The gang couldn't believe who they were seeing as they stood away from the front door with shocked faces. They were just enjoying themselves with their “home-alone party” and about to watch a movie until they lost power and then were visited by a sudden intruder. On top of that, their intruder was none other than Dr. Robotnik, or “Eggman” as Sonic called him due to having robots that are shaped like eggs.

Eight months ago, they were chased by this madman almost the whole country because Sonic accidentally used his power on the school's baseball field. Eventually, they faced this mad doctor and were able to defeat him by sending him on a one-way ticket to Mushroom Planet with Sonic’s warp ring. They all thought that this was the last time they had seen the doctor and that their biggest threat wouldn't come to harm them anymore.

But they were wrong.

“This… this can't be!” Apple Bloom stammered, her whole body was shaking in fear. “How!? How are ya here?”

“Yeah, that's impossible!” Sweetie Belle added with a squeak. “You're supposed to be trapped in some mushroom planet light years away from us!"

“And our sisters made sure of that after they kicked your sorry butt!” Scootaloo shouted while in her fighting position despite her fear.

“Let's just say… I hitched a ride,” Robotnik answered vaguely with a smirk. “You didn't think you'd see the last of me, did ya?”

As the CMCs and Spike tensed in fear, Sonic stood protectively in front of them while glaring at Robotnik. “I don't know how you got back, but you made a big mistake coming here!”

“Oh, contraire mon frère!” Robotnik retorted, glaring back at the blue hedgehog. “The mistake was thinking that you and your friends have won. But that was just a prelude, an hors d'oeuvre, an aperitif, an Amuse-bouche–”

“I get it!” Sonic growled, gritting his teeth.

Robotnik chuckled in his throat. “I don't think you do. But you and those three little pipsqueaks are about to… and so will those seven pesky girls, especially that Pony girl and the Rainbow-haired twit!”

Sonic’s expression became furious at Robotnik’s threat.

“And that idiot cop and his wife!” Robotnik added.

Sonic then tightened his fist and his power was now building up due to his anger.

“And your little dog, too!” Robotnik shouted, scaring poor Spike in the process.

Robotnik’s words have finally pushed Sonic over the edge. No one is allowed to threaten and mess with his family while he is around and he will make the doctor pay for good. With his power finally built up and his eyes glowing in blue, Sonic leaped towards the doctor, intending to punch the daylights out of him.

Unfortunately for the blue blur, he fell right into the doctor’s trap.

With a playful smirk, Robotnik quickly and casually stepped aside, allowing the second visitor to leap into the front door with a raised fist. Before Sonic could process what was happening, he was punched in the face and then was sent flying to the side and through the wall and the TV and landed on the media room's couch.

“Sonic!” Everyone screamed before running into the media room to check on their fallen friend.

“Sonic, are you okay?” Apple Bloom cried as she approached Sonic with everyone else in tow.

Sonic groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his head. “Ugh… what hit me?”

As Sonic was slowly recovering, they all looked up and were instantly startled the moment they saw an intimidating-looking creature, glaring at the blue hedgehog through the hole that he just made.

Unlike Sonic, the creature was red instead of blue. He had amethyst eyes, seven dreadlock-like spines including two around the sides of his face, and a small black nose.

“...Pitiful!” The creature grunted as he made his way into the room.

“Huh, what?” Sonic muttered, still processing the situation.

Once the red creature fully entered the room, everyone was surprised at how muscular he looked despite his small size. He had a white crescent-shaped patch of fur on his chest, wore two huge white gloves with two huge spikes on each glove, and wore two yellow and red shoes with green socks. The girls would've commented on how cool he looked if not for the fact that the creature was scowling down at them.

And there was also something about this creature that was familiar to Sonic.

“Who… who is he?” Apple Bloom inquired quietly more to herself.

Before anyone could answer, Robotnik showed his face through the hole with a goofy expression.

“Where are my manners!” He announced, startling everyone.

Robotnik quickly walked away from the hole and entered the room to join the red creature.

“Sonic, girls, meet… Knuckles!” Robotnik introduced, pointing at the red creature in question. “My new BFFAE: Bestest friend forever and ever!”

The CMCs and Spike looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

“Knuckles?” Apple Bloom whispered.

“What exactly is he?” Scootaloo inquired quietly.

“He doesn't look like a hedgehog,” Sweetie Belle muttered.

“Maybe he's some kind of space porcupine?” Spike guessed.

Unfortunately for the young purple pup, the red creature heard him.

“Porcupine!?” Knuckles growled, causing the girls and dog to flinch. “I am an echidna! A trained warrior since birth in all forms of lethal combat, destined to restore honor to my tribe, and willing to destroy anything that gets in my way!”

“...does that also include dogs?” Spike squeaked in fear.

Sonic scowled at the two intruders, especially the red creature who just threatened his friend. He slowly got up from the couch and gently pushed the girls and Spike behind him.

“Look, Robotnik, I don't care who you brought to help you,” Sonic stated as he picked up his ring bag. “You're never going to get my power.”

“Do I look like I need your power?” Knuckles growled as he tightened his fist and powered himself up again with red chaos power.

