DISCLAIMER: THERE WILL BE POLITICAL TALK MENTIONED HERE! IT'S JUST PART OF A CASUAL CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO FRIENDS! I AM NOT ATTACKING ANYONE FOR THEIR POLITICAL BELIEFS NOR AM I MAKING A STANCE ON WHERE MINE ARE! DO NOT GET OFFENDED BY THIS! IT IS FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY! ENJOY THE CHAPTER!

Knuckles was flying down the road in the Camaro and enjoyed the open country roads. He couldn't stand the silence anymore and put on some rock music to lighten up the mood. Like for the many other times in his life, Knuckles could always find solace in rock music. That was the only genre of music that he actually liked. Every other one to him completely sucked and he had no interest in listening to that kind of music. Regardless though, rock music was one of the few remaining things from his childhood that wasn't terrible. Most of those things were terrible, but this was one of those that was not.

As he was racing down the road, he received a phone call from Mark, his bass guitarist in his band, and he picked it up by pressing the answer button on the steering wheel. He said "Hello?"

Mark said "Hey man, how are you doing at the moment?"

Knuckles said "Well, I wish things would be better, but considering that I am even still alive, I'll take it."

Mark said "Yeah, after getting hit by a lightning strike and successfully traveling to another state by plane, I can only imagine."

Knuckles was baffled by that and asked "How do you know about that?! You weren't even there!"

Mark said "Dude, have you not paid attention? The whole fiasco over the last 48 hours has been all over the news and I'm not just talking about cable news. It's on the front page of every newspaper that is at gas stations and restaurants, articles are being written online, and people are posting videos about it on every single kind of social media you can think of."

Knuckles couldn't believe it and said with a scoff "I hate the 21st century sometimes. Everything is so easy to document these days. As Jasper Sitwell put it in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, "The 21st century is a digital book. Zola taught HYDRA how to read it. Your bank records, medical histories, voting patterns, emails, phone calls, your da[BLEEP]n SAT scores!" That was just from an algorithm from an action movie. Think about how it is in real life. We worked in the federal government for over a decade at the Pentagon. We know how it works. Anytime the federal government sees someone as a threat, they simply go to the NSA and collect information on their target before SWAT raiding their house German Blitzkrieg style."

Mark said "Yeah, those Marvel movies seemed to predict future events it seems like."

Knuckles said "Well, it isn't quite like the Simpsons, where they can somehow predict all of these massive events decades before it even happens. Rather, they simply tell how society will eventually be because of certain events that may happen. That was the whole idea. Marvel was ahead of its time back then and we can clearly see these days that they were spot on with that prediction."

Mark said "I know you might not want to hear this, but an event like this will tarnish our reputation as a band. People are already talking about how someone could do something so reckless and some are already calling for your head. It's even garnered the attention of the bureaucrats in Washington, including the President."

Knuckles seemed stunned by that and said "Huh. I never thought that Obama would pay attention to me like that."

Mark said "Dude, Barack Obama is not the President anymore."

Knuckles said "What? He was president when I disappeared ten years ago. Who is President now?"

Mark said "Donald Trump. The 45th President of the United States."

Knuckles couldn't believe it and said "The business guy that was always on TV discussing financial things and had his own show too? That is the guy who became President of the most powerful country in the world?!"

Mark said "Yeah, that guy."

Knuckles was left speechless and said "I saw that famous interview once where he said he might entertain the idea of running for President, but I thought he was never serious. How long ago did he become President?"

Mark said "He's been in the White House since January 20th, 2017. Everyone thought Hillary Clinton was going to run away with the 2016 Presidential Election, but when they woke up the next morning, they found out Donald Trump was going to be the next president."

Knuckles snorted and said "Well, it's a good thing she never became president. I still despise her husband and I bet she would have enacted the same policies if she was in power. It was because of Bill that my uncle and cousin are dead from the collapse of the Twin Towers from 9/11. Plus, for the short time that I was here when she was in the Obama Administration, I thought she was a terrible Secretary of State and never did her job properly."

Mark said "Well, despite the shellshocker, it hasn't been a cake walk for Trump either."

Knuckles said "That doesn't surprise me. Mankind is incredibly easy to manipulate these days and it has been that way for thousands of years. I wasn't always the biggest fan of his personality, but I knew his heart was in the right place."

Mark said "You'd be one of the only people to think so. Most people seem to believe he is literally Hitler and he'll start World War III, despite the fact so far at least, he's the only President in the 21st century who has not started any new wars. Sure, he has the mean tweets, but the economy is looking better than ever. I don't think I've ever seen the economy this good in my lifetime."

Knuckles said "Yeah, I have noticed how strong the economy has been in the couple days I have been back here. How is the housing market doing? Last time I lived here in America, the 2008 housing crisis was still going on."

Mark said "Actually, it is doing well right now. The APR rate is at 3.5%, the average resale rate is $275,000, and homes that were worth $2 million resold for a record 40%."

Knuckles said "Wow, that's a lot better than how things were back in 2009."

