Earth 2010

Equestria

The orange glow of the sun shined through her curtains, stirring her from slumber and awakening her to a brand new day. Truth be told she was still getting used to her new accommodations, it had only been a week since she had become the student of the Princess of Friendship.

The pony in question was a unicorn mare with a pinkish-purple coat, purple-blue eyes, and a dark purple mane and tail with lighter purple and mint green streaks, with a Cutie Mark of what appears to be a star with two streaks of magical light green energy coming from it.

Nervousness fluttered within Starlight Glimmer's belly.

She felt like throwing up, why was this the case? Apparently her mentor had an important meeting today and wanted to introduce her to some close friends. But that was where Starlight was confused, she had already met the girls, so who else could she mean?

When she tried to change history she could've sworn that the Element Bearers were her only close friends.

Questions plagued her mind, questions that would be answered later on today, but for now, she was scheduled to meet up with the other girls for a brief picnic before her excursion to who knows where. Starlight honestly didn't know why the girls had accepted her so easily, she had tried to ruin their lives, to tear their friendship apart, who just forgives somepony like that?

It didn't make sense to her.

While she got suspicious glances from one of the girls, the others seemed okay with her.

Which unnerved her even more.

Hooves clopping against the floor, Starlight got out of bed and made her way towards the bathroom to get ready for her day. Her horn lit up as she used her magic to turn on the shower, stepping under the shower head when the water was the perfect temperature.

As the water fell from her mane and dripped down her face, the butterflies in her tummy worsened when flashes of those other timelines entered her mind. In all honesty, there was a part of her that felt like her mentor had only taken her in to keep an eye on her, to make sure that she couldn't cause anymore problems. But that wouldn't make sense, she was the Princess of Friendship, she wasn't capable of something so dishonest.

...right?

Starlight shook her head, she had spent enough time in the shower. With that, she turned off the water and dried herself off, exiting the bathroom and leaving her room. She stopped dead in her tracks, looking left and right, trying to figure out where the main lobby was.

This castle was much bigger than it looked.

After what felt like hours, Starlight finally managed to find the main lobby and made her way to the door. She had an hour until she was to meet up with the girls, she didn't want to show up empty hoofed, so she decided that she was going to head into Ponyville and pick up a few things.

She looked around for a moment, no sign of her mentor nor her faithful assistant.

She shrugged, they must've been preparing for their trip.

With that thought in mind, Starlight walked out of the door and stepped out into the sunlight.

When her hooves trotted along the dirt path leading from the castle into Ponyville, Starlight felt a little invigorated to get her day going. With a bounce in her step, she made her way into the town, passing by many ponies who greeted her with a smile and a wave.

"Okay! First things first!" She was about to begin listing off her 'to-do' list, when an unhappy grumble from her stomach caused her to stop. Turns out in her rush to get the day going, she forgot to eat breakfast. She turned her head and looked down sheepishly at the offending organ, patting it softly with her hoof, the heat rushing into her cheeks. "Heh heh, right. First things first, get some food into my belly. I think Sugarcube Corner would be the best place to go. That way I can get some food not only for the picnic, but for my gut as well."

Another gurgle made her blush even more.

"I'm going, I'm going." She said with a chuckle, resuming her trek into Ponyville.

She couldn't help the smile that stretched across her muzzle, it wasn't the same smile she had while she ran Our Town, no, this was a real smile. Everyone was so kind here, not that she deserved it, "NO! Stop it, Starlight, you're a different pony now." She thought to herself. "You have friends now. Friends that gave you a second chance. And you're not going to waste it away feeling sorry for yourself."

Sugarcube Corner came into view, "Thank Celestia! I swear my guts are going to implode from hunger." She entered the store and looked around at the array of sweets on display. "Okay, what to get, what to get." She tapped her chin in thought, what would be the best thing to bring to a picnic? When her eyes locked onto the pink, frosted cupcakes and the cherry, cream pie on display, she knew what to do.

After she left Sugarcube Corner, she quickly ate the cupcakes, filling her belly, and made her way to Sweet Apple Acres to meet up with the girls. As she walked past the gates, the smell of freshly baked apple pie entered her nose. It seemed that the Element of Honesty was bringing her own pie to the picnic.

The more the merrier, right?

As she trotted through the property, Starlight remembered that Sweet Apple Acres was huge. To think that the Apples owned so much land, it actually impressed her, but she couldn't help but wonder how they manage to harvest everything without any outside help.

She was getting off track, so to get back on track, Starlight made her way to the barn, where they all said they would meet. As she drew closer to the barn, a mare came into view: The Element of Honesty herself. An orange mare with a golden mane and emerald green eyes, with a Stetson on the top of her head and three apples on her posterior, smiled and waved at her.

Applejack trotted over to Starlight with a smile on her face, "Well howdy there, Starlight! Mighty fine day we're havin'!"

Her nerves flared up again, causing her laugh to sound strained and forced, "H-Hello Applejack! Yes, g-great weather indeed!" Although she could tell that Applejack saw right through her forced smile, she continued to smile anyway, what else could she do?

Noticing her new friends distress, Applejack chuckled and wrapped her leg around Starlight's neck. "Now come on, Starlight! No need ta feel nervous, we're friends now, all tha things that happened in tha past is in tha past. It's water under the bridge, sugarcube. So quit shakin' like a leaf and relax a little."

The mare looked away in guilt, her eyes drooped and her head lowered. "I just don't know how you guys could just... forgive all the things I did."

"Easily!"

Both mares shrieked at the sudden appearance of a pink pony with a poofy mane, blue eyes, and three balloons on her flank. She just popped out of nowhere, startling the two mares something fierce.

Pinkie Pie giggled before bursting into full blown laughter, falling onto her back and flailing her legs about as snorts escaped her. "Y-You should see your faces! I was all like "Easily!" and you were all like "AAAAAAHHHHHH" and I was all like "Heheheheheheheheh" and then I was like "You should see your faces! I was all like-""

"Simmer down there, Pinkie Pie." Applejack calmed the excitable mare down, gesturing for her to chill with her hooves.

