did not wake up Twilight at all during the night, which definitely helped both of them out.

Twilight let out a yawn and opened her eyes to see Knuckles still sleeping. She would always wake up to this sight every morning and she found it absolutely adorable. Knuckles stretched his muscles and he woke up as well. He was soon greeted with those gorgeous violet orbs staring right back at him. He smiled and said "Good morning, my beautiful princess. Did you sleep well last night?"

Twilight smiled and said "I did and good morning to you as well, Caleb. You're so adorable when you're sleeping like that."

Knuckles chuckled a little bit and said "As long as I wake up to your beautiful purple eyes every morning, I could care less." He ran his hand through her mane and then pulled her in for a passionate kiss. Twilight melted with bliss and she moaned in his mouth as they were doing their session. Her wings sprouted from excitement and her tail swished in between Knuckles' legs. After a few minutes, they both pulled away and Knuckles said "I love you, Princess Twilight Sparkle."

Twilight smiled even more and said "I love you too, Caleb "Knuckles" Brody."

Knuckles got up and said "Come. We must check on the others before we embark on this long journey of ours." Twilight nodded and the two of them went out into the living room area. Knuckles said "Good morning, y'all. I hope you slept well and if not, oh well, that is too bad. We have a long journey ahead of us and we have no time to waste. But we must get some fuel first before we leave. Applejack, Pinkie, can you help me make breakfast here in the kitchen?"

Applejack said "Sure thing, partner. Anything Ah can do to help."

Pinkie said "Of course! I love making breakfast for everypony!"

Knuckles smiled a bit and said "Excellent. Now let us get started before we burn any more daylight." The three of them began working in the kitchen and they made omelettes and potatoes for everyone for breakfast and some orange juice to wash it all down.

Everyone was enjoying it and Rarity said "Knuckles, this is simply divine! I didn't know you could cook like this!"

Knuckles laughed a bit and said "I have many talents, Rarity. Ones you would not think I had. Cooking was always a natural talent in the family, so it has been pretty easy to follow."

Elsa asked "Are you sure you haven't pursued culinary school at all? You would be quite good at it."

Knuckles said "Nah, I have no desire for that. My career is established in the music industry and I plan on keeping it that way until the end of time. I am perfectly satisfied with writing and playing music. Now, let us wrap things up because we have things to do."

Jack asked "Where exactly are we going to go from here? It's clear we are stuck here and we have no idea how to get back."

Rainbow said "Yeah, as cool as New York City is, we can't stay here forever and we have to get back to Equestria."

Knuckles said "That's why we are going to the New York Public Library. It should have all the answers that we are seeking."

Starswirl said "Indeed it shall."

Knuckles scowled at him and said "What makes you say that?! How do you know about that place?!"

Starswirl said "I have come to this library once before and it's how I found out about most of your world's history."

Knuckles lessened his glare a little bit and said "I see. Well then, do not try to convince everyone that you are the smartest person or rather, pony in the room or else there will be consequences. Got that?"

Starswirl nodded nervously and said "Yes sir."

Knuckles was satisfied with that answer and said "Good. Now let us move OUT, everyone! To the New York Public Library we go!" They all went up one at a time and once they reached the top, they made it back to the mainland the same way they got to the island. Elsa used her ice powers to freeze the river for them to walk across, and then Knuckles punched the ice with his fists as a way to keep boat traffic moving.

As they were walking along through the city, Knuckles would notice strange things occurring on the streets and it made him wonder if the terrible things that would occur in NYC on a daily basis become more evident which he had been warning people for years as a political commentator, but some probably didn't pay attention. People seemed to notice the group a bit more, but considering crazy things happen in New York City every single day, they didn't try to do anything about it.

They were able to make it to the New York Public Library where the greatest events ever recorded in human history could be found. Knuckles opened the super large doors and Twilight was absolutely speechless. The library that was in her husband's house back in Baltimare was pretty amazing, but the New York Public Library took it to a whole new level. She said "Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Hundreds if not thousands of books all unread! There are no words!"

Knuckles turned around and said "Calm down, Twilight. We are not here to read the entire library. While it is true that the greatest events of human history and maybe even all of history can be found here, we are on a mission to stop both the Pony of Shadows and Pitch Black. They probably already started creating havoc in Equestria and it is only a matter of time before they start terrorizing NYC and other cities here on the Earth. So, time is of the essence here, but try to not speak so loudly about it in here. We do not want to create a worldwide panic. Considering how fast information flies these days, it would be inevitable that the entire world will hear about this and I do not want that happening, so stick to the plan here and DO NOT WANDER OFF! Is that clear?!"

Everyone nodded and Knuckles said "Good. Now, considering that this is a very large library in the most populated city in the United States, it is best that we start in the literature section so that we can best understand how these two villains behave."

Jack asked "Aren't they simply antagonists?"

Knuckles said "Yes, they are antagonists, but we are looking for their type of character. Let me give you an example: Discord, The Lord of Chaos, is a trickster. Tricksters are individuals who are mischievous and often a malicious practical joker. While he may have never gone as far as to kill, his jokes have harmed others, even if he does not think so. Tricksters often play these jokes at the expense of others just to satisfy their amusement. They are not really considered your enemies, but you never consider them your friends because they always have a goal of their own in mind and they will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal, even if it means hurting themselves in the process. However, they often challenge the main character of the story and force them out of the rules that society has placed on them. So, we simply need to find something like that for our two villains. Spread out!"

They began looking all over the place and started reading whatever they could about the character types of the two villains. They searched for several hours and they regathered after doing some research. Knuckles said "Alright, what did we find here in the New York Public Library?"

Rainbow said "Well, for the most part, all we seemed to find was a bunch of books on things like some of Gutenberg Bible, the rise and fall of this thing called the Roman Empire, and something called The Renaissance. It seemed like a bunch of religious stuff for me."

Knuckles said "I see. Yeah, all of those events were considered some of the greatest in human history, but I doubt that is going to help. Did you guys find anything on your end?" He had addressed the Guardians and the main characters of Frozen to see if they had anything.

Jack said "When it came to finding out different character types, we were a bit short handed. We did find some things about character types, but nothing about our two villains at hand here."

Elsa said "We searched up and down the entire literature section, but we could find nothing at all."

Knuckles sighed and said "That honestly doesn't surprise me. I am not sure why I even bothered coming to this library in the first place. I should have known that a place like New York City would not have any background knowledge on our two foes."

Anna said "We were able to find this book however."

Knuckles took the book and looked at the title. He said "Hmm. The 12 Types of Characters in Movies and TV Shows. This might help." He began to read it and it all made sense for him now. He said "I believe I understand now. The Pony of Shadows is a shadow character. Hence the name. But essentially, the shadow character represents the dark side of someone's personality and they would do anything to destroy what is in their path in the name of revenge."

North asked "But what would you consider Pitch to be then?"

Knuckles said "Pitch is the manipulator. He is very clever and cunning and is easily able to trick and deceive others. They will often tell lies and try to make themselves look like the good guys. A prime example of that in Equestria would be King Sombra. So we are dealing with a very similar individual in Pitch Black that behaves a lot like King Sombra."

Twilight said "That would explain why he sent you that letter."

Knuckles nodded and said "Exactly. He thought he could trick me by sending that letter. He obviously doesn't know me very well and believes that he could trick me into anything by simply telling twisted lies even if they are slightly true. A half lie is still a lie, so it doesn't matter how true it is."

Rarity asked "So, now that we have this information, what do we do now?"

Knuckles said "Well, since we got stranded here in New York City, we now have to find the culprits."

Rainbow said "Well, let's go get them! Show them who's boss!"

Knuckles said "Hold on. That is a bad idea. We do not go out looking for danger, we let the danger come to us. It was once said that a wise king never seeks out war, but he must always be ready for it. Of course the dude who said it was kind of an idiot, but the point still stands. So, all we can do is wait."

They were confused about it, but they went along with it. Knuckles said "Try to stick around here in this area. This library is massive and when danger comes, we must be ready to strike. So, do not go too far." Everyone nodded and went their separate ways.

The Pillars were over at the science section and were discussing the current events going on. Rockhoof said "Aye, this metropolis doesn't even look the same like it has thousands of years ago. So much has changed." It felt like thousands of years for him, but the last time that any of them were here was in the late 1980s where Knuckles was a few years old, so in reality, it's been about 30 years since they were last here.

Mistmane said "The beauty within this city is simply unfathomable and it would seem like such a shame for it to suffer."

Flash Magnus said "It wouldn't just suffer under the rule of the Pony of Shadows, but also this Pitch fellow as well. He has simply taken a real interest in Knuckles."

Meadowbrook said "Almost if he knows something we don't. We might not have the most favorable opinion of this supernatural being, but it does seem suspicious."

Somnumbala said "What does seem suspicious is how all of his friends are swift to defend him. They do not know the history between us and his tribe, yet they act like they were there. How could they act like that?"

Starswirl said firmly "Because they are blind and they are shallow-minded in their thinking. They think bringing back known threats into the fold will solve everything, but fail to understand that life is far more complicated than that."

Flash raised an eyebrow and asked "But wasn't it because of what you did why Knuckles hates you the most?"

Starswirl sighed and said "Yes... It is and I do not blame him. I still feel guilty for doing that to him, but it had to be done regardless for the safety of all forms of life."

