Crystal Brighthouse

The Mane 6, as the ponies call themselves, lead Team Sonic to their home. It was a very large lighthouse, painted in pastel blue with a turquoise ceiling and white trim; around it there were pink trees that gave it a more lively touch; the front door was pink and framed by an arch of stained glass. It was the Crystal Brighthouse, as the ponies called it.

On top of said "Brighthouse", there was a room where three floating Crystals spread their magic all across this magical land. The Crystals were a purple one with the shape of a unicorn horn; a turquoise one with the shape of spread wings; and a round white one... These crystals matched the description of the ones Eggman is looking for.

"Okay, let's recap again this 'cause I'm getting a headache..." Sonic spoke, rubbing his forehead a bit. "You, Misty, had a nightmare where a floating island came out of nowhere, right?"

"Then, someone with not so good intentions descended from that island and started to cause panic and chaos all across this land..." Tails kept going. "It's, uh... Sorry, what it is called, again?"

"Equestria," Sunny remarked.

"Right..." Knuckles rolled his eyes annoyed. "And then this evil guy just comes over here and gets your floating crystals filled with magic away..."

"And lately, those same crystals have received weird signals that made them vibrate and glow in different colors... The same glowing colors you say come from Angel Island when it first appeared."

"Yup, that's everything that's concerning us so far," Zipp nodded. "As for you, there's this "Dr. Eggman" guy that's been looking for a powerful source of magic for months."

"His daughter, Sage, is the one that was making the Crystals vibrating and glow since she was trying to send some kind of message to them," Pipp added.

"And then he went to the island that's right in front of our town, Angel Island, and used the power of seven gems called "Chaos Emeralds", plus this Master Emerald Knuckles as to protect," Hitch kept going.

"When Sage made the contact with the Crystals, it dragged you all to Equestria, with the floating island included!" Misty added in surprise.

"And now that you're all here, it means that Eggman could come after the Unity Crystals and our magic at any moment now!" Sunny finished with panic.

"And he always chooses the worse moment to show up..." Sonic crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.

"So you all were trying to stop Eggman, but he used power from those Chaos Emeralds to out-power you all and then let Sage do her work to contact with the Crystals so they'll bring over the entire island..." Zipp resumed again. "Well, it definitely confirms you're not our enemy. But then what's Eggman's goal? Why does he want to steal our magic?"

"To get what he desires the most: Build an empire to his image and obligate everyone to serve him and his machines for eternity!" Sonic replied with a frown. "I always thought that an empire of egg-shaped people and robots wouldn't be so bad, but that would private everyone from their freedom, and that won't happen as long as I'm around!"

"So he's basically the equivalent of Opaline in your dimension..." Izzy pointed out while rubbing her chin. "How's that you haven't defeated him yet?"

"The son of a gun is a really good escapist." Knuckles replied with a frown and his arms crossed.

"We did put him on jail once, but he escape like two hours later." Tails pointed out with a deadpan.

"And even though he tents to disappear for months before showing up again, we're never really at ease knowing he could strike with attacks at any minute." Amy finished. "So yeah, Eggman's a big pain in the ass."

"Well, maybe things could be different here in Equestria!" Sunny suggested with a smile. "You know, we could try talk to him and make things get better! Give him a second chance to redeem himself."

Team Sonic stared at Sunny with confused expressions, and they all blinked a few times. "...Give him a second chance?" Tails asked first.

"To redeem himself?" Knuckles kept going.

"To Eggman?" Sonic finished speaking, as he looked at his teammates, and they looked back at him.

And right after that, the four of them bursted out laughing with no shame nor remorse. Seriously? This random girl from another dimension thinks she can redeem Eggman of all people? If Surge, the Deadly Six or even the Babylon Rouges came instead of Eggman, they would probably give it a shot... But Eggman? This girl was delusional, and nothing she said could convince them otherwise.

As Team Sonic laughed, the Mane 6 stared at them confused, although some like Zipp and Hitch frowned. They probably think that they're laughing at Sunny, which is the case, but Sunny herself is confused on what's so funny.

Once Team Sonic stopped laughing for what felt like hours, they looked back at the Mane 6 and noticed their confused/angered expressions, which made their eyes widened as they turned back at Sunny.

"Oh, wait, you're talking seriously?" Sonic asked.

"Uh, yeah?" Sunny replied. "I don't know how things have gone in your dimension, but Equestria is a land of second opportunities! I know that at the very least we can try!"

And that was followed by Tails and Knuckles bursting out laughing again, while Amy snorted and Sonic simply smiled while shacking his head. He was convinced now that she's that delusional.

