"Did you hear that?" Applebloom looked at her friends, who nodded as they listened to the beeping sound, now much closer.

Hearing it again, Sonic reached into his spines and pulled out his phone, which was emitting the sound. He showed them the screen, which read CHAOS EMERALD LOCATED, as an arrow appeared pointing straight ahead of him. When he looked up, he noticed the giant Timberwolve growling at him, with a strange glow emanating from its chest.

"I think I'm posting chapters so quickly, one after another, that I'm afraid I might eventually suffer from the well-known 'Writer's Block.'

==========

Before making his first move, Sonic had to consider the situation he was in: three small, delicate fillies behind him, a giant wooden wolf that seemed to grow stronger with the Chaos Emerald inside it, not to mention the cliff they and their friends were trapped on. A day like any other, thought the daring hedgehog to himself. He glanced at the wolf, noticing the green glow emanating from its chest. The wolf growled, asserting its dominance over such small beings. The girls trembled behind Sonic, but he was already planning how to move them out of the way so he could handle this personally.

"Girls, I won't be able to fight him if I have to protect you. Do you know a safe place far from here?" Sonic asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the massive wolf, which was taking slow steps toward the small group.

"Ponyville!" shouted Scootaloo.

"Fluttershy's cabin!" exclaimed Sweetie Belle.

"Sweet Apple Acres!!!" mentioned Applebloom.

Among all those options, Sonic was pretty sure the only place he knew was the farm Applebloom had just mentioned. He looked around, searching for something to create a distraction. Behind him, there was the cliff and the edge of the land that formed it. Beyond that, he had no other options. "Alright, I have a plan! I'll clear a path, and you all will run while I hold it off."

The trio didn't seem to understand his plan. Run while he held it off? They exchanged glances, unsure, but before they could suggest another idea, Applebloom gathered her courage, accepting his plan, and stepped forward to stand at Sonic's left.

"Alright! We'll run!" Applebloom said, her voice trembling as she faced the approaching wolf. Even with Sonic by her side, the fear didn't completely fade, but his presence gave her confidence that his plan would work just to protect them.

Sonic, seeing her trembling but still standing tall, smiled proudly at her, impressed by how quickly she showed courage and trust in him, even after only knowing his name. "Alright, little apple! What about you two, girls?" he asked, looking at the scared duo. Both girls looked at their friend, then back at each other. They hesitated about whether it was a good idea, but they didn’t want to leave their friend behind either.

"Alright!... we'll go straight to Ponyville!" Sweetie Belle emphasized, standing to the left of Applebloom.

"And we'll get help!... we can't leave you alone, Sonic," Scootaloo explained, standing to the left of Sweetie Belle. The trio was trembling with fear. Something so powerful and terrifying stood before them; a single swipe of the wolf's jaws could devour them all.

"I'll give you the signal, and you run! If anything happens, shout, and I'll be there in an instant. Don’t hesitate to call me!" Sonic positioned himself, fists against the ground, left leg extended, and his right leg bent.

"Understood!" they shouted in unison. Sonic launched himself at the wolf, circling around it while the wolf tried to catch him with its claws. At the speed Sonic was moving, he managed to create a blue tornado, blowing fiercely and trapping the wolf. "Now, girls! Run!" The trio quickly fled the scene, and as they ran, they glanced backward, not losing their pace, only looking back to see how the trees hid their blue hero until they lost sight of him.

As they ventured deeper into the dark forest during the night, not slowing their gallop, they suddenly crashed into something that let out a groan after the impact.

"Timberwolves!!!" the trio screamed, only to realize they had collided with a familiar figure—a zebra with saddlebags, rings around her neck and front legs, and a lantern tied to a staff, who groaned in pain as she got up.

"The Crusaders are here? What made them come all the way to me, without thinking of the dangers that lurk where the sun doesn't shine?" she asked in surprise, seeing the young trio at a time when she hadn't expected to.

Upon seeing her zebra friend, Applebloom rushed forward and jumped at her with happiness. "Zecora! It's so good to see you! We came to ask if we could..." However, before she could finish explaining, Sweetie Belle interrupted to explain why they were running.

"Applebloom, not now! Remember why we were running!?" Sweetie Belle reminded her, pulling her back from the thought of finding Zecora.

"Oh, right! We were running from a giant, monstrous Timberwolf! It was the biggest one we’ve ever seen!" Applebloom explained, trying not to sound exaggerated.

"Yes! And Sonic stayed behind to fight it at the edge of a cliff! He's so brave, but he didn’t want us anywhere near when he faced it!" Sweetie Belle continued, explaining how they escaped and what happened with the Timberwolf.

"Now it's still back there! He managed to distract it so we could get away!" Scootaloo finished, and the trio looked worriedly at Zecora, who was now standing, holding her lantern and processing everything they had said.

"One of your friends is facing a Timberwolf!? He's either very brave or very foolish to think he can face a Timberwolf that big!" Zecora said, her eyes widening.

Before they could say anything else, a loud howl stopped them all, and they turned to look in the direction of the wild cry, toward the path the Crusaders had taken to get to Zecora. They watched with concern as the path seemed to lead them directly toward their blue friend. Unbeknownst to them, Timberwolves started circling around them, getting closer and trapping them with no way to escape.

