Things were quiet in the Echidna Tribe household in Princeton, Massachusetts. Everyone was sleeping, or at least trying to. Despite what you may think, Knuckles could not sleep. The last close to 35 years were plaguing him like crazy and it affected him greatly. He thought he had put it behind him especially after getting married to the Princess of Friendship and having a kid with her, but after what happened in the woods with Pitch, it reopened those scars for him. He was grunting and shifting around in his bed.

He suddenly felt like he was trapped in this dream and couldn't move. It was a dream, but it felt so real to him. He saw all of his friends and family lying there on the ground unconscious as if they were killed or something and standing before him were both Pitch Black and the Pony of Shadows. Both of them were floating in the air and had evil grins on their faces. The Pony of Shadows said "The Pillars have successfully been destroyed! They believed that turning me away would help Equestria, but their foolishness led to this realm's downfall! Now, it will be MINE! HA HA HA HA!!!"

Pitch said "You are worthless to save your little friends. I have put an end to these pathetic ponies and these supernatural human beings while you did NOTHING to stop me! You are nothing!"

Knuckles grew angry and said "You will pay for this, Pitch Black! NOW TAKE THIS! LIGHTNING BLAST!" He supercharged his fists with his red lightning and fired it towards Pitch in a grenade formation. However, it did nothing to Pitch and the blast started to fade away. Knuckles couldn't believe this and said "No." He was yanked over to Pitch and he was held inside the black wires.

Pitch smiled at him and said "I should have done this a long time ago. Goodbye, human! I hope death takes you well. Just kidding. Lol. I hope you suffer." The Pony of Shadows lit up his horn and blasted magic right at Knuckles, which pierced right through his chest and instantly killed him.

Knuckles instantly woke up in a cold sweat and said "NO! Oh, oh, oh, oh. What just happened?! Why were the Pillars in my dreams and who was that pony in the background?!" For context, there were a set of eyes in the background that had the purple mist coming out of it along with green selenas and red irises too. Knuckles just shook his head and said "What am I even talking about?! It is just some weird dream. Unless if I am still in it. No, come on. Do not be ridiculous. It is just a dumb dream and there cannot possibly be any context to it. I am losing my mind here." He looked over at his wife Twilight and saw that the Princess of Friendship was out cold. He sighed and said "I will get some water so I can clear my head."

He got up out of the bed and walked over to the kitchen to grab some water. He walked outside and sat in the rocking chair on the front balcony. He sipped on his water and began thinking about his life has been these last several years. Things had been going great for him, but ever since the reemergence of the Pillars, the Pony of Shadows, and Pitch Black, along with these new set of heroes that have come along, it's all gone to crap.

It was never going to get easier for him, was it? Ever since he was born, things have constantly gone wrong for him. Whether it was people hating him for his supernatural abilities, losing those he was close to, or having ancient figures abandon him at a time when he needed them most. Now, he has the daunting task of leading a group of both ponies and humans to defeat two villains while also hiding from the leadership of the most powerful nation on Earth. Will he ever find the answers he is looking for? Will he ever find his life purpose? He thought he had it, but he lost it once again. How much longer will he have to stand on trial against the court of life? He wants to live peacefully, but something out there is determined he will live the most miserable life until he dies. He is unsure what that may be, but he knows there is some sort of higher power that is doing this to him.

"Mind if I join you out here?" said a new voice.

Knuckles turned to his left to see Elsa standing outside there and he extended his hand out as a way to tell her to sit down in the other chair. He said "Sure, feel free to sit down." Elsa did so and sat down in the chair across from him.

She asked him "So, you can't sleep either, can you?"

Knuckles shook his head and said "Unfortunately not. I could not sleep, so I just wanted to come out here to enjoy the quiet nature and the beauty of the night."

Elsa nodded and said "I understand and by the way, I apologize for using my power against you the first time we met."

Knuckles brushed it off and said "Ah, do not worry about it. A lot was going on and it was hard to make a reasonable reaction within a few seconds, so it is understandable. I get it."

Elsa said "Still, that was wrong of me to do. It seems like you had a lot of pressure and that certainly didn't help."

Knuckles looked at her dead in the eye and said "You are forgiven. Do not worry about it. I do not hold it against you. We can move on now."

Elsa could see the look in his eyes and tell something else was going on. She said "Something is on your mind, isn't it?"

Knuckles sighed and said "It is that obvious, huh?"

Elsa nodded and said "I could see the look in your eyes and I've been through it somewhat myself."

Knuckles sighed again and said "Well, you are not wrong. If I am being honest, I do not know where to go. I am leading an entire group of ponies and humans somewhat divided against two villains who seek the entire destruction of the universe and I am not sure if I am even doing it right. I feel like I am screwing up something and I do not know what."

Elsa said "Have you told your wife Twilight about this? It sounds like something you should address with her."

Knuckles lowered his head in shame and said "I cannot do that. I do not want to burden her with that. She is living her best life right now. Plus, I still have a little girl to protect. My family growing up was such a mess and I thought they did such a horrible job, but now that I have started a family of my own, I realize just how difficult it is to provide for one. That thought had not really crossed my mind coming out of high school or college, but at almost 35 now, it's at the forefront of my mind. I want to provide for my family. I want to be there for my wife and I want to be there for my child."

Elsa said "Forgive me for asking this, but what is stopping you from doing so?"

Knuckles said "Because I do not know what to do! I am so new at this whole parenthood thing and I have only been married for two years to the f[BLEEP]king Princess of Friendship! Excuse my language, but I just do not want to fail her or my child. I already feel like I have failed as a father for my child by being gone for so long during this journey and I feel like I have failed my wife Twilight as a husband. It is my fault they are suffering and it is my fault that everyone else is suffering."

Elsa said "It's not your fault. You can't do that to yourself."

Knuckles got up out of his chair and stood out in the fields. He turned around and said "How can I not?! All of us have been displaced on my home planet, two villains seek to end everything we have ever known, we are hiding from every form of law enforcement in the most powerful nation on Earth, I am forced to deal with the worst enemies of my tribe who committed an egregious crime, my child is in another dimension without her father and mother, I cannot provide for my wife the way I want to, and I am constantly plagued by nightmares night after night!"

Elsa asked "Is all this why you can't sleep at night?"

Knuckles sighed and said "There have been many things in my life that I would rather not speak of because of tragic they truly are. I have seen things in my life that I wish I could unsee. My life has been plagued by hardships and just when I thought things would get better for me, IT DRAGGED ME RIGHT BACK DOWN AGAIN! HOW MUCH LONGER MUST I SUFFER?! *sighs and says quietly* How much longer do I have suffer?"

He fell on his knees and wept bitterly. The last few days worth of pain and suffering came flooding out. Elsa felt empathy for Knuckles because she knew what it was like feel like you've hurt everyone else around you. Elsa walked over to him and said "Knuckles, we may not have known each other for very long nor have I experienced all of the same things that you did, but one thing is clear to me: you're afraid of hurting anyone. I know what that feels like. For most of my childhood and young adulthood, I constantly lived in fear of hurting others and that fear ate me alive. I drove out everyone I knew just so that I wouldn't harm them. I thought I was protecting them, but instead, I was hurting them. Far more than I realized. It wasn't until my sister showed me love that I was able to heal and begin to live a somewhat normal life."

Knuckles looked up and asked "Where are you going with this?"

