Chapter 15: A New Road

"So you think these Chaos Emeralds, or whatever they are, have something to do with all of the strange things happening, including your arrival here?"

"Pretty much."

Blahsadfeguie sat with Twilight Sparkle in the main room of the Ponyville library, telling her everything that he saw and encountered. Meanwhile, Seraphina and Dr. Eggman were upstairs with Spike, exchanging tidbits about their respective worlds.

"And, if this is anything like half the video games from my dimension," continued Blah, "in order to learn what's going on and eventually get back home, I have to collect them all, battling through eight different worlds with unique themes and fighting a boss at the end of each of them. I bet there's a princess to save, too."

Twilight stared at Blah's oddly descriptive description. "I don't know about all of that," she admitted, "but I believe I might have read something regarding chaotic gemstones recently." She horned through the bookshelves and produced a thin, brown book.

Blah glanced at the cover, but the symbols were illegible. Nevertheless, he watched eagerly as Twilight flipped through the contents. "Ah, here we go..." she said, stopping on a particular page and clearing her throat to read.

"'The Jewels of Universe. Every universe contains precisely one Jewel which pulses with the space-time flow of its host dimension, resembling a beating heart. No two universes have the same wavelength, and thus there shall come a time when multiple universes pulse simultaneously. The pulse resounds through the void in which all universes reside, attracting each other closer together. If a universe collides in this way, a great chaos will ensue and they will combine into one - and the resulting scrambled universe will contain the Jewels of both.'" She paused to let it all sink in for both of them.

Blah blinked. It seemed like a far-flung theory, but it was the closest thing he had to an official explanation. "So all those signals weren't Chaos Emeralds... they were those jewels..." He crunched some numbers in his head. "Two universes colliding doesn't sound very likely to begin with, but eight?!"

"This universe is the product of unfathomable odds..." mused Twilight. "Assuming this book is correct."

"If an eight universe pile-up is the reason I'm here," Blah continued, "then why haven't I found anything else from my home universe yet? And that sure doesn't explain me running into my own characters, either..."

"I have no doubt that there's more to the story than what this book has to offer," Twilight responded.

Blah rubbed his chin. "I suppose we should start by figuring out how to split the universes back up again... if that's even possible." He looked up at Twilight. "Is that possible?"

The unicorn studied the book. "It says that if all jewels within a universe are destroyed, the contents will scatter and be forced to rebuild themselves," she read. "No fragment will combine with that of another universe, and effectively this will sort them into their original forms, good as new."

"So I have to destroy all 8 of the jewels, huh?" Blah summarized. "Doesn't sound too hard..."

"It also says that the universe tends to build itself around the jewel, for protection... which makes sense." She nodded. "After all, you wouldn't want your heart anywhere other than inside your ribcage, right? So naturally, they'll be difficult to reach."

"Right, hence the hardmode corruption..." Blah thought back to his encounter with the Corruptors. He knew that, in Terraria, those upgraded Eaters don't even appear until the players defeat a certain mid-game boss, transitioning the entire world into a much more dangerous place. If the world had already reached that state, there was no way he'd survive for long on his own. "Well, surely most people caught up in this mess would be on my side, right? I wouldn't have any trouble rounding up a team or gathering equipment..."

"If you can get them to trust you and your intentions, that is," Twilight reminded him. "That's easier said than done with this sort of thing."

Blah's heart sank. "Oh... I guess I can see how asking people to help you destroy an important artifact that holds the universe together could get them on your bad side... come to think of it, this whole thing seems a bit of a hard sell to begin with. Welp!" Blah stood up. "Guess I'll have to gain people's trust the hard way - by making friends!"

"Making friends isn't difficult," refuted Twilight. "You just have to open up, be nice, and respect others."

"That's what's so hard about it," sighed Blah, sitting back down again with his head in his hands. "I'm terrible at the first one of those, if not all of them..." He remembered, with horror, his conduct near the start of his adventure.

"Hey, Blah." Twilight put a hoof on his shoulder. "You may have gotten off to a rocky start here, but everyone has their good and bad qualities. As long as your intentions are good, friends tend to fall into your lap sooner or later, no matter how much you might shut people out. Trust me on this one."