The Guardians and Frozen characters were in the english literature section and like the Pillars, they were also discussing the events of what was going on.

North said "For a city as big as this, it's interesting seeing the size of this library. I don't remember it being this size back home."

Easter Bunny said "Yeah mate. It makes ya wonder how much human history lies in these books."

Tooth said "But think about the potential risk it could cause if Pitch or even this shadow guy got their hands on this."

Jack said "Tooth is right. Pitch and this Pony of Shadows character hates us all with a passion, so he'll do anything he can to bring us down."

Elsa said "It's one thing if they come after us, but none of these people here deserve it. They certainly did not ask for it."

Anna said "I agree. They just look like human beings trying to live their normal lives and with how things have gone, they're not about to get that."

Kristoff said "It all makes us wonder what their next course of action is. The scenario is perfect for them. Big city. Lots of people. Both of them feed off of fear. It would be disastrous."

Olaf said "Who knew that these dark characters would be so mean? I don't have a skull or a brain, but these guys act like they don't have one either."

Kristoff said "They do have one, they just use it for malicious purposes."

Jack said "Pitch has been evil for as long as all of us can remember and from what we have been told about this Pony of Shadows character, the same could be same for this guy."

Elsa said "That doesn't seem to be the only problem though. There seems to be a divide between "Knuckles" and these ancient figures from the pony land. It makes you wonder what really happened between them."

Anna said "Yeah, it's a smaller storyline, but it does seem concerning. It's the first time we're working with these other creatures and I worry that if it is not resolved, it could hurt our chances to defeat these two villains."

North said "They might not seem that intimidating on the surface, but they are a much greater threat than people may realize. An alliance between the two of them definitely does not help though. It only makes them stronger."

The ponies were in the mathematics section and like the other two groups, they were discussing the current events going on.

Pinkie Pie said "It's sooo boring just waiting for these two villains to just drop by."

Rainbow said "I agree. We need to fight now!"

Rarity said "Now hold on you two. Didn't you hear Knuckles' words? A wise king never seeks out war, but must always be ready for one."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow and asked "What's that got to do with anything?"

Rarity said "The point is we're not trying to actively go looking for danger. If things can remain peaceful at the moment, then so be it. But the second trouble comes, we will strike."

Fluttershy said "But how would we be able to keep up? This city isn't exactly small."

Applejack said "Yeah. Y'all think Baltimare was bad, this is like ten times worse and this is unfamiliar territory for us. We're not from here, so we have to rely on Knuckles here to lead us."

Sunburst said "It's not going to really matter if we continue to have this divide between him and the Pillars. Eventually, it will tear all of them apart and if that happens, the Pony of Shadows and Pitch wins."

Starlight said "I know he has been through a lot, but I would definitely like to know why Knuckles hates Starswirl so much. He was one of the greatest legends to ever live in Equestria and Knuckles sees him as nothing more than a bitter enemy." There was a reason for that. It has yet to be revealed.

Twilight sighed and said "I'm afraid he isn't going to budge on that. Trying to get him to talk about it is like asking Discord to stop being chaotic. It's an exercise in futility and there's no point in pressuring him to get him to talk about it. It will only make him hide it more. We'll have to let him share it on his own terms whenever that would be."

Spike asked "But why won't he share it with us? We are considered his family after all."

Twilight said "It's not that simple, Spike. For almost all his life, he could never trust his own family because of how horrible they were to him. All he has ever known was anger, bitterness, and violence because that is what his brain has taught him to be his natural response. He's just now learning to trust those who are considered close to him. I love him very much, but there's no way I would force him to do something like that. The amount of pain he has suffered in almost the last 35 years is something none of us could ever hope to understand to any degree because of how deep it is. Would I like to figure out why Caleb hates Starswirl and the other Pillars so much? Absolutely. But we'll have to wait until he feels comfortable sharing it with us. That's what any loving wife and friends would do."

Fluttershy said "Maybe he's afraid to share it with us because he knows how much respect and honor we have towards the Pillars and doesn't want to shatter that." It's not that far-fetched, actually.

Twilight said "That could be a possibility. Caleb does know how to read a room and anyone who he cares about will take their feelings into consideration, but never his own. I think it's sweet, but I worry how much he compromises himself in order to make us feel better. We could never seem to read his emotions, but he could always read ours. He's always been stubborn to carry the burden with others, but I hope that changes at some point."

In the history section, Knuckles was sitting by himself on a bean bag reading a book about the history of the Roman Empire. He noticed that everyone else around him was probably talking about the events occurring, but he kept quiet about it. If he had to sit and wait for the danger to come, then so be it. There was the risk of the villains already out causing trouble, but things seemed peaceful for once and he didn't want to disturb that at the moment. Not if he could help it.

Twilight came over and sat next to her husband to see what he was reading. She asked "What are you reading, honey?"

Knuckles said "I am reading about the history of the Roman Empire. It was widely considered as one of the greatest empires in human history, but like with all empires, they rise and fall. It was also one of the longest lasting empires in history as well."

Twilight asked "How long did it last?"

Knuckles said "While some people have said that it only lasted about 500 years, a lot of people said that it actually lasted over 2,000 years and there is evidence to suggest that. After it split into East and West, the eastern side became a different name while the western side eventually fell. The eastern side then changed into the Byzantine Empire and eventually fell in the 11th century. Even though it had a different name, it was still part of the Roman Empire. So really, the Roman Empire lasted from 753 BC from 1453 AD which would be 2,206 years."

Twilight couldn't believe it and said "Wow, 2,206 years! That's practically around the amount of time that Discord was in stone."

Knuckles said "Well, it seems like from Equestrian history books, Discord was in stone that entire time the Roman Empire and moreover, Roman civilization was in existence. My tribe was in the glory days at that time and we were still in our peak, so a lot had happened at that point."

Twilight was about to say something else, but time had suddenly slowed down and his senses were starting to go crazy. Twilight asked if he was alright, but he ignored her. He put down the book and started to walk around to see where the trouble was coming from. He then heard something coming and he ran as fast as he could to the door to stop what was coming.

All of a sudden, a car was thrown into the building and shattered a couple of windows. People were suddenly screaming and Knuckles used all of his strength to try to stop the car from hitting anyone. Knuckles eventually got the car to stop and the car fell on top of him. Knuckles pushed the car off him and got up. He groaned slightly in pain and went wide-eyed when he saw the damage that was caused to the building. The rest of the group couldn't believe it and they came rushing over to Knuckles.

Twilight asked "Oh my gosh, Caleb! Are you alright?" She was speaking for the group on that.

Knuckles said "Yeah, *grunts* I am fine. I have faced worse. If I can survive a car accident, I can survive having a car being dropped on me. I am stronger than you may think." He looked at the car and noticed it was a Dodge Charger, the same car that killed Maddi. Instantly, the tragic events resurfaced and played through his head.

Starlight asked "Who exactly would throw this horseless carriage into a public building with all of these humans around?"

Knuckles turned around and growled with frustration. Suddenly, the Pony of Shadows and Pitch show up and are standing outside with evil grins. Pitch said "Well, if it isn't the superhuman. I underestimated your abilities, Knuckles. You seem quite powerful by being able to stop that car. 5,000 pounds. It's not easy."

Knuckles was furious and yelled "HOW DARE YOU ATTEMPT TO THROW A CAR AT ME! A DODGE CHARGER NO LESS! THE CAR OF DEATH! I CANNOT SLEEP AT NIGHT BECAUSE OF THAT CAR! AND THEN, TO TOSS IT INTO A PUBLIC BUILDING WITH HUNDREDS IF NOT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN HERE, PUTTING THEIR LIVES AT RISK, IS UNACCEPTABLE! YOU ARE GONNA PAY FOR THAT!"

All of the people that were there shouted angry protests at Pitch and ripped into him for potentially causing a mass murder.

Pitch simply laughed and said "I don't know what the big deal was. Nobody was killed and nobody got hurt."

Jack said "Are you nuts?! You could have killed someone with a 5,000 pound piece of metal! Moreover, why would you attack Knuckles like that?!"

Pitch laughed again and said "Don't you fools understand? I may hate you the most Jack, but there's something peculiar about Knuckles. Something about his powers seems threatening to my plans and I can't have him getting in the way."

Rainbow asked "Why would your plans be threatened just by the presence of Knuckles?"

Pitch smirked and said "Oh, where is the fun in that? It would simply be a waste of time and myself along with the Pony of Shadows have worlds to conquer."

The Pony of Shadows said "The Equestrian realm seems to be weakening as a whole, but this realm, *does an evil laugh* there is so much darkness reeking from the humans that it would be unfathomable for them to see it coming. A history filled with disease, crisis, and war pales in comparison to the homeland."

Starswirl said "You will not try to harm this realm also! You have a grudge against the Pillars and myself, but do not drag these humans along with it. They do not deserve it!"

The Pony of Shadows growled and said "You always try to avoid responsibility, don't you, Starswirl?! Tell me, am I considered another one of your failures that you've had in your life?! You had a lot of them!"

Flash Magnus said "That's not important at the moment, you need to go back to Limbo where you belong!"

The Pony of Shadows snarled with anger and said "NEVER! My dark power will spread across all of the realm and soon, all living life will bow to ME!" He ran towards the Pillars and the Pillars ran after him. They began fighting amongst one another.

