Sonic: Adventures in Equestria: Journey Beyond Equestria/Transcript

This is the transcript for Sonic: Adventures in Equestria: Journey Beyond Equestria

Prologue/The Friendship Festival/We've Got This Together

[The film opens up as several glass stained windows magically appear on screen]

Twilight Sparkle: [voiceover] In the magical land of Equestria, we have twelve powerful Princesses: one for the day, one for the night, one for love and family, and then there's us, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Trixie Lulamoon, Sunset Shimmer, and Starlight Glimmer, the Princesses of Harmony. It is our royal duty to make sure everypony feels like they belong. It's a lot to live up to. I mean, "Princess"? No pressure. Luckily, we have amazing friends who are there for us no matter what. That's what we want for everypony. And we always believe that as long as we have our friends and a well thought-out plan, we will be the Princesses everypony needs us to be.

[the stained glass windows suddenly starts to crack]

Twilight Sparkle: [voiceover] But some things...

[the window completely shatters]

Tempest Shadow: ...you just can't plan for. [chuckles evilly]

[Across the seas far from the kingdom of Equestria lies a kingdom surrounded by storms. Many airships sailed through the skies, coming in and out from the northeast, docking near a dark, pointed spire castle in the mountains. One of the airships approached the castle, hovering down to the private docking bay. As the ramp lowered down, several large, white primate-looking creatures with long tails marched down in pairs, all of them wielding two-pronged spears, black kite shields, and black and dark gray armor, their lower legs and arms between their shoulders and hands exposed. Behind them were two creatures unlike the primate guards, one a short gray hedgehog with a white mohawk while wearing a just a black vest, the other a dark purple mare, bearing a similar style of hair as the hedgehog, but her hair was a dark magenta. She wore black armor protecting her torso and flanks while wearing a pair of armored horsehoes that went a short way up her fetlocks. On her forehead was what was supposed to be a horn, only it was broken off, and she bore a scar running over her right eye. All of this small army bore two slitted markings on their armor, the tops curved slightly to look like horns, and they seemed to glow an eerie light blue on their dark outfitt]

[On the unicorn's back was what appeared to be a staff, the top end zigzagging until it reached a long, light-blue crystal embedded in it]

Grubber: So, we've got this staff the Storm King's wanted. How'd you know where it would be?

Tempest Shadow: I do my research, and I have my ways. The problem is that the Staff of Sacanas needs powerful magic from the alicorn princesses in order to be active.

Grubber: And...he isn't gonna be happy about that.

Tempest Shadow: We'll head for Canterlot once we deliver him the staff. They have a pretty poor record of protecting themselves from threats, and the Storm King's army, along with our secret weapon, will bring those ponies to their knees. Not even the princesses can hold a candle to what we have.

[The scene then cuts to Dr. Eggman watching his previous defeats from his lab. Metal Sonic, Orbot, Cubot, Cluck, Snively, Eggette, Decoe, Bocoe, Bokkun, Scratch, Grounder, Coconuts, Lien-Da, Sleet, Dingo, Thrash, Speedy, Infinite, Speedy, Doctor Starline, Rough, Tumble, Mimic, Eggman Nega, Neo Metal Sonic, Morpho, Captain Whisker, Zavok, Clutch, and Heavy King watching]

Dr. Eggman: Sonic. How I hate him. [pounds on the screen] And one day, all of that loathing will finally allow me to defeat him and those other Freedom Fighter chumps! Every defeat. Every humiliation at the Hedgehog's hands will be returned a thousandfold one of these days. Once I've destroyed them all, I'll finally get to expand the Eggman Empire across the globe, and conquer the world! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!

Orbot: The boss really means business this time!

Cubot: Mm hm, he sure does!

Infinite: [his body was slightly glitching, in addition, the Phantom Ruby was still in its' overclocked state] Honestly, couldn't he just go out and destroy him now instead of just wasting time?

Doctor Starline: Maybe, Infinite, maybe...

Lien-Da: [noticing Infinite's body glitching] Uh, Infinite, are you well, you don't seem to look yourself?

Infinite: Eh, the Phantom Ruby's just acting up is all, it should be fine in a minute... [his body stops glitching] Now that's better.

Lien-Da: I'm quite concerned about your mental health, Infinite, I would advise you stop using the Phantom Ruby so much.

Infinite: [ignores her] Nah...

Snively: Honestly, he relies on that thing more than Eggman relies on the Eggmobile!

Infinite: Do I have to send you to Null Space, Snively?

Snively: [gulps] No... [chuckles]

Infinite: That's what I thought.

Decoe: So, Dr. Eggman, do we have any big plans yet?

Bocoe: Yeah, you seem quite excited to destroy Sonic today.

Zavok: Yes, I'm gonna have to agree, as much as I'd rather destroy the hedgehog myself, the Deadly Six would rather have your input first.

Dr. Eggman: Not yet, for now, we'll just buy our time...

Morpho: Uh, okay, better come up with something soon then.

Heavy King: Yeah, though, this has got me wondering, what is Sonic and those other losers up to?

[The scene then cut to a great day in the magical kingdom of Equestria, it had been a month since the Pillars of Equestria had returned from their millennia of imprisonment in limbo, and now, the Mane Nine decided to host a special event for all of Equestria she calls the Festival of Friendship, For the festival, which was going to be held in Canterlot, Twilight had laid out a plan for what'll be there, and every pony was invited if they were able to come. Word had spread quickly within the first few days, and already, several cities across the kingdom were waiting in anticipation for the festival]

[The day of the festival was near, and Canterlot was already packed, and more just keep coming. Decorations were getting set up, pastries and a plethora of different dishes were being prepared for the huge banquet of a buffet, and everyone was excited for the Festival of Friendship to start, a majority of the Freedom Fighters were also there, making sure everything was in check and nothing was going wrong. Out on the streets, Spike was passing by guests and locals, several scrolls held tightly in his arms as he made his way to the castle]

Spike: 'Scuse me! Dragon on the move! Important princess documents comin' through!

S04E26 Unnamed Earth Mare #1: Whoa! Everypony from Manehattan to Saddle Arabia is here!

Apple Cobbler: I know, filly! We almost couldn't book a stable!

Clear Skies: The Princesses of Harmony must have their hooves full with this giant Festival!

Female Pony 2: Are you kidding?! They're smart and organized and cool under pressure! There's nothing they can't handle!

[As Spike hurried down the road, he overheard some of the ponies talking about the festival, how lucky they were to get a room at the many hotels around Canterlot, and about the girls hosting this spectacle while not freaking out about the preparations]

Sonic: It's only been a few weeks since we brought the Pillars back, and I still love what they've done with the place.

Sapphire: Uh-huh! It almost looks like a entirely different place now.

Digit: It did seem obvious the castle was gonna need renovations sooner or later.

[Spike rushed to the doors]

Sapphire: Let me get that for you. [opens the door]

Spike: Thanks, Sapphire! [rushes off]

Sonic: Why is he in such a hurry?

Tails: Well, he seemed to be carrying a few things, maybe it's something to do with the festival?

Sonic: Yeah, good point, still, I've gotta admit, this festival looks epic, everyone and their parents are wanna gonna come here.

Knuckles: That's because everybody is excited that today's the day that will be memorable! [pats Tails hard on the back]

[Inside the castle, the Mane Nine were about to go talk to the other princesses, with Twilight meditating to keep herself calm only to start stressing out again]

Twilight Sparkle: Ommmmm... Ohhhhhhh mmmmy goodness, I can't handle this! Ooh! Nothing is working! I just have to get it together! Just go in there! And ask! This is your Friendship Festival! Everypony's happiness rests in your hooves. [facehoofs] Ohhhh!

Applejack: Twilight, with all due respect, don't you think you're thinking a bit too hard.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, sorry for stressing out, but come on, we've been planning the Festival for months now.

Pinkie Pie: Relax, Twi, you're not doing it alone, you have us, remember?

Sunset Shimmer: Yeah, we do kinda have the same feelings as well, heh-heh.

Spike: [arrives] Okay, Twilight. Got all your charts and graphs.

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, thank goodness you're here, Spike! I'm just so nervous about this meeting!

Spike: Whachoo talkin' 'bout?

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] My friends and I are about to ask the three most royal princesses of Equestria for a huge favor! What if they reject us?

Starlight Glimmer: I mean, she does kinda have a point.

Trixie Lulamoon: Yeah.

Spike: It'll be fine. Just remember the most important thing.

Twilight Sparkle: Smile?!

Rarity: Wave?

Shine: Girls, don’t be such worrywarts. The princesses will be able to take part of your plan for the Friendship Festival.

Spike: Yeah, it shouldn't be that bad. Presides, you nine are princesses, too.

Gem: Shine and Spike have a point. A true princess must stay calm under pressure, even when there’s something she cannot handle. So neither of you should worry too much.

Rainbow Dash: Spike and our Jewel Pixie Animals are right. I mean, c'mon Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle: Right!

[The Mane Nine stepped into the throne room where Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Cadance had been waiting for the girls for the meeting they requested from them]

Twilight Sparkle: [exhales] Good morning, Princesses. Thank you all for seeing us.

Sunset Shimmer: We have an idea that we think will make our Friendship Festival the most wonderful celebration Equestria has ever seen!

Princess Celestia: Yes, girls! We are very excited!

Princess Cadance: Ponies have been arriving from all over all morning.

Princess Luna: I'd like to think it's to see us, but Songbird Serenade might be the bigger attraction.

Pinkie Pie: Yes, she is the... "mane" event! [giggles]

Twilight Sparkle: And to make it extra special, we could use your help. Spike?

[Spike brought in a massive whiteboard with the Mane Nine's plan all mapped out on it]

Spike: [humming fanfare]

Twilight Sparkle: Songbird Serenade's performance is not scheduled to start until after you begin the sunset. And based on my precise calculation, to get the very best lighting for the stage, Princess Celestia, we were hoping you could make sure the sun stays about 28.1º to the south.

Starlight Glimmer: And, Princess Luna, if you could raise the moon 62º to the north at the same time, it would reflect the sunlight on the other side and really frame the entire stage perfectly!

[Already, the princesses were a bit baffled by this idea]

Princess Luna: I...

Fluttershy: But wait! There's more!

Pinkie Pie: Cadance, if you could use your crystal magic to create an aurora above the stage, the sun and the moon will shine through it and create a truly amazing light show!

[To emphasize Cadence's job, Spike managed to climb up the back of the whiteboard, tossed a bit of sparkling dust above it, then held up a cutout of the performing artist that would sing in the show]

Spike: Presenting Songbird Serenade! Yeah, yeah, yeah! [the small cutout Spike was holding while he was humming and dancing to emphasize the performance showed what she looked like: a pale yellow pegasus, really fluffed black and yellow hair that covered her eyes, a stylish black shirt, a large pink bow on her head, and her cutie mark looked like a rain cloud sprinkling over six hearts, each of them a color of the rainbow. Spike ended up slipping from his perch, falling on his back with a painful thud; weakly] Ta-da...

[Twilight nervously spread her wing, hiding Spike's slip and fall with a sheepish grin, ending the presentation of her favor to the princesses. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance looked at them with surprised looks on their faces]

Princess Luna: [still perturbed by this complex idea] So you're saying you want us to move the sun and the moon for the party.

Trixie Lulamoon: Well, we'd do it ourselves, except we don't have your magic. [snorts]

Princess Celestia: Girls, each of us use our powers to serve Equestria in our own way. You are the Princesses of Harmony. You nine already have all the magic you need.

[The Mane Nine looked at each other in confusion]

Twilight Sparkle: So... that'd be a no?

Princess Cadance: [chuckles] Sorry, girls. It's a no.

[Unknowingly to the princesses, Doctor Starline was watching just outside the throne room, watching them through the keyhole]

Doctor Starline: [laughs] Wow, I can't believe how much of a fail that was, I wonder if the doctor would like to know about this festival. [Eggman's hand suddenly appears through Starline's portal and grabs Starline by the neck] Gak! [gets pulled through the portal back into Eggman's base]

Dr. Eggman: What did I tell you about sneaking away unnoticed?!

Doctor Starline: In my defense, I forgot to close the portal behind me, but whatever.

Dr. Eggman: Right...

[Meanwhile, back at the party, the Friendship Festival was going perfectly. Ponies, Mobians, and other creatures were getting along. Up in the skies above the mountain city of Canterlot, a blue blur blur dashed through the clouds, poofing them away and clearing up the air around a section of the city]

Sonic: [running freely on the clouds with butterfly wings] Woo-hoo! [kicks the cloud away] That's right, sky will be clear in no time!

Tails: [piloting the Tornado] Great work there. Everything must be perfect just like Twilight and the others expected it to be.

Knuckles: [punches a cloud away] And making sure Twilight doesn't go too crazy with stress and worry.

Sonic: Keep up the good work, guys. This festival needs to be perfect like what Twilight wanted and expected it to be

Tails: With a good third of the Freedom Fighters and even Team Overlander popping in to help, we should be done in no time!

Reaper: Yeah, though if anything, you're lucky our schedule for today was clear.

Marcus: I mean, Eggman attacks have been rather dry lately.

Damian: Indeed, so this is a nice change of pace from our usual business.

[Amy was doing the bows of the stage with Tunette's aid]

Marine: Isn't it such a beautiful day?

Perci: It's a perfect day for a festival.

Mina Mongoose: [singsongy] The Festival of Friendship!

Vanessa: Yeah. I'll admit, Twilight and the others know how to run a festival.

Jayden: I'm just happy we got to help.

Kristy: Yeah, me too.

Tunette: Excellent focus, Amy. These bows on the stage need to be perfectly decorated.

Amy Rose: [giggles] Of course.

Troy: You said it

[Cream flew over with Cheese]

Cream: You're doing great so, Miss Rose.

Cheese: Chao-chao.

Tunette: Not too fast, not too slow, and not too hasty. [satisfied] Hmm! Perfectly perfect.

Whisper: Got it.

Tangle: Thanks for inviting us to tag along, it's been a while since I've been involved in a festival.

Charmy: It's a good idea that Applejack is making her delicious apple cider as drinks for the festival.

Vector: Uh-huh, Charmy!

Mighty: I mean, it's not much, but it's honest work.

Ray: Yeah, I agree.

Espio: Hey Tails, want some of Applejack's apple cider?

Tails: [flies down, wiping the sweat off] Thanks Espio! [drinks his cup of apple cider]

[The Mane Nine were seen walking through the festival, Twilight holding a checklist]

Twilight Sparkle: Okay, just two hundred and eighteen things left to do and we're ready.

Sonic: Oh, hey there, girls!

Cream: Miss Sparkle, we are really looking forward to this celebration.

Sally Acorn: Yeah, I'll be interested to see if the Festival of Friendship is as incredible as we've all heard.

Sunset Shimmer: Yes. We shall see.

Sonic: Well I gotta say that you girls really pulled through with this festival.

Tails: Yeah, this has gotta be, like, the BIGGEST party ever!!!

Twilight Sparkle: Well, we can't take all the credit. It was a combined effort from everypony. WE made this happen. WE unified two different worlds with the Magic of Friendship. WE made all of this possible.

Rainbow Dash: Well yeah, I mean we're awesome!

Fluttershy: I'm so proud of us.

Rarity: I concur, darling. This truly is a momentous occasion.

[Twilight's friends nodded and they walked to the center of the festival. As they walked, Twilight and her friends greeted everyone that passed them. This felt good. This felt right. This felt like true harmony. Twilight smiled contently, Everything was going to be just fine. Everything would go the way it's supposed to]

Rouge: Oh, hey girls. How'd it go with the other Princesses?

Diamond: Yeah, did they like your idea?

Charmy: I bet they loved it!

Angela: [notices the worried looks on the Mane Nine's face] Come on, you can tell us.

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] Not exactly. They think we can make today perfect without their magic.

Tunette: And they are absolutely right, darling.

Amy Rose: This festival is your brilliant idea and we know you're all up to the task!

Twilight Sparkle: But what if we're not?! What if Songbird Serenade hates the stage?! Or nopony makes a new friend?! And if we fail at the festival, then who are we?!