Zecora stood firm, trying to protect the small fillies behind her, but it was beyond her abilities. Before anyone could attack, a magical burst of light fell from the sky, striking one of the wolves and breaking it into splinters of wood. Another followed, and then another, until all of them were defeated. The group looked up to see Twilight arriving with Spike on her back and Rainbow Dash by her side.

"We made it in time! Are you all okay?" asked the young princess as she landed in front of the group, only to be met with a big hug from the three younger ones.

"Twilight, thank you! You came at the perfect time!" Sweetie Belle said happily, but they broke the hug soon after.

"But... how did you find us?" Spike hopped off Twilight's back and approached Zecora.

"It was because of Zecora's lantern! It shines brightly enough to be seen from above the forest," he explained.

"Made specifically to survive in the Everfree," Zecora added proudly, showing off her homemade lantern.

Rainbow landed, joining the conversation. "Sorry to interrupt the moment, but we should get out of here now, before things get worse!" Again, the wooden pieces of the Timberwolves' bodies were dragged away, moving in a specific direction, not rebuilding themselves. They just seemed to be called.

"Had to say that, didn't you?" Spike asked sarcastically as the pieces of the Timberwolves moved away. Twilight, curious, decided to investigate.

"I'm going to take care of this. Rainbow and Zecora, take the Crusaders and Spike out of the forest!" she said, her plan clear, then she galloped after the pieces of wood moving away into the darkness.

"Twilight, let Sonic handle it! He said he could do it alone!" Applebloom called out to the already distant princess.

"He never said that, right?" Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle.

"No, but if he managed to take care of the others to save us, maybe he can handle this one too."

Moments earlier with Sonic

After watching his little friends run, Sonic stopped making the tornado and dove under the Timberwolf leader, charging a Spin Dash that launched him into the air above the trees. He then delivered a double kick to the spot where the emerald was being held, only to see the wolf's abdomen change from wood to rocks and thick logs, which softened the impact.

"Not bad, pup!" Sonic said, using the wolf’s body to propel himself to the ground, landing first. He looked up and saw the wolf falling heavily to crush him, but Sonic quickly moved away to avoid being flattened. As the wolf hit the ground, Sonic sprinted toward it, jumping and launching a barrage of kicks that created shockwaves, forcing the Timberwolf to step back but stand firm despite the damage.

As long as Sonic kept attacking, the Timberwolf couldn't approach, but it tried to circle him. However, it was stopped by another shockwave that forced it to retreat and keep resisting.

"Come on! Is that all you've got!? Even Metal Sonic would give me a challenge!" Sonic taunted, then stopped his attack and fell to the ground, immediately jumping up to face the wolf head-on.

The wolf, seeing its chance to attack, instinctively opened its jaws, revealing a green glow. The emerald was reacting again, amplifying the wolf's instincts to face its prey. From its jaws, it fired an energy blast, surprising Sonic. As he rushed toward it, he quickly stopped and crossed his arms in an ‘X’ in front of himself to defend, taking the full force of the blast. A cloud of smoke formed from the impact, slowly dissipating to reveal Sonic’s injured arms.

"I think this is... a bone much tougher to chew... than I thought..." he murmured, kneeling and looking at his arms, which had withstood the direct damage.

The wolf recognized that it could unleash a powerful long-range attack. It repeated the move successfully, launching the energy ball at Sonic. Sonic quickly looked up, seeing the ball of energy approaching. Without hesitation, he dodged to the side, letting the ball pass by and hit a tree, causing a massive explosion. The explosion destroyed the surrounding trees and the ground beneath, creating a huge crater. "So much... chaos energy in one attack... luckily, I'm used to this... but it seems for him, it's like a new toy," Sonic thought to himself.

He stood up again, only to see the wolf preparing to launch another energy ball. Sonic wasn't going to let himself be defeated so easily. He charged at the wolf. The Timberwolf, confident, fired again. But Sonic's green eyes shifted to an electric blue, and he vanished in a blue streak, countering the energy sphere with a left kick mid-air.

The chaos energy blast was held in place by the sole of Sonic’s shoes. He kept it in check while quickly thinking about his next move before the blast exploded in his face. Maneuvering his body in the air while staying defensive, he managed to land a kick with his right leg, deflecting the blast toward the sky, where it exploded moments later with a green flare, like a flare from a rocket.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Sonic said, smiling, surrounded by blue lightning, his eyes still glowing electric blue, and his gaze locked on his enemy. "Is that all you've got?"

The wolf growled angrily, preparing to attack again with its new technique. But in that instant, Sonic appeared before its eyes in a Spin Dash, hitting it between the eyes like a rotating saw. The wolf endured the impact, struggling to stay on its feet. But the damage continued to build with every fraction of a second it was under attack. Sonic finished with a downward kick, driving his heel into the Timberwolf, knocking it to the ground. The wolf’s eyes lost their glow, and it fell defeated, its head crushed into the leaves, branches, and thick logs.

