Sonic and Rainbow Dash had been talking the whole trip back. Sharing pleasant memories and adventures as if their earlier fight hadn't even happened. Tails hadn't expected them to make up this quickly, but Twilight had told him that her people specialized in forgiveness among other things. Plus, Sonic was known for brushing things off.

Right now, he was telling Rainbow Dash about the time Eggman had unleashed Dark Gaia and he was afflicted with a new Werehog form. Rainbow Dash had said that Fluttershy had undergone something similar, but Tails was a little preoccupied to listen in. His mind was swarming with questions: Sonic had said that something was the cause of his falling out with Rainbow, a concept both Tails and Twilight had theorized back at the Crystal Empire. Ponyville was coming up, which meant two things. One, Sonic could provide a proper explanation. Two, the portal device Twilight had built could be finished, which meant putting an end to all this.

The Tornado and the balloon touched down right outside the Castle of Friendship just as Sonic vaulted off the plane, a fascinated look on his face as Rainbow flew up beside him. "No way! You really have a running competition?"

"Yep! The Running of the Leaves! Applejack and I were in it! It's supposed to help the leaves fall off, but I may have gotten a little ahead of myself and I may have cheated so I could win."

"Well, I'll have you know that if I was in that race, all those leaves would be flying everywhere! It'd be a total windstorm!" Both of them laughed at the hedgehog's statement before Sonic had a thought. "Wait, were you allowed to fly?"

"Nope. Had my wings tied," Rainbow answered. "Didn't stop me, though!"

"Figured. Y'know, you should never let your limitations get in the way of what you wanna do! Remember that!"

"As happy as I am to see you two getting along again," Knuckles interrupted. "Cut the chatter. We've got work to do." Tails and Twilight were making their way towards the building's entrance, the alicorn's eyes on the fox. "You do have the chaos energy, right?"

"Of course. I've replicated the data onto my handheld, and it should be enough to mix in with the magic. Once the portal opens, we go in, find the Elements and the Emeralds, and fix this mess!"

Twilight used her magic to swing open the main entrance and proceeded inside. "Sounds like a plan! Now, come on! Let's-" She was cut short when her violet eyes rested on something standing near the incomplete portal. Something dark with glowing eyes whirled around to face them, purple orbs glowing menacingly. Everyone froze in shock when they spotted the intruder… but for Sonic and Rainbow Dash, the sight of the being brought back unpleasant memories.

"You!" Sonic snapped, jabbing an accusing finger at the entity. He shot forward and collided with the being, who simply tossed him aside like he was nothing. Rainbow Dash flew full-throttle at it, only for the being to catch her by the head and slam her to the floor. "GET HIM!" Knuckles roared, prompting everyone to charge at the being. The entity seemed unfazed by their assault, and it responded in a tone only the blue hedgehog and the cyan pegasus could hear.

CHAOS CONTROL.

In an instant, everything around it slowed to a halt. Sonic and Rainbow's friends froze in place, inches away from the entity. With them no longer a threat, the being turned to face the duo, who looked less than pleased to see it. YOU SURVIVE. IT APPEARS WE FAILED TO CONSIDER A CERTAIN FACTOR.

"For once, I'm gonna skip the banter," Sonic sternly replied as Rainbow brushed a forehoof on the floor in anticipation. "You're gonna tell us right here, right now: why did you do it? Why'd you pit me and Dash against one another?"

WAS IT NOT OBVIOUS? came its reply. YOU TWO WERE THE GREATEST OBSTACLES THAT INTERFERED WITH OUR HUNGER. WITH THE ELIMINATION OF YOU BOTH, WE WOULD PROCEED TO FEAST ON CHAOS ENERGY AND MAGIC ALIKE, SATISFYING OUR HUNGER AND ALLOWING US TO EVOLVE.

"And it would have worked, wouldn't it?" Sonic asked. "If it weren't for our friends, we'd have finished each other off. You really should've taken that into account."

TAUNT US ALL YOU WISH, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG. YES, WE HAVE OVERLOOKED THE POTENTIAL OF YOUR ALLIES; A MISTAKE WE INTEND TO RECTIFY. BUT NOW, WE SEE THE TRUTH ABOUT THEM.

It pointed a finger at them. HEED THIS WARNING. ABANDON YOUR QUEST FOR THE ELEMENTS OF HARMONY AND THE CHAOS EMERALDS. SHOULD YOU AND YOUR ALLIES ATTEMPT TO STEAL THEM FROM US, THE CONSEQUENCES WILL BE DIRE.

"Wait, you have them?!" Rainbow spoke up before grinning triumphantly. "Ha! You just messed up big time, no-mouth!"

HAVE WE? It responded nonchalantly. WE ARE LIKE NOTHING YOU HAVE EVER FACED. YOU CANNOT BEGIN TO COMPREHEND OUR TRUE POWER, WHICH GROWS BECAUSE OF THE JEWELS. BUT IF YOU WISH TO OBTAIN THEM, KNOW THAT DOING SO WILL BE YOUR GRAVEST MISTAKE.

"As if!" Sonic shot back. "Your type of bad guy is always the same; boasting about how superior you are to us, how our demise is inevitable, blah, blah, blah! It doesn't matter what you got! All that power is nothing to us when we work together!"

It just stared him down. WE ARE COUNTING ON IT.

"And why me, you black bully?!" Rainbow shouted angrily. "Twilight's the most important out of all of us! She's the leader! Most of the bad guys we've gone up against had scores to settle with her!"

THAT IS TRUE, it said. TWILIGHT SPARKLE POSSESSES SUCH ASTOUNDING LEVELS OF MAGIC. WE COULD FEED ON IT FOR EONS… ONCE WE ARE FINISHED WITH YOU, RAINBOW DASH.

Her magenta eyes burned with fury. "So. Why. Me?"

TWILIGHT SPARKLE DOES COMMAND YOU AND THE REST OF YOUR FRIENDS, AND SHE IS THE MOST GIFTED AS WELL, HENCE PRINCESS CELESTIA'S INTEREST IN HER. BUT YOU, RAINBOW DASH… YOU WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS FRIENDSHIP IN THE FIRST PLACE.

The pegasus' eyes went wide once she realized just what the entity was referring to.

IF IT WAS NOT FOR YOU, YOUR FRIENDS AS YOU KNOW THEM WOULD NOT EXIST. IT WAS YOUR SONIC RAINBOOM THAT EARNED THEM THEIR CUTIE MARKS, INCLUDING YOURS, AND SENT THEM ON PATHS THAT WOULD EVENTUALLY MEET. EVERY VICTORY THEY HAVE CLAIMED, EVERY LESSON EACH OF THEM HAS LEARNED… ALL OF IT WAS BECAUSE OF YOU. MOST OF YOUR RACE OVERLOOK THIS, BUT NOT US. TWILIGHT SPARKLE MAY BE HAILED AS A HERO, BUT YOU, RAINBOW DASH, BECAME EQUESTRIA'S TRUE SAVIOR THE MOMENT YOU ACHIEVED THE IMPOSSIBLE.

Rainbow immediately thought back to the first time she had heard that: right after Twilight and Starlight had a fight that almost tore up the timestream or something like that. Not once had she believed the rainboom had that much of an impact until that moment. But being called a savior because of it was something else… she wasn't even sure if she should be flattered right now.

"Talk about impressive…" Sonic muttered before he snapped back into focus. "Uh, I mean, see?! If she brought a world-saving team together that faced way worse than you, you should know how this is gonna end!"

STILL, YOU ARE BLIND TO YOUR BELIEFS. WHATEVER YOU HAVE LEARNED IS USELESS AGAINST A FORCE SUCH AS US… BUT YOU WILL LEARN THAT SOON ENOUGH. The entity's violet orbs bore into the blue speedsters, its presence taunting them before the being warped away… and time snapped back to normal.

All at once, Sonic and Rainbow's friends collapsed on top of them before they realized what was happening. They landed in a huge pile of color and fur, battle-ready shouts quickly turning into surprised cries and pained groans. Muffled voices rang out, some less restricted than others.

"Knuckles, get your foot out of my face!"

"Whee! Snuggle fest!"

"Would everypony please stop squirming?!"

"Umm… sorry?"

A raspberry aura enveloped everyone as a bright glow came from deep beneath the pile. In the blink of an eye, everyone floated away from each other and hovered in the air with startled gasps… save for one violet alicorn with a glowing horn. The magic surrounding her and her friends faded, resulting in everyone falling on their faces. Everyone that didn't have swift reflexes or couldn't fly, that is.

Starlight used her magic to help a dazed Sunset to her feet. "What in Equestria was that?!"

"I don't know!" Spike answered. "It's black with glowing eyes, it can change shape, it can copy our abilities, we've seen it before in Ponyville and-"

"And it's the thing that provoked me and Sonic into attacking each other," Rainbow finished with an uncharacteristically stern tone. "It sensed my jealousy of him and cranked it up, turning me against him so that we could finish each other off!"

"Wait… that's what made you fight each other?" Tails asked. Sonic was quick to respond. "Yeah. It sent some sorta fake Dash after me that wouldn't stop attacking until I had enough. It knows everything about us, and we're the only thing standing between it and a smorgasbord of magic and chaos energy."

"It feeds on the raw energies of our worlds?" Twilight repeated. "If it's doing that right now, it could keep the worlds from overloading with too much power… but it can't do that for long, right?"

"So…" Sunset spoke up. "Does this thing have a name?" Rainbow just shook her head. "It didn't give us one. All we do know is that sees and speaks through all of the black creatures; an extension of itself. Like a hive mind. Those fights we had with them? They were testing us. And it also made Windichaos to test us further!"

"Does that mean we were helping it prepare for us?" Applejack whispered.

"Pretty much. It keeps droning on and on about how we're totally useless against it, how it'll overpower us effortlessly, blah, blah, blah, typical bad-guy speech stuff."

"I think it's got the power to back those claims up, though," Sonic continued. "It says it's made of both magic and chaos energy that came to life when the Emeralds and Elements met. Ever since, it's been lurking in the space between our worlds, hungry for those same energies. And with our worlds about to mash together, it'll be a feast."

"Well… we better call it something," Knuckles muttered in thought. "Calling it… uh, 'it' is gonna get pretty boring. Not to mention confusing."

"Ooh, I know!" Pinkie piped up. "It's made of chaos energy and magic, right? A combination of both! How about the Combined?"

Everyone was left silent at the pink pony's out-of-nowhere suggestion. The earth pony had a wide smile and unblinking eyes that looked at everyone in the room. "Ah? Aaaah?"

"That's… actually quite fitting," Amy broke the silence. "How do you know just what to say?"

"Oh, it's kinda my thing!" Pinkie replied. Amy wasn't too sure how to respond. "Uh, what do you mean, your-"

"It makes sense," Twilight added. "It's both a combination of magic and chaos energy. And if it's waiting for us in the space between dimensions, then the only way we're getting the Elements and Emeralds…"

"...is to go through it first," Rainbow finished for her. "And it's not gonna just hand 'em over. So, when we do this, we need to be ready."

"Uh… guys?" Tails muttered from the console. "We've got a problem." Everyone turned to the fox, who had just initiated the portal upon hearing the fact that this new threat- the Combined- was waiting for them on the other side. But nothing was happening, and the screen next to the device was lit up with a message.

INSUFFICIENT ENERGY LEVELS

"Aw, what?!" Rainbow shouted at it. "Insufficient? Does that mean we need more?!" Tails regretfully nodded. "Looks like we underestimated just how much chaos energy and magic we needed for this thing."

"Well, that's just great," sighed Sonic. "Now, we've got two things to worry about; getting more chaos energy and magic for this machine, and figuring out what Eggman's got cooking up next."

"Speaking of Eggman…" Tails continued. "Rouge told me that this drive has a copy of his current plan. When we see him again- and knowing him, we will- we're gonna want to know what he has in store." The fox took out the flash drive and inserted it into a console. Soon, an image appeared on the monitor.