Mark said "Also, gas prices have been quite cheap as well. $2.60 a gallon. In fact, from what I heard on business articles, the United States is exporting more oil to other countries than we are importing it from foreign nations. In other words, we are energy independent."

Knuckles said "It's such a shame that mankind absolutely despises one man because he is trying to do right by the American people. I know what that feels like. My tribe tried protecting humanity for centuries and even still, there were those who wanted nothing to do with us. Speaking of which, I now have no idea what I am going to do with this situation. Everywhere I go, I am a wanted man and if anyone sees me, I'm as good as dead. They'll immediately report me to the authorities and they'll take me away to be sent off for execution."

Mark said "What you need to do is go make things right. Go to the authorities and confess what you did."

Knuckles said "I can't do that!"

Mark said "Why not?"

Knuckles said "Two villains are out on the loose. They have already caused so much chaos. I have to lead this large group that I have. I might not be their de facto leader officially, but they have looked to me for this mission. Plus, I have both a wife and daughter to take care of. While my precious girl is back in Equestria, she cannot survive without her parents forever. My butler can only do so much. We still haven't found a way to get back to Equestria. I also cannot afford to lose my wife after what happened to Maddi. I cannot bear that kind of searing loss again. Both of the places I have called "home" if you would, are in grave danger and it's my sacred duty to defend them against evil. I bear the responsibility of protecting my place of residence against all darkness that ever comes across my way and I intend on upholding that promise, no matter the consequences."

Mark said "While that is very honorable, that problem still lies over your head. If you confess now, things will be much easier for you. The longer you wait, the worse it will be for you. Already, I have to be in a secluded location so that no one knows that I am talking to you, the most wanted criminal in America right now. If you continue to wait it out, it's only going to get worse. You can't even go on any major highway anymore without seeing a whole bunch of state troopers patrolling the area waiting to arrest you. Even the public roads have local and county police strolling up and down looking for you. All I'm saying is if you surrender now, things will go along much easier. But the more you resist, the harder it will be for you."

Knuckles found this irritating and said "They're going after the wrong creatures anyway. Pitch Black and the Pony of Shadows should be the ones that they pursue, but like in typical superhero movie fashion, law enforcement wants to go after the hero trying to protect the people instead of the villain causing destruction. It's pathetic."

Mark said "I know it is, man. Believe me. I'm with you. It is not right. But it's up to you to make things right and even explain things like it should be. That's all I have to say. I have to go now. I have some business to attend to and I better get off before the FBI comes to raid my house."

Knuckles sighed and said "I understand. You stay safe out there man. Can't afford to lose my bass guitarist."

Mark laughed a bit and said "I think you need to. We can't afford to lose the leader of our band. You take care. I'll see you later."

Knuckles smiled and said "See ya later man. Bye." He pressed the button on the steering wheel to end the call and kept driving. He sighed once again and asked himself "What am I going to do? If I go to Washington, I'll lose everything, but if I remain hidden, my friends and family will be put in danger and Pitch and the Pony of Shadows wins. I can't let that happen. I must think of something." He sped up some more and continued driving quickly down the road.

Meanwhile, back at the house, everyone was gathered in the living room. For some of the group, they seemed content with being away from the rest of human civilization. For others, they were afraid of being considered criminals of the United States, the most powerful nation on Earth.

Applejack said "So, how are y'all feeling about this so far?" Oh boy Applejack, what a great question to ask. You just opened a can of worms by asking such a stupid question.

Rainbow asked with annoyance "Applejack, why do you always ask questions that open a can of worms?"

Before either of them could get into it, Twilight stopped it immediately. She said "We don't have time to get into arguments. Look, we are at an impasse right now. We have two villains out on the loose right now and now, we have made enemies with a foreign nation. One that is indeed formidable and one that should not be underestimated. Knuckles is preparing himself for battle at the moment and despite my personal feelings about it, that is how it is. To be honest, all of us should do the same. Our enemies are planning something sinister and if we don't act soon, the entire universe will be in grave danger."

Rarity asked "But what are we going to do with this other issue? I hate the idea of being seen as a criminal. We didn't even do that much wrong."

Pinkie said "Yeah, these government humans are not very nice! They are really mean!"

Starlight said "As much as we hate this, they have reason to come after us. We are in a foreign nation and as a result, we are bound by their laws. I don't feel like they have much of a case here, but until we are proven innocent in a court of law, we are seen as guilty by the will of the people."

Sunburst said "I agree with Starlight. All of this seems ridiculous, but we must respect the rule of law here regardless of our personal feelings about it. Knuckles is the only one knowledgeable about this situation and is the only one that can get us out of it successfully."

Rainbow whispered to Applejack "When did they become so smart about another country's laws?" Applejack just shrugged at the remark.

Starlight obviously heard that and said with irritation "Twilight is not the only one who studies up on how the legal system works. Ever since my *clears throat* unfortunate incident a few years back, I've read books on the legal system and Knuckles has shared countless stories with me about the legal system in the United States. It came with the territory of what he has been through and it makes me think he could be a lawyer someday because of his expertise in the subject."