Blah looked up. No matter how many times he doubted himself, most everyone he met constantly assured him that he was not beyond redemption and forgiveness. It took some effort, but he already had one entire town on his side. One universe accounted for. Two, counting Terraria. Six more to go.

"Alright then, I'll do it," Blah determined, standing proudly. "I'll travel the world, finding out as much as I can about the jewels and spreading my story. I'll earn the trust of every last civilization here simply by virtue of wanting to do the right thing. I'll train my body and spirit, gaining enough power to take on the challenges these jewels present to us, and with the help of all the friends I'll make along the way, I'll set things right again in one fell swoop!" Blah's heart beat furiously. He had never felt more inspired.

"That's the spirit!" Twilight cheered. "I'd love to join you, but I'd be more comfortable behind the scenes, doing what I do best - research and magic. I'll let you know if I find anything useful, like a spell or some information."

"Gotcha," Blah said with a thumbs-up. "Welp, guess I'll go back to Blahtown and spend the night, then begin my travels in the morning." He was about to call his companions down to leave, but stopped. "Wait, before we go," he said, "Can you think of a way for us to communicate long distances if we need to?" This was the first time in a while Blah suddenly wished he had a cell phone.

"I have a few spells," Twilight responded. "Believe me, if I learn anything you need to know, you'll be the first to hear about it. Now go get some rest, you'll need it."

Blah nodded. "Alright, good. I will."

He went to the base of the stairs. "Sera, Eggie, time to go, dears!"

"'Eggie'... Hmph." Eggman was the first to descend the stairs, while Sera and Spike said their goodbyes. "He's starting to remind me of Sonic..."

}"I've just discovered that he has found out about the jewels. His plans are already in motion, but he knows very little. The time to act is now."{

="I shall mobilize the troops at once!"=

~"I would love to comply, Orange, but I'm still stranded on the moon."~

["Fine, guess I'm coming to save the day. Again. Rocket fuel isn't cheap, you know."]

~"That disco wannabe seemed willing to spend it recklessly..."~

/"Quiet nubs, we don't tolerate incompetence around here. That goes double for you, Lime."\

_"But I didn't say anything yet!"_

|"It's only a matter of time before you ruin someone's day. Why is he one of us again?"|

}"Annoying may he be, Blue and Pink, he's useful in his own ways."{

/"If you weren't my superior, you'd be such a nub."\

"Good morning, Blah. There appears to be someone at the door for you."

Blah rolled out of bed. The voices were back. He couldn't make heads or tails of them, but he could hear them. The rapping at the door reminded him of Sera's announcement. He decided to put aside that topic for now and answer it.

When he opened the door, he was somewhat surprised to see Hailstorm standing there, looking as healthy as ever. A wave of relief washed over Blah, seeing his original partner recovered so quickly. "Hey, Hailstorm," he greeted. "Feeling better?" He asked mostly as a formality.

"Good as new, and I can barely believe it," Hail answered sheepishly. "I suddenly understand why you wore your armor to the party... but anyway, I have to thank you again for giving me so much credit. My boss gave me a week of paid vacation for 'falling in the line of duty'. I don't know if he expected me to be out of the hospital in just a couple of days, heheh."

"Nice," Blah replied. "Does that makes up for all the selfish things I did or what?"

"Well," Hailstorm chuckled, "Any other time, I'd say no, but that Swift Star wouldn't have been so generous if he didn't think I was a hero. He'd make me go back to work the moment I left the hospital, without even paying me for lost time. Then he'd probably yell at me for getting myself shot."

"Jeez, sounds like a real drill sergeant. Glad I could get you out of that mess."

"Yeah. I can't imagine how hard it'd be working for him if I wasn't such close friends with his son. Speaking of whom..."

Hail looked behind himself, then stepped to the side, revealing a certain shaky earth pony. Blah hadn't even noticed he was there. "Light told me you met on the day of the party, but it was cut short," Hail recounted. "I felt bad for taking him away from you, so I figured I'd bring him over and let you show him around... if you're not busy or anything." Light nodded quietly, his eyes darting shyly to and fro.

"Well, I am kind of harboring an evil genius at the moment, but..." Blah looked down at Light Star, maintaining a welcoming smile. "Who cares about him, I can make time for you. Come on in!"

Hail tentatively walked inside, Light following eagerly yet nervously. "I'm sorry, 'harboring an evil genius'?" asked the pegasus.