This seemed to have the desired effect as Pinkie Pie stopped laughing and slowly got to her hooves, shaking herself off to get rid of the dirt in her coat. She then turned her attention onto Starlight Glimmer and said, "Don't be so silly, Starlight! We've forgiven you because you're our friend now! You're fun! And you're a blast to have at parties! And suuure, you nearly destroyed the whole timestream cause we stopped your cult and gave them their Cutie Marks back, but that's... Like... not even the worst thing done to us."

Applejack couldn't help but nod in agreement, "Eeyup! 'Member when we were kidnapped and held hostage by that crazy Ancient fella?"

"That was a weird week! Plus everything nearly died, so there's that too!"

Before Starlight could get clarification on what it was they were talking about, a bright blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, red eyes, with a thunder cloud striking a rainbow lightning bolt Cutie Mark, landed on the ground not too far from them, kicking up dirt where she landed.

Rainbow Dash flipped back her rainbow mane and trotted over to the others, "Sup, guys?" She greeted with her trademark smirk, "Sorry for the landing, I just got back from training."

"For the Wonderbolts, right?" Starlight guessed, remembering what she was told by her mentor when she first starting to get to know the girls.

"Good guess, but nope!" Rainbow answered before clarifying, "I'm training to get faster!"

To Starlight's confusion, both Pinkie and Applejack groaned, with the latter rubbing her forehead with her hoof and saying, "Not this again. Rainbow, when are ya gonna learn that he is just faster than you?"

"Hey! I can totally beat that spiked furball!" Rainbow claimed, her brows furrowed in frustration.

"Didn't he leave you in the dust when you two raced?" Pinkie recalled, poking her chin with her hoof. "Like, literally left you in the dust. He was miles away before you even got started, I'm pretty sure that he lapped you twice."

"I thought I told you not to speak of that again." Rainbow growled, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment and frustration. When both mares started laughing, Rainbow folded her forelegs over her chest and huffed, "You guys are jerks."

"Awe, come off it, Rainbow!" AJ admonished playfully. "We're just kiddin' with ya."

"Is Rainbow talking about the race again?" The posh, sounding voice asked from behind them.

When the girls turned around, they were greeted by the appearance of two distinct mares. One was a white unicorn with a curled, purple mane, blue eyes, and three diamonds on her flanks. The other was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, light blue eyes, and three pink butterflies on her flank.

Fluttershy and Rarity both approached the group, the former more subdued than the other. Starlight wasn't surprised that Rarity was still a little wary of her, heck she was still wary of Discord, but what surprised her was how welcoming and understanding Fluttershy was. She thought that out of all the mares in this little group, she would be the most scared of her.

The more you know.

"Oh my!" Fluttershy 'exclaimed', with a whisper, before continuing, "I remember that day, he was so nice, so were his friends."

"You did get along well with them, darling." Rarity agreed. "I'll be quite honest, I can barely remember what happened at that party."

"Probably because you and Princess Luna were drunk off your heads on wine." Rainbow laughed, recalling the party after Exiled's and Eggman's defeat. "I still can't get over that concert though!"

"You better lose yourself in the music, the moment you want it, you better never let it go!" Pinkie sang, suddenly wearing a white singlet, a neck chain, baggy pants, and somehow changing her mane color to blonde instead of pink. She shook herself and she was back to normal.

Rarity, finally noticing Starlight, smiled and nodded politely, "Starlight darling, I'm glad to see you've kept my recommendations on your mane into consideration."

Glimmer looked away with a blush on her face. She actually loved the change in style when it came to her mane, Rarity knocked it out of the park. While she was still wary of her, rightfully so, she still made an attempt to become friends with her.

She was taken out of her thoughts when Fluttershy asked, "Um, where's Twilight?"

That was a good question, she would normally be here by now, most likely the first to arrive. One year ago they vowed to treat Twilight better, and they came through on that. They took her worries into consideration, and actually treated her as a friend. There was one incident where Discord had a plan to make Twilight feel jealous, and she gave them a stern talking to, but in the end they made up.

But what surprised them was how she acted toward Discord.

While most of them were indifferent or friends with the reformed villain, Twilight refused to interact with the draconequues unless she needed to. While they weren't enemies anymore, she still held some form of resentment for him, and who could blame Twilight for feeling that way?

Discord broke Twilight in ways none of them could describe, made her question who she was. And when he betrayed them and captured them for Tirek, Twilight, despite saving him, made it clear that they weren't friends in the slightest. She would be polite to him for Fluttershy's sake, but she didn't have to like him.

The girls were honestly surprised, despite showing clear dislike and distrust for Discord, that Twilight decided to take Starlight in under her wing. Was this genuine trust or was there something hidden underneath?

Despite all that, the girls trusted Twilight's judgement when it came to Starlight.

Speaking of Starlight, all eyes were now on her, waiting for answers. She gulped and said, "Well, I didn't see her this morning. I just assumed that she was getting ready for the meeting we're supposed to attend today."

The girls all looked at one another for a second before looking back to Starlight, "What meeting?"

The Castle of Friendship

The Princess of Friendship was galloping all around the library in a frantic panic, holding multiple scrolls, quills, and other documents in the air with her magic as she moved from one area of the library to the other, sweat dripping down her face as anxiety overtook her.

And her faithful assistant was struggling to follow her for two reasons: One, the weight of the tower of documents, scrolls, and other necessities slowed him down greatly. Two, he couldn't exactly see over the tower, which is why he suddenly tripped over and was trapped under the mountain of papers on the floor.

Twilight paid him no mind.

Yes, Twilight Sparkle was the Princess of Friendship!