Two words at the top read "PROJECT MYTH", and below sat a detailed diagram of a unicorn with a flashing horn. Next to the horn was a chart that showed high energy levels. And off in the corner was some kind of… cannon? It had a long barrel, a solid chamber, and was displaying the same readings as the unicorn's horn. "What the hay is that thing?" asked Twilight.

"Some kind of weapon, maybe?" Knuckles was scratching his head. "What does Eggman think magic will do for that? Does he want his lasers to have more of a punch?"

"I believe it's more of a 'boom'," commented Spike.

"Nice of us to see the new toy before it gets off the production line!" quipped Sonic. "I can't wait to see how it works… and how it 'accidentally' breaks!" His eager expression then fell. "But, seriously, this is it? I was honestly expecting another big robot. That's magic-powered. Maybe with a forcefield or a-"

"Look out! Run! Aaaaaaah!" A sudden scream and panicked shouting drew everyone's attention outside, where creatures were fleeing for their lives and nearly stumbling over each other. Small blue Chaos and butterflies fluttered past, the formers yelping their namesakes while doing so.

Cream threw open the door, panic on her face. "Mister Sonic! Come quick! It's an emergency!" Her pet Chao flailed his arms in alarm before darting out of view, the small rabbit dashing after him. Instantly forgetting the plans laid in front of them, Sonic and Rainbow dashed out of the building and slid to a stop in Ponyville's streets. Everyone else piled outside and looked around for any sign of danger.

But, strangely, there were no robots or monsters to be found.

"Huh? Wh-what's everyone running from?" Amy asked, lowering her hammer. Sunset, Starlight, and Spike briefly lowered their guards, equally confused. Pinkie Pie was the one to speak up next. "Maybe they're running from that burning ship that's about to crash land."

"Wait, what?" Rainbow looked at the sky to see exactly what Pinkie had described: a rectangular red shuttle with an engine aflame, barreling right for Ponyville at top speed with no signs of slowing down. The aircraft slightly tipped sideways during its plummet, smoke pouring from the back while it groaned in agony. It was too far to see who was flying it… but nobody wanted it to get too close just yet.

"Move!" shouted Sonic, taking off in in the opposite direction. The group spun and ran from the incoming craft just as it smashed into the ground, kicking up dirt and tearing a path through the streets. Once they were a safe distance away, Sonic and Rainbow turned to face the ship in ready stances. The ship came to a steady halt, smoke still rising from its engines. The cockpit was now blocked from view, with no means of seeing inside… until the ramp slowly dropped.

The smoke surrounded whatever it was that was standing on board, but the blue heroes could hear someone or something moving about in there. The small thuds that represented footfalls on metal drew close to the edge of the ship, prompting Rainbow to flash open her wings. Sonic balled his fists and stared down at the large shrouded figure that stood at the top of the ramp…

…and that figure unceremoniously collapsed with a bang and slid down the ramp, causing the speedsters to drop their poses. A green, scaly creature slid facefirst down the ramp until its snout touched dirt, its body covered with singe marks and bruises. Rainbow didn't recognize the creature- who looked like some kind of crocodile- but Sonic's eyes went wide. "What the-?"

"Uuuuuugh…" it groaned, raising a hand to its head and shaking the dirt off its face. "No chili dogs for me, thanks, I'm driving…"

"Vector?! Is that- what the heck happened to you?!" Sonic ran over to the crocodile and helped him to his feet, the latter still woozy from the crash. "S-Sonic?" he moaned. "H-how come… how come there are two of you again…?"

"Oh my goodness!" gasped Rarity, rushing up to the speedsters with her friends in tow. "What in Equestria happened to this poor fellow?" Tails and Knuckles ran to help Sonic with the dazed crocodile, the latter making eye contact. "You crazy, Vec? Why'd you think flying an Eggman ship was a good idea?"

"And where are Charmy and Espio?" added Tails.

"Here," replied a stoic voice. Everyone turned back to the ramp to see a purple chameleon gripping the ship's wall to stabilize himself. Close by, a small bee-like creature was hovering (in any direction but a straight line) into view while dizzy unicorns stumbled out onto the ramp. "We…" Espio paused before hopping off the ramp and recovering from a botched landing. "We found this ship leaving a town with prisoners, so we infiltrated and hijacked it. Needless to say… it could have gone better."

"I still say…" muttered Charmy as he touched down atop Pinkie Pie and gestured to himself with a thumb. "That I should've flown!"

Vector broke out of his daze with a growl. "For the last time, Charmy, no! You're too young to drive!"

"But I'm the only one who can actually fly!" the bee protested, pointing at his wings.

"That doesn't mean anything!" snapped the crocodile. "Plus, who asked you to be the backseat flier, anyway?!"

"No way you could've done this for free," Sonic spoke quickly, breaking up the two before things could get uglier. "You find a new client or something?" Espio was the one to respond to that. "Yes. Several of these animals in multiple towns have been captured by Eggman. We were told by someone named 'Mistmane' to investigate."

"Mistmane?" Twilight echoed. "The Pillar of Equestria?"

Espio raised a brow. "I suppose."

"And a certain somebody was too nervous that she'd be next," added Vector. "...which meant that she and her pals wanted to stay with us until things blew over! They're like strays that won't leave you alone, I tell ya!" Rarity trotted up to the croc with curious eyes. "I hate to interrupt, but… just who might these individuals be?"

"Big sister! You are safe!" The ponies turned behind the Chaotix to see three fillies emerge from the still-stunned crowd of freed unicorns. One of them was a unicorn herself, delighted to lay eyes on the generous pony before her while a little pegasus and a bow-wearing earth pony stood near her.

Rarity gasped. "Sweetie Belle! Are you alright?! Did any of the robots get you?"

"What in tarnation is a robot?" pondered Apple Bloom. Applejack just smiled. "That's a long story, Lil sis." Scootaloo was already in a pose. "Yeah! Those mean metal monsters came for us, and I went all crazy on 'em! Wham! Kapow! They weren't so tough!"

"Yeah," Rainbow piped up. "Unless you were fighting the more dangerous ones with the weapons."

"The what now?"

"Never mind. Ya did good, kiddo," the cyan pegasus petted the filly on the head with one hoof, causing the latter to smile warmly. "And here's the good news; my pals and I already busted out a ton of unicorns!"

"Wow! You did?!"

"Yep! I'll make sure to tell you all about it!"

"So this Mistmane person can rest easy!" Sonic added. "Well, sort of. We may have broken out most of the unicorns, but Eggman still has more locked up. Judging by the plans we just saw, he wants to use their magic to use in a new weapon. One that, as I shall say again, has no chances of stopping me and my friends."

"Will you please not talk so loud, Sonic?" groaned Vector, smacking his head. "My head's still ringing from that 'spectacular' landing…" The hedgehog took a step back, giving the reptile some recovery space. "Sorry, Vec."

"Wait a minute…" Tails' ears were perked up. "That's not your head… that's my communications screen!" Sure enough, something was giving off a tone from within the lab-castle fusion right nearby. An incoming transmission, if Tails had to guess. "You guys stay here and recover! We'll go see what's up!"

"Don't worry, Mister Vector!" piped Cream as the alligator slumped against a wall. "Cheese and I will make sure you and your friends will feel better in no time, especially the little cute ones!" The rabbit patted Sweetie Belle on the head, much to the little unicorn's chagrin. Behind her, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom snickered at their friend… until Cream turned her attention to them.

"Aren't you all the cutest!" she cooed, squeezing Scootaloo's cheeks as the little pegasus tried to wriggle away. "Hey! Ow! Knock it off! I'm not cute!" Cream just shook her head. "Oh, now that won't do! Mother told me an attitude like that will get you nowhere! Right, Cheese?"

"Chao chao!"

"Aw, shucks, she can't be that bad, though… right?" Apple Bloom chuckled, turning to the Chaotix for clarification. Vector just shrugged. "Ugh… I guess…" His words did nothing to reassure the young filly, as Cream turned to her with a giddy smile with her pet sharing an equal expression. "Oh boy…"

Inside the fusion between Tails' lab and the Castle of Friendship, a monitor was alight with a symbol of a ringing phone. The words "INCOMING CALL" flashed beneath it, and Tails pressed a button to answer. The screen lit up to reveal a robotic Chao staring into it, a city behind him. "Guys, it's Omochao! I've got something you need to see!"

"It's been a while since we last talked," Knuckles said with crossed arms. "But if it's anything about Eggman, we've already got that covered."

"Uh, this isn't Eggman-related," Omochao replied. "I hit a roadblock, so I decided to look around in Station Square. But there's something really weird going on here! Look!" The robotic Chao slightly moved out of view, revealing the streets of a bustling metropolis. Humans walked through sidewalks and cars moved through streets… but nothing seemed out of the ordinary.

"Um… what are we supposed to be looking-" Sonic's words were cut off when something bright and fast came out of nowhere, sweeping through the city block like a tidal wave. In the span of a second, startled people vanished, new people appeared out of thin air, buildings changed in size and appearance, and cars swerved about before crashing into vehicles that materialized before them. When the light passed, the city block looked… almost the same. Except there were different buildings in place of others, and one building was taking up half of another. Startled humans were looking around at the transformed scene, and two cars had collided in the middle of an intersection. One of the cars opened its driver-side door, and the person inside stepped out with bewilderment on his face.

But this person looked completely different from all the rest. Instead of having a peach-like tone, his skin was colored bright orange. "Whoa, did that guy get too much sun or something?" Sonic asked in confusion. Tails just pointed to the monitor. "It's not just him! Look!"

Other humans with different skin colors had appeared on the sidewalks, shocked as to what had just happened. A kid with green skin had fallen flat off his skateboard, a human with red skin was startled by someone walking their dog, and a blue-skinned man was arguing with another man near some more wrecked cars.

"I have no idea what's going on here," Omochao continued. "But you guys need to get over here fast! This is getting crazier by the second!" If Omochao was waiting for a response, everyone on the other end was too shocked to properly give one. "Sooner rather than later would be nice!"

The feed then cut out, leaving nothing but a blank screen behind. With a curious look in his eyes, Tails approached the nearby console and inputted some commands.

"Twilight?" Amy whispered in awe. "I didn't know you had humans in your world…"

The alicorn didn't respond, nor did anypony else as their eyes were transfixed on the monitor. Tails had brought back the transmission and now had the feed paused, the mixed city blocks of Station Square and… and whatever that place was in full view. Twilight slowly turned to Amy with a look that was both worried and afraid at the same time.

"We don't."

"Come again?" Amy repeated, not sure what she just heard.

"Huh?" Tails muttered, turning away from the screen. "But… if you don't have humans, then… then where did they come from?"

"Oh no…"

All eyes turned to the horrified voice who had spoken, to the pony who was looking at the frozen scene with horror in her eyes: Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh no no nononononono." Before anyone could question the unicorn, she darted away from the monitor and ran full-speed towards a contraption around some kind of large mirror. She leaped towards the mirror like a diver about to plunge into water… and hit the glass with a smack. The dazed Sunset slumped to the ground- dazed from the impact- until she regained both her footing and her senses.

"What? No! No, no, no!" She panicked, ramming herself against the mirror repeatedly as Sonic and his friends watched with stupified looks. "Come on, let me in, let me in! Why isn't it working?!"

"Sunset!" Twilight called in alarm. "Calm down!"

"Calm down?! My friends could be in trouble right now! Why is this not-?!"

"Sunset!" Twilight forced the unicorn to lock eyes with her. "Your friends will be fine, I'm sure of it! I may not know them as much as you do now, but I assure you they're doing everything they can to manage things on their end."

The unicorn's breaths slowed in pitch and she appeared to be thinking something over. "Okay…" she finally whispered. "Yeah… we both made them who they are now. They'll be-"

"Can somebody tell me what's going on?!" spouted an impatient Knuckles. "Like, why you thought charging headfirst into a mirror was a bright idea?"

Twilight blinked in silence for a moment. "Um… do you want to say it, or-"

"I'll do it," Sunset affirmed. "I know it better than you, anyway." The unicorn stepped away from the mirror and turned her attention to Sonic and his friends. "To put it simply, that's no ordinary mirror. It's a portal."

