The next day on Friday in the early afternoon, it was lunchtime at Canterlot High. Everyone was in their groups at their tables in the cafeteria, having their lunch, chatting with each other and doing their hobbies. The techies were tapping away on their phones and computers, the rockers were practicing with their instruments and some of their athletes were flexing their skills.
Over at one the fashionista tables, Rarity took a set in one of the open chairs. As a part of her plan, she was wearing a cerulean blue Canterlot High sweater with a yellow letter "c" in the form of a horseshoe to match the custom Wondercolt tail. She placed her Wondercolt ears on her head in preparation and glanced over at the athlete tables closeby. Rainbow, wearing her own Wondercolt sweater, sat down at one of the tables for the group and nodded back at Rarity as she put her ears on as well.
While in line, Pinkie, who also wore a Wondercolt sweater, put her pony ears as well and picked up her empty tray. Instead of choosing her lunch, she began to bang it on the counter in a rhythm like a song. Rarity began following by stomping her feet on the floor and clapping with her hands. Fluttershy, who was in the eco-kids group and wearing her Wondercolt cosmetics, thumped some empty glasses on the table in sync with the others.
As the students around them began getting drawn towards their sounds, Applejack, also wearing her Wondercolt cosmetics, began clapping her hands on the table while Rainbow banged her tray. Once the girls were all in sync and being heard across the cafe, Spike peaked out of Twilight's backpack and turned on a radio next to him.
(My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Cafeteria Song (Helping Twilight Win the Crown))
Once the music from the phone in the radio began to play, the girls stood up from their chairs and they began to sing and dance along with the song.
Mane 5: Hey, hey, everybody! We've got something to say
We may seem as different as the night is from day
But you look a little deeper, and you will see
That I'm just like you and you're just like me, yeah!
During a quick solo, the girls showed their bonds with each other despite their different personalities and interests.
Mane 5: Hey, hey, everybody! We're here to shout
That the Magic of Friendship is what it's all about
Yeah, we thought we were different as the night is from the day
Until Twilight Sparkle helped us see another way!
They grouped up in the middle of the cafeteira and danced together, jumping in the air and spinning around.
Mane 5: So get up! Get down! If you're gonna come around
We can work together helping Twilight win the crown!
So get up! Get down! Cuz it's gonna make a sound
If we work together helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown!
Pinkie: Hey, hey! Hands up now! We're sending a message to the crowd!
Hands wave up, then come down. We party together all around!
Rarity: Generous, Honesty
Applejack: Laughter, Kindness, Loyalty
Fluttershy: Twilight helped us each to see
Rainbow: All that we can be!
Mane 5: So get up! Get down! If you're gonna come around
We can work together helping Twilight win the crown!
So get up! Get down! Cuz it's gonna make a sound
If we work together helping Twilight Sparkle win the crown!
Approaching the entrance to the cafe, Rarity and Pinkie opened the doors to reveal none other than Twilight herself in her own Wondercolt cosmetics. She entered the cafe with confidence and a bright smile.
Twilight: I'm gonna be myself, no matter what I do
And if we're different, yeah, I want you to be true to you
Already having knowledge of Equestria, Flash had already heeded the message and played a high note to match the song, showing his support for Twilight and her friends.
Twilight: If you follow me, we'll put our differences aside
We'll stick together and start working on that school pride!
As the six girls continued with their song, everyone in the cafe began to believe in their message, accepting their invites to join in the music and clapping along with the beat.
Mane 6: Jump up! Make a sound! HEY! Stomp your hooves, turn around!
Start now, make a change! Gonna come around!
Jump up! Make a sound! HEY! Stomp your hooves, turn around!
Canterlot Wondercolts! Help her win the crown!
Everyone began dancing for joy with the song as Flash along with his band members, Brawly Beats and Ringo started playing instruments to join in the music. As the song began repeating its chorus, Pinkie started tossing out Wondercolt ears and tails for everyone to wear. It seemed that whoever was going to vote for Sunset now seemed in line to vote for Twilight as all of the students from all of the groups were dancing and singing along with the girls.
But everyone was so caught up in the song that no one was able to notice Sunset watching them through the windows in the doors. She was disgusted and enraged that everyone was now on Twilight's side. Before long, she noticed that Snips and Snails were also wearing Wondercolt ears and tails, much to her annoyance.
"Take those off!"
Embarrassed and ashamed, the two boys quickly took off their cosmetics and hid them behind their backs with nervous smiles. Sunset crossed her arms as she sinisterly smiled; she had a plan, "I have something I need you to do."
Meanwhile back at the village between the mountains, the villagers below were walking through the paths, some riding horses that pulled wagons with supplies. Some cars and trucks drove around the village through the path on the cliff. The whole sky began getting blocked by dark gray clouds.
Eggman witnessed the activity from the window of his lab, hands behind his back. He had a new set of glasses over his eyes and was back in his original outfit. He stood in thought, thinking back to his last encounter with Sonic. At this point, it had been almost twenty-four hours since he made his offer, and there was only twelve hours left for Sonic to make his decision.
With a quick inhale and exhale through his nostrils, Eggman turned away and walked past his computer and down the stairs, followed by Metal. As they walked down the hall, the doctor raised his hand and the computer on his glove turned on as he began recording a log, "Doctor's log. It's been twenty-four hours since my latest battle with Sonic the Hedgehog. While he has technically turned into a human being in this universe, he proved to still be as inconvenient as always. Only twelve hours remain on his decision to give me the rest of the Chaos Emeralds. I have no doubt that he, along with Shadow and Gage are tracking me down right now, so now I have to prepare. And I have just what I need."
Exiting the opening doors of an elevator, Eggman and Metal entered a deeper underground bunker lab. The walls were mostly covered with multiple computers and screens running the systems in the base. In the center of the lab were five large glass domes; four of them holding the Chaos Emeralds and the five in the very middle was hiding underneath a white cloth. And at the end of the hall was one more glass container, a massive one with something moving around inside it.
Eggman walked down the hall with Metal Sonic close behind him. He approached the glass dome in the middle of the other four and grabbed hold of the cloth. He pulled it right off to reveal the very object inside of it; a magenta icosahedron ruby with black ripple patterns moving along its surface. It was roughly the size of a tennis ball, easy to fit in the palm of a hand. It had a mysterious mist-like energy emitting from it, along with glitch-like particles.
Eggman rested his palm on the glass as he stared at the mysterious gemstone inside, "A few months ago while I was still on Mobius, I discovered this ancient interdimensional artifact known as the Phantom Ruby. According to what my research could find, it was fought over by several parties across multiple dimensions. While different from the Chaos Emeralds, it's still remarkably powerful. I have yet to find out for myself, but apparently, it may be able to cancel out the Emeralds' power, should someone gain a super transformation from them. However, if I am going to be able to control its power, I need the right mech… and the right technology… to use it."
Eggman walked past the Phantom Ruby and Chaos Emeralds to approach the container at the end of the hall. But Metal… Metal didn't follow him. He stood where he was, staring at the Ruby in the dome. Hearing his creator mention its potential capabilities drew his attention. He then glanced over at what Eggman was approaching.
Eggman approached the giant container and rested his palms on the glass as he observed what was inside this; a material that appeared as liquid yet it was as silver as a metal. The doctor knew all too well what this was, "My newly experimental nanotechnology. With this, certain weapons and machines can change form in a matter of seconds. And combined with the Phantom Ruby's power, I can create a perfect weapon to destroy Sonic once and for all."
(Techno Cinema/Adrenaline Dubs OST - The Metal Virus)
Metal glanced at the nanotech, then back at the Phantom Ruby. His sensors began scanning both; the Ruby's energy was indeed remarkably powerful and the nanotech was really advanced, even for an experimental version. Then he glanced fully at the Ruby as the world around him began to darken and disappear. Somehow, he could "feel" its energy connecting to him.
Then Metal began experiencing "visions"; remembering every loss, every defeat he suffered from Sonic with every sound from the blows echoing and his voice taunting him. No matter his upgrades, no matter his weapons, no matter anything, he could never beat him. He could never surpass him. Not until now. The Phantom Ruby, nanotechnology and the Chaos Emeralds combined… This was the key. This was his ticket to victory. And no limits in his programming or control from his creator would stop him. Ever again.
Metal's eyes began glowing brightly and raised his fight right before he threw a punch strong enough to shatter the glass covering the Ruby. He grabbed it from its holster and placed it inside his depression. Immediately, its energy began flickering out with an indescribable noise following. Bright magenta lights flashed from the Ruby and its energy "glitched" around Metal.