With a determined expression, Sonic charged towards the red echidna, trying to strike him with his speed. Unfortunately for Sonic, Knuckles quickly pulled his fist up and managed to hit him again before Sonic had the chance. Sonic once again was flown backward by Knuckles’ punch and went through the back wall, leaving a huge hole in the process before landing roughly in the backyard.

As Sonic was on the ground, Knuckles jumped out of the hole and then landed on his knee a few feet away from Sonic. Knuckles then slowly stood up and pounded his fists together, letting out his red sparks in the process.

“Sonic!” Apple Bloom screamed as she and the others ran out of the hole to the back deck to get to their friend.

“Everyone, stay back!” Sonic ordered, stopping everyone in their tracks. “Leave this to me… I don't want anyone to get hurt!”

The girls and the dog stood by reluctantly on the deck, worried for the blue hedgehog.

“So nice when diabolical evil lives up to the hype!”

The CMCs and Spike turned as Robotnik casually walked out of the hole with a smirk and a bowl of popcorn that was left behind in the media room. He took some of the popcorn in his mouth while offering a bowl to the others. “Popcorn, anyone?”

The girls and Spike glared at the evil doctor, not saying a word to him.

“...suit yourself,” Robotnik shrugged before eating some of the popcorn again while watching the scene before him.

With a groan, Sonic slowly stood back up while Knuckles stared down at him with a scowl.

“Where is it?” Knuckles growled.

Sonic didn’t understand what Knuckles was talking about, nor did he care as he glared right back at him.

“Oh, you want it?” Sonic wiped his face with the back of his hand before resuming his fighting position. “Here it comes!”

Sonic's eyes then glow blue, causing blue sparks to glow in his quills as he powered up.

“Yeah, now we're talkin’!” Scootaloo cheered.

“Get him, Sonic!” Apple Bloom shouted.

“Kick his butt!” Sweetie Belle hollered.

Robotnik rolled his eyes at the girls’ cheer as he took another bite of popcorn.

Knuckles appeared unfazed, unimpressed with his opponent. “I was expecting more of you,” Knuckles stated with a glare. “You're unskilled.”

Sonic glared back, clenching his fists as he continued to power up.

“...untrained,” Knuckles added.

Sonic then got on his hands and knees, his quills glowing brighter as his power reached the max level.

“And… unworthy!” Knuckles finished.

“You forgot one!” Sonic stated, narrowing his eyes. “Un-stoppable!”

Within seconds, Sonic zoomed himself off of his spot and charged at Knuckles with his super speed and a blue streak of light trailing him. Knuckles barely had time to blink before Sonic crashed into him, followed by a huge flash of light that blinded everyone who watched them momentarily.

“Yeah, he did it!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

The girls cheered.

Spike narrowed his eyes as he was trying to see past the light. A moment later, his eyes widened in alarm. “Wait, girls! Look!”

The girls heeded Spike’s words as they watched the bright light fade away, revealing the battlefield once more. Once the light almost faded completely, the girls’ expressions slowly became horrified as they were able to make out what they saw in front of them.

The red creature appeared to be unharmed, with not a single scratch on him. His expression had a mix of anger and determination, gritting his teeth as if he were fighting back. On top of all of this, he managed to stand his ground while pushing back a still-spinning powered-up Sonic with just one hand.

The CMCs and Spike watched the red echidna both in shock and awe while Robotnik continued to eat his popcorn with a look of glee on his face.

“N-no way!” Scootaloo uttered, her jaw nearly dropped.

“He… he just stopped Sonic’s spindash… with just one hand!” Sweetie Belle muttered nervously.

“Impossible! That was Sonic’s strongest attack!” Apple Bloom exclaimed, her body shaking in fear. “Just how strong is this guy!?”

After a moment of standing his ground, Knuckles then began to slowly push forward against Sonic almost with little effort. He continued to walk forward slowly, pushing Sonic further down the backyard. After they finally reached the center of the backyard, Knuckles slowly brought up his free arm, powering it up with red sparks surrounding his fist. With a loud battle cry, Knuckle brought his fist forward and slammed Sonic down to the ground, causing a huge red shockwave in the process.

The shockwave nearly knocked the girls backward, but they managed to hang on to what little part of the back deck they had to keep themselves in place. Spike however was caught by the shockwave and almost flew backward but Scootaloo managed to catch him with her free arm before tucking him under her arm. Robotnik managed to stay in place as the bowl of popcorn flew out of his hand and spilled popcorn all over him. Despite all of that, Robotnik was still beaming in excitement, both from watching his mortal enemy beaten and witnessing Knuckles’ raw power.

With Sonic, however, after being slammed by Knuckles, he was forced out of his ball state, groaning in pain as he was bounced from the ground. He didn’t have time to recover as Knuckles suddenly grabbed him by the neck and chest before slamming him against the tree, pinning him in place.

“Sonic!” Apple Bloom shouted as she ran towards him with Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo in tow. Robotnik noticed the girls trying to aid Sonic and was about to chase after them if not for the sudden words coming from the pup’s mouth.

“Girls, stop!” Spike shouted, halting the girls in place. “This red guy is dangerous! You all saw his power! He’ll turn you into pancakes if you try to fight him!”

“But what can we do!?” Apple Bloom challenged. “We can’t just stand by and watch! We gotta help Sonic!”

Before Spike could argue further, they heard Knuckles begin to speak again.