Pinkie Pie: Twilight, look at me! This will be the biggest celebration Equestria has ever seen! As the Princesses of Harmony, we cannot fail! This day will define who we are! The pressure is intense! It's almost too much for any single pony to handle! [screams]

[Some ponies gasped while some of our heroes roll their eyes at Pinkie's antics as usual]

Pinkie Pie: But we've Sonic and the others to help us! So stop worrying.

Sonic: Pinkie's right, we're all in this together, Twilight.

Tunette: Pressure is intense indeed, but you shouldn't always assume the worst, even if something doesn't go the way you planned. Too much stress is just bad for you.

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] You're right. Anyways, let's go ahead and finish everything else that needs doing.

[Applejack]

It's time to show 'em what you've got

[Rarity]

It's time to go and get things done

[Fluttershy]

But you don't have to do it on your own

[Pinkie Pie]

'Cause you've got friends right here to make it fun

[Mane Five]

We got this, you got this

We got this together

Twilight Sparkle: Huh?

Spike: Whoa!

[Rainbow Dash]

Sometimes the pressure gets you down

And the clouds are dark and grey

Just kick them off and let the sun shine through

And scary as it seems, more help is on the way

'Cause friends have friends that wanna help out, too

[Rainbow Dash and Wonderbolts]

We got this, you got this

We got this together

[Crowd]

It's the Festival of Friendship

And we can get it done

A festival that they won't forget

A party to be proud of

A day of games and fun

Just you wait and see

A magic day in perfect harmony

[Fluttershy]

You got this

[Bird]

[whistles melody]

[Fluttershy and bird whistle]

We got this together

[Applejack]

With friends and family, you are never alone

If you need help, we've got your back

You can be honest, let your problems be known

[Applejack and Apple family]

'Cause you got us to pick up the slack

We got this

[Big McIntosh]

Eeyup!

[Apple family]

We got this together

[Rarity]

Pay attention to the details

Every gem even-spaced

Make the colors perfect

[Spike]

Takin' one or two to taste

[Rarity]

Inside and out, beautiful throughout

Generosity is what we're all about

[Spike]

[mouthful] You got this

[Rarity]

You got this

[Rarity and Spike]

We got this together

[Twilight Sparkle]

Today needs to be perfect, it all comes down to me

I don't know if I'm ready

For all the things they need me to be

I am the Princess of Friendship

But that is more than just a crown

It's a promise to bring ponies together

And never let anypony down

[Pinkie Pie]

We've got an awful lot to bake

Each pony needs a piece of cake

Oh, wait! There's something better we can do

We're gonna need some more supplies

To make a really big surprise

She'll be so shocked—she's sure to love it, too!

You got this!

We got this together!

[All]

It's the Festival of Friendship

Together we are one

A day we will never forget

And now everything is ready

So when the day is done

[Rainbow Dash]

The weather

[Applejack]

The banquet

[Rarity]

The style

[Fluttershy]

And music

[All]

All will be in perfect harmony!

[Everything was all set up, and the festival would begin sooner than planned. Behind the stage, a massive cannon barrel rose up, aimed for the sky, and upon firing, startled everyone with the loud boom while confetti rained out, along with a five-layered cake with strawberry and vanilla frosting, candles included. They all looked up, Twilight gasping in surprise and shock, but not in the way Pinkie imagined. The cake fell right on top of her, letting out a yelp as each layer plopped on her while everyone winced and backed away slightly. The cake looked wobbly despite landing perfectly and symmetrical, but it went from gelatinous to liquefied, the batter barely baked as it left a huge puddle that got to the rest of the group's feet]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps, yells, groans]

[ponies gasping]

Shine: Oh my.

Twilight Sparkle: [popped her head out of the unfinished cake, splashing frosting and batter on him while coated in it herself; annoyed] Pinkie! [winced when a candle landed perfectly on the tip of her horn]

Discord: Good show! [claps; stepped through the batter to the center mass of the cake] Cake could've been better though...

Reaper: Good grief....

Rouge: Twi? You okay, hon?

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, I'm fine.

Jayden: Good to hear.

[Pinkie peeked out from the barrel of the cannon, no one knowing how she got in there without climbing up the fifty yard-long confetti/baking cannon]

Pinkie Pie: Oopsie! Guess my easy bake confetti cake cannon needs a little bit more fine tuning!

Shadow: ...How...? How is a CANNON supposed to BAKE cake batter enough to be considered tuned up fine!?

Relic: Don't question it.

Fixit: Yeah.

Sonic: I'm still surprised you want to be here, Shadow.

Shadow: [scoffs, folded his arms] Let's make one thing very clear, Hedgehog. I came to this festival as a representative of G.U.N. I could care less about friendship.

Sonic: C'mon, you don't have to lie to us.

Shadow: ...Right, sorry. Not sure if I'd even be here had Perci not convinced me to.

[Twilight let out a huff, blowing out the flame that was on the candle. Sonic helped his friend out while they began hearing ponies voicing their excitement about someone as they made their way through the crowd. Two dark gray stallions in business suits and earpieces, one bald while the other had a black afro and mustache, pushed the crowd back, letting the star of the festival for the performance through: Songbird Serenade. Twilight immediately felt embarrassed, getting covered in frosting while meeting the famous singing celebrity, who arrived earlier than the alicorn expected]

Male Pony 1: Songbird Serenade? Is it really her? It is, it is!

Kristy: Hey, you're right.

Songbird Serenade: Hiya. I'm lookin' for the pony in charge?

[Out of nowhere, the photogenically crazed photographer, Photo Finish, went around and snapped random pictures of the songstress with her camera. Songbird happily obliged with the overly enthusiastic photographer's paparazzi attack, striking several different poses for each perfect shot before addressing who was in charge of the festival]

Songbird Serenade: I need to set up for my sound check.

Twilight Sparkle: Uh, Songbird Serenade? Um, I was just going to check on you. [laughs nervously] I'm Princess Twilight, and sorry about the mess. I'm usually not so... [accidentally flings frosting onto Songbird's shirt]

Songbird Serenade: Caked in cake?

Twilight Sparkle: [giggles nervously] Oh. Umm... Sorry about that.

Songbird Serenade: Oh don't worry about it. I've had stranger things flung at me that wasn't what I believe would have been an amazing cake.

Songbird Serenade's Agent: You have visual on buttercream?

Songbird Serenade's Bodyguard: Visual confirmed. Go for cleanup. [approached Songbird and wiped off the "offending" frosting off her shirt]

Sonic: [licked his lips and gave the frosting a smack] Mmm. Strawberry frosting.

The Storm King's Army Attacks/Enter Tempest Shadow/The Heroes Escape/The Adventure Begins

[All thoughts about Twilight's cake makeover was forgotten almost in a blink. There was not a single guest who wasn't looking up into the sky, following the unexpected sound of thunder. Why would there be thunder on a perfectly clear sky? Stranger still, it sounded incredibly close. Like, right above their heads close. A massive storm cloud of brown and sickly green smoke suddenly formed overhead. The Freedom Fighters looked up curiously, seeing a storm coming in, even though the clouds over Canterlot had been cleared away]

Rotor: What the?!

Amy Rose: [worried] Huh?

Shine: What's happening?

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] Storm clouds? I ordered perfect weather! Rainbow Dash?!

Rainbow Dash: Uh... I... don't think those are storm clouds.

Gamma: Scanning... Confirmed, these are not normal storm clouds. Concern levels: rising.

Digit: That's strange, I don't remember seeing these kinds of clouds this morning.

Tails: Yeah, something about this doesn't feel right. [grabs his Miles Electric] Better scan and figure this out.

William: Weird, I don't remember it being forecast to rain today...

Orion: That's because it wasn't...

[This definitely didn't feel like any normal storm cloud. It wasn't natural it was... artificial. This was proven to be the case when a glowing blue symbol, one they had never seen before, pierced through the thick smoke. The symbol was part of the emblem on the front of a massive airship, as large as the flying fortresses Eggman used, only the underage was wooden like the hull of a boat and the rudders were sharp and angular. Upon closer inspection, the symbol was that of two sharp spikes]

Staci: What is that?!

Shade: An airship? I've never seen one like that before.

Pinkie Pie: Ooh! I bet those are the clowns I ordered!

Sweetie: You think so?

Omega: Negative.

Gmerl: Pinkie, I don't think clowns ride in a battleship like that.

[The ship made its decent onto the large plaza, crushing the tall spires in its way. Guests hurried out of the way to avoid getting crushed by the marble stones that fell and were now spread out across the floor. The Canterlot flags that hung on them had been torn off in the process, left worthlessly on the ground. The pillars landed on a spot with trapezes and a poster of said dancers, smashing it and destroying the entire thing]

Pinkie Pie: ...Or definitely not the clowns I ordered.

Gmerl: I don't like this.

Marcus: Me neither.

Noah: I was hoping we'd avoid dealing with evil today, but I guess that's not happening.

Damian: Well, whatever's in there, keep your guard up.

Troy: We don't even know why that airship's there yet.

[From the balcony, the princesses watched the scene unfold. They had never seen an airship like this, and the clouds that had accompanied it had now covered the skies, making it look as if it were about to rain, which was impossible seeing as they could still see traces of clear blue skies far up ahead. The door of the ship's hull swooshed opened and a large gangway unfurled, smashing a single pink balloon dog in the process. It deflated]

Party Favor: Brian, no!

Emerl: What is this?

Lilly: I don't know... [to Angela] What's going on, sis?

Angela: I'm not so sure myself...

Starlight Glimmer: Uh, Tails, we kinda need to know what's going here...

Tails: [worried] I'm trying, Starlight, but these readings are all messed up, they don't make any sense!

[The inside of the ship glowed with an eerie purple aura and the form of something tall started to make its way to the forefront. As it walked further out, they realized the creature wasn't actually that tall. He was some sort of short gray colored hedgehog with spiky white hair and blue eyes wearing a black vest with the blue symbol that the airship bore. I'll just say that this thing certainly didn't resemble any hedgehog anyone had ever seen, mobian or feral. He had a chipped ear, was larger by comparison to the actual animal but much shorter than a overlander, and looked almost happy. A mischievous, un-sympathetic kind of happy. The hedgehog grunted while carrying a large box. Once he placed it down a tall mechanical megaphone emerged. He tapped on the surface of the microphone and spoke into it, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. A pretty hard thing to accomplish seeing as he was a short and chubby little thing]

Grubber: [breathing and grunting; microphone feedback; clears throat, voice echoing] Ponies of Equestria, we come on behalf of the fearsome, the powerful, the almighty...Storm King!

[A massive banner unfolded and draped the side of the airship. The image was that of a frightening looking horned primate-like creature with white hair and icy blue eyes. He bore the same symbol on his chest and more banners baring the same one rolled out on both sides of the poster]

[Everyone whispered and murmured amongst themselves. They have never heard of this "Storm King" before, but whoever he was, there was no doubt that he wasn't someone who was looking to make any friends]

Sally Acorn: The Storm King?

Sonic: The Storm King? Who's The Storm King?

Sapphire: Don't ask me. I've never heard of him.

Reaper: I haven't either, and that's saying a lot.

Grubber: And now, to deliver the evil, evil message, put your hooves together for Commander Tempeeeest!

[A dark orchid unicorn with her armor, her mane and tail are all moderate rose and she has a broken horn and a scar on her right eye appears and indeed it was... Tempest Shadow]

Twilight Sparkle: Is that a... unicorn?

Spike: I think so, but what happened to her horn? I thought unicorn horns were nearly impossible to break!

Trixie Lulamoon: I don't know.

Antoine: I think it broke, I mean, it does kinda look like it, doesn't it?

Nicole: Yeah, it does, good eye, Antoine.

Bunnie Rabbot: What do they even want?

Knuckles: I don't know, but considering that hedgehog thing said evil, it can't be good.

Ruby: Indeed, but let's not react on impulse.

Gamma: Only use force if nessercary.

Troy: Yeah, who knows, maybe they're friendly.

Noah: Likely not.

[Celestia, Luna and Cadance all flew down, landing in front of the airship and Tempest, shielding the others]

Princess Celestia: "Tempest" is it? How may we help you?

Tempest Shadow: Oh, I'm so glad you asked. How about we start with your complete and total surrender?

[The Freedom Fighters immediately got into fighting positions, some getting their weapons out in intimidation]

Salt: Surrender?!

Omega: Defense protocols activated, entering combat mode!

FriendBot: Threat detected!

Silver: ...She's kidding, right?

Shadow: Doesn't look like it.

Shard the Metal Sonic: At this rate, things could get pretty ugly.

Moonlight: Can't we resolve this without fighting?

Twilight Sparkle: [shows up with the rest of the Mane Nine] Hi there. Princesses of Harmony.

Sunset Shimmer: Not exactly sure what's going on, but I know we can talk things out.

Shine: Huh?

Lilly: Uh, girls?

Marcus: What are you doing?

Fauna: We don't know what we're in for yet.

Starlight Glimmer: Shh, let us handle this.

Gleam: Okay, but stay cauious...

Tempest Shadow: Oh, goody. All twelve Princesses. Here's the deal, ladies. I need your magic. Give it up nicely, please, or we make it difficult for everyone!

Princess Luna: And why should we cower before you? There's one of you and hundreds of us.

Mina Mongoose: Yeah, face it, Tempest, you’re out numbered!

Sonar: That's right.

Elias Acorn: Presides, I'm not sure if you can notice, but you're pretty looking at the Freedom Fighters of Knothole here.

Shadow: Indeed, I suggest you surrender yourself if you think you can take on the likes of us.

Orion: You chose the wrong day to invade a kingdom alone, missy.

William: Yeah!

Tempest Shadow: [chuckles] I was hoping you'd choose "difficult".

[Behind Tempest, a couple of large, hulking looking creatures emerged from the inside of the ship. They were as tall as Eggman himself, maybe a head or two higher. They wore black masks that covered their faces save for their blue eyes. They wore thick, black armor that only partly covered their furry white and gray bodies. They had large paws, canine-like legs and long tails that whipped around from behind them]

Sonic: Wha?!

Twilight Sparkle/Princess Cadance: [gasp]

Noah: Well, guess we got a answer.

Troy: Yeah, not the one I was hoping for though...

[Two more airships appeared, followed by more. And more, and more, and more to the point in which not a single trace of sunlight, or even the blue of the once beautifully clear sky could be seen for miles and miles. Their once beautiful, colorful festival had turned dark and gray in a matter of seconds. Amy placed a protective hand on Cream's shoulder. The rabbit could feel her friend's hand trembling. At that moment, the citizens screamed and ran for their lives]

Sonic: Okay, yeah, I'm not about to let a invasion ruin today, Freedom Fighters, let's do it to it!

Shadow: [facepalms] Really? One of your old catchphrases?

Sonic: Hey, it's a classic, or would you prefer "Hasta La Vista, Mistah!"

Shadow: Only you would make a joke at a time like this.

Sonic: Yeah, sorry, heh-heh, but seriously, let's move out!

Shadow: [sighs] Let's just get this over with.

Reaper: Finally, some action!

[Team Sonic and the Freedom Fighters charged at the Storm Creatures, fighting back, they were not about to let Equestria fall to a hostile takeover]

Zooey: [hitting a storm guard with a frying pan] Where are these things coming from?!

Chip: I don't know, but don't let your guard down! [puts a shield up]

Sally Acorn: [slashing through several storm guards with her ring blades] Back off!

Antoine: [avoiding a spear that was thrown at him] Whoa, that was too close.

Knuckles: [punching several storm guards before noticing the alicorn princesses just standing there, watching in horror] Uh, aren't you twelve gonna help?

Twilight Sparkle: Huh, oh yeah, sure, just give us a minute. [blasts a storm guard with her magic]

Pinkie Pie: Just a lot to take in, is all.

Knuckles: If you say so. [punches a storm creature in the gut; runs off]

Kyle: Take this, vile beasts! [knocks several storm creatures away]

[The battle was fierce, though it was clear the Storm King's army were at a advantage, there were a lot more minions than they could handle and most of the city was getting damaged]

Amy Rose: [knocks down a storm guard with her hammer] How can there be so many?!

Sonar: How many even are there?!

Perci: I don't know, there's too many to count.

Staci: Yeah.

Omega: Worthless consumer models! Annihilate! [blasts several storm guards] STORM GUARD EXTERMINATION IS INEVITABLE!!!