Eggman was immediately startled by the noise and the flashes of light from the Ruby. Upon turning around and realizing what was happening, he stumbled backwards and collapsed onto the floor as he watched in shock, "METAL! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!"
Metal rose into the air as the Ruby's energy formed an aura around him with magenta electricity flickering from his body and into the walls. He swung his arms out and the aura flashed brighter and flowed harder. The domes containing the Emeralds broke, leaving the gemstones to hover in the air towards him, followed by the nanotech freed from its container.
Eggman could only defenselessly watch as his greatest creation had once more turned against him. Metal's body began to glow as the nanotech flew into his body and began to merge with him. The four Emeralds began circling around him as they glowed; their energy allowed him to achieve a new transformation. His entire body turned white and was completely surrounded by Phantom aura. And soon, his shape began to change.
Metal's arms and legs appeared to be dissolving into a cloud of particles before they gathered back together and reshaped into new models. His body started to morph into a sturdier build. Highlights began shining onto various parts of him. The Ruby's energy began to spark out of control. Within moments, his transformation had been completed.
Eggman was now left stunned in fright as he witnessed the transformation. Within the bright aura, Metal's head twitched left and right with sparks and his visor fully lit up bright red. He crossed his arms in front of him before swinging them out and let the energy burst out of him.
The energy was so strong that it fired a beam of light and power upward and out of the base, destroying the entire top of the mountain and allowing the beam to fire up into the sky and out of the world. The ground was shaking from the energy's wave, causing the people in the village to fall over and drop their supplies. They watched in wonder and horror as they pondered what was going on. The clouds began to dark as thunder began to roar.
Several hundred miles away, the three Mobians were standing near a cliff with a thick forest of trees behind them. As they continued their search for Eggman, there was the sudden sound of an explosion from far away. They glanced over at the direction of the noise and saw the magenta beam of light and energy shooting out of the mountain and into the sky.
"Whoa!" Gage exclaimed, "Guys, you seeing this?!"
"Oh, yeah," Sonic nodded without looking away from the beam, "What in the world is that?"
The three Mobians approached the edge of the cliff as they watched the beam as dark clouds in the sky began to circle it. Shadow squinted his eyes as the colour of the energy seemed somehow familiar. Then he quietly gasped as he realized something about it, "No… it can't be…"
Sonic and Gage glanced over at the GUN agent, "You know what it is, Shadow?"
"The Phantom Ruby," Shadow answered as he looked back at his allies, "I've never seen the gemstone itself, but I've read about it in GUN's files. It's a powerful interdimensional artifact capable of untold abilities. Somehow, it can even suppress the Chaos Emeralds' power."
Sonic and Gage looked at each other with concern over this information. "That can't be good," Gage scratched his head, "If Eggman's got that kind of power against us, we're in serious trouble."
Shadow crossed his arms as he continued looking over at the beam in the distance, "I don't believe that's Eggman doing it. Where it's coming from may be his base of operations, but we all know too well that the doctor isn't this reckless. It has to be someone else…"
Sonic looked away, thinking about what Shadow just said. He was right; Eggman could get hasty at times, but not like this. Who else could be there with him? Wait… not someone else. Something else. And it immediately became clear to him what it was as he shouted in alarm, "It's Metal! He must be using it to transform!"
Shadow and Gage were now in alarm as well. Wasting no time, the three Mobians sprinted forward at fast speeds towards the mountains. The beam of light continued to flash with Phantom energy flashing around the area. Lightning bolts from it struck the ground and some of the trees in the forest, setting on fire. Thunder and lightning from the storm clouds began roaring louder in the sky.
Finally the beam started to shrink and fade away as Metal slowly hovered to the floor. Electricity flickered around his body as his newly modeled feet made contact with the floor. Eggman remained on the floor, letting out panicked breaths as he witnessed what his creation had become.
The light around Metal completely vanished, fully revealing his new form. His original azure blue colour had shifted to a darker, more denim blue colour. The quills on the back of his head were remodeled and increased in numbers to resemble those of one of his counterparts; Mecha Sonic, with silver tips at the end and highlights similar to his Neo form. Silver highlights also surrounded his eyes. His new body had a much sturdier and taller build, almost at the height of a fully grown human. Newly made silver shoulder pads and wrist gauntlets were created with the latter being adorned with red orbs. His hands were now much smoother with a shade of red on the palm side. His feet were now fully red with a streak of silver on the bottom, and embedded in his chest was a red reactor core that housed an interior in which the Phantom Ruby and the four Chaos Emeralds were stored, along with other open spots for the rest.
Metal's visor lit up with his red and black eyes. His vision appeared to be greatly enhanced and improved as it. He took a moment to look over his new form, comparing it to his previous one. He gripped his fists tightly as Phantom energy flickered around his gauntlets. This new power was unlike anything he had ever felt before. Testing his new power, he gripped his right fist, and the gauntlet opened in half with the hand swapping with a three-barred energy gatling gun. With his interest increasing by the second, he saw what his other hand swapped into; a powerful energy cannon.
Through his shocked state, Eggman could only utter a few words, "Metal… what have you done?"
Metal's eyes shifted towards Eggman with flickering Phantom lighting in them, which made the doctor crawl backwards towards the wall. Drops of sweat slid down his head as his creation walked towards him, his shadow blocking out any light on him. Metal raised his hand and a magenta energy orb began emitting from it, preparing an attack towards the doctor. Its electricity flickered around, lighting up the bunker.
Eggman panicked as he had nothing to defend himself with and there was no way he could know just how powerful Metal had become. Metal prepared to fire the orb at his creator, when…
BEEP BEEP BEEP. His sensors suddenly picked up and detected something. His visor began showing live security footage outside the base and one of the cameras spotted Sonic, Shadow and Gage closing in on the village below. Yes, a much better pair of opponents to test this new power. He powered down and let his orb fade away. He fired up his rocket on his back, as well as new rockets on his feet and started hovering off the ground. In intense speeds, he flew out of the giant hole in the mountain and into the sky.
Eggman slowed his panicked breathing as he processed what just happened. Metal had once more grown beyond his control. But this time, it was far beyond. He absorbed the four Chaos Emeralds in his possession with the Phantom Ruby and the nanotech all together at the same time. He had a new arsenal of weapons from that one transformation in just a short time. Who could know how dangerous he became?
Regardless of what the outcome would be, he couldn't sit around and wait. He got up and started running to the elevator. He had to find something useful to counter Metal.
Sonic, Shadow and Gage made a sudden stop at the top of a hill just over the village. They took a moment to look over the area. The villagers seemed alright though just in shock from witnessing the beam of energy earlier. Some of the fire from the burning trees was slowly spreading throughout. Though it started to rain from the storm clouds, the flames were already very thick.
"Looks like the civs down there are okay," Gage observed, "But if that fire spreads too far, it's gonna burn every tree in the forest. We gotta put 'em out."
Sonic and Shadow nodded in agreement, but before any of the Mobians could make a move…
(Nao Stato - Resident Evil: Village OST - The Final Movement)
BOOM! There was the sudden sound of something emerging from the destroyed mountain into the air and diving towards the Mobians. Sonic shouted upon seeing it about to hit the ground, "INCOMING!"
The three Mobians jumped backwards away from their position right before the object landed on the ground with a cloud of smoke following. They quickly got in defensive stances as the smoke cleared. Metal was revealed to be the very thing that came from the mountain. He made robotic noises as he stood up on his feet with his red eyes glowing as bright as ever.
Sonic, Shadow and Gage stood in awe at Metal's new form. "Uh-oh… this can't be good," Gage said with worry as a drop of sweat out of fear went down his head.
Metal turned slightly and started slowly walking to the left with his feet making loud thumping footsteps on the ground. His Phantom Chaos energy flickered out through various parts of his armour. The three Mobians slowly side-stepped to keep a straight light between them and the machine.
After staring each other down for a short time, the fighters stood still in a standoff. The rain began falling hard on them. The fire from the trees behind Metal grew and spread quicker, leaving the front of him darkened with his red glowing eyes brightening his face. Shadow and Gage stood cautiously while Sonic gripped his fists tightly and his teeth gritted. Just one look at Metal's transformation and feeling the energy he possessed made it very clear that this was going to be an easy fight. And with what he's become, he'd probably try going after his friends too. Especially… Rainbow.