“It is my destiny to do what my ancestors could not!” Knuckles growled, tightening his grip on Sonic further to the point that caused Sonic to wince in pain. “To restore the ultimate power to the home of my people.”

As the girls and Spike watched the scene in worry for Sonic, Robotnik suddenly watched the scene in interest as soon as Knuckles mentioned the “ultimate power”.

“Ultimate power? I don't know what you're talking about!” Sonic exclaimed with a grunt, struggling to get out of Knuckle’s grasp. “You got the wrong guy!”

“Ultimate power?” Robotnik muttered with a slight smirk as he moved closer to the group. “Now you're speaking my language!”

Knuckles narrowed his eyes while clenching his other fist threatenly. “Don't play dumb with me, apprentice of Longclaw!”

Sonic’s eyes widened in shock as soon as he heard a name he hadn’t heard in a long time. “Y-you knew Longclaw?”

“Longclaw and her people were the sworn enemy of my tribe, the echidna!” Knuckles revealed.

Sonic's pupils shrunk to the size of pinpricks as his mind finally clicked that the red creature in question was from an echidna tribe. The same tribe warriors who went after him a long time ago and got to Longclaw. Before he had time to react, Knuckles pressed him further against the tree.

“We fought and died at their hands!” Knuckles exclaimed as his right glove glowed red, preparing to strike Sonic again. “And now you will die in mine!”

“NO!”

Before Knuckles could turn his head, he was suddenly shoved aside by Apple Bloom, letting go of Sonic in the process before landing roughly on the ground.

And Sonic was on his knees, coughing for air, Apple Bloom knelt beside him.

“Are you okay, Sonic?” Apple Bloom asked in worry.

Sonic simply smiled as he nursed his neck. “Don't worry, Apple Sister, I'm fine.”

“Tiny human!”

Both Sonic and Apple Bloom turned toward Knuckles, who already stood back up with both out of anger and confusion.

“Why did you interfere?” He demanded. “This is a battle between the hedgehog and me!”

Apple Bloom narrowed her eyes at Knuckles as she stood back up. “Because you're hurting him for no reason!”

“And he’s our family!” Scootaloo joined Apple Bloom along with the others.

“Not to mention you also wrecked our house!” Spike barked, baring his teeth.

“Yeah, leave him alone you big bully!” Sweetie Belle yelled.

Knuckles was taken aback by their statements, especially from Sweetie Belle.

“Bully!? I am not a bully, I am an echidna warrior! I come to fight to avenge my people!”

“But Sonic didn't do anything to you or your people!” Apple Bloom argued. “He's completely innocent!”

“Doesn't matter! The sins of a master will be passed down to their apprentice!” Knuckles waved his hand with a frown. “Now, move aside! The battlefield is no place for children!”

Apple Bloom scowled at Knuckles’ dismissive behavior towards them for being children. She hated how no one took them seriously because of their ages, especially her own family. But she hated even more when someone messed with her family, including Sonic. Despite all odds, Apple Bloom quickly stood in front of Sonic, shielding him from Knuckles.

“No way!” She shouted, glaring at Knuckles. “Ah won't let you hurt him! If you want to get to him, yer going to have ta get to me first!”

Apple Bloom felt her heart beating like a drum in fear as Knuckles was staring right at her, but she refused to leave her spot and was determined to protect Sonic at all costs.

“Don’t forget about me!” Sweetie Belle cried, who suddenly stood right by Apple Bloom’s side and also shielding Sonic.

“And me too!” Scootaloo added as she joined her friends and shielded Sonic as well.

Spike also joined in as well as he stood in front of the girls and growled threateningly at the red echidna.

Knuckles stared at the young individuals in awe, especially at the young girl with red hair and a pink bow. She was clearly too young to fight and afraid of him, and yet she stood her ground with fire in her eyes like a young warrior. For a split second, she almost reminded him of his younger self when he first started training as a warrior with his father. He was honestly impressed with the girl, but Knuckles quickly shook that away to avoid getting himself distracted.

“You have the heart of a warrior, I admire that,” Knuckles stated at Apple Bloom. “I would rather not harm a child, or any children for that matter, but if that's the only way to get to my mortal enemy…” He cracked his knuckles, red sparks dancing around his fists again. “Then so be it!”

As Knuckles moves closer toward them, the girls and Spike shut their eyes, embracing the impact.

Suddenly, they all heard police sirens, coming from the far back of the backyard. Seconds later, the police car smashed through the backyard fence and sped down the yard toward Knuckles. Before Knuckles could have time to react, the police car slammed into him, sending him flying backward towards the shed and crashing into it in the process. Dr. Robotnik watched the scene unfold with a stunned expression on his face before he made a strange shrug pose while making some robotic noises as he did it.

Meanwhile, Sonic, the CMCs, and Spike stared at the police car, wondering what had happened and how the car got there.

“Um… did any of y'all call the cops?” Apple Bloom asked.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shook their heads.

Before they could wonder further, something popped out from the front passenger side window. To their surprise, it was another creature. Unlike Knuckles, this creature was a small yellow fox with foxy ears, three hairs sticking out on top, a white fluffy mouth, a small black nose, a white fluffy chest, white gloves, and it had blue eyes.

“C’mon, get in! I’m on your side!” the small fox exclaimed.