"Just from that sentence alone, I can tell you're the most delusional girl I've ever met in my life," Sonic said with a smirk. "Because you have to be a misunderstood genius or a complete idiot to even think that Eggman has redeemable traits."

Now that made Sunny frown. "Excuse me?! What's idiotic about wanting to help someone get down a better path?"

"Nothing, the problem comes up when the one you wanna redeem is Eggman," Amy pointed out.

"Let's put a clear example here: You think a guy that comes back over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over, and over again is even redeemable?"

As Sonic asked this, he showed big and very detailed images of all the times Sonic has fought Eggman in the past: When Eggman used his Death Egg Robot on his Death Egg; when he stoled the Master Emerald from Angel Island; when he tried to collect the time stones from Little Planet; when he tried to control Chaos on its Perfect form; when he freed Shadow and together tried to wipe out the Earth; when Neo Metal Sonic took Eggman's place on his own plan; when he split the planet into the seven continents to awake Dark Gaia; when he built an amusement park to kidnap aliens; when he travelled back in time with his younger self to erase Sonic from existence; when he took over the world for 6 months; and when he tried to gain power from dreams.

As the last image was moved away, Knuckles hold it and took a look at it, with Tails holding the other ones on his hands, and Sonic holding the image that showed their adventure on Eggman's dreams.

"You always keep those with you?" Amy questioned with a little smile.

"You never know when you have to teach some history to new people!" Sonic replied with a smirk, as he also heard an impressed whistle coming from Knuckles.

On the other hand, the Mane 6 either were confused, anxious, or with their jaws dropped after seeing each drawing that Sonic kept passing over to Knuckles.

"...I have like a thousand questions, and all of them require context..." Zipp spoke anxiously.

Sunny, however, shook her head and focused again. "Okay, I get it. This Eggman guy is irredeemable. So what? He's not gonna step on my home and get this Crystals! My friends and I faced somepony that wanted to steal them and our magic as well, and we defeated her together!"

"Yeah! All Equestria helped on that!" Izzy added cheerfully.

"Mmm-hmm!" Pipp nodded with a smile. "Everypony who's everypony reunited across the country to bring our magic to the Together Trees through a song, all in order to defeat our greatest foe!"

"And now she's trapped inside a new Together Tree forever!" Hitch added with a smile, while Sparky on his back raised his arms excited at his dad's words.

Yet said excitement was not shared by Team Sonic, who all stared at the ponies with anxious looks.

Sonic then started to chuckle nervously, and then he approached the Mane 6 while putting his hands together, with his index fingers touching his mouth. "Um, I think I miss-heard something here... Did you guys just said that you defeated your greatest foe... with a song?"

"Yeah?" Zipp replied with a raised eyebrow.

"We combined the magic from our Cutie Marks and sent it towards Opaline, which made her loose her power," Misty added.

This made Team Sonic feel even worse, and now they actually were terrified. If these guys' greatest enemy was defeated by singing a song, then Eggman already had conquered this dimension, and he hasn't even made a move yet!

"Well, if Eggman dares to attack us right now, you six are so dead..." Knuckles deadpanned.

Right after saying this, the ground grumbled, startling the entire group inside the Crystal Room. They all turned around to see a bunch of ships coming towards Maretime Bay, and they all came from Angel Island. At the side of one of those ships, Eggman's logo was seen, and that sign alone made Team Sonic frown.

"Oh, come on! I was just joking!" Knuckles growled in anger, then he turned to the Mane 6. "About Eggman arriving, not you six dying. I actually mean that."

"Um, excuse me?! Our Cutie Mark magic is very powerful!" Zipp pointed out with a frown. "We could take down that "Eggman" guy all together with it!"

"Zipp's right! Because when we work together, there's nothing we can't do!" Sunny declared with a smile, while her friends nodded and cheered in agreement.

"...Yeah, Knuckles is right. You six aren't going to last five minutes out there once Eggman sends in his badniks." Sonic deadpanned.

"Um, are we gonna take care of Eggman now, or..." Amy asked.

"Yes we are!" Both Sonic and Sunny spoke at the same time, then they both looked back at each other with wide eyes.

"Uh, really? You are gonna take care of Eggman?" Sonic snorted. "What, are you gonna attack him with glitter, or sing another song, or talk about your feelings? Because he's gonna wipe your tattooed butts before you can even try!"

"We can do things the hard way, too!" Sunny declared with a determined look. "I bet we could do them even better than you!"

That actually made the Mane 6's eyes widen, and they all looked at Sunny nervously, but mostly Pipp, who even chuckled nervously. "Now, now, Sunny. We haven't seem them in action, but if they have lost against this Eggman dude 1 against a millionth times, then we definitely are not better than them!"