"Long story," Blah hand-waved. "All you need to know is I found him stranded in the Everfree Forest, and I saved him from a dragon. He's totally harmless right now." Light was visibly impressed at that story. "I should probably take him back to his lair before he overstays his welcome..." muttered Blah, mostly to himself.

"The Everfree Forest?" Hail questioned with concern. "What were you doing there? Slaying wild animals for fun and profit?"

"He was looking for the reason he is here," Sera's voice echoed. Startled, Hail and Light looked up to see the Abra on her usual perch, her legs dangling in front of Blah's chest. "The forest contains an artifact of immense chaotic energy, which we believe is related to the cause of the merging of several universes. I assisted him in searching for it."

Seeing as neither pony knew how to react to Sera's explanation, or appearance for that matter, Blah introduced her. "This is Seraphina. She's telepathic. No big deal." The ponies remained speechless. "As for the artifact..." He shrugged. "Another long story. Basically, we need to find these jewels that are scattered all over the place. I don't suppose you'd be willing to help?"

Hail glanced at Light, who still had no idea what to say, then back to Blah. "W-well," he began, regaining his composure, "I was kind of looking forward to my vacation..."

"This is kind of important," Blah pressed. "Remember the corruption? If we let these universes mingle for too long, who knows what else might happen?"

"If something happens, I'll drop what I'm doing and help," Hail stubbornly reassured him. "But until then, I don't see any need to take action."

Blah decided to try a different approach. "If you travel with me, you might earn some more hero cred with your boss," he offered. "Not to mention the rest of Equestria, and wherever else we go." Hail's mouth scrunched at the temptation. Blah had him on the ropes. "And who knows, maybe we'll find a place with a colder climate?"

Hail sighed. "Okay, I'll bite," he surrendered. "We're not bringing Light, though. If something happens to my boss's son under my watch..." He shuddered.

"But what if adventuring's his special talent?" Blah added with a smirk.

Light's eyes widened ever so slightly at the thought of finally earning his cutie mark. "Yeah, maybe it is!" he exclaimed. "C'mon, Hail, how about it?"

"No," the pegasus stood firm. "I'm not going to risk you getting killed. If we run into anything as bad as the corruption out there..."

"Calm down, I was kidding," Blah backed off with a slight chuckle. Light's head drooped in dismay. "No offense, buddy, but you'd probably get in the way. If you want to travel with us, I'd recommend getting some basic combat training first." Light nodded solemnly. "We all gotta start somewhere," Blah continued. "I'm sure you can be an asset if you work hard at it."

"Yeah, and it couldn't hurt, right?" Hail chimed in. "Go find Cody, he can help you get started. In theory."

"Where is that huggable porcupine, anyway?" wondered Blah, staring at the vacant chair where Cody usually sat. "Come to think of it, what has Eggman been up to this morning...?"

"They are both outside," Sera answered, pointing to a window. "Dr. Eggman has made liberal use of your spare resources."

Confused and concerned, Blah looked out of the window that Sera indicated, Hailstorm and Light following closely. In the center of Blahtown sat a good-sized, six-wheeled iron rover bearing Eggman's likeness. Cody smugly leaned up against it, and Eggman seemed to be shouting something at him.

Blah was flabbergasted. "Did he build that just this morning? Out of my metal?!" he yelled.

"Hey, if you can build a house in seconds, why not," remarked Hail.

Blah stormed outside without another word. "What's the big idea?"

Eggman glanced at Blah and grinned evilly. "Well, look who's finally awake," he chided. "I needed a new ride, so I decided to put all that iron of yours to good use. You snooze, you lose!"

"You can't just take my stuff without my permission!" scolded Blah.

"I can, and I did," refuted Eggman, crossing his arms.

"You did kind of say he's an evil genius," Hail reminded him. "Also, how did you think we were going to get around? Asking me to carry all three of you is kind of a tall order. Hail, asking me to carry him alone is kind of a tall order," he added, pointing at Eggman.

"Did that horse just call me fat?" the egg-shaped doctor protested.

"He's saying what we're all thinking," Cody cut in. "And saying. Fatty."

"Quiet, you," Eggman snapped at the guide. "I've had enough of your sass today. I just want to go home, in a car I built myself out of stolen materials, with six-wheel drive, a high-tech stereo system, and my own beautiful image on the front. Is that so much to ask?"

