Later at the Ponyville library, Tails was bewildered. As he walked back and forth, trying to put together the pieces of the puzzle, Sonic sat on laid back on the couch, snacking on some cupcakes. He inserted one of them into his mouth before chewing on it and swallowing with a sigh.
"Wow...this adventure's off to a slow start." he said before taking another cupcake from the box.
Tails frowned. "Well...we can't do anything until we find out what Eggman's after. So far I can't think of anything...I mean...The Chaos Emeralds are back at my workshop in the mystic ruins. What else could he want?" asked the two tailed fox, perplexed.
Sonic pondered. "Maybe this world has powerful artifacts like the emeralds and he could be after them. Just a guess..."
Tails chuckled a bit before Twilight entered and looked around. "What have you guys been up to?" she asked curiously.
Tails stopped and turned to the purple unicorn. "Well...we're just trying to figure out why Eggman's here and what he's after."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Eggman?"
Sonic hopped up from the couch. "You know. That bloated, red, egg-shaped nut with the long nose hairs. He almost crushed you with that toy of his." Sonic explained before Twilight frowned with a nervous expression.
"Oh right...him. So I'm guessing you and Tails have a history with him?" she asked.
"You have no idea." Sonic and Tails answered together.
Twilight nodded before trotting over to the couch and finding the box of cupcakes. "Hey! It's empty! Who ate them?" she asked, turning to the two.
Tails turned to Sonic who sweatdropped. "Heheh...i couldn't resist." He shrugged. Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated the box into the trash.
Tails suddenly beamed. "That's it! Twilight? Do you have anything powered by electricity?" he asked.
Twilight nodded with a confused expression. "Uh...yeah. I have some electrical equipment in the basement. Why do you ask?"
Sonic was now on the same page as Tails and smiled. "Twilight, get ready to see Tails at his best!" he exclaimed with a grin.
The two followed Tails down into the basement.
Twilight used her magic to turn the lights on. The room was filled with all kinds of electrical equipment, a machine resembling a pulse reader, a data printer, etc.
Tails was amazed. "This will be more than enough for what i'll need!" he said before pulling out his hand held device, grabbing a nearby box of tools, and going to work.
Sonic chuckled while Twilight just stared in curiosity.
"What's he doing?" she turned to the blue hedgehog.
"Just doing what he does best! Being the greatest mechanic ever!" He exclaimed.
Twilight tilted her head. "Mechanic...? So...he builds and repairs stuff?"
Sonic nodded. "Erm...something like that. Let's just leave him alone and let him do his thing." he said before heading back upstairs.
Twilight hesitated for a bit before following Sonic.
The next day, the sky was rather darker than usual. Sonic had decided to lend Applejack a hand and help her with apple bucking. Twilight was nearby reading a book while Spike and Applejack watched Sonic dash to one tree to the next, unleashing a homing attack to each one. Applejack had to hold onto her hat when Sonic would zoom by.
"Ooowee! Sonic ain't even slowing down yet! I'm mighty impressed!" Applejack commented.
Sonic halted. "You should see me when i REALLY get going!" he said before rushing off to get the last tree then coming back.
Spike jumped excitedly. "That was AWESOME! I thought Rainbow Dash is the only one that can go that fast!" he exclaimed.
Sonic chuckled as he as he sat next in between Applejack and Twilight. "Heheh. Start getting used to that. I'll be all over the place as long as i'm here."
Applejack giggled. "Care for some Apple Cider? You look like y'all could use something refreshing." asked the orange earth pony.
Sonic pondered. "Guess it wouldn't hurt to take a quick break. Sure!" Applejack turned to go get a cider barrel but dove out of the way due to Rainbow Dash rapidly approaching.
The rainbow maned pegasus stopped in front of Sonic. "Hey Sonic! Tails wants to see you real quick. He said it's really important!" she announced.
Sonic nodded and hopped to his feet. "Important eh? Sorry AJ but the cider can wait!" He said before dashing off towards the library.