Her appearance hadn't changed much over the course of one year, except for two things. Her coat was still a lavender color, her mane and tail were still as beautiful as ever, an indigo color with streaks of purple and pink, her eyes were still a nice shade of purple, and her starburst Cutie Mark was still there.

No the key differences were her height and the additions of wings on her back.

It was a safe bet that she was nervous about this meeting, but why would she be? They've had multiple meetings over the course of the year that their team was established, so why was this one any different? It might have something to do with the fact that she's introducing her student to them. Her student, who used to be the leader of a cult, and almost destroyed the timeline in an attempt to ruin her friendship with her friends.

And added onto that, she'll have to somehow convince them that Starlight shouldn't be locked away for everything she's done and that she's worthy of redemption. Which was going to be even harder since her best friend is even more stubborn that Applejack and Rainbow Dash combined and will probably lock her up the first chance he gets.

No pressure, right?

A strand of her hair popped out of place, it was official, Starlight was doomed.

She dropped her head in exhaustion, they already chewed her out for giving Discord another chance, despite everything he had done. She remembered that she had to physically stop Mario and Sonic from going to Equestria to bring him in. Eventually she had convinced them all that she would keep an eye on him and that Fluttershy would keep him in line. And while they all eventually agreed with her decision, Batman didn't exactly trust her judgement, which hurt, but not as much as she thought considering it was Batman being, well, Batman.

She tried calming herself down.

She failed.

Underneath the mountain of documents was Spike the dragon: Twilight's Number One Assistant. He was purple in color, while his underbelly, the underside of his tail, eyes, fins, and head spikes were all green.

Spike's head popped out of the stack of papers just as the library doors opened, revealing the Mane 5 and Starlight Glimmer, who trailed behind them slowly with a look of hesitation on her face. The young dragon climbed out of the mountain of paper and scampered over to the girls. "Hey girls!" Spike greeted with a smile before tilting his head, "What brings you here?"

"Twilight didn't show up to the picnic we planned and we got worried." Fluttershy answered with her soft voice.

"That was today?" Spike asked, having honestly forgotten. He laughed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of his head when the girls all shot him the same look. "Sorry, we've been a little busy getting ready for Twilight's meeting. Things haven been crazy around here lately."

"Starlight mentioned that she and Twilight were attending a meeting today." Rarity mentioned, much to Starlight's embarrassment. "Do you have any idea what it could be about?"

Now it was Spike's turn to shoot them all a look. "You mean you don't know?" When they all shrugged, not having the slightest clue, he sighed and asked, "Girls, what's the date today?"

It was Applejack who answered, "The 23rd." Now she was confused, as were the others. "But why would that...." She trailed off before realization struck her, "Well, HOO WEE! Is it that time again already?" The other girls, sans Starlight, all seemed to have realized what today was as well.

"That came by fast." Fluttershy said, a gentle smile on her face.

"Time sure does fly by when you're having fun!" Pinkie piped up, bouncing on the spot.

Starlight couldn't help but feel a little excluded, probably because she had no clue what they were talking about. "I'm a little lost." She said, all eyes now on her, again. "What's exactly the difference between today and any other day?"

"Oh right! You don't know!" Rainbow laughed.

"Know what?"

"Allow me to explain, darlings, if you would be so kind?" Rarity asked, to which she got agreeing nods from everyone. She looked to Starlight and explained everything to her. How everyone standing in the library were kidnapped by the Ancient known as The Exiled, including the Princesses. How Twilight met with the other Guardians, her destiny to lead them in defending all of creation, the pivotal role the Foundation of all Dimensions plays into giving life into the Multiverse.

All of it.

Starlight couldn't help but listen on in wonder and awe, as well as a little bit of terror. She couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if these Guardians of the Multiverse got involved when she tried to mess with time. She wouldn't've stood a chance.

If they could take on a literal God and win, what chance did she have?

She considered herself lucky in that regard.

But she also couldn't help but wonder about the Multiverse itself, how vast and huge it was. Maybe there was a reality out there where Sunburst never left her? Maybe a world where everypony was equal? Or maybe a reality where she was an alicorn? The possibilities are well and truly endless.

The takeaway she got from that was that A) Twilight was more important than she realized. And B) She goes to meet up with the Guardians every six months on the twenty third.

Which was today.

And she was meant to be going to this meeting with Twilight.

Oh.

....Crap.

As Starlight dealt with her own inner turmoil, Rainbow took notice of Twilight's Twilighting. "Um, anypony gonna do something about that?"

"WE NEED MORE SCROLLS!!!" Twilight shrieked as papers went all over the place. She began to hyperventilate, using her magic to bring over a paper bag and breathe into it in an attempt to calm herself down.

"We should probably..." Pinkie motioned towards the panicking alicorn in their midst with her head.

"Eeyup!" Applejack agreed as they all trotted over to try and calm Twilight's nerves. But Starlight felt glued to the ground, unable to move from that very spot. She couldn't deny it. She was terrified. Panic rose in her chest, swarms of butterflies fluttered around in her belly, causing it to groan nauseously. She felt sick. What if they arrested her on the spot? What if they hated her, deeming her unworthy of redemption?

Anxiety bubbled in her guts as nervous bile rose in her throat. It took all of her willpower not to throw up on the spot, no, she swallowed it and began focusing on her breathing. Twilight wouldn't let any of that happen. She was her student, her friend. She would fight for her, defend her, and show the Guardians that she was truly worthy of redemption. Everything was going to be fine, it was all going to play out how it should, she was sure of it. While her nerves were going haywire, she couldn't help but wonder what the Guardians were doing right now.

Or rather, where they were.

But for now, she finally willed herself to move and help her teacher calm herself down. After all, they had to look their best for the meeting. "Hah hah." She laughed in her head, sweat dripping down the side of her head. "I'm so screwed."

Earth 1991

Mobius

Just Outside of Station Square

The world was right below his feet, his notorious speed kicking up dust in his wake. He moved as quick as the wind, undoubtedly even quicker, the wind rushing against his face as he moved at impossible speeds. A beaming smile etched itself onto his face as he maneuvered through the trees, quick stepping at the right time to avoid colliding with them.