Starswirl asked "What do you mean exactly by what he has been through? As far as we know, he has done nothing but slander myself and the Pillars and disregard the accomplishments we've made over a thousand years ago."

The ponies could only shake their heads and Twilight said "You really don't know, do you? After being gone for a thousand years, you all seemed to act like you were the experts on Knuckles."

Flash Magnus said "As far as we could tell, you all were only with him for a short time. We were with him for a couple of years. Sure, he was very young, but we were still there regardless. So even though we were gone for centuries, we were with him long enough to have a proper analysis of how he behaves."

Kristoff jumped in and asked "How can you have a proper analysis of someone when they are a young child? The mind is still developing and it hasn't reached its full potential yet. So any mistakes he may have made as a child would have disappeared when he became an adult."

Anna said "Yeah, that is an improper analysis. From what it sounds like, Knuckles was less than 5 years old when all this occurred. Someone that young behaves a lot differently than when they are a full grown adult. All of us in this room knows what that feels like."

Somnumbala said "While that may be true, none of you know the full story and history between ourselves and Knuckles."

Twilight said "None of us ever claimed to. I am his wife, and there are still many things that he has not told me or my friends because he doesn't want to burden us with it. He shared with me his darkest secrets, but he shields this conflict between you guys away from me for my own protection if I had to guess. You were not around for this, but I soon came to realize that Knuckles isn't mean because he wants to, he does it to protect us and he doesn't want us to find out his dark past because he's ashamed of it. So what if we don't know the full story? That doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. When he feels ready to share other aspects of his life, I'll be here waiting for him."

Mage Meadowbrook said "It doesn't even matter anyway. We're stuck in this situation and we need to figure out how we are going to get out of it."

Jack said "How exactly are we going to do that? Anywhere we go, people will instantly recognize us as criminals in their minds and try to get us either arrested or executed."

Elsa said "It's been quite a while since I've been considered a criminal and let's just say that was a dark time in my kingdom's history." All of the Frozen characters shivered in fear just thinking about it. If any of you saw the first Frozen movie from 2013, you know where I am going with this.

Santa said "I don't even think Christmas was this complicated in all of the years I have been doing this."

Easter said "Aye mate. Easter was never this hard either."

Tooth said "Not even collecting teeth from children around the world was as difficult as it has been right now."

Rainbow asked "So what exactly are we going to do? That question never really got answered."

Starswirl said "The most important task we have ahead of us is defeating the Pony of Shadows and sending him back to Limbo. He poses a clear threat to not just Equestria, but to the homeland of the supernatural human being."

Rarity asked "What about the Pitch villain? Clearly, he still poses a threat just as much as the Pony of Shadows does."

Mistmane said "We understand that, but we should start by returning the villain that is native to Equestria back to where it belongs, sealed away forever."

Rainbow said "But they are both incredibly dangerous and them working together poses even more of a threat than we initially thought."

Flash Magnus said "Be that as it may, the Pony of Shadows poses a greater threat than this Pitch guy. All it seems like he's most known for is scaring children. The Pony of Shadows wants to cover the world and maybe even the universe in eternal darkness, plus he wants to destroy all that is good in this world. I fail to see how this Pitch guy is equally as dangerous or even greater than the Pony of Shadows."

Jack said "Let me set the record straight: Pitch might not seem that intimidating on the surface, but he is far more dangerous than you may think. He tore all of us Guardians apart like cotton candy and even made us believe that Sandman was dead. He is a master manipulator, so he'll stop at nothing to truly get what he wants. While it is true that he scares children, that fear allows him to gain power and then we have ours weaken over time until we can no longer defend ourselves. If he has his way, he would conquer the entire world within a matter of days and cover the entire universe in darkness. I refuse to believe that Pitch is not as dangerous as the Pony of Shadows. They are both equally as dangerous and are stronger when working together."

North said "Jack is right. We had almost lost our way and given up hope until a kid named Jamie Bennett believed in Jack and the rest of us soon after. The entire globe went dark except for one spot in Burgess, Pennsylvania. Jamie was the only child who still believed in us after the nightmare attack of Pitch and it was him that allowed us to regain our strength and allowed The Sandman to break free of Pitch's bondage. We can never be more thankful for this kid stopping Pitch from plunging the world into complete darkness."

Easter Bunny said "I was angry at Jack when I saw Easter was ruined and wanted nothing to do with him, but after I saw that Jamie still believed in me, it made me realize that Pitch was sowing seeds of division amongst us and causing fear just so that we would turn against each other. If it wasn't for Jamie, he would have accomplished his goal and rule the world in darkness."

Tooth said "We thought it was bad enough when children stopped believing, but to have the entire globe go out was terrifying. When we had Jamie be the last remaining child to believe, it felt like a breath of fresh air, but nothing felt greater than when his friends joined him as allies on top of Sandman returning. Pitch thought he had the upper hand, but at the last second, he lost big time. Nothing is greater than the belief from a child."

Rockhoof said "What is the point of this, lassie?"