[Celestia fought side-by-side with her sister, she didn’t want to hurt anyone but she knew she had to. The combined powers of the two alicorns proved to be more than a match for the attacking storm guards. The two sisters used non-lethal spells to stun or knock unconscious on their attackers]

Sonic: [homing attacks several storm guards before noticing Tempest bring out four obsidian orbs] Hmm?

Tempest Shadow: Okay, let's see.. [she looks at the Princesses, then eyes Cadance]

Sonic: [realizes what Tempest was about to do] Uh-oh.

[Tempest leaped into the air and threw an obsidian orb at Cadance, who quickly set up a barrier around herself. The orb struck the barrier, but it began to push through as Cadence grunted, trying to keep her powerful shield up]

Sonic: [his eyes glowed blue as he ran in] Cadance, look out! [time slowed to a crawl as the hedgehog boosts in and manages to get Cadance out of the way before the obsidian orb somehow managed to break through the Princess of Love's shield and hit her]

Tempest Shadow: What?!

Sonic: [as his eyes returned to their green coloring] Ha, looks like you're too slow! [runs off with Cadance in his arms]

Sapphire: You alright, Princess?

Princess Cadance: I'm fine, thanks for the save.

Sonic: No problem, I wasn't about to let one of the princesses of Equestria get turned to stone! Also, do you think I talk about velocity too much, I don't wanna annoy anyone, but it's important to stay on brand. [stops near Team Chaotix, Shining Armor, and Flurry-Heart]

Espio: You took one heck of a risk doing that, Sonic.

Sonic: Nah, not really. [puts Cadance down] Anyways, Shining, Chaotix, keep Cadance safe, I'm gonna try and help Tails and the others. [runs off, homing attacking several storm guards before spindashing into more of them that were attacking Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, the latter two fillies coming to Canterlot to enjoy the festival, only for them to be thrust into more danger yet again] WOO-HOO!

Charmy: You got it, Sonic.

Shining Armor: [to Cadance] Are you okay?

Princess Cadance: Yeah, don't worry about it.

[Espio slashed through several storm guards with his kunai]

Vector: Way to go, Espio!

[Tempest started running through the panicked crowd]

Princess Celestia: Luna, quick! Go south beyond the Badlands!

Princess Luna: Hmph!

[Luna was a bit startled, but she quickly nodded, trusting her sister to help defend their subjects. Neither of them paid attention to Tempest, wielding another orb and kicked it toward them, aiming it directly at Celestia, though Shadow seemed to notice at the last second]

Princess Celestia: Seek help from the Queen of the Hippo- [gasps as she sees the orb flying towards her]

Shadow: CHAOS CONTROL!!! [stops time; then warps in front of Celestia, jumps up and knocks the orb into the sky, then teleported to the ground] Chaos Spear! [fires Chaos Spear at the orb as time resumes, blowing it up] You're safe now, Princess.

[Luna gasped and tried to fly away, but Tempest threw another orb towards her flight path with perfect accuracy]

Princess Celestia: But what about my sister?

Knuckles: [with chaos energy forming in his fist] Already on it! [jumps up and hits the orb heading to Luna with a well timed punch, sending it flying into orbit]

[ding]

[Knuckles fell to the ground, but managed to slam his fist into the ground, knocking back several storm guards]

Ruby: How did that orb not break on impact?

Knuckles: I have no idea. [punches a incoming Storm Creature before walking off while whistling]

Princess Celestia: Huh. Well, thanks for the safe, though I'm surprised you even turned up, Shadow.

Shadow: I'm only here representing G.U.N.

Princess Luna: [as she flew down] Sure you are.

[Tempest growled, annoyed that her targets were well protected. Leaping high again, she tossed another orb in front of the Mane Nine, flipped, and kicked it towards them, the girls looked up, time slowing down around them as they gasped, unable to get out of the way in time, but Blaze quickly destroyed it with her flames, saving the girls by mere milliseconds]

Blaze: Nice try!

Pearl: Great work, Blaze!

Tempest Shadow: Oh come on!

Twilight Sparkle: You can't do this! A lot of people are going to get hurt!

Tempest Shadow: All I care about is your magic, and what I wanted for so long.

Vanessa: Not speaking from expierence here, but talking her down isn't gonna work, Twi! Let's get out of here!

Rainbow Dash: Aw, but I wanted to fight some more!

Rotor: The army's getting too big, we need to get out of here while we still can!

Weather: Plus, Rainbow, I'd rather not see you have your magic stolen...

Sally Acorn: Right, Freedom Fighters, fall back!

Antoine: You don't have to tell me twice!

Storm: I call dibs on the gemstone! [grabs Jewel, who was hiding]

Jewel: Hmm?!

Tangle: That's Jewel, you moron!

Elias Acorn: Argue later, we need to get out of here now!

FriendBot: Code red! Code red!

Sonic: Yeah, come on, let's blow this chili stand! [runs off]

Twilight Sparkle: Everypony run!

[Finally realizing they stood no chance, the Freedom Fighters took whatever chance they had left and ran]

Tempest Shadow: [groans angrily] Grubber, get... them... NOW!

Grubber: Guys, we gotta get the princesses!

Ditzy Doo: Oh no! The princesses are in trouble!

Reaper: This isn't your fight! Get to safety, quick.

[Ditzy nodded as Sonic and Shadow quickly gathered their friends and their allies before heading towards the bridge, spanning over a river that flowed underneath, the water coming from the mountain creating the river as it lead to a waterfall that connected to a river all the way down near the base of the mountain]

Applejack: Over here, y'all.

Twilight Sparkle: Come on!

Maria: The bridge, we can make it!

Nicole: Yeah, just a bit further...

[The heroes reached a blockade of the primate soldiers on the other side of the bridge]

Chip: Yipe!

Lupe: Oh come on!

Twilight Sparkle: [lit up her horn, desperate to get her friends out safely, then fired a powerful beam of magic at them to push them out of the way. One of them held up their shield to block it, deflecting the beam at the group, who dodged it] What?!

Tails: Magic-reflective shields?!

Dulcy: They've thought of everything!

Eclipse: No kidding, I don't see a way out of this one.

Star Swirl the Bearded: Well there should be...

Charmy: Hmm, there's always the other way? [more storm creatures block the way back] Huh?

Vector: Way to go, Buzz-Brain.

Firefly: There's just so many of them, we're outnumbered!

Posey: What are we gonna do?!

[Some of the heroes stared in disbelief, not knowing what to do, others like Fluttershy and Cream were crying, scared to death, Knuckles looked down]

Knuckles: New plan!

Sonic: What?

[Knuckles punched the bridge, causing the bridge underneath them to crumble, leaving the heroes comically standing on thin air]

Sonic: [dumbfonded; then faceplams] Fantastic...

Twilight Sparkle: [annoyed] Are you KIDDING ME?!?

Knuckles: What? [looks down] Oh... [facepalms] (Agh! You Knucklehead!)

[Everyone fell but Sonic managed to briefly keep himself airborn with his speed before tiring himself out, he then turned to the audience and shrugged before falling like the others and landing in the water]

Heroes: [gasp for air]

Galaxina: We're safe?! We're okay?!

Cosmo: Seems like it.

Knuckles: Yeah, that wasn't the smartest idea.

Honey: Oh really, ya think?!

Nite: Sometimes I wonder if you do stunts like that on purpose.

Sonic: Well at least we sa-

Don: Uh, you might not wanna finish that sentence!

Sonic: [notices no land nearby; to Celestia] Please don't tell me we forgot about the waterfall...

Princess Celestia: I'm afraid so...

Sonic: [facepalms with a groan] This might not end well.

[Everyone screamed again as they plunged over the waterfall and down to the river far below, Grubber panted, his fat and pudgy body finally reaching the aftermath of the battle. The soldiers looked down at the falls where they lost the heroes, the hedgehog slumping over to the edge while catching his breath to look down as well]

Grubber: O-Ok...R-Running...not my...thing. [Looking down at the water, he heard the soldiers grunt, explaining in their language what had happened] ...So, uhh...Which one of you guys is gonna go down there?

[The Storm Creatures hesitated]

Grubber: [sighs] Well, I would, but I just had a hearty meal, and I will sink and I WILL side-cramp. [The soldier's let out collective groans and growls, unable to believe Tempest's second in command was a lazy, hungry slob, making up excuses to avoid doing any serious labor for her or the Storm King] Hey, I am big boned, and I will sink. Very quickly. [How was he going to explain this to Tempest? He maybe her friend, but he was terrified of Tempest's wrath. Her hoof-to-hoof combat skills were painful enough, but the sparks from her broken horn were far more shocking and agonizing, her anger much more scary than her deadpanned resting face]

[Speaking of Tempest, she had already made herself at home at the castle balcony, taking in all the chaos going on bellow her. Unknowingly to her, Infinite had watched the whole scene unfold]

Infinite: Interesting... [grabs a communicator] Eggman, did you see any of that?

Dr. Eggman: You bet I did, I have no idea who this Storm King is, but I bet he'd be a wonderful person to work with.

Metal Sonic: Says the guy who was betrayed by Tirek.

Dr. Eggman: Oh, be quiet, anyways, Infinite, report back to the lair at once.

Infinite: Very well, doctor... [warps away]

Dr. Eggman: Alright, now to-

Doctor Starline: [holding a coffee cup] Sir.

Dr. Eggman: GAH! Oh, what is it, Starline?

Cluck: [squarks]

Doctor Starline: I was just wondering you wanted a latte?

Dr. Eggman: [stares at Starline] Do I look like a imbecile? Of course I want a latte. [grabs the coffee cup] I love the way you make them!

[Half a mile away from the base of the mountain city of Canterlot, the heroes had managed to gather on shore, surviving the fall from such a height, but they were still shaken up from that and what had just happened, Applejack's hat floated along the tranquil river, only to be grabbed by her using her magic. She rinsed it as best as she could before putting it back onto her head. Her mane and tail were still partly wet from the waterfall]

Rarity: [catching her breath]

Tails: [coughs out some water out of his throat] Wow, that was uncomfortable.

FriendBot: [getting the water drained from his systems] System operational.

Perci: Um, I guess we can add "Fall down a waterfall" to list of things we've survived.

Sonic: Well, I'm pretty sure falling down that waterfall just magnified my hydrophobia tenfold. [sighs sadly, but not because of the fact that he almost drowned again, Equestria fell, and Canterlot was now under the liberation of the Storm King's army] But seriously, everybody okay?

Applejack: Seems like it.

Cream: I'm alright, Cheese is fine too.

Cheese: Chao-chao.

Omega: Core processor and operating system intact. Rage operating at 110% capacity.

Caramel: Sure. [coughs] That was a close one!

Sally Acorn: Yes, too close actually.

Omochao: No kidding!

[Shadow shaked his body to shake the water off of him. Moonlight did the same as well]

Gem: I'm such a soaking mess. I just combed my feathers last night!

Mina Mongoose: Well, at least we're safe.

Ash Mongoose: At least, for now.

Emerl: Yeah, and I'm kinda glad me and the other members of Team Robot are waterproof, otherwise, me and the other robots here would've ceased to function.

Maria: And honestly, how we didn't all get killed is a miracle!

Cream: I have to agree, how we survived a fall from that height is well beyond me.

Angela: I guess we just had some good luck.

Majesty: That, and a pretty handy safety net.

[Turns out the Jewel Pixie Animals had managed to save everyone moments before hitting the end of the waterfall]

Knuckles: Well enough about that, what was everything that happened back up there all about?!

Pinkie Pie: I know, we just got our cupcakes handed to us by the worst party crashers ever!

Rainbow Dash: She's right, we can't just stand around, we've gotta get back up there.

[Everyone gave the rainbow maned alicorn a shocked glare]

Zooey: Are you crazy?! We nearly all got captured back there.

Orion: She has a point, going back up there would pretty much just get yourself captured.

Spike: Yeah, presides, you saw the size of those goons. You seriously wanna go back? [gasped in horror as he looked up at Canterlot, the whole city covered in storm clouds] Sweet Luna...

Gmerl: Well, we can't do nothing, we have to stop those things from taking over our home!

Applejack: Like what? We can't hide here forever.

Eclipse: Plus, this whole ordeal has been too much already...

Cream: Yeah... [through tears] The poor citizens... [sniffles] Why couldn't we save all of them?! [Gmerl, Cheese and Caramel comfort her]

Amy Rose: Don't worry, Cream, we'll find a way to rescue the others, I promise.

Tunette: But how? Going back there without a plan would be reckless!

Jayden: Not to mention, unwise.

Vanessa: No kidding, but what do we do?

Tart: Yeah, we don't even have a plan yet.

Troy: Hey Sonic, you have experience with this whole adventure thing, you got any ideas?

Sonic: Not sure, but, we'll find of something to save the day, right Twilight? [gets no reply] Twilight? [notices that Twilight was currently lost in thought as she looked down at the river]

[To say that Twilight was shaken up would be an understatement. How could this have happened? Everything was going so well. Everything was perfect. Everyone was happy. Why did this have to happen? How could things have gone so wrong so fast? Her body started shuddering as she began to break down in tears]

Sonic: [worried] Uh, Twilight, how're you holding up?

Twilight Sparkle: A little shaken, but I'll manage. [sobs] But. [sobs quietly] All that planning for the festival. [whimpers] Everything we had planned. [weeps] All that hard work we did for nothing. Everything was going so well. Everyone was happy. Everybody was laughing and connecting with one another. But now it's all ruined. [continues sobbing] To think that I deluded myself into thinking that everything was going to be okay.

Shine: [sighs] Oh, Twilight...

Eclipse: Yeesh, and the day started so well too...

Lupe: Yeah, why did those guys have to ruin it?

Storm: [holding Jewel] Does this mean I don't get to keep the talking gem?

Jewel: [unamused] I'm a beetle.

Storm: Oh, never mind then. [puts her down]

Jet: How did you not notice, Storm?

Princess Celestia: [comforts Twilight] Even if the Friendship Festival didn't turn out the way you and your friends wanted due to the invasion, you still did great.

Princess Luna: In fact, we’re proud of you for that. You didn’t know there’s was going to be an invasion. None of us did.

Twilight Sparkle: I know, but it all happened so fast, and I thought we could handle it.

Sonic: True, but sometimes things just don't go as planned. But you just have to power on through, don't let anything keep you down.

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs; wipes off the tears] Thank you...

Sapphire: [to Sonic] How do you always stay so optimistic?

Sonic: Because if we lose hope, we let the bad guys win.

Vector: So, do we all just sit around and do nothing, or are we gonna go save the world like we always do?

Moon Dancer: I think so, we just need a moment to think.

Tart: So, anyone got any suggestions?

[beat]

Pinkie Pie: We go back up and fight back?

Storm: I like that.

Sweetie: Seconded!

Tart: [dumbfonded] Seriously?

Applejack: [sighs] Let me rephrase that, Tart. Anyone got any GOOD ideas?

Princess Celestia: I suggest that all of us go look for the queen. The queen of the Hippogriffs.

Shadow: Huh, is that what you were trying to tell Luna before I had to save you from getting petrified? You're welcome for that by the way, Princess.

Princess Celestia: Yes, that's what I'm saying to Luna, Shadow.

Knuckles: Alright, good. Also, while on the topic of Luna, I'm no scientist or anything but, if that orb had hit it's target while it was in the air, well... [imagines a stutue slamming into the floor, smashing and shattering into pieces, scattering onto the ground] Yeah, pretty sure death by shattering wouldn't be very nice.

Sonic: I mean... I'm sure someone like Twilight would've saved her in time, plus I'm certain the imprisonment in stone wouldn’t of been permanent. [looked up at the sky, hoping no one was seriously harmed by the Storm King's army]

Thorax: Okay, so back on track, Celestia, where can we find these... Hippogriffs.

Princess Celestia: They're somewhere south, past the Badlands.

Starlight Glimmer: Oh, that's good to kn- Wait what?!

Fluttershy: That means we'll have to... leave Equestria. Oh!

Cream: Sounds reasonable.

Amour: Yeah, calm down, Fluttershy.

D-Fekt: Wouldn't we be risking our lives if we go to the badlands though?!

Rarity: I'm not even packed!

[panicked and confused screaming]

Monkey Khan: Calm down, guys!

