As the five of them returned to the spotted three portals they began to notice the number of friends there were...smaller then before. Specifically, down by two. Rainbow dash began to walk up to them and said "Hey guys! Glad to see your back!"

Twilight looked around and asked Rainbow dash, "Rainbow, where's Applejack and...Knuckles was it? Where did they go?"

Rainbow dash sighed and said "That red guy kept yammering something about 'Senseing the Master emerald nearby' and ran into one of the portals at random. Applejack ran after him to try and get him back here."

Twilight then began to panic and said "OH great! Now what?! And when I was about to suggest we stick together when going in the portals too! How are we gonna track them down, AND figure out these portals!? And where's Discord for that matter?!"

Scootaloo then said "Discord mentioned something about 'Wanting to see the action in comfort' and when to get a lawn chair and snacks."

Spear rolled his eyes and said "Yep. That sounds like Discord alright. Dude reeeeally to mess with us, even if he isn't doing it on purpose."

Twilight, after calming down thanks to Spike, then asked "Well, what's our next move? We STILL need to figure out how these portals and that huge gear vault...thing, are connected."

Sonic then gave a serious expression. A rare sight to the mobiun heroes but a surprise to the equestrian heroes, since they never seen him like this. "We'll just have to divide and conquer. It'll be easier if only a pair of us go into each portal. Like Twilight said, we don't know WHAT these portals hold. But, it'll go alot faster if we go in pairs instead of all of us at once. And a lot less risky too."

Twilight when through the calculations in her mind and realized that Sonic was right. It would be less risky to go in pairs. And still protective for the others. Strong, inspiring, AND smart?! Twilight has finally made up her mind. She walked in front of him and said "Sonic, I know this is sudden but...Please be my teacher!"

To say that this was a sudden shock was the understatement of the decade as everyone then said "YOUR WHAT?!"

Twilight then began to explain excitedly. "Your so amazing Sonic! I know we just met a few hours ago, but you've already proven to be so outstanding! Your strong to protect those who are weak, you've shown that your a incredible leader, and you've shown to be a tactical genius! Your such an inspiration Sonic, and I wanna learn everything I can about being a hero!"

For once in his life, Sonic was speechless. He didn't think that he would leave so much of an impression on the unicorn. He then looked to Amy, hoping that she would help him out of this.

But surprisingly, Amy smiled. She said "Awwwww, I think that's a great idea! Sonic can be a role model for her! Just make sure to not copy his bad habits. Like his ego and overconfident. After all, a good role model needs to set the example."

Sonic became annoyed at Amy fanning the flames of Twilight's idea, but at the same time, the idea didn't sound so bad. She seems like she really wants to learn. And Sonic can sence some deep rooted hurt in her heart. Maybe being her can give him a chance to help her.

He then grinned and said "All right, you want me to be your mentor? Then you got it! I'll show you how to be a hero, Sonic style!" He then did a flip, crossed his arms, smiled while making his right hand stick out his finger and thumb out.

Twilight's eyes glimmered at Sonic's coolness as she made mental notes on how to strick a pose like that.

Amy, Tails and Spear face palmed, knowing it was too late to save Twilight from copying Sonic showboating.

Spear then decided to get back on track with the mission and said "OK, now that class is in session, let's get to work on getting those portals unlocked."

Sonic agreed and said "Right, let's spilt up. Tails, can you keep stay here and in contact with us on coms?"

Tails nodded and said, "You got it Sonic!" As he gave Sonic a set of radios and says "You won't be able to talk to each other, but you are connected to the temporal tracker. I'll act as your eyes and let you know where the key is."

Sonic nodded and said "Alright then, Meanwhile, we'll split up and scout out the portals and take out the guardians inside while were at it."

Twilight wanted to see Sonic in action and study how he handles dealing with these "Badniks" up close. She had gotten some good data on Tails fight. But with Sonic as her teacher now, she needed to see how he dose it so she can apply it to her still developing fighting style.

So, she then blared out, "I'll go with Sonic!" Everyone was confused at the sudden request as she says "To be his support of course...and perhaps to take notes on how he fights." She then flashed a embarrassed smile as she realized that what she said sounded kinda desperate.

Sonic however, smiled and gave a thumbs up, saying "OK, that's one pair down. Spear, what about you?"