Jack sighed and said "The point is Pitch must never ever be underestimated. We thought we were prepared for him the last time, but clearly, we were not because of how dangerous he truly is. No villain here is more dangerous than the other. As the saying goes: where one is weak, another is strong, and thus unified, they are a formidable force! That is what's at stake here. Not choice, but responsibility. All of us must step up and do our part to defeat these two villains. Knuckles can only do so much, it's time we contribute to it."

The rest of his fellow Guardians and family along with the ponies were inspired by Jack's speech and felt motivation to help out. The Pillars were still uneasy about all of this, but they knew that Jack had a point. Their nemeses were going to use that doubt and division against them and they remember what happened the last time villains fed off of the cold hearts of the ponies. It was not pretty to say the least.

In an undisclosed location, Pitch and the Pony of Shadows were still conspiring on what step one of their grand master plan was. They knew what they wanted to do, but they had to figure out the logistics of it first before they could move forward with this plan. They simply couldn't just run out there and start duking it out willy nilly. That would set up a course of failure for them. They needed to have a course of action so that they would succeed in defeating their greatest enemies.

Pitch simply smiled and said "This divide between these acclaimed heroes is getting quite interesting. Some of the foreigners know that this divide exists, but they have no idea how to tackle it. Plus, the government is after them, which creates a pool of chaos that the draconequus known as Discord would be proud of."

The Pony of Shadows simply scoffed and said "Those pathetic fools known as the Pillars believed they were so wise in their thinking and if you dared to challenge them, they'll make you suffer. This is their typical behavior. They are doing the same thing they were doing over a thousand years ago."

Pitch said "The groundwork is being formed, but in order to accomplish our goal, we must do more."

The Pony of Shadows said "Both of us obviously know that, but how exactly do we do this? There is 24 of them and only two of us. I know this alliance will make us stronger and more powerful together, but I'm not dumb either. We have our hands and hooves tied with this one."

Pitch gave an evil grin and said "It's actually quite simple."

The Pony of Shadows raised a brow and asked "How so exactly?"

Pitch said "Well, it looks like that the glue that is holding this group together is Knuckles. As long as he is leading the way, there's no way to defeat them all, not to mention all the powerful mages he has as backup. With all that though, there is one caveat. Despite Knuckles' supernatural and powerful strength, his emotions seem to be his weakness or achilles heel."

The Pony of Shadows was intently listening and asked "How exactly can this be his weakness?"

Pitch kept his grin and said "Think about it, how angry has Knuckles gotten over certain subjects?"

The Pony of Shadows thought about it for a second and said "Well, from what I could see, he seemed to get super angry."

Pitch nodded and said "Exactly. That obviously tells us that there is something Knuckles is hiding. We already figured out he lost his girlfriend in a car accident, but something tells me there is more to the story than just that."

The Pony of Shadows asked "But what does this have to do with our plan?!"

Pitch was slightly irritated by that remark and said "I'm getting to it. If we take advantage of Knuckles' emotions, he will lose himself in rage and ultimately self destruct."

The Pony of Shadows started to get the idea and asked "So if we show him and exploit the things that plague him, it will cause him to turn against the others and bring them all down?"

Pitch gave an even bigger grin and said "Now you're getting it! If we take Knuckles out of the picture, it will be much easier to defeat the rest of them. As long as I get children to fear me, the Guardians have no power over me and as for the rest of them, they will be forced into submission by my dark horses. They are more powerful than when I reappeared the last time."

The Pony of Shadows grinned at this and asked "So when do we start?"

Pitch said "Patience, my friend. We must wait for the right moment. In the last little bit, I've studied how Equestria's villains have been defeated and I am determined not to lose the same way. It seems like Knuckles is heading to a secluded location right now, so that means he is going to meditate and prepare himself for battle. This will be when he is the most vulnerable. We will strike when the iron is hot. So just a little bit longer and soon, victory will be ours."

Meanwhile, Knuckles flew down the road and eventually pulled up to his meditation spot. It was out in the middle of nowhere in an open field, so this was perfect for Knuckles. No one could bother him and he could prepare for battle without any distractions. With everything that happens these days, he hardly has the time to do this, so it is refreshing to be able to do this.

His enemies are planning something sinister and he must not let up or relent at any time. He hates the guts of the Pillars and he will deal with that at a later time, but he needed to put that on the back burner because he had bigger fish to fry and a universe to protect. For now, he must focus on the task ahead and ready himself against any incoming attacks. He must have steely focus.

He sat down and sighed. He began his deep thoughts. There was so much at stake here. He was trying to take down villains while also trying to lead 23 other creatures with him on this mission. But it came at a cost. He became the most wanted man in the most powerful nation in the world despite being a native citizen of said nation. He knew what he did looks bad and technically wrong, but he was trying to defend humanity. He was only trying to protect the people. What could possibly be wrong with that?

Does man not know what good it is to have a protector on his hands? Does man think he is better off without one? Man might be powerful, but he cannot win with everything. Man cannot survive alone for he is weak. Only when he has a protector can be strong. All his life, he stood up for the lesser human beings and no matter how much he tried to do the right thing, he always took the blame for it.