Elsa said with a serious look "Like my sister did for me, you must tell your wife how you feel. I know you're afraid of burdening her or hurting her emotionally, but she clearly loves you with all her heart. I can see it in her eyes and by the way she speaks about you. Nothing about it is easy, but at the current moment, she is oblivious to what's going on and even though she can sense something is off, you won't tell her. Communication is important in marriage and you must talk these things out. If you don't, you're going to end up like me and it will haunt you for the rest of your life."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and said "Yeah, as if anything else will haunt me after what I have been through in my life."

Elsa said "Believe me, it will. You might have a lot of baggage already, but it would just be one more thing to the list. All I'm saying is you shouldn't have to burden yourself like this. Let Twilight carry your burdens with you and share them with her. I'm positive she'll understand and she'll stand by your side no matter what."

Knuckles gave a small grin and said "Thank you Elsa. I appreciate the advice. I think I can sleep now. I shall go join my wife in the bed since we all have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. I will see you in the morning. Goodnight Elsa."

Elsa smiled and said "Goodnight Knuckles."

Knuckles returned to the bedroom and he saw the Princess of Friendship still fast asleep. He felt guilty for hiding this from her, but he felt so scared to share it with her. However, Elsa made a good point. He didn't want to end up like her and carry yet another regret for the rest of his natural life. If he wanted to avoid that, he must tell Twilight about this. He just needed to figure out how to do so. That was something he could figure out in the morning. For now, he needed to go to sleep for tomorrow will have its own troubles. He was getting tired and he did not want to be that way the next day or else he won't perform at full strength. He laid down in the bed and quickly conked right out.

Knuckles was in another dream and the environment confused him for a second. He was sitting in a chair inside of some sort of chaplain and he noticed he was wearing a fancy suit for whatever reason. He saw decorations everywhere and he knew he was at a wedding. The door opened and he turned around to see who was it was. He was shocked to see who it was. It was him walking down the aisle and standing at the altar. He was so confused on what was going on. Why was he sitting in this chair? Why was a duplicate of him standing at an altar? Suddenly, he heard music starting to play and he noticed everyone getting up.

Not wanting to be rude, he stood up as well and turned to see who would come out of that door. To his absolute surprise, he saw Maddi walking through. There she was, the most beautiful woman to ever walk the face of the Earth in his mind, walking down the aisle to marry the love of her life. It shocked Knuckles to see this. He must have been witnessing alternate history here. He must have been successful in proposing to her and must have avoided the Dodge Charger hitting his Silverado. That's the only possible way he could be in this scenario.

He thought about how different things might have been if he was able to marry Maddi and he was still transported to Equestria. Probably if Maddi came with him, she would encourage him to go out and make some friends. He would have been friendlier to the Mane Six and even to the Princesses as well. He could have even extinguished the hatred he had with the Pillars. It's all just a what if and is considered alternate history at this point. Instead, he watched her get murdered in cold blood, he was very hostile to the Mane Six and the rulers of Equestria, and the hatred he has for the Pillars only seems to get stronger. He really wished he had Maddi to go through all this with him, but he knew no matter how hard he tried, she was gone forever and there was nothing he could do.

All of them sat down and the ceremony began. As it went on, something felt off to Knuckles. He tried to get up to see if he could find some clues, but he suddenly couldn't move at all any more. That told him something bad was about to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He started to panic and did everything he could to try to break free of his bondage, but it was to no avail. All of a sudden, police sirens were heard and then a loud crash happened. The front wall broke and a Dodge Charger came plowing through and ran over Maddi. There was blood all over the place and it all made sense for Knuckles. It was a replay of that tragic night, but just in a different environment.

He screamed at the sight of it and he suddenly woke up in the real world with a distressed heart. He was getting increasingly frustrated with dealing with these nightmares. He had been sleeping good the last several hours and then he was jolted awake again because of another nightmare. He can't just get one good night's sleep, can he? Twilight had woken up and yawned a little bit. She looked to her right and saw the spooked look on Knuckles' face. She was really concerned. She asked "Caleb, are you alright? Your face looks really pale. You look like you've seen a ghost."

Knuckles was so shook he didn't know what to do or say. He looked at Twilight and then looked back at the wall in front of him. He did this several times for several moments. Should he take Elsa's advice and tell Twilight what is going on? He honestly should since he knew communication was one of the key elements in successful marriages, but could he really bring himself to tell her that? Everything from his past was resurfacing again and he didn't want Twilight to be dragged along in that.

However, Twilight couldn't be left in the dark forever. She may be oblivious to certain things, but he knows first hand that she is a smart mare. If anyone could solve something that he was trying to hide, it would be her. He was stuck in between a rock and a hard place on this one. He sighed and said "I am fine, Twilight."

Twilight didn't seem convinced at that and said "You don't sound so sure of yourself when you say it like that." Knuckles knew she was right. It didn't seem convincing to her and he didn't even find it convincing himself. That's how weak and pathetic it was. But he had to keep a strong demeanor going because if he starts acting like this, the rest of the group will follow. This will leave them vulnerable to an attack from their enemies and they won't be able to properly respond to it because they'll be in shambles trying to figure out what to do. All of these things weighed down on his mind and his body, but he knew what was on the line and he would protect it no matter what.

Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder and looked at him with reassuring eyes. She said "If you are going through something, I am here to listen. I know I don't understand everything about you, but I want you to know that I will always be willing to help you through anything. You don't have to carry this burden alone. You can always come to me for anything." Just from that speech alone, it wanted to make Knuckles cry, but he didn't because of how embarrassing it would feel to him.

Knuckles gave a small grin and said "I appreciate that Twilight, but I promise you I am fine. There is nothing to worry about."

Twilight said "I know you are trying to protect me, but don't leave me in the dark. I want to understand you more and I can't do that when you hide in the shadows."

Knuckles knew she was right, but he couldn't have that liability occurring at all. But how would he do it properly? He thought about it for a few moments before coming up with a solution. He took Twilight's forehoof and held it in his hands. He looked deeply into her eyes and said "I promise you do not have to worry about me. I fully understand that communication is one of the keys to a successful marriage. I fully love you with all of my life and heart. I care very much about your well being. With that being said, we are facing dangers that threaten to end everything around us and said danger personally wants to make me suffer. You are my greatest treasure and I want to keep you safe from harm. If something happened to you, I would never forgive myself and I might end up destroying everything in anger as a result. I already lost a romantic partner once, I cannot allow that to happen again."

Twilight looked deep in his eyes and she could see the genuine care he had for her. She saw all of the pain he went through over the years in his eyes and as a result, a resolve to protect what he had recently gained. He knows what it's like to lose all of that, so he doesn't want to go through all of that again. She knew that something was going on with him, but he was clearly blocking it from her in the name of "keeping her safe." Sure, he might be keeping her safe, but at what cost? What does it cost him for doing that? He's putting himself more at risk in order to keep her out of harm's way. She loves that about him, but she wishes he wasn't so stubborn all the time. But to be fair, he is still learning to fully trust those close to him. He didn't have that growing up, so it's all quite foreign to him. It will take some time.