"A portal?" Tails echoed. "To where?"

"To there," Sunset answered, pointing a hoof at the screen. "I can tell you're thinking that it doesn't look like anything you'd see in Equestria. And you'd be right; because it's not Equestria."

"Um…" Knuckles was scratching his head. "I'm not following."

"So what is that place?" Sonic asked. "The people have colored skin, they have the same eyes as you…"

"Wait a second…" Tails butted in, alternating his eyes from the strange humans on the screen and the ponies. "Sunset… are you saying that that city is from an alternate dimension?"

The unicorn nodded, much to the bewilderment of the echidna and the hedgehogs. "That world's somewhat like yours… well, minus the walking, talking animals. Here in Equestria, some artifacts serve as gateways to parallel dimensions, linking them together. The Crystal Mirror serves as a door to that world, and it usually opens for three days every thirty moons. Twilight created this machine to keep it open indefinitely; to allow free travel… but it's no longer working."

"But the Emeralds and the Elements were only affecting your world and ours!" Knuckles interjected, gesturing to the screen in bafflement. "Why's this one caught up in the mix?!"

"Didn't you hear what Sunset said?" Tails explained. "She said that that mirror serves as a link to Equestria and that world! It's an interdimensional tether! Think of it like tying one object to another, like a bucket to a boulder. You push the boulder into water, and the rope allows the bucket to get pulled in with it!"

"I think I get it," Sonic piped up. "That world's connection to this one leaves it vulnerable to the fusion process, even if it had nothing to do with it in the first place. But… Twilight, are there other worlds linked to Equestria like that one?"

The alicorn gulped nervously. "Yes… and I think I see what you're getting at, Sonic. "There are many alternate worlds and parallel dimensions that surround Equestria like planets orbiting a star. If Equestria, the prime world, is suffering a cosmic catastrophe such as this…"

"Then all the others are doomed, too!" Spike moaned, his hands on his head in panic. "That means it's not just our world that's gonna fall apart; our whole universe is gonna shatter like glass if this keeps up!"

"All the more reason to beat that Combined creep, get the Emeralds and the Elements, and fix all this!" Rainbow shouted before she turned to the portal device with an annoyed glare. "Except we don't have enough magic and stuff to get it working!"

"So…" Fluttershy peeped. "What are we going to do?"

"Get some more, duh!" came the pegasus' reply. "But… as to how we're supposed to do that…"

Twilight noticed Rainbow was at a loss for explanations. "Let me handle that. You girls need to focus on something more important."

"More important than preventing the collapse of the whole dang universe?" Applejack queried, raising a brow. Now, Twilight was the one left speechless before shaking her head and steeling herself. "Okay, poor choice of words, but important nonetheless. Before we left for the Crystal Empire, I went to Canterlot to ask Princesses Celestia and Luna. But they were gone, vanished from the palace grounds. I don't want to assume the worst, but I'd like to know what happened to them."

"Perhaps they had business to deal with elsewhere?" Rarity asked. Twilight nodded. "Maybe… but with Eggman attacking Canterlot and his kidnapping unicorns, I'd rather not take any chances for the former princesses' safety. Can you girls check it out while Spike and I work with the portal?"

"Sure thing!" Pinkie exclaimed. "I never get tired of seeing the palace!"

"I need to find a way back to the human world," Sunset spoke. "The mirror's not working, and I can't think of any other ways to get there."

"If this freakiness is happening over there, there are probably rifts leading to and from there as well," Sonic answered. "I'll say this, disastrous tears in time and space prove useful for otherworldly travel. We'll go with you to see how things are in Station Square."

"You boys do that," Amy added, turning her attention outside where Cream, the Chaotix, and the Crusaders were. All of them were currently tending to Ponyville's current inhabitants, anthropomorphic and equestrians alike. "Twilight's right to believe the princesses have things to tend to… but if there's more to it than that, we'll need expertise. I'll bring everyone else along, just in case."

"You mean the crocodile, the chameleon, and the bee?" asked Rarity. "May I ask why?"

"They're the best detectives we know," Amy explained. "Albeit incompetent ones at times, but the best." The white unicorn raised a brow in response. "The best, hmm?"

"Then, it's settled," Starlight announced, already making her way to the doors with the others in tow. "But I think I'm gonna stay with Twilight and help her out. After all, nopony knows magic better than the two of us."

Knuckles cracked his namesakes in anticipation. "Then let's get to work already."

"Ooooh, what a lovely place!" Cream gasped in awe. The small rabbit and her pet Chao were surrounded by breathtaking architecture, pristine walls and floors, windows that shone as brightly as the light passing through them, and banners of well-crafted design. The building looked like something out of a fairy tale, which was a description the Chaotix were beginning to agree with.

"I know, right?" Pinkie piped up, hopping to the bunny's side. "It's amazing! You've got all these big rooms and long halls and high spaces, and that's only scratching the surface!"

"And yet…" Espio pointed out, his attention drawn to something out of place. "That beauty has been scarred." Everyone turned to see what he was looking at… and noticed a shattered stain-glass window. Whatever image it once portrayed was now lost as cracks spread across its remnants. Rarity had to steel herself before she spoke up. "Er… well… that could have happened during the initial attack. Or when the School of Unicorns was-"

"No," Applejack cut her off. "Only that place was targeted, remember?" The unicorn hung her head low and sighed. "Perhaps there is more to learn here, after all…"

"Yeah, a broken window isn't exactly a good thing," Vector observed. "Maybe there are other clues around here. Charmy, check the outside for-" He turned to the right… only to see an empty spot beside him. "Charmy?"

"CHAAAAARRRRGE!" cried a shrill voice from further down the hall. Everyone spun to look just in time to see a small figure fly into view, a golden helmet over his head and a lance that was way too big for it struggling to stay straight. The bee was making a literal beeline towards his target: a small statue of an earth pony guard. Her eyes widening in horror, Rarity used her magic to move the bust out of the way, leaving Charmy to crash headfirst into the wall. With a pained groan, the bee dropped to the floor, the helmet rolling off his head. The lance clattered to the floor, its tip damaged from the impact.

"Charmy, quit screwing around!" Vector snapped, picking up the dizzy bee. "We're on detective duty here, not playing knights! Now focus and keep an eye out for anything useful!" Shaking the wooziness from his head, Charmy was quick to retort. "But think of all the cool stuff I could do, like slaying dragons and saving princesses!"

"Speaking of princesses," added Sweetie Belle. "I believe my sister has found another clue as to their whereabouts." The white unicorn was currently examining a tapestry on the other end of the hall, where the other ponies were already gathered around. Vector dropped Charmy to the ground with a groan. "A clue we would have found if you hadn't goofed off…"

Espio and Cream were already approaching the ponies, curious as to what this discovery was. But to their confusion, Rainbow Dash was groaning in boredom. "Seriously, Rarity? You're gonna admire fine weaving now?"

"There's more to this piece of hoofiwork than meets the eye, Rainbow," the unicorn calmly responded. "Or did you forget when Wind Rider framed you?"

The pegasus sighed. "Okay, you got me. So what's special about this thing?"

Cream blinked in confusion while Espio had a brow raised. "Um… isn't that supposed to be about your kingdom's history?" the rabbit guessed. "What does that have to do with this?" Rarity just gave the rabbit a knowing look while Charmy scratched his head. "Oh, it's not about the depicted event, darling. Take a look at this." She stepped aside to reveal a small corner of the tapestry… which was black in contrast to the yellow fabric.

Espio slid two fingers across the black spot and sniffed at the residue. The chameleon's eyes narrowed upon recognition of a substance he wouldn't have found possible in this world. "A laser burn…"

"Good eye, Rarity!" Amy congratulated, patting the white unicorn on the back. "Never knew you'd be good sleuth material!" Rarity gave her an appreciative smile. "Why, thank you! I tend to have a keen eye for my surroundings…"

"Um… that's bad, right?" asked Charmy, his eyes trained on the black mark staining the fabric. Vector just nodded while Fluttershy gulped. "Uh… maybe it was just one of the unicorn guards? A stray magic bolt, perhaps?"

Espio didn't make eye contact with the yellow pegasus, his gaze fully trained on the tapestry. Moving it aside, he spotted a similar black mark on the wall behind it. Without the additional color, a now-revealed hole in the tapestry made itself known to the naked eye. It didn't look fresh, but the sight uneased the ponies. "I may not know magic as much as you do…" Espio answered. "But I can tell you that this isn't it."

"Definitely not," Amy assured him. "This looks much more powerful."

"I don't like where this is heading…" mumbled Scootaloo. "Are we sure that he-"

"We haven't seen any busted bots now, have we?" Rainbow cut in. "Maybe there's more we're not seeing!" Eager for more answers, the pegasus galloped down the hall. Everyone else broke into a run, hurrying through the castle. But as much as the ponies wanted to deny the idea… more uncovered proof was making that futile.

More laser burns covered the walls and floors, and Vector could see large burns that he believed were left by some kind of thruster. Rarity and Applejack came across dented, discarded armor with their wearers nowhere in sight. The ponies' hearts were starting to sink deeper and deeper the further they progressed into the castle…

…and that feeling lifted when they saw the pristine doors to the throne room, completely unscathed from the surrounding destruction. Applejack let out a breath she didn't even realize she was holding. "Thank goodness…"

"Wait…" Vector interrupted. "This doesn't look right… why would-"

"Helloooo!" called Pinkie Pie, hopping up to the doors. "Anypony home?" She raised one hood to the doors and tapped it three times, expecting to hear a delayed silence before a response. Instead came a long creaking sound… before a loud bang as the doors collapsed to the throne room floor.

"Uh… oops?"

"Oh no…" Rainbow's wings dropped to her side as every creature took in the sight of the throne room. The chamber looked relatively untouched compared to the rest of the castle… except the wall and the stained glass windows within it were blown to bits, allowing sunlight to shine in. The thrones were empty and small laser burns that were unnoticeable at first glance covered the walls. "Well…" Vector moaned. "At least that answers my question."

"I knew this felt too easy," added Amy.

"No…" peeped Fluttershy. "H-He took them…"

"We gotta get 'em back!" Rainbow cried, flashing open her wings only to stop when Espio held out a hand to halt her. "I realize the irony in saying this, but rushing in blindly against Eggman hardly does any good. Especially if you are unprepared to face him."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I kicked that jerk's flank in back at the Crystal Empire!" The pegasus snapped, but the chameleon was ready for such a response. "And yet you still lost. How else would you have gotten aboard Eggman's flagship, escaped custody, and destroyed it from within?"

"I…I…" The pegasus was left speechless before lowering her head with a saddened sigh. Vector stepped forth to address the group. "Espio's right. Yes, we know that Eggman snatched your world's rulers-"

"Former rulers, actually," Applejack reminded. "Twilight's in charge now."

"Right. But we don't know where he's taken them or what he plans to do with them. Until we have further information, I'm afraid we've hit a roadblock."

"So we just… tell Twilight the bad news?" Fluttershy whispered.

"And add it to the list of bad news we already have?" added Rarity. Espio hung his head while Vector sighed. "Unfortunately, yeah." Despite her cheerful nature, even Cream looked a little down. "You girls told me how that awful Eggman's taking away unicorn magic… what could he do with the princesses' magic?"

"Something even more awful," sighed Amy. "With it, he could make his Project Myth more powerful than he intended!"

"Chao chao…" added Cheese. Before anyone could say anything else, Charmy popped into view with another golden helmet on his head. "Worry not, my merry little band!" He spoke in a medieval-like accent. "We shall quest onwards to perilous lands, slay what foul monsters cross our paths, and rescue our beloved damsels in distress before the light of hope is extinguished forever!"

While his speech caused some of the ponies to smile at his antics, others were less impressed. Vector groaned again and yanked the helmet off the bee. "Come on, Charmy…"

"What?!" snapped the annoyed bee. "Haven't you ever heard of lightening the mood?!"