Pitch looked at the guardians and said "Well, that was an interesting turn of events. You think children would ever still believe in people like you in a world filled with chaos and destruction?! I think not!"

North said "As long as one child believes, we will always have the power to beat you!" The rest of them agreed as well.

Pitch looked at Knuckles and said "Are you just going to stand there all day or are you actually going to fight me like a man?"

Knuckles said "Why should I after you almost killed all of these people in here?"

Pitch gave an evil smile and said "Like the way you did with your precious girlfriend in your hometown?"

That struck a nerve in Knuckles and his blood quickly boiled to anger. He balled up his fists and charged up his lightning. He yelled out his battle cry and ran full speed towards him. He rammed into him and tackled him to the ground onto the streets of New York City. Knuckles got up and yelled "DO NOT YOU DARE EVER BRING THAT UP AGAIN! MY LIFE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY SCARRED BECAUSE OF THAT ONE TRAGIC EVENT! YOU WILL REALLY PAY FOR IT NOW!" Knuckles yelled out his battle cry again and punched Pitch much further back into the city.

Pitch growled with anger and charged towards him. They both jumped up into the sky and collided with one another in the air. They began fighting fist to fist with each other and going after each other. The rest of the group saw what was going on and rushed after Knuckles to help him. But Pitch used his dark powers as a spear to knock them all down to the ground and punched Knuckles down there too. He flew away and escaped higher into the sky.

Rainbow asked "How exactly are we going to catch him now?"

Knuckles looked around and saw that Pitch was headed up to the World Trade Center. He looked at North and said "North, give me a boost! Throw me up as high as you can and I will find a spot to land."

North asked "Where am I throwing you towards?"

Knuckles pointed to the World Trade Center and said "Throw me towards the top of that building. Pitch is headed that way, so if I can cut him off, that should slow him down."

North said "Alright. Here goes nothing."

He picked up Knuckles and tossed him as high up into the air as he could. Knuckles flew like a glider and was able to latch onto the building in order to get to the top of the World Trade Center. He looked around and Pitch came up right to him. Knuckles managed to dodge the punch to the stomach, but he was tripped up by him. Knuckles asked angrily "What was the point in that?!"

Pitch said "You think you are the only one that can fight, Knuckles? You might have been training for several decades, but I have been fighting the Guardians for thousands of years, so I have significantly more fighting experience than you."

Knuckles said with a snark "If you have been fighting the Guardians for thousands of years, then why do you keep losing?"

Pitch quickly got mad and blasted his magic right at Knuckles' stomach which knocked the supernatural human being off the skyscraper. The rest of the group was fighting the Pony of Shadows and they suddenly noticed Knuckles falling. The Mane Six tried to get to him, but the Pony of Shadows kept blocking the way and continued to fight them, which distracted them and they had to divert their attention to the threat before them.

Knuckles was trying to figure out how he was going to escape this and looked all around him for any potential leads. Knuckles looked at the top of the World Trade Center and took a deep breath. He shot out his hand and suddenly, a red web came out and connected to the antenna on top of the World Trade Center. Knuckles couldn't believe that worked, but he quickly used that to his advantage. He pulled his body back up into the air and kicked Pitch right in the stomach as well from above. That knocked Pitch down and he fell hard to the ground.

The group heard it and turned to see Pitch face first into the ground. Knuckles had jumped down and landed on the ground gracefully. He seemed a little surprised and said "Huh, for someone who says that they have a ton of "battle experience," they certainly cannot stop themselves from hitting the ground from a falling building. Pathetic." He walked away and started to wonder how he could have possibly gained the powers of Spider-Man.

He does remember when he was a toddler, he was bitten by a Black Widow. Not just any Black Widow, a radioactive female Black Widow. Obviously, that venom could have killed him, but with help from both his parents and Starswirl, they were able to get it removed very quickly. However, that was a long time ago and he suddenly had the abilities of Spider-Man, then surely it should have shown up a lot sooner, right? Not exactly.

You see, Knuckles was always a big fan of Marvel, particularly Spider-Man. He read every comic there was and watched every movie that ever came out. Despite consuming this content though, he never wanted to reenact being Spider-Man himself because he found that to be odd. But it seems like that the effects of the Black Widow bite remained in his body and suddenly granted him the abilities of Spider-Man. He was three at the time this happened, so he's essentially known this for all of his life. It was all so strange to him, but since he now knew he had it, he had to keep it a secret, especially Twilight.

He couldn't have her trying to ask a million questions about it and they had much more pressing matters to worry about at the moment. Plus, he couldn't put any of them at risk with this newly discovered ability. Someone could potentially discover it and try to use it against him. He remembers what happened when Captain America did it in Captain America: Civil War.

Pitch got up and groaned slightly in pain. He growled with anger and said "So, he wants to do this the hard way, huh? Alright, I'll give him the hard way. He'll never know what hit him." He summoned his black wires and threw the damaged pieces of the library at Knuckles from high above. Knuckles saw it coming and broke it all, but Pitch was determined to win, so he kept going.

Eventually, he started making large pieces of debris appear out of thin air and they got bigger over time. Soon, Knuckles was buried beneath the rubble and he couldn't stop it from coming. Everyone thought that Pitch had just defeated Knuckles, but you would be dead wrong. Knuckles punched his way out of it with his red lightning and flew up high in the sky. He then descended towards the ground with supercharged lightning and punched Pitch in the face hard. Knuckles landed on the ground and breathed heavily. He said "I will give you one last chance to simply accept defeat and leave this city once and for all, but if you continue to be defiant, I will personally put you out of commission myself. For good."

Pitch looked at Knuckles with exhaustion and sighed. He spit out a broken tooth and simply growled at him. He stood up and said "I'll never surrender. I've worked too hard to have nothing more than a prodigal murderer stop me from reaching total universal domination!"

Knuckles sighed and said "Fine, have it your own way. Say goodbye to this world!" Before Knuckles could land the knockout punch on Pitch, the Pony of Shadows suddenly rammed into him and ran him back as far back as he could. The others saw what happened and started to attack Pitch. Pitch gladly accepted this challenge and fought back. Knuckles pushed the Pony of Shadows out of the way and went to help the others.

Knuckles punched Pitch and pushed him all the way to Times Square. They crashed right in front of the New Year's Eve ball on 7th Avenue and the two of them continued fighting. The others came over and continued fighting the Pony of Shadows in front of the M&Ms store on 48th Street. Knuckles and Pitch were locked into engaged battle and no one was moving the needle. You would think that Knuckles had finally met his match, but he was purposely holding back because he doesn't like to kill. However, he knew he couldn't hold out forever. Eventually, Pitch might try to overpower him and take him out before Knuckles could do that to him and he couldn't let that happen.

Pitch gave an evil grin and said "You disappoint me, Knuckles. I thought you would be stronger. All you're doing is wasting my time. Now make yourself useful and get out of the way."

Knuckles said with a determined voice "It would not be the first time I was told that. It has been told to me all my life, so this is really nothing new. I care not though. I will show you what useful looks like." He raised his hands into the sky and suddenly, storm clouds started to form over the skyline of New York City. Little sparks of red lightning started to appear in his hands and the lightning connected out to his hands to supercharge his body. He then balled up his fists and blasted the red lightning right at Pitch. Pitch countered with his black wires, but Knuckles was persisting regardless.

Knuckles soon gained the edge and overtook Pitch. The black wires disappeared and soon, Pitch was burned by the red lightning and even electrocuted as well. Knuckles stopped the attack and waited to see what Pitch would do. He got up and said "Well, that was a little more impressive, but still NOT ENOUGH!" He started riding his horse and led his army of them to run over Knuckles with ease. He threw a bunch of black dust into the air and it scattered across the city.

Knuckles got up and saw the black dust. He looked at Pitch with a glare and said "What did you do?!"

Pitch smiled evilly and said "I simply added a little surprise to this city. The people may not go to sleep tonight. Now, if you excuse me, I have a world to conquer. Goodbye!"

The Pony of Shadows saw what was going on and decided to take his leave. He said "See ya kids! Have fun bathing in destruction and darkness!"

The two villains disappeared and it only left the group there. The sky suddenly grew dark and lightning and thunder went off.

Starlight asked "What is going on? Why has the sky turned dark like this?!"

Jack asked "Yeah, what exactly is going on?! Both of our villains have disappeared and yet, the environment around us has rapidly changed."

Knuckles said "I do not know. But be on guard. We do not know what will come our way. So be prepared."

Rain started to fall from the sky and it looked like it would be a typical thunderstorm, but suddenly, lightning strikes were appearing all over the place striking buildings, cars, landmarks, and even the roads. Some of these strikes caused explosions and people were screaming in terror. Knuckles told the group to get underground, but the ones who could wield weapons or magic stayed behind to help Knuckles.

Knuckles tried to protest, but Twilight told him that he couldn't just do it alone, he needed to have others help him as a team. Knuckles eventually relented and said "Alright fine, but be careful. Lightning is hotter than the surface of the Sun and I am the only one here that can survive being struck by it." They nodded and they were ready for battle.