Twilight said with a concerned voice "Alright, if you are sure. But please, don't think you have to do all of this alone. All of us are here to stand by you. I am here to stand by you. You are the first and only creature that I have cared so much about. I know you are scared to death to lose me, but how do you think I feel? I have never loved anyone else before you. I'm afraid. I'm terrified of losing you too. You give me a sense of security and protection that I have never felt before. If I lose you, I won't have that anymore and that scares me. Also, what about our child? I don't want her growing up without her dad. Motherhood is already challenging enough for me, but I don't think I could handle being a single mother. The struggle is just too great. I want our daughter living in a world where both her mother and father can raise her, not one of them. So, if there is anything at any time you want to share with me, don't hesitate to do so. We can work it out together."

Knuckles felt guilty for not sharing what was going on him and Twilight's words pierced right through his heart. He so desperately wanted to share what was happening to her. He wanted to just fall on his knees and confess everything that was going on to her. He wanted to do that, but he just couldn't bring himself to do that. He knows what is at stake here, and if our villains here in this story have their way, everything he has will be destroyed and he'll end up going down the path of Shadow the Hedgehog, which he did not want. The two have had a lot in common, but the black Hedgehog would be considered the low point for Knuckles. He's already been down that path once and he did not want to go back down that path again if he could help it. However, he still needed to show Twilight that things would be alright so she wouldn't freak out as much. He had an idea.

Knuckles grinned a little bit and said "Let me show you just how much I love you."

Twilight raised an eyebrow and asked "How so?"

Knuckles did not answer. Instead, he pulled Twilight close to him and gave her a passionate kiss. Twilight was initially surprised by this, but she soon melted into the kiss. She moaned in delight and her tail swished back and forth. Knuckle ran his hand through her mane and this got her excited. She pushed him back onto the bed and forcibly tried to open Knuckles' mouth for entrance. Her wings sprouted up from excitement and her tail swished back and forth between Knuckles' legs. She opened his mouth with hers and aggressively tongue kissed him. She lit up her horn and put the enchantment on the door. It was time to get down to business.

One monologue later...

After what seemed like forever, both Twilight and Knuckles were laying on the bed exhausted from their love making session and they felt pretty satisfied with that. Knuckles looked to see what time it was and he knew they had to get moving. He said "Alright, as fun as that was, we have wasted enough time and we must face the danger that lies ahead. Let us clean up and then go meet up with the others in the living room."

Twilight nodded and said "I agree. We don't know what we are up against and time is of the essence here. Let's get a move on."

Knuckles grunted in satisfaction and said "We have no time to waste. Now come. Let us get down to business." Twilight nodded and followed him into the bathroom.

After cleaning up, both of them walked out into the living room where everyone was waiting. Rainbow asked "What took you two lovebirds so long?"

Rarity didn't like that question and said in a scolding voice "Rainbow, show some courtesy!"

Rainbow put her hooves up in defense and said "What? I just wanted to know!"

Applejack came to Rainbow's defense and said "Ah have to agree with Rainbow on this one, Rares. But she does have a point, Dash. It was framed in a bad way."

Pinkie Pie said "Well, it was quite obvious what they were doing! Knuckles couldn't sleep, so he went outside, talked to Elsa over here about some personal crisis he was facing and didn't want to let Twilight down, went back to sleep, had a horrid nightmare of his first love getting run over, he woke up and Twilight asked if he was if alright, Knuckles said he was alright, Twilight told him he could tell her anything, and then they started doing the hokey pokey in the bed as proof of their love!"

Everyone's jaw dropped when Pinkie made that statement. Twilight felt embarrassed for having someone say her private interactions out loud, Elsa was stunned that Pinkie knew all that, but Knuckles, well, let's just say he felt terrified. He couldn't believe that Pinkie knew all of that and he wanted to know how she knew all of that. She must have heard him when he was talking to Elsa out in the fields. He went out into the fields just to make sure he didn't wake anyone. How could that have happened? But then something clicked with him. His voice carries, despite moving farther away.

Regardless though, he felt afraid. Truly afraid. It felt like Pinkie was the pony version of Deadpool, always knowing outside secrets that most would feel like would be concealed and constantly breaking the fourth wall as if they are talking to a live audience. He thought Deadpool was funny, but now that he was among someone who was like him, then it didn't feel so nice.

Twilight asked Pinkie "Pinkie, how did you know all of that?"

Pinkie just shrugged and said "Just a hunch."

Rainbow asked Knuckles "Knuckles, is everything she saying true?"

Knuckles just growled and said "That is not important right now. We must focus on the mission."

Jack asked "What exactly is the mission?"

Knuckles looked out the window and said with a battle ready look "Deal with the ruling authorities in the nation's capital, beat down Pitch and the Pony of Shadows, find a way back to Equestria, and try not to die while doing it."

Easter Bunny said "I somewhat like that plan, mate."

Elsa asked "Well how exactly do we get to this nation's capital?"

Knuckles said "We will discuss that, but first, we must energize ourselves on food because regardless of how we get there, it will still be a long journey. Now come, let us eat before we begin our dangerous journey."

All of them went into the kitchen to prepare food and they all sat at the large table to eat their breakfast. After they were done with that, they all went outside into the fields a little bit past the front porch to discuss how they were going to get to Washington D.C. from where they were at currently.

Spike asked "So Knuckles, how are we going to get to this Washington D.C.?"

Knuckles said "Well, the best way we can get there is through teleportation. I have my rings to get us there, but we must figure out a way to remain hidden."

Kristoff asked "How exactly would we do that in a city that is probably packed with a boat load of people?"

Jack said "He's right. It's not like any of us can perform any magic spells to make us invisible."

After making that statement, Knuckles had an idea. He turned to the powerful magic wielders of the group and asked "Twilight? Starlight? Sunburst? Do you think you could successfully make us all invisible?"

Twilight said "I don't know Caleb. That would take an awful lot of power. It's not an easy spell to master."

Starlight said "I agree. There are 24 of us here. Something like that would require a lot of power. It could be done, but it would be very difficult."

Sunburst said "I concur, this is not something that the average unicorn can do."

Rainbow said "But we can't run the risk of getting caught though. This Washington D.C. could be a lot like Canterlot. There is a lot of ponies there, so likewise, there could be many humans as well in this country's capital."

Applejack said "Ah agree with Rainbow. All of us ponies know how crowded Canterlot can get, so obviously, this Washington D.C. here could very well likely be the same."

Knuckles knew this was a problem, but there must have been a solution somewhere. He wasn't considered Tony Stark smart for nothing. He had the brain of Iron Man, so there was probably something clearly there. After thinking for several moments, he had an idea. He said "I have an idea. Give me like two minutes." He ran inside the mansion and ran down to the basement. There was a secret room that led to a lab.

He went inside and started making something using many different materials. After about two minutes, he put together a device that would help sustain invisibility for extended periods of time. He ran back outside with the devices in hand and presented this to the group.

Starlight asked "Knuckles, what exactly are those in your hands?"

Knuckles said "These are cloaking devices. How it works is whenever light is diffused, a thin coat of metamaterial around an object will make it essentially invisible under a certain range of lighting conditions. This has mostly been used to hide large moving vehicles of transport, such as spaceships in Star Trek, and many people said it is impossible to miniaturize it, but there was a reason why I finished second in my high school graduating class. I was able to figure it out and this will greatly help us in our current problem."

Sunburst asked "But how will that help with us magic bearers in keeping everyone invisible?"

Knuckles said "Well, you would attach it to somewhere on your body, I do not care where, and it will sustain the spell for long periods of time. Think of it as an enhancer. Obviously, this kind of spell would take a toll on your bodies and it would leave a great deal of exhaustion on your guys' parts, so having this device will keep the spell going longer and it will keep your body from getting exhausted."