"Not to mention, Opaline could've actually defeated us if not for our magic. But we're not that good on our own!" Zipp reminded by whispers.

However, Sonic ignored the princesses comments and grinned, then he zoomed at Sunny's face with his super speed. The other ponies were startled at how insanely fast he moved, but Sunny's determined look remained intact the whole time.

"What's that, Starscout? Are you challenging me?" Sonic asked with a dangerous glare, yet also with a grin.

"Maybe I am!" Sunny replied confidently.

"You talk a lot for a little pony..." Sonic mocked up.

"You'll find out that this pony is average size..." Sunny countered.

The Earth Pony mare and the Blue Blur kept staring intensely at each other for a while, before Sonic eventually stepped back, but still grinning. "Alright, then. If you're as thought as you say to be, then show me what you're made of!"

After saying this, he boosted away at top speed in direction to Maretime Bay and the Egg Fleet approaching.

"Heh. Let's see what are you guys bragging about!" Knuckles declared with a smirk, before he jumped from the balcony and then glided towards the town.

"Excuse him, ponies. Sonic can be a little competitive sometimes..." Amy said with a sheepish smile, then she took out her Piko Piko Hammer, impressing the ponies as their eyes widened. "Anyways! I wish you look on the battle that will unfold. I feel like you're gonna need it..."

After that, she jumped from the balcony, and soon, a pink blur was seen from afar, leaving Tails alone with the Mane 6 and Sparky.

"Um, Sunny?" Zipp called out with a chuckle, then she frowned. "What were you thinking?!"

"Relax, Zipp! I know what I'm doing!" Sunny stated with a confident smile.

"You just dared a guy that can move than insanely fast! That's nuts!" Hitch pointed out with wide eyes.

"Not to mention, he seems like he is determined to win!" Pipp added with concern.

"Don't worry ponies!" Sunny assured, still smiling. "I know what I did what I did. Sonic doesn't thinks we're capable of handling some robots, we just gotta prove him otherwise!"

"Um, levitation, flying, and growing plants... How's that gonna work against a bunch of KILLER robots?!" Misty asked in panic.

"Eh, I'm sure they're just exaggerating. He can't be that bad!" Izzy said cheerfully.

"Actually, we're being kind when describing Eggman. He's a lot worse," Tails spoke with a sheepish smile, since he hasn't ;eft yet.

"Well, I still think we can probe your friend wrong!" Sunny declared, still confident on her words.

"Girl, you have thrown yourself into a dangerous area, and trust me: You're gonna regret it later, because when Sonic plays serious, he plays. Serious." Tails declared with a warning frown, before spinning his tails and fly away from there.

That left the Mane 6 with wide and panicked eyes, then they turned to Sunny, although Zipp did with a glare, and Sunny couldn't help but chuckle nervously.

Maretime Bay

In Maretime Bay, things seemed to had calmed down after Sunny and Hitch told everypony to be patient until the Mane 6 could find out about the origin of the floating island in front of the town.

However, no pony expected that they would suddenly be attacked by what seemed to be a gigantic group of ships, all coming from that floating island. Panic was immediate and some ponies began to run for their lives in fear. As soon as the largest ship stopped just above the town, radio transmissions, cell phones, and television screens were hacked.

Each screen, no matter what device they were, was affected by a strange signal sent from the ship, and soon, the same logo that was on the side of the largest one was displayed on these screens, and then began to show static and finally introduce who was behind the hack: Eggman.

"Greetings, pony citizens from this magical dimension!" Eggman spoke with a grin and his hands together.

Soon enough, Team Sonic arrived into the scene and looked up to the sky with frowns. Nopony in town seemed to have noticed the new anthropomorphic creatures, but even if they did, they'll probably wouldn't care since they're too busy being afraid of Eggman's sudden appearance.

And soon enough as well, the Mane 6 also arrived into the scene, although they stopped in front of a shop that sells TVs.

"Uh, what the hay is that thing?" Pipp asked confused, since she's never seen anyone like Eggman before.

"No idea, sis..." Zipp replied with a raised eyebrow.

However, as soon as Misty saw Eggman's face, she gasped in panic and hid behind Sunny with terrified eyes. This is something none of her friends ignored, as they all turned to her instead.

"Misty?" Izzy called out first, approaching her and wrapping a hoof around her for comfort. "What's the matter?"

"I-It's him..." Misty replied nervously.

"What did you said?" Sunny asked, since she didn't heard her.

"It's him!" Misty replied, louder this time. "That's the man that's been haunting my nightmares! The evil creature that's after the Unity Crystals!"