Before anyone could respond, another person popped out of the driver’s side window. This time, it was an older male human with short rainbow hair, golden eyes with a small scar over his right eyebrow, and he was wearing some kind of gladiator armor.

“And hurry, before he gets back up!” He added loudly.

The CMCs stared at the pair with confusion and skeptical expressions. Even Spike stood in front of the girls while giving the newcomer his distrustful eyes.

“Wait… who are you?” Apple Bloom demanded.

“And why we should come with you?” Scootaloo added with narrowed eyes.

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Yeah! We are told to never talk to strangers, let alone go into their vehicle!”

“Would you rather face that angry red guy?” The man asked sarcastically, pointing at the echidna in question.

The girls and Spike turned towards the now-destroyed shed to see Knuckles slowly getting up with a groan. Seeing the angry look on the echidna’s face, the answer was obvious.

“...good point!” Apple Bloom responded as she quickly tended to Sonic. “Girls, help him up!”

The girls quickly lifted Sonic off the ground before they opened the back door of the police car and then jumped inside for safety. As they slammed the door, Spike ran after them.

“Wait for me!” Spike yelped, as he jumped in through the back passenger’s open window.

As soon as Sonic, the CMCs, and Spike were all inside, they were suddenly startled when Robotnik jumped on top of the hood of the car in front of the windshield. The girls and three animals screamed at the sight of the mad doctor.

“Get us out of here!” Sonic shouted.

“Go go go go!” Scootaloo urged.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” The mysterious young man exclaimed as he quickly pressed the gas peddle.

The police car roared into life as it quickly spun around the yard, while the rainbow-haired human was looking for the exit. This action caused Robotnik to flung forward and press himself against the windshield. However, the doctor leaned his face even closer to the windshield, and growled at them, freaking the girls out and the animals in the process.

“He’s gone rabid!” Sonic yelled, pulling himself away from the mad doctor.

“He’s crazy!” Sweetie Belle screeched

“That’s an understatement!” Scootaloo remarked loudly.

The doctor then slid towards the driver’s side of the windshield as he continued to growl. He then started licking the window like a wild animal, disgusting everyone further.

“Gross!” Tails exclaimed. “Is it licking it!?”

The young man ignored the doctor as he continued to spin around the yard, he then made a sharp right turn, causing the doctor to fly off of the car and land roughly in a nearby garden.

“See ya!” Tails smirked with a mock salute.

“Make sure you get your shots Eggman!” Sonic taunted.

“I recommend, Dr. Fauna! She’s very gentle with her shots!” Spike joked with a laugh.

The human turned to Spike briefly with a shocked expression. “This dog can talk? That was weird!”

Spike raised an eyebrow at the human. “Weirder than three talking alien anthropomorphic animals with superpowers?”

“...touché,” he responded before he resumed driving the wheel.

As the police car pulled out of the Sparkle’s backyard, Knuckles fully recovered and stood back up fully. He glared at his enemies as they fled from their battle, which was an insult to the warrior’s code. He will never let his enemy get away from him. With an angry growl, he channeled his power, his eyes glowing red in the process before he chased after them with his own super speed.

The mysterious human quickly sped the car down the neighborhood's road, away from the Sparkle’s household in hopes of escaping from the two intruders, especially the red echidna. As soon as he reached the crossroads, the human quickly turned towards the main road and then pressed the gas pedal in full throttle, going beyond the speed limit. As he sped away, however, Knuckles reached the main crossroad thanks to his speed. With a brief delay, Knuckles set his sights on his pursuers before he resumed his chase with no signs of slowing down.

Meanwhile, Sonic, the CMCs, and Spike sat in tense silence, still processing what just happened back at the house. They had so many questions in their minds, but neither knew where to begin and who would be the one to ask. Before either of them could speak up, the tiny yellow fox was the one who broke the ice.

“Wow! Okay, let me just say, it is an honor to finally meet all of you, especially you, Sonic!” The Talking Fox smiled excitedly as he addressed Sonic. “Is it okay if I call you Sonic? Everyone calls me Tails! You're probably wondering why.”

“...let me guess. Because of the extra tail?” said Sonic in a deadpanned tone.

Tails laughed. “That's right! I should've known you'd get that!”

“Cool. Also…” His deadpan expression immediately changed to a look of panic and confusion. “What is going on?! Robotnik's back!? And who is Clifford the Big Red Rage Monster?!”

“And most importantly, who are you guys!? And how did you know Sonic?” Apple Bloom added who was also freaking out.

“I'll explain everything once we get out of this mess, I promise!” Tails assured before narrowing his eyes at the red echidna from the rearview mirror. “As for your first question… that's Knuckles. The last of the echidnas, and the most dangerous warrior in the galaxy. He's obsessed with finding the Master Emerald.”

Sonic gasped, startling the girls and Spike. “Are you serious!? The Master Emerald?”

The CMCs looked at each other in confusion before Apple Bloom addressed Sonic. “Uh, what's the Master Emerald, Sonic?”

“You heard about it, Sonic?” Spike inquired, also interested in the topic.

Sonic nodded with a serious expression. “Yes… it's some mystical rock supposedly containing the power of the universe, but that's just a bedtime story.”

“Well, he believes it's real!” Tails stated, staring intensely at Sonic. “And he must think you're the key to finding it!”

