Sonic was in a dark space deep in his subconscious. In it, he saw the Madness staring at him, wearing that smile that would freeze the blood of Iblis. Then a liquid hand sprouted from the chest, and it faded into the darkness, still smiling like a maniac. Behind the Madness, Sonic saw Chaos.
"I never thought I'd have to let him go," Chaos said. "And truth be told I regret it more now that it happened."
"What was that thing!?" Sonic asked. Chaos moved his hand to his side, and hung his head low.
"That was my biggest Wrongdoing. If a god had a child with a mortal, they'd regret giving the child the fate of a hero, it's almost never pretty. That's the same way I feel about giving you Hysteria, the God of Madness."
"That was a god!?"
"Centuries ago, before the Master Emerald or the Chaos Emeralds ever existed I was in a never ending struggle. Hysteria was planning to completely eradicate life on Mobius, including his own. He thought that the perfect world was completely peaceful, and life itself was a violation of that peace. Now I don't believe that the perfect world is entirely chaotic, but if the world were completely peaceful, there'd be no one left to enjoy it, and if the world were completely chaotic, it'd get peaceful within one day. I know that peace and chaos existing in equilibrium is the key to a perfect world. There would be times of war, and there would be times of peace. But conflict is the key to accomplishment.
"I saw no end to the fighting, which took hundreds of lives each day. Then I had no choice but to seal Hysteria away… one of my first subjects was a hedgehog from South Island. His name was Sanctor the Hedgehog. He took it willingly, accepting the monster into his Deoxyribonucleic Acid. But this meant that his descendants would have the monster within them to pass on to their descendants… you should probably get where this is going by now."
"I… Inherited… Hysteria?" Sonic said.
"Yes, now that he is gone, there is no reason for him to ever use you again."
"Was it really me? Doing all that stuff?"
"No… that was a hybrid of your spirit and Hysteria's," Chaos seemed to be listening to something. "It seems an old friend of yours is bidding you to awaken… who would I be to deny him?"
Rainbow DashDash was about to check on Spike and Sonic. She heard a voice… it sounded familiar, and it was telling Sonic to wake up.
"Sonic! Sonic!" it said. "Baldy Nosehair is up to another evil scheme!" Rainbow opened the door to find one of the creatures that she saw in Sonic's Memories, the ones being used to power that giant robot. There was another instance where she saw this thing… specifically.
"Rainbow Dash!" it said.
"Who are you? And how do you know Sonic?" Dashy asked.
"Sonic saved my planet and it's people from that cruel human, Baldy Nosehair. My name is Yacker, of the Wisps."
"'Baldy Nosehair?'" Rainbow almost made it without laughing at what Yacker just called Eggman. Almost. She laughed so hard that it woke Sonic up like a living alarm clock.
"Yack…er?" he said as he regained his senses.
"Hello again old friend," Yacker replied. Sonic flipped.
"Did I just understand you!?"
"That's something special about this planet's atmosphere. Translates any intelligent language into any other."
"Can I ask a question…Yacker?"
"Yes, Rainbow Dash?"
"How do you know me?"
"Planet Wisp is only about two hours away… when going at the speed I can go, that is. And our months are the equivalent of two of your years. For me it's been about six months since I last saw you and your parents, Rainbow."
"My parents… passed five years ago…"
"How old are you?"
"Twelve…"
"It's been twelve of your years since I last saw you… I am your father's best friend."
"You!?"
Whatever it was that Rainbow was feeling was cut short by Rarity yelling at someone.
Sonic"Why in Equestria would you want to go and fight something that's too challenging for Sonic!?" she yelled at Spike. "Just because he tried to hurt you, doesn't mean you should be going around picking fights you'd lose if your opponent accepted them!" Spike was hanging his head, his fists were clenched, and tears were streaming from his eyes.
"I didn't fight Mephiles because of what he tried to do," Spike said. Sonic wanted to know where this was going. Yeah he knew Spike for months but he didn't see this coming. "I fought him because of what he accomplished," Rarity looked confused. "He hurt you because you pushed me out of the way of that boulder. I just can't forgive that!"
Rarity was shocked. Then that shock turned back into confusion.
"Would you have gone back if you were with any pony else?" she asked.
"No… if they told me to leave it alone, I would…but…" Spike said.
"I know where this is going," Rainbow whispered in Sonic's ear.
"But?" Rarity queried.
"But… they are all my friends… I don't think of you as a 'friend,'" Spike said. "I've never thought of you as a friend, not since the day Twilight and I moved here!" Rarity's eyes grew wider by the second. "I did it… because… I love you!"
Rarity was quiet for a moment, as Spike ran out of the Castle… Nobody saw Spike again for a week. When sonic finally found Spike, he was with Rarity, who was trying to convince him to come home. Finally she just started singing, and it made him feel different… like she was someone who needed to be cared for like a child.
I always needed time on my own
I never thought I'd need you there when I cry
And the days feel like years when I'm alone
And the bed where you lie
Is made up on your side
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you
I've never felt this way before
Everything that I do reminds me of you
And the clothes you left, they lie on the floor
And they smell just like you,
I love the things that you do
When you walk away I count the steps that you take
Do you see how much I need you right now?
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear to always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you
We were made for each other
Out here forever
I know we were, yeah, yeah
All I ever wanted was for you to know
Everything I do, I give my heart and soul
I can hardly breathe, I need to feel you here with me, yeah
When you're gone
The pieces of my heart are missing you
When you're gone
The face I came to know is missing too
When you're gone
The words I need to hear will always get me through the day
And make it OK
I miss you.
Spike looked like he was trying to find some indication of a lie in this song. Rarity made sure he knew there was none… by kissing him. The blue Emerald was restored, bringing the power of water back to Chaos.