The lightning came and almost as if it had a mind of its own, it targeted our heroes. The magic users and the weapon wielders used their power to try to stop the strikes, but it was a dead heat. Knuckles looked around and his Spidey-Sense began to act up. He knew that a lightning strike was coming, but he was trying to figure out where it was coming from. After taking a deep breath and listening to it, he jumped in front of Twilight so she could avoid being hit.

Knuckles got hit instead and he groaned in pain. Twilight yelled "Caleb! Are you alright?!"

Knuckles nodded and said "I am fine. This lightning seems to have a grip on me though. Go. Get out of here. All of you. This one seems to be the main culprit. I think I can defeat it."

North said "Are you sure about that? Lightning is no joke."

Knuckles said "Yes, now GO! I got it!" All of them seeked shelter and Knuckles concentrated to unlock the power deep inside. Knuckles soon looked up into the sky and yelled out his battle cry. A whole bunch of red lightning came out of his chest and he gripped his hands on the white lightning to stop its flow. His red lightning went all the way up the clouds and killed off any activity from them whatsoever. The clouds exploded into dust and New York City's skyline was clear once again.

None of them could believe it and they all stood there amazed. Rainbow asked "How did you not get killed by that?! That was dangerous, but totally awesome!"

Knuckles said "I am grateful that I am even alive to begin with. Like North said, lightning is a very serious danger to both the human and pony race and is not something that should be taken lightly. Regardless, anyone who has a basic understanding of electricity will know how I was not struck dead by a lightning strike."

Twilight was enthusiastic to explain it and said "Oh, I know! Electricity has two different reactions to be absorbed: insulators and conductors. Insulators react poorly to electricity and can't flow very easily. Conductors react very well to electricity and can flow easily, which is why they can absorb electricity so much better than insulators."

Knuckles simply nodded and said "You would be correct. My body may act as a conductor, but even it has limits. Overloading a conductor with too much electricity will cause it to overheat, which could result in electrical fires. So, going back to the human example, if my body gets overloaded with electricity, that could cause something in my central nervous system to screw up, which can result in organ failure amongst other things. In short, lightning could still technically kill me, but only if you overload me with them. I might be able to take one or a couple or even a few lightning strikes at the same time, but I could not survive several or higher possibly. The slope is too slippery and the risk is way too high. I must be careful regardless of my supernatural abilities."

Everyone agreed and no one protested it further. The Pillars seemed impressed with how Knuckles used his power, especially Starswirl. Despite their relationship being rocky to say the least, Starswirl served as a mentor to Knuckles when the human was very young. At least before he made the disappearance with the Master Diamond in his possession. After that, Knuckles' tribe swore bloodshed on any pony that came across their path again and the nation of Equestria as a whole because of the crime they committed against the most powerful tribe on Earth, something that was considered unforgivable in their eyes.

Regardless though, Starswirl was glad to see Knuckles grow into something great over the years. Even though he left him at a very young age, it appeared that Knuckles had grown so much in that time period and mastered several abilities that he struggled with as a toddler. It pained Starswirl having to leave him like that, but it had to be done. Whatever emotions both of them felt were irrelevant and there were more important things at hand.

Jack asked "What exactly are we supposed to do now? It's clear that Pitch has negatively affected the city and it doesn't look to be getting any better."

Knuckles said "As much as I would like to help them, I am afraid we must get out of here."

Rainbow asked "But why?! There are so many of these humans suffering right now!"

Knuckles said "It is not that simple. It appears that our mere presence here has thrown everything off balance and the city cannot sustain this much imbalance in the universe. It is a city with almost eight and a half million people and the only way the suffering is going to stop is if we leave here. Us being here will only make things worse. Too many unnatural things have happened to the point where it is unsustainable. I know it is hard, but we must leave."

Sunburst asked "But where are we going to go? This planet is far different than Equestria and you're the only one that knows it very well."

Knuckles said "That is true, but even I do not know every place here in America. However, there is one place further up north we can go that will be much more sustainable than the Big Apple. The thing is though we must get there by plane, but from here, you can only get to it by train car if you want to make it there at a reasonable time. What it means is we will have to take the New York Subway here from Penn Station all the way out to JFK in order to get to our new destination."

Easter Bunny asked "Where would that be, mate?"

Knuckles said "Boston."

Jack asked "Why would we need to go to Boston?" Everyone was wondering the same thing as well.

Knuckles said "Something occurred in Boston at one point and I have a score to settle with that particular individual. Plus, Boston is the place to go for boss battles anyways. Look no further than the Battle of Boston between Godzilla and King Ghidorah in the movie Godzilla: King Of The Monsters from back in May. But we have no time to waste. We must get there quickly."

Knuckles led everyone to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan on 34th Street and everyone was amazed how wonderful it looked. Knuckles saw this and said "I know it looks nice and my world has a lot to offer, but time is of the essence at the moment. We have two enemies out on the loose and if we do not stop them, it could cause the entire universe to be thrown into total chaos, so we must stay on track."

Knuckles went over to the pay station and tried to buy 24 tickets from Penn Station to JFK International Airport. He was shocked slightly to see the total price of tickets for all of them. He said "$144 for an entire group of creatures?! Good grief. Things have gotten expensive these days. I am going to be broke after this." He gave them all their tickets and instructed them to hold onto them.

They made it to the gates and Applejack asked "Umm, how exactly do we use these things, partner?"

Knuckles said "It is simple, you take your ticket and insert it into the little slot at the top and the gate will retract itself to allow you to go through. I will demonstrate." He put his ticket in the slot and the gate retracted to allow him to walk through. He said "See? It is that simple. Now just come one at a time since there are other people trying to use the other lanes as well."

They started coming through, but about halfway through, the security guard there suddenly started seeing what was going on and ran outside of his post to try and stop it. Knuckles saw him coming and said "I will be right back. We got a boogie at 6:00." Knuckles ran full speed towards the guard and rammed him back into the post he was originally in. Knuckles growled at him and landed the knockout punch to put the guard to sleep. He ran back over to the gate and said "Sorry about that. I should have figured that something like that would happen."

Elsa asked "Do any of us pose that much of a threat?"

Knuckles said "No, it is just a lot of bad things have happened in New York City since September 11th, 2001, and every kind of law enforcement here takes extra measures to make sure it never happens again. It is nothing to worry about. We are not planning on crashing large commercial jets into skyscrapers, so all is clear. Plus, most New Yorkers have never seen any of you guys before, so they naturally act with fear. I'm sure that is understandable."

Elsa nodded and said "I can agree with that. I know the feeling all too well."

Knuckles said "Yes well, let us get moving along before any further incidents happen." They all moved forward and waited for the next train to come. It eventually came and the PA announced it was headed for JFK International Airport, so they took that as their signal to get on. Some people there tried to stage attacks, but the group put a stop to that real quick. The doors shut and the train began moving east towards the airport.

The train had to make multiple stops on the route and it was getting quite tense considering the amount of strangers on this train. Some tried to start some trouble because well, it's New York for you, but our group took care of business, especially Knuckles. He felt like he had the leader role and it was his responsibility to keep everyone alive. He may absolutely despise the Pillars, but he never likes to instigate conflicts and the Pillars haven't bothered him up to this point, so why bother starting anything?

If they step out of line, he'll put them in check, but so far, he hasn't had to do that. However, it could happen at any point, so he must be ready for it. Some time later, the train arrived at JFK and the group went outside. Most of them tried going in the front door, but Knuckles ran in front of them to stop them. He asked "Where do you think you're going?!"

Most of the group was confused and Easter Bunny asked "We're going through the front door, mate. How else would we get in, mate?"

Knuckles sighed and said "It is not that simple. Being able to make it this far by train was already an accomplishment, but at least it is not as regulated and bad stuff happens all the time. However, traveling by aircraft is a far different ballgame. Do you realize the amount of security measures they put in place after 9/11? Where we are standing at right now is 33 miles away from where one of the commercial aircraft took off and eventually crashed in Pennsylvania. This is no longer the 1990s, where you could practically take anything with you as long as you hid it well enough. After that tragic day, security has been vastly ramped up. Even if you just bring a bag of chips and a bottle of water with you, TSA will be all over that like a bunch of hawks."

Starlight asked "What is the TSA?"

Knuckles said "It stands for the Transportation Security Administration. It is a division of the Department of Homeland Security. After 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security was formed in 2003 as a way to safeguard the United States from another terrorist attack of that magnitude happening on our homeland again. I find it rich that it took 60 years before the federal government created another agency to combat terrorism against America. You would think after Pearl Harbor in 1941, they would have done something, but nope, they decided to wait until 2001 to launch a counter defense. It is pathetic and it is all the more reason why I hate government bureaucrats."

He wasn't exactly wrong and even though he absolutely despised the 19 terrorists who committed this terrible act against America, he believed it never would have happened if President Bill Clinton at the time hadn't delinked federal agencies from telling each other important information that would have prevented 9/11 from happening in the first place. He knew that George W. Bush was President at the time of 9/11, but he knew that this problem stemmed back to the Clinton Administration. So, he placed the ultimate blame of his uncle and cousin being killed in the North Tower on 9/11 on Bill Clinton. It might sound ridiculous to Democrat loyalists, but anyone who does some research into how 9/11 happened will find that exact same information that Knuckles is currently talking about.