"It was kind of a mouthful," muttered Blah.

"Argh! I don't have time for this!" Eggman circumnavigated the rover, heading for the driver's seat. "I'm just going to take my leave before I lose my mind. Have fun being idiots!"

"Sera?" Blah addressed. The Abra raised her hand, locking Eggman in place with her Psychic. Blah took out his Breaker and approached him threateningly. "You're not getting away that easily," he warned as the villain struggled in Sera's grip. "You're taking us with you, and telling us everything you know about the 'Chaos Emerald' you tracked."

"You just don't know when to stop, huh," sighed Eggman. "Fine. You can ride with me as far as Metropolis, but no further!"

Hail was distracted by Blah's new weapon, however. "Mother of Celestia, is that what you made out of the giant worm scales?!"

"Oh yeah, I never showed you this, did I?" Blah held his hammer out so the pegasus could see. Light was awestruck as well. "This is the Breaker: a weapon worthy of a skilled hammer-meister."

"If you could deflate your ego for a moment," Hail shot Blah down, "I only asked because I could use a weapon upgrade myself. I did help kill the thing, you know."

Blah hesitated, taking inventory in his head. He glanced at Cody momentarily, who nodded, understanding exactly what the hammerman had in mind. "As long as Egghead over here didn't touch my Demonite bars," he quipped, "I might be able to make a crossbow out of what I have left."

Eggman was about to say something in his defense, but Blah was already on his way back inside. He lifted the lid on one of his chests, grabbed a small stack of purple bars and a pile of worm teeth, and set them down on the anvil. By the time Hail and Light had followed him into the shack, Blah had a twisted, sinister crossbow and a fistful of narrow, dark purple bolts to hand him.

"One demon crossbow and several unholy bolts for the pegasus prince," he announced, dropping the items into his hooves rather haphazardly. "Try not to shoot anypony's eye out."

"So that makes yours fair game, right?" teased Hail, not too accepting of Blah's dry, impatient tone. He loaded a bolt into the crossbow and aimed it at a blank spot on the wall, getting a feel for it. It seemed to be a tiny bit heavier than his old crossbow, and he could feel the tension in the string just by holding the stock. He let loose a bolt, expecting it to simply stick into the wooden wall, but much to everyone's surprise, it pierced straight through and kept going.

The power of the crossbow and bolt combo astonished him. He flew out of the front door and followed the bolt's likely trajectory to a tree, where it had penetrated almost halfway through. He tried to pull the bolt out, but it was stuck deep in the bark.

Even Blah was impressed. "Huh," the human said. "I kinda wish I'd made one for myself."

"Breath-taking," Eggman commented sarcastically. "Can we get a move on, already? I'm starting to get a cramp."

Blah glanced over to see that Sera had been holding Eggman in the same position the entire time. "You can release him," he told the Abra. "I think we're ready."

Sera did as instructed, and Eggman dropped to the ground, landing on his stomach. "Oof!"

"So, you just want me to stay here and learn how to fight?" asked Light.

"Yep," Blah affirmed. "If you have any questions, ask Cody. I can't promise he'll help you, but that's what he's there for anyway." Cody waved smugly at the earth pony.

"And when it gets late," Hail added, "there's a tunnel just over that way that leads straight back to Ponyville. We wouldn't want your dad to get angry at either of us..."

Light nodded. "Yeah... I won't stay too late. Good luck, guys."

"You too," replied Blah as he hopped into the front passenger seat of the rover. Hail and Sera climbed into the back seats just as Eggman picked himself up.

"Ready to roll out!" the driver exclaimed with a hearty laugh, jumping into the vehicle and cracking his knuckles.

Dr. Eggman revved up the engine, emitting a thick black smog from the tailpipes, and plugged a CD into the stereo which immediately started blasting heavy metal. The tune was barely recognizable due to its sheer volume, but Blah figured there was no way it couldn't be one of Eggman's theme songs. Hailstorm's complaints were lost in the noise as Eggman sped off, headbanging to his tunes.

"I am the Eggman, that's what I am!"

"Shut up..."

"I am the Eggman, I've got the master plan!"

"Shut up!"

"You know he cannot hear you, right?"

"Then you tell him."

"Actually, I am enjoying this."