"I'll say this…" Sonic said as he overlooked the scene around him. "Station Square has seen better days." The first major human metropolis he had traveled to had come a long way since Perfect Chaos, and that was saying something. Its inhabitants had repaired most of the damage and even made the attack a historic moment; a memorial to the perished victims was erected in Central District, and some billboards displayed the flooded city with the words "Forever Remember the Day of Chaos".

But the present was just a destructive force, in a way. That is if one could classify Station Square fusing with another city as destructive. After all, certain buildings were merging with others, and Sonic could already tell of the structural damages despite his lack of knowledge.

To be fair, Chaos was worse than this. But that didn't make it any more serious.

"I still can't wrap my head around this," Knuckles muttered, as if to himself. "You lived… here?" Beside him, Sunset Shimmer was lost as she looked around the otherworldly sight. It was like she was caught in a trance or reliving a memory. When she realized she had been spoken to, though, she snapped out of it and answered with a quick nod.

"Canterlot City," she hastily replied, trying not to get distracted by… whatever or whoever she recognized. "It's not at all like the Canterlot you know."

"We figured," Sonic replied, his eyes locked on a human with yellow skin wondering where the heck he was. "If this was your home away from home, how'd you get by? Hiding?" The unicorn looked flummoxed at the hedgehog's statement. "What? No, I-"

"Yeah, a little talking horse with a horn tends to stand out in a crowd," Tails added before Sunset could say more. "You'd have governments on your tail eager to see what makes you tick… or worse, what power you have if they discovered if you have magic." Sunset hurriedly turned to the group, shaking her head in denial. "No, no, no! Guys, I didn't hide! I…" Her eyes suddenly went wide and her voice died down. "Oooooh… right…"

"Okay, so if you didn't hide, how did you-?" Before Sonic could go on, he felt the very air around him start to tingle. He spun around to face the distant street just in time for everything around them to act as if it was breaking apart. A large wave of light washed over them, altering anything it touched and adding unfamiliar architecture to the already-chaotic city. The group released themselves from their braced stances and opened their eyes, revealing more of this "Canterlot City" had arrived on the scene… as well as more confused and scared humans with skins of many colors.

"Any ideas?" asked Knuckles as he surveyed the scene, not batting an eye at any of the weird-looking humans that froze at the sight of them. Sonic didn't have a response for his friend, something he'd never thought he'd admit. Usually, he'd always have a plan when it came to city-destroying threats, but what was he supposed to do about some reality-warping energy resulting from a broken dimensional barrier? He'd need the Chaos Emeralds for something like that, and…

The hedgehog took a deep breath. "There's not much we can do about the whole merging-cities thing right now, so we do what we can to manage the situation. Help the people, get them adjusted, and try not to let them freak out any more than us-" Something flew right in his face before he could finish that sentence, making him briefly lose his balance before prying the object off. It was a piece of paper… no, a photograph, Sonic realized. He held it still for a better look… and wasn't quite sure what to make of it.

It looked like Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash… but they were all human, gathered in front of what looked like a school with a horse statue out front. They all were wearing colored necklaces that seemed to have the same symbols Sonic had seen on various equestrian hindquarters, and since when did Twilight wear glasses?

Sonic had to jog his memory and clear his head. Sunset had said that this city was from a parallel world that got dragged into this mess with Equestria. So- and he wasn't much of an expert on this- that had to mean these were the ponies' counterparts, right? Maybe Sunset had found the other world's version of herself and secretly hung out with her. Sonic briefly lowered the picture to ask her… only to find Tails, Knuckles, and Sunset looking over his shoulder. The unicorn was dead quiet, her eyes trained on the picture with worried eyes.

"So…" Tails was the first to speak. "That's the other world's versions of you and your friends, right?" Sunset hesitated for a moment as if choosing what to say. Finally, the unicorn sighed. "Yes and no."

"Yes and no?" Knuckles echoed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Yes, those are the versions of my friends from the other world," Sunset clarified. "But no, that's not my other self… that's me."

Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles were the ones to be stone-cold silent now, the photograph nearly flying free from the hedgehog's hand. The echidna, struggling to piece things together, could only utter a sputter of sound before resting a hand on his head as if in pain. Tails was working his head off to pull apart Sunset's words bit by bit… and Sonic was looking from Sunset to the picture with disbelieving eyes. He slowly pointed to the fire-haired teenage girl in the picture, who had her arms wrapped around the smiling human counterparts of Twilight and Rainbow. "Wait… that's you?"

Sunset only nodded in reply, furtherly reducing Knuckles' brain to mush as he struggled to comprehend all this. "Wha… buh… huh…"

"My universe has a way of keeping things in check when it comes to otherworldly travel," Sunset began before everyone's minds could short-circuit. "When one being travels to another world populated solely by another, it's not just a matter of not belonging there. The very presence of a being that shouldn't exist in such a world could prove to be catastrophic… and gateways like the Crystal Mirror have a way to prevent that. Once you step through such a gateway, your cellular makeup is rearranged down to the molecular level, transforming you into a being that should exist in the other world. Because of that, ponies who go the human world through the Crystal Mirror are turned into humans, and humans who go to Equestria are turned into ponies."

Tails had an astounded expression on his face as he took this all in. "Portals to other worlds that also provide trans-dimensional metamorphosis?! That's… that's genius! It allows for free exploration without the incorrect genetic material being present, thus reverting potential consequences to that world thanks to the interference of another!"

"So… you look like that every time you're in the other world?!" Sonic asked, pointing to the other Sunset- no, Sunset's human form- in the photo. When the unicorn nodded, Sonic still had one more question on his mind. "I know it's a little unsettling to think about, but you'll get used to it eventually."

"But if that's you… then where's the other you?"

"I'm sorry?"

Sonic gestured to the rest of the teens. "These are all the counterparts of Twi, Dash, and the others, right? And you were born and raised in Equestria, right? So doesn't that mean that the other world also has a version of yourself?"

"I… I don't know," Sunset slowly admitted. "Throughout my time in the human world, I've never seen or heard of a potential alternate self. I-I try not to worry about it too much; the humans take identity theft very seriously and I doubt they'd believe me if I told them where I was really from."

"Whoa…" Knuckles was staring at his own hands in amazement. "Guys, now that I think about it… what do you think we would look like if we were human? I think I'd be pretty tall! And jacked! Like a pro wrestler! And Tails, you'd probably be a blonde or something!"

"But I wouldn't have my tails," the fox admitted. "So I couldn't fly. So, I think I'll just stick to being myself, thanks."

"Same," added Sonic. "No amount of hair would ever replace the sick, slick spines. Plus, I don't think I could Spin Dash, so that's a major downer." He quickly cleared his throat before the debate could continue. "Anyway! Sun, you said the mirror was a portal? Where's the other side of the door?"

"That is," Sunset replied, pointing a hoof at the statue in front of the school. "But I haven't seen Canterlot High anywhere so far… or, in that case, my other friends…" The hedgehog gave her a gentle pat on the mane. "If they're anything like the ones I know, then I believe they can manage… wherever they are. Now let's see what we can do. Hopefully, we'll run into this school sooner than later…"

"Sonic! Oh, thank goodness you're here! This is crazy!" A robotic Chao zipped around some cars and came to a stop in front of the group, worry in his electronic voice. "We came as fast as we could, Omochao!" Tails told him. "What's the situation?"

"The police have their hands full in keeping the people calm… even the weird-looking ones!" Omochao replied. "But nobody can do anything about what's going on with the city! Buildings I don't recognize are popping up everywhere, and one just appeared next to the hotel!"

"What's this building look like?" Sunset asked. "About three stories high, a big dome on the roof with a flag? Horse and crown-styled gargoyles? A horse statue and a horseshoe sculpture out in the front?"

Omochao stared at the unicorn for a moment, as if processing her words. "That's… that's actually correct! How did you-?"

"That's the place, guys! Sonic, which way to the hotel?"

"Happy to oblige! Follow me, but watch out for unexpected traffic!" The hedgehog shot off without another word, and Knuckles charged after him. Scooping up Sunset in his arms, Tails took to the sky and left a confused Omochao behind. The little robot emerged from his confusion-like trance, the little rotor on his head spinning like mad. "H-hey! Wait for me!"

Sonic raced through the streets at high speed, weaving around stalled cars and hopping over crashed ones. Knuckles did the same, knocking away any broken-down vehicles that stood in his path. While Tails maneuvered her above the streets, Sunset used her magic to the best of her ability to move as many people as she could out of harm's way. Vaulting over a car with a sleek lightning bolt and shield symbol on the hood, Sonic surged down the street before snagging a lamppost at an intersection. With his current momentum, he swung around the post before launching himself to the left. Instead of turning to follow, Knuckles jumped onto the wall of the building ahead of him and hastily climbed up, breaking into a sprint upon reaching the roof.

The streets of Station Square zoomed past Sonic as he dodged incoming cars and leaped off still ones, drifting around a right turn before launching down the road. Within fifteen seconds, the all-too-familiar hotel he stayed at during his first visit came into view… and just off to its left was a building he didn't recognize. Well, apart from the photo he had seen. This had to be the place! Sonic came to a screeching halt in front of the structure as everyone else came up from behind.

"This is a school?" Knuckles queried. "Looks more like a museum!"

Tails' face fell when he looked in through the windows. He could see bewildered staff and students alike trying to comprehend what had just happened. "It was bad enough that Equestria was suffering from the merge… why did it have to be dimensionally tethered to another? And who-knows-how-many-more?"

"Tell that to the ponies who discovered all those worlds," Sunset sighed. "Now, where's that… no…" Sonic raised a brow when he heard the unicorn gasp in shock. "Sunset? What is… it?" He scanned the front of the school grounds where the grass met asphalt. There was a paved walkway leading to the school's main entrance; with two curving paths shaped like a connected arch and a central path with a circular area perfect for holding a statue.

Except there was no statue. Only a pile of demolished pristine rubble with a cracked horse's head jutting out. Sunset was wide-eyed with horror as she took it in. "Oh no…"

"That… looks bad," Knuckles stated. "Is it bad?" Sunset turned to him with a worried look. "If the complete destruction of a portal to Equestria is bad, then yes! It's totally bad!" Tails stared at the debris in thought, tapping his foot on the ground. "You tried to use the mirror to go to the other world, but you couldn't. Now we know why… but are there other portals?"

"Yeah… but one end is in a cave back in Equestria while the other is in a heap of quicksand."

"Oh. No wonder you used the mirror often!"

"Well, that and I didn't know other portals existed."

"Umm… does anybody wanna tell me what's going on?" Omochao piped up. "Like what the deal is with the talking horse with the horn? And why everyone's talking about portals and stuff?" Tails shot one last look at his pals before flying up to Omochao. "I'll catch him up. You guys do… whatever."

Sonic approached the debris and knelt to it, picking up a chunk in his hand before tossing it away. "The thing must've gotten smashed during the merge or something. I guess that may suck for you, Sun, but at least you have a way to get back to Twi."

"Yeah…" the unicorn replied, staring up at the sky. "But I think I gotta get outta the city to do so. Plus, seeing all these… people while I'm still like this…" She looked down at herself and stared at a hoof before sighing. "I'm not gonna get used to that anytime soon. And if Flash sees me like this, what is he gonna-"

"Who's Flash?" Sonic queried, a thought that Sunset had a ready reply to. "Long story short, I dated him during my first years at CHS." Sonic looked appalled at this. "You had a boyfriend?"

"Just to boost my popularity. Hard to believe, but I was, uh…" She scratched behind her mane with one hoof in embarrassment. "...kinda a jerk."

"Like the school bully?"

"Yep. The whole reason I was even in that world was that I didn't get what I wanted as quickly as I wanted," Sunset continued. "I ended up mind-controlling the entire student body using a crown and plotted to take over Equestria with them until Twilight showed me a better way. It took me… a long time to adjust."

Sonic smirked with a knowing face. "Yeah, I've had to deal with an angsty guy who wanted to take over the world just because he didn't have his way, too. I can relate."