Knowing that his friends were going to be in danger, his Chaos energy began charging up with his eyes glowing bright blue. Noticing this, Metal raised his hand and motioned his fingers back and forth, challenging his opponents to a fight. With a sudden snarl, Sonic suddenly started boosting aggressively forward towards him with a loud whoosh. Shadow and Gage gasped when they saw him rushing in without a plan, "Sonic, wait!"
Metal simply lept back off the ground and started flying backwards in the air with the blue Mobian following. Sonic quickly caught up to him and jumped at him with a 540 kick, only for Metal to warp to the side with his arms crossed. The Mobian repeated his attempt to kick the robot in the air only for the latter to dodge the attack effortlessly. Then Sonic jumped at him again and started throwing several punches, whether that'd be jabs or hooks, Metal just blocked them with one arm. Finally, he teleported behind Sonic and the latter jumped at him again.
Sonic prepared to throw a kick at Metal, but the robot simply teleported out of the way again, only this time it was revealed that Gage also tried jumping at him from behind. Both Mobians weren't able to react fast enough and ended up accidentally kicking each other in the face. They bounced and rolled on the ground as Metal appeared above them with his arms still crossed and his head shaking.
Metal's eyes glanced up as he saw Shadow charging at him. Both fighters threw a punch at each other with the blows landing followed by a loud "boom". Then they began warping around the air, landing each others' blows in the background while Sonic and Gage quickly jumped back onto their feet and continued running. They watched as Shadow and Metal continued landing blows on each other while moving through the terrain.
Shadow appeared in the air and threw a Chaos Spear at Metal, only for the machine to deflect it and shoot it at a tree, completely setting it on fire. Then he warped behind Shadow right as the latter engaged with a punch and before the Mobian could react fast, he received a double hammerfist to the head, knocking him down into the ground.
Sonic quickly glanced over at Gage, "Let's combo it up!"
Gage nodded in response as the two speedsters jumped in the air, grabbed each others' hands and began spindashing together. Metal saw this and began spindashing himself to respond in kind. Both attacks landed on each other and locked onto a quick duel before Metal knocked Sonic and Gage out of their attack and away from each other.
Sonic quickly reached into his backpack and pulled out two Power Rings, one of which he tossed to Gage. Both Mobians began using the Ring's power to spin dash in the air and homed in on Metal. But the robot simply raised his hands and caught them both still spinning in his palms. Then he slammed them into each other, bashing their heads against one another and throwing them to the side. Both crashed and slid across the ground. Coming to a stop, Sonic was able to recover and get on his knee while Gage laid on the ground, groaning in pain and holding his head where he was hit.
Metal then appeared closeby and deployed his gatling gun. Sonic reacted with a startled shout and jumped backwards into the air right as his robot rival opened fire on him. Avoiding the energy blasts, he did a backflip before turning around in the air, landing with a shoulder roll and began sprinting forward. Metal fired up his rockets and started flying after Sonic. Gage groaned as he shook off the pain and quickly got up to follow behind and help Sonic.
Metal caught up to Sonic and continued to fire at him. Sonic jumped left and right dodging the blasts, then started running across a cliff wall with every shot just a few inches away from landing on him. He quickly glanced behind him, seeing that Metal was right on his tail. Looking back forward, he jumped off the cliff wall, grabbing onto a branch from a tree and holding on tight as he spun over and Metal flew right underneath him.
Metal was quick to stop himself by stomping onto the ground. He swiftly turned back around and used his nanotech to create large missile launchers from his shoulders, to which Sonic reacted in a fright, "WHOA!"
Metal's launchers fired four large missiles out, moving at high speeds and targeting Sonic. The Mobian started running for it with the missiles following close behind. Metal then heard a sound behind him and looked to see Gage throwing a Chaos Spear at him. In response, the robot simply deployed his energy cannon and fired a single blast to block it. Both blasts exploded upon impact with a cloud of smoke.
Metal then suddenly flew right through the cloud of smoke, startling Gage. The Mobian was successful in dodging Metal's punch, but then the robot warped behind him and ax-kicked him down, making him fall into the ground with a crash.
Sonic swiftly moved in any direction to keep his distance from the missiles, dodging and jumping through the terrain in the process. But despite his efforts, they were locked onto him and could follow him anywhere he went. Then he looked forward and saw Shadow speeding towards him, preparing his Chaos Spear. Both Mobians nodded and Sonic dropped to slide across the ground while Shadow threw his attack at the missiles, destroying them all with a direct hit.
As soon as Sonic and Shadow got onto the same road, they sped down it to regroup with Gage. "Thanks for the save! But man, those new weapons are crazy!"
"We can't let him control the fight, or the civilians in this village will get hurt," Shadow stated, "Push the offensive!"
Gage groaned as he held his hand on the ground. He glanced upward and shouted in alarm as he saw Metal diving at him with a raised fist. The Mobian quickly rolled to the side and the robot hit the ground, causing an explosion of dirt and dust in the process. The hole in the ground caused Gage to get bounced off the ground, and the Mobian flew in the air. Metal then emerged from the cloud of dust and armed his energy cannon. It charged up and fired a massive blue orb straight at him.
Gage shouted as the blast went right at him and he wouldn't have enough time to warp out of the way. But it would've been able to hit him if Sonic hadn't appeared in front of him and kicked the blast away into the sky. Metal then glanced to the left and received a Chaos Spear to the chest from Shadow, who stood on the top of a tree with his arm out.
Metal simply raised his head towards Shadow, then held out his arm to the side… and summoned his own Phantom Chaos Spear. He fired the blast towards Shadow, and the Mobian quickly fired his own back at it. Both blasts collided with an explosion of light, followed by Metal's arm emerging from it and grabbing Shadow by the throat. The robot flew towards the ground and slammed the Mobian onto the ground on his back, dragging him across it. Shadow grunted and choked from Metal's grip before he quickly warped out of his hand and reappeared in front of him with a high kick to the head.
Metal was launched upward in the air before he quickly stopped himself, only to receive a homing attack to the back from both Sonic and Gage at the same time. The robot fell to the ground with a crash and a cloud of dust, but then he quickly burst into the air with his rockets as lightning bolts flashed brightly in the stormy sky and rain started pouring from the clouds. Sonic performed another homing attack at Metal, only for the robot to elbow him out of his ball form and launch him down. Then he saw Shadow teleport behind him and quickly flew over him to dodge a punch while grabbing Gage's leg when he tried to kick him, and threw him at Shadow. All three Mobians hit the ground and rolled down the hill towards the village.
Sonic collided with the bell tower of a church before hitting the ground with a thud, Gage was lucky enough to land on a wagon full of hay, and Shadow crashed through the roof of a house before rolling out the door. The three Mobians groaned as they struggled to stand up. It wasn't long before they noticed some of the villagers eyeing them in wonder, curious about who they were and where they came from.
Sonic moaned as he held his hand while resting on his knees. As he and the other Mobians slowly got onto their feet, everyone heard the sound of approaching rockets and looked up to the sky. Metal landed on the ground with his fist slamming into it, creating a small crater around him. He slowly rose to stand up and stared down the Mobians before glancing left and right at all of the civilians around them. His visor detected all of their increasing heartbeats, their elevated blood pressure; they were terrified of him from his presence alone.
Metal raised his hands as his Phantom Chaos energy sparked around his armour. The Ruby glowed brightly from inside the reactor core, shining a magenta glitching visual. He jumped into the air and swung his arms out, unleashing bolts of lightning from the energy, striking the buildings in the process.
Electric wires on the poles and various objects on the ground were lit on fire while the buildings struck by the lightning began collapsing. Immediately, the civilians began screaming in fear and running for their lives. Sonic, Shadow and Gage watched in terror as Metal laid waste to the village. The very home that many may have lived in for generations was falling to the ground in minutes. Crumbling to dust. Burning in the fires. Columns of black smoke rose into the air. They smelled the burning hay and wood, heard the distant crashes of collapsing buildings and the explosions of vehicles closeby.
Then Sonic's ear flinched as he heard a collection of screams. He looked over his shoulder to see the young family of a mother and her three young triplets surrounded by a ring of fire as a water tower was tipping over and on the verge of falling onto them. Every sound suddenly faded and everything turned gray around Sonic as he laid his widened eyes at the family. His vision started flashing between the now and the "then"; he began seeing the three same silhouetted figures he saw before in his nightmare, his memories.
"NOOO!"
Sonic suddenly dashed straight towards the family at immense high speeds with a loud boom following. The mother covered her children in her arms as the water tower fell towards her, but right as it was about to crash on top of them, Sonic's bright blue blur sped right through, picking them all up at once and moving them away before the tower hit the ground. The container of water smashed open as the water started flowing out of it and across the pathway.