So many considered him a screw-up and a lost cause, but considering how his life turned out, he'd argue otherwise. No one were bigger doubters of him than his parents. They despised him ever since his grandparents disowned them from the tribe. All because they seeked power from the Master Diamond. He never blamed his grandparents for doing that and he believed it was the smartest move for them to make, but he wonders sometimes how different things would have been if his parents were never disowned. In fact, almost his entire family hated him, with the exception of David. He stuck by his older brother and went to war with him any time he got unfairly scrutinized.

In return, Knuckles protected him in high school from the bullies and their relationship was practically inseparable. That made Knuckles think about his own family that he started. He is doing everything he can to make it successful, but will it turn out the same way as it did for his parents? He came from a broken family and he's doing everything in his power not to break this one.

The rift he has with Starswirl and the other Pillars certainly does not help and he's worried that could cause the demise of not just his relationship, but everything he ever knew. He tries not to think about it, but he knows that it is a potential possibility. He could never afford to lose Twilight like that, not after the way he lost Maddi. The amount of searing loss that caused him was to the point of unbearable, but if he went through that again, he probably would lose it and make all humanity go extinct in his rage.

For someone who is only 34 years old, he had experienced more death, tragedy, and heartbreak than most people do in their entire lifetime. This was only the beginning though. If this fight between him and the two villains results in a bloodbath, a lot of innocent people will die. He may not like humanity, but he would not want to wish death upon them like that since they have no relation to this. He didn't want to force anything though. He remembered the famous words Captain America mentioned to Tony Stark in Avengers: Age of Ultron: "Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time."

However, he knew the looming threat that was coming and he was going to make sure he was prepared for it. He was not going to let two villains from cartoon universes take over the whole planet just like that, not without a fight at least. If he has to die as a result of them not ruling the entire universe, then so be it. He was willing to accept that fate. That might not settle well with the rest of the group though, except maybe the Pillars, who probably want him dead anyway. He could never trust those scumbags in his eyes. After what they did to him, it made sense why he despises them so much.

He still questions sometimes why they did that to him after everything they had been through at that point, but then he remembered what Twilight said to him when she got her wings from Celestia: "You did something today that's never been done before. Something even a great unicorn like Starswirl the Bearded was not able to do, because he did not understand friendship like you do." Starswirl never understood friendship and that mistake cost him dearly. When he figured it out for the first time, he never understood why, but after learning the history behind it, it all made sense to him.

Despite how well things were looking up for him, it seems to have turned back down south like it has been for most of his life. It's to the point where he feels like he was back at square one. All his life, he was hated, mocked, and looked down upon. As a result, he's returned it in kind to those who have done it against him. Yet time and time again, he continued to defend those who couldn't defend themselves.

However, he remembered the famous words from the first Spider-Man movie in 2002: "In spite of everything you've done for them, eventually, they will hate you." He's kept that in mind over the years and it has never been more clear throughout his life. No matter how hard he tries to protect humanity, they still hate him because of it. He has protected them for so long, and what does he get in return? Hatred. After he lost Maddi, he waged war against the world and did everything he could to keep them away.

That was until he met Twilight. When they first met, he was still the same cold bitter man that had been this way since he lost Maddi. But somehow, someway, Twilight shattered his stone cold heart and brought back his more gentle demeanor that he believed would have been dead forever. He couldn't be more grateful for her. However, with this new threat and the raging divide he has with the Pillars of Equestria, he feels like he's back where he was in the five year period from 2009 to 2014.

Of course, he has family and friends around him now, but he still carries the burden of everything that is going on. Attempting to hold his tongue to the Pillars, trying to stop these two villains from wiping out the whole universe, and dealing with the fact he is seen as a traitor of the United States. All of these things weigh him down and he knows he shouldn't hide this from anyone in the group, but he is still learning to properly communicate problems with others. Plus, he is trying to remain strong so that no one detects weakness inside of him.

Despite his incredibly aggressive behavior, he is still weak and vulnerable inside. He just doesn't show it. He believes in no surrender at any costs. Even if it costs you your life, if the cause can still be achieved by doing so, then it is considered worth it. That was the way of the tribe and even though he probably is the last of his kind, he must maintain it. He has a legacy to uphold. There were so many greats in his tribe and he saw himself as nothing more than a screw-up. His shadow was right. He was a disgrace to his tribe and was a horrible representation of how the tribe should be.

Wow. This got incredibly depressing quickly. But this was how Knuckles was thinking and this is the one place where he can think about it without anyone looking. He gets himself so busy that he tends to suppress these emotions so far down inside that it's like being buried six feet down. Outside of this setting, he never gets any quiet time to just reflect and think about how life is going. Sometimes, he wonders if burying all of these emotions affects his behavior in a negative way more than he thought.