Twilight was happy at this and said "Caleb! This is an extraordinary breakthrough! How come you haven't shared this before?"

Knuckles was unsure how to answer that properly and said "Well, it was just considered common knowledge for me. It was not hard to figure out. I developed this and perfected it when I was five."

Starlight said "For someone of your magnitude, it might be considered normal, but for the average pony, this is something beyond comprehension."

Sunburst said "This is something that even the highest level unicorns and mages of Equestria could not figure out, especially not in such a short period of time."

Starswirl even said "This is quite the incredible accomplishment, Knuckles. Any talented unicorn including myself would have taken years to solve, but you figured it out at such a young age. That is rare these days."

Knuckles was caught off guard by the compliment from Starswirl and didn't know what to say. This pony has been gone for most of his life and now he wants to compliment something he did that the unicorn wasn't even there for? The very nerve! He did it not long after the legend left him. He did it so he could impress the mentor in case he returned, but then when he found out why he disappeared, it shattered him and he grew quite bitter because of it. However, he knew to take a hint and Starswirl was trying to be polite, so there was no need to be mean to him for now. They have bigger fish to fry.

Knuckles gave him a disgruntled look and said "Thanks, I guess."

Twilight didn't like how Knuckles conducted himself there, but she could tell he was trying to improve, so that's all that matters. It's a step in the right direction.

Knuckles turned to face the group again and said "Okay, so what we need to do next is prepare to get there. Any pony who is a wielder in magic, please step forward so I can give you these cloaking devices." Knuckles gave them the cloaking devices and they put it on.

Knuckles said "Alright, now before I use one of my rings to get us to our destination, we must do some test runs first. Twilight, Starlight, Sunburst, and *sighs* Starswirl, go ahead and test out those devices to see if you can disappear just by yourselves."

They conducted the tests and they went completely invisible. Nobody could see them at all. Once Knuckles told them to stop using their magic, they reappeared in front of the group. Knuckles smiled a bit and said "Good, now try to make all of us disappear at once."

Soon, the whole group disappeared from sight and nobody could see anyone. Knuckles knew this was a success. He told the wielders to stop the magic flow and they all reappeared once again. Knuckles smiled some more and said "Now this is what I am talking about. So, how are you all feeling? Are you guys holding up okay?"

Twilight said "Yeah, I feel great! No overexertion or magical drain."

Starlight said "Yeah, I am certainly not feeling exhausted. Despite this being a powerful spell, these devices allow it to make it look like easy work."

Sunburst said "I seem to be good physically. No sort of magic drain from me either."

Starswirl said "This device has worked quite well, Knuckles. This is most impressive and this will certainly help us in our mission to defeat our foes ahead of us."

Knuckles sighed and said "Starswirl, I know you are trying to make amends because of our cold blooded history, but giving me compliments all of a sudden will not suddenly resolve it. I certainly have not forgotten what you and those other ponies did to me and my tribe years ago and you will pay the price for that one day once our foes are eliminated. Do not open your mouth unless if has something DIRECTLY to do with our mission. Is that clear?!"

Starswirl nodded and said "Of course, Knuckles. I understand."

Knuckles lessened his glare and said "Excellent. Now, that we have had our test runs, we can move forward."

Elsa asked "Are you sure this is going to work?"

Anna said "Yeah, this is quite the big undertaking. We are going into another foreign city with a bunch of people who want our heads on a silver platter."

Kristoff said "We would already be going in as figuatives, are you sure this won't make this worse?"

North said "I never really imagined me as Santa Claus would be considered a criminal of the eyes of many."

Easter Bunny said "Neither would I think that way about me being the Easter Bunny."

Tooth said "I couldn't imagine it either."

Sandman just shrugged it off because it didn't seem to bother him that much.

Jack said "I think most if not all of us are concerned if this plan will really work."

Twilight was about to interject to defend her husband, but Knuckles held up a hand to tell her that he'll do the talking. He sighed and said "Look, I cannot say with absolute certainty that this plan will work or not, but it is up to each of us to make sure this plan is as successful as it can be. We all must do our part in executing this plan effectively. Are we going to experience bumps along the way? Yes, of course. But it would not be a journey without it. As long as we stick to the plan, we should turn out alright. With that being said though, this device that was given out will work. I have tested it time and time again for many years and I can say with absolute confidence that it is foolproof. There is no need to worry."

Twilight said "That was an incredible speech, Caleb. It was spoken like a true leader."

Knuckles smiled and said "Thanks Twilight. Now that our test runs are out of the way, we can go ahead to Washington. Are you guys ready?" They all nodded and Knuckles pulled out one of his rings. He was thinking where he wanted to go and threw it. But all of a sudden, a group of F-16s flew right past and almost shattered everyone's eardrums. They were trying to get away from the noise, but they all fell in the hole at the same time, which caused them to fall on top of each other.

Knuckles growled with frustration and he dug through the ground to get himself out. He popped back up and stood up with his arms crossed while adorning a scowl on his face. You would have thought he looked like Shadow the Hedgehog with his posture. He looked around and realized the group was not in D.C. He looked to his right and saw a Metro Station. He looked in front of him and saw U.S. Route 50. He knew where they were at.

Rainbow said "Umm Knuckles, is this supposed to be Washington D.C.? This doesn't look like one. It's just a bunch of trees and empty parking lots."

Knuckles said "No, we are not. We are in Landover, Maryland. What is behind us is the Landover Metro station. I was afraid this might happen." Knuckles knew this part of Maryland very well as he would often commute from Baltimore to Washington every day and he would pass by the Landover Metro Station off U.S. Route 50 during the commute.

Rarity asked "Umm, what is a Metro station?"

Knuckles said "Formally known as WMATA, or Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, it serves as a mass transit subway system that connects the Washington D.C. metropolitan area together. It was created in 1967 and finished construction in 1976. It is commonly known as Metro and there is also Metrobus, which is essentially the same but it is a bus service, and MetroAccess, which is for people with physical disabilities. But anyway, Metro has six lines, 98 stations across the area, and 129 miles worth of track."

Twilight said "So it's like the Friendship Express?"

Knuckles nodded and said "It is pretty much the exact same, except the Metro can go underground and the system connects really only one area together instead of connecting the whole country together. That would be Amtrak in that case."

Jack said "So, how exactly are we going to get from here to this nation's capital?"

Knuckles said with his back turned "We use public transit to get there, but not by train or bus."

Elsa asked "What do you mean by that, Knuckles?"

Knuckles turned to face the group and said "Well, we cannot just do what we did in New York as that got us into trouble, so we are going to improvise a little bit."

Rainbow asked "Improvise how?"

Knuckles turned the ones with the cloaking devices and said "Do you remember me giving you the cloaking devices?"

They all said yes, but Starlight asked "Where are you going with this?"

Knuckles led them out over the tracks and past the trees where U.S. Route 50 could be seen. He said "That is how we are going to get there."

All of them saw how fast those vehicles were moving on the highway and it concerned them.

Easter Bunny said "Don't tell me this is what I think it is, mate."

Knuckles turned around and said "This is how we will do this: We will hop on top of a tractor trailer, hold on for dear life as we travel at 60 miles an hour, and hopefully get to the right place so we can sort all of this out and redirect our focus to taking out our two foes. Assuming we do not get killed in the process."