The family continued to shiver in fear before they realized that their anticipated demise never came to be. They opened their eyes to see their savior looking at them with quick breaths, "Are you alright?"
Through their panicked breathing, the triplets all nodded yes. The mother let out grateful tears as she thanked him for saving her and her children, "Bless you, stranger… bless you!"
Sonic gave a nod as he quickly pointed out to the pathway, "Now get outta here! It's too dangerous!"
Without hesitation, the family began following the rest of the villagers down the pathway, avoiding the fires and collapsing buildings. Shortly, Gage and Shadow arrived next to Sonic and they both helped him stand up.
"Good save, Sonic!" Gage complimented, "That was way too close!"
Shadow glanced over his shoulder at Metal who hovered in the air with his rockets. He let out a snarl in anger, "We need to work together to stop him before he hurts anyone else. I'll try and retrieve the Ruby from his core. Sonic and Gage, you distract him so I can get in close and–"
"No."
Shadow and Gage glanced at Sonic who had his head down with the shadows blacking out his eyes. Sonic spoke sharply as he slowly raised his head without looking at either of his allies, "Both of you make sure everyone gets out of here safely. I'll finish Metal off myself."
Gage gasped in shock at Sonic's statement, "What?! No way, Sonic! He's too powerful! You can't fight him by yourself! Plus, he has the Phantom Ruby!"
Sonic grunted as he pulled his arms away from Shadow and Gage, "I have to try."
Shadow glanced down at the ground for a second with quick exhales, but then he turned his attention back to Sonic and was stern, "You're not doing this alone, blue hedgehog. We'll only have the upper hand if we do this together."
Sonic gritted his teeth and clenched his fists as he snarled, "Shadow… go."
Shadow attempted to protest, "Sonic–"
"NOW!"
Sonic's outburst left Shadow and Gage quiet and speechless. This wasn't the Sonic they knew; he never had this much rage come out so easily this quickly. Shadow knew all too well that whatever Sonic had kept a secret, it was starting to boil up inside him. But right now… was not the right time to let it out. Not wanting to further complicate things, Shadow and Gage sped off down the path to help out the villagers.
Knowing that everyone was getting to a safe distance and no one else was there to get in his way, Sonic slowly stood up straight and turned around to face Metal, who stared down at him from the air. The robot clenched his fists, ready for his adversary to attack.
Sonic started letting out enraged breaths as his Chaos energy began to spark and his eyes glowed bright blue. He had finally had it; his carefree attitude was completely thrown off the bridge. He jumped off the ground and began spindashing in the air. His ball form began glowing bright blue with the lightning from his Chaos energy flickering out of him. Metal tilted his head as he watched in wonder at what Sonic was doing.
Sonic came out of his ball form and swung his arms out with a loud enraged shout and a burst of Chaos aura. His hair and eyes were now glowing completely pure blue as his lightning sparked around him. It was time to use an old trick of his; his Light Speed Attack. And for an additional boost, he pulled out the three Chaos Emeralds in his backpack and absorbed their power as the gemstones entered his body. His aura grew larger and glowed brighter.
Now fully powered up, Sonic rested on one knee and his hands on the ground as he shouted out with his voice echoing, "Ready… GO!"
Sonic suddenly bolted off the ground at the speed of a bullet with a strong gust of wind, extinguishing the fires close by around him with an explosion of energy. Metal jolted back in surprise but didn't have enough time to react as he received a blow to the chest as both he and the Mobian went blasting into the air. As they fired through the air, Sonic repeatedly bashed into Metal from above and below with each blow letting out flashes of light and electricity. Sonic then began punching and kicking Metal with intense speeds before he spindashed and slammed into the robot with enough force to launch him far back.
Metal crashed through several trees and into the side of the mountain with a loud boom and a ring of smoke leaving from the impact. Sonic landed on the ground several yards away from the robot and began spin-dashing to charge his energy again. Metal's fist suddenly clenched with Phantom Chaos energy flickering out of his arms as he raised his head with his visor fully lighting up red and loud robotic noises. He pounded against the mountain to get himself out of it and began spin-dashing to charge up his energy for his own Light Speed Attack.
Both fighters were fully charged with their energy as lightning flickered around them. The thunder in the stormy sky above roared as the rain continued to fall. Sonic and Metal came out of their ball forms and stared each other down as they prepared their attacks. With their eyes fully glowing with lightning, they dashed towards each other with earpiercing booms. They began colliding with each other with such force that they went back and forth so fast their blurs could only be seen for a split second.
The speedy fighters started going all over the place as they continued to collide. Trees started getting knocked down, snow was getting blown away by their wind and rocks were getting shattered. In super slow motion to the point where time almost looked frozen, both fighters seemed to keep countering each others' attacks as the tide of the battle kept constantly shifting. Then when real-time caught up with them, Metal landed on the ground and stood up as Sonic started running around him in circles so fast that he was nothing but a bright blue ring.
Metal's energy flickered and his eyes glowed as he had finally had enough of this. He raised his fists as the Phantom Ruby inside his reactor suddenly outshone the Emeralds with its light and energy. Then he jumped in the air and swung his arms out, releasing a wave of his energy. The moment Sonic was hit by the wave, his speed suddenly faded and he ended up tripping over his feet. He rolled across the ground until he collided with a large rock.
Sonic started getting on his feet and he received an elbow to the gut from Metal with enough force to make the rock behind him crack. Then the robot threw another punch with so much force that Sonic went blasting through it, shattering it to pieces. As the Mobian flew through the air, Metal caught up with him and started throwing attacks from all over the place, speeding up with each blow. Then he grabbed Sonic by the head and slammed him into the ground before grabbing his legs and repeatedly slammed him down left and right.
As Metal held his opponent in the air, Sonic groaned from all the punishment he just recieved. Then Metal's rockets fired up and the robot flew high into the air. He flew so high so fast that he went beyond the height of the mountains and into the stormy clouds. As the lightning flashed around them, Metal raised Sonic in the air before swinging his arm down and throwing him back towards the ground. Sonic went falling straight down towards the ground, spinning out of control as the rain fell with him. As soon as he hit the ground in the middle of the burning village, what followed was a loud explosion with a cloud of dirt shooting into the air with some of the fires getting blown by the wind.
As the dust settled and the dirt in the air faded, Sonic laid on his back in a huge crater in the middle of the village. He was covered in dirt with his clothes damaged and his hoodie having several rips. He laid on the ground groaning and coughing from all of the pain he received from Metal, "(Cough, cough!) Oh… God…"
Suddenly, there was a loud thud as Metal landed on the ground right next to Sonic. He reached down and grabbed him by the hair, causing the Mobian to grunt in pain. The robot then threw him forward and out of the village, causing Sonic to land on the top of a hill. He groaned as he struggled to get up. He crawled only a few inches forward before he lost his strength to keep moving. He let out exhausted and painful breaths as he laid on the ground.
It wasn't long before he could hear thumping footsteps approaching and a large shadow covering him from the light of the fire. He looked up to see Metal standing in front of him, looking down at him with dominance and his eyes glowing in the dark. And for the first time, ever since he was Neo, Metal spoke, "Oh, that look on your face, Sonic. You can't begin to imagine just how satisfying it is."
Sonic chuckled through his pain, "So… you finally get to talk again, huh? Wanted to do more than just 'beep boop'? What do we call this new form of yours? Super Neo? Ultra Neo?"
Metal took a moment to look over himself once more. Sonic made a point; this form needed a name. And it was easily decided what this new form would be called, "The puny robot Metal Sonic is now but a mere memory, for I am… Metallix."
"Metallix, huh?" Sonic arched an eyebrow with a smirk, "Honestly, I think that sounds more original. Makes you feel more original."
Metallix bent down to his knees, "Still possessing that carefree attitude, I see. And I sometimes wonder how even gods can fall to the likes of you."
Sonic took another glance down at the burning village below. The fires had grown so large that the entire place was being consumed in the heat and smoke. And the rain wasn't going to put it out. All of the buildings and trees collapsed and vanished into the fire. Metallix had taken away an entire village where hundreds of people lived for so long in minutes. His fists gripped with dirt in his fingers, feeling the weight of what he failed to protect on his shoulders; even though no lives were lost, their home was. And he felt it was all on him.
Sonic turned his head back to Metallix as he snarled through his pain, "What… have you done?"