But now, it's time to get serious. What should he do? Should he heed the advice of Mark and turn himself in at the nation's capital? Or should he heed the prophecy of his tribe and always remain hidden when signs of trouble come his way? On one hand, he should listen to his fellow band member and friend. He did make a valid point. Turning yourself in would make things go so much more smoothly. But what would the potential consequences of that be? He gets locked away in solitary confinement at a maximum security prison like the Raft and everyone he ever knew would either be send off to a lab for experimentation or deported back to their home country if they could ever figure out how to do that properly without ripping the very fabric of the universe.

Then, there is the other option. Hide and hope it will blow over eventually. It seems like a good idea on the surface, but the deeper you look at it, it doesn't feel as good. He along with the rest of the group are national fugitives in the most powerful nation in the world and he doubts law enforcement will give up anytime soon. You also have to factor in that they have been seen everywhere. There is video footage of them existing. This isn't like being D.B. Cooper where you commit a crime and you are never heard or seen from again. This is the 21st century where everything is on a digital book of records.

Speaking of which, they could wait until the case goes cold, which does happen, but that would be years down the line. If they try to hide, they would never be able to live normal lives. They would constantly live in fear and hope they never get found. Anywhere they go, they will be instantly recognized. They might be able to hide for now, but the human race is incredibly smart and they'll eventually find a way to catch them. They might be stupid, but that doesn't mean they are dumb. Plus, they can't wait for the case to go cold because by the time it does, the universe might already be destroyed and that means the villains achieved their goal without trying too much.

He could not let that happen. Knuckles got up and started to walk through the forest. He noticed some flowers in the distance and decided to take a closer look. He noticed that they were lavender flowers and stared at its beauty. Suddenly, they sprayed out some sort of mist and Knuckles got caught up in it, despite backing away from it. He got angry and asked "What kind of devilry is this?! I am the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy! Pitiful flowers cannot subdue me!" He tried running away from the flowers as far as possible, but the flowers already did the damage. He fell to the ground and quickly fell asleep.

Back in the lair, Pitch and the Pony of Shadows saw that Knuckles had fallen asleep, which allows them to get a deeper look into his mind. Pitch smiled evilly and said "Well then, it seems like it doesn't take much to take down the mighty and powerful Knuckles. Who knew that something as simple as flowers would be enough to defeat the self-proclaimed "most dangerous warrior in the galaxy?" He looks like no warrior to me! HA HA HA!!!"

The Pony of Shadows agreed and said "Now that the pitiful creature is asleep, we can sense what things will weaken him and how to use it against him."

Pitch gave an evil grin and said "Well then, let's put this device to the test and see who comes a knocking! Let's see what is really going on inside the mind the most powerful human being. Time for some transparency."

Both Pitch and the Pony of Shadows watched on the screen as things passed through as if it were a timelapse. Outside, Knuckles was groaning because bad memories were being resurfaced in his head and he didn't want to remember them.

What Pitch and the Pony of Shadows began to see would leave them in a state of shock. They watched Knuckles interact with the Pillars at a very young age, they saw random kids around him get killed, they saw Operation Desert Storm unfold watching Knuckles' uncle and cousin be killed in battle, they watched the physical abuse from his parents, they watched the slander from his older sister, they watched Knuckles get bullied all the time, they witnessed the horrors of 9/11 by watching Knuckles' other uncle and cousin get killed from the collapsing North Tower, they watched his grandparents die in their sleep the day after Christmas that same year, and lastly, they watched the most horrifying thing that ever happened to Knuckles: the death of his girlfriend Maddi in a tragic car accident in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland.

After watching that, Pitch cut it off. He didn't know what to say for a few moments. He said "I knew that he was hiding something, but I didn't expect something this tragic. It almost makes me feel bad for the guy because of everything he has been through."

The Pony of Shadows agreed and said "Yeah, it almost makes it seem like he's one of us. Outcast. Troubled individual. All of these things."

Pitch nodded his head and said "Regardless though, we must continue with our mission. Even though he may be reminiscent of us, we are not the same. He is beaten down, but uses that to protect the people. We use it to terrorize others as a way to get payback for what others have done to us."

Pitch pressed a button and he entered the further depths of Knuckles' mind. He began to do what he does best: Terrorizing victims with nightmares.

Knuckles was groaning even more and was trying to fight off the nightmares.

"You're nothing but a disgrace!" said his mom.

"I can't believe you are somehow my son. You are no son to me." said his dad.

"You were always so lame anyway! How could you possibly be related to me?!" said his sister.

"How could you abandon me after everything we've been through together?! We stuck up for each other and stuck together no matter what!" said his brother.

"You were always so easy to pick on! Nobody wanted to be around you in school and that fool known as Maddi made the dumbest decision of her life!" said Jeremy.

"You're rotten to the core!" said Applejack.

"You're a savage brute!" said Rarity.

"You're a snob and a party pooper!" said Pinkie.

"You're an arrogant, selfish person!" said Rainbow.

"You're a violent creature!" said Fluttershy.

"I don't know why I married you! How could I marry such a terrible human?! You are stubborn, arrogant, selfish, and spiteful. You are nothing but a monster!" said Twilight.