This made the other five ponies gasp, but it also made both Zipp and Sunny frown. "Sonic and his friends were right! Eggman is the one we have to be careful with!"

"I have come from another dimension with a simple mission: Steal your magical Crystals and take over your world!" Eggman declared as he kept speaking through his message, clenching his hand and still grinning. "With those Crystals, I'll finally rise my empire over your pitiful world of colors and rainbows! Now, hand me over the Crystals by will while you still can... Or try to keep them for yourselves, and suffer the consequences!"

He then snapped his fingers, which made a bunch of machines launch from the Egg Fleet towards the town. Moto Bugs, Crabmeats, Buzzers, Buzz Bomber, Caterkillers, Snail Blasters, Spinners and Egg Pawns landed in the streets of Maretime Bay, and as soon as any of these robots saw ponies, they started to chase them down with no mercy.

"This is just the beginning of what's to come!" Eggman declared, still grinning. "If I don't get those Crystals in the next 24 hours, I will blow up this damn town, until nothing but ashes remain! Tick, tack, ponies. You might have no much time left to live!" He grinned even more, then laughed like a maniac and cut the transmission.

With that being over, the badniks started to do more than just chase ponies around: They threw trash cans, turned around stand in the streets, spread trash across the floor, broke windows from stores and homes... They were not limiting themselves this time, and Team Sonic noticed this.

"Is it just me, or are these badniks more violent than usual?" Amy pointed out first.

"Yeah, it's kinda weird... But let's figure that out later! We gotta take those things down!" Sonic declared with a grin.

Meanwhile, not so far, the Mane 6 saw that Team Sonic was ready to take action, and that made Sunny grin as well.

"Alright, everypony. I know you're scared of these things, and quote honestly? I am too..." Sunny confessed. "But don't let fear win over you! We have to protect our town and everypony else! Are you with me!"

Although doubting at first, her friends eventually nodded back at her, and soon enough, the Mane 6 launched themselves to fight against the badniks.

With the badniks on the loose, Team Sonic got to work and split up to cover more ground and save more ponies in no time. They worked very well together, but each on their own would make focusing on a few ponies to save much easier.

I don't care what you're thinking
As you turn to me
'Cause what I have in my two hands
Is enough to set me free (set me free)

First we have Sonic, who jumped into the air and charged up his Homing Attack to destroy a group of badniks who had chased some fillies into a corner. Sonic then proceeded to charge his Spin Dash against those machines that had barely escaped the first time, but couldn't keep up with the hedgehog's speed.

I could fight the feeling
To resist it over time'
But when it's just too much to take
You sneak up from behind

Now we're with Tails, who rose into the air to take care of the flying badniks. With his tails, he managed to cut some of them in half, as these worked as exposed blades. Then, he took out a small plasma gun with which he disintegrated several more of them, and in the process threw a boomerang with blades that pierced some Buzzers and Buzz Bombers before leaving them on the ground dying until deactivated.

Then, he took out a drill and launched himself to the ground, replicating the Stomp Attack that Sonic usually does, but instead of using his feet, he used the drill, thus destroying some Moto Bugs that were bothering a chubby pony with an orange mane and fur. sky blue. He also wore a tie. Soon, Tails charged a Spin Dash against more badniks that approached, allowing the pony he saved to escape.

Is it me, you say, you're looking for
Let me show you who I am and what I'm here for...(here for)

With Knuckles, we see how the echidna charges his fists with fire and begins to mercilessly beat any badnik that crosses his path. Destroying them for him was as simple as flexing his muscles in the morning: Just one hit and the robot was shattered. Sometimes she even allowed herself to enjoy watching the metal melt in his mere hand, while the sparks sizzled in the air and made it clear how badly burned he had left the robot.

However, when he heard a call for help coming from a yellow earth pony mare with a pink mane and a green bow in her mane, Knuckles launched himself like a drill, literally becoming one, and destroyed the Caterkiller that was about to attack the mare. In the end she fainted from the shock of the situation, or perhaps from the shock of seeing someone like Knuckles. Whatever the case, he lifted her onto his shoulder and carried her to safety.

Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of

Next was Amy, who destroyed robots with her hammer with such ease that it had already become something as memorized as arranging her fortune cards. She swung the hammer in such professional ways that she could leave anyone stunned. Sonic was one of them, and while he finished crushing a Spinner, he smiled like an idiot in love when he saw Amy move her hammer so fiercely and, at the same time, with an elegance and delicacy that only she could exude.