Spear looked at a certain small dragon and said "I'll take Spike with me." Rainbow dash looked shocked and dumbfounded as she said "What!? But I wanted to go! Why are you taking Spike? No offense little dude."

Spike gave a annoyed look while Spear simply said "Cas I think facing the guardian will be a good test for his new doom powers."

Tails gave a confused look as he said "Doom powers?" Spear then explained, "Well, he got those new powers from that power seal thing, and it came from black doom, so..."

Tails gave a deadpan look, rolled his eyes on the word play and said "Ok then. Good luck you guys.

Rainbow dash pouted, but reluctantly agreed with this as she landed on the ground, Knowing that she was out numbered in the discussion, when Discord poofed in and said "Oh, I'm not late, am I? I've brought snacks to see the fights!"

Tails looked confused and said "Wait, you can see into the time spaces? How?"

Discord then petted Tails on the head and said "Well Twin tail, it took a bit of my power, but I created a window to view these isolated time spaces. For those who wish to rest in between missions."

Tails admittedly looked impressed by the skill and said " So, we can see and talk to them through the window?"

Discord shook his head and said "Not exactly. We can see though it, but can't talk though it. It's Also a one way window, so we can see in, but they can't see us."

Tails nodded at the explanation and said "Well, will still have the radios for communication. But, how do we know it'll work? Can we get a demonstration?"

Discord smiled and said "I was hoping you would say that! I'm already beginning to like you."

Discord snapped his fingers and the window opened to view the a massive space station which got everyone's attention as they gathered to the window.

Rainbow dash was the first to question is and said "What's that thing? And...is it out in space!?"

Twilight's eyes sparkled at the site as she said "Sonic, in your world, you have buildings in space?! I never thought it was possible! I mean, I know scientists are working on a way for ponys to go to and from space, but to have a actual building IN space orbiting the planet is so...so AMAZING!"

Sonic shook his head and explained, "Well not normally. But this space station isn't a good thing. It belongs to Dr.Eggman."

Twilight's excitement deflated a bit when she heard the name and said "Wait,What?! He was able to create a space structure all on his own?! How?!"

Tails then explained about the space station in question and said "Well, remember the factory we were at when we rescued Spike and Amy? Well, the parts and construction of the death egg were at the metropolis zone we were at."

Rainbow dash heard the name of the station and said "Wait, seriously? The death egg? THAT'S it's name? Sounds kinda ridiculous don't you think?"

Spear then continued and said "It may be a silly name, but its definitely the real deal. It holds so much power,that world conquest from there is easy. But, Me and Sonic defeated Eggman and blew up the station some time back."

Scootaloo then walked up to Discord and said "Uncle Discord. Why are you showing us this 'Death egg' thing anyway?"

Discord smiled and said "I believe you all mentioned a certain 'Knucklehead' when through a random portal and ? Well, this is where it leads."

They all gathered to see the window, wondering what's gonna happen.

Aboard the Death Egg

In the cold, empty halls of the Death egg, a portal opened up as Knuckles jumped out of it and began to look around.

He could have sweared he felt the Master emerald through the portal. Maybe he ran through the wrong one?

He was about to go back when something orange jumped on him and the portal closed. He opened his eyes and saw Applejack on top of him. He then said "Wait, aren't you..."

Applejack got up and frustratingly said "What in tarnation were you thinking?! Running off without warning, that's so reckless of you!"

Knuckles then had a annoyed look on him as he got up and said "No one ask you to follow me you know. I'm capable on taking care of myself."

Applejack growled a bit as she heard him and said "Why you-" She then breathed in and out to calm down and said "Guess there's no ponit in arguing now. Let's just-"

Applejack turned around and saw that the portal was closed. "W-What happened?! Where's the portal?!"

Knuckles shrugged and said "Probably closed when we came through. Guess that means we'll have to defeat the guardian to reopen it again."

Applejack, once again, became frustrated at knuckles 'one track mind' approach and said, "How can you be so casual about this?! It's like you don't think of the consequences of your actions, unless it'll get what you want!"

Knuckles started to look irritated that a apparent farm girl was trying to run his live. He then said "Look, I'm the guardian of the Master Emerald. It's my job to protect it from anyone who would try and misusing it's power. Its my destiny, And I won't have some farm girl tell me how to live MY life!"

Applejack was growing irritated as well from Knuckles, said "I bet your parents are REAL proud of you, being so reckless and headstrong like this!"