He let out a joyous laugh as he picked up the pace, creating a sonic boom, causing all the trees to tussle about. The hero of Mobius had been having a great day, he was about to meet up with his friends at Vanilla's house for a victory celebration. It was only yesterday that they had stopped Eggman's latest plot.

He tried using Cream to gain control of The Reverie, which would allow him to make his twisted dreams a reality. Of course he stopped him, as was the norm. But he didn't do it alone of course, he had his friends there to back him up. And once they dealt with Eggman and returned Cream home, Vanilla, grateful for the return of her daughter, invited them for this little celebration.

The Blue Blur couldn't help but feel joy, not only was he hanging out with his friends, but he also had his meeting with the other Guardians as well. He couldn't wait to see them, he was hanging to tell them about this latest adventure, and by the sounds of it Twilight had some big news as well.

Sonic picked up the pace, he didn't want to wait any longer. Speaking of the hedgehog, he was a blue color, with the exception of his hands, arms, muzzle, and stomach, which were a tan color. His eyes were an emerald green, and he wore white gloves on his hands. And on his feet were his signature shoes, which were a red color with a white strap over the top of them, held in place by a golden buckle.

The sun's glow shined through the darkness of the forest up ahead of him, there was a clearing, which meant he was close to Vanilla's house. A blue aura appeared around him as he boosted forward, exiting the clearing and following the windy, dirt path leading to the house on the hill.

The hedgehog skidded to a stop at the front door before knocking and wiping his feet on the welcome mat. The house had a welcoming presence about it, its beige color and red roofing made it look ordinary, and Sonic took whatever forms of normalcy he could get.

The door was opened by a tall, cream-furred rabbit with a white muzzle, a small brown nose, brown eyes, and a tuft of dark orange hair on her forehead. She wore a long lavender dress with a white trim at the bottom of the puffy sleeves and the skirt, a burgundy-fitted vest with golden buttons, an orange ascot on her neck, white gloves with golden cufflinks, burgundy low-heeled shoes with a yellow detail and gray soles, and pink lipstick.

"Sonic!" Vanilla greeted happily, a kind and gentle smile on her face. "I'm so glad that you could make it."

The hedgehog brushed his thumb against his nose and said, "Heh heh, I wouldn't miss it. Thanks for having me over." She stepped aside and invited him inside. Sonic accepted the invitation and entered the house. "How's Cream doing? She holding up okay?"

"Oh, she's doing wonderfully!" Vanilla answered the hero, leading him through the house towards the backyard, where everyone was waiting for him. "I can't thank you enough for saving her from the clutches of that evil Dr. Eggman. Oh, he is simply awful!"

"Amen to that." Truth be told, this wasn't the first time Cream was involved with one of Eggman's schemes. Whenever he brought her into the war between them really made Sonic mad. The mad scientist truly had no morals, she was just a child. Not to mention when she was turned into a Zombot due to his Metal Virus.

Sonic tries to see the best in everyone, he even gave Eggman a second chance when he lost his memories. But when he got them back and unleashed the Metal Virus, that cemented in his head that Robotnik was never going to change. That incident brought back memories of when he Roboticized Mobotropolis, renaming it Robotropolis.

Luckily he and his siblings managed to stop him and free their home, reuniting with their mother in the process. But when he learned that he was spreading his evil outside of Mobotropolis, Sonic left to stop him. He didn't even say goodbye. Better that way, they wouldn't understand that Eggman would never stop, and that he couldn't allow what happened in Mobotropolis to happen anywhere else.

He should really think about going to see them.

No, it would be too complicated.

His thoughts were pushed to the back of his mind when he entered the backyard, where all of his friends were waiting for him.

Sitting on a wooden table was an echidna and a bat, bickering with one another.

The former had purple eyes, red fur and wore white boxing gloves with spikes on the knuckles. Across his chest was a white stripe, his tail was crooked, bending down at an angle, and he wore red and yellow shoes with green socks on his ankles.

The latter was a bat with white fur, turquoise-green eyes with two eyelashes on each one, tan skin and a curvy figure. She had large pointy ears, small fangs, a small black nose on her muzzle, a short pointy tail, and a pair of dark purple wings on her back. She wore a black, skin-tight and strapless low-cut jumpsuit that sported a pink heart-shaped chest plate. She also wore a set of elbow-length white gloves and thigh-high high-heeled boots with pink cuffs to match them, with the latter featuring both gray soles and heels, along with steel toes in the appearance of pink hearts, matching her jumpsuit's chest plate.

"I'm telling you the answer is no!" Knuckles yelled, slamming his fist into the table, launching his sandwich into the air. "You're not going anywhere near the Master Emerald. That is final!"

Rouge chuckled at the echidna's reaction, knowing just how to press his buttons. Truth be told, she had grown out of being a thief some time ago, after that whole Infinite debacle. But she knew that Knuckles didn't believe her, especially when it came to the Master Emerald.

But he didn't know that she was a full-time spy now, and that made it even funnier.

She rested her head in her hands and shot him a coy smirk, "Awe, come on, Knuckie~ Don't you trust me?"

"No."

"You do realize that I've snuck onto Angel Island multiple times, right?" She informed the last of the echidna's, much to his shock. "And of course, I've laid my eyes on that Emerald too." She leaned forward and whispered, "And I've touched it~"

"STAY AWAY FROM MY EMERALD!!!"

Rouge fell off the seat, holding her stomach as she laughed at the expected reaction. Knuckles simply pouted and folded his arms, grumbling under his breath as Rouge continued to die on the floor from laughter.

Sonic laughed at the scene before looking over to see his other friends gathered on the floor on a picnic mat, all eating their lunches and laughing together.