Knuckles sighed and said "Regardless though, the point is that the TSA regulates everything about air travel. They are super strict about what you can and cannot bring. Any sort of tool that can be used as a weapon is prohibited, all chip bags and bottled beverages are off the table as well, and you cannot hide any other illegal items inside clothing either. They have truly thought of everything. If you dare try to bring something you are not supposed to through an airport, you will face serious legal action for it depending on what it is. They have machines that uses X-ray to scan the entire body for anything that a person might try to hide. They make you empty your pockets and put all metal objects in a basket along with backpacks and suitcases. They make you take off hats and shoes to make sure you are not hiding anything illegal in there."

Flash Magnus asked "But what is the meaning of all this? What is the point you're trying to make?"

Knuckles scowled at Flash and said "The point is that there is no getting past TSA. I know that you and your friends believe that the human race is incredibly dumb, which is true to an extent, but the human race is also very smart as well. The implementation of greater security in the United States is an example of the Tony Stark model. If you watched the Marvel movies he was in, you will know that he was always learning from his mistakes and constantly adapting to become even stronger. It is the same thing here. You may have stolen the greatest artifact ever to exist from me as one person, but there is nothing you can get past these guys. Believe me. Mankind has tried everything it could think of post-9/11 and it still has not worked to this day. The only reason why there are so many restrictions is because of people who tried sneaking stuff in after the terrorist attack in the oddest of places."

Kristoff said "With all that being said, if we have all this security, how are we going to get to this Boston place you speak of?"

Knuckles said "Well, you cannot outbeat TSA, but you can outsmart them."

Rarity asked "And how are we supposed to do that?"

Knuckles said "See that fence over there? They do not guard that area that much because no one has stolen a plane from the runway recently and they would be pretty stupid to do that."

Jack said "Please tell me you were not thinking about stealing that thing. Do you even know how to fly one of those?"

Knuckles said "No, no, no. We are not stealing any plane whatsoever. I never took flight school, so I have no idea how to fly a plane. All we are gonna do is hop on a plane that will take us directly to Boston."

Elsa said "But how are you going to figure that out? It's not exactly super obvious which one goes to this Boston place."

Knuckles said "That is why I have this device. *pops out small smartphone like device* This device can track where any plane at any airport is leaving and arriving at. It is something I invented myself just in case criminals tried to kill me with a plane. It has not been done so far, but mankind has become vastly distrusting within the last couple of decades."

Knuckles used the device to see which plane was headed to Boston and he quickly found the one that was headed up north. He told the group to come along and they hid behind the bushes to strategize what their next move was.

Rockhoof asked "How exactly are we supposed to get in there, lass? It looks treacherous."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, no s[BLEEP]t, Sherlock. Of course it looks dangerous. This is probably one of the most guarded airports in the world because of what happened almost 20 years ago. I have an idea to get in though." He told them all the plan and they immediately went to work.

The Guardians and the primary Frozen characters walked up to the gate and noticed the security guard sleeping for a second. North cut out a medium sized hole with one of his swords on both sides of the glass and peeped his head inside the booth. He said with a loud voice "HO, HO, HO! GOOD MORNING TO YA, FELLA!"

The security guard suddenly woke up and was startled to see North there. He said "Santa! What the heck are you doing here?! I thought you were simply a legend!"

North chuckled a bit and said "I am very real. Now, I hope you've been on the nice list this year or else you'll get coal in your stocking!"

The security guard said "Of course! I've been making sure to be good and respectful to everyone around me, despite the fact no one hardly ever seems to do the same."

North said "Is that so? Why is that?"

The security guard said "Well, I'm relatively new to this job and since I'm the rookie, I've been tasked by my boss to guard this area with virtually no help because he hates my guts that much."

North said "I see. Well, I'll make sure to keep note of that. Anyway, I got a little present for you."

The security guard lit up at that and said "Really? What is it, Santa?"

North smiled and said "You'll see." Just then, Elsa came from behind and used her ice powers through the cutout to completely freeze the guard, leaving him completely unable to move.

Elsa said "You know, it seems kind of cold getting him excited about presents and then completely freezing him to solid ice. He sounded like he had a rough life."

North said "Yeah, it is cold. But this was part of the mission. So, we'll have to deal with it and it'll probably melt soon enough anyway."

Meanwhile, Jack, Starswirl, and The Sandman all conjured up fireworks and large gold dinosaurs and such alike as a distraction for the other security guards that were watching the runaway. As you would expect, they got distracted and ran off to go attend to that.

Starswirl said "It actually astonishes me that the human race can be this easily distracted, but Cal- I mean, Knuckles definitely was not wrong about his own kind."

Jack said "Yeah, what exactly is the deal between you and him? The rest of the Guardians tried asking him earlier, but we only got a very vague answer out of him."

Starswirl sighed and said "It's a very complex situation. Me and him have a complicated history and it would take way too much time to explain everything that happened. The best I can give you is I made a mistake long ago and he seeks revenge because of it. I do not believe he will turn to darkness like the foe that vowed to destroy the homeland that I come from, but storing up anger and bitterness for centuries definitely leaves a mark on one's character."

After that distraction, Knuckles, the Mane Six, and the others in this large group ran up to the loads of storage carts that held all the suitcases and hid inside there. The golf cart driver kept driving along, but Knuckles suddenly snuck up behind him and landed a knockout punch on the back of the head. Knuckles stole the outfit from the driver and yeeted him into outer space. He got into the driver's seat and kept driving along. Knuckles finally pulled up to the plane that was going to Boston and got off.

Suddenly, a bunch of security guards loaded with armed guns showed up. Knuckles threw up his hands and said "I am just an employee, fellas. I am simply trying to do my job. Honest!"

The commander said "We know you're a fake! You're not authorized to be back here! Turn around and get on your knees! You're being arrested for trespassing!"

Knuckles did as he was told and right before they could put the handcuffs on him, he threw a backwards punch at the arresting officer and tossed him away. He asked "We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice." The guards came charging at him, so it was clear what their choice was. Knuckles chuckled in disbelief and said "The hard way then. Very well. You will regret this. NOW!" The rest of the group came out from the carts of suitcases and began fighting back alongside Knuckles.

The guards tried to put up a fight, but they were simply no match for the group. Between the physical strength, to the magical power, and intellect were too much for the guards. Twilight and Starlight created a joint lightning beam with Knuckles and that blew back all the guards in the area. Once they were gone, he told them to get on the plane in the cargo area. The others saw what happened and they came just in time. They too got onto the plane and Knuckles was the last one inside.

Rainbow said "I can't believe that worked! Humans are so dumb sometimes!"

Knuckles said "Shhh! Keep quiet! We may have won the battle, but we have not won the war yet. After creating a light show like that, it will put the whole airport on alert and there will be reinforcements coming shortly. So do not make a sound. Once they close the cargo hatch door, then we will be able to travel to Boston."

The reinforcements did come and they searched all around for the intruders they heard about. The leader said "Spread out! Look for any signs of them! They can't be far!" The law enforcement officers searched everywhere they could think of and could not find anything. The leader sighed and said "Very well. Send the plane out! We'll keep the city on high alert!" He shut the door and the ground crew finally came out to guide the plane to the runway.

The plane traveled through the runway and after getting the green light to take off, the plane took to the skies and now, they were all airborne in the sky. It was only about an hour from JFK to Boston Logan, so there was not much going on. Once they touched down in Boston, they all felt the bump that you normally feel whenever you land and they were scattered amongst the cargo area as a result. After some pushing and shoving, the cargo door opened and they filed out.

However, they were suddenly stopped by a bunch of federal agents and the commander yelled "FREEZE! PUT YOUR HANDS UP WHERE I CAN SEE THEM! YOU'RE ALL UNDER ARREST FOR DOMESTIC TERRORISM! GET DOWN ON THE GROUND NOW! TURN AROUND AND GET ON YOUR KNEES!"

Rainbow didn't like the sound of that and yelled "Who do you think you are dictating us?!"

Knuckles glared at her and said "Shut up! These are U.S. federal agents! We are on their land and they have every legal right to arrest us, whether we like it or not! Just go along with it for now."

The commander didn't appreciate the talking and yelled 'HEY, STOP TALKING OVER THERE! TURN AROUND NOW AND GET ON YOUR KNEES! DO NOT MOVE!"

Everyone did as they were told and the federal agents threw everyone into the large vans that were waiting on the runway. They shut the doors and the agents outside yelled to get the vehicles moving. The police escort by the Boston Police Department led the way while cars containing FBI agents and CIA agents were following behind the big vans transporting the group.

Rainbow said "Why are we even being captured in the first place?! We didn't even do anything that serious!"

Rarity said "Well, we did hurt several humans."

Knuckles said "She is right. What we did back in New York would be considered by many as domestic terrorism. I told you, they take this stuff seriously. Ever since that tragic day 18 years ago, anything that is remotely suspicious would be considered domestic terrorism. It might sound ridiculous, but they have every reason to be cautious. America was invaded by a bunch of middle eastern terrorists seeking to destroy the current global superpower and beacon to the rest of the world. What those imbeciles failed to understand is that once America is attacked, we fight back with greater power than the enemy has ever seen. They failed to take down the United States, but the effects of it still linger to this day, I fear."

Pinkie said "But why are they so mean?! I understand we broke rules, but they could have been nicer about it."