Twilight Sparkle: Look, I understand you're scared, and nopony else has to go if they don't want to. But we have to find this queen. She might be our only hope.

Sonic: And Rarity, this is serious business! There's no need for packing!

Gem: He's got a point, Rarity.

Knuckles: I mean, we don't even know what the Storm King wants the alicorn magic for? Sure it's most likely total world domination, but there's gotta be something more to his motives...

Rouge: That's like, the smartest thing I've ever heard you say.

Cream: Well, no matter what happens, we're all in this together, right?

[Everybody nodded in agreement]

Sonic: Right, I mean, I think you know I'd never back down from adventure.

Tails: I'm sure that if we all stay together, we'll make it there in once piece!

Vector: If you guys are going out of Equestria, count all of us in this new adventure!

Damian: Yeah, you know some of us are always out for new expeirences!

Manic: I mean, we can't just let Team Sonic and the Mane Nine have all the fun, after all.

Sonic: [chuckles] Very funny.

Espio: He's right though, we have to stick together!

Twilight Sparkle: Alright, let's see... We're suppose to head south, right?

Princess Celestia: Yes, we are.

Espio: In that case, let's not waste anymore time!

Rarity: I am ready to save Equestria!

Fluttershy: Yay.

Knuckles: Alright then, let's go!

Sonic: [confidently] Alright, together then.

Sapphire: Adventure awaits!

Pinkie Pie: Hehe! Whee! [giggles] Whee! Boingy-boingy-boingy-boingy-boingy! Anypony up for a game of "I Spy"?

All: [groan]

Bark: Really?

Knuckles: This isn't the time for fun and games, Pinkie!

Pinkie Pie: No, really! Come on! I spy with my little eye something that is orange. No takers? It's you, Applejack! [giggles]

Gmerl: Yeesh, the journey just started an she already wants to play I Spy?

Fiona: It's Pinkie, what do you expect?

Perci: Fiona has a point, the least we can do is roll with it.

Marcus: Exactly, as difficult as it maybe, we just got started, so let's go.

Vanessa: [sarcastically] Is Pinkie really that idiotic, playing games when we have a serious mission?

Silver: You get use to it after a while, don't worry. Though I'll be surprised if we end up playing "Truth or Dare" next.

Salt: Wouldn't we need a bottle for that?

Silver: Oh right.

Sally Acorn: [gets her communicator] Charles, did you get all of that?

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] Yup, we heard everything, and from where I'm scoping Canterlot, these creatures appear to be holding a lot of ponies in cages or chaining them together to put them in more holding cells...

Sonic: [sighs] Good thing none of us were petrified by those orb thingies. Otherwise they'd be using us as lawn ornaments in front of the castle right about now.

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] Yeah... Anyways, no worries, rescue operations will begin straight away.

Vanilla: [via communicator] Just stay safe everyone, and good luck.

[And with that, our rag-tag team of heroes began heading on their way toward the Badlands in search of the Queen of the Hippogriffs, though Twilight lingered behind, watching the girls walk on ahead before looking behind her, staring up at the mountain city veiled by storm clouds]

Sonic: Twilight, c'mon, we've gotta get going!

Twilight Sparkle: Oh right, coming!

[Twilight took another glance back at Canterlot one last time, hoping everyone still trapped there was unharmed, before following the others]

Tempest contacts the Storm King/In the Desert/Meeting Capper

[Meanwhile, the storm creatures were rounding up the ponies in Canterlot and enslaving them in muzzles and chains, though they failed to notice several Freedom Fighters breaking some of the ponies out before warping away back to Ponyville, which was currently being protected by a shield to prevent any attacks]

Razor: Well, that was too close.

Echo: Yeah, are you all okay?

Big McIntosh: E'yup.

Party Favor: We are, thanks to you.

Sugar Belle: So what's the plan?

Coral: Simple, while Sonic and the others go and get help, we'll be rescuing more of the ponies captured from Canterlot before we unite with them so we can take back the city.

Double Diamond: Sounds like a plan.

Pearly: I know, but we've gotta plan the counter attack carefully.

Princess Undina: In the meantime, try to make yourself at home while we get things underway.

Longclaw: Yeah, and while we're here. Citizens of Ponyville and Canterlot. We cannot express how deeply sorry we are for the events that have transpired today. Rest assured, this cowardly attack and hostile takeover will not be tolerated! Once our friends get the help we need, we plan to strike back!

[Back in Canterlot, Tempest stood on the castle balcony, watching her soldiers capture every single pony still in the city, guiding them in chains and tossing them in cages, either grouping them together or separated from friends and family. They took down the festival decorations, which made her sneer in disgust. One of the soldiers cut a few balloons away from where they were tied as Tempest watched them float up into the dark storm clouds]

Tempest Shadow: All this power wasted on parties when there are far greater uses. Invasion worked out pretty well. Except we seem to be missing ALL the princesses!

[She entered the castle throne room when two storm guards walked in, one carrying a cauldron while the other held a potion that was glowing rapidly and let out a strange tune. Tempest knew what was in that glowing blue potion, getting frustrated when the primates just stood there, waiting for a command]

Tempest Shadow: Well? Answer it!

[The Storm Creature opened the cork and poured the blue orb into a basin and a blue mist started to form a hologram revealing the Storm King, who had his back turned, much to her annoyance]

The Storm King: Where am I supposed to be looking? I never understand how this spell works. Tempest!

Tempest Shadow: Over here, Your Excellency.

The Storm King: Where?

Tempest Shadow: Over here.

The Storm King: Huh?

Tempest Shadow: No. No, right. Look right.

The Storm King: My right?

Tempest Shadow: Yep.

The Storm King: Oh. There you are. Here's the deal. I'm in the middle of a big re-brand here. "The Storm King" is tracking well as "intensely intimidating", but you know what? I need to back it up. You know what I need to back it up with? A storm! That would be great! You promised me magic that could control the elements, and right now, I'm holding a what? A branch. A twig. Bleh!

Tempest Shadow: Uh, that would be the Staff of Sacanas, Your Excellency, and it will...

The Storm King: Mm-hmm?

Tempest Shadow: ...channel the magic of the twelve rulers of this land.

The Storm King: Mm-hmmmm?

Tempest Shadow: You'll soon have the power of a hundred armies.

The Storm King: So that would be a yes on your locking down the twelve Pegacornicuseses, or whatever you call them?

Tempest Shadow: Actually, Storm King, we have the guards searching around for the princesses, despite our best efforts, they somehow managed to get away. Give me three days. I'll have everything ready for your arrival.

The Storm King: Fine, then. I'll give you three days to find the princesses. [ominous] But remember, Tempest. Only I have the power to make you whole. Make this twig work, and you'll get your reward. Fail me, and your horn won't be the only thing that's broken.

Tempest Shadow: It won't be a problem.

The Storm King: [upbeat] Great! [warbling] I'm ready to power up, crash and bash, and be the biggest, baddest bugaloooooo...

[The flames died out, leaving nothing in the cauldron. Grubber was standing behind it, overhearing some of the Storm King's conversation]

Grubber: Sorry, bad cell service. You want me to call him back?

Tempest Shadow: Do you have the Princesses?

Grubber: Well, uh, funny story. It kinda seems like they... they might've like, you know, got away... a little bit.

[Tempest narrowed her eyes disappointingly at Grubber]

Grubber: I know you're disappointed, but I got one word for you: "spongecake".

[Tempest zapped Grubber with her magic]

Grubber: [screams]

Tempest Shadow: I need them for the staff to work.

Grubber: Hey, I know! I want the Storm King to fix that crazy horn as badly as you do. It looks like a crackly chipped tooth on the top of your head. And you know you don't look good in hats.

Tempest Shadow: Those Princesses are not gonna keep me from getting my horn back! Prepare my ship!

Grubber: Uhhh!

Tempest Shadow: Please. How far could they get on their own?

[South of the kingdom of Equestria was a vast desert, spanning miles upon miles of hot sand, steep sand dunes, and not a single cloud as the sun beat down on the arid wasteland. The heroes trudged through the burning sands, reaching the Badlands after traveling south for a couple hours, though they regretted not stopping to get any supplies for the long journey. Everyone was sweating profusely, severely dehydrated, and there didn't seem to be an oasis around for miles. They were exhausted, but they couldn't stop moving, wanting to find a way out of the sweltering desert heat and get far enough away from the Storm King's army if they were out searching for them]

Pinkie Pie: [panting; already about to crack, giggling randomly with a crazed look in her eyes] There's sand in my... everything... Heh... Gotta...save...Equestria... [with another crazy bout of laughter] Gotta...stay...positive! [Looking down, her manic curiosity made her pick up a vulture skull lying on their path, holding it up to her head] Oh! Look! Maybe this guy knows which way to go! [balked in shock from the skull she held, followed by a bug that crawled out from it and onto Pinkie, running across her wide, insanely opened eyeballs before disappearing down her leg and into the sand] What's that, friend? We're lost?

Tails: Pinkie?

[The two tailed fox was starting to get freaked out seeing Pinkie lose her mind, almost close to when she went crazy from feeling dejected when they threw her a surprise party for her birthday. Pinkie coughed dryly, dropping the skull as it disintegrated, then giggled creepily before collapsing. As her face hit the sand, her hair and tail sputtered like a deflating balloon. Sighing, Tails flew over to the delirious and dehydrated mare and tried lifting her back on her hooves]

Sweetie: Come on, Pinkie. Don't lose your marbles just yet. We gotta keep moving.

Discord: [tired and sweating] I can’t feel my everything... I don't think a hippogriff could even live in a desert like this. There doesn't seem to be any water for miles.

Rarity: Don't mention water. I'm absolutely parched. [whined in disgust, her curly mane losing its curls thanks to her sweat and hanging down in a frazzled mess] I feel so disgusting.

Sonic: [panting and sweating] My... Feet are so sore from the walking... When will we rest?

Amy Rose: [wipes the sweat off her forehead] It’s even hotter than Applejack’s pancakes, no offence.

Applejack: None taken, sugarcube. But I agree....

Silver: I can’t feel my feet...

Vector: [tiredly and sweating] Too... much... walking.... I'm getting... sand in... my shoes....

Fluttershy: Maybe...we should have...packed something... This place...feels so empty...

Mina Mongoose: [panting] How.. long have we... been walking...

Heavy: Not sure... [looks at the sky] But I'm pretty sure my circuits are gonna fry soon if we don't get out of this heat.

Bomb: Same.

Rouge: [panting] The heat of this desert is making me sweaty...

Cream: Yeah... How far is the nearest town from here?

Charmy: We should've flown through the desert so we wouldn't get tired easily....

Cheese: Chao-chao...

Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Spike: [panting]

Zooey: At this point, I'm beginning to think we're lost...

Lupe: Already?! You can’t be serious...

Shard the Metal Sonic: What a shock. [turns on his electrical powers] Get it, what a shock, heh, what a shock?

Tikal: We get it, you're electric, can you turn that off now?

Shard the Metal Sonic: Oh, I... I think I'm stuck. [shocks Tikal by accident] Sorry.

D-Fekt: Can we hurry this up, the heat is killing me! [glitches slightly] Literally, my body will of boiled to the point of melting by the time we get somewhere.

Spike: Twilight, can't you and the other magic users just use some magic to help cool us down?

Twilight Sparkle: Unless you want to turn into an icicle or get shoved a few feet from a painful water pressure, I don't think it's a good idea, we need to save our magic in case they catch up with us. Or if anything worse lives in this desert.

Sonic: For real?! But this desert is too, uh, hot. [thinks about what he said] What's a stronger word than hot?

Knuckles: Knuckles, I'm a stronger word than hot!

[Sonic facepalms]

Damian: Well you better do something about it soon, I think I'm getting a sunburn!

Marcus: I mean, are you?

Spike: Ugh. Darn it... We could be going in... circles! Endless... sand... [inhales] Nothin' for miles... but sand... [coughed and wheezed as he continued to rightfully complain about their situation] and this rock... [Another cough after picking up a nearby rock, then lifted his backside, which had a cactus sticking from him awkwardly] and this cactus... [took in a deep breath, then waved his arms in front of what appeared to be a trail of footprints and wheel tracks in the sand] and this roooooooooaaaaaad.... [collapsed, letting out another gasping wheeze] ...this rooooooad....

Shine: Spike, don't lose it- [realizes] Wait, what?

Twilight Sparkle: Hmm? A road? And, if there's a road, then that means...

[She followed the trail, climbing up a sand dune, then gasped when she saw, in the distance, a large city not too far from where they were. In the sand nearby, there were several remains of what appeared to be boats, possibly airships that had crashed in the desert, most of the wood from them stripped away by the civilians that lived in the nearby city. When Sonic got a good look at it, he was surprised by the look of the industrial-looking city, smoke pouring out from factories around the mountainous area, hundreds of different buildings merging with each other, and there were several ports scattered around for airships to dock at. While it looked like a blessing for some of the heroes, even perking Pinkie back to normal, others like Shadow thought it looked shady and dangerous]

Spike: Whoa!

Rainbow Dash: Cool!

Applejack: What is that?

Pinkie Pie: Oooh! A city! [scoffs] We are doing it, you guys!

Shadow: Finally, we're getting somewhere!

Shine: Yay!

Fang: About time!

Gold: Might just be a mirage...

Rarity: You know what they say: where there's a city, there's a spa!

Rainbow Dash: Who says that?

Honey: Yeah, we're kinda on a mission to save Equestria as we know it here.

Amy Rose: Yeah, there's no time to go do something fun. [to herself] Sadly.

Rarity: I can multitask.

Tunette: [sternly] Now Rarity, we can relax at the spa AFTER we find the queen and the hippogriffs.

Monkey Khan: Yeah, for now, we need to focus on our mission.

Knuckles: CAN WE JUST GO THERE ALREADY?! I can't take it out here anymore! It's too HOT!!!

[While the heroes continued onward, Sonic spotted a nearby sign that held the name of the city: Kludgetown. He had a hunch this wasn't going to be like any normal city. From the dirt and grime from the outside, along with the scattered remains of old airships, this place felt more like a filthy port town than a lively city]

[As Sonic rejoined the others, Sapphire used his pixie dust to create a rain-like shower to cool the heroes off]

Sonic: You know you could've done that at anytime, right?

Sapphire: Sorry.

Tails: It's alright.

Ruby: Feeling all cooled off, everyone?

Knuckles: Yes, much better.

Silver: Thanks for the shower magic, Sapphire.

Salt: Thanks, I really needed that!

Sapphire: No problem.

Rarity: Oh, that’s so much better!

Amy Rose: Yeah!

Shadow: Now that everyone's cooled off, let's continue.

[They head towards Klugetown. A bird flies into it when a rope drops over it and pulls down into a cage where two pig like creatures are holding it]

Sonic: Wow... I've never been here before.

Sapphire: Technically, none of us have...

Knuckles: That's because this place is beyond Equestria.

Ruby: No kidding.

Storm: Uh... [to Jet] Have we been here before, boss?

Jet: Not really, but it does interesting, I'll admit.

Fang: Eh, I've seen better, but hey, it's something.

Bean: Yeah. [to Jet] Wanna go explore, Jettison?

Jet: Why do you keep calling me that?

Wave: This place is pretty new to me.

Mina Mongoose: Me too.

Sticks: Yeah, I pretty sure none of have been here.

Belle: I think we get that none of us have been here before now, no need to repeat ourselves

Perci: We better stick together while we explore this place so that we don't get separated.

Vector: Either way, let's explore this strange place!

Pig Creature 1: Don't worry, little one, we'll let ya go!

Pig Creature 2: To the highest bidder!

Pig Creatures: [laugh]

Pig Creature 1: Nice!

[The group of heroes entered the town, some feeling relieved but scared by the rough dirty atmosphere among the residents]

Vendor 1: Ooh. Hey! You with the horn, you selling?

[Twilight hurries on. Fluttershy saw the birds in cages on a table, feeling sorry for them]

Antoine: Uh...

Fluttershy: Oh...

[birds squawking loudly]

Fluttershy: Ooh!

Antoine: Oh my gosh.

Twilight Sparkle: Hi there! Ooh, I'm sorry. Here. Lemme help you with that.

[She used her magic to lift the barrels onto a cart. A golden furred cat wearing a red coat and a purple turf of hair on his head watched this from a bar stand nearby]

Pushkin: Hey! No magic around my merchandise!