All of them shouted "WHAT?!" They couldn't believe what they were hearing. He seriously thought it would be a good idea to hop on top of an 18 wheeler with no safety supports of any kind on a divided highway heading straight for the nation's capital and there is the potential of death if they don't make it there. Is he nuts?! Did he not think this through?! What was the rationale behind all of this?

All of them began protesting at this idea and Knuckles told them to shush their voices because at the end of the day, they were still wanted and if anyone saw them, it was game over. He said "I understand this plan sounds crazy and believe me, it does. I will not disagree with you on that. But we have a mission to complete. We have already gotten this far just from my intellect and everyone's distractions. Sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. I want to take out the Pony of Shadows and Pitch more than anybody else, but right now, we have to deal with a bigger threat, one that cannot be ignored. You will have to trust me on this. When have I failed you yet?"

After a few moments, Twilight sighed and said "He's right, guys. He has not failed any of us yet and as crazy as it sounds, this is the only way we can deal with the current problem with these humans. So we must trust him no matter what. Let's listen to what he has to say and follow his lead."

Knuckles said "Thank you for believing in me, Twilight. It is greatly appreciated. Anyway, on my signal we teleport inside a tractor trailer and hopefully, there will be enough space for us to be inside."

Kristoff asked "How do we know which way we are going and which one will take us to the correct location?"

Knuckles pulled out his device from yesterday and said "This device right here. Not only can it track airplanes, but pretty much any sort of vehicle whether it's cars, trucks, SUVs, buses, trains, boats, you name it. If it is a form of transportation, it can be tracked."

They were impressed by that and waited for a truck to pass by. One came by and Knuckles gave the signal. Twilight teleported them inside and fortunately, there was enough room in the tractor trailer for all of them to fit. Knuckles looked at his device just to make sure this 18 wheeler was going in the right direction and sure enough, it was headed for Washington. He created an opening through the sides of the trailer that acted as windows so they could tell where they were going, but no one would notice. It was like the glass in integration rooms. You could see the criminal, but the criminal couldn't see you. It was the same principle.

Everyone was busy talking to each other, but Twilight noticed her husband just standing in the corner looking out the window he created and having a scowl on his face while having his arms folded. Dang. This man is starting to look more and more like Shadow the Hedgehog. Next thing you know, he'll actually transform into the ultimate lifeform. I'm getting off track. Regardless, Twilight knew something was on her husband's mind.

Twilight hopped on the back of his shoulders and asked him "Caleb, is everything alright?"

Knuckles suddenly had a flashback to his childhood when he first started dating Maddi in his sophomore year of high school. Right from the get go, she knew that something was off about him.

Maddi asked him "Is everything alright, Caleb?"

The young Knuckles said "I'm fine, Maddi." Clearly, he was not.

Maddi saw right through that and said "Caleb, it might work on others, but it doesn't work on me. I'm just as smart as you and we both know that you are clearly not fine."

Knuckles sighed and said "You do have a fair point. I don't know what it is really. I have all of these things weighing me down. I am caught between who I was and who I will be. I have a fractured soul and no destiny. I was created to defend the greatest artifact mankind has ever seen, but it was stolen away before I even had the chance to stop it. I want to make you happy, but how can I when all I bring is pain, misery, and sorrow? It's no wonder why so many hate me. All of these things are expected out of me, and yet I seem to disappoint everyone every time. I don't know how much more of it I can take."

Knuckles slammed his fist down onto the table as frustration, and Maddi knew what she needed to do. She came in and hugged him as tightly as she could. She turned his face to look at her and said "You have already made me happy. You are doing the best you can and that is all that matters. So you have the burdens of the past. It doesn't matter. I see you are trying to improve for the better and that is all that is needed from you. No matter who may stand against you, even it includes the rest of the world, I will always stand by your side. Remember that."

The flashback changed where Knuckles watched Maddi get T-Boned from the Dodge Charger and he shouted out her name in heartbreak.

The flashback returned to the present and Knuckles was still in the same position. He had tears flowing down his eyes, but also his irises lit up red and there was lightning shooting all over the place in his eyes. He also had an angry look on his face and clenched his teeth in anger. He would deal with these government officials and then destroy his two primary foes for good. He would completely dismantle them and wipe them off the face of the Earth, never to be seen or heard from ever again.

Twilight saw the look on his face and instead of being scared or hiding in fear, she hugged him tightly hoping that would do something. It definitely did something. Knuckles' face returned to a neutral expression and the fire inside his eyes died. The tears stopped flowing and his irises returned to their normal purple color. After a little while, Twilight pulled back and looked at Knuckles in the eyes. He gave a small grin and said "Thank you. I needed that."

Twilight smiled and said "Anything for my supernatural human husband. I know you are reserved about a lot of things, and you have a good reason to, but know that I am always here if you need something and even if the whole world stands against you, I will still remain by your side. Remember that."

Knuckles had heard the words from Maddi echo through his head and this time with a smile, he said "I will."

The truck continued to drive down the highway and after a little while, it ended up in the nation's capital. All the ponies flocked over the windows to see the capital of the United States of America. They were amazed at seeing how different America's capital was from their own capital back in Equestria.

Rainbow asked "So Knuckles, has this place always been the capital?"

Knuckles said "No, it has not."

All of them were shocked to hear that and asked for an explanation.

Knuckles said "The United States has had nine cities serve as its capital throughout our 243 year history. Before it became what it is today, Philadelphia Pennsylvania, Lancaster Pennsylvania, York Pennsylvania, Princeton New Jersey, Trenton New Jersey, New York City New York, Annapolis Maryland, and *sighs* my hometown of Baltimore Maryland, have all served as the U.S. capital throughout different points in our history. Now it is Washington D.C. that serves as the capital."

Twilight said "As far as I can remember, Canterlot has served as the only capital of Equestria, even when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had their castle in the Everfree Forest."

Knuckles gave a satisfied grunt and said "I am glad that the pony race could at least make up their minds about what they wanted it to be as their capital city. I cannot say the same for the human race in America. Those prideful men from so long ago kept changing it because of "political tensions" between the different regions. It was no more than a simple childish argument fought amongst school children on the playground. Because of that, Washington D.C. served as that compromise for the ridiculous divide we had between the Northern and Southern states that would eventually send us to the Civil War almost a century later."

He looked to his left and saw Maddi standing there. She only nodded and smiled before fading away. It must have been a shadow of her, he thought in his mind. Things would continue to only get stranger for him.

Elsewhere, the Pony of Shadows and Pitch Black were wondering around Washington D.C. high in the sky looking whom they may disturb. They both knew that something could stir up trouble here in this city and from the looks of it, it was not hard to do. This area was infamous for carjackings and other car related thefts.

The Pony of Shadows said "What is so special about this city? I know our foes came here, but what makes it so special?"

Pitch grinned darkly and said "This is the capital city of where Knuckles used to call home. While he did live 42 miles to the northeast, the crime here is very similar to how it was back in his hometown. This is supposedly the most powerful city on this Earth and with that, it is easy to cause chaos because everything is protected. But we must stick to the plan. Since him and the rest of his pathetic group are considered outlaws right now, we have to do something that will get their attention as a trap and tarnish their reputation even further beyond repair."

The Pony of Shadows said "How exactly do we do that? This city looks so peaceful right now."

Pitch said "We don't wait for the people to do something stupid, we find an opportunity of someone being peaceful and then striking on the opportunity."

The Pony of Shadows asked "How do we know and where can we find this?"