Knuckles heard all of this and said "No... NO! THAT IS NOT TRUE! NONE OF IT IS TRUE!"

Pitch laughed evilly and said "It's only a matter of time before you realize it yourself, boy! It's your fault that you were despised by your family, it is your fault that humanity hates your guts, and it's your fault that Maddi is dead!"

Knuckles growled with anger and said "ENOUGH! YOU WILL PAY FOR THAT!"

Pitch just laughed evilly and shot an arrow through Knuckles' heart. He stopped and fell to the ground. He groaned in pain before he died with his eyes wide open.

Knuckles shot himself awake and breathed heavily. After a few seconds, he wept bitterly. He said quietly "No... I am not a monster. I am the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy. *sniffles and looks up in the sky* I know what I need to do now."

He got back into the Camaro and started it up. He wiped away any remaining tears and drove off as fast as he could. It was night time outside and all seemed quiet. Nothing appeared to be going on. However, as Knuckles drived by, he thought he saw a car just sitting there and thought nothing of it.

He heard an engine turn on and looked in his rearview mirror to see what was going on. He saw the car turn onto the road and then saw red and blue lights come on. Knuckles gave a frustrated sigh because he got caught by a law enforcement officer. It was probably a local sheriff here in the county doing a stakeout to watch for any speeders going by. This reminded him exactly of how Lightning McQueen got caught up with law enforcement in the first Cars movie back in 2006.

Knuckles knew it was wrong to run from cops, but he couldn't pull over now. If that sheriff runs his ID through the database, he'll know that the supernatural human being is the most wanted criminal in the United States right now and he couldn't afford to do that. He sighed and said "Alright. Time to go dark and incognito." He turned off all the lights and sped off. Since he was in an all black car, this could help him escape.

The cop quickly lost sight of him and stopped the pursuit. However, he did radio it in to dispatch to let them know he's sighted a black Camaro and warned any other units to look out for this car.

Once it was safe to do so and when he knew he was out of sight of the sheriff, he turned his lights back on. He growled and said "As each day goes by, the human race gets more and more intolerable to associate with. One moment, you think they are becoming smarter and then the next, they pull dumb sh[BLEEP] like this which brings them back down to their supposed ape counterparts. It's fu[BLEEP]ing frustrating and I have had enough of this da[BLEEP] foolishness."

He pushed harder on the gas pedal and sped as quickly as he could to get back to his "fortress of solitude." He turned into the small gravel road that was there and disappeared into the trees. After going for a mile, he finally returned to the family mansion that belonged to his tribe. He parked it back into the garage and turned it off. He got out of the car and locked it.

The rest of the group were discussing things about life in the living room when they suddenly heard the door fly open and saw Knuckles walk in. He was wearing a tired and serious look on his face. Twilight flew over to Knuckles and asked him "Caleb, are you alright? You seem stressed."

Knuckles sighed and said "I'll be okay. After some time to meditate, I now know what I need to do."

Starlight asked "What would that be exactly?"

Knuckles sighed again and said "I'm going to Washington and turn myself in."

Everyone gasped at that remark and they all started protesting at that idea. Knuckles told them to be quiet and said "Listen, I know no one likes this idea, but it must be done. It's my fault that we're even in this mess to begin with and it's something that I need to deal with. It's not an easy decision and I don't want to really want to do this, but we're outmatched here. I know you all are on the most wanted list, but they want me the most. If I take the fall, they'll stop the pursuit and leave you alone hopefully."

Most of them disagreed with that remark and Twilight said "Absolutely not! We're not letting you go alone. If you are going to take the fall, we will all take the fall. You and me are husband and wife. It was you who taught me the saying "I vow wherever you go, I'll go. You ride, I ride. You fight, I fight, and if you die, I die." We said that after our wedding. Plus, if you surrender by yourself, you'll be locked away forever and will never see me or your daughter again. How do you think that will affect her? She needs her dad to raise her and I need my husband by my side in order to do that. I know you don't want to lose your family, but I can't bear to lose my husband and our daughter can't bear to lose her father either. If you're going to Washington, then so am I."

Rainbow said "I'm with Twilight. It might seem like the heroic thing to do to surrender yourself, but we would be bad friends if we allowed that to happen. Count me in."

Rarity said "Despite how terrible this may seem, friends always stick together no matter what. You've already been through enough in your life, it's time that we carry that burden with you."

Applejack said "Rarity is right. Ah know all too well what it feels like to be stubborn, but Ah now know that if ya do everythin' yerself, it won't turn out well."

Pinkie said "Friends are supposed to be there until the end and until that happens, I'm sticking by my supernatural human friend!"

Fluttershy said "I agree with Pinkie. This all sounds very dangerous, but it will be less dangerous if we all face it together."

Starlight said "Friends never turn their backs on each other. If we allowed you to face this by yourself, what kind of example would we be setting? You are our only guide in this world and if you get arrested for life, then we would have no idea how to navigate it or get back to Equestria."