Metallix simply stood up straight in response and stepped backwards a few steps, holding his arms out, "Don't be so surprised, Sonic. I only carried out what I was originally programmed to do. Except my method was far more efficient."
Sonic growled in anger as he slammed his fist on the ground, "I should've destroyed you when I had the chance!"
"Yet you didn't. And why?" Metallix asked, "All because of your precious belief that everyone can change, take a different path. You underestimated me. And now… you and this world are paying the price. And then Mobius will share that same price."
All of a sudden, there was the sound of a blast from behind. Metallix turned his head to see the source, only to receive a laser blast to the face. His head was immediately damaged with cracks in the visor. Sonic looked up to see that the source was Eggman in his Egg Mobile with a laser pistol in hand.
Eggman lowered his pistol as he spoke directly to Metallix, "Metal Sonic, enable shutdown sequence! Codeword: Maria!"
Metallix suddenly dropped to his knees as his visor went black and his sounds wired and went silent. It seemed as if it worked; Eggman had just stopped Metallix. But then…
The robot's fists suddenly tightened with Phantom Chaos energy flickering around it. Both Sonic and Eggman jolted in shock at this; Metallix had advanced even further beyond the doctor's programming than they thought. The robot then stood up and turned around to face his creator as the nanotechnology started quickly repairing his damaged head and visor. As his eyes glowed in the Ruby's colour, he raised his hand and fired an energy orb from his palm. Eggman quickly slammed his fist on the shields button and an energy shield covered the Egg Mobile. But once the blast made contact with the shield, it immediately broke and knocked the vehicle off balance. Eggman was unable to keep himself in his seat and ended up falling out and landing on the ground with his Egg Mobile landing upside down right behind him.
Knowing that the doctor was no longer a threat, Metallix turned back around to face his real adversary. Sonic groaned and held the side of his stomach as he barely stood on his feet, flinching from the pain. The robot spoke sternly, "You are the only one left that stands between me and ultimate power. Now give me the last Chaos Emeralds. Otherwise I will destroy you."
Sonic groaned as he raised his fists, unwilling to give up even with the outcome looking bleak, "You want me to give them to you?! Over my dead body!"
To that, Metallix simply responded, "That can be arranged…"
Metallix suddenly teleported from sight with Chaos Control and reappeared right next to Sonic in the blink of an eye. The robot gave the Mobian a strong kick, launching him off the ground and sending him flying. As Sonic bounced across the ground, Metallix teleported ahead of him and gave him an uppercut, sending him into the air. And then he teleported above him and gave him a double hammerfist, sending the Mobian crashing into the ground again. The three Chaos Emeralds in Sonic's possession suddenly flew out and landed together on the ground in front of Metallix's feet.
Sonic turned over onto his stomach as he groaned in pain. He could do nothing more than watch as Metallix picked up the last three Emeralds and held them in his palm. He had done it. He had beaten the very thing he was built to surpass. And now he had all seven Chaos Emeralds. And yet…
He didn't place them inside his reactor to absorb their power. He turned his head back at Sonic and started walking towards him. Once he stood in front of the weakened Mobian, he reached down and grabbed him by the throat to lift him up from the ground. Sonic choked as he couldn't break out of Metallix's grasp.
Metallix spoke with confidence as his eyes flickered from his Phantom Chaos energy, "I could kill you right now, Sonic. I could end your pain, but I think I would rather make you watch as I burn this world down first, making you witness everyone you failed to save here suffer for your mistakes. And I will start… with her."
Sonic's mind suddenly filled with alarm and anger and he immediately knew exactly who Metallix was talking about, "No! Ack! Leave Rainbow alone!"
Metallix simply pulled Sonic right to his face, their eyes locked on each other and their foreheads just a few inches in distance between them. The robot responded, "I looked through Robotnik's very recent files. You seem to have formed a bond with that girl. A friendship. Or perhaps… something more?"
Sonic groaned and repeatedly punched Metallix's arm, all to no avail. Metallix had grown so powerful, nothing could stop him now. And even if he had somehow lost the Emeralds in his possession during the battle, he would've just canceled out their power with the Phantom Ruby. Metallix continued to give his plan to Sonic, "After I've eliminated everything that lives and breathes on this planet, I will make you watch as I become complete with the Chaos Emeralds and the Phantom Ruby's power. Only then will I finally end your misery. And then you can see your precious deceased friends again."
Sonic choked through Metallix's grip as he was losing the strength to breathe, "No…"
Metallix's reactor core opened and the robot started placing the last three Emeralds in their spots. First the red in the left, then the yellow in the right and now all he had left was the place the turquoise Emerald in between the blue and Ruby itself. But just as he prepared to place it inside his reactor, a Chaos Spear shot out of nowhere and blasted it right out of his head.
Metallix turned his head over to see where the Chaos Spear came from and he saw that it was Gage who fired it. He held his arm as he panted, feeling tired before he quickly shouted, "Shadow, NOW!"
Shadow suddenly teleported right in between Sonic and Metallix. The robot didn't have a chance to react as the GUN agent gave him a kick to the head, making him drop Sonic on the ground and go backwards. Sonic coughed hard on the ground as he held his throat after being choked.
Metallix snarled in annoyance at the Mobian's resistance, "Worthless scum!"
Shadow suddenly dashed right towards Metallix and placed his hand right against the Phantom Ruby. Its energy along with that of the Chaos Emeralds flickered brightly with that indescribable noise following. Before Metallix could get a chance to do anything, Shadow quickly shouted as his Chaos energy shone blue, "CHAOS CONTROL!"
Immediately, Metallix was teleported out of the area with a flash of light and Phantom Chaos energy. Shadow dropped to his knees on the ground, panting from the energy he just used to send the robot away. Then his ears twitched and his head perked up when he heard Sonic coughing. He turned over to see the blue Mobian badly hurt after the battle.
Shadow and Gage quickly approached Sonic and held him up. Gage held Sonic's arm over his shoulder as his friend struggled to even stand on both feet. Shadow walked over to pick up the turquoise Emerald. He stared at the gemstone in his palm; this was the last Chaos Emerald they had. And it wouldn't make a difference.
The three Mobians glanced over to see Eggman grunting and rubbing his head from the fall, "How dare he turn against me like this?"
Eggman then glanced forward and immediately jolted in fear when he saw the three Mobians staring down at him with stern looks. He had nothing to defend himself with. Sonic pulled his arm away from Gage and started limping towards Eggman. The doctor crawled backwards away from him, "Stay back!"
Shortly, Eggman ended up backing into a wall of earth and Sonic stepped right in front of him. The Mobian grabbed the doctor by the collar of his jacket and lifted him onto his feet, snarling and hissing with rage, "This is all on you, Eggman!"
Eggman simply scoffed at Sonic in response, "It's also your fault. If you hadn't let Metal come back to me before, maybe none of this would be happening."
Shadow approached Sonic's side and pulled him back by the shoulder, making him drop Eggman on the ground. The GUN agent pulled out a pair of highly advanced handcuffs and cuffed up the doctor's hands behind his back with his arms around a tree. Eggman snarled in anger as he rapidly shook against the tree with his hands cuffed, unable to break free.
Shadow patted his hands as he stepped backwards from Eggman, "Stay here, doctor. We'll deal with you later."
Eggman growled towards the Mobians, "You idiots don't know what you're doing! He'll come back! He'll kill us all!"
The Mobians simply ignored the doctor's words as they grouped up. Shadow raised the Emerald in the air and tapped into its power, "Chaos Control!"
The three Mobians teleported away from the area, and Eggman was left alone and trapped against the tree. The doctor could only let out enraged breaths, "You won't stop him now, Sonic…"
Somewhere far out in deep outer space, a flash of light and Phantom Chaos energy went out and Metallix was warped out of it. It took a moment for him to realize where he was. He then glanced down to see that the Chaos Emeralds and the Phantom Ruby in his reactor had barely any light and energy emitting from them; Shadow had canceled out their powers all together.
And yet, though surprised that Shadow managed to pull off a Chaos Control and depowered the gemstones, Metallix simply chuckled quietly; he knew all too well that their power would eventually return, "Well played, Shadow. But this minor setback won't stop me."
With nothing left to oppose him at the moment, Metallix simply crossed his arms and lowered his head as his visor turned off. He was going to wait until the gemstones in his possession were fully powered up again. Had he not had the number of Chaos Emeralds right now, he would be tirelessly searching for them. But he only needed one more. And once he was ready, he could use his Emeralds to lock onto the last one. All that mattered was how long it would take, and the heroes were going to need as much time as they could get…
Back at Canterlot High, the school bell rang as lunchtime was over and it was time for the students to get back to class. The halls were almost immediately packed with them, all wearing Canterlot Wondercolt headbands and tails.