Pitch said "Patience, my dear friend. Come, let's go see what we can find."

The two of them started scanning the city for anything that could be an opening for trouble. After a little while, they came across the Washington Monument. They looked and saw a school group going inside for what they presumed was a tour of the historic monument. Pitch saw a piece of alien technology lying on the ground and just gave an evil grin. This was their opportunity.

The Pony of Shadows saw this and said "What are you grinning about?"

Pitch turned to face him and said "This, my friend, is our opportunity."

The Pony of Shadows said "What? Terrorizing school children? I know that is your speciality and all, but come on. You have to do better than that."

Pitch shook his head and said "No, no, no! Pay attention! There is a school group of young children down there, but look! There is a piece of alien technology! We can use that to our advantage."

The Pony of Shadows said "Okay, I like where this is going, but how exactly can we use this to our advantage?"

Pitch said "All we have to do is sneak that piece of alien technology into one of those backpacks and then attach a smoke grenade to it. This will cause enough of a disruption to create some sort of explosion and will draw the attention of our foes. Once their attention is drawn, then it will be time to play some mind games and after that is over, the authorities will be here to lock them away forever."

The Pony of Shadows asked "So where exactly do I come in?"

Pitch said "After the device explodes, you will use your dark power to destroy the supports that keep the elevator from falling when it stops working."

The Pony of Shadows grinned and let out an evil laugh. He said "Well then, let us begin."

Everyone was busy talking to one another like they had nothing else to do. All of a sudden, Knuckles felt his Spidey Sense tingle and he knew something was off. He looked outside the window and saw a small explosion at the top of the Washington Monument. He knew that whoever was behind this, he would make them pay dearly for it. No one gets away with that kind of behavior.

Twilight noticed his change in his behavior and said "Wait, where are you going?"

Knuckles looked at his wife and said "I am going to save the innocent and put an end to this reckless destruction!" Before Twilight could say anything else, he teleported out and sprinted as fast as he could. He had the red trail behind him as he ran.

He couldn't believe his eyes and a young girl who looked a lot like MJ from Spider-Man: Homecoming said to him with concern "My friends are trapped up there!"

Knuckles put away his own worries and said "Do not worry ma'am. I will get your friends down to safety."

He ran up to the monument and saw how high it truly was. He said "Oh my. This is high." He ultimately didn't care though and he raced up the monument. He used his spider webs to get up to the top and after about a minute, he made it. He reared his fist and attempted to break the glass to get inside the monument, but the glass made only a small dent in it. Knuckles tried punching some more, but it barely made any progress. Finally, he remembered that this was forged ballistic glass and it was made to withstand a lot stronger than him, so he would have to try something else.

He charged up his red lightning and punched the glass with his supercharged fist. That did a lot more damage and just when he thought he would be able to get in, he was halted. As a result of this incident, someone called it in and the authorities responded. Next thing he knew, Metropolitan Police Department helicopters were flying all across the Monument and went to get a closer look at the individual standing there. They recognized him as Knuckles and they knew he had to be apprehended since he was the most wanted man in America right now.

One of the officers on the helicopter yelled "This is DC Metro Police! Identify Yourself!"

Knuckles said with urgency "There are people trapped inside the elevator! I must save them! Please stop!"

The officer didn't care and said "Return to the ground immediately!"

Knuckles looked inside and saw the elevator was collapsing at an even quicker pace because of all the movement. He knew it was about to fall down to the bottom of the structure and he had to get in quickly.

The officer doubled down and said "Stand down! Return to the ground immediately! We have a warrant for your arrest!"

Knuckles looked back and growled. Someone must have seen him and let the authorities know. He didn't have time for this and he climbed further up the monument.

The officer tripled down and "Return to the ground immediately or we will open fire!" Knuckles didn't care and continued to climb up.

One of the other officers said to go up and the helicopter followed Knuckles further up the monument.

The officer said with a final warning "This is your last chance!"

Knuckles sighed and compilated if he should do this next move of his. After a few moments, he came to a decision. He knew what to do. He said "Oh, I am going to die." He leapt up into the air, over the head of the helicopter, used a spiderweb to latch to the bottom handle, launched himself towards the windows, supercharged his whole body with red lightning and broke the forged ballistic glass with his supercharged legs. He made it towards the elevator and just as it was falling, he shot down a spiderweb to stop it from falling.

He got it to stop and he initially felt proud of himself, but then the sheer weight of the elevator broke the doors and sent him down with the falling elevator. He fell on the floor of the car and as the people were screaming, he shot up another web to the ceiling to finally get it to stop. He ended up on top of the inside of the car and pushed it up. He looked at them and said casually "Hey, how are you all doing? Do not worry about it. I got you."

One of the guys was excited to be saved, but Knuckles glared at him and said "Hey, big guy! Quit moving around so much!"

The guy had a look of remorse on his face and said "So sorry sir."

More DC police cars followed by fire trucks and ambulances showed up to the scene to try and sort out the mess. However, they weren't the only ones. There were dozens of FBI vehicles that showed up and went to look for the fugitives that had escaped from detainment.

Inside, Twilight, Starlight, Starswirl, and Sunburst all came to the edge of the elevator and launched several magical strands to try help Knuckles pull up the elevator. They struggled a little bit, but they were able to pull it up. Elsa and Jack used their ice and frost abilities to freeze the elevator in place. Rainbow, Flash, and Somnambula flew down to get everyone out of the elevator. Under normal circumstances, the humans would have questioned it, but since they were just saved from immediate death, they were grateful.

The Pony of Shadows saw what was happening and growled in anger. He used more silent explosives to destroy the ice that held up the elevator. There was one girl left to save in the elevator and just before she could be brought to safety, the elevator fell down towards the bottom of the monument. She screamed in terror and the rest of her group shouted in worry. Knuckles cut the web using his pocket knife and raced down to catch the young girl. He shot out another web to grab her and then threw her up Thor style from Avengers: Age of Ultron. Rainbow caught the girl and brought her to safety with the rest of her group.

Knuckles was about to hit the ground and had to think fast in order to not suffer a bad fall. He pulled out one of his rings and threw it down below him. He fell through the ring portal and landed where everyone else was at the top of the monument. He groaned a little bit in pain. He may be immortal now since he married Princess Twilight Sparkle, but that doesn't mean he won't ever feel pain. That will be with him for the rest of his natural life.

Speaking of which, Twilight had rushed over to him and asked "Caleb, are you alright?!"

Knuckles grunted in pain slightly and got up. He looked at her and said "I am fine. Do not worry about me."

Twilight's face then turned into one of anger and said "What were you thinking?! Were you trying to get yourself killed out there?! You're lucky you aren't dead yet!"

Knuckles gave her a disdainful look and said "There have been many situations in my life that you could not possibly hope to understand and yet you have the audacity to tell me I might die?! Hmph. I have dealt with the worst of the human race for 35 years and this is what my life has come to? How pathetic. I am grateful I did not die, but at the same time, it could have been possible if it meant getting those people to safety. I will not have you disrespect me like that. It was dangerous, but I have faced so much worse and you of all ponies know that. So do not even think about saying something so stupid like that again."

Spike said "Uh guys, I know you are saying is serious, but we got more serious problems down below."

Knuckles looked outside and saw a whole bunch of FBI agents down below in formation with the SWAT team ready to go in case something went wrong. Knuckles growled with anger and "I am sick and tired of those d[BLEEP]n agents following us everywhere we go. It is time I finally take them out."