Meanwhile, Tails had just finished assembling his new machine and was sitting in on a stool now focused on a computer monitor, typing in commands on the keyboard.
"Hmm...Just need to pinpoint the exact location..." He suddenly looked back to Twilight's pet owl, Owlicious, who had apparently seen an error in his typing and alerted the two tailed fox by hooting. "Huh? Oh! Right. Thanks." He looked back to the screen and corrected the mistake before continuing on.
Suddenly, Sonic rushed through the basement door and jumped downstairs before walking up to Tails. "Hey Tails! What's up? You wanted to see me right?" He asked, looking at the machine curiously.
Tails nodded and turned to face the blue hedgehog. "Yeah! I just finished building this computer that monitors and reads any odd energy readings as well as giving us a detailed map of Equestria. So far, i've been picking up some strange signals from the Evergreen Forest..."
He was cut off by Owlicious who corrected him again. "Oh. EverFREE forest. Actually...That's where it's been the most active. Turns out ALL of Equestria is giving off some strange energy." he added.
Sonic gave a puzzled expression. "Uh...and what would that mean? We know Eggman is after something...but what?"
Twilight entered the room and gazed up at the machine. "Wow. Tails built THIS? Uh...what is it?" she asked.
Sonic turned to her. "It's some kind of energy detector and detailed map of Equestria." He explained.
Tails nodded. "Hey Twilight. Is there some kind of powerful magic in Equestria?" he asked.
Twilight gave a puzzled expression. "Powerful magic? You mean the Elements of Harmony?" she asked before Sonic and Tails stared quizzically. "The what?" they both asked.
Twilight rolled her eyes as she levitated over a book and began to read aloud its content.
"The Elements of Harmony are 6 supernatural artifacts which are arguably the most powerful force in Equestria, though the extent and nature of their power are largely unspecified. Each artifact represents an element of friendship and can presumably only work if wielded by one who possesses the corresponding trait, and only if all are used together. They have been wielded on rare occasions, particularly during events marked by pandemonium and anarchy as a last resort to restore and enforce the balance of peace and order. However, the effects of their use are generally temporary and non-lethal. The elements of Friendship consist of Honesty, Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, and Magic." she closed the book and find Sonic and Tails with impressed and curious expressions.
"Wow...that sounds a lot like the Chaos Emeralds from OUR world." Tails stepped forward to explain. "Each Chaos Emerald is said to possess mystical properties and contains unlimited amounts of highly potent and powerful Chaos Energy that is said to give life to all things. The main power of each Chaos Emerald is described as being able to "transform thoughts into power", implying they have some form of reality-warping capability. This allows them to perform certain feats, such as showing visions, perform rituals and even revive the recently deceased. Foremost, however, this power allows the Chaos Emeralds to generate the Chaos Energy they contain, making it the source of the emeralds vast energies. This makes the Chaos Emeralds an everlasting source of pure energy and enables them to float in the air by themselves. This energy can be harnessed from the Chaos Emeralds, either by their wielders, or machinery and can be used for various purposes. This energy can even be drawn and reacted from the emeralds without physical contact and be done so over great distances, but they still have to be in close vicinity to the user.
When someone harnesses the power of one or more of the Chaos Emeralds, they can perform different Chaos Powers, and occasionally get their own abilities enhanced. When absorbing all seven Chaos Emeralds, they can initiate a super transformation, which allows a person to enter a Super State, an enhanced form that gives a person the power to fly, near invincibility, increased Chaos Powers, and improved physical - and special - abilities. These transformations, however, do not last long, as they quickly consume energy and require a special type of energy to be maintained over longer periods of time. The energies of these super transformations can also be given from one Super State to another character to allow that person to achieve a Super State of their own."
Twilight was baffled. "Wow...wait..." she rushed to the monitor and gasped. "EGGMAN HAS THE ELEMENTS!"