Twilight and her friends walked down the hall together, all smiling at the result of their plan. Everyone they saw wore Wondercolt cosmetics. Rarity was delighted at the sight, "Doesn't everyone just look fabulous?"
Twilight couldn't agree more, "It was a great idea, Rarity!"
Applejack glanced forward and noticed something that made her look displeased; Sunset Shimmer and her lackeys Snips and Snails walking past them with confident smiles, as if they still had an advantage, "Don't know what she's smilin' about. Twilight's the one that's gonna be Princess of the Fall Formal."
As Sunset walked down the hall with her apparent dominating confidence, every student she passed suddenly got afraid and backed into the wall away from her to keep their distance. And as her lackeys followed her, Snips gave the girls the "I'm watching you" look with his fingers while Snails quietly snickered. Twilight and her friends just stood and watched in confusion.
Sunset was quick to reach her apparent destination and knocked on the door to Vice-Principal Luna's office. The vice-principal was quick to respond and opened the door to see Sunset acting distraught, "Vice-Principal Luna, something terrible has happened!"
They quickly reached the gym to see something unexpected; it was all in a terrible mess. Tables were flung over with some smashed in half, decorations were ripped apart and scattered all over the floor, balloons were popped, and the disco ball had somehow fallen from the ceiling and broke in half from the landing.
Sunset continued to feign distress to Luna, giving her 'puppy dog' eyes, "Isn't this just awful? And after Pinkie Pie worked so hard to make things so perfect! Why would Twilight Sparkle do something like this?!"
At first, Luna didn't seem convinced at Sunset's claim as she believed this was just a jump to conclusions, "Why would you think Twilight would was responsible for something like this?"
Sunset's response? She pulled out a folder from her jacket, "Because I have proof."
As Luna took the folder from Sunset and opened it to see what this "proof" was, neither of them were aware that someone was observing them from afar behind the gym doors; Flash Sentry. He was stern with suspicion as he knew all too well just what Sunset was up to, but he could also tell that Twilight was going to be falsely accused and punished without the real proof. Wasting no time, he quickly set out to find something useful before he could be seen.
Shortly later, Twilight found herself sitting in the nearly complete dark abyss of Vice-Principal Luna's office with the blindfolds barely letting any sunlight in through the window. She sat in the chair in front of Luna's desk, confused as to why she was here, "But… But I don't understand!"
Luna set the folder on her desk in front of Twilight, letting it open on its own to reveal the photos inside as she asked, "This is clearly you in the photographs, is it not?"
Twilight examined the photos in front of her; each of them showing "her" wrecking the decorations. One showed her knocking a bunch of chairs over, one showed her kicking a wooden plank in half, and one showed her standing with a satisfied smile with pride.
Twilight was horrified by this evidence as she was never there since Wednesday and she certainly never did this. She tried to answer through her horror, "Y-yes, but–"
Luna briefly looked through one of the blinds and out her window before she turned towards Twilight and sternly placed her palms on her desk, "I think it should be fairly obvious that the school cannot let someone who would do something like this to compete for the Fall Formal crown."
Twilight was unable to respond; she had no evidence of her own to defend herself. She facepalmed with her elbows on the desk in distraught, believing she wouldn't be able to get her crown, her Element of Magic, back after all. But just as it seemed like all hope was lost, there was a knock on the door. Twilight and Luna glanced over to see who it was as the visitor opened the door, "Vice-Principal Luna."
The visitor was none other than Flash Sentry, but he had something in his hands. He entered the office and approached Luna, "I found these in a trash can in the library. Thought you should see them."
Twilight was surprised to see Flash come in at such timing, and with some kind of evidence of his own. Flash handed his evidence to Luna, and the vice-principal examined what he found. Immediately, she seemed intrigued by what she was presented; the evidence was three photographs of a figure playing soccer in the playing field outside. But the figure in the photos was perfectly cut out. Luna then quickly realized something, one of the poses looked familiar. She used one of Sunset's photos and held it over one of Flash's; they were a perfect match. Flash's evidence showed that Twilight had actually been playing soccer with Rainbow Dash.
Flash explained as Luna continued examining the evidence, "Someone obviously combined these photos to make it look like Twilight was the one who trashed the gym."
Luna was quick to respond through a saddened-surprised tone, "I appreciate you bringing this to my attention, Flash."
The vice-principal sat down at her desk in her chair with her hands under her chin as she spoke directly to Twilight, "In light of this new evidence, you may of course continue your bid to be crowned the Princess of the Fall Formal."
Twilight was immediately overfilled with joy while Flash opened the blinds and Luna turned the lights on. To Flash's surprise, Twilight ran up to him and gave him a hug, "Thank you! You have no idea how important this is to me!"
Twilight was quick to realize that she was probably within Flash's personal space, and she embarrassingly let go with an awkward smile and blush. Flash simply smiled and scratched his head with one hand in the pocket of his hoodie, "Actually, I kinda do. Besides, to be a true Canterlot Wondercolt, we've all gotta look out for each other."
Luna let out a sigh of regret as she stood from her desk, "I'm afraid enough damage has been done to the gym that we will have to postpone the dance until tomorrow night. If you'll excuse me, I need to let my sister know about this latest development."
As Luna walked out of her office to find Celestia, Twilight and Flash were left alone. Flash glanced over at Twilight and let out a deep breath; it was time to tell her the truth, "Twilight… I really do know how important it is for you to be Princess of the Fall Formal."
Twilight looked at Flash, curious about what he meant, to which he added, "I know about Equestria. And I know the crown is your Element of Harmony."
This left Twilight shocked with wide open eyes, "Wha… how long have you known?"
Flash put his hands in his pockets, "Sunset happened to be saying things out loud when she thought there was no one else to listen, other than Snips and Snails, of course. And after I figured out that you both came from Equestria, I realized just how important it was for you to get your crown back."
Flash added as he pointed down at Twilight's backpack which was just sitting on the floor next to the chair she previously sat on, "I also know about your talking dog, Spike."
Immediately as he said that, Spike unzipped the backpack and hopped out to show himself with surprise, "Really?"
Flash simply shrugged with a casual smile, "Yup."
Twilight smiled with overwhelming joy; there were no words to describe how grateful she was for Flash helping her. But… that smile quickly faded away from the realization of something. She needed to get back to Equestria tonight. But the dance was postponed to tomorrow, and it would already be too late, the portal would be closed. And she would be trapped in this dimension for who knows how long. She dropped to her knees on the floor in sadness, much to Flash's concern, "Twilight? Are you okay?"
Twilight responded with her head glancing at the floor, "No. It's not okay. It's not okay at all. I need to get my crown back and go back to Equestria tonight. If I don't, the portal will close and I won't be able to go back for another thirty moons."
Twilight moped as she covered her face in her arms, "Oh… what are we going to do?"
Everyone in the room was quiet. No one said a word. Spike took a moment to think, and decided on what felt like the only option they had left as he reassuringly placed his paw on her boot, "We need to find the others. Tell them the truth. Let them know what's really at stake if you don't get the crown tonight. They'll help us figure something out."
Twilight uncovered her face and hugged herself with concern; she was unsure of the possible consequences of revealing her true self to her friends, "But what if they won't? What will happen when they find out just how different I really am…?"
Twilight glanced over to her left to see a mirror on the wall. She saw her reflection and imagined back to when she was an alicorn in Equestria. Deep down, she knew all too well that she wasn't like them; she wasn't truly a human.
Flash lowered to his knee and put his hand on Twilight's shoulder with assurance, "Twilight… those girls… they rallied around you because they all saw what was in your heart. And you may not be from this world, but in some way, we act the same. We interact the same. We do the same."
As Twilight looked back at her reflection in the mirror and let reality change her pony reflection back to human, Spike agreed with Flash's support, "He's right. They won't feel any different about you when they find out you're a pony princess in Equestria. Remember, Sonic's also different, but they still treat him like he always belonged here too."
Twilight took a moment to think about this, and then she smiled when she came to the realization that they were right. She gave Spike a pat on the head, "I'm glad you followed me here, Spike."
"Me too," Spike smiled as he wagged his tail, until he glanced at the floor, "Unless, of course, we get stuck here for another thirty moons."
Flash was quick to offer Twilight his hand, "You two should find the others. I'll stay here and make sure Sunset doesn't cause any more trouble."