The first to catch his eye was his best friend and little brother. A yellow fox Mobian with a set of twin tails and blue eyes. He wore white gloves and a pair of red and white shoes on his feet. He was yellow in color, except for the fur covering his chest, mouth and belly. His set of tails also had tuffs of white on the end of them, and his fur made three bangs that rested on his forehead.

Tails was sat next to a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress with a pink headband in her hair. Not only did she have green eyes, but she two wore white gloves with golden bracelets on both of her wrists. Her boots were red with a white stripe going downwards towards the sole of the footwear.

Amy took a bite out of her sandwich and looked over to the little, tiny rabbit sitting next to her. She was a small, cream-furred, rabbit with cinnamon-brown eyes, a small brown nose, and a white muzzle. She had Princeton orange markings around her eyes, on her head and at the tips of her long ears. She wore a simple sleeveless vermilion dress with a white collar and a light blue cravat, white gloves with a gold cufflink on each cuff, white socks, and vermilion and yellow slip-on shoes with gray soles.

Cream instantly shot to her feet and rushed over when her eyes laid on Sonic. Their bond was nothing small, they each considered themselves to be siblings, and were like family to one another. The bond wasn't as strong as the one between Sonic and Tails, but it was strong nonetheless.

As soon as she was close enough, Sonic picked her up and spun her around in circles before setting her down. The two then embraced for a moment before separating. "I knew you'd come! I knew it!" Cream said happily, bouncing up and down on the spot.

Sonic ruffled the top of her head and said, "I wouldn't miss it, Cream." He then let her guide him to the mat and sat down with everyone. "Sup guys? Did I miss much?"

Amy shot him a sly smirk, "Sonic the hedgehog, how is it that you're the fastest thing alive, yet you're always late?"

"Hey, give me some credit!" Sonic defended himself with a smile. "I'm only--"

"An hour late." Tails, Amy, and Cream all said collectively, each with deadpanned expressions on their faces.

Sonic chuckled sheepishly, "Okay, that's fair." He looked over to Cream and asked, "Heard you went to visit Ariem. How'd that go?"

"Oh, it was so wonderful to see her. I knew Mr. Tails was going to figure out a way for us to see her, but I didn't think he'd figure it out that quickly!" She looked to the blushing fox and said, "He's very smart!"

"Yeah, he is!" Sonic agreed, flashing his brother a smile.

Heat rushed to Tails' cheeks as he turned away in embarrassment, "I-It wasn't anything, really..."

Sonic took in the scene before him, blinking to give his eyes momentary ease, only for them to widen in horror when his friends were gone, as was Vanilla's house. He looked around and shot to his feet, fire and brimstone fell from the sky as red lightning split it apart. The sky itself appeared to be glitching, digitizing somehow as a looming shadow with eight eyes towered over him.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no..." He instantly knew what this was, why was this happening now, now of all the times it could have happened. Why now? He hadn't had a vision in over six months, he was finally getting sleep again, ironic, given how he was asleep for the majority of his last adventure.

The wind was knocked out of him when a streak of red zoomed past him, but it wasn't just a red streak, it was followed by red lightning and a swarm of bats. As he got back up he saw five figures loom over him, with the hedgehog looking one glaring at him with pure hatred in his cold eyes.

The unicorn leading the group was wearing an amulet, a silver amulet with wing tips, the head of a unicorn with red eyes, and a red jewel in the center of it.

The unicorn placed the Alicorn Amulet on her chest and power surged through her. The only distinguishing features he saw on the unicorn was her glowing, red eyes, and the sun Cutie Mark on her flank. That was all he saw before her horn lit up and he was blinded by a red light.

"SONIC!"

The hedgehog was pulled back into reality as he heard Tails scream his name. He was panting, his chest heaving, he noticed sweat falling down his head as he looked around to see the concerned faces of his friends.

"Sonic, you were unresponsive for five minutes!" Amy informed him, her own panic finding its way into her voice. "What happened? Are you okay?"

Sonic didn't answer straight away, looking to Tails knowingly. They both knew what this was, but decided to keep it to themselves. But the look he got from Tails told him that they were going to have a discussion about it later. After saying that he was fine, with some assurance from Tails, they dropped it for now.

But that was the most lively vision yet. And the worst part was that he had no idea what any of it meant.

Earth 1

Gotham City

The door leading to the roof was kicked down, and soon enough the entire rooftop was swarmed by armed thugs wearing black, skull masks. They spread out and searched for their target, the rain pelting down on them and bouncing off of their black jackets. Each thug searched the rooftop, determined to catch the one ruining their boss' operation. This had been the third drug den hit that night, the Bat was on the prowl, that's for sure.

As they moved around the rooftop, the city's lights shined off of the puddles on the ground, illuminating the area somewhat, but it wouldn't help them though. A strike of lightning revealed a shadowed, bat figure crouching on a stone gargoyle, watching them from the nearby roof.

This was the last of Black Mask's drug dens in the city. Over the past week, drug crimes had gone up as did the shootouts that occurred just to get a taste of the poison. After multiple nights of clearing out the gangs, interrogating the Mad Hatter for answers, and sending Commissioner Gordon enough evidence to put Black Mask away for life, he had finally found where the drug boss was cooped up.

"REPORT!" He heard the drug boss shout, having already hacked into their communications sometime ago. "Any sign of the sonnuva bitch?!"

"Nothin' yet, boss." One of the thugs informed while the others kept a lookout. "Maybe he ain't gonna show up?"

The optimism was nice, but it wouldn't save him and the others.

"No, he's definitely here. The rat bastard destroyed my entire cocaine supply in a single night!" Black Mask shouted, frustrated that his operation was well and truly done for. "I have a plane waiting for me at the airport, it's your job to make sure that I get there! And I ain't moving an inch before I know the Bat's dead! Ya got that?!"

"Sure, boss. Loud and clear." With that, he cut off the communications and continued patrolling the rooftop.