Mane Nine: [scream]

[The ponies ran away from the turtle like creature, frightened. The cat looks at them, pondering with interest]

Capper: Hmmm... Very interesting...

Twilight Sparkle: Okay. We just gotta stick together. Be careful who you talk to. And try to blend in.

Shadow: Yeah, don't do anything stupid that would attract unwanted attention.

Espio: They're right, we've never been here before and we can't afford to waste time.

Omega: Affirmative.

Sonic: [whispers] You got it!

Tails: Better stay quiet and blend in until we're out of here...

Pinkie Pie: Can I have your attention please?!

Bark: [groans] Seriously?

Sweetie: [worriedly] Pinkie...

Pinkie Pie: Can anypony take us to the Queen of the Hippogriffs?!

Mori: You want something? You gotta give something!

Pinkie Pie: [leapt toward the fish monster, who awkwardly caught her] Well, how about a big warm hug from a grateful pony friend?

[The fish creature dropped Pinkie, but that didn't deter her as she bothered the other locals while offering them random objects she somehow had on her

Pinkie Pie: How about this comb that I've never used? [a lizard smacked the comb away as she moved on to another tortoise with a picture of Maud Pie] A picture of my sister Maud? [With no dice, she approached a pig who was a traveling vendor] This breath mint? Seriously, buddy. Help me help you.

[The pig belched, making Pinkie gag from his foul breath that could have seriously been helped with that mint. Twilight dragged Pinkie back over to them, already getting the city's attention with her bartering]

Perci: Well, that escalated quickly.

Big: Yeah.

Knuckles: Pinkie, you can't just take off like that! [through clenched teeth] And you don't need to announce yourself to everyone...

Pinkie Pie: Relax, Knux! I totally got this!

Scootaloo: Yeah, go easy on her, Knuckles, she's just to trying to get help. [notices a crowd staring over the group] Oh...

Sonic: Oh brother...

Louise: How much for the giant gecko?

Mane Nine: Huh?

Spike: Who you callin' a gecko?

Twilight Sparkle: Uh, Spike isn't for sale.

Vera: I want that fancy purple hair! I'll give ya two storm bucks for it!

Rarity: Two storm bucks?! It's worth more than that!

Cream: Storm bucks? Is that like this place's currency or something?

Princess Cadance: Wish I knew.

Twilight Sparkle: Heh?

[Soon, all the locals tried to bid on the heroes, trying to buy them and outbid each other for who they wanted]

Silver: [dismayed; to Pinkie] Why would you do that?!

Bunnie Rabbot: Didn't you hear Shadow and Twilight when they said not to attract unwanted attention.

Pinkie Pie: Yeah, I may not have been listening, heh-heh, sorry.

Kristy: Well, at least you're honest about it.

Sunset Shimmer: Yeah, but what do we do now?

Deer Creature: Gimme that pink one!

Pig Creature 1: I'll take the blue one!

Pig Creature 2: No! I want the blue one!

Louise: I need that lizard!

Creature 1: I'll take that picture of your sister!

Deer Creature: I want all of them for my collection!

Sweetie Belle: Hey, leave us away!

Orion: Back off!

Thorax: This is getting awkward.

Apple Bloom: What do we do?

Princess Luna: Just stay calm, we'll figure out something.

Gamma: Can someone just make them stop already before anything else happens?!

[Then...]

Capper: Back up, everyone! Back it up! Y'all in some serious danger! Now you didn't touch any of them, did you? [His warnings began to concern the locals as he emphasized the group] Just look at all those colors! You think that's natural? They're infected with "pastelis coloritis".

[The assortment of creatures all gasped in shock, never hearing of such a disease]

Amy Rose: Excuse me?

Applejack: Now, you listen here, fella, there ain't- [Capper quickly interrupted her with his furry tail covering her muzzle as he walked past her]

Capper: Don't worry, don't worry, as long as you're not covered in purple splotches, you'll be fine. [Subtly flicked his tail at the fish monster Pinkie went to first, he splashed the juice on his side, creating the very same purple splotches he just mentioned. He let out a feigned gasp of shock and pointed to the unfortunate victim] Uh-oh. It's already happening.

[Everyone panicked, the fish monster especially when he looked down at himself]

Fish Creature: [gasps] What do I do?!

Capper: Enjoy your last moments and don't touch anyone. Because parts will fall off.

Fish Creature: [screams] Me parts!

Vera: [gasps]

[Capper pointed down at the fish monster, right between his legs. Everyone screamed, the fish monster whimpering and covering his lower region in fear before he and everyone within earshot of Capper ran away. The square was empty, leaving only the heroes with the cat who spared them from the heckling crowd]

Capper: Well, all right. [purrs]

Rotor: Uh, thanks for the save, I guess...

Rainbow Dash: That was awesome!

Capper: Mm-hm.

Rarity: And quite charming. [giggles]

Spike: Huh! (I'm more charming than him.)

Sonic: That was amazing! Thanks.

D-Fekt: Yeah, thanks er- Uh... name please?

Shining Armor: Yeah, who are you?

Capper: Capper's the name. Charming's my game. So... to the Hippogriffs, then?

Pinkie Pie: [laughs]

[He walks off. Pinkie hops after him but Twilight flew in front of her and put a wing on her shoulder, it would seem some of the heroes were unsure if Capper was trustworthy or not]

Vanessa: [sternly; to Pinkie Pie] Do us a favor; don't attract any unwanted attention by announcements like that again. Not that I don't think you can handle yourself, but I promised to myself that I keep everyone safe and I hate seeing you doing your usual crazy, foolish antics on the road.

Pinkie Pie: Has it been that long already?

Vanessa: You got to exercise at least some caution out here. Trust me, Pinkie. Beyond Equestria isn't all fun and games.

Omochao: Yeah, she kinda has a point.

Shadow: [suspicious] I don't know if we should trust him or not, I mean, I'm glad he helped us and everything, but, trusting strangers, I don't know, anyone agree?

Rainbow Dash: Lighten up, Shadow. He saved us!

Espio: Eh, I don't trust Capper either.

Blaze: Neither do I.

Charmy: Come on, guys. We should trust him, he's not that bad.

Ray: Yeah, there's no need to be so judgemental.

Pinkie Pie: Presides, we could definitely use a friend out here!

I'm The Friend You Need/Tempest in Kludgetown/Leaving Kludgetown

Capper: [his ears twitched, able to hear the whispering group loud and clear] You know what? Little Cotton Candy Hair is right. And, if I do say so myself...

[Capper]

This town is not a nice place

For little fillies all alone

There are lots of twists and corners

That could lead to the unknown

Let me guide your way

And I'll be sure to help you through

You could really use a friend out here

And luckily for you...

I'm the friend that you need

When you're lost and don't know what to do

I'm your pal, your amigo

Useful and resourceful, too

And my help, you'll concede

Is a plus guaranteed

You can call and I'll come running

Just follow my lead

'Cause I'm the friend you need!

[Klugetown Wool-Seller]

He's a friend

Scaly Klugetowner: Quite a friend!

[Klugetowners]

He's a friend indeed!

[chomp]

[Capper]

You need a bud to spot the danger

A pal to stop the creep

A chum and not a stranger to assist

You need a bro who is cunning

That can help you take the leap

A friend who knows what's lying in the mist

Don't fear these darkened alleys

They're scary, yes, I know

Why, you could use a friend

To protect you wherever you go

And such a dazzling beauty

Covered in dirt and muck

But now your fate is changing

Now you are in luck

'Cause I'm the friend that you need

When you're lost and don't know what to do

I'm your pal, your amigo

Lookin' out for friends like you

And my help, you'll concede

Is a plus guaranteed

Just call and I'll come running

We'll say it's agreed...

[to Needy] Here. Tell Verko, "My place, twenty minutes." I've got something that will "magically" erase all my debt.

'Cause I'm the friend you need!

[Ponies, Team Sonic, and Freedom Fighters]

He's a friend

Rarity: Quite a friend!

[Ponies, Team Sonic, Team Overlander, and Freedom Fighters except Twilight Sparkle, Shadow, Espio, Blaze, Reaper, Vanessa, and Marcus]

He's a friend indeed!

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] Alright, I'm convinced, we'll trust you, for now.

Capper: Thank you my friend.

Espio: But just get this, one sign of a doublecross, and we'll be out of here faster than you can say meow.

[The group stepped off the wheel as it reached its highest point, climbing in through one of the windows to enter the mill. Capper guided his guests up the stairs leading to the top, pushing the hatch up show them his living space]

Capper: Welcome, my good heroes, to my little manor. [climbedinto his home with the heroes poking their heads up from the hatch. Where they expected a run down attic, they were quite surprised by the exact opposite: many different assortments of expensive silverware and vases, some furniture that were still in good condition, a gramophone sitting on a side table beside a couch, a couple bookshelves with tomes of different subjects, and much more that intrigued]

Rarity: Ooh! A sort of a roco-hobo-Bohemian hodgepodge.

Snowdrop: I like your place.

Antoine: Hmm, I've seen bigger.

Caramel: Oh, wow! This place is so much better than any old manor!

Sonar: Yeah, not really anything special.

Cream: Well, I think it's great.

Discord: Of course you would.

Capper: Apologies for the state of my litter box. I wasn't expecting guests.

Big: Understandable.

[Soon, everyone takes a good look around]

Pinkie Pie: Ooh! So many fun breakables!

Rainbow Dash: Whoa!

Applejack: [chuckles]

[Rarity looked at a portrait of a general with a picture of Capper's face on it. Twilight look at some books on the shelves below the stairs]

Capper: Y'all sure y'all want the Hippogriffs?

Pinkie Pie: Yessirree!

Sweetie Belle: The Queen of the Hippogriffs!

Capper: Not like the Queen of the Lions, or Tigers, or Bears?

Fluttershy: Oh, my!

Twilight Sparkle: [notices a strange book] Huh?

Fang: Is something wrong there, mate?

Twilight Sparkle: No, but, I found this. [levitates the book]

Tails: Huh, do you think we should look at it?

Jet: Well, as long as we're here. I mean, it's not like Tempest is out there looking for us, right?

[Back at the marketplace, the Storm Creatures were wrecking the stalls, trying to find out where the ponies and the others are, much to the creatures' frightful horror]

Vera: [screaming]

Toothy Klugetowner: Please! Please! I don't know anything! [screams]

Grubber: You really think the ponies got thith far?

[Tempest notices a piece of Pinkie's tail hair on a piece of wood]

Tempest Shadow: [sniffs] Oh, they're here. Attention! A little purple pony passed this way. Tell me where she is...

Grubber: ...or something real bad is gonna happen. [squeaks]

Mori: You think we're gonna fall for this again? I don't know what kinda scam you're workin' with Capper and the rest of your friends, but--

Tempest Shadow: "Friends?"

Mori: Poison or no poison, you're gonna pay!

Tempest Shadow: [grunts]

Mori: [groans]

Grubber: Ohhhh, Fishman just got dropped!

Tempest Shadow: Now...

Mori: Uhhhh...

Tempest Shadow: About this... "Capper"...

[horn charges up]

[Back at Capper's home, he got to learn more about the heroes as they regaled many of their adventures to him, mostly just to stall them until Verko arrived. Some like Twilight, however, were more focused on figuring out where to find the Queen of the Hippogriffs. Luckily, Capper had a geographical book detailing the rest of the world outside of Equestria and what knowledge Twilight could recall at the top of her head. She heard her friends laughing with Capper while he relaxed on his mattress]

["The Girl from Ipanema" playing]

[Girls and Capper laughing]

[Now we go back to Capper's place where we hear the heroes laughing]

Capper: Stop playin' me! A sonic rainboom? That's not a real thang! Is that a real thing?

Rainbow Dash: I'll show ya!

[Capper panicked and Shadow stopped Rainbow before she dashed out to give him a demonstration]

Shadow: Out of the question, Rainbow Dash!

Capper: Naw-naw-naw, I don't need you sonic "rainbooming" up in my place, thank you very much.

Weather: Presides, you can only do the sonic rainboom outside once this mission is over.

[Relieved to stop Rainbow Dash, he was about to look outside, only to be stopped by Rarity, her magic aura surrounding his coat's sleeves, forcing them to be held out toward her]

Capper: Whoa, hey, hold up now.

[Capper watched curiously as Rarity levitated some sewing supplies the cat had in his home, then surprised him by fixing up some of the tears on his clothing]

Capper: Whoa.

[Capper didn't even see the stitch lines from her expert craftsmanship. She even pulled at the chest of the trench coat, adding in a couple gold buttons to make his outfit much more fitting his character]

Rarity: Here you go. I do apologize. If we were back home, I could've done something truly fabulous.

[Capper looked down at the additions to his old coat, giving the unicorn a skeptical look]

Capper: Okay... What's the catch?

Rarity: Nothing. After all that you've done for us, consider it a "thank you".

Capper: [startled by this answer, which was followed by guilt as he looked away from the fashionista] Oh...Uh, don't thank me...Really.

Cream: But we insist, Mr. Capper. Only a true friend would be reliable enough to be trustworthy.

Cheese: Chao-chao.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, thanks for everything Capper, but you should probably know why we're looking for the Hippogriffs.

Capper: Okay, why?

Princess Celestia: You see, the Storm King just invaded Canterlot and we're currently on our way to Mount Aris to ask them to help.

Capper: Mount Aris? Oh, that's actually somewhat nearby.

Pinkie Pie: Oh, you mean that mountain right outside the window?

[Pinkie pointed out the very window, where everyone can see, far beyond the vast desert and the ocean in the distance, was a tall mountain in the middle of the ocean]

Star Swirl: That was easy to find.

Stygian: Indeed, quite convenient actually.

Sonic: [chuckles] I guess you could say it's- Plot convenience! [laughs] Get it? [silence] Aw...

Gleam: Oh, I get it!

Starlight Glimmer: Well, at least we know we're heading the right way now!

Capper: Objects in windows may be less mountainous than they appear. Heh heh heh...

[Shadow was suspicious of the cat's behavior, but he and the others had more important matters to deal with than the shifty-looking feline]

FriendBot: I feel like that's referencing some old movie.

Princess Luna: Thank you for your assistance Capper, we'll be on our way now.

Twilight Sparkle: Right, let's go, everypony.

Chip: Alright, let's go to Mount Aris!

Gmerl: Okay, let's go!

Chocola: Chao-chao.

Capper: [gasps] Wait! [cat yowl] You can't—you can't make it by y'allselves. You need an airship! And lucky for you, I can get you a ride.

Shadow: Uh, thanks for the offer.

Twilight Sparkle: But I think we can get there on our own. [levitates to open the door, meeting face to face with a naked mole rat in a business suit, top hat, and a pair of goggles hiding his eyes]

Verko: Here's Verko! [laughs]

Twilight Sparkle/Sunset Shimmer: [gasps]

Sonic: What the flip?!

[Verko let himself inside, inspecting the mares]

Verko: These ponies better shoot rainbow lasers out their eyes if they're gonna settle your debt! Brought the big cage. [Outside, everyone could see out the opened door the same mole Capper informed, sitting in front of a wagon with a built in cage that was pulled by some strange creatures] Let's load 'em up!

Silver: ...I'm sorry, what in the world did you just say???

Mane Nine: [gasp]

[Everyone gasped in horror, her and the other mares glaring at their so-called friend for helping guide them through Kludgetown]

Sonic: What? [gives Capper a death stare] WHAT?!

Rarity: You were... You were going to sell us?

Charmy: TRAITOR!!!

Knuckles: [angrily] So you were using us just so you could sell us!!!

Sticks: That sneaky kitty! He think that he can fool us into thinking he can help us!

Amy Rose: We’re outta here! This shell of a kitty con-artist’s not worth our time!

Vector: [at Capper] Listen here, buster! If you think-

Shadow: [facepalms] I knew something was suspicious about him! Honestly, some of you can really be oblivious sometimes.

Twilight Sparkle: Criticize us later!

Sonic: Thanks a lot, Feline!

Espio: I knew something was suspicious about you!

Capper: W-Wait, I-I didn't-

Sonic: You were going to sell us? To that pack rat?!

Verko: The name's Verko, vermin.