Twilight smiled as she accepted Flash's hand. Once she was pulled onto her feet, she gave her new friend a last smile, "Thank you, Flash."
Wasting no more time, Twilight and Spike left the office and headed out down the hall to find the other girls. Flash simply placed his hands in his pockets with a smile, "No prob, your Highness."
Meanwhile at Carousel Boutique, Rainbow, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Rarity were searching through various dresses and accessories for the Fall Formal. All were excited for the night, yet completely unaware of the dance being postponed.
Shortly, the front door opened and Twilight and Spike slowly stepped in, letting the door close behind them. Everyone glanced at them with the girls' reactions mixed between surprised and concerned. "You okay?" Applejack asked.
Twilight answered as she held her hands, "The Fall Formal isn't happening tonight."
Almost immediately, Pinkie screamed in response, "WHAT?!"
Twilight elaborated why, "It had to be postponed because Sunset Shimmer had Snips and Snails ruin all of Pinkie Pie's decorations."
Pinkie screeched even higher, "WHAT?!"
Twilight then responded sternly, "But the Fall Formal has to happen tonight."
"Wha–" Before Pinkie could scream again, Applejack covered her mouth so Twilight would get a chance to explain.
With a sigh, Twilight began to speak, "You see…"
But right before Twilight got a chance to say another word, Pinkie suddenly started talking out loud in one single breath, "You're from an alternate world and you're a pony princess there and the crown actually has a magical element embedded in it that helps power up other magical elements, and without it, they don't work anymore, and you need them to protect your magical world, and if you don't get your crown tonight, you'll be stuck here in this world and you won't be able to go back for, like, a really, really long time!"
When Pinkie finished, she had a bright toothy smile with a squeal noise. Twilight and Spike's jaws dropped in shock; how did Pinkie Pie know that? But Rainbow just scratched her head and rolled her eyes as she was in doubt, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure that isn't the reason."
Oh, but she was about to find out just how wrong she was as Spike spoke in front of them all in a straight-forward tone, "Nope, she's pretty much spot-on."
Rarity held her head as she screamed in shocked confusion, "HE CAN TALK?!"
Twilight immediately grew anxious while the rest of the girls all stood in silence with surprise. Spike just walked up as he answered with a smile, "Oh, yeah! And back where I come from, I'm not even a dog! I'm a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon!"
Spike just stood casually, as if everything that had happened was completely normal. Fluttershy, unable to contain her excitement, pushed Rarity and Pinkie aside and dropped to her palms on the floor right in front of Spike, "This is so amazing! Tell me, what are you thinking right now?"
Spike briefly looked at Fluttershy who was smiling at him with a face a bit beyond his comfort before glancing at Rarity who was still processing the fact that a talking dog was in the room. He walked over to her and sat down by her foot, "Sure would love a scratch behind the old ears!"
Rarity just glanced down at him as the only thing she could say was, "Gah…"
Spike awkwardly scratched his head embarrassed as he looked away, "Uh, maybe later."
Twilight went and asked the question literally everyone was asking themselves, "How did you know all that?"
Pinkie just casually answered with a shrug, "Just a hunch."
Applejack raised her hands and processed this news, "Wait a minute! Lemme get this straight. You're a pony?"
Rarity asked as her eye twitched, "You're a princess?"
Fluttershy sat up on her knees and raised her head, "You're from another world? Just like Sonic?"
Twilight scratched her head as she blushed nervously and gulped, "Mm-hmm…"
"That… is…" Rainbow spoke skeptically with her arms crossed, before she opened them up with a smile, "AWESOME!"
The girls all gathered around Twilight and began asking many questions about her all at once. Twilight was delighted that it actually worked as Spike smiled, "See? Told ya."
Suddenly within seconds of all the questions, there was a sudden flash of light with Chaos Energy flowing out of it. All the girls reacted in a fright from it, with Fluttershy hiding behind a curtain and Pinkie jumping into a box. When the energy vanished, Sonic, Shadow and Gage were revealed to be the source, all looking brushed up and their clothes partially ruined and dirty.
Within the first few seconds of seeing Sonic badly hurt, Rainbow ran straight up to him with a gasp, "SONIC! Are you okay?! What happened?!"
Sonic groaned as he held the side of his stomach, "We found Eggman's hideout. But we were ambushed by Metal, who's now transformed into this super robot, Metallix. He broke free of Eggman's control… ngh… and he destroyed an entire village filled with innocent people in minutes."
The girls all gasped in shock at this news. "Oh, goodness!" Rarity gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands, "Was… was anyone…?"
Gage answered as he rubbed his head, "We made sure everyone there was safely evacuated. No one was hurt, but now… their home is gone."
Fluttershy was utterly horrified as she could barely utter words, "Oh, no… those… those poor people…"
Pinkie, somehow, acted cheerful to try and keep everyone's heads up, "Well, you still have the three Chaos Emeralds with you, right?"
Sonic, Shadow and Gage all looked at Pinkie with frowns, which made her smile slowly fade, "...Right?"
Shadow raised his hand, revealing the turquoise Emerald, "This is the only one we have left. Metallix has all the rest. And even if he didn't, he also has the Phantom Ruby which can neutralize their power."
Everyone was quiet at this news; no matter what advantage they could think of, they knew Metallix would just counter it. It seemed like there was nothing that could be done. Yet, Sonic would not be deterred. He stood up straight and swiped the Emerald from Shadow, "I'm not gonna let him threaten this dimension without a fight."
Sonic began stepping towards the door with the Emerald in hand. But right after a few steps, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder. He looked over to see Shadow was stopping him, "Where do you think you're going?"
"To stop Metallix. What else, faker?"
"All by yourself?" Shadow tightened his grip on Sonic's shoulder, "You're just gonna get yourself killed."
Sonic looked away with a scoff, "Better than getting my friends killed."
"Sonic," Shadow said sternly, "You need help."
"Let go of me, Shadow," Sonic replied without looking back.
"I won't if you keep being this reckless."
Sonic swiftly turned around and slapped Shadow's hand off his shoulder, "Let GO!"
Shadow took a step backwards. Gage and the girls all watched, wondering what this was all about. Rainbow was noticing this change in Sonic's behaviour, and something was wrong; this was not him. This was not the Sonic she met. Not this confident heroic person who reminded her a lot of herself. She remembered him acting somewhat like this yesterday, and it related to something about someone he knew.
Shadow rubbed his hand, "What happened to you, Sonic?"
Sonic raised his voice as he shouted in Shadow's face, "What the HELL do you care, Shadow?!"
"You never got this angry so easily," Shadow answered calmly, "Usually in a serious life-or-death situation, you're able to keep your cool. Even better than I can myself at times. But this… this is different. Is this about them?"
Sonic snarled with his teeth gritted, "Don't you dare."
"You're just letting the past get to your head."
Sonic pointed in Shadow's face as he growled loudly, "I'm warning you, Shadow; you are walking on some seriously thin ice right now!"
Sonic turned back towards the door and started stomping his way out. Shadow's fists gripped tightly as he yelled, "Are you doing this for yourself?! You think this is what they wanted?!"
Sonic stopped walking and let out angered exhales from every word Shadow spilled; everything he heard pushed him closer and closer to the edge, and he was about to snap as his head vibrated with rage. But Shadow only continued to shout at him, "You're just going to repeat history if you do this! You think this is what Bunnie, Antoine and Rotor would want?! Do you, Sonic?!"
The mention of those names was the final straw as Sonic suddenly turned around at Shadow, furiously snarling with his eyes glowing brightly along with his lightning flickering out wildly. He suddenly dashed at him, throwing a punch in the gut with so much force and speed that so much air was forced out of his lungs, causing him to cough hard and loud.
Gage, Spike and the girls all gasped in a fright when they witnessed the argument turn into an actual fight. Those closer to the two Mobians retreated a few steps as Sonic then grabbed Shadow by the arm and swung him over his shoulder and onto the floor, causing him to land hard on his back.
Shadow attempted to get back up, but was quickly forced back down when Sonic pushed hard against him with one hand. Tears quickly built up in Sonic's eyes as he howled in absolute rage at his former rival, "DON'T YOU EVER SAY THEIR NAMES IN VAIN, YOU JACKASS!"