Sonic's eyes widened in revelation. Was this what that red echidna was referring to earlier during their fight? It seems more likely since he knew a lot about Longclaw and may have known about the Master Emerald's location before she was assigned to protect Sonic. But Longclaw never told him anything about the Master Emerald, so how could heknow the location of that mystic rock?

Before he could ponder further, he was interrupted by the mysterious human again.

“I hate to interrupt, but we still have a situation at hand!” He warned, glaring intensely at the rearview mirror. “Specifically about that angry red guy behind us!”

Everyone turned around and then cringed in fear as they spotted Knuckles, who was getting closer and closer to them due to his power. Sonic turned to face the windshield again and nearly gasped when he saw an upcoming intersection with cars passing by in front of them. To make things worse, they have a red light from the traffic light, which will slow them down and Knuckles will catch up to them for sure.

“Red light! Red light!” Sonic shouted. Before the human could do anything, Sonic quickly hopped over to the driver’s seat beside him. “Give me the wheel!”

“Hey! What are you–” The human shouted as Sonic pushed him aside.

“Move your foot!” He ordered.

“Sonic, what are ya–”

Apple Bloom wasn't able to finish her sentence as Sonic pressed hard on the gas pedal and zoomed past the red traffic light.

The girls screamed as Sonic dodged one incoming vehicle after another. Sonic then spotted a huge green pickup truck with a bottled water ad on the side that said, “Splash Hills Spring Water”. Determined to get through, Sonic pulled a sharp turn at the last moment, dodging the truck at the last second. The green truck stopped abruptly in the middle of the road, while the gang continued to drive down the road unharmed.

The human pushed Sonic aside, getting himself back on the wheel. “Are ya nuts!?” He scolded. “What the heck are ya thinking!?”

“Getting ourselves across while escaping from that crazy red guy?” Sonic remarked.

The human was about to scold him some more when Sweetie Belle interrupted.

“You did it, Sonic! We lost him!” Sweetie Belle cheered, looking behind her.

As soon as Sweetie Belle said those words, however, Knuckles suddenly punched through the center of the green truck, leaving a huge hole behind him before landing on the road on his right knee, still glaring at them from afar. The CMCs stared at the scene in shock, couldn’t believe that a small red echidna could punch through that huge truck like it was nothing.

“OH, COME ON!” Sweetie Belle screamed while throwing her arms up.

With a grunt, Knuckles powered himself up before taking a running start and then took a huge leap in the air. He was able to jump across the road at a great distance before landing on top of the police car, knocking over the flashing red and blue lights in the process. Then without any hesitation, Knuckles easily punched through the roof of the car, startling everyone in the police car as a result.

“Oh, man! Oh, man!” Scootaloo shouted nervously.

“This guy just won’t quit!” Spike barked.

The girls screamed when Knuckles grabbed the front passenger’s door and easily ripped it away like it was wrapping paper. Knuckles glanced inside the car with a leer while struggling to keep himself on the car.

“Hey! Back off, Clifford!” The human yelled as he took out what appeared to be a laser pistol before firing his weapon.

Knuckles quickly pulled back right before he was hit, but still hung on from the roof of the car. Knuckles pounded the roof of the car with his fist over and over, scaring the girls and animals further. Thinking quickly, Tails gazed over his side where the passenger door used to be to see a cliffside below while they were driving on the mountain.

Tails’ eyes lit up and turned to the others. “I got an idea! Do you all trust me?”

“Of course not! I literally just met you!” Sonic exclaimed.

“He has a point!” Apple Bloom added.

“Well, I’m open to anything if it gets all of us out of this mess!” The human interjected.

Tails rushed over to the human and whispered to the human’s ear. When he was finished, the human’s eyes widened. “No way! Your plan was even crazier than the blue guy!”

“Hey!” Sonic retorted but Tails ignored him.

“Just trust me! Okay?” said Tails with a serious expression.

The human hesitates for a moment before sighing. “Alright… take the wheel!”

The human moved aside as Tails used a tiny machine to push the gas pedal for him. This action only confused and worried the others as Tails took the wheel.

“Uh, Tails?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously. “Why is he giving you–”

“Hang on!” Tails shouted before taking a sharp turn toward the guard rails, freaking everyone but the human out.

“Whoa, what are you doing?!” Sonic shouted, trying to take the wheel back, but Tails wouldn’t let go as he continued to drive straight towards the guard rail until he broke through and over a tall cliff.

Sonic, Spike, and the girls shut their eyes and screamed as the police car plummeted down the cliff, assuming to their deaths. During the commotion, Tails grabbed Sonic as he and Sonic quickly escaped through the doorless passenger’s side and flew away with his twin tails. Meanwhile, the human used the seat recliner to get himself in the back seat and enveloped the three girls and the dog into his arms. He then kicked the back door off the hinges with his leg and jumped out of the car, but not before he activated his jet pack to keep himself and his passengers floating in the air.

As Tails and the human escaped the car, Knuckles tried to grab them with his hand but couldn’t reach them. Frustrated, Knuckles leaped off of the police car and then stuck himself on the side of the cliff with the spikes of his gloves right before the police car landed on the ground and exploded into pieces. Knuckles looked up with a scowl, unable to reach his enemies as they were floating in the air above him.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Spike, and the CMCs were still screaming in fright but were quieting down when they realized that they were no longer falling. They slowly opened their eyes to see what was happening and were shocked that not only they were in the air, but were saved by the very two people that they just met.