Shadow: Who cares!? We're not pets, and we're not being sold to you! [to Capper] And you, cat, was this what you were planning to do!? Sell us to clear out some kind of debt you couldn't pay off!? You think this is all some kind of game!? You're nothing but a lowlife thief who cares about no one but himself, and you don't care about who you hurt in the process!

Capper: Now now, I can explain-

Sonic: We're in a very serious predicament, and we don't need you getting us behind bars for others' entertainment or be their playthings! We're leaving! And you and your boss over there aren't going to be a darn thing to stop us!

Twilight Sparkle: Speaking my thoughts for me, c'mon, we gotta get outta here!

Majesty: And fast!

Jet: Oh come on, it's not like Tempest is here.

Tails: NO DON'T SAY THAT-

Tempest Shadow: [chuckles evilly]

Sonic: Uh-oh...

[Everyone looked to see Tempest appear outside]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps]

Tempest Shadow: Silly little ponies. Should have left while you could.

Twilight Sparkle: Tempest!

Shadow: This was also the reason why I wanted us to leave...

Spike: [screams]

Sweetie: Oh no!

Sonic: [to Jet] You were saying?

Knuckles: We all thought she wasn't following us and you blew it!

Jet: Why can't I shut my mouth?

Omega: Bring the pain protocols activated!

Fluttershy: [squeaks]

Tails: [uneasy] She was following us, wasn't she?

Princess Celestia: I believe so...

Sally Acorn: Well that's just great.

Tempest Shadow: [resumes chuckling] Trusting strangers? Big mistake. Big...

Grubber: Huge!

Verko: Hoo-hoo! My goodness! Well, look at you! With your scary broken horn and scowly eyes. What tricks do you know, my little pony-wony?

[Tempest growled, aiming her horn in Verko's face, then unleashed a powerful magic jolt. Verko was painfully zapped, his body scorched black as he let go of the irritated mare]

Verko: [weakly] Not bad... [faints, revealing the heroes climbing out of the window]

Tails: That'll sting for him in the morning.

Ruby: [hiding in Knuckes' quills] Yeah...

Fang: Uh, run?

Omochao: Or fly?!

Bark: Right, time to go!

[the heroes quickly ran for their lives]

Twilight Sparkle: Go! Go!

Sonic: Move those legs and hooves people!

Tempest Shadow: Get them now!

Grubber: You gonna be scared now, ponies!

Shard the Metal Sonic: LIES!

Mane Six: [panting]

Charmy: [scared] They’re gaining on us! I don’t think we’ll be able to outrun them for long!

[storm creatures grunting]

Heroes: [screaming and grunting]

[The heroes climbed on the windmill but a guard grabbed a blade as it began to pass the window, halting its movement while keeping Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Spike on the opposite end at the top from moving]

Fluttershy: They're gonna catch us!

Rainbow Dash: Then we'll push back! C'mon, Twilight!

[Getting her hint, Twilight flew underneath Rainbow and helped push hard. Together, they managed to overpower the soldier, increasing their speed and sent the whole windmill rapidly spinning in the opposite direction of its original, gentle flow. It smacked the soldier hard, knocking him out cold while screams coming from the heroes holding on tightly could be heard throughout half the town. The speed and reverse direction was too much for the supports holding the windmill in place, snapping off and sending it and its riders flying and bouncing down across the city. Twilight forced herself to look back while disoriented from the constant flipping]

Mane Six: [screaming]

Applejack: I'm... gonna... be... sick!

Sonic: Get me off of this thing!

[the windmill finally slammed into a building, sending its occupants flying onto some scaffolding. The group landed, staggering slightly out of dizziness before finally getting their bearings and ran as the scaffolding began to crumble and collapse from the giant runaway blades. They leapt through the window of a building at the end, safely making it out and kept on running for the docks to escape Tempest's guards]

Twilight Sparkle: We have to get there! To the docks! Hurry!

[Rainbow Dash grabbed the rope as she puts it down then the heroes walks on the rope]

Applejack: That's it.

Rarity: [yelps]

Applejack: Don't look down now!

Knuckles: Steady now. Don't loose your balance...

Blaze: Easier said than done, I don't even like heights! [hyperventilates]

Pearl: Just stay calm, Blaze, you can do it.

Spike: [yells]

Pinkie Pie: Yay!

Spike: Dah!

Pinkie Pie: Woo!

Tails: Uh, Pinkie, wings, remember?

Pinkie Pie: Oh, right.

Big: Wait, how is this rope still stable if I'm on it? [falls off with Froggy following shortly after; screaming]

Cream: I'll save you, Mr. Big!

Cheese: Chao-chao!

[Big fell towards the rocks but Cream catches him just in time and flies him back to the others]

Shadow: Okay, enough wasting time! Chaos Control! [warps everyone to the ship]

Zooey: Whew, that was a close call.

Cosmo: Sure is.

Twilight Sparkle: [pants, grunts]

Pinkie Pie: Best... escape... plan... ever!

Twilight Sparkle/Knuckles/Shadow/Vanessa: WHAT?!?!

Eclipse: Are you insane!? We nearly got killed back there!

Marine: Eh, she's always been weird in the head, but hey, it's how she works at the end of the day.

Amy Rose: You okay, Big?

Big: Yeah, I'm fine, thanks for asking. Froggy's okay too. Not sure if Blaze is though...

Blaze: [still hyperventilating] (Calm down, Blaze, nothing to be afraid of...) [starts calming down] I did it, I remained strong!

[Just then, and before Shadow could scold Pinkie for doing something that insane, they heard a sound coming their way]

Princess Cadance: Quick, hide!

[Everyone went into hiding, with Applejack's rope grabbing Big and pulling him over to the group]

Spike: Shh!

Sally Acorn: [whispering] Quiet.

Sticks: Why, what's the worst that can-

Knuckles: [covers Sticks' mouth] Sorry Sticks, but it's for your own good.

Skyla: Do you think they saw us?

Ben Muttski: No...

[Two silhouettes appears above them]

Boyle: Did you hear something?

Squabble: [squawks]

Boyle: Eh, probably just the rats. If we find 'em, we'll eat 'em.

Rarity: Rats?

[The white alicorn whimpered, more disturbed by running into rats on the airship than getting eaten by this group of sailors. Silver peeked around the crates to see who they would have to deal with to commandeer this ship, but the two crewmen left the area]

Rouge: Quiet.

Princess Cadence: Please, we don't want to get discovered...

Belle: Got it.

Vanessa: At least you’re not idiotic and crazy like Pinkie.

Pinkie: Hey. Words hurt, y'know...

Diamond: Well, I wouldn't go that far.

Eggman Meets Tempest/Meeting Captain Calaeno and the Pirates/Time to be Awesome

[Back at Kludgetown]

Tempest Shadow: Darn, darn, darn, darny-darn! [starts kicking a metal object in anger, one of the storm guards behind her starts running off, Tempest kicks the metal object and it lands on top of the storm guard that was running off]

Storm Creature: Ow.

[Eggman drops down on the Eggmobile]

Dr. Eggman: Loose something?

Tempest Shadow: Who are you?

Dr. Eggman: Dr. Eggman. But you can call me Dr. 'the guy who wants to join forces with you so I can use the alicorn magic to become even more powerful than I already...' you know what? Just call me 'boss.'

Tempest Shadow: I'm already working with The Storm King, you numbskull.

Dr. Eggman: Did I say I was the boss? I meant we were equal partners. [notices the storm guards pointing their spears at him] Okay, 60-40. You drive a hard bargin! I accept.

Tempest Shadow: Silence! You're even more infuriating than that hedgehog.

Dr. Eggman: [takes interest] Hedgehog? Is he and the other chumps giving you trouble?

Tempest Shadow: Hmm?

Dr. Eggman: Well, I happen to know that I've had to deal with that blue pest and his friends countless times in the past, and yes, that does include 9 of the 12 alicorn princesses you're after.

Tempest Shadow: [grows interested] I'm listening.

Dr. Eggman: Well, if you want to me capture the princesses for you, I'll happily do so.

Tempest Shadow: Hmm, fine. Just make sure to bring them alive, and I might just let you live...

Dr. Eggman: [ponders] We have ourselves a deal. Shake.

[Eggman tries to Tempest's hoof but then sees her broken horn sparking and is frightened]

Dr. Eggman: On second thought, your word is good enough for me. [flies away in the Eggmobile]

[The storm creatures pass Capper to Tempest]

Capper: [grunts]

Tempest Shadow: Now... where are they going?

[horn charges up]

Capper: Okay. No need for violence. Uh, they're headed... [looks down at the gold buttons that Rarity had given him and feels guilty again for his actions. Wanting to make up to the ponies and the others] They headed east! Yeah, to... to Black Skull Island. [Tempest and Grubber look at each other skeptically] So, uh, glad I could be of service to His Majesty, the Storm King. I'll just be on my way. [yowls]

Tempest Shadow: When I get the Princesses. Until then, your fate is still... up in the air.

Grubber: [laughs] Oh, you're gonna go in the air! Which is a boat! Theoretically, a air-boat! [laughs]

Capper: [yowls]

Grubber: We make a great team. I love it how you said his fate was "up in the air", and then I said, "you're gonna be in the air on an air-boat!"

[Meanwhile, the heroes were on board of the airship much to the unawareness of its' crew, which were all parrots... When the ship suddenly crashed into a mountain and exploded, the red word "DEAD" flashed, also making a ¨death¨ sound effect. The screen zoomed out, revealing that Storm was only playing a video game on his phone]

Storm: Aww, I got dead again! This game stinks!

Bean: No kidding.

Sonia: So... We almost there?

Silver: I don't know. I think we might be going off course, but I can't get a better look with the crew wandering around the ship. [quietly stood up and peeked through the crates, Rainbow and Applejack already peeking through another crack between the cargo to get a better look]

[The crew, to Silver's surprise, were a group of anthropomorphic parrots, each of them wearing dark grayish-blue uniforms with the Storm King's symbol on the sleeves. "Huh. There seems to be a lot more creatures in this world outside of Equestria," he uttered to himself. He, Rainbow, and Applejack watched the parrots moving around some of their cargo, only four from their concealed vantage point. One was female, who was stout and a chubby with pink feathers, while the other three males with green feathers: one quite muscular with a bronze-looking stump, clearly having lost that part in some accident, one skinnier with an eye patch over his right eye, and the last one walked about in a ditsy manner, feathers plucked or fallen out, and eyes looking about in different directions, even rolling around with every shake of their head. One of the green parrots blocked their view, let out a disgusting belch, then scratch his rear, to the spies disgust]

Rainbow Dash: Blugh!

Sonia: Yuck!

Amy Rose: Gross!

Silver: Okay, didn't need to see that.

Manic: So what now?

Snowdrop: How should we know?

Tunette: I say we hang low for now. Best that we keep ourselves quiet

Diamond: Good idea.

Amy Rose: Yeah, that does sound good, Tunette. Even though that's what we've been doing for the last few minutes...

Cream: [looks at the pirates] Hmm...

Caramel: What are you thinking, Cream?

Cream: Well, I was thinking if we just ask them nicely, maybe they'll take us to Mount Aris.

Cheese: Chao-chao.

Shine: Are you sure that'll work?

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, it does sound pretty risky.

Applejack: Well, whadaya think? Should we just...ask them to take us?

Shadow: Oh no, last time we trusted someone, we nearly got ourselves sold by that sneaky feline!

Twilight Sparkle: Shadow does have a point, but it's best to stay quiet for now.

Pinkie: I don't know, maybe they're more friendly.

Silver: They're wearing the Storm King's creepy eyes...or horn sigil thing on their clothes, I doubt they'll be willing to help a princess the Storm King's after, or appreciate us stowing away on their ship.

Sticks: [standing up] Hey, come on now, as long they don't see us, we'll be fine!

[Suddenly, one of the crates were lifted away from their hiding place, the stowaways immediately caught by the parrot crew. Team Sonic quickly got in front of the girls to protect them as the parrots barred their passage, the muscular male hefting the crate over his shoulder with a smirk]

Sticks: They already found us, didn't they? [looks behind her] Yipe! [jumps into Big's arms]

Big: Hello!

Mane Nine: [gasp]

Skyla: Yipe!

Apple Bloom: Uh-oh.

Bark: Oh great, our cover's blown!

Fang: We're so busted...

Bean: I don't even know what to think of this.

Boyle: Hey, guys! Come check this out!

Mullet: Looks like a pack of stowaways.

Lix Spittle: What are we s'posed to do with 'em?

Squabble: [squawks]

Boyle: I think we tie 'em up!

Applejack: [gasps]

Lix Spittle: [squawks] We clip their wings!

Rainbow Dash: [gasps]

Jewel: [hops into Tangle's arms] No thank you!

Mullet: Nah. We scar 'em...

Rarity: [yelps]

Honey: Anywhere but the face!

Mullet: ...emotionally!

Fluttershy: [sobs]

Amour: Someone do something!

Sonic: You come near me or my friends, and you'll regret it!

Mullet: Big talk from a giant rodent.

[Sonic let out a frustrated groan, being called a rodent once more]

Sonic: I'm a hedgehog! Hedge-hog! Not a rodent! Do I even look like one to you?!

Mullet: What say the book, Captain Celaeno?

[The parrots stepped aside for their fifth member, their captain. Another female parrot, her feathers white with light green feathers as her hair, two fringes curled over her forehead, and two different shades of emerald green for her tail. She wore the same kind of uniform her crew wore, a scabbard with a cutlass holstered in it, a bandanna keeping her hair feathers down, and her right leg gone, replaced with a wooden peg leg. Celaeno had a book in her hands, the Storm King's sigil marking the cover of the book as she read through the long rule book on what the Storm King expects them to do in certain situations]

Captain Celaeno: Storm King's rule book says, "Throw them overboard."

Sonic: What?!

Mane Six: Huh?

Whisper: Overboard?!

Espio: Oh boy, we're in trouble!

Big: Uh-oh!

Moon Dancer: You can't do that!

Vector: Overboard! Die? You don't understand. We're on the run.

[The heroes backed away as the parrots got closer, one of them setting up a gangplank off the side for them to all walk off and plummet to their deaths. Despite some of them being able to fly and some like Knuckles being able to survive falling from a great height, their idea of throwing them over wouldn't do much. Not willing to let their chance to reach Mount Aris faster be taken from them, Sonic summoned his sword, startling the parrots with his weapon appearing in a flash of light out of thin air as he prepared to retaliate]

Vector: Cast a vote for mercy here!

Sonic: You're not throwing us off your ship; we're gonna commandeer it! We've got somewhere we need to be, and I'll fight you all off if I have to! I mean, I really don't want to if you give me no choice. Just let us head south, and we'll let you and your crew go.

[a loud whistle from nearby caught everyone's attention]

Captain Celaeno: All right! That's lunch!

[Next thing the heroes knew, they were in the dining room of the ship, and sat down with bowls of brown slop slamming down in front of everyone]

Twilight Sparkle: What?

Daiman: So, we're not going overboard?

Apple Bloom: Well that's a relief.

Omochao: Yeah...

[the parrots dug into their disgusting meal, where it was obvious it wasn't as good tasting as it looked, while the stowaways stared in bewilderment. They were going to get tossed overboard, Sonic was going to fight Celaeno to take control of her ship, and now they seemed to forget about all of that and have a lunch break]

Tangle: ...Uhh...okay? This is...weird...

Vector: This wasn't what I meant, but okay then.

Troy: Well, at least we're safe...

Shine: For now...

Sunset Shimmer: This doesn't make any sense.

Starlight Glimmer: I know what you mean, Sunset.

Gleam: So, what do we do now?

Knuckles: Well, they just tried to throw us overboard, so LET'S PUNCH'EM!

Everyone: NO!

Sonic: We don't want to cause a commotion!

Espio: Yeah, it wouldn't be necessary.

Ruby: [worriedly] Exactly! Senseless violence doesn't solve anything!

Omochao: Yeah, think before you act!

Knuckles: [crosses his arms] Sorry, geez.

Beam: [gets a bomb out] Eh?

Wave: Don't you dare.

Beam: Well, it was worth a shot.

Rainbow Dash: [to the pirates] Whoa whoa whoa! So you were going to toss us overboard and you stopped for a lunch break!?