Sonic raised his fist with his lightning flickering brighter than ever around it. Words couldn't describe what was flowing through his mind as he wanted to let his rage out by attacking Shadow for pushing him. Everyone around was afraid to interfere as they saw just how powerful Sonic seemed to be. But just as it seemed he was about to throw the punch…
He didn't. No one said a word. Everyone was silent as Sonic held Shadow down on the floor. The latter didn't even try to move; he only looked up at Sonic with shock and stern. Sonic breathed unsteadily as his fist fidgeted in the air. He then shut his eyes as the lightning and glow slowly began to fade, lowering his jittering fist as his tears were building up by the second, "I just– I can't handle it. I can't take it anymore, Shadow."
Everyone stood where they were, not saying anything. Sonic swiftly stood up straight as Shadow pushed himself off his back, watching as the blue Mobain began to break down, "You think I haven't been trying?! I always, always pushed myself to try and talk to someone, anyone! That's just it; I don't know who to talk to! No one could ever understand! I wanted nothing more than to grow up with them, to be happy with them, to enjoy our lives together just like I have been with the others! Their deaths are on me! And if I hadn't been the idiot I was– If I wasn't born with this cursed power, none of this would've happened!"
Sonic took a few steps backwards while Gage approached and helped Shadow stand up straight. The rest of the group didn't say a word; they simply let Sonic vent his thoughts out. They all watched with worrisome expressions as he went on, "Every single day of my life, I'm reminded of the lives lost because of me! Bunnie, Antione, Rotor, Longclaw… It's my fault they're gone! For months after I finally drove that psycho away from Mobotropolis, I suppressed myself from making new friends, no matter how much it hurt. But after meeting Tails and Knuckles, I let myself change. I found new friends… both of them, along with Amy, Cream and Cheese, Blaze, Silver and a lot of others… even you, Shadow."
Shadow was silent with his eyes widened upon hearing what Sonic said about him; he was seen as a friend. Despite their rivalry and conflicts in the past, there was something more than just their mutual respect for each other to the blue hedgehog.
Sonic still had more to say as he held his arms tightly while his head tilted down looking at the floor, "For a long time, I was happy. It felt like I'd moved on. I enjoyed being a hero for years because I had people alongside me in an adventure! Right up until… The Lost Hex. That's when everything changed… Everyone I cared about was at risk. Because of my overconfidence. And all of the painful moments I experienced for the first time years ago all came back to me, even worse than it had ever felt before. And now… I'm sick of it."
Sonic then began to shout as he punched himself in the chest, "I'm sick of having to always be the big hero that everyone looks up to and expects to save the world every single day! I'm sick of always fighting! And I'm… I'm…"
For a moment, there was no word spoken by anyone as all eyes were on Sonic with worried and sadden expressions. His tear waterfalls thickened as he let out unsteady breaths. His hands constantly flinched from his anxiety, "I'm so tired… of everything. It's too much for me. I just… I just don't want to lose anyone else I love, Shadow. My friends, my mom, my uncle, my brother, my sister… my godfather and sister figure… I can't."
Sonic continued to shiver from the overwhelming stress as he dropped to his knees, barely able to hold himself together. Shadow walked up to him and bent his knee as he placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder, "I know, Sonic. I know it hurts. More than anyone else we both knew. And I understand why you didn't come back to us or your family. But suppressing your pain like this for so long won't fix it either. Trust me, I truly do know."
Sonic, overwhelmed with emotion, could barely speak through his cracking voice as he glanced at Shadow, "I… I don't know what to do…"
Shadow then did something Sonic and no else in the room expected; he pulled him into a comforting hug. Everyone was quiet; this was something Shadow had never done with anyone. He shed a few tears of his own, not holding back his own pain as he spoke quietly, "It's okay to cry, Sonic. Heroes cry too."
Sonic quietly whimpered as his tears continued to fall. The girls all looked at him sorrowfully. He had been hiding a loss he suffered for who knew how long, and it finally took its toll on him. Rainbow slowly approached Sonic and Shadow and bent down to her knees on the floor. Shadow moved back to give them space as Rainbow gently took Sonic's hands and held them between them. Sonic looked at Rainbow through his saddened state, "Dashie… I…"
Rainbow reached her hand out and wiped the tears out of her friend's eyes, "Something happened to you, Sonic. You've got a hurt, and it runs deep. I know you won't like to hear this, but I think you're long overdue for talking about it."
Sonic glanced down at the floor with hesitance, "I… I don't know if I can."
Sonic shut his eyes and quietly whimpered as more tears formed. But then they opened when he felt another hand touch his shoulder. He glanced up to see that it was Fluttershy who looked at him with worry, "Please, Sonic. You have to let it out. We want to help you, and I know we can if you just let us."
Sonic looked over and saw the rest of his friends all gathering around in a circle; they were all there for him. He then took one more look at Rainbow who shed a single tear herself and nodded, encouraging him to speak. He glanced down at the floor once more and after a long thought, he let out an exhausted exhale, "Alright… I'll– (sniff) I'll tell you everything."
FanFiction story written by Sandstorm - Books based off of the original screenplay of Meghan McCarthy
Characters of Sonic the Hedgehog owned by: SEGA and Sonic Team
Characters of Sonic the Hedgehog (Archie) owned by: Archie Comics
Characters of Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW) owned by: IDW Publishing
Characters of Sonic the Hedgehog (Film Series) owned by: Paramount Pictures
Characters of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and My Little Pony: Equestria Girls owned by: Hasbro
STORY ELEMENT INSPIRATIONS
Sonic the Hedgehog - Main Series Games by: SEGA and Sonic Team
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic/My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Series and Films by: Hasbro, Inc
Sonic the Hedgehog - Archie Comic Series by: Archie Comics
Sonic the Hedgehog - IDW Comic Series by: IDW Publishing
Sonic Cinematic Universe - Film Series by: Paramount Pictures
Super Mario Bros. Z - Fan Crossover Web Series by: Mark Haynes (Alvin-Earthworm)
Sonic Legacy - Fan Comic Series by: Sonic Paradox
Sonic Chaos Adventure - Upcoming Fan Webcomic Series by: Team Chaos (YouTube)
Sonic 06 Rewritten - Games Rewritten by: Garrulous64 (YouTube)
Break the Walls Down - Sonic and MLP Fan Story by: Super Saiyan D (FIMFiction)
Equestria Girls: Sonic the Hedgehog - Sonic and MLP Fan Story by: sonicfan05 (FIMFiction)
CHARACTER DESIGN INSPIRATIONS
Sonic the Hedgehog - Main Series Games by: SEGA and Sonic Team
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic/My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Series and Films by: Hasbro, Inc
Sonic Boom - Game Series by: SEGA and Sonic Team
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) Film by: Paramount Pictures
The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog - Fan Comic by FrostbiteWhiteKnight (DeviantArt)
Super Mario Bros. DX - Fan Crossover Sprite Series by: Smashinity (YouTube)
Other specific elements for character designs are inspired by various artists on DeviantArt.
OCs
Gage the Hedgehog - Gage the Hedgehog (FanFiction)
SONGS
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls - Cafeteria Song (Helping Twilight Win the Crown)
Techno Cinema/Adrenaline Dubs OST - The Metal Virus
Nao Stato - Resident Evil: Village OST - The Final Movement
REFERENCES
The second half of the title for this chapter is a direct reference to Mark (Alvin-Earthworm) Haynes' second episode of Super Mario Bros. Z which is titled "The New Threat".
Metal Sonic's transformation into Metallix is inspired by the transformation in both Mark (Alvin-Earthworm) Haynes' Super Mario Bros. Z and MunkyBoi's cancelled Super Mario Bros. Calamity on YouTube.
The fight between Sonic, Shadow, Gage and Metallix is similar to the fight scenes in Mark (Alvin-Earthworm) Haynes' original Super Mario Bros. Z - Episode 6: Brawl on a Vanishing Island.
Sonic and Metallix dialogue after their fight is a direct reference to that in the opening scene in Mark (Alvin-Earthworm) Haynes' original Super Mario Bros. Z - Episode 5: Trouble on Yoshi's Island.
Sonic's breakdown and argument with Shadow is heavily referencing and inspired by a mini comic created by Revk on Twitter which was later dubbed on YouTube by LandyRShambles, Trevzed and CallMeRyan.
The Mane 6 asking Sonic to tell his backstory is reminiscent of Tangle the Lemur asking Whisper the Wolf to talk about her past at the end of IDW Publishing's Sonic the Hedgehog - Tangle and Whisper: Issue 2.
This Fan Fiction story is written out of love and inspiration from the creators of Sonic the Hedgehog and My Little Pony. Anyone who is interested in using concepts, materials or ideas of character designs from my stories is allowed to do so as long as they ask me and say where the idea originally came from.