"I've… honestly been debating about whether I should stay in the human world or go back to Equestria," Sunset added with a pang of worry and sadness in her voice. "High school only lasts so long, you know? I'm just… conflicted when it comes to that."

"Well…" Sonic spoke up. "What about your friends? I mean, the ones from here." He gestured to the school with one arm. "You know them better than I do. What do you think they would say?"

"I… I think they would-"

"Hey, guys?" Knuckles called. "I think I see somebody up there!" With the current conversation cut off, Sonic and Sunset turned to where Knuckles was pointing while Tails and Omochao were wrapping up. On the top of a distant skyscraper, a small light figure was perched on a ledge, looking down upon the fused city. Nobody could make out any specific details, but Sunset could faintly identify a horn, two wings, and a curly mane style. It didn't take very long for Sunset to recognize the figure, and she narrowed her eyes in suspicion.

"Cozy Glow," she muttered. "What's she doing in your world?"

Sonic rose to his feet. "The third of your statued enemies, I take it. No clue as to what she's doing here… but we're gonna find out!" He rolled back an arm and motioned to Tails and Knuckles, who brought Omochao along to join them. Sensing their intentions, Sunset nodded with a smirk. "Be careful, you guys. The Legion's some of the toughest creatures we have in Equestria."

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Knuckles asked. Sunset just shook her head with a sigh. "No. I've gotta check out the city; see if there are any more weird fusions going on. As soon as it calms down- hopefully- I'll head back to tell Twilight about the situation. And try to help her find some things for the portal so we can end this."

Sonic just rolled his eyes, recalling the unicorn's previous statement. "Tough schmough! I soloed Tirek back in Empire City! Whatever pals he has, my pals can match up! Right, guys?" He held out a fist in anticipation, one Tails and Knuckles met by engaging in a triple fist bump. "Right!"

Cozy Glow was already departing from her perch, flying off into Station Square. On Sonic's mark, the trio took off after her with Omochao in tow. Sunset looked on with hope in her eyes, watching the heroes take their leave. "Just try not to mess them up too bad," she said before vanishing in a blink of colored magic.

"Are you sure about this?" muttered a worried Twilight.

"There's no denying the evidence we found," Espio reported. "During your time away from the city, Eggman took his chance to directly attack the castle and abduct the two princesses. Where they are now, or what he intends to do with them, are all but uncertain."

"So, now we have two problems to deal with," Applejack sighed. "One, find a way to get that thing up and running." She pointed to the inactive portal with one hoof. "And two, find out where that big bully has taken Celestia and Luna."

"Or three…" added Fluttershy meekly. "Wonder what Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow are up to now that they're all running loose." Rainbow was quick to lock eyes with her fellow pegasus. "So? We've handled this many problems at once before! That's like, princess-level responsibility!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Rainbow," Twilight sighed. "And as much as my mind is screaming for me to find Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the Chaos-sticks guys are right. We don't have any leads about them… so I can only hope they're okay… wherever they are."

"That's 'Chaotix'," Vector corrected. "It ain't that hard, really."

"So… now what are you gonna do?" asked Scootaloo.

"How about I start with what you're going to do?" Twilight suggested, turning her eyes to the Chaotix, Cream, Amy, and the Crusaders. "I can tell that the townsfolk is still a bit… unsettled. Can you go around town and see if anypony needs a little help?"

"It would put spirits at ease, yes," Espio confirmed. Beside him, Charmy pumped his fists into the air. "Yay! Helping!"

"Cheese and I would be happy to do so!" Cream added, her pet smiling by her side. "Chao chao!"

"Meh," Vector shrugged before dirty looks from each of the Crusaders quickly changed his mind. "Okay, okay! I'll go check! Sheesh…"

"Amy, can you sweep the town's borders? We're gonna need to know if Eggman shows up again… or if something else comes our way."

"Can do," the hedgehog replied, slugging her hammer over her shoulder. "What about you girls?"

"We're gonna-" Twilight didn't get another word out before something on her body began to pulsate with light. Curious, the alicorn glanced over her shoulder and noticed her cutie mark was flashing brightly. Everypony else, save for Starlight, noticed their marks were also illuminated and shared each other a knowing look. But as for Amy, Cream, and the Chaotix, questioning looks crossed their faces. "Uh… could you always do that?" asked Amy. Twilight briefly turned to the pink hedgehog. "We gotta go! And so should you!"

"O-okay…?" Cream and the Chaotix were already gone, and Amy just shrugged before running out of the castle. After they left, Twilight nodded to the other ponies, who followed her into the castle's central chamber. They each took a seat in their respective thrones while Starlight stood next to Twilight's seat, turning their eyes to a circular crystal table that showed a projection of the known world upon its surface. The Cutie Map; a magical map that could detect friendship problems anywhere in Equestria and choose who to send out to attend to that situation. Upon the projection of Equestria, all six cutie marks were hovering over a single location…

…and they were all flashing red.

"Since when could the map do that?" asked Spike, watching the symbols flash crimson every few seconds. "And what do you think it means?"

"I think it could only mean one thing," Rainbow clarified. "Danger."

"Usually, the map only shows friendship problems," Twilight spoke. "It's never shown us anything this severe! Which means it's an absolute emergency!"

"And look at where it's summoning us to," Rarity added, her azure eyes trained on the target location. "Isn't that… Hope Hollow?"

"Where the Rainbow Festival was held?" Pinkie butted in. "What's going on over there?! Did everypony lose their color again?" Twilight just stared at the flashing symbols with curiosity. "I don't know… but we better find out! Starlight, do you mind looking after the portal?"

The unicorn nodded with a smile. "I'll do what I can with it. Maybe I can track down more of what it needs."

"Thanks, Starlight. Alright, everypony! To Hope Hollow!" Twilight's horn lit up the room with a bright purple light, instantly whisking away herself, Spike, and her friends. Starlight immediately hurried out of the room, leaving the others to get to the bottom of things.

The pursuit of Cozy Glow had led Team Sonic and Omochao to Station Square's subway system, away from the cluttered and frantic streets above. The last time they saw the little pegasus-turned-alicorn, she had turned down a tunnel that had long been abandoned. According to Omochao, Perfect Chaos' attack had left parts of the subway damaged beyond repair, leaving it completely derelict and unfit for travel. If the cracked walls and broken tracks didn't prove that, then nothing did.

"Come on, she's gotta be around here somewhere," Knuckles groaned, looking around the tunnel frantically. "Where'd that little…" Omochao was floating ahead of the group, projecting lights from his eyes to scan the darkness of the tunnel. "I'm sure she went this way… but her life signature's a little hard to pick up down here."

"Well, we know she went down this way," Sonic piped up. "And she can't have gone very far, either. Unless there's another station or something, Cozy's got nowhere… to… go…?" The hedgehog stopped short as Omochao's headlights focused on what now stood before them. Instead of a continuing tunnel or an abandoned station, there stood…

"A dead end?!" Knuckles cried out in anger. "Are you KIDDING me?! There's no way she could've-! I don't-! This doesn't make any sense!" Tails was scratching his head in confusion. "I agree… maybe she slipped through a hole in the tunnel. She's small, after all. Or maybe this is… a trap?"

Sonic spun around behind them with a stern eye, yet saw nothing coming down the tunnel. The only sound he heard was the stillness of the dank atmosphere and Knuckles' ranting under his breath. "If this was a trap, something would've happened already. What are we missing here?"

"Stupid little-!" Knuckles grabbed a chunk of a cracked wall that was lying on the ground and hurled it at the obstacle as hard as he could. He expected to hear the crack of bricks followed by the piece clattering to the ground. But instead, a loud, sharp clang rang through the air, reverberated through the tunnel, and stopped everyone in their thoughts.

It was as if the piece had struck metal instead of brick. Curious, Sonic turned back to the wall and tapped his foot. "Omochao, can you run a scan on that wall or something?" The robotic Chao switched off his headlights and stared at the wall, hovering silently for a moment. Ten seconds passed before the process was complete and Omochao turned back to the team. "That's no wall. It's some kind of door."

"A door?" Tails repeated, approaching the wall and knocking on it with one fist. Two metallic thunks rang out instead of hard taps, piquing the fox's interest. "Yeah, and it's made of a solid steel alloy. And the only way it can open is with hidden automatic cameras in the surrounding walls."

"Only way, huh?" Sonic echoed, a knowing expression on his face. "Yo, Knux. Care for a rebuttal?" Seeing at what he was getting at, the echidna nodded and bumped his fists together. "With pleasure!" Knuckles made a break for the wall and drove a fist straight through it, rupturing both the painted-on brick pattern and the metal it covered. Grabbing the newly-formed hole, Knuckles tore it apart, forming a breach big enough for everyone to travel through.

More darkness awaited them as the tunnel turned into a steel hallway. Overhead lights flickered as if they were on life support, dust and cobwebs gathered in corners, and dirty observation windows revealed long-forgotten robots and mechs as the team journeyed through the depths. "Omochao, any idea what this place is?" Sonic whispered. Why was he whispering, anyway? Was something going to charge at them from the dark? For once, he heard something he thought he'd never hear from the robot. "I have no idea."

Tails brushed the dust off a wall, revealing a familiar insignia containing the letter G. "Guys… I think this is a G.U.N. base." Knuckles laid eyes on a sign up ahead, one that pointed to infantry barracks, a vehicle hangar, and a command room. The sign itself looked worn down, and some of the letters were indecipherable. "Make that a former G.U.N. base," the echidna added. "How long was this here?"

"No idea," Sonic answered as he peeked through a slightly-ajar door into a briefing room. The room was a mess thanks to tipped-over chairs and a musty atmosphere. "But these guys still have their secrets…"

Tails had to resist the urge to search for clues about the base. They had other matters to tend to… like, did Cozy Glow find this place? Speaking of, they still hadn't seen any sign of her? Sonic and Knuckles both turned into an intersecting corridor with Omochao, and Tails moved to follow them. But as soon as he stepped into the new hallway… he swore he heard a small chittering noise.

It was probably some old parts settling.

"This place is totally barren," Omochao spoke, his voice echoing through the dark. "Power is mostly cut, generators are down, and the comms system is nonfunctional. Did G.U.N. just pack up and leave?"

"They probably had a good reason to," Knuckles suggested. "They tried to get rid of Shadow, right? As well as anything about him?"

"If this place is over fifty years old, then it's really showing its age," Sonic added. "Anything on Cozy Glow yet, Omochao?"

"Not yet. I'm still trying to narrow down possible places in the vicinity. It'd help if I could download a map or something."

Knuckles suddenly stopped and spun to the right, his eyes going wide. "Wha-?" He peered down a corner and balled a fist, earning Sonic's curiosity. "What is it, Knux?"

"I thought I saw… never mind. Probably a bug or something." The echidna shook his head before moving on. "Let's keep going."

As the team trekked farther into the abandoned base, they got a closer look at how degraded the installation was. The barracks were unkempt with dust on the beds and cobwebs littering the place. Laboratories were filled with dead computers and outdated equipment that would never be used again. Even the command center, usually the most lively place in any base, was filled with dead silence and blackened monitors. Shadows dwelled everywhere, leaving nothing untouched by them. Tails couldn't help but feel a little creeped out by the scenery. Sonic and Knuckles, meanwhile, looked through every nook and cranny they could in search of their eluded target. "I'm not seeing Cozy anywhere, Sonic."

"Me neither. Why don't we backtrack and check the-"

Hsssssss…

Sonic stood up straight at the drawn-out sound, turning his eyes to a dusty ventilation shaft on the bottom of a wall. "Knuckles… did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I dunno… gas, maybe? It came from this vent."

"Active gas? In an abandoned base? I'm not sure about that, Sonic…" whispered Omochao. "I've got a bad feeling."

Tails whipped his head behind him and faced another dark corridor. When he turned back to Knuckles, the fox nervously gulped. "Guys… I don't think we're alone down here."

Knuckles raised a brow in suspicion. "What do you mean by that, Tails?"