[Twilight leaned over the table, giving Rainbow Dash a deadly look, silently signalling her to shut up or they'll most likely end up getting thrown overboard anyway, though Silver gave the impression to just let her speak and do her thing]

Boyle: Storm King only allows one break a day for meals, then it's back to hauling goods.

Antoine: So you're delivery guys?

Captain Celaeno: And gals. These uniforms aren't exactly doing us any favors.

Twilight Sparkle: Then can you deliver us to Mount Aris?

Captain Celaeno: Sorry. We do what the Storm King orders or we suffer his wrath.

Twilight Sparkle: Right. Still going overboard.

Sally Acorn: Why do you even listen to him anyway?

Lix Spittle: Eh, it's nothing personal. Pudding?

Rarity: There's pudding? [splut] Oh.

Bunnie Rabbot: That's pudding?

Lightning Dust: That doesn't even look like pudding.

Rainbow Dash: You weren't always delivery birds, were you? What about before the Storm King?

Captain Celaeno: Yeah. We used to be much more adventurous.

[She looked over at a poster of the Storm King, the very same one that the invading airship in Equestria unfurled to show the ponies their new overlord. There was something behind it; a black tattered cloth. But when Celaeno moved it away, she unveiled the image the poster covered, which made Marine gasp in awe as they saw a parrot skull and crossbones on the cloth]

Pinkie Pie: Ooh! I met that guy in the desert!

Rainbow Dash: Whoa! You used to be pirates?! [realizes] You guys are parrots, and the missing limbs and...How did I not notice this until now!?

[Twilight and several others didn't like hearing that. It was bad enough that these parrots work for the Storm King. Not it was far worse learning they were formerly pirates, and knowing how much they love to hoard treasures for themselves, they would surely go after a bounty if Tempest decided to place one on hthem Plus, the way Rainbow Dash looks at them in excitement made her more nervous. They may have friends who are pirates themselves, but with THESE pirates working for the Storm King, it probably wasn't a good idea to befriend them in the event they decide to stab them in the back if Tempest's airship spots them]

Mullet: Um, we prefer the term "swashbuckling treasure hunters".

Rainbow Dash: So... pirates.

Squabble: [squawks]

Marine: Okay, I admit, that is actually AWESOME!!!

[Shadow growled, giving Marine the stink eye, gesturing her to stop talking in case she make things worse]

Rainbow Dash: You birds have a choice to make. You could let some cloven-hoofed Storm King tell you how to live your lives, or... [tears off the Storm King picture in front of the pirate symbol banner] ...you could be awesome again!

Twilight Sparkle: Rainbow Dash, I'm not sure if this is a good time for a-

[Rainbow Dash]

I know the world can get you down

Twilight Sparkle: [puts a hoof on her head] -song...

Snowdrop: Just let her, this place could really use lighting up.

[Rainbow Dash]

Things don't work out quite the way that you thought

Feeling like all your best days are done

Your fears and doubts are all you've got

But there's a light shining deep inside

Beneath those fears and doubts, so just squash 'em

And let it shine for all the world to see

That it is time, yeah, time to be awesome

[Ponies]

Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome!

It's time to be so awesome!

Ah, ah, ah-ah, awesome!

It's time to be so awesome!

[Captain Celaeno]

You've no idea how hard it's been

[Ponies]

(It's time to be awesome!)

[Captain Celaeno]

This dull routine we've been forced to do

[Rainbow Dash]

Don't let them rob you of who you are

Be awesome, it's all up to you

[Captain Celaeno]

I feel the light stirring deep inside

It's like a tale still yet to be told

[Ponies]

(It's time to be awesome!)

[Rainbow Dash and Captain Celaeno]

And now it's time to break the shackles free

And start living like the brave and the bold!

[All]

It's time to be awesome!

Let loose, be true, so awesome!

It's time to be awesome!

Go big, be you, so awesome!

[Mullet]

We used to soar through the clouds in the skies

[Lix Spittle]

Elaborate schemes we would love to devise

[Boyle]

We rescued our treasure and stored it away

[Captain Celaeno]

Saving those gemstones for a rainy day

[All]

We see that light filling up our skies

[Rainbow Dash]

So take the Storm King's orders and toss 'em

[All]

'Cause it's the time to let our colors fly

[Captain Celaeno]

Hey, scallywags, it's time to be awesome!

[All]

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

[instrumental continues]

Freedom Fighters vs. Eggman Empire/Infinite Betrays the Eggman Empire/Heading to Mount Aris

[The crew and their new friends roared in cheers, the parrots feeling much more relieved getting back to their old and favorite business. They may still fear the Storm King and his rule, but they will no longer bow to his will and show that fear. Celaeno leapt back onto the deck of the ship, then made her way up to the helm and took the wheel]

Captain Celaeno: Come on! Let's show these little ponies how it's done!

[Celaeno's crew gathered to a set of ropes, each of them grabbing one and pulled them down. Their balloon holding the airship aloft began to shift, the outer covering kicking up dust as it fanned out, revealing sails that were hidden on top of it. The sails were in the shape of wing feathers, each section colored like a rainbow with red at the bottom and continuing upward with purple at the top. The new crew mates stared in awe, neither of them expecting them to have sails like that, and the sky pirates were proud to have their colors hoisted back up again after so long]

Mane Six: [oohing and ahing]

Sticks: That was amazing!

Sonic: Wow. Now that's showing your colors. Captain Celaeno and her merry gang of pirates are back in action!

Rainbow Dash: Awesome! I knew you had it in ya! And now for the finishing touch!

Twilight Sparkle: Wait, would it be safe to do a Sonic Rainboom? I mean, Tempest could still be looking for us...

Sonic: Relax, Twilight. I know you're worried about what this Storm King will do with you and the other princesses' magic, but as long as you have us, you and your fellow princesses won't get kidnapped and the rest of us won't have to worry, presides, this whole situation is a lot better than dealing with-

Dr. Eggman: [in the Egg Carrier with the whole Eggman Armada] SURPRISE!!! [laughs]

Sonic: [his smug smile drops from his face as he sees his nemesis] EGGMAN?!?

Dr. Eggman: In the flesh, Hedgehog, but seriously, surprised to see me?

Rainbow Dash: Not really, actually.

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, and also, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!?

Infinite: [warps in] Let's just say that we made a deal with that Tempest Shadow girl to let us capture the princesses for her.

Shadow: [looks at Sonic] You just had to jinx it, didn't you?

Sonic: [sighs] Of course Egghead would want to join forces with the Storm King, WHO WOULD'VE GUESSED!

Shadow: No surprise there, though considering his past alliances ended up not lasting long, I bet this'll be no different.

Captain Celaeno: Well, this looks bad...

Amy Rose: Don't worry. We have a thing where we fight, he loses. It's a well-established dynamic.

Dr. Eggman: Not this time!

Sonic: [] I don't know what you're planning, Eggman. But it's just gonna end like all your plans do: with you sitting in a pile of busted robot parts wondering how you failed so badly.

Dr. Eggman: Just surrender the princesses to us and you'll all be unharmed!

Captain Celaeno: Wow, I'm sensing a real fraught history here. How many times have you beaten this clown anyway?

Silver: More times than we can count.

Fluttershy: We'd better get out of here while there's still time!

Nicole: No, we have to help, abandoning them could risk them getting captured.

Cosmo: We're heroes, heroes don't just run away from the fight.

Tails: You're right, heroes go out and save the world.

Sonic: And presides, we've beaten this Egghead time and time again, so I say we help the pirates while we're still here.

Fluttershy: [sighs] Alright, let's get to it!

Dr. Eggman: [groans angrily] Fine, have it your way! Robots, ATTACK!

Sally Acorn: Battle stations, everyone!

Marine: Aye aye!

Omega: Eggman robots sighted, prepare to attack.

[The heroes quickly make their defense and preparation for the battle against their enemies. Captain Celaeno's crew quickly searched and gathered cannons, weapons and blasters for the fight]

Sonic: [revs up] Show time! [runs off the ship as record breaking speeds] WOOHOO! [homing attacks into several badniks]

Shine/Moonlight: Be careful everyone!

[the battle begins, with the strongest members of the Freedom Fighters and the flyers charging in to the Eggman Armada, and it went relatively well, with some of the weaker battleships getting destroyed]

Sonic: [runs into Metal Sonic upon landing on the Egg Carrier] Oh, evening faker, how are you doing?

Metal Sonic: You should know, Sonic!

Sonic: Oh, is that so, in case, how's about a little race action!

Metal Sonic: [mockingly] How's about a little race action!

Sonic: Uh, what are you doing?

Metal Sonic: [mockingly] What are you doing?

Sonic: Are you trying to mimic me?

Metal Sonic: [mockingly] Are you trying to mimic me?

Sonic: Cut that out.

Metal Sonic: [mockingly] Cut that out.

Sonic: Seriously, cut that out!

Metal Sonic: [mockingly] Seriously, cut that out!

Sonic: I'm being serious, that's getting very annoying!

Sapphire: Sonic, focus! Pull yourself together!

Metal Sonic: [babbles] Oh look at me, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog, I run super fast and eat nothing but chili-dogs all day, I also have a squeaky voiced sidekick and a girlfriend who wields a giant hammer and everything in this world is WAY past cool! Huh! Huh! HUH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Everyone stares at Metal Sonic like he's some sort of madman]

Sonic: [confused] I, uh... I don't... sound... anything... like that-

Metal Sonic: Also, I'm thinking of surrendering to the Eggman Empire.

[Sonic rammed Metal Sonic right into a battleship with his spindash, making said battleship explode]

Mimic: Um... I'll admit, that impression was really good.

Morpho: I know right, he really nailed it.

Mimic: Wait, why are you out here?

Morpho: Oh, uh. [runs off]

Reaper: More like an idiotic mocking impression of Sonic.

Sonic: You said it!

Omega: [fires several missiles at badniks] Must eradicate all Eggman Robots!

Neo Metal Sonic: Oh look, a walking tin can, I'll take care of him! [charges at Omega but then freezes in his tracks] Wha... [starts short-circuiting and spitting out nonsense] Puppet, tin, can- [everyone starts laughing]

Tails: [messing with Neo Metal's programming with the Miles Electric] And presto!

Neo Metal Sonic: [malfunctioning] Curse you, you two-tailed rodent!

Zooey: [hits Neo Metal with a frying pan] Hey, that's my boyfriend you're talking to!

[Rough and Tumble were fighting Mighty and Ray]

Rough: Let's show these two punks that Rough & Tumble mean business!

Tumble: Dibs on the runt!

Ray: Runt, really?

Tumble: Stop talking! [gets punched by Mighty]

Mighty: Yeah, no.

[Rough throws a smoke grenade at Mighty, but he just uses his shell to repel back at him]

Rough: [screams] No fair, no fair!

Tumble: [grabs Rough's arm] Bail, bail! [runs off]

Thrash: I'm gonna seekh kabab ya! [Mighty trips him] Ow.

Dr. Eggman: THEY'RE TEARING THEIR WAY THROUGH MY ARMY!!! HOW IS IT THAT THEY ALWAYS FIND A WAY TO INTERFERE WITH MY PLANS?!?! [watching over the battle] Ugh, I'm surrounded by idiots...

Dr. Eggette: I wouldn't say ALL of them are idiots, Uncle, but... Yeah...

Doctor Starline: Should Snively prepare the Egg Emperor for you sir? [gets no response] Sir?

Dr. Eggman: [looking at Sonic] Him. It's always HIM! ALWAYS THERE! ALWAYS IN. MY. WAY!!! [slammed his fists on the table in a fit of rage; looked at the Mane Nine] And those Ponies. They've been a thorn in my side ever since I first arrived here! I will NOT allow my plans to fail again! This is where it ends! [to Eggman Nega and Eggette] You two, come with me! We're going to do things my way, Snively, prepare the Egg Emperor for deployment!

Snively: With pleasure, sir!

[On the pirate's airship, Rotor and Antoine were pointing a cannon]

Rotor: Okay, to the left.

Antoine: Wait, your left or my left?

Rotor: Oh for the love of- my left is your left, we are facing the same direction!

Antoine: Oh. [aims it at the main airship] Okay, ready.

Marine: Alright, FIRE! [fires a cannonball out of the cannon which hits another battleship] Direct hit!

Jet: Hey, that seems like a smart idea, Storm, throw something.

Storm: Hmm... [grabs Jewel]

Jewel: Huh? What are you- [screams as she gets thrown off the airship]

Jet: [shocked] I DIDN'T MEAN HER, YOU DOLT!

Wave: [to Storm] Are you trying to make us look incompetent.

Storm: Beats me, I don't even know what that word means.

[Wave facepalms]

Jewel: [crashes into a badnik as she lands] Well, at least I'm safe. [gets surrounded by badniks] Or not...

Tangle: Take this! [takes out the badniks with her tail] Are you okay?

Jewel: Don't worry, I'm fine.

Tangle: Good to hear.

Gamma: [shooting at several badniks] Advance so I may shoot you.

[At that moment, Eggman showed up in the Egg Emperor]

Dr. Eggman: Stop destroying my robots, do you know how much time it takes to rebuild those?!

Fiona: Don't you stockpile these? [hits another robot]

Dr. Eggman: That's not the point! [starts attacking the heroes]

Sonic: [to Silver] Silver. Me, Amy, Whisper, and Gadget are gonna head into the main control room and shut the other airships down, can you and the others cover for us? [runs off]

Silver: Sure! [to Eggman] Come at me!

[Eggman fires several missiles at Silver, who redirects them at Eggman Nega's ship]

Eggman Nega: I should've stayed in bed today...

[Eggman Nega's battleship gets blown up]

[Inside the Egg Carrier, alarms were going off as Sonic, Amy, Whisper, and Gadget ran through the corridor, taking down badniks at every turn]

Sonic: Way too slow! C'mon, step it up! [homing attacks into several badniks] Amy, quick, use your secret triple backflip move!

Amy Rose: It's not a secret if you tell everyone! [hits several badniks with her hammer before pulling off her move]

Sonic: [embarrassed] Right, sorry. [boosts through several more badniks before noticing the door closing] Uh-oh.

Whisper: I've got this. [switches her Variable Wispon to rocket mode and fires a rocket at the door, blowing it up]

Sonic: [stops by the door] Ladies first.

Amy Rose: [passes by him with Whisper] Thank you.

Doctor Starline: [from the shadows] Wow, I can't believe it, they actually fell into my hands. [his eyes briefly turn into dollar signs as he rubs his hands together] Promotion, here I come!

Gadget: Alright, control room shouldn't be too far now, we've just to get past more security. [notices Starline's shadow] And I use the term loosely.

Sonic: [notices the shadow too] Oh yeah, Doctor Starline.

Doctor Starline: Very astute. While I'm not impressed that you found me that easily, [grabs Eggman's laser gun] I'm afraid this is where it ends for you- [Whisper shoots the gun before Starline can fire it] Hey!

Amy Rose: Nice work, Whisper!

Doctor Starline: [angrily] That was a high quality piece of Eggman technology!

Sonic: Yeah, and it comes with a free butt-kicking! [kicks Starline's legs tripping him]

Doctor Starline: Hey, that's not fair- [gets whacked in the head by Amy's hammer; dizzy] I like cottan candy! [falls to the ground knocked out]

Gadget: Was knocking him out necessary?

Whisper: If we didn't him blowing our cover, yes.

Amy Rose: That figures.

[Outside, Orbot and Cubot were watching from one of the airships]

Orbot: It seems that most of our forces have been eliminated.

Cubot: Blown up even!

Scratch: Yeah, wait, why are we in the explosives ship?

Decoe: It was the only one available.

Bocoe: Yeah, it was either this or we'd have to share with Neo Metal.

Coconuts: Well, still, being a actual help would be great!

Grounder: [suddenly hears the sound of a fuse being lit] Uh, guys, do you hear that?

Cubot: What? [notices several of Bean's bombs near the explosives, with Fang lighting the fuse on one of them]

Fang: Run!

Bark: You've got it, boss!

Bean: Bye bye, birdie! [jumps off with the others]

Bokkun: Uh-oh...

[The airship Orbot, Cubot, Decoe, Bocoe, Bokkun, Scratch, Grounder, and Coconuts was on exploded, their parts rain back onto the main airship]

Orbot: [his head lands] How did we not notice the Hooligans?