"Oh dear, it seems that Mister Sionis plans to make a quick getaway, sir." A posh voice said inside his cowl. He felt a warmth inside him, he could always rely on Alfred to back him up. "The GCPD has been sent the location of the drug den. Might I suggest you get in there and disarm Black Mask?"

The Dark Knight stood upright, lightning striking in the background as his cape flapped in the wind. "You read my mind." As the lightning flashed, his full form was visible for a mere moment. In the year that he had become a Guardian, he had decided to upgrade his batsuit with the latest technology. It looked the same as before, with the bat shaped cowl, the bat symbol on his chest, and the long cape, except it now had advanced flexible plates overlaying a MR-fluid (magnetorheological fluid) armor layer, to make him faster, and to make his punches harder.

Without warning, Batman glided down, spreading his cape open as he took out his Grappling Hook and fired it at an unsuspecting thug. Once the claw clamped itself onto the gun, the wire stiffened as Batman kicked down the guard behind him, rolling across the roof and pulling the gun out of the thug's hands, using the built up momentum to hurl the gun at another thug's head, knocking him to the ground.

Batman darted over and slammed one crook to the ground, his head hitting the wet surface, rendering him unconscious. He then dashed over and uppercut another before turning around and throwing six Batarangs at three incoming thugs, disarming them before rushing over and bashing two of their heads together and roundhouse kicking the other.

One thug tried hitting him from behind with a lead pipe, but Batman saw it coming, and grabbed the pipe before using his elbow to break the thug's arm, delivering a headbutt to knock him out. He heard a rush of footsteps behind him and threw the pipe behind him, striking the thug in the face and sending him sliding across the roof.

Batman looked around at the roof full of unconscious thugs and turned around, activating his Detective Vision to see Black Mask packing his bags. He wasn't alone as six guards were also helping him pack any drugs or weapons that they could get their hands on.

Six guards, one drug boss. This was gonna be easy.

Inside the drug den

"MOVE YOUR ASSES, YA USELESS MUTTS!" The guards scurried around the room, which was lit up due to the moon that shined through the massive window that overlooked the street. "KNOWIN' THE BAT, HE'S ALREADY HERE, AND I DON'T INTEND ON SPENDING ANOTHER SECOND IN THIS CITY IF I CAN HELP IT!"

The one shouting at his henchmen was the drug lord known as Black Mask. He was a lean man wearing a white, stripped suit, with a matching white vest over his black, buttoned up shirt. He wore a black skull mask on his head, reflecting the inner feelings he had to hide while in high society.

Roman Sionis, which was his real name, was stuffing money and drugs into his duffel bag frantically. He had come too far and had made too much money to stop now. He wasn't going to let the Bat stop his operations without a fight. Knowing how the hero operated, he knew that he had little time to get what he needed and get out of there.

"ARE YOU IDIOTS FINISHED YET?!" Sionis asked, panic starting to set in as he zipped up his bag. But when he received no answer, he growled angrily and snapped his body around. "ARE YOU MORONS DEAF?!" His breath hitched when he turned around and saw all of his guards on the ground, having been knocked unconscious.

Quickly taking out his handgun, Black Mask cautiously walked forward, eyes darting back and forward as a chill went down his spine. He jumped at every shadow, unsure if the Bat was there or not. His footsteps echoed throughout the room, his breathing the only sound he heard as it quickened.

"WHERE ARE YA, YOU SONNUVA BITCH?!"

"Behind you."

That was the last thing Sionis heard before darkness clouded his vision.

The Batcave

The waterfall concealing the runway leading into the Dark Knight's base of operations split apart as The Batmobile roared through, the secret passageway closing behind him as he slowed down the car. It hadn't taken long for Gordon and the rest of the GCPD to arrive at the scene, the workload having been lifted due to Sionis and his goons unconscious and wrapped up waiting to be arrested.

After that whole debacle, Batman spent another hour patrolling the city before deciding to return home for the night, not wanting to be late for the annual Guardians meeting. When he became a Guardian, he made it abundantly clear that Gotham came first, and that there would be times that he could not attend the designated meetings. Out of the few meetings that they had had over the course of the year, he had only missed one.

Gotham was still recovering after the war between Bane and Joker.

That was a long week.

The Batmobile slowed to a stop on the platform in the middle of the Batcave, the engine turning off as multiple bats flapped away from the cave and out into the night. The door slid open and Batman leapt out of the seat, his cape shrouding his form as he made his way to the Batcomputer.

He took a seat and closed the most recent case in Black Mask's file.

The sounds of footsteps approaching caught his ears, yet his eyes remained on the screen before him, if he was going to finish all of the case work he had before his meeting, he couldn't get distracted.

"I take it that Mister Sionis is now behind bars, Master Bruce?" Alfred asked as he placed the tray down beside the computer. It had a cup of tea laid upon it and some dinner too, Alfred having already known that Bruce would have forgone eating to get back into the city.

Alfred was an old man, with receding black hair and a moustache. He wore a black suit jacket with long lapels on the back, with purple suit pants to match, completing his attire.

"With Sionis' drugs off the streets, hopefully things will start to calm down." Alfred hoped optimistically.

"When are things ever calm, Alfred?" Batman rhetorically asked, with Alfred chuckling behind him.

"That is true, sir." Alfred then asked, "I assume you will be attending your meeting tonight?"

"Right."

Alfred nodded, turning away from Bruce, before saying, "Give my regards to Princess Twilight, and tell her to visit more often. It has been sometime since she has graced us with her presence."

"She's a busy woman, Alfred."

"Of course, sir."

With that, Alfred walked away, knowing that Bruce wanted to be left alone so that he could finish his work.

Batman interlocked his fingers after opening the Injustice Files, watching intently as the various Babel Protocols popped up on the screen. There were various contingency plans made for each member of the Justice League, because there was a slim chance that they could turn against them. Whether it could be due to mind control or of their own volition.

If that were to happen the planet wouldn't survive.