Sonic removed the grate and peeked inside, but all he could see is darkness. "Weird… I'm not smelling any-"

HSSSSSSS!

Something lunged out from the vent and tackled the startled hedgehog to the ground, snarling and snapping at his face. Struggling to hold the thing back, Sonic grunted in effort and winced at an enraged shriek. "AH! Guys, get it off! Get it off!"

SHREEEEEE! The thing screeched in his face again and opened its maw, revealing two sharp fangs protruding from its upper jaw. Before it could bite down, Knuckles plowed a fist into its head and knocked it aside. The creature sprawled out onto the floor before scrambling to its feet, revealing a half-horse, half-insectoid being with holes in its legs and a beetle-like horn. It screeched loudly at the heroes, the sound traveling down the halls.

"Changeling!" Tails shouted in alarm. Everyone looked at the creature in alarm until the screeching sound returned. This time, it came from farther down the hall… and it was accompanied by a buzzing noise. The changeling shrieked again, revealing a pair of insect wings from its carapace and lifting off the floor. From behind it, shadows darted across the wall before an entire swarm of changelings flew into view.

"RUN!" Sonic yelled, immediately taking off with Knuckles right behind him. Tails and Omochao flew off with panicked cries, gaining as much distance as they could from the approaching swarm. The screams and screeches of the changelings filled every inch of the corridor and the surrounding rooms; a noise the heroes couldn't escape as they raced through the halls.

"What are those things?!" cried Omochao.

"Short version; creepy horse-bug things that feed off love!" Sonic replied, keeping his eyes locked on the stretch ahead of him. "What are they doing here?!"

"Who cares?!" Knuckles shouted back. "If those creeps get us, it's not just our love they're gonna eat!"

The group was nearing a four-way intersection up ahead, and Sonic was scrambling to think of which way to go. Thankfully (or not), that decision was resolved when a series of doors flung open up ahead and more changelings poured out in a screeching frenzy. "Hard right!" he cried, skidding into the turn. Knuckles charged after him while Tails and Omochao barely missed airborne changelings that tried to grab them.

"What are we gonna do now?!" Tails cried, grabbing a loose pipe and tossing it into the swarm. While he heard the following clang and a screech of pain, it did nothing to stall the raging horde. Knuckles jumped up and smashed open a ventilation shaft, causing metal debris to rain down on the changelings. Another door was bashed open and another changeling stepped out with a snarl, only for Sonic to kick it in the face without missing a beat. "We need shelter from those happiness mosquitoes!"

"And where are we gonna find that?!" Omochao called, ducking underneath a changeling that lunged at him. Again, Sonic had to think fast for a good answer. Another door swung open just ahead of him, but he quickly slammed it shut and heard a loud screech of pain from behind it. The floor burst open to reveal a hissing changeling, prompting Sonic to step on its head and stomp it back down. The hedgehog noticed a sign pass by him… which said the hangar was to the left.

"The hangar!" he called, grabbing Tails and Knuckles by the arms and dragging them with him as he took a sharp left, throwing off the changelings and causing them to adjust their course. "We'll be safe there!" Omochao flew ahead of the group, keeping his optics trained for any more signs of trouble. As soon as he passed a section of the wall, that section exploded out and a changeling lunged at Knuckles. The echidna simply seized the changeling and hurled it into the swarm, staggering a number of the creatures. Spotting a fire extinguisher on the wall, Tails grabbed it and turned around so that he was flying backward, pointing it at the swarm.

"Eat this, parasites!" he cried, releasing a stream of white foam into the horde. Several of the changelings flinched, screeched, and hissed at the substance and retreated, but more simply took their place. Tails continued to spray at the horde until one changeling snatched the extinguisher from his hands and tossed it to the ground. With a surprised yelp, the flying fox literally turned tail and flew away from them as fast as he could, gasping all the while. Approaching a door that was already open, Knuckles ripped it off its hinges and chucked it at the horde. The horde remained unphased as it did for the previous projectiles while only a few changelings were smacked down.

"Not sure how much longer we can keep this up, blue!" Knuckles panted. "We can't slow 'em down!"

"Hang in there, guys! We- uh-oh!" Sonic was cut off both in speech and in path. An entire squad of changelings barred the hall ahead, snarling at the nearing heroes in warning. They charged forward at the team, but Sonic had already grabbed ahold of everyone once again. "Nope!" He called, shooting down another right turn and leaving both swarms to crash into each other. Several angry snarls later, they were back in pursuit.

"Hangar's just up ahead!" Sonic shouted, catching a glimpse of another sign. "We're almost there!" The trio raced through the dark corridors while their ears were barraged with savage shrieks and buzzing wings. More changelings tried to cut them off, only to be met with fists, feet, and the occasional spinning ball. Knuckles pounded one changeling into the ground and socked another hard enough to knock out a fang. Tails kicked aside a flying one and yanked Omochao from another's snapping jaws. Sonic plowed through three snarling changelings at once, slamming down his heel on a fourth before dashing away. After sliding underneath a changeling that dove right for him, Sonic spotted an open door at the end of the hall. "There!"

Everyone raced through with the swarm at their backs, with Tails quicking slamming the door and Sonic tossing Knuckles a pipe. The echidna slammed the pipe through the handle, barring it just in time. The changelings slammed against the door in a snarling frenzy, ramming it as hard as they could. One screeched and peered through the window with bared teeth before another shoved it aside, angrily gnashing its jaws. Sonic simply stuck out his tongue before turning away.

"Ha! Better luck next time, you disgusting excuses for-"

HSSSSSSS!

It was when Sonic had turned around that he realized that the hangar was filled with dozens of changelings, all snarling and hissing at the frozen heroes. With a sheepish chuckle, Sonic backtracked on his previous statement. "Uh… I mean… you dashing examples of… a hive mind?"

"What was that part about 'safe'?" whispered Tails.

"On the bright side…" Omochao added. "There aren't as many of them in here as there are out there…"

"I was getting tired of running, anyway," Knuckles said, stepping forward and cracking his neck. "Fellas, we seem to have a bug infestation. So I say it's time to exterminate!" He slammed his fists together, charging for the changelings with a battle cry. Deciding that confrontation was the best course of action, Sonic and Tails rushed for the swarm at full speed, the fox taking to the air while Omochao stayed back. The echidna introduced the first of the changelings to his namesake, pounding each of them back until he grabbed another by the neck and slammed it to the floor. Meeting a flying changeling in the air, Tails strafed around it before kicking it into a forgotten jeep, rattling its chassis.

Sonic bounced off three changelings in quick succession, landing a high kick to one's chin. Several changelings swarmed him on touchdown, prompting the hedgehog to drop into a breakdancing motion and knock them away with sweeping legs. He took off in a blast of blue light, blowing some grounded changelings off their feet and colliding head-on with another group. Seizing two changelings by the nape, Sonic raced through the hangar while they effortlessly snapped at him before coming to a sudden stop and releasing them. Physics took it from there and the two changelings smashed into a dust-covered tank. They dropped like the flies they resembled, dazed.

Another changeling jumped at Sonic from behind, but he caught it by the head and slammed it against his knee. "Back off, bug brain!" He shouted, throwing that changeling into three more. Knuckles landed a strong uppercut on a changeling, knocking it into the air before smashing it against a wall. Two more leaped on top of the echidna, but he easily overpowered them and slammed them against each other.

Tails swept away one changeling and kicked another in the face before leaping away from three trying to tackle him. But as soon as he got airborne, a flying changeling grabbed him from behind and brought him down, pinning him to the ground. A second one approached to assist the flier, keeping the fox pinned.

"TAILS!" cried Knuckles, breaking away from his current opponent. That was a mistake, as five changelings piled on top of the echidna and overpowered him with numbers rather than skill. "Rrrgh! Get… off me… bug… heads…!"

"Knuckles!" Sonic shouted, kicking away a changeling and running for his friend. But two changelings blocked his way, forcing the hedgehog to change his course. Unfortunately, more changelings appeared and snarled at him until they circled him like a pack of hungry animals. Flying ones hovered above, keeping him from jumping over them. His heart sinking, Sonic looked around him to see hissing changelings in every direction. There were so many. And they were everywhere. He heard one screech from behind… and when he turned, all he saw were the fangs and blank blue eyes.

"Alright, here we are!" Twilight announced, passing through the rainbow archway that marked the entrance to Hope Hollow and sighed happily as she did so. "Feels a lot better without all the black and white, am I right?"

"You sure are!" Rainbow agreed with a cheeky smile. "I wonder how those two fillies are doing…"

"I didn't even get to go with you guys last time!" Spike added. "So forgive me if I end up doing a little sightseeing. From what you said, this place sounds amazing!"

"Well, we ain't here for a trek down memory lane," Applejack reminded everypony. "We gotta figure out why the map sent us here. Why don't we ask around and piece together-"

"Oh! Princess Twilight! How joyous it is to have you here!"

A bright blue earth pony with orange eyes and a top hat galloped up to the Mane Six with a smile on his face. "I was hoping to see you again eventually! This town's undergone some improvements since the last time you were here!"

Twilight smiled back at the pony. "Mayor Sunny Skies! I'm happy to be back, but-"

"I know how distressed everypony is with all the, ah… sky-cracking and whatnot, and it's even happened here!" the mayor explained, his happy expression never faltering. "It has?" Twilight asked with wide eyes. "How bad is it?"

"Bad?" Sunny Skies repeated before shaking his head in denial. "Oh, no, no, no! It's quite the opposite, really! When it hit, we got all these scared, frightened little critters that were like babies abandoned by their momma! Everypony else was so terrified as well, but my wife and I saw an opportunity to turn those frowns upside-down!"

Fluttershy stepped forward. "Um… what kind of critters?"

"Oooh, strange little fellas, these guys!" Sunny answered. "We call them Rainbowians."

"Rain…bowians?" echoed the pegasus with the multicolored mane. "What kinda name is that?"

"It was Petunia's idea, actually!" Sunny answered. "The cute little guys got a little used to it themselves after a while, and some of them even got brave enough to go exploring! Now, we all live in perfect harmony! And Hope Hollow's become quite the tourist destination thanks to all the recent additions!"

"Recent additions? Tourist destination?" Twilight was completely lost here. "I-I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about, Mayor Sunny."

"Oh, then I suppose I don't need to talk!" he replied with a chuckle. "After all, actions are louder than words! Follow me!" He turned and walked further past the town limits, and the curious Mane Six followed behind him. Catching Twilight's confused gaze, Rarity approached her. "He seems awfully cheerful for a place that's in danger."

"Maybe that danger hasn't arrived yet?" Pinkie guessed.

"I, for one, wanna know what he's getting at," Rainbow piped up. "Last I checked, Hope Hollow wasn't a 'tourist destination' or anything."

"Let's just see what Mayor Sunny wants us to see," Twilight finalized just as the Mane Six passed into the colorful town. She turned her head to face them. "The sooner we finish business with him, the sooner we can find out… hey, are you guys listening?" Her friends and Spike were now wide-eyed with shock and amazement, staring at the scene before them in sheer awe. Even Spike's jaw was hanging open, and Twilight stared at him curiously. "Spike, what are you-" The little dragon wordlessly took Twilight's head, turned it around… and the alicorn princess gasped in wonder.

If Hope Hollow was alive before, it was absolutely energized with both life and color; nothing at all like the grey wasteland they had seen on their first visit. Among the various buildings and colored banners were trees taller than any she had ever seen, topped with platform-like crowns. Various new flora covered the ground, such as bioluminescent plants in various colors, bushes, and green ivy. In the central plaza was a big sign reading "WELCOME!", flanked by giant tiki statues and palm trees. Bluish-gray rocky terrain dotted the town's outskirts, with playful fillies racing each other to the top and sliding back down on a small wooden slide fashioned from tree wood.