Starswirl jumped in and said "Wait, you shouldn't do this alone! We should all be doing this together."

Knuckles snarled with anger and said "I am not asking you, wizard. I am telling you. I do not want your help. I do not need your help. I can handle this myself. This is my problem and I intend to put an end to this rebellion. Do not push me any further."

Twilight had enough and said "Absolutely not, Caleb! We are a team and we do things together. You will not go by yourself to play the hero. *extends wings* As the Princess of Friendship, I am commanding you to be a team player and work together as one."

Knuckles snorted and said "Are we really a team or is this just a chemical mixture that makes chaos? I do not remember having to answer to anyone. I am trying to complete the mission by any means necessary. They are after me the most because I am the one with supernatural abilities that puts everyone in danger potentially. So do not try to stop me."

Twilight narrowed her eyes and said "That was not a request, that is an order. Stand down now or face the consequences." She lit up her horn as a warning to Knuckles that she was not messing around.

Knuckles glared at her and charged up his fists with red lightning. He gritted his teeth and his irises turned red. The two were in a standoff for several seconds. Who did she think she was by telling him to stand down? Most of the creatures in this room had supernatural abilities, but he was the only one who could knock everyone out in a split second, yet his own wife would dare to challenge him? The most powerful creature in the universe? Although, she did have a point. Law enforcement was after them too, so he should know better than to play hero ball.

Knuckles took a deep breath and backed off. He sighed and said "Fine, I back down. But if law enforcement tries to mess with any of you, they will get it. They will suffer my wrath and I will make them pay. Heed that warning."

Twilight said "Good, now how we deal with these federal agents?"

Knuckles looked down and smiled devilishly. He said "I have an idea." He told everyone his plan and they went to execute it.

The school group was successfully brought down and they were brought to safety from the first responders.

A man by the name of Donald Washington looked up at the Washington Monument and sighed. He hadn't been in this government position that long and already, there was a group of extraterrestrial creatures causing chaos in this great nation. He had hoped to reason with these individuals, especially their leader. He looked like he was an American citizen, but all of them failed to see reason, then he would have no choice to allow ICE to deport these creatures and imprison Knuckles for harboring illegals.

Pinkie started tapping federal agents to get them to chase her and that is exactly what happened. They chased after her and they fell right into her trap. They got ambushed by the Guardians and Frozen characters. They took care of business and one by one, they took out different groups of the agents. There was only one group left and while it looked like they had the upper hand against our heroes, Knuckles came in at the last second, and took them out.

You thought that would have been the end of it, but you would be wrong on that front. The calvary came and tazed everyone except Knuckles. Washington turned around to face Knuckles and said "Well, it looks like I get to finally meet you face to face."

Knuckles raised a brow and asked "Why does that surprise you?"

Washington said "Well obviously, you were a former Pentagon employee and during that time, I was serving as United States Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. I made frequent trips to the Pentagon and people were talking about you then."

Knuckles was surprised by that and said "Well, that was something I was not expecting. But we are wasting time here. Why are you and the rest of your agents getting in my way?"

Washington was taken aback by that statement and said "Getting in your way? I think you are getting in the way of mine. I wouldn't have had to come here, but was forced to because of your little situation. Now, I am a reasonable man and we can work this out, but if you continue to resist, it will be much worse for you and your.... ummm.... friends."

Knuckles narrowed his eyes and said "It was all just a misunderstanding and it was blown way out of proportion. I understand this is serious and it looks bad in terms of PR, but I can assure you it is not what it may seem. So I please ask to let me and the group of mine go so we may take down a threat before it destroys the entire universe."

Washington wasn't going to agree to that and said "I'm sorry sir, but I cannot in good faith agree to that."

Knuckles didn't like that answer and asked "Why not?"

Washington said "I'm not saying you are guilty, but we don't know for sure until you've been put up on trial. The beauty of America is innocent until guilty, but you can't have that if you are let off the hook with no consequences. While it might not seem that bad, you and your group assaulted people which is a serious crime and the federal government has serious inquiries about your little group over there. There is no record of them in any of their databases and these are creatures that have never been seen before. The American people are scared and they are relying on their government to remove them from the homeland."

Knuckles said in a more aggressive tone "These "things" that you are describing are very sentient and are just as real as you and me. To say that they are dangerous domestic terrorists that overran the United States during the Obama years is both insulting and disrespectful to me. These creatures are not domestic terrorists. If they were, I would have had them locked away ages ago, but they are not. So I will ask one more time, let them and me go or else you will be getting in the way of my mission and you do not want that."

Washington sighed and said "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that. It is my job as appointed by President Trump to protect the American people from threats foreign and domestic and enforce our nation's laws. We have sovereign borders and when you enter them unlawfully, you will pay the consequences. So, you must now be apprehended." He whistled for the authorities to arrest him and Knuckles didn't like that.

He resisted and said "Get your mitts off of me. I will not be locked away like a common criminal. You will have to call the National Guard before I let that happen." As he resisted more, law enforcement got more aggressive. They tackled him to the ground and tried to apprehend him. Before they could fully though, they became frozen solid. Knuckles pushed them out of the way and saw that Elsa had done it.

Knuckles simply gave a thumbs up and began fighting off any law enforcement officers that came his way. The rest of the group got up and started doing the same thing Knuckles did. They had to fight for their lives because these law enforcement officers probably wanted to send them off to a lab for experimentation and lock up Knuckles in a maximum security federal prison for harbouring illegal migrants in the United States. They were not going to let that happen.

Washington looked at the situation and it was just making him more frustrated. Clearly, all of his team members were getting their butts kicked by a supernatural human being and a bunch of cartoon universe characters like it was nothing. There was only thing left to do. He pulled out his radio and said "Get the National Guard down here. I have an out of control situation here and I need to cease it immediately. We need to throw tear gas in there in order to get them to stop."

Meanwhile, Pitch and the Pony of Shadows were watching the fight go down and it made them smile. Everything is going exactly to plan so far. Now, it looks like the National Guard will be called in to put away our heroes for good so they may never see the public square ever again. It was so easy to make mankind fearful of what they couldn't control and they were certainly accomplishing that. It was only a matter of time before the humans were ruled over with an iron fist by the two of them. The time would come soon.

Back to the fighting sequence, Knuckles kept fighting like his life depended on it. If he didn't, the group he was leading was going to get send to a lab for experimentation and he would be locked away in federal prison for harbouring "illegal migrants," even though they did not "illegally" cross the border in Mexico. They were simply teleported here because of Pitch's newfound teleportation powers.

He curled up into a ball and knocked down all of the LEOs like they were bowling pins. He stood back up and noticed that the group around him was starting to lose. Not on his watch. He supercharged his red lightning and he was ready to fire. He said "Everyone, GET DOWN NOW!" Everyone in the group noticed how Knuckles looked and could easily take a hint. He simply took a deep breath and exhaled. He growled and said "LIGHTNING BLAST!"

Knuckles launched his lightning across the area and knocked down any remaining law enforcement that was around. Washington was just barely able to avoid it, but this was a whole new development for him. He had heard that Knuckles was not your typical human being, but this kind of power was cataclysmic. It was revolutionary. Something that he had never seen before. It was clear to him that Knuckles was far more dangerous than he initially anticipated. He not only needed to be taken to a lab, but even possibly sealed away in stasis permanently.