Knuckles then gave a saddened face as he said "...I don't...know my parents."

Applejack then Blinked for a second. 'Did...did I heard that right?' "Y-You don't know your parents?"

Knuckles then shook his head. He couldn't believe he was about to open up to someone he doesn't know. But, it might just get her to understand his side of things.

He sighed and said "No. I have no memory of them. At least, not after I was three or somewhere around then. All I remember was being hatched from my egg. Any memories from before I was three are too fuzzy to recall."

Applejack's ears then dropped in sadness as she would have never expected for knuckles to have this much pain he hid deep down.

She kept silent as knuckles continued to tell his side of things, unaware that the others were also listening in from temporal ponyville. "As if that wasn't bad enough, I'm also the last of my tribe. Maybe even the last of my kind. And because of that, the duty of guarding the master emerald is all I have from my people. This massive responsibility is all I have. So I can't afford to fail in it. Not now, now ever."

Applejack was in awe, surprised at his back story and hearing some of his heritage. But she also felt a kinship with him. While she had memories of her parents back when she was a young filly. In fact, the last memories she had of them were around the time Applebloom was born.

She never had as many memories of them as she would have liked. With helping with the farm, moving to Manehattan to live with her cousins the oranges, she had her life busy even that young.

However, on the day that they passed away, she felt like her world had collapsed, and she suddenly had more responsibilities that she needed to handle In a hurry.

She then muttered something under her breath, but knuckles caught on and heard something she said and asked "Wait, what did you say?"

Applejack sighed and said "I said, I have a idea of how you feel. I lost my parents when I was young. It...really hurt when they passed on. I also had to be more responsible since we work on the family farm."

She sighed as she relived those memories. "I basically had to lose my fillyhood to rise up and take their place on the farm, raising Applebloom, and helping granny now that she's in her older age."

Knuckles then began to feel bad for her. She didn't think there was someone else in the universe that had a similar experience has he did. It actually feels kinda reliving that he wasn't the only one to feel this responsibility.

Applejack then kicked her foreleg as she talked about some of the more...recent memories she had. "But, now that I'm the weirder of the element of honesty. That also means I have a responsibility to all equestria now. Always ready to help defeat a villain when they show up...not that we've been great at it though..."

Knuckles then walked up her and hand on her shoulder and said "Turst me when I say, I get it. I'll be honest, I'm not the BEST guardian in the world. A lot that I learned was self taught. A side from all the lore on the chaos emeralds and master emerald. At least you have others that can help you."

Applejack then tilted her head in confusion and said "Hold on a minute sugercube. You don't SEEM to be alone. It seems like your chummy with that Sonic feller."

Knuckles then crossed his arms and grunted and said "He's ummm...what's that word Tails used...aquatic? No,No...ummm"

"An acquaintance?" Applejack answered, even though she didn't have a big vocabulary like Twilight, she's picked up other words she doesn't use from her other friends like Rarity, Twilight and surprisingly Spike as well.

"Yeah, a acquaintance. Well, more like a rival. We push each other to our limits when we fight. And sometimes, we DO hang out when he and the others visit. Isn't that what acquaintances do?" Knuckles said, believing his statement was accurate to his and Sonic's friendship.

Applejack,while hearing knuckles statement, notice one piece of info that seemed to be a bit of a stretch. She then raised one of her brows and said "You know knuckles, being called the element of honesty, isn't just a title. I can tell if your telling the whole truth or not."

Knuckles then decided to raise a brow, wondering what she meant by that. "You can tell if someone tells the whole truth? Is that some kind of special power the elements gave you or something?"

Applejack shook her head and said "I've always had a sense for finding the truth since I was young. But since bonding with the element of honesty, my scene of finding the truth has been a bit better...(but it's still not good enough.) Applejack said, making sure not to say that last part out loud.

Knuckles heard that last part, but Decided not to bring it up if she didn't want to talk about it. He then decided to switch the conversation and ask "So, if you can sence the truth...what part of what I said earlier was the lie?"

Applejack was about to answer his question, when a loud mechanical slam on the ground near them. Near by, was a large silver colored robot with claw hands, sharp blades for spines, and a menacing look on it's face. This was Silver Sonic.