“Hey… we're flying!” Sonic remarked, looking down at the ground in disbelief while being held by Tails. Sonic then looked up, only to be shocked when he saw how Tails was using his tails. “Uh, did your butt just turn into a helicopter?”

Tails laughed. “A butt-copter!” He let out a joyful sigh. “Only Sonic the Hedgehog can come up with something like that.”

The CMCs and Spike looked around in wonder until their eyes landed on the human who was also floating in the air.

“You… you can fly too?!” Scootaloo yelled in shock and awe.

“Well, technically, I'm using my galactic jetpack that kept us flying,” the human responded with a smirk.

“So… awesome!” Scootaloo whispered, her eyes shining in amazement.

Spike turned his head back at the road, his ears lowered in dread. “Looks like getting back home is out of the question!”

“So what do we do now?” Sweetie Belle asked in worry. “Where do we even go?”

Apple Bloom furrowed her brows for a moment in thought. Everyone at CHS, including their families, is at Hoovaii right now and Scootaloo’s Aunts are away on a business trip. There was no one in Canterlot City they knew could help them in the situation they were in right now.

All except for one person.

Even after all this time, Apple Bloom wasn’t sure where they stood with this person, but her sister and Sunset swore that this person was on their side and would help them out at any time in case there were any emergencies. With no other options, Apple Bloom knew what they had to do next.

“I think I may know a place!” Apple Bloom answered before pointing straight ahead. “Let's keep going straight across the city!”

“You got it, little missy!” The human nodded, hugging the girls tightly. “Hang on!”

The human and Tails continued to carry their passengers as they flew across the city, almost in the same direction as the full moon in the night sky.

While that was going on, Robotnik was driving up the road on the mountain with a ride-on mower, which he stole from the Sparkle house to chase after them. By the time he reached where the police car drove off, the mower suddenly stopped working due to low on gas. Frustrated, Robotnik got off of the mower and then gave it a hard kick as if it were the mower's fault.

With a huff, Robotnik walked towards the edge of a cliff where the ruined guard rail was and looked up. He watched as the two mysterious figures carried both Sonic and the brats’ siblings as they were fleeing towards the full moon away from him.

Robotnik let out a dark chuckle. “Foxy move…”

He honestly never expected to be foiled by a third party, least of all another creature from another world. There seems to be a pattern of these creatures “visiting” his home planet and will soon be infested by them. He will crush every single creature whether be hedgehogs, foxes, ponies, or anything who even tries to set foot on his planet before he can conquer it himself.

Robotnik then frowned as he thought of the second visitor who was with the fox. This person was, for one thing, a male human and not a creature. Why a human was with that fox was a mystery to him. The second thing about this guy is that he looked very familiar to him. He felt very irritated by that human for some reason almost as if he was a mirror image of another person he strongly despised.

Robotnik shook his head. He decided to cast that thought aside for the time being as he raised his control glove, preparing for his backup plan.

“Want something done right,” Robotnik muttered as he was tapping on his glove. “You have to hire someone you can push around… All-caps!”

With a smirk, he sends his message.

Somewhere within the Mean Bean Coffee Café, someone was preparing the latte for the customer. The person activated the latte machine and the hot liquid poured into the cup a moment later. Once the latte was in the cup, the person poured a little foam cream into the cup before bringing the latte to the counter near the register. The person then took out a pair of latte art pencils before he started sketching the foam into a little art. Less than a minute later, he completed his little sketch art, which revealed to be the face of Dr. Robotnik.

Agent Stone sighed as he stared at his little latte art. Months ago after escaping from Tempest's capture, he quickly went to CHS to aid the doctor, but he was too late. The doctor not only was defeated by those girls and that blue creature but he was sent to a mushroom planet through the portal.

Ever since then, Stone went into hiding to avoid getting caught by the government and took over a local coffee café per the doctor’s pre-plan instructions. As much as he took pride in his lattes with goat milk, he knew that teens hated them, assuring him that none of the girls would even come here. But just in case he had his useless coworker, Brayden take the day shift while he took care of the night shift; he's more of a night owl anyway.

While Stone wanted revenge against those girls and that creature himself, he believed in the doctor and stood by for his return as instructed.

If he comes back.

As much as he believed in his doctor's return, it was getting harder to keep his fate as he worked in this miserable coffee café for these simpletons in this town day by day. He wasn't sure just how much longer he could put up with all of that.

“Doctor… where are you?” He whispered, staring at his latte art longingly.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when a spoon roughly placed in the cup and stirred his latte art away. Stone looked up to see a customer, who had long, combed black hair, thick eyebrows, and blue eyes. He was also wearing a suit with three moneybags pin on the right side of his chest and a huge red tie with a money symbol on it. The man gave Stone a strange look before slamming his spoon and taking away his latte.

“Freak!” The man muttered with a scoff as he walked away with his latte.

Stone sighed, exhausted after dealing with yet another disgruntled customer. None of these low-standard customers ever appreciated the work of art within a high-quality latte. He might as well just give them all a watered-down low-quality brown liquid with dish soap.