"Aaaargh!"

Hailstorm kicked the back of Eggman's seat with his front hooves, only for the doctor to nonchalantly flip a switch and bolt the pony down with five seatbelts simultaneously. He continued jamming.

Blah, on the other hand, had already zoned out the music, taking to calmly watching the scenery roll by at 40 miles an hour. Blah noticed the terrain gradually become more dynamic, and the grass took on a slight checkered pattern. 'Wow, Green Hill Zone still exists...?' he contemplated to himself. He could almost picture a certain blue hedgehog running up and down the hills and loops at breakneck speed.

Blah reveled in the sight of it all - so many cute, tiny animals hopping and/or flying around, and there weren't any spikes, springs, or Badniks, as that adventure had taken place long ago. The place had been cleaned up since then.

Of course, that fact had only made Eggman try harder to hit every last animal on his way through, slamming on the gas.

"Ehehehe! I forgot how fun this was!" Eggman laughed as a terrified bird glanced off of the windshield.

"This is not something that I enjoy," Sera admitted. "Blah, me and Hailstorm would appreciate it if you could talk some sense into the man." Hail nodded vigorously.

The crazed laughter of the maniac was starting to get to Blah. "Okay, hand me your crossbow," he ordered. With Hail restrained, Sera had to do the deed.

Eggman's laughter was canned as he felt a crossbow-loaded bolt press up against his neck. Blah threatened Eggman with one hand as he turned down the music with the other. "That's quite enough out of you," he asserted. "If you want your hollow revenge, you'll have to get it on your own time. Now drive, and AVOID the animals. Also, turn off this racket. You've been listening to the same song for 2 hours straight."

Dr. Eggman grumbled, but complied. He shut the music off completely, and slowed down to a non-psychotic pace. He also released Hail from his seatbelt prison, allowing him to breathe again. Blah, Sera, and especially Hail, were pleased. Blah lowered the weapon, but held onto it just in case.

"Now that we finally have a chance to talk," Blah continued, "how about telling us what you were doing all the way in Equestria?"

"What's there to know?" Eggman answered impatiently. "My equipment told me there was a Chaos Emerald, free for the taking. You do know what a Chaos Emerald is, right? Or do I have to lecture you about that as well?"

"Are you sure it was a Chaos Emerald?" Blah asked.

"What else could it have been?" refuted the doctor.

"It seems as though Dr. Eggman knows nothing about the jewels," reported Sera. "It is unlikely that he will be able to reach them on his own, either, if the advanced corruption is any indication."

'So we can just let Sonic and his gang take care of him?' Blah thought.

"If your memories of them and their home universe are accurate, it should be no problem," she reassured.

'Okay, but what about all the other universes that this guy suddenly has access to? We could be looking at some powerful evil alliances...'

"It is just as likely, if not more so, for the forces of good to band together. Let us just enjoy the ride."

Blah sighed. He figured while they were out here, they could at least get a lay of the land, maybe find the locations of other jewels.

He cleared his throat. "Alright, I have just one more q-WOAH!" His question was interrupted by a sudden failure of gravity. The rover had sharply turned right and dove off of a cliff overlooking the ocean. Hailstorm instinctively began flapping his wings, and Blah tightly clutched the side of the vehicle.

In mid-drop, Dr. Eggman merely chuckled darkly and flipped another switch, folding in the wheels and replacing them with water skis. The converted boat splashed in the water and floated without difficulty. He flipped on some rear thrusters, powering them forward.

Sera had not been panicking. "This is an all-terrain vehicle," she explained. "We were not in danger."

"Heh," chortled Eggman, grinning at Blah. "The look on your face was priceless!"

Blah stopped counting his limbs and attempted to slow down his madly beating heart. "Oh..." was all he could manage to utter.

"Don't scare me like that!" Hail shouted, giving Eggman's seat another kick. Growling, he reached for the restraining switch again, but stopped and slowly retreated when he saw Blah also reaching for the crossbow again.

Blah gave Eggman a skeptical look. "We've been traveling for a while... we are going the right way, right?"

"Of course, of course," Eggman responded, his mood lightened. "Metropolis is on Westside Island, a ways across the Shallow Sea. We're over halfway there."

"Great, thanks for the change of scenery," said Hail sarcastically, gazing out of the window at the endless, plain ocean.