Silver Sonic then spin dashed Into the duo, but knuckles quickly grabbed Applejack and dodged out of the way. The two of them landed in front of some crates as Applejack said "What IS that contraption?!"

Knuckles, never having to fight Silver Sonic before, didn't know who this bot was. But had a idea of what it was. "Grrr...I'm not completely sure. But I know that's one of the Doctors robots. Maybe a old prototype of Metal sonic?"

Applejack then gave a confusing look and said "A Metal what now?"

"Metal sonic is a robot that Dr.Eggman created to mimic the original Sonic's powers and speed." Applejack looked around and asked "You hear that knuckles?"

Knuckles nodded, having a feeling that he knows who spoke. He then looked in the crates behind him and a small blue Chao shaped robot flew up and said "Knuckles! Oh I'm I glad to see you! Thank you for the save!"

Knuckles smirked and said "Not a problem. As long as you don't go TOO overboard with the info, ok?"

Applejack looked confused as the blue robot stared at her and said "Whoa. I've never seen you before. Who are you?"

Applejack then smiled at the bot and said "The Name's Applejack. Nice to meet you, ummm..."

The blue bot span around a bot and said "I'm Omochao! Your friendly neighborhood robotic helper for team sonic. I can also scan enemies to calculate and predict their moves."

Knuckles then rubbed his head, remembering times when he would go overboard on the advice he would give.

Applejack then had a idea and asked Omochao, "Look, we would really appreciate it if you can tell us what IS that thing that's trying to waste us now!'

Omochao nodded and said "Sure thing miss Applejack. I can give you the info you need."

Quickly, Omochao scaned Silver Sonic for any new upgrades and attack patterns. After a few seconds, he processed the info and said "Scan complete. This is Silver Sonic. One of Doctor Eggman's first attempts in copying Sonic powers and skills through robotics."

Applejack was left dumbfounded. Thinking that somepony's skills can just copied when somepony else made and refined them through hard work made her upset.

She then said "You can't just copy something and say that YOU did it! Sonic must've worked hard to perfect his skills over a long time, and this tin can thinks he's better then the original?!"

Knuckles was taken aback by this. He wasn't expecting for Applejack to be this angry about Sliver Sonic's coping Sonic's techniques. He then thought that she wasn't a fan of others taking shortcuts instead of doing hard work to get what you want. Which he can respect.

Omochao then saw Silver Sonic take a defensive stand and replied "Umm guys? I think we need focus on the fight at hand."

Boss: Silver Sonic

Silver Sonic then pulled his arm in for a punch and launched itself at the two heroes. They both turned around and tried to attack together. Unfortunately, Silver Sonic managed to get into a defensive stance in time and blocked their attacks, Taking no damage.

Applejack sat down and rubbed her back hoofs as she said "What in tarnation is that thing made of?! Ugh, my hoofs."

Knuckles rubbed his fists to smooth the pain as he asked "Why DID you try and double kick that thing? It's made of solid steel, I'm normally the one who can punch through stuff like that."

Applejack then explained "Earth ponys are the strongest kind of pony out there. We're not just known for farming. Heck, one of my friends, who's a earth pony like me, grew up on a rock farm. So, their family can burrow through solid rock with nothing but their hoofs."

Knuckles gave off a smirk of amusement. 'Guess there's more to these ponys then met the eye.' he thought, as he stared back at Silver Sonic. "Gah, what are we supposed to do now?"

Omochao flew next to them and said "I have a few ideas on how to beat him. Would you like some hints on how to beat Silver Sonic?"

Applejack nodded as she said "That would be mighty nice of you partner. What's the idea?"

Omochao span a bit and said "That gurad that Silver Sonic has is too strong for a frontal offensive. And his spines are too sharp to attack from behind. Try to get it in the air to drop it's defenses."

Applejack then thought about it and came up with a plan. "Knuckles, think you can distract it for a few seconds?"

Knuckles nodded and ran up to stall for time while Applejack tried to get behind Sliver Sonic. Knuckles agility made it difficult for Sliver Sonic to punch knuckles, making it more and more irritated. So much so, that it completely ignored it's guard as Applejack saw a opportunity to strike.

She managed to pull out her lasso and snag Silver Sonic by the waist, and using her earth pony strength, swang Silver Sonic around and flung it in the air.