Suddenly, Stone heard a ding from his wristwatch. Curious, he brought his wrist up to look at his watch, only for his eyes to widen in shock when he saw a message that said “PREPARE MY LATTE” in all caps from an anonymous source.

Stone knew what this message meant. It was a secret message to activate the doctor’s hidden storage based on its careful wording and that the message was all capitalized. Aside from Stone, there was only one person who knew about this secret message.

And that person was also the one who put together this secret message.

“Oh! I... uh... I'm sorry folks!” Agent Stone announced loudly as he ran around the counter. “I-I have to close early. Everybody out! Everybody out!”

Everyone left their seats as Stone urgently gestured to them out of the front door of the café.

“Thank you for visiting the Mean Bean!” He said with a plastered smile on his face as his customers left the store. “Alright, good night! Good night.”

Some of the customers grumbled as they were forced to leave early, including that one customer from earlier who scoffed at Stone as he stormed past him.

“Unbelievable!” He muttered. “Next time, I'll have my coffee at The Sweet Shoppe!”

As soon as all of his customers left the shop, Stone dropped his smile as he shut the door and locked it. He then flipped the sign on the front door from “open” to “closed”. To ensure he kept people out, Stone also removed the passing health inspector grade from beneath the closed sign from an “A” to an “F-”.

Once that was done, he ran up to one of the boilers, specifically in front of the temperature gauge. The gauge then transformed into a red retina scanner, which then scanned Stone's left eye. Once the scanner identified him, the spill guard of the latte machine opened, revealing a red button to which Stone pressed it.

As soon as he pushed the button, Stone slowly approached the register with a sigh and a look of disbelief.

“He’s back,” Stone whispered to himself.

Once he fully processed the situation, he let out a huge smile of happiness before screaming to the sky above him.

“HE'S BAAAAAACK!!!”

Somewhere in outer space, a white satellite was floating aimlessly above the planet Earth. Suddenly, the entire satellite lit up and then it proceeded to detach an egg-shaped pod off of it. As soon as the egg-shaped pod was detached, it then started heading down towards Earth at a high speed almost into flames like a meteorite.

Robotnik, who was waiting from the side of the road was watching the pod heading down towards his direction. He then put on his goggles just as the pod began to descend with its jets slowly before landing softly in front of him. Robotnik grinned as the pod opened the main door for him and he began to head over to the door. As he reached the door, the pod opened from its sides, revealing it to be a storage for his Badniks. Some of which are his standard egg-shaped drones and others are his new Badniks which appeared to be metal wasps with wings and stingers.

As the Badniks detached themselves from the pods, Robotnik was inside the pod, changing out his old suit for a new and improved suit, including a new red and black overcoat with a high collar and some triangular golden buttons, black shirt, gloves, boots, and new pair of goggles. He even had his mini Badniks to clean him up, including fixing his mustache, trimming his nose hairs with lasers, and squirting mouthwash in his mouth, which he gurgled for a moment before spitting out.

Once he cleaned himself up and wearing his new suit, Robotnik re-emerged from his pod and stood pridefully with an army of his Badniks hovering behind him.

“That's more like it!” Dr. Robotnik grinned before cheering. “I've been… re-hatched!”

Meanwhile from the side of the cliff, Knuckles was scaling up the mountainside with his fists to keep himself from falling off. The red echidna scowled as he thought of his enemies, especially the blue hedgehog who managed to escape his grasp before he could annihilate him. While he had no idea where his enemy was fleeing since he was unfamiliar with this planet, he swore to his ancestors that he wouldn’t rest until he finally completed his mission of finding the Master Emerald and seeking his revenge.

Suddenly, he was interrupted from his climbing when a laser blast stopped him in his tracks. He turned towards the source to see a group of Badniks surrounding him, pointing at him with their flashlights and preventing him from escaping. Knuckles glared at the group of robots around him for a moment, until he heard someone approaching from above him which turned out to be Robotnik who was looking down at him.

“So, my massively metacarpaled friend!” Robotnik called to him with a grin. “You mentioned…” He then howled like a wolf before finishing his question. “Uuuuuuuuuuuuuultimate power... back at the house?”

“The Master Emerald?” Knuckles inquired before frowning. “It does not concern you! I got you off that planet and you brought me to the hedgehog. We have no more use for each other!"

Dr. Robotnik rolled his eyes. “Well, I hate to be a contrarian, but…” Robotnik pressed a few buttons on his control glove. “I think we might.”

Shortly after Dr. Robotnik used his control glove, the Badniks were now closing in on Knuckles, making the Echidna tense up into a battle pose.

“You think these machines are a match for me?” Knuckles growled as he clenched his fist while hanging onto a cliff with his other fist. “I will shatter them like the bones from a fallen–”

Knuckles ceased his rant the moment he saw the Badnik’s true purpose as they lined up underneath him in the form of a path.

“Oh… they are stairs.”

Knuckles lets go of the cliff and lets himself land on top of one of the Badniks. He then followed up the “makeshift stairs” up the cliff to bring himself to the top where Robotnik was waiting for him. Once Knuckles reached the top and back on the road, Robotnik began to explain his case.

“You see... Earth, is my turf, G!” Robotnik stated before he began the floss dance, much to Knuckles' confusion. “If you don't know how to floss, you'll be lost without me!”