A second earlier, Twilight arrives on the scene

The Princess of Friendship arrived just in time, horrified at the sight of the massive Timberwolf that was beyond belief. "This is truly no ordinary Timberwolf..." she thought. Witnessing the great threat, she chose to stay hidden, scanning the area for the pony the fillies had mentioned—one who was facing the beast alone. Her worried expression shifted when she noticed the wolf locking its gaze in one direction. Twilight followed its eyes and felt a mix of fear and doubt when she saw the blue threat that had escaped from the castle. "He's still alive... it's impossible..." she thought to herself, admiring the scene as Sonic prepared to face such a beast alone.

Sonic stood apart from the mutated Timberwolf, staring it down. In the blink of an eye, he disappeared in a blue flash and reappeared right in front of it. Twilight couldn't believe it—not only the courage to stand up to the massive Timberwolf but also the speed at which he had gone from one side to the other in an instant. As her thoughts gathered, she was snapped back to reality by a loud explosion that shook the ground, sending a gust of wind, and revealing the victor: Sonic.

A green flash revealed a matching gem floating in the air, descending in front of Sonic. He bent down, watching it with a satisfied smile. In a sudden motion, he grabbed the gem and started dancing gracefully. After a few steps of his victory dance, he posed, placing a fist on his hip and snapping his fingers. The gem appeared in his hand, as if it were a magic trick.

FACE TOFACE

"Too easy!" was the only thing Twilight heard coming from Sonic's lips after his victory dance against the beast of the Everfree Forest. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Twilight approached him, her determination clear. But as she moved closer, Sonic turned in her direction. "Did he know I was here?" she wondered.

"Hey, Princess...right?" he asked, making sure he was speaking to the same pony he had talked to before his escape from the castle.

"Yes, I’m the same Princess you escaped from that night," Twilight said firmly, stepping closer but keeping a safe distance from him.

"Good! Are the girls safe?" he asked nonchalantly. He knew they would be looking for him again, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

Is he... referring to the Crusaders? Twilight thought as she analyzed him more closely, trying to match the descriptions the girls had given of him with his appearance. "If you're talking about the three fillies I found with my friends in the forest, yes! They're safe and sound."

"Good! That’s all I needed to know. See you later," Sonic said nonchalantly, turning toward the cliff to look at the drop below, where the ocean could be seen far below.

"Wait a second!" Twilight called out, feeling the weight of the situation. "You don’t understand the situation you’re in, do you? Don’t make this harder than it has to be!"

Sonic sighed, looking at her directly while rubbing his injured arms and shaking off the dust. "Look, Princess, I’m pretty sure I know exactly what you're thinking: you want to capture me, lock me up, put me on trial and try to believe my story. But without a lawyer to defend me, and without my friends around, yeah, I know the mess I’m in. This isn’t the first, and probably won’t be the last time I end up in an unknown world with no knowledge of it. But that doesn’t mean I should just give up because you tell me to. I respect you, I’ve met other princesses too, but I’ve had some bad experiences being unjustly locked up or imprisoned for things I didn’t do or didn’t even commit."

Twilight took a moment to process his words, shaking her head to regain her composure before responding. "Even so, you’re the most wanted pony right now! I can’t let you go free. It’s my responsibility to protect the ponies here. I want us to do this the right way. We don’t need to fight, just surrender, and we can fix this."

She looked at him expectantly, hoping for a response that would bring resolution.

Sonic, smiling, looked at her, knowing she was right. He could do that—he could try to show a more peaceful side and try to be seen differently. But the thought of the Chaos Emeralds being scattered across the world, and the fact that if a Timberwolf could fuse with one of them, who knew what other dangers could arise from them? "I could ask for help from royalty, but if I give out unnecessary information—or worse, the wrong information—it could end up in the wrong hands, and I’d be putting the power of the Chaos Emeralds in the hands of those who can’t control it... and if they try to hold onto the emeralds, I’d hate to face them just because I need them... I’ll have to do this my way."

He crossed his arms and lowered his head, sighing. Then, he lifted his gaze and smiled at her. "First... I need to take care of something before I 'surrender'. But if you still don’t trust me enough to send someone after me, then go ahead! I don’t mind. You can think whatever you want about me, Princess. After all, ‘actions speak louder than words.’ It’s a saying back home," he said with a grin and a wink, then disappeared in an instant, speeding down the cliff at incredible velocity.

Twilight processed his actions, then quickly rushed to the edge, surprised. He had survived before, but would he now? Her mind raced, wondering if he had some trick up his sleeve that she hadn’t seen yet. But as she approached the edge, all she felt was a gust of wind rushing past her, and she had a flash of déjà vu—remembering how he had escaped from her before. Once again, the situation was repeating itself, with him now running back into the forest.

"That thing is so... so stubborn!" she muttered under her breath. "We’ll have to do something before someone gets hurt." She began to walk back toward the forest but stopped as she noticed the massive Timberwolf defeated and destroyed on the ground. "To think there’s something... someone... capable of facing that while we were fleeing from those... blue threats... Who are you?" she wondered aloud, gazing into the forest, unsure of where Sonic might be now.

Author's Note

I want to highlight a bit of the references to Sonic Frontiers in certain actions, that's all.