Joining both them and Hope Hollow's townsfolk were small, colorful beings that flew about in various shapes. Some had one eye while others had either two or three. They played with the fillies by chasing them around or being chased. Others assisted grown ponies who patted them on the heads upon a task being completed. A yellow one shaped like a cone dug a spot in the ground for a female earth pony to plant a seed while one with a flame-like body helped cook a meal for another. Orange, cyan, and green beings raced through the alleyways, pursued by laughing fillies. One of them tripped over a sleeping blue creature, only for three white ones to safely catch him before he hit the ground.

"What… the… hay…?" uttered a speechless Rainbow Dash.

More laughter caused the girls to look toward new structures past the buildings. Ponies rid on a Ferris Wheel fashioned from some kind of robot with a singular eye and mechanical arms; seemingly resembling a flower. Another group rocked back and forth on a pirate ship ride with a robotic captain holding a big lollipop in one hand. A third group of ponies stood near a water-park-like ride filled with stylish architecture, some of them whooping in joy while rocketing down a water slide. A grounded spaceship with colorful lights and decorative neon boards was home to some kind of bright funhouse, as fillies and colored beings alike journeyed in and out of it. Lastly, a group of fillies was gathered on a skeletal roller coaster that circled the entire town, going through easy turns that were best suited for young audiences.

One of the white creatures with a curly blue strand on his head took notice of the Mane Six before waving to more of the beings, speaking in a dialect none of them could understand. In no time, the beings surrounded the ponies and Spike, all of them making what sounded like happy noises. The white one spread out his arms in a celebratory fashion as if welcoming the group. While Twilight was still left starstruck, the other ponies slowly began to express their opinions on the transformed town.

"This… is… AMAZING!" Rainbow Dash cried, her eyes darting all about the place. "How did- oh my gosh- I can't- what happened here?! I love it!"

"Uh, is it me…" Fluttershy piped up, staring at an orange being with two eyes stacked atop one another that waved hello. "Or are these things awfully familiar?"

"Hey… you're right!" Applejack realized, looking upon a spiky pink being with one eye. "These are the same critters we saw on my farm!"

"Of course!" Rarity added, the event coming back to her. "What did Tails call them again? Lisps?"

"Wisps," Twilight corrected silently, approaching the white one who was still waving. "Excuse me, are you…" She paused, trying to recall a particular name that had been spoken to her back then. "...Yacker?"

The being seemed surprised, as it dropped its stance before nodding. It made what Twilight believed was a curious sound as if wanting to know how she knew that name. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," the princess said. "And these are my friends. And we're friends with Sonic."

At that, all the Wisps froze in alarm. They made no sound and no movement. None of them did so much as blink, even, and Pinkie blinked at one. "I win!" Suddenly, all the surrounding Wisps erupted in what sounded like joy and cheers, some of them looping around in the sky. They then began to affectionately nuzzle the ponies, who chuckled at the action in surprise. "Um… thanks?" Twilight spoke.

"Hey, okay, okay!" Rainbow laughed as several Wisps looked on at her in wonder. The pegasus struck a pose with a dashing smile. "No need to crowd! There's enough of this Rainbow for every creature!" A cyan-colored one said something to the white one- Yacker- and pointed at Rainbow Dash. His eye lit up in amazement, Yacker nodded at the Cyan Wisp before the latter zipped off. As it did, Mayor Sunny Skies approached the group with an amused laugh. "I see the Rainbowians have gotten comfortable with you already! So, how do you like the new and improved Hope Hollow?"

"Wait, that's what you call the Wisps?" Rainbow realized, looking at the mayor with confusion. That same emotion crossed Sunny's face. "What the hay is a Wisp?"

"Mayor Skies, I…" Twilight paused to get a blue Wisp out of her mane. "I honestly don't know what to say about this place. It's… incredible!"

"Isn't it?" he replied joyously. "Ponies from all over Equestria are coming here to get away from it all! You'd be surprised at how friendly the Rainbowians can be! In fact, you've seen it firsthoof!"

"But… there's one thing I don't understand," Twilight added. "We thought this place was in trouble, so we-"

"Trouble?" Sunny echoed before laughing off the princess' words. "Princess Twilight, the closest thing to trouble we could have is if one of the red Rainbowians accidentally set fire to the Town Hall! Ha-ha!"

"Um… okay," the alicorn said. "I just wanted to-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" A shrill shriek rang out from nearby, and an instantly-panicked Twilight immediately recognized the voice. "Pinkie! What's wro-?!"

"IS THAT A MOUNTAIN MADE OF CANDY?!" The extremely excited earth pony took off in a pink flash, running full speed towards a confectionary construct. As she and her screams of delight faded away, Twilight turned back to the others and cleared her throat. "Okay! Um… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to wander around the place."

"Yay!" cheered Fluttershy. "I want to learn more about these colorful creatures!" She immediately trotted off towards a bunch of Wisps, a green one with a single eye hovering after her. Everypony else, save for Rainbow Dash and Spike, all wandered off by themselves to explore the lively town. The pegasus and the dragon looked all around the place again, amazed at the surrounding sights.

"This place is so awesome!" Rainbow laughed. "You and Petunia Petals did all of this?!"

"We repurposed most of the junk that landed here," Sunny Skies answered. "We even have our very own greeters that occasionally entertain the guests." He gestured to a small orange figure, which caused Rainbow to freeze up in alarm. "Is… is that a robot?"

Near the giant welcome sign was a single Egg Pawn waving a smaller version of that same sign, its eyes locked on anypony that passed by. But strangely, it made no move to attack any of the townsfolk, perplexing the pegasus. "Heh heh! Don't you worry! Mister Welcome is actually quite friendly!" Sunny reassured. "I'm just not sure why any of the Rainbowians won't go anywhere near him…"

"I can think of some ideas," Spike whispered.

"Anyway, feel free to have a look around! If you'll need me, I'll be at the Town Hall. Farewell for now!" Sunny Skies turned and walked away while Rainbow shot the seemingly-harmless Egg Pawn one last suspicious look before facing Twilight. "Okay, I think I know what the danger is. Obviously, these ponies have no idea how bad these robots are!"

"I-I'm not so sure," Twilight said, her eyes lost in thought. "The robots aren't usually that much a threat if there's just one of them… hang on." Her violet eyes suddenly went alight with a realization. "Rainbow, didn't Sonic and Tails say the Wisps were alien?"

"Yeah?" the pegasus wasn't sure what her friend was getting at. "What's your point?" Twilight took a moment to think. "If the Wisps are alien… then so is the place they came from… and this is the place they came from!" She gestured at the strange flora and surroundings that covered most of Hope Hollow. "Rainbow, do you know what that means?"

"Um… no?"

"It means that other worlds in Sonic's universe are making their way here as well! Just like the other worlds in our universe!" Twilight summarized with horror in her voice. "That must be the danger the map was telling us about!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait just a second there, egghead!" Rainbow interrupted. "I don't mean to sound like a downer, but we can't fix that! Why would the map send us to do something we can't?"

Twilight was at a loss for words, but Spike seemed to catch on. "She's got a point. If this isn't the danger, then what is?"

"I… um… well…"

"What I'm trying to say is, don't worry your head off about something completely harmless!" Rainbow added. "Stop focusing too much on the future and just live in the moment! We'll find whatever that danger is, trust me! But for now, I'm gonna hang out with my new fans!" Flashing open her wings, the pegasus took to the sky to join some flying Wisps, racing them through the open air. Down below, Twilight considered Rainbow's words while Spike looked on hopefully."

"Okay… I guess a little relaxation wouldn't hurt…"

The alicorn and the dragon walked off in search of their first destination amongst the happy ponies and carefree aliens… but not too far from the town, a frightened female earth pony was frantically shivering behind a tree. "S-s-see? Th-there they are! They're here, j-just like I told you!"

"Excellent," spoke a low, booming voice. "What better place to crush those irritating pests than in a place that's filled to the brim with joy and happiness? Before I utterly destroy them, they shall see all that they stand for crumble to dust before them. It seems that your word was true."

"So th-that's it?" she whispered. "We're done here?"

"Yes… we are."

"Oh, whew! Thank you! Thank you so…" The earth pony noticed something from behind her. "Wait. Wh-what are you-? What are you doing?!" A tall, horned figure made no move to face her as something crept up to the earth pony. "It is as you said: we are done here."

"Wait! No! It doesn't have to-! NO! STOP! GET AWAY! SOMEPONY HELP ME! AAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Once we crush those insolent excuses for lifeforms, we shall track down the doctor and that heinous hedgehog and enact our vengeance against them both. Wherever Sonic is now, I hope he is already suffering. If he is, then I shall put him out of his misery. For good."

SHRRRAAAAAAH! The changeling shrieked in Sonic's face as it tried to bite at it wildly, only for the straining hedgehog to kick it back. No sooner than it fell did another take its place and pin the hedgehog to the ground. More of them surrounded him from all sides, hissing with gleaming fangs and staring at him blankly with empty eyes. Sonic strained and thrashed against their hold, but they didn't move an inch. Sonic could only watch helplessly as one of them opened its mouth and slowly lowered itself to Sonic's face. The hedgehog winced, bracing for whatever was to come…

"HAAAALLLLT!" cried a shrill voice, causing all the changelings to pause. With clicking noises and small chittering sounds, the insectoid-like creatures climbed off their victims and retreated. Two of them were playing tug-of-war with Omochao and immediately dropped him upon the call, leaving the robot behind. "Aw, gross…" he moaned. "I've got drool on my chassis!"

Sonic immediately rose to his feet, watching the changelings drop to one knee and lower their heads. Knuckles brushed himself off while Tails held his head with a moan. All three heroes turned to where two rows of changelings were facing each other and bowed, allowing a taller changeling with a dark mane and poison-green eyes to pridefully stride past them. Sonic narrowed his own eyes and raised his fists, his friends following his lead.

"So…" spoke the changeling queen. "You are the one called Sonic. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"This is a heck of a royal entrance, Queen Chrysalis," Sonic retorted sternly. "Aren't you disappointed that I'm not the hedgehog you're looking for?" The queen just threw him a dirty look. "I shall deal with the other one afterward, but that is a separate matter." She turned to the gathered changelings. "Disperse, my children. I shall deal with this rabble personally."

"These are your kids?" Knuckles repeated as the changelings began to fly away. "Aw, they're adorable! And they share that same ugly mug of yours, too!"

"Silence!" Chrysalis snapped at him. "It has come to my attention that you have aligned yourself with Princess Twilight and the rest of her pathetic band. Made friends with them, even." She spoke the word "friends" as if it was venom on her tongue. "A fatal mistake on your part. Twilight and those pitiful ponies have denied me what I most desire: the consumption of all love in Equestria! Again and again, they have foiled me, converting my own soldiers to their cause! For that, Princess Twilight and any who associate themselves with her… shall perish."

"If I had a ring for every time I've heard that," Sonic snapped back. "But guess what, Queen of Ugly? You're outmatched three-to-one! And you just sent away all those who could've helped you! Now, who's made the 'fatal mistake'?"

Queen Chrysalis just chuckled amusedly. "Is that so? My drones aren't the only assistance I rely on. Especially in recent times…"

Just then, a small alicorn flew into view from behind a fighter jet, perching atop it with a glowing horn. "Surprise! Ha ha ha!" Following her came a massive bulk that tossed aside a jeep as it approached. A large centaur pounded a fist and roared angrily before setting his eyes on Sonic. "It's long past time we had a rematch, rat!"

"Allow me to introduce you to my 'friends'," Chrysalis hissed as the two of them neared her. She opened her mouth to follow up, but Tails beat her to the punch. "Cozy Glow and Tirek. Twilight told us all about you guys." Chrysalis hissed in annoyance before forcing herself to calm down. "Impressive, child… but did Twilight inform you of our reputation?"

"We took over Equestria!" Cozy snapped. "And we can do it again!"

Tails just smirked. "We'll just see about that!"

Knuckles locked eyes with Tirek and cracked his neck. "Dibs on the big guy."

Sonic nodded. "Knock yourself out. That leaves the bug queen for me."