Sunburst said "Despite what you may claim, we're also to blame as well. We could have said no at any time, but since we have villains to defeat, it made sense to follow your lead. So, if this government makes you fall, we'll fall right with you."

Spike said "I'm with everyone else. We stick together on these things. It's part of that bro code you taught me. No matter what happens, bros stick together and we are there for each other. The first rule was "Never leave your bro behind." Besides, you have become like a mentor to me and if you're locked away forever, I won't get that anymore, so if we do get punished, I'd rather do it together than apart."

Jack said "While most of us over here haven't known you for very long, but we agree with your friends. This is something that no one should ever do alone."

Elsa said "Yeah, I know what it feels like to want to solve everything alone, but that won't do anyone any good whatsoever."

Anna said "My sister is right. I was there for her when she went through her crisis, and I'll be there for yours."

Kristoff said "I agree. If you challenge one of us, you challenge all of us."

North said "Ah, there's nothing better than facing evil with comrades."

Easter Bunny said "I'm with North. As long as I'm armed with carrots, we can do this together."

Tooth said "Absolutely. We stick together as a group. If one of us goes down, we all go down."

The Pillars seemed the most reluctant to try to help Knuckles, but the fact that both Knuckles was willing to sacrifice himself like that and everyone else was ready to stand by him made them go on board with this. Starswirl cleared his throat and said "I would speaking for all of us, but the Pillars and I believe no creature should ever face such a daunting task alone, so we'll be in this too."

The rest of the Pillars nodded and this made Knuckles give a small grin. He didn't do this because of the Pillars, in fact, he was still greatly distrustful of them, but it made him happy that he had this much support. He expected his pony friends to stick by him, but he never thought the foreigners from another universe would stand by him too.

Knuckles wore a serious look and said "With that being said then, it's important we call it a night. We'll figure out how to get to Washington tomorrow morning. So get some rest and prepare for tomorrow because it will not be an easy one." He turned away and headed toward the bedroom he was sleeping in. The others went their separate ways too and there was more than enough room to have everyone sleep in their own bedroom.

Twilight soon joined her husband in the bedroom and found him retiring for the night. She wrapped her hooves around his neck and latched onto his back. She asked him "Are you really going to be okay?"

Knuckles sighed and said "Honestly, I'm not really sure. But as long as I have you, it will be okay."

Twilight let go of him and sat down on his lap in front of him. She circled her hoof around his chest and gave him the look of "something else is going on."

Knuckles sighed again and said "Alright, you got me. I'm just worried how things are going to go. The last thing I want to happen is to lose you. What I meant before was genuine, but if I lost you... I couldn't bear something like that again after losing Maddi in super devastating fashion. Our family is growing and I need to be able to provide for them. Guaranteed, I don't know how I'll do that in solitary confinement, but I'll figure it out somehow."

Twilight said "As long as I should live, I will always be there to support you. I know you're afraid and after being alone most of your life, you don't want to be like that again. But we are all here to support you and we'll stand by you no matter what. No sort of human government or anything else could ever change that."

Knuckles smiled and said "Thank you Twilight. You always know what to say whenever I feel down."

Twilight giggled and said "Well, it's part of my job as the Princess of Friendship to uplift those who might need it. You're my husband, so I'm more than willing to do that for you."

Both of them climbed into the bed and said goodnight to one another. They kissed for a brief moment and then Knuckles turned out the lights.

Pitch and the Pony of Shadows were watching the incident unfold and they were smiling with glee. Pitch said "Pack your bags, Pony of Shadows. We're going to Washington D.C. to cause some chaos."

The Pony of Shadows smiled devilishly and said "Yes. I can't wait to get those six puny ponies that my pony counterpart once called friends to bow to my will."

Pitch returned the smile and said "Yes, and it will also be nice to get Jack and the rest of those stupid Guardians that I've been battling against for thousands of years. Plus, it will be so much fun terrorizing these humans in this world. The human race is so easy to manipulate and if they are all shown their worst fear, they'll have no choice but to do whatever I command them to do."

Both of them gave evil laughter as they now had to prepare to cause chaos in Washington and take down our heroes while they were at it. Things were only going to get bumper from here.

Author's Note

3 and a half months. 3 and a half flipping months. How embarrassing. I want to apologize for having this chapter come out so late. My schedule has gotten busier since I published the last chapter. I am finishing up my last semester for my degree, so my workload has been crammed. Also, I'm trying to get an internship in the field I am going to school for, so it's taken a lot of time. Still, that's no excuse. I am not dead and I fully intend on finishing this story. I have a commitment and I want to thank you all for expressing patience. I will try to keep a more consistent basis to the best of my ability. Things have shaken up and they will only continue to get crazier from here. Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Next Chapter: Trouble in the nation's capital! When Knuckles and the rest of the group go to Washington D.C., they are met with complete chaos. Ranging from protests to people wanting them dead. Meanwhile, Pitch and the Pony of the Shadows are looking to stir the pot some more so they can witness the destruction of their enemies. Can the group put a stop to their evil behavior or will the rest of the human race prevent them from doing so?

Until then, my fellow readers