Still looking at her as if he had been under a spell, Sonic moved his fist behind himself, hitting a Crabmeat right in the face that tried to attack him by surprise and failed in the attempt. In the end he shook his head and continued with his thing, while Amy crushed a few Egg Pawns that surrounded a few ponies to let them flee.

Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of now...

Sonic proceeded to launch a Homing Attack against several badniks, then passed under Tails, who jumped on Sonic and charged his own Spin Dash against a Moto Bug and then launched his boomerang into the air, which Knuckles dodged while jumping in the air and then hit a caterkiller with a fist surrounded in fire. Finally, Knuckles jumped over Amy, who was spinning her hammer wildly around her, before looping in the air and then slamming her hammer into the ground, releasing a small slingshot of sonic expansion that destroyed several badniks.

Like a million faces
I've recognized them all
And one by one they've all become
A number as they fall (as they fall)

However, Team Sonic was not the only one making progress destroying the badniks, as the Mane 6 were also doing their part.

To start, we have Zipp and Pipp, who despite not being physically involved, using their flying skills seemed to be enough. The sisters kept flying back and forth to keep the flying badniks busy, and would reach a certain point where they would purposely launch themselves into each other and then swerve into the sky, causing the badniks chasing them to collide and be destroyed by each other.

In the face of reason
I can't take no more
One by one they've all become
A black mark on the floor

For their part, Hitch and Izzy had teamed up to form a fairly solid defense: Hitch, with his Earth Pony magic, would grow vines that would grab any badniks and destroy them into pieces. However, having several open areas to be attacked, Izzy intervened by creating small weapons with her unicycling skills that could throw off the badniks. To give an example: She made a slingshot that she used to launch spaghetti at a Moto Bug's face, confusing it and making it collide with a pole several times.

Where did she get the spaghetti from? It doesn't matter, the trick worked.

Is it me, you say, you're looking for
Let me show you who I am and what I have in store... (in store)

Then we have Sunny, who made her Alicorn form appear and began to fly over the skies. She levitated several badniks with her magic and threw them hard to the ground, leaving them in pieces. Then, she protected herself in a kind of golden shield, which she then stepped out of, and then moved the shield around her to trap several badniks.

When the shield was full, Sunny closed her eyes and focused her magic on making the shield small, which made the badniks disappear completely, as if they had never even existed.

Try to reach inside of me, try to drain my energy
Let me show you just what I'm made of
Simple curiosity tries to take a bite of me
Let me show you just what I'm made of now...

Lastly, Misty was terrified of even seeing those machines, but the fear was such that closing her eyes and levitating the badniks and then unconsciously hitting them against each other seemed to work. It was as if her magic had gained consciousness of its own to defend her, and even if that was the case, it seemed that Misty didn't mind too much letting her magic do the work for her.

Try to reach inside of me (Let me show you what I'm made of)
Try to drain my energy (Let me show you what I'm made of)

Finally, each of the 10 combatants (the 4 members of Team Sonic and the Mane 6) crushed or hit one last badnik, realizing that they had finally finished them all.

Let me show you just what I'm made of

As soon as Sonic turned to look at Sunny, who stood over the destroyed body of a Crabmeat, he smiled smugly and scratched his nose. "Not bad... for a little pony."

After hearing this, Sunny turned to him and rolled her eyes, although still smiling. "I think you didn't did so bad yourself, either... Hedgehog."

Sonic snorted, then stepped down and stretched his arms, before looking up at the Egg Fleet with a frown. "Alright, Eggy. I know you're next..."

And just like he suspected, a massive robot jumped from the Egg Fleet, before landing in front of Team Sonic and the Mane 6. This was a big, red robot with three spikes instead of hands, yellow decorations around, and the robot's face resembled its creator, who opened the capsule he was in and grinned down at his enemies, as well as to the new faces.

The sight made Misty gulp and instinctively hide behind Izzy, while the unicorn mare choose to protect her friend.

"Well, well, well..." Eggman spoke, followed by a slight maniac laugh. "My favorites pests are on the house! And looks like we have some new faces... It's so nice to finally meet some new objectives to destroy after so long!"

Author's Note

Before anyone says it: No, I'm not being rude nor hateful over the Mane 6. This is all necessary in order for the character development I have planned.

They depend too much in each other and in their magic. With Opaline it was understandable why, but this story is about learning to be on your own when situations are so extreme you have nothing and no one but yourself and your skills.

Over the course of the story, you'll get my point. Until then, I'll keep doing what I'm doing so far with the Mane 6.

Also, this chapter was split in two because this was WAY longer than I expected it to be... Hence why this was left on such a cliffhanger. I apologize for that, but I don't want this to be longer than it should.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thanks for reading! I'll se you all next chapter. Bye!