Knuckles said "Well, considering who they were dealing with, I do not blame them. You are all unknown to this world, so there obviously is extra caution. Plus, the last time America let down their guard like that, almost 3,000 people were killed and billions of dollars of damage was sustained, so they have all the reasons in the world to act aggressive. It sounds cruel to you guys, but unfortunately, this is how the human world operates. You may not like it, but there is nothing we can do about it."

Rarity said "It almost reminds me of you were when we all first met."

Knuckles sighed and said "Yes, and I still regret that. I should have known better than to act hostile towards you ponies. So much crap has gone on in my life at that point and yet, I still acted with malice when I should not have done that. I guess the power of friendship is a force to be reckoned with and a powerful one indeed. I almost feel sympathetic to these guys because most of them were probably around when that terrible act of terrorism was unfolding. A good chunk of them probably lost family members that day and I know from personal experience, that is never fun. They are probably only acting with the same kind of defense that I did so long ago. It's saddening to see."

Starlight asked "Where are they taking us exactly? These windows are incredibly small and I can't really make anything out on where we could possibly be at." As if on cue, the vans suddenly stopped at a gate and the guards were talking for a minute to both the driver and passenger to ask what was in the back. Once he got his answer, he let all of the vans through and closed the gate after the final federal agent car.

Knuckles took a look out the small window and recognized the building right away. The lines of windows gave it away.

Twilight noticed the concern on her husband's face and asked him "What is it, Caleb? Where are we at?"

Knuckles sighed and said "I hoped to never see this building again, but I was wrong yet again."

Applejack said "What buildin' might that be, partner?"

Knuckles said with dread "The John F. Kennedy Federal Building." All of them drew blanks and they didn't understand what was so bad about it, so Knuckles knew he had to explain. He said "This building is quite famous in the city of Boston because President John F. Kennedy was originally from here and after he was killed in 1963, they named this building after him. But what is concerning is the amount of federal agencies that are in this building, including the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, and the worst one yet, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. All of these agencies have been after my tribe for years and they're determined to charge me with a crime."

Sunburst asked "What exactly makes the last agency you mentioned so bad?"

Knuckles said "The reason why it is so bad in particular is because they are part of the Department of Homeland Security and that whole agency deals with any threats that are considered foreign to the United States. Even if they are not terrorists, they can still face consequences. Entering sovereign American borders illegally will put anyone in serious legal consequences and what often happens is deportation. Even though we are just going to a federal building, Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers tend to be here a lot and neither of those kinds of agents messes around. If they can successfully prove that you entered this country illegally, they will have you deported in a heartbeat."

Fluttershy asked "Um, what is deportation?"

Knuckles said "Deportation is the action of deporting a foreigner from a country. Basically, it means they ship you back to your home country. So for example, if I came from Guatemala and entered the United States illegally, federal agents could deport me back there if they could successfully convict me of a crime such as stealing someone else's social security number, which has been done before. These are not very nice people, so I simply ask you follow my lead. Do not question it. It will make things much easier if you just go along with my plan."

The vans came to a stop and the doors were swung open. There were guns pointed at the group and they were told to move along. Knuckles looked around him and saw all kinds of law enforcement here. Boston Police Department officers, Massachusetts State Police Troopers, FBI agents, CIA agents, CBP agents, ICE agents and even DHS agents too. It was almost as if the group were just a bunch of domestic terrorists or were in possession of certain files of young children that were highly inappropriate and illegal. You know what I'm talking about.

They were escorted to an interrogation room and they were each sat down and told to wait. A new voice said "Well, this case is certainly going to be interesting. Those da[BLEEP] agents always having to ruin my f[BLEEP]ing coffee time." He sat down and looked to see who graced his presence this time. He couldn't believe his eyes who he was staring at. "Knuckles?! Oh, this just got good."

Knuckles grit his teeth and said bitterly "Jeremy!" The two glared at each other intensely and it left everyone else confused.

Rainbow asked "Uhh, Knuckles? Who exactly is this?"

Knuckles maintained his glare at Jeremy and said "This is Jeremy Allen. I unfortunately know him because we went to the same schools together. He bullied me from elementary school up to middle school, but I exacted my revenge against him in high school, so I called it even."

Jeremy rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, you were practically the most feared man in high school. Ever since you and that girl were together, no one dared to cross your path. Where is she anyway? I haven't seen her since we graduated high school."

Knuckles growled at him and said "In case you have not heard already, she was killed in a severe car accident back home two weeks after her birthday and three months after getting her Master's Degree. Never even got to propose to her to become my wife. I was a week too late. I was there when it happened and my truck got absolutely destroyed on the right side where she was sitting. F[BLEEP]ing criminal had to take her away from me."

Jeremy raised a brow and said "How long ago did that happen?"

Knuckles sighed and said "It has been over 10 years since she was tragically killed. It was Valentine's Day 2009 when it happened." Just hearing that wanted to make Twilight cry, and Knuckles wanted to weep bitterly as well, but he could not show weakness at the moment. Not in front of a childhood bully.

Jeremy was stunned at that and said "Geez, that sucks, man, really it does, but I can't say I didn't see it coming."

Knuckles gave him a sudden scowl and said "What is that supposed to mean?!" The rest of them were wondering that too, since it sounded so insensitive.

Jeremy said "That girl was always so intoxicating and annoying to be around because of her personality, does it really surprise you that much? News Flash Knuckles: Not everything in this world is sunshine and rainbows. We live in a dark, cruel, selfish world where we all just merely tolerate each other begrudgingly and if someone acts up, they suffer the penalty of death."

Knuckles snorted at him and said "I know that, you fool. You don't fully understand the amount of pain and trauma I have been through in almost the last 30 years and even though you probably experienced terrible things as well, they pale in comparison."

Jeremy just chuckled at that sentiment like it was the stupidest thing he ever heard and said "I may not have even liked that ridiculous girl that much, but it seems like someone else beat me to the punch."

Everyone was just horrified at that statement and they didn't know what to say to that. Knuckles snarled with anger and said "You are truly sick! I know you were never the biggest fan of Maddi, but that gives you no right to wish death upon her! You are lucky I am in handcuffs right now, because if I was not, I would reach across this table and smack you so hard across the face you would not see straight for the next month! So watch your f[BLEEP]ing mouth buddy or else you are going to pay for it!"

Jeremy simply smirked and said "Oh, I quiver with FEAR!"

Knuckles growled at him and said "Why are not you terrified?! You should be terrified of me! I beat your a[BLEEP] in high school, and I can do it again!"

Jeremy laughed and said "If this were high school, yes I would be terrified. But we're not in high school anymore. We're in the real world. Most teachers are pretty terrible at stopping fights, but I have every kind of federal agent guarding this place and they can put you out of commission real quick."

Knuckles glared at him and said "Is that right? Well, let me tell you buddy, I could destroy everyone in this room right now with a single lightning strike and would still walk out unscathed."

Jeremy laughed once more and said "What are you now, Thor?! I know you were always such a big Marvel FREAK, but I didn't think it would soar to this level. This is not Asgard! You can't just simply show up with the Shakespeare outfit and swing around a hammer that can somehow summon lightning. Get a grip on reality!"

Knuckles growled in frustration and said "Why are you even here anyway?!"

Jeremy grinned with glee and said "I'm glad you asked. *makes a serious face* You mind telling me what the f[BLEEP] you were doing SNEAKING ONTO AN AIRPLANE IN NEW YORK?! I was just sipping my coffee when I got a call from the NYPD stating there were a bunch of weird creatures that assaulted a bunch of security guards and then sneaked into the cargo area of a massive commercial aircraft! Do you know how bad this looks for me?! My boss was hot on my a[BLEEP] after hearing that. You of all people should know how serious this is. All it does is prove your doubters right about how much of a disgrace you were. Now because of your mess, I can't get my coffee break in and have to deal with this mess."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and said "No one cares about your stupid a[BLEEP] coffee breaks! I have good reasons why I did that. But how are you even here in Boston? Why do you even work here?!"

Jeremy said "You remember that field trip we took long ago back in high school?"

Knuckles nodded and said "Yeah, I remember that. Some of your buddies thought it was a good idea to flirt with Maddi and they suffered my wrath because of it."

Jeremy said "Yeah, I tried to warn them, but they insisted upon it. Regardless though, after we made that visit, it solidified my belief of waiting to build my future in Boston. Ever since I was a kid, I've wanted to be in Boston. But my f[BLEEP]ing parents wanted to be in f[BLEEP]ing Baltimore for some stupid a[BLEEP] reason and I had to put up with that for eighteen years. However, once I became an adult, I found a job here and moved up north here and have been ever since."

Knuckles rubbed his temples and said "I know Baltimore was not that great, but it was still home. I could never leave that place despite it being so terrible to me because that is where home was. I might not have lived directly in the city, but I was still in the metropolitan area. I should have known you wanted to be up here."

Jeremy said "Whatever. But we are getting sidetracked here. We have to address the crime at hand here. Who in their right mind told you it was a good idea to sneak onto an aircraft and assault a bunch of armed security guards while you're at it?! Do you know how bad that looks for you?! We're not talking about BWI here, this is JFK in New York! Did you forget what happened in that city eighteen years ago?! It's not a good look for you."