Knuckles jumped at the chance and run up the near by wall, gathering energy around himself, and striking Silver Sonic to a wall, pinning him up as knuckles rapid punched Sliver Sonic while it was valuable. He then changed up one last punch as he punched it and made a shock wave fly over the wall, as Knuckles jumped out and landed near Applejack. She then asked "What WAS that?! How did you glow red like that?!"

Knuckles grinned and said, "That was my maximum heat attack. It makes your stronger and faster while making your punches on fire." Applejack was intrigued about this move. Maybe she can ask him on learning this move in the future?

However, Despite the assault it felt, Silver Sonic was not done as it switched strategies. Using it's skates and jet engine in it's chest, it moved at a incredible speed. Applejack was unfortunately chased after while knuckles began to chase them around the room.

Omochao flew next to knuckles and said "Silver Sonic is moving to fast to be launched into the air now. Try to punch the ground to send Shockwaves at it to stun it. Then Applejack can take it from there."

Knuckles nodded as he waited for Silver Sonic to get closer. As soon as it was close, he punched to ground and sended a Shockwave at Silver Sonic, Stunning it in the process.

Applejack saw the opportunity and ran faster to get behind Sliver Sonic and bucked it to a near by wall. She then made her own flurry of punches at the bot and finished her attack off with a powerful bucking attack, before jumping back a bit to join knuckles.

Silver Sonic was in bad shape, but wasn't about to give up. He then turned into a ball like Sonic, and spin dashed at them, causing them to jump out of the way.

Omochao flew next to them and said "Sliver Sonic is on it's last legs! But it's spin dashing will make it difficult to trick it in the air or stun it with Shockwaves."

They then noticed some crates of explosives at the end of the room as Omochao said "Those crates of explosives should be enough to knock Silver Sonic out of his spin ball, and to stun it too! Time to end this with a bang!"

Knuckles and Applejack nodded as the continued to run to the explosives. Silver Sonic was too tunnel visioned to notice the explosives in front of it as the two heroes split apart at the last minute. Silver Sonic saw this too late as it ran into the crates and exploded with the explosives.

It flew up in the air in a daze as knuckles was in the air, slamming it down to Applejack, who bucked Sliver Sonic into a wall. The both of them then landed one last combo strike together, destroying the super badnik. Sliver Sonic was finally done.

The two heroes then fist/hoof bumped themselves for a darn good job as Knuckles said "You know, you were impressive in that fight there. Using that lasso to launch Sliver Sonic like that was smart."

Applejack blushed at the comment and said "Your amazing yourself. Using those shockwaves to stun that contraption like that. Guess your smarter then you look. No offense."

Knuckles, surprisingly, began to chuckle at the remark and said "Nah, it's nothing at this ponit...So, listen. About earlier..."

Applejack knew what he was referring to and said "Oh, well...remember how you said you don't have family anymore?" Knuckles nodded as Applejack said "Well, I may have just met you and your friends. But I could tell that you treat each other like family. Sometimes, the friendships you make in life are strong enough to make you family."

Knuckles never thought of that before. After the countless adventures they had together, he never thought he would have a family to call his own again. It felt kinda...surreal.

Applejack then raised her hoof out and said "And I normally don't to this to EVERYONE I meet, but after the adventure we just had, I consider you a honorary member of the Apple family. You and your friends too of course."

Knuckles felt humbled at the offer. He didn't imagine someone offering to let him be apart of their family before. Usually, he thought it had to be through marriage that one would be allowed to be family. He shook those thoughts out of his mind and said "Thank you Applejack. I accept you offer." He said as he shook her hoof.

The portal opened up again and they ran through it, as they returned to ponyville with their newfound friendship.

Author's Note

I wanted to do something interesting for the bosses In this story, so taking inspiration from the kirby series, I'm gonna give each boss their own bio in the Author's notes.

The Death Egg's enforcer, Silver Sonic

The original super badnik returns, faster and stronger then ever! With it's sharp, blade like spines and strong bulk, it's stands as a formidable opponent. Show them the fists of honestly and turn him to scrap!

Maxauim heat attack

Oooh, ouch! The heat of this attack burns! A attack that only elite Echidna warrior can master. It makes the user faster and turns their punches into fire punches. This attack really helps knuckles turn up the heat on battle!

Sorry for the delay on this chapter, with multiple story to oversee and life going on, it's been difficult to make, but it turned out great honestly. Hope you guys like it as well, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!