Which is why these contingency plans were created, made to neutralize, not kill, each member of the League just in case they ever went rogue.

So it made sense for Bruce to make plans regarding the Guardians of the Multiverse. With their knowledge of the Foundation of all Dimensions, the various dimensions out there, the threat would be too great for there not to be any plans in place in case any of them went rogue.

He let out a sigh as Twilight's came up, he knew that if she ever found out about this, she would feel betrayed beyond imagining. But, and he hated to say this, but she was far too trusting for her own good. She sees the best in people, while Batman saw the worst, all the flaws, the lies, the potential threats.

She was already formidable as a unicorn, but now that she was an alicorn, her power increased astronomically.

Part of him felt bad for doing this behind her back, but she couldn't know about this. None of them could. It would be too damning and it would go against the very reason these plans were in place. They could figure out ways to counteract them, and then they would be doomed.

He did trust them, especially Twilight, but not enough for these plans to not be in place. In his heart Bruce knew he was doing the right thing. And he prayed that he would never have to use any of these plans. But if it came down to it, he would without hesitation.

Shutting off the computer, Bruce got up from his seat and walked away, leaving to go get ready for his meeting.

Earth 616

New York City

Stark Tower

Tony Stark was having one of those days.

You see today Loki decided that today would be a great day to try and conquer the planet, starting with the big apple, of course. So he transformed all of New York into a frozen wasteland and declared it his new kingdom, subjugating all of the innocent people under his rule.

That is, until The Avengers stopped him.

It took a while, but they eventually beat him and used that ancient casket thing to undo Loki's mess. He was then taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and that was that. After spending hours upon hours of helping with cleanup, Tony was ready to get some work done before he had to go to his meeting with the other Guardians.

Tony Stark was currently wearing a casual jacket, glasses with holographic capabilities over his eyes, trousers over his legs, and a shirt under his jacket, his Arc Reactor glowing underneath the fabric. Tony clapped his hands together, the lights brightening the main lounge in the tower dimming as multiple holographic screens appeared in thin air. "Alright, J.A.R.V.I.S., let's pick up where we left off, shall we?"

Stark stretched his fingers and got to work, swiping through multiple screens while simultaneously running various simulations for this little project of his. He ran through the numbers, trying to crack the code, but no matter how close he got, he always hit a roadblock.

Creating a working communications system that could work between dimensions was a near impossible task, but Tony will be damned if he let something like this beat him. If X-PO could figure out how to do it, then he could too. Curse that little robot for wanting to continue his explorations around the Multiverse. But that aside, this device would make things a lot easier between the Guardians if he could get it to work. They wouldn't have to wait for a meeting every six months to inform one another of their current situations.

And the benefits this could have would be astounding!

Say if one of them needed help with a threat or a problem, they could just call one of them up and ask for assistance, as simple as that. But finding a way to allow the communication to break through the vibrational frequency of their respective earths was proving to be a challenge.

But Tony was persistent and wouldn't give up on this. There had to be some solution to this problem, and if there was one, he was going to damn well find it.

After all, he was Tony Stark, the Invincible Iron Man, an Avenger and a Guardian of the Multiverse. If he could save the lives of everybody in existence, than he could do this.

The sound of an alert in his glasses caught his attention, and alert from Nick Fury. He rolled his eyes and ignored it, he could deal with it tomorrow. Knowing that he wasn't going to crack this tonight, Tony decided to quickly check in on his fellow Avengers.

Steve was dealing with the press.

Natasha and Barton had gone undercover somewhere in Latveria.

Thor had returned to Asgard.

Banner had gone off the grid.... again.

And T'Challa had gone back to rule Wakanda.

After doing that, Stark took a look at the time and decided that it wouldn't hurt if he was a little early for the meeting. He swiped his hand, closing the screens and walked over to the bar, just as a metal case slowly rose from the floor.

"Alright buddy, could you bring out my spiffiest outfit?" Tony asked the A.I., "Gotta look good for the meeting, y'know?"

"Already ahead of you, sir."

When the case opened, it revealed Tony's latest addition to his 'wardrobe' as he liked to call it. Inside was the Mark 43, it looked similar to his previous armors, but it had a more frequent use of the color yellow on the shoulders, torso, and legs.

Tony smirked as a chuckle escaped him. "You know me so well."

Earth 1983

The Mushroom Kingdom

The sun shined down on the grassy hill the two lovers sat upon, their picnic nothing but peaceful and serene as they interlocked hands and stared down at the Go Kart course below the hill. With the Mario Kart Grand Prix coming up in a few weeks, everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom was itching to practice their racing skills on Mario Circuit.

And with their friends currently racing one another on the circuit, Mario and Peach decided to take this time to have a little romantic picnic, seeing as they never really got the time to do so. Ever since the incident on Foundation Prime, Princess Peach couldn't stop thinking about her hero, or the many times he's saved her from Bowser's clutches.

So when they got back, she decided to ask him out.

And he said yes.

They had this back and forth thing going on for years, and they were pretty clear on their feelings for one another, so they decided to make it official. They would date one another for am while and see where it would go. And so far, things were going very well.

Of course, when Bowser found out, he was furious and upped his game when it came to taking over the Mushroom Kingdom and claiming Peach's love. But once again, he was sent packing and the day was saved.

The two stared at one another as a small, white bird landed on Peach's shoulder, which caused the princess to giggle, her voice music to Mario's ears.

Peach was wearing her signature pink dress with a blue pearl on her chest, along with blue earrings to go along with it. Her blonde hair went down past her shoulders, and her blue eyes were a marvel to look at. Her tiara shined, thanks to the sun, making her look all the more radiant.

She stared into her lover's eyes, Mario, who still wore his blue overalls over his red shirt, with his red cap to match. A blush came to his mustached face, causing him to turn away and cough into his gloved hands. He cleared his throat and stared lovingly into Peach's eyes.