Knuckles blinked. “...I understand nothing of what you just said.”

“I help you retrieve the Emerald,” Robotnik clarified as he took out one of Sonic’s blue quills. “And you use it to…”

Robotnik then swung his arms around rapidly before he finished his sentence with an angry scream.

“DESTROY… THE HEDGEHOOOOOOOOOOG!!!”

“...you're suggesting an alliance?” Knuckles asked with a raised eyebrow. “I was going to do that anyway and I nearly destroyed the hedgehog with no problem. Why should we team up?”

“You don’t understand my red-muscled alien friend,” Robotnik clicked his tongue as he put away the quill in his pocket. “It wasn’t just the hedgehog we should worry about, it was also his friends. And by “friends” I meant seven teenage girls who barely graduated high school with magical horse powers from another dimension!”

“...you’re kidding me!” Knuckles frowned, hardly believing what he was hearing.

“Oh, believe it!” Robotnik scowled before pointing toward the sky. “And those three little brats who are with the hedgehog are their sisters! They may also have Equestrian magic as well, or call their sisters for backup as we speak! With our combined skills we–”

“Hold on!” Knuckles raised his hand abruptly. “Did you say… Equestrian magic?” His eyes narrowed. “Those very same magic from a place called Equestria?”

Robotnik was nearly surprised that this red echidna even heard of Equestria, but managed to keep a cool face and continued to roll with it. “Why yes! In fact, the leader of their little group was a former unicorn, now human! And her former mentor was an Alicorn who ruled her kingdom!”

“...Celestia!” Knuckles seethed in hatred.

“Oh? That’s her name?” Robotnik asked while pretending to be shocked. “You heard of her?”

“Let's just say… she’s involved in my tribe’s downfall!” Knuckles responded vaguely, clenching his fists.

He stood quietly for a moment, weighing his options before he looked up at Robotnik in the eye with a determined expression. “Very well, I shall team up with you!” He frowned. “But how will I know that I can trust you?”

Robotnik grinned. “Around here, we simply, grip each others hands tightly.”

Robotnik then lowered his hand, silently inviting Knuckles in for a handshake. Knuckles stared at Robotnik’s hand for a moment before he accepted Robotnik’s hand and gripped it tightly.

Unfortunately for Robotnik, Knuckles’ grip was so strong, that he felt his hand was being crushed so much that he could hear his bones crack.

“Ow, ow, ow!” Robotnik yelped in pain as he quickly got his hand out of Knuckles’ grip. “You… truculent space bumpkin! You crushed my favorite hand!”

Knuckles checked his own hand. “Really? My hand is uninjured.” He then placed his hand over his left chest. “But I am now convinced of your commitment.”

“Oh, goodie!” Robotnik exclaimed sarcastically. He turned his back on Knuckles and muttered, “He exclaimed, as he relocated two of his knuckles!”

Robotnik spent a moment relocating his knuckles before putting them back in place with a loud “pop”, causing Robotnik to wince. “I'm… delighted to be on the same team!” He said with gritted teeth to mask his pain.

With their alliance sealed, Robotnik pressed a few buttons on his control glove. That activated the egg-shaped pod to release a brand new Egg Mobile, which was more egg-shaped than the previous mobile from the top of the pod before descending near the two of them. Robotnik grinned at his mobile before he gestured to his “partner” to get in his mobile.

“Road trip! …I'll let you stick your nose out the window!”

Author's Note

Yep! I'm back!

Sorry for the long wait. Life is a pain in the neck, so I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Anyway, our Knuckle-Head has finally made a full debut in this story and he is chasing our heroes along with Dr. Robotnik. But how does he know Equestria?

Who exactly was that human that our young heroes met? And how did he and Tails know them?

And most importantly, who was that person our heroes are going to visit?

All in good time my friends!

So, some notes:

The chapter title, "Knock Knock, It's Knuckles!" was actually part of the lyrics from Knuckles theme music, Unknown from M.E. (ver.1).

@4:06

Spike's joke about his vet, Dr. Fauna (or sometimes "Mane Goodall" and "Mane Cureall") is an actual MLP character in the show a few times who is a Veterinarian.

The green truck in the movie that advertised "Splash Hills Spring Water" was a callback to the very first level Splash Hills Zone from the game Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I

Sweetie Belle's most iconic line, "OH, COME ON!" was from MLP:FiM Season 2 - Episode 17, Hearts and Hooves Day.

Before anybody asks, yes, the one who "ruined" Stone's latte art was Mr. Filthy Rich. Originally, the one who was supposed to make a cameo appearance in the Mean Bean Café was Mr. Cranky Doodle, but then I remembered that he along with the CHS staff was on a Hoovaii trip. So the next best (or worst) person I could think of for that role was Mr. Moneybags himself. I'm sure we won't be seeing him for a while...

Anyway, those new Badniks in the movie that looked like wasps are the iconic Buzz Bomber from the Sonic games.

Oh, look! The "floss dance" made a return. Yay! (sarcastically)

And finally, Robotnik's new Egg Mobile in the movie is actually the closest to the iconic Egg Mobile from the game series.

Anyway, next time, we will check back with the girls in Hoovaii and see if they can solve their "issues" with their "Principal" and her "friends".

Until then, stay tuned!