Knuckles growled and said "Of course I remember what happened there! Our entire class watched both towers fall on live television while we were in high school. Plus, I lost both my uncle and my cousin that day when the towers fell. I am well aware of that. However, I was trying to find a way to get to Boston without having to draw a lot of attention to myself because the city was starting to become unstable from all of the natural unbalance going on there."

Jeremy returned the glare and said "What?! By bringing extra terrestrial creatures here who aren't even legal citizens of the United States?! Yeah, you of all people should know that would bring unnatural imbalance. You were always the smart one in our classes and were only rivaled by Maddi who ironically enough, finished higher in our graduating class than you did."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, only by one. I was the Salutatorian of the class of 2003 while Maddi was the Valedictorian. We were practically neck and neck with each other when it came to knowledge."

Jeremy also rolled his eyes and said "I know. It was insufferable to watch. Most of the teachers had to ban you guys from answering questions because both of you knew all of them all the time. You never gave anyone else a chance. Anyways, we're getting sidetracked again! You should be locked away just by bringing creatures here who are not native to our homeland!"

Knuckles said "HEY! Do not insult them like that. They are sentient beings just like you and me and the one sitting next to me happens to be my wife."

Jeremy laughed hysterically and said "Yo-you what?! *laughs hysterically* Yo-you married a f[BLEEP]ing horse?! *laughs some more* That has got to be the dumbest thing you've done to date." When he saw that Knuckles' expression had not changed, he realized that Knuckles was actually serious. He said "Oh, you're serious. Why on Earth would you do that?! You're an American citizen. Interspecies relationships are illegal here in the United States and the penalties are quite severe. Hefty fines, possible jail time, and you even have to be put on the sex offender registry."

Knuckles said "Yeah, that is in the United States, but I have not lived in the United States since March 7th, 2009. My primary place of residence now is in Equestria, where all of the ponies, not horses, sit before you are from."

Jeremy said "You can't just give up your American citizenship like that. You are still bound by American laws regardless of where you live."

Knuckles said "Yes, but I am also an Equestrian citizen too. I have the legal documents to prove it. I legally became a citizen there not after I moved there. I have dual citizenship, which is allowed in the United States. So technically, I am an American citizen and an Equestrian citizen. Go suck d[BLEEP] and take a hike!"

Twilight hit him in the arm and said with a scolding voice "Caleb, language!"

Jeremy was surprised by that and said "She knows your real name. The only person you allowed to do that was Maddi, I guess you trust this "pony" enough to have her say your real name all the time."

Knuckles said with a hard glare "Yeah, and she will continue to be the only one who can use it. Everyone else must address me by my nickname, including you! Besides, you are going after the wrong people. Who you should be going after is Pitch Black and the Pony of Shadows. They caused all that chaos in New York and walked away unscathed, yet you want to persecute the ones who are trying to stop them? What an idiot. If they have their way, our entire universe will cease to exist!"

Jeremy just sighed and said "Yeah, okay buddy. Keep living in your stupid fantasy dream if that's what you want to believe. Look, we're getting nowhere with this. Since you provide no coherent answer why you would commit an act of terrorism, you shall be sentenced to life in prison because you crossed state lines and it has become a federal crime. As for your friends, they will be deported back to their home countries."

All of them were shocked to hear this and Twilight said "No! You can't do that! I won't let you take my husband away like that!"

Jeremy turned over to Twilight with a sneer and said "Listen here, you f[BLEEP]ing animal! What your "husband" did is a serious crime in the United States and it is treated like treason. This isn't some stupid little girl land where all is forgiven and we forget it ever happened. We don't do that in America! He committed a crime and he shall be punished for it! I'd rather take him out myself, but I have a job to do, so f[BLEEP] off and return to your stupid horse land!"

The group sat there in stunned silence as they couldn't believe a human being spoke that way to royalty and the rest of the Mane Six knew what was coming after that. Twilight now had tears in her eyes in this point because of the rude insult and Knuckles was beyond furious at this point. His eyes were glowing red and his hair was on fire. To say he was ticked off would be an understatement.

He gave Jeremy a death glare and said "Alright, that is it! I have run out of patience! NO ONE AND I MEAN NO ONE, INSULTS MY WIFE LIKE THAT! YOU SAY YOU WILL TAKE ME OUT, I WILL PERSONALLY TAKE YOU OUT FIRST! YOU ARE NOT LOCKING ME AWAY! WE ARE LEAVING RIGHT NOW!"

Jeremy said "Not so fast! You're not going anywhere! First, you try to dispute your crime, and now you want to raise your voice at me?! Real smart there, Knuckles! You think you can get yourself out of here, but you should be careful how you do that! You walk out that door, and you become a wanted criminal! Do you really want that for yourself?! I can't afford to lose my job because of your ignorance!"

Knuckles didn't care and said "Well, I guess that's a problem you will have to solve yourself! I made a vow to protect all life and if that means I am on the run from the law as a result, then so be it! Now like I said, we are getting out of here and you are not stopping us! We can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice!"

Jeremy growled at him and said "That's it! I'm through with you! Guards! Get them out of here!"

Knuckles snarled at him and said "Oh I do not think so!" He broke free of the handcuffs and charged up his red lightning. Jeremy balled up his fists as well and the two of them went to go for the punch to the face. Both of their fists collided and it created a large shockwave. It broke everyone free of their handcuffs as well and created blowback for any loose objects in the room. Jeremy was electrocuted from the red lightning and fell unconscious. Knuckles saw the guards coming and he knew he had to act fast.

He threw a golden ring and it opened a portal to a random field. He looked at the group and said "Go! I will be right behind you!" Everyone moved through and the guards came rushing through the door. Knuckles raised his hand up into the air and brought red lightning down to the floor to cause the ceiling to collapse. The portal closed and Knuckles had to get out of there. Even though the guards from the front door were blocked, there were still more coming from the other two sides, plus there were reinforcements trying to get through the blockade. Knuckles realized he had no choice and ran right through the window. The glass shattered and Knuckles free fell to the ground. He summoned a shield to protect himself from the fall, but when he hit the ground, it still hurt quite badly. He groaned in pain and started taking off running.

He tried to get out through the gate, but he saw more guards coming from all sides. He stopped and looked around him. The guards charged at him and Knuckles just stood there. He closed his eyes and sighed as he thought his next move. He yelled out his battle cry and started fighting them off one by one. He performed his various forms of martial arts like he was trained for years and basically kicked you know what. The guards tried every single tactic you could think of, including the piling on top of him, but Knuckles had a counter defense for each and every one. Knuckles concluded with the large shockwave that blew everyone back and created a hedge of rocks from the ground around him.

He grunted and said "Way too easy. These pathetic humans still fail to defeat me. I shall take my exit now." He threw his ring and stepped through the portal where the rest of the group was waiting. Knuckles said "My apologies. I got a little tied up with some personnel that did not want me to leave so soon. I may be part of the human race, but they absolutely suck when it comes to fighting. Even the bigger dudes did not do much. It's like they do not even try. They were big, but I have fought bigger. Pathetic."

Rarity noticed shards of glass on Knuckles and said "Knuckles! You have shards of glass all over your shoulders!"

Knuckles looked and saw them. He pulled them out and slightly winced in pain. He said "I guess that what happens when you jump out a window after smashing it. *notices he is starting to bleed* Oh dear. I am bleeding. No problem though. I know where we can go."

Knuckles started walking through the field and the rest of the group followed him. They stopped in front of this large property and Rainbow asked "Umm, Knuckles? What is this place?"

Knuckles said "This is one of the family properties for the Echidna tribe. Even though most of the tribe resided in Baltimore, there were some that branched out further up and down the East Coast. The biggest family property we have is in the northeastern corner of Greenbelt, MD and that has been there for thousands of years, but this is a smaller one that is used occasionally as well."

He walked up to the door and looked through the window to see if anyone was home. He pulled out his thermal device and saw no body movement inside. He took out the pair of keys he was given and opened the door. He motioned for everyone to come in and said "Well, I will be right back, I need to go clean up before I get blood all over the floor. Make yourselves at home for now. Do not touch anything valuable though. There is way too many valuable items here that are sacred to the tribe and I do not want any of you touching them." He walked away and went to find the first aid kit.

The rest of them stood in silence for a few seconds. Starlight asked "So now what do we do?"

Rarity said "Well, you heard him. He told us to make ourselves at home as long as we don't touch his stuff."

Sunburst asked "But why would anyone try to touch it anyway?"

Starswirl said "I'm afraid he directed that at me and the rest of the Pillars. He knows that we took the most precious artifact from his tribe, so naturally, he doesn't trust any of us with anything and wants to protect his tribal secrets from us."

Jack said "Yeah, it makes you wonder why he is that way to begin with."

Elsa said "Yeah, why is that? We all want to know why Knuckles hates you guys so much and don't give us the "it's because we stole his artifact" excuse. We know it runs much deeper than that."

The rest of them agreed and wanted to know why the Pillars and Knuckles hated each other so much.

Flash said "Look, we don't have time to discuss this. We have enemies on the loose at the moment and the last thing we need to be doing is discussing prior beef with a human."

Rockhoof said "Aye, lassie. We simply don't have the time, lasses."