Peach sighed wistfully and looked up into the sky, "It's such a beautiful day today, isn't it, Mario?"

"Not as beautiful as the girl I'm staring at right now." Mario flirted, causing the princess to blush profusely. He took her hand in his, causing her to look into his eyes. "You know, growing up, heh maaan, I spent hours of my life stomping... ugh, Koopas." He said their name as if it disgusted him, well, anything reminding him of Bowser disgusted him. "That was my day to day for the majority of my life, but it didn't really begin until I rescued you for the very first time."

"I'll never forget that day, you were so handsome, so confident... For the most part." She snickered that last part, causing Mario to pout playfully.

"Hey! I'll have you know that it was my very first time saving the kingdom, thank you very much!" He informed her with a playfully. "But I just want you to know, I'll always be there to protect you, no matter where I am, if you need me, I'm there."

With that, the two shared a gentle kiss, the sun shining upon them. Mario had a few hours until his meeting, they could stay like this for just a while longer.

Earth 2010

Equestria

This was it, it was time to go.

After having calmed down Twilight, her ramblings about how if things went wrong Giant Quesadillas would storm the Multiverse riding on top of Mutant Ladybugs came to a stop. Starlight took note that maybe her mentor wouldn't be in the best of mind sets whenever she had a panic attack.

As the girls all talked to one another, Starlight watched as Twilight trotted over to one of the many bookshelves in the library and pulled out one of the books with her magic. At least, that's what it looked like anyway. No, what she really did was pull a secret lever that activated the secret door behind the bookshelf. It popped open, and Twilight used her magic to pull it open, revealing a Gateway with Ancient Runes surrounding it.

So this was how they were getting to their destination.

Neat.

She then trotted over to a command console and pulled down the lever. Once she did, the Gateway whirled to life, its sheer power sending multiple papers flying through the air. The alicorn turned to her student with a smile on her face and asked, "Ready to go?"

Starlight didn't want to answer that. Her belly was doing summersaults right now, it was groaning with anxiety, bubbles of fear made her want to back away. Her breathing quickened as her heart raced, her eyes darting around the room for any signs of escape.

Sensing her student's anxiety, Twilight trotted over and placed a comforting hoof on her shoulder, halting Starlight's nervous breathing. "Hey." She gave her a comforting smile and said, "The Guardians are some of the nicest creatures you could ever meet," Well, except Batman, but she wouldn't mention that at the moment, "And I just know that they'll love you as much as we do." She gestured to the ponies and dragon gathered behind her, all giving Glimmer comforting and encouraging smiles.

"B-But what if they lock me away for everything I did?" Starlight couldn't help but ask.

Twilight's smile never wavered, "Then they'll have to deal with me." Her mind recalled the various arguments she and Batman had. He may be her best friend, but he really got on her nerves sometimes. "And I'll be by your side the entire time. You're not alone, Starlight, and you never will be again."

Taking these thoughts into account, and the fact that Twilight would be by her side the entire time, Starlight took in a deep breath and slowly exhaled, calming her nerves. "I can do this. I can do this." Part of her still wanted to run for it, but Twilight's comforting smile halted her movements.

It was just a small step into a whole new world, she could do this.

For Twilight, for the one who believed in her, the one who gave her a chance when nopony else would.

It was time.

With a final goodbye to the others, Twilight guided her student towards the portal. "Ready?"

Starlight nodded, "Ready."

As she stepped into the portal, all Starlight could think about was what would happen on the other side. One thought was more prevalent than the others.

"I am sooooo screwed."

Author's Note

Abra-abracadabra
(And for my last trick) I'm 'bout to reach in my bag, bruh

Ahem, sorry, song's stuck in my head, been listening to it on repeat as I wrote this chapter.

So sorry for the long wait on the chapter guys. Been busy as all hell, but hopefully this will do! As you can see these chapters may be longer in length than my last story, which means that they'll take longer than normal. So don't expect a consistent upload schedule, not that I had one to begin with.

Now, onto the notes.

I'm sure that some of you noticed the parallels between Starlight and Twilight's days in the opening scene, ranging from the title of the chapter all the way to the picnic. That was intentional. For those of you who got it, good job! Have a mustached Spike!

As me and many fans agree, Starlight's redemption and characterization was complete bullshit, hence why she is a main character, I'm going to maker her character actually go through a redemption process. Try and stop me Hasbro!

And yes, in this universe, Sonic Underground is canon, as are the IDW comics. I just thought that I'd address that considering that something may come of that in the future, but not in this story.

Batman has finally got the Arkham Knight armor, finally! I contemplated giving it to him at the end of the last story, but I decided against it, seeing as a year has passed since then, it would make more sense to use it here.

Not much going on with Tony, he's still an Avenger, still rich, still single. Although ignoring Fury like that after what happened in the prologue is sure to bite him in the arse.

Mario and Peach finally got together officially. I know that they have romantic feelings in canon, but it's never been made official, so I decided to make it happen here. Safe to say that they're very happy together.

And if you caught the Chris Pratt reference, then you get a happy Twi!

Also, FYI, we won't be visiting the first world for a few chapters, but trust me when I say you'll never guess which world it will be. But I'll just leave you with this. "I know something you don't knoooow~"

If you know, you know. Don't spoil, just say a quote from the property so I know that you got it. Remember, no spoilers, any spoilers are to be hidden otherwise they will be deleted, I'm not taking any chances.

With all that being said, sorry again for the long wait, hopefully the next won't be as long, but I make no promises, I've got a pretty busy week ahead of me. See you cool kids next chapter!

Sonic -

Cream -

Amy -

Tails -

Knuckles - All belong to Noe0123

Rainbow Dash - AndoAnimalia

Fluttershy - wcwjunkbox

Iron Man - IARU2

Black Mask - Asthonx1

Vanilla -

Princess Peach - All belong to Nibroc - Rock

Mario - ShineSpriteGamer

Tony Stark - DarthSpiderMaul