Knuckles thought he had this in the bag for a second, but he then heard helicopter noises. He turned around and saw helicopters and soldiers moving in. He knew this was the National Guard. He turned to Washington and growled at him. He must have called the National Guard on him and the group because of how much of a disruptor they were. He couldn't control him and as a result, he had to call in the calvary.

Knuckles narrowed his eyes at Washington and said "I cannot believe you! You dare call the National Guard on me?! Why? Because you know you cannot control me?! No one controls me! I am who I am. You are afraid because of what might happen if I turned my back on the human race. Despite their stupidity, I always try to defend them to the best of my ability because I am not a heartless creature with no morals. I do not look for fights, but I will defend what is mine even if it means going against my own nation for it. So go ahead. Try and stop me. You will not succeed."

Washington said "You have left me no choice. This situation got out of hand and I had to call in the National Guard to bring the violence to an end."

Knuckles said "The situation only got out of hand because YOU and every other federal agency decided to blow this completely out of proportion and arrest everyone involved. If anything, this is your fault and for that, you will PAY!" Knuckles smashed his fists on the ground and pushed back Washington out of his way. He looked to everyone and said "Let's get out of here!"

Twilight said "Where are we going to go?"

Knuckles kicked an FBI agent off the motorcycle and grabbed the gun laying on the ground. He put on his cowboy hat and started it up. He turned around and said "I have a date at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Now MOVE OUT!" He turned to Washington and said "Do not try to follow me." He sped off on the motorcycle and the rest of the group followed closely behind him.

Washington got up off the ground and growled. He had enough and said "I want every kind of law enforcement agency in America on every street corner in the city! If you see them, ARREST THEM AND THROW THEM BEHIND BARS! NOW GO!" None of them would get away from him this time.

The group was weaving in and out of traffic as they tried to race away from all of the law enforcement on their trail. As they got closer, our heroes increased their speed. It felt nostalgic for Starswirl. He hadn't run this fast since he went off to face none other than the Pony of Shadows after he wrote the prophecy that Knuckles was meant to fulfill thousands of years ago.

As they were going, several of our heroes were shooting out magic and ice in order to prevent themselves from being captured. Eventually, they ran out of road and the Metro Police had spike strips ready to go in order to stop our heroes from getting away. Knuckles saw this and jumped off the bike right before he hit the strips. The bike hit the strips and the tires were blown off. He landed on his feet and blew all of the Metro Police officers there away from him with his lightning attack.

He was ready to fight more of them when a small explosion went off. He suddenly couldn't move and neither could the rest of the group. It turns out, the National Guard got within range of them and threw in tear gas to completely stop them. They threw in as much tear gas as they could so they could get this situation under control and apprehend them. Because of that, it made it easy to get most of our heroins. But Knuckles on the other hand, he was determined to win. He was not going to lose.

Immediately, he tried getting up so he could get back out there to fight, but multiple big body Metro Police officers, FBI agents, and DHS agents tackled him to the ground and restrained him as much as they could. He tried to teleport out, but the officers and agents slammed his hands into the ground so he could not get away. Knuckles howled in pain and elbowed the guy who did that to him.

Washington eventually pulled up in the Chevrolet Suburban and stepped out. Knuckles saw him and growled at him. Washington said "So we meet again. I tried giving you a chance, but you defiantly chose to run away like a fool and now, you made it so much worse than it needed to be. I must commend you though, you are a lot stronger than I originally thought you were. So much so, you have become a flight risk for American society. You are going away for a very long time and your little friends will be deported back to their home countries."

Knuckles snarled at him and said "You dare try to lock me away?! Do you know who you are messing with?! You might lock me away for now, but I will come back with vengeance. You will not imprison me the same way GUN imprisoned Shadow the Hedgehog for 50 years on Prison Island! I will NOT let you experiment with me or the group behind me at all! There will be serious consequences for double crossing me like this!" He yelled out his battle cry and slammed his hands against the ground. Some sharp crystals popped up and ripped off his tie.

This made Washington very angry and said "ENOUGH! I am sick and tired of your rebellious behavior! Now you have done it! * turns to the law enforcement officers* GET THEM ALL OUT OF HERE! GET THE SENATOR ON THE PHONE AND TELL HIM TO ISSUE A SUBPOENA FOR THESE TERRORISTS!"

The LEOs and federal agents threw all our heroins in giant SWAT vans and drove straight away to the FBI building. Washington sighed and huffed in anger as he watched all of the SUVs and vans drive away from the outside of the White House lawn. All of them were such a headache, but none more so than Knuckles. Being a flight risk to American society was considered a serious understatement. He was considered dangerous. It wouldn't even be enough to lock him away in solitary confinement in a maximum security federal prison. Clearly, he must be put to death because if left wondering free, he could cause the destruction of the whole planet in a matter of minutes.

He'll have to speak to the President about this matter, but one thing was for certain, they could not be roaming free. Especially Knuckles. He was far too great of a danger to be walking as a free man. He spoke of this Shadow the Hedgehog being imprisoned by GUN, but he had so many questions. Who was GUN? What does GUN stand for? Why would they imprison a Hedgehog? He would have to do research on the topic so he could properly understand the context of what Knuckles was saying.

No matter what happened though, all of them had to be dealt with. Whether that was life in prison, deportation, the death penalty, it didn't matter to him. The President gave him a mandate as the U.S. Marshal and he was going to follow through on that mandate whether our heroes liked it or not. They may be a tough group to take down, but not entirely impossible. Now, he had to clean up the mess that this group left behind and now deal with the pain of the media.

He'll have to put out some good looking PR statements so the media won't totally lambast him for letting such "dangerous criminals" run wild and tear up the streets of D.C. like it was nothing. That was going to be a challenge within itself, but the people were probably more likely to be angrier at the offenders rather than him. He could only hope though. He looked at his watch and hopped in the Suburban.

The gentleman in the driver's seat asked him "Where would you like to go, sir?"

Washington looked at him and said "Set course for the U.S. Capitol Building. I have an important two o'clock meeting with the Senator and I'll have to update him on this situation."

The driver nodded and drove away towards the Capitol Building. Life with this job was definitely hard, but if it meant protecting American citizens from undocumented foreigners and dangerous domestic terrorists, then so be it. He was sure they would be brought to swift justice. He was positive it would happen.

Author's Note

AN: Hey y'all. I know it's been so flipping long and you guys probably thought it was dead. Well, it's not. If I am being honest though, this took way longer than it should have and I apologize for that. Life has only gotten more stressful and I will do this whenever I can, but it will not be going anywhere. I know this chapter is not my best work and I'm not super proud of it either, but I had to finish it. I promise it will get better though. I am open to any suggestions you guys might have on how to make this story better. I'm in dire need of them. This writer's block has not been kind to me. So, leave your suggestions down in the comments section and I look forward to reading them. One more thing is this chapter is being broken up a little bit because it got way too long, so the action in D.C. will continue in the next chapter. Toodles!

Next Chapter: The chaos continues! After the group causes an even bigger mess than where they were at before, they were subpoenaed to Congress before the Senate Homeland Security Committee and get intensely grilled with questions. Meanwhile, Pitch and the Pony of Shadows begin the next phase of their plan to conquer the multiverse as they watch their enemies get held up with the United States government. Will our heroes be able to explain themselves out of this mess or will the Senators determine they must be taken out of the country?

Until then, my fellow readers