Starswirl said "Both of them are right. The Pony of Shadows and this Pitch Black guy seek to end all that is here before us and we neither have the time or place to discuss the past. The only thing we can do is prepare for the battle that is to come."

Rainbow said "Well, he's obviously mad for some reason. Plus, what makes you think we will able to stop them if we have a divide between you guys?"

Kristoff said "She's right. Villains tend to capitalize on any sort of weaknesses that their opponents may have. The two of them can sense that divide and use it to their advantage. If we want to defeat them, we must address this problem."

Twilight said "It's no use. He's not going to budge. He has made it very clear he doesn't want to talk about it. I know the current crisis we have on our hooves and hands, but we must let him talk about it on his own terms. You must understand that Knuckles does not like to talk about anything personal when he is forced to. He's only going to hide it more. I know. I've tried before and he did not budge. If you let him come to us naturally, it will be much easier. If you force him, he's not going to do it. Now, I must go attend to my husband and make sure he isn't bleeding to death."

Twilight walked away and went to find Knuckles. She eventually found him and she went up to him. Knuckles was wincing in pain trying to wipe the wound, but he wasn't having much success. Twilight said "Here. Let me do it. I know you don't like help from others that much, but let your princess and wife take care of you."

Knuckles didn't protest and let her do it. He still winced in pain a little bit and it made Twilight concerned. She asked him "Caleb, why do you continue to compromise your own health for our safety? First you had the lightning strike and now, you had the shards of glass in your shoulders."

Knuckles said "It is my sacred duty to protect those I care for. I made a vow to protect this planet at all costs and even though I no longer live here, this is where the tribe is from, so I must do whatever it takes in order to uphold that promise."

Twilight said "That is very honorable, but I don't want to lose you at the same time. You are the only one I have ever loved and I don't want that taken away from me. That's why I was so scared when you were almost taken to prison."

Knuckles said "Yeah, my classmate is such a do[BLEEP]bag, but I would never let him take me to prison. I have a business to run, a beautiful wife and kid to take care of, and a friend to those around me."

Twilight suddenly had tears in her eyes and asked "Caleb, do all humans think I'm just an animal? Do they think I'm something worthless?"

Knuckles held her close and said "Of course not and do not let that idiot tell you otherwise. Sadly, there are many people that believe that, but they are not important in life. I am a human and I care very much about you. I love you. I would give up everything for you. Do not ever let my kind deceive you into believing you are not valuable. You are far more valuable than anyone I could imagine. Well, the first since Maddi of course, but you get my point."

Twilight smiled and said "Thank you, Caleb. I know I can always count on you to be there when I need you."

Knuckles gave a grin and said "It is my duty to cherish and honor my wife. It is the commitment I made being part of the tribe. Now come, we must prepare for our greatest struggle ahead."

The two of them came to the living room and the rest of them were sitting on the couches and chairs that were there. Knuckles sat down and said "So here we are. Isolated on my home planet and fighting two opponents that seek to destroy everything in our existence. It is a lot to take in and we must plan carefully. I shall begin my preparation and assess what our next move is."

Rainbow asked "Are we even safe at the moment? Since we left, we're considered criminals now. How do we know they are not gonna come looking for us?"

Knuckles said "We are in Princeton, Massachusetts. It is an hour from Boston. They will not find us here. The house we are in is covered by a mile long worth of trees. Any time our tribe has had to hide from the federal government, this is where we go because of how remote the location is. Now I must leave."

He headed to the garage and found a brand new 2020 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 1LE sitting there. He said "This is what a car looks like up close. Since nobody is here, I will need to borrow it for a little bit."

Twilight said "You can't go back out there! You're still injured! You need to rest!"

Knuckles turned his head over his shoulder and said "I am an Enchina warrior. We do not rest. We train and then we fight to the death. I am the last of my kind, so it is my sacred duty to uphold the values of the tribe."

Flash said "She's right. Even though you say you are a fierce warrior, even they have to give themselves adequate rest before they can continue fighting."

Knuckles walked up to Flash Magnus and glared at him. He said "What could you possibly know about being a warrior?! You and the rest of your pathetic friends are dead to me and you all are a different issue. I am focusing on the threat ahead of us, but once we are done with that, I will deal with you scumbags once and for all!"

Jack asked "Don't you think though you should have at least someone accompany you? It is dangerous to be alone like that."

Twilight said "I agree. At least allow me, your wife, to come with you."

Knuckles shook his head and said "No, in order to prepare for battle, there must be no distractions. I must be alone to achieve that. That means no one comes with me, including you, Twilight. Especially you. I could never forgive myself if something happened to you. But here: take this." He tossed her a small device and Twilight caught it with her magic. He said "That is something I developed a long time ago. If something happens to me, you will receive an alert and you can come rescue me should that happen. The rest of you can plan and research to figure out what you want to do, but I must begin my quest so that I can search deep inside and meditate so I will be the best prepared for battle."

He stepped inside the Camaro and examined the inside. He was pretty impressed with it, but he didn't have time to stare at it all day. He pressed the start stop button and the 6.2L Supercharged LT4 V8 roared to life with the classic Chevrolet chime following afterwards. After letting it warm up for a minute, he put it in gear and drove slowly out of the driveway. Once he was out onto the main road, he accelerated and disappeared into the countryside. The group watched the Camaro disappear and headed back inside.

Knuckles drove down the open country roads and he was more impressed with the car as he went along. The digital rearview mirror definitely helped and he knew from others that the Camaro was one of the worst cars to drive because of the blind spots, but it seemed like General Motors fixed that problem, so it was good. It had been a long time since Knuckles drove a Chevrolet, but you could tell he still got it after 10 years. He turned on the radio to see if there was anything he liked, but something caught his attention.

The local radio in the area said there was breaking news out of Boston. A group of unidentified creatures escaped the JFK Federal Building and the Massachusetts State Police issued arrest warrants for all of them. Their leader, who had jumped out of a 26 story window, was now number one on the FBI's most wanted list and the newscast said if they had any information on their whereabouts, contact their local police department. Knuckles realized that they were talking about him and the rest of the group and that made him worried. He simply growled and turned off the radio. He didn't want to hear any of this anymore.

As he raced down the road, he was silent and was deep in his own thoughts. What was he going to do? How was he going to deal with these two threats? How was he going to ignore the divide he had with the Pillars? How was he going to be a leader? How was he going to provide for his wife? What if he couldn't protect her? What if something happened to her? The thought of losing her terrified him and he couldn't bear to suffer that kind of searing loss again. He shook away those thoughts and kept driving.

Meanwhile, Pitch was watching the Camaro roar down the road from the evil lair he had set up and he simply grinned. The Pony of Shadows was getting annoyed and said "Ugh, when can we attack these creatures?! I'm getting SICK AND TIRED of waiting! We should strike NOW!"

Pitch smiled and turned around to face the Pony of Shadows. He said "Patience is key, my friend. We will attack them in due time. We don't want to rush ourselves too quickly."

The Pony of Shadows asked with skepticism "Well, what is the best way to defeat all of them? There is only two of us and there is a lot of them. Plus, this Knuckles fellow seems to be very strong."

Pitch said "You're right. Knuckles should not be underestimated. But as strong as that human is, he does have weaknesses. Without his little friends, he is vulnerable. Things might look fine now, but it's clear that there is a divide between him and these Pillar enemies of yours. It's clearly a distraction and something that will make him lose focus. This will tear them apart from the inside out. If we can successfully exploit that weakness to our advantage, all of them will fall to us."

The Pony of Shadows then asked "Then how exactly do we do that?"

Pitch gave an evil grin and said "Easy. We bring up all the things of his past and use that as ammo to instigate the conflict. We know Knuckles is quick to anger, so that will be a piece of cake. Then, we get them to fight each other as a way to split the divide even further. Finally, when they are all scattered, we'll simply take them out one at a time and then we'll rule over them and treat them like slaves!"

The Pony of Shadows smiled and said "Sounds easy enough to me. What are we waiting for?"

Pitch chuckled and said "Before we can do that, we must create a little... distraction to keep him away for a little bit. He will have NO IDEA what is coming and ALL OF THEM will bow BEFORE US!" The both of them laughed evilly and it was clear that they would defeat the group by using the divide of Knuckles and the Pillars to their advantage. One thing was for certain, if our heroes don't resolve it soon, they may be in for a lot of trouble. That was a guarantee.

Author's Note

AN: I apologize for this chapter coming out so late after I made my announcement stating I was returning. Between three roadtrips, getting sick four times in two months, returning to school, working full time, and suffering from writer's block, it took much longer than necessary. I won't try to do this again in the future. Hopefully, I can keep a more consistent schedule and the chapters should be shorter too since this one was quite long. On a different note, I will say though I didn't like how the NFL season ended this year. I thought that the Baltimore Ravens were going to win the Super Bowl this year, but they had to be defeated by the new age New England Patriots known as the Kansas City Chiefs and watch them hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Free agency hasn't been too hot so far besides signing Derrick Henry, but anything is still possible. However, I'm not liking our odds, so we'll see how next year goes. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: Reevaluating! After the fiasco in New York and Boston, the group has to reassess how they are going to move forward. But beware! The villains already have a scheme to further divide them and scatter them to make it easier to defeat them. Will our heroes be able to figure things out or will the heroes' divide be their demise?

Until then, my fellow readers