"Poor foolish creatures," Chrysalis mockingly taunted. "I shall at least attempt to end your lives as swiftly as you say you are! ATTACK!" The Legion of Doom roared before charging at Team Sonic, who sped forward to meet them with a cry of their own. Tails took to the air to face Cozy Glow, Knuckles jumped at the charging Tirek, and Sonic raced towards Chrysalis as her horn began to glow a jade color and an angry hiss escaped her maw.

"They gave you rainbow wings?!" Spike gasped in awe. "That's amazing!"

"They were beautiful, yeah," Twilight told him. "If that didn't bring a whole new light to the Rainbow Festival, then nothing did."

"I'm still a little curious about this 'danger' thing, though," the dragon continued, looking around at the colorful scenery around them. "Maybe Pinkie's right about it not being here yet, but I can't help but think about what it would be."

Twilight noticed something off in the distance. "Well, maybe we can discuss that together. Here comes everypony now." Spike turned to see each of the ponies coming their way, looking relaxed from their recent activities. Rainbow Dash was the first to arrive, flanked by Cyan and Orange Wisps. "Woo! That was great! I could hardly catch up to this little guy! He's a quick one!" She winked at the cyan one, who made a happy noise in reply.

"Whee-hee-hee!" Pinkie jumped up in excitement. "I just swam in a river of chocolate and took a bite out of this giant doughnut! Do you think anypony is gonna notice?"

"I think that depends on how big a bite it was," Applejack added. "Speaking of, those red guys really know how to turn up the heat! Hoo-wee! I've never seen an oven that worked up!"

"And I must say, that neon structure can be a little… difficult on the eyes," Rarity admitted. "Despite its beauty, that is. Reminds me of my homemade wings…"

"And even though I can't talk to the Wisps like I can for other animals," Fluttershy spoke up. "We were able to find a way to communicate around that! Isn't that right, Limey?" Beside her, a Green Wisp made a noise of approval.

"Well, now that everypony's had their fun," Twilight spoke up. "I think it's time to look for this danger the map told us about. I don't think it's anything too serious, though. Maybe somepony isn't getting along well with the Wisps? Or maybe some Wisps have a hard time settling in? Why don't we-?"

"AAAAAAAH!"

Twilight's ears perked up at a sudden scream, which was soon followed by others just like it. Alarmed, many Wisps of many colors flew away in a panic, their chatter quick and hurried. Fluttershy's Green Wisp jolted in alarm before hovering away while Rainbow's new friends fled just as quickly. "H-hey! Where're you guys going?!"

"Limey, what's wrong?!"

"Uh… Twilight?" Spike gulped as he stared down the path leading into Hope Hollow. "I think I found our danger… or rather… it found us!" Ponies of all kinds were running for cover and taking shelter inside buildings, with mothers hurrying their fillies along. Down the path, a large, hulking-red figure with horns and a tail was stomping towards the Mane Six, a ferocious look in his eyes.

"That brute again?" Rarity huffed in disbelief. "I should've realized us kicking his tail in the first time wasn't enough to deter him!"

"Well, I'll be glad to remind him that we don't go down easy," Applejack spat, adjusting her hat before crouching down on all fours. "The hard way!"

Twilight and Rainbow Dash stood firm at the front of the pack as the crimson beast neared them and gazed down upon them. His massive figure wasn't enough to intimidate the ponies, who locked eyes with him in determination.

"Greetings, princess," he spoke calmly, yet stoically.

"Zavok," Twilight spoke in turn. "What do you want this time? I'm never gonna tell you where Sonic is!"

"That heinous hedgehog can wait. For now," the Zeti replied. "I've simply come to settle a score with you and your repugnant band."

"Then you have more muscle than brains!" Rainbow shot back. "In case you haven't realized, big guy, you're outnumbered! So boo-hoo!"

"Clearly, you underestimate my potential," Zavok answered. "Yes, it is true that I have fallen at your hands before. But I have taken some precautions for this rematch."

"And what would that be?" asked Twilight.

"During our last encounter, you spoke about the strength in numbers," Zavok explained. "That I was defeated because I acted alone. I said that the next time we met, you would meet your end."

"Yawn!" Rainbow interrupted. "Haven't creeps like you learned already! As long as we're together, nothing can beat us!"

"That may be true," Zavok replied, spreading his arms in presentation. "You prevailed because you had friends. Now, princess… it is time you met mine."

"Yours?" Twilight repeated… but before she could ask more, voices rang out from the distance. Laughter. The ponies all looked around for the source but saw nothing but empty streets and locked houses. Rainbow was on high alert, keeping her eyes peeled for anything… when suddenly, something slammed down to their right!

"RAAAAAAAAAARGH!" A lanky pink monster with jagged horns and sharp teeth roared maniacally at the ponies, causing Fluttershy to shriek in terror and cower behind Rainbow's body. The beast continued snarling at the startled herd, playfully swiping his claws at them. Soon, he broke out into maniacal laughter and leaped away like a predator. He perched atop the side of a house, glaring devilishly at the Mane Six.

"Well, well, well!" he snarled. "Lookit what we got here! A buncha sad, scared, cute little tots about to cry out for momma! WAHAHAHAHA!" He jumped down and landed beside the smirking Zavok, monstrously flashing his claws. Twilight narrowed her eyes at the beast while Rainbow bared her teeth… before the ground beneath their hooves started to rumble and quake.

"Aaaaah!" The earth suddenly split apart and sent everypony flying, revealing a humungous yellow beast with spiked arm bracers letting out a deep roar. Actually, it was barely a roar than it was an ear-popping burp, which made Applejack gag and wave her hat in the monster's direction. "Ugh, that reeks worse than a mule after a bean burrito!" The circular creature bounded over to Zavok's side, the very ground shaking beneath his feet with each step.

"Awww, they're barely even bite-sized!" he moaned. "I could swallow 'em whole if I wanted to… aw, now I want a sandwich!"

Rainbow turned to face the chubby monster, but her ears perked up at the sound of… music? She and the other ponies turned to a nearby rooftop, where a small blue creature was sitting atop the roof of a house, calmly playing a wooden flute. Rainbow swore that roof was empty a second ago, and she was wondering how he had gotten up there. In a flash, the creature's purple eyes popped open and he traded the flute for a walking stick, striking a karate pose with it. With fluid acrobatics and practiced grace, he swiftly jumped from roof to roof before hopping across lampposts, touching down on Zavok's head before vaulting off. Upon landing, he locked eyes with each of the ponies.

"Hmm… young but brash. Overconfident, yes. You were wise to choose them for a lesson, Zavok. A lesson they all must learn… painfully."

"Mm-hm-hm," a new voice hummed, drawing everypony's attention to another roof. There, a green creature with one horn, flowing green hair, and dashing blue eyes examined the ponies with an interested smile. "Just make sure I have my fun with them, Master." She spoke before launching off the roof and landing right next to Rarity. With a satisfied hum, she traced a pink-clawed finger across the unicorn's face. "A girl could get used to them, after all."

The fashionista swatted the hand away in disgust. "Ugh! I just had my coat well done earlier!" The creature looked alarmed before frowning at Rarity. "Toys who talk back? I have ways of fixing that." She launched into a series of somersaults before backflipping into position, striking a modeling pose before flashing a sultry wink at the ponies.

Lastly, the ponies caught movement from the shadows of an alleyway… where a bored-looking black-and-white creature with purple hair, curved horns, and purple lips walked out in a sorrowful fashion. Pinkie Pie waved cheerfully at him. "Hiya!"

"Meh," was his response as he let a blue rose fall to the ground. Once he joined the others, a chuckling Zavok lowered his raised arms and crossed them against his chest. "Perhaps this will even the odds," he announced proudly. "Six against six. That seems like a fair fight, now, does it?"

"Hey!" Spike called out by Twilight's side. "Forgetting something?"

"Oh," Zavok said in fake shock. "My mistake. Six against six and a half."

Spike growled with anger and rolled up imaginary sleeves. "That does it, Twi! Let's take these jerks out!"

"Takeout?!" yelped the fat one. "Where, where, where?!" He swung his head (and his body) around frantically, knocking down the purple-haired one with his gut. "Ugh… watch it, you big oaf…"

"Whatever foes you have previously defeated," Zavok boasted. "Know that we are nothing like they are. We, the Deadly Six, will accomplish what they have failed. We will watch you beg for mercy as we feast upon your bodies, pluck every strand of fur from your pathetic forms, and take great pleasure in watching you writhe beneath your feet before we bathe in your-"

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Pinkie abruptly shouted. "This story's only rated K Plus! Or do you want to traumatize the kids in the audience?! Again, whoever's in charge of your dialogue needs a strict talking-to!"

"Story?" echoed the black-and-white one. "Of course. It all makes sense. We are nothing more than puppets whose every word and action is designed solely to please those who look to us for entertainment. We are pawns in the great game of life, each side manipulated to bring great joy and pleasure, forever trapped in a never-ending-"

"ENOUGH!" roared Zavok, stopping the Zeti from continuing his rant. "I am going to savor taking you apart bit by bit!" He pounded a fist into an open palm with a snarl, something Twilight responded to with a brightly-glowing horn.

"Dibs on the skittish one!" called the pink one, snickering maniacally at the cowering Fluttershy. "Oh, her screams are gonna be GREAT!"

"HEY!" Rainbow snapped, instantly placing herself between the manic beast and the shaking pegasus. "You hurt one fur on her body, and I swear to Celestia, I will-!"

"Zavok," spoke the small one calmly. "Allow me to teach humility to this impudent youngster. She should know better than to interfere with important affairs."

"By all means, Master Zik," Zavok replied gratefully. "And Zazz? If she stands in your way again… tear her wings off."

"Ha ha! Yeah!" he snickered, turning back to Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus gulped in fear and struggled to find her voice. "Y-y-you seem a little t-t-t-tense. D-d-do you want to t-t-t-talk about it?"

The pink one's aggression faltered. "Talk? Yeah! Of course I wanna talk about it!"

For a moment, Fluttershy felt hopeful and her eyes widened with an accompanying smile. "Really…?"

"Yeah!" the beast answered. "We're gonna talk about HOW I'M GONNA RIP YA LIMB FROM LIMB! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"YEEEEEEEEEEEK!" Fluttershy screeched, immediately slamming back into a terrified state as the creature laughed like a complete psycho.

"I want that one," said the green one, pointing a finger at Rarity. "I need to show her the consequences of talking back to her better. Plus… she seems rather rude."

"Rude?!" repeated Rarity in shock. "Who are you calling rude, you horrid excuse for a lady?!" The green creature flinched in alarm before growling. "Okay, she's definitely mine."

"Show her the error of her ways, Zeena," Zavok instructed before turning to the black-and-white one. "Zor, the pink one is full of joy and energy. I want you to show her your perspective of the world for once."

"I'd say with pleasure," the purple-haired one sighed. "But I don't take pleasure in anything… well, except this… maybe."

"Huh?" uttered the fat, yellow one as he laid eyes on Applejack. "Hey! That one's got apples on her! And now I'm hungry! Oooh, I wonder if she'll taste like apples!"

"Well, why don't you find out for yourself, Zomom?" chuckled Zeena.

"Uh…" Applejack backed away nervously.

"And as for you," Zavok jabbed a finger at Twilight and Spike. "You and I have unfinished business. Deadly Six!" All six creatures stood together in fierce poses, one the Mane Six matched (well, most of them) with one of their own. Spike huffed smoke out of his nostrils as everypony readied themselves… and Zavok swung his arm down.

"STRIKE!"

The ponies and the monsters charged at each other with fierce shouts, with Twilight charging for a rampaging Zavok with her horn glowing like a beacon. Zik leaped into the air to meet Rainbow Dash with a flying kick, Rarity sprinted for Zeena with a lowered horn, Applejack galloped towards the stomping Zomom, Pinkie bounced towards the jogging Zor (who still had a depressed face), and Zazz lunged like a predator for the struggling-to-stay-brave Fluttershy.

At this moment, there was nothing Twilight wanted more than to prove Zavok wrong about her and her friends. No creature of any race could make her believe anything like that anymore…