Cubot: [his head lands; pirate voice] Arr, shiver me timbers!

Bokkun: Oh great, his voicechip's stuck on pirate again.

[Now back to Sonic, Amy, Gadget, and Whisper]

Sonic: Okay, the main control room for the other airships should be just up ahead.

Gadget: Good, I'm already getting a little tired...

Sonic: Eh, don't worry about it, Gadget. You'll be- [sees a robot that looks like FriendBot] What the?!

[The robot attempts to fire at the four, only to get shot by the real FriendBot]

FriendBot: Did you know that that wasn't me?

Sonic: Yes? Didn't I tell you to cover for us?

FriendBot: You did, but I was bored, and you were in trouble.

???

Princess Cadance: What's it looking like out there?

Twilight Sparkle: Uh, let us just check...

[The Mane Nine activated their magic and within a second, they immediately felt something tightening around their hooves on the ground. As they had expected considering the spell they were using, their hooves had slowly turned into stone. The Mane Nine stayed as calm as possible while their bodies became more imprisoned with each passing second. Eventually they turned into statues and their spirits appeared before flew up to look at the battlefield]

Princess Luna: Should we?

Princess Celestia: It’s okay. Just let them do what they have to...

[After looking at the battle for about a minute, they flew back down and returned to their bodies, the petrification wearing off]

Starlight Glimmer: At the rate it's going, we might just be able to win.

???

Sonic: Zavok! Where's Eggman?

Zavok: The doctor can't see you now, I on the other hand, have been REALLY looking forward to this! [cracks his knuckles]

???

Zavok: [groans in defeat] No! How could I lose to the likes of you again?!

Sonic: Teamwork and friendship beats all, Zeti. Take a hint.

???

Dr. Eggman: I don't understand... YOU SOMEHOW ALWAYS COME OUT ON TOP! HOW?! HOW DO YOU ALWAYS WIN?!

Sonic: I believe it's called a skill issue.

[That had set him off. Eggman launched everything. Rockets, lasers, buzzsaws, tendrils, meteors, all of it. All of it sent out to try and kill the hedgehog who had thwarted his plans a thousand times over. The hedgehog laughed excitedly as he avoids all of it. He swerved up and down, left and right, teleports in and out of reality and manages to get close enough to the Egg Emperor to inflict some damage]

???

[The rest of the Eggman Empire ships went up in flames, Eggman's little sneak attack had ultimately failed]

Dr. Eggman: W-WHAT?! NO! IMPOSSIBLE!!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?!

Cluck: [squarks furiously]

Sonic: [runs out the control room with Amy, Whisper, and Gadget, who regroup with the others] Heh-heh, looks like you're all outta luck Baldy McNosehair, now to finish this!

Dr. Eggman: Wha- [sees Sonic spindash off the battleship and rush towards him at max speed] Hey, wait stop, n-n-no! This is a delicate machine! [but it was too late, as Sonic homing attacks straight through the Egg Emperor, causing critical damage and forcing Eggman to eject the Eggmobile from it] You blue buffoon, you've ruined everything!

Sonic: [lands on the airship] That's the idea! Either way, it looks like your little sneak attack failed.

Twilight Sparkle: Great work, everyone!

Discord: No problem, Twilight.

Dr. Eggman: [groans angrily] You haven't won yet, Sonic, Tempest WILL get those alicorns eventually, and once she does, The Storm King's plan will eliminate the bothersome lot of you!

Tails: Wait what?

Starlight Glimmer: What plan?

Infinite: If we told you, it wouldn't be a surprise! [looks at the princesses] Keep your magic for now! But you won't be so lucky next time, I swear it!

[The badly damaged Egg Carrier turned around and flew off with what little remained of the Eggman Armada]

Dr. Eggman: [as he flew off] I hate that hedgehog. I hate him! I HATE HIM! HATE HIM!!! HATE! HATE! HATE! HATE! HAAAAAAAAAATE!!!!

Sally Acorn: Good riddance.

[everyone cheers]

Sally Acorn: [gets her communicator] How's the rescue operations going?

Doctor Ellidy: [via communicator] Pretty well, Sally, we have had some close calls though.

Nikki: [via communicator] But we're doing all we can so everyone can play their part!

Vanilla: [via communicator] And we've also be attending to everyone who suffered due to the Storm Creatures' poor treatment.

Sir Charles Hedgehog [via communicator] Yeah, we should be done pretty soon, so be sure to stay updated.

Sally: Okay.

Captain Celaeno: Thanks for the assistance, that was honestly the most fun we've had in a long time.

Rainbow Dash: No problem, now, where was I?

Twilight Sparkle: You were gonna do a Sonic Rainboom.

Shadow: Yeah, an- [an shattering sound is heard as he realized] Wait, what?!

Rainbow Dash: Oh, right. [takes off her pirate cap and started flying up high into the sky as everyone watched her climb higher and higher before dropping back down and speeding up in a nosedive]

Pinkie Pie: Rainboom! Rainboom! Rainboom!

Sonic: Go Rainbow Dash, woo!

Shadow: No no no no no! No! Twilight, stop her!

Twilight Sparkle: What? What's she-?

[But it was too late for her, or anyone, to stop Rainbow. The cone around her already formed, breaking through the sound barrier and color spectrum and released a shockwave explosion of sound and rainbows. The sonic rainboom pushed away the clouds as the ring of colorful light stretched out, Rainbow leaving behind a trail behind her as she circled around Celaeno's ship while cheering in accomplishment, showing off in her usual fashion]

Rainbow Dash: Aw, yeah! [laughs]

Captain Celaeno: Wow!

Shadow: That was a bad idea...

Twilight Sparkle: [taking off her pirate captain hat] What's wrong, Shadow?

Shadow: Didn't you mention earlier that Tempest could still be looking for us?!

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, wh- [her eyes shrink in realization] Oh fiddlesticks... [glances over at Shadow, who gave her the most deadliest, exasperated glare he ever gave her; giggles sheepishly]

Maria: How did we forget that?!

Rotor: Beats me.

[Shadow facepalms. Meanwhile, with Eggman, who had run into Tempest]

Tempest Shadow: You couldn't even get to them?!

Dr. Eggman: Well, uh, no, but can you blame me?! That hedgehog and his friends have foiled my plans countless times in the past.

Orbot: [looking at Metal Sonic's barely concious body] Alas, poor Metal Sonic, I knew him well.

Cubot: [pirate voice] Arr, me voicechip's all cattywampus!

Doctor Starline: [presses Cubot's eyes, rebooting him] Better?

Cubot: Much better.

Orbot: Why didn't we think of that sooner?

Dr. Eggman: Thanks to Sonic, everything's gone cattywampus!

Lien-Da: Seriously, sir, what is this obsession with those Freedom Fighters? Aren’t a few of them former members of the Empire? And aren't some of the members of your family? Don’t you feel any sort of concern for them?

Dr. Eggman: They dared to oppose MY rule of this world! Any and all traitors and enemies to the Eggman Empire must and will be destroyed!

Infinite: Says the one who threw me away like a child's play thing after Sonic and Gadget defeated me!

Dr. Eggman: Oh shut up, Infinite! Yeesh, what's the matter with you?!

Infinite: [floats up] That's none of your concern, Doctor! But let's just say that I've grown tired of your constant failures, I knew you would be unable to handle this simplest of tasks.

Dr. Eggman: Well, get use to it! You know what, forget this Storm King guy, I quit! [begins walks off; to Tempest] If you need me, I'll be on a tropical island somewhere. Alone!

Infinite: Oh, how fortunate. You see, I no longer have need for our alliance. [Eggman stops in his tracks] In fact, the Storm King will be happy to know that I'm now on his and Tempest's side.

Dr. Eggman: [shocked] You were scheming behind my back?!

Infinite: Of course! The Phantom Ruby has capabilities beyond your meager imagination. You were content to simply rule over this world, but I'd rather start from scratch. Erase it all. Wipe the slate clean. So once the Storm King has the alicorn magic, I'm going to wipe Equestria and the surrounding areas off the map and rebuild them to my liking. I will become a god. Which means YOU won't exist, and neither will those featherbrained princesses, or those meddling mobians!

Dr. Eggman: [angrily] You backstabbing traitor!!! I mean, wiped from existence by you?! I'd like to see you try after I shove that blade of yours right up your-

Morpho: [covers Eggman's mouth] Let's not go THAT far.

Infinite: Thank you, though I must say this is getting boring, so let's just warp this up. [charges up his laser]

Dr. Eggman: [gasps] No, STOP!

Lien-Da: [realizes] Uh-oh...

Speedy: Uh, what's going on?

[Infinite fires the laser at the Egg Carrier]

Dr. Eggman: HA! You missed!

[Just then, everything on the Egg Carrier started sparking or exploding]

Computer: Danger. Critical power overload on Egg Carrier. Run for your lives.

Dr. Eggman: Or not...

Computer: Initiating self destruct.

[The Egg Carrier self destructed, completely blowing up, leaving nothing but rubble and the Eggman Empire]

Doctor Starline: Well, guess Infinite went rogue.

Lien-Da: I told you overclocking the Phantom Ruby would make him unstable!

Dr. Eggman: Oh, be quiet!

[Eggman and his minions fell into the ocean]

Dr. Eggman: [to Infinite] YOU'LL REGRET THIS ONE DAY!

Dingo: [laughs] This is kinda fun! WHEE!!!!

Sleet: TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY YOU IDIOT!

Dr. Eggette: I WANT MY MOMMY!!!

[splash]

Tempest Shadow: Was that really necessary?

Infinite: Indeed, now, are you going to trust me or not, I actually defeated Sonic back home on Mobius, so no doubt I can do it again!

Tempest Shadow: Hmph, fine.

[Grubber was just about to eat a piece of cake when the boom sound startled him, making him drop it. He looked to see Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom in the distance]

Tempest Shadow: Hmm?

Grubber: Huh? Huh? Look at that rainbow! Looka that rainbow! Whoa, that's so cool!

Tempest Shadow: Yeah. Of them to alert us. Funny, though. [turned and gave a cold, deadpanned leer at Capper] They don't seem to be heading to Black Skull Island.

Capper: Like "ha ha" funny or... ha ha... [Infinite glowed in a red aura] Uh-oh. [Infinite fired several Phantom Ruby cubes at the cat's feet. Capper yelped and hopped around, avoiding getting struck by each cube. He tripped and fell on his stomach, but he couldn't get back up before looking up to have Infinite's blade pointed right at his face]

Infinite: You were guiding them in the wrong direction, pussy cat. If you don't come clean and tell us EXACTLY where they're going, your fur's gonna make a really nice rug and your head will be mounted on a wall!

Capper: O-Okay! Okay! I was helping them escape! I-I didn't really care at first! They were my ticket to getting out of my debt, but...I screwed up a lot of things in my life, and I felt like a massive hairball that took hours to cough up after trying to sell them off. That white one, Rarity, did something for me without asking for anything when I guided them in the worst city in all the world, and I felt it was fair helping them get far away from you two if you're so interested in them.

Infinite: So you decide to stick your neck out for them, even though you know we could kill you before you can so much as blink?

Capper: I'd rather die helping them than continue living as a con artist and a thief. I wanted to get away from that lifestyle for so many years!

Infinite: Figures. [floats over to Tempest]

[Capper let out a heavy, shuddered sigh, spared for a moment longer before they finally get rid of him for good]

Infinite: Looks like your targets messed up getting away from you again. Recognize the ship they're using?

Tempest Shadow: It's a cargo ship, but the crew who mans it were formerly pirates.

Infinite: Pirates? The Storm King trusts a band of sky pirates to handle his deliveries?

Tempest Shadow: He gave them a proposition after losing several vessels of his before I became commanding officer, but, if they do plan to revolt if they're harboring our targets, they won't be flying for long unless they give them up.

[Tempest took control of the wheel, spinning it hard to port while also flicking Grubber off the wheel, sending the hedgehog flopping to the deck on his belly. Capper shakily stood up and leaned over the rail, glancing over to the ship the heroes were traveling in. He at least managed to give them some time, but not enough, wishing he chose a location in the opposite direction. At the very least, he saw what a sonic rainboom looked like before he would face his demise Meanwhile, Calaeno and Rainbow were having a sword fight on deck]

Captain Celaeno: Yeah! Ha ha!

Rainbow Dash: Nice!

Captain Celaeno: [laughs]

Squabble: [squawking]

Marine: [looks beyond the horizon] Uh, guys...

Julie-Su: What's wrong, Marine? [looks beyond the horizon] Oh...

Ruby/Amour: Wha?!

Saffron: Oh no...

Marcus: Oh great, now what?

[Squabble let out an alerted squawk, hanging from the ropes and pointed out to the starboard side of the airship. Everyone looked in that direction, followed by surprised gasps when they saw one of the Storm King's airships heading toward them]

Captain Celaeno: Storm guards! Looks like they found you!

Tails: Not good, we've seen the threat they pose first hand.

Twilight Sparkle: Tempest!

Sonic: And Infinite as well. Yeesh, he never gives up, does he?

Bunnie Rabbot: No, he doesn't.

Omega: [loading up his cannons] Annihilation!

Marine: How did she even find us?!

Shadow: Stupid, it was the rainboom!

Captain Celaeno: Secure the rigging! Lock down the cargo! Everyone, prepare to be boarded! [to the heroes] Princesses, you and your friends hide in the cargo hold until the coast is clear.

Marine: [with a salute] Aye aye, captain.

[Boyle quickly ushered the others down while holding up the hatch leading to the airship's cargo hold. The heroes quickly filed inside, though Big had to carry Omega in since he wanted to to fight the Storm Guards. Once the E-123 robot was in, Big leapt inside the hold with his friends, Sonic wondering what they should do if Tempest and Infinite decide to search the entire vessel. All the while, Rainbow looked around shiftily with a nervous grin]

Fluttershy: Oh my goodness!

Omega: But I wanted to fight...

Sunset Shimmer: Save your strength, Omega, save it.

Fauna: You’ll need it for last.

FriendBot: Technically, we all will.

Rainbow Dash: Ya think she saw my sonic rainboom? [Everyone stares at her like a madman] My bad...

Shard the Metal Sonic: Ooh, somebody's in trouble!

Weather: Oh, Dashie...

[Twilight growled irately]

Shadow: [to Rainbow; angrily] YOU IDIOT!!! That was the worst thing you could have possibly done!

Knuckles: [dismayed] Seriously?! I have never in all the time I've known you, see you be so irresponsible!

Rainbow Dash: [apologetically] Okay, so I got a little carried away with bringing the pirates out of their funk.

Shadow: A little!? Are you kidding me!? And what made you think that stunt was you getting 'a little' carried away!? That was the dumbest mistake you could have ever made!

Pinkie Pie: Shadow, chill. We'll talk about this later. We couldn't stop her from pulling off that sonic rainboom if we tried.

Shadow: Considering your actions earlier, Pinkie, I wouldn't act so innocent either.

Pinkie Pie: Huh? What did I even-? [realizes] Oh right, I got all those guys back in that city attracted to us, whoops.

Lilly: Guess you should've thought twice, huh?

Reaper: Good grief.

Galaxina: I'm scared, sis...

Cosmo: I know, what do we do now?

Discord: I'm not so sure...

Trixie Lulamoon: Let's just stay quiet for now.

Firefly: Yeah, if they're hear us, we're dead.

Wave: I wouldn't say that, more like captured and imprisoned.

Vanessa: Exactly, and it's worst! So just keep quiet!

Applejack: What choice do we have?

Amour: Us Jewel Pixie Animals have the task of keeping the princesses and our owners from being captured.

Salt: I couldn't have worded that more perfectly.

[An harpoon from Tempest's ship striking Celaeno's, the hook breaching the hull and caught it. The whole airship lurched from the impact, making everyone below and up top stumble as Tempest's ship pulled Celaeno's ship closer for boarding. Once the ship settled, everyone stood back up, panicking as they were sure to get caught]

Spike: Whoa!

Shard the Metal Sonic: [notices Muttski on top of him, having pushed him out of the harpoon's way] Get off of me!

Ben Muttski: Well excuse me for being concerned about your safety!

Shard the Metal Sonic: Don't get the wrong idea, I am grateful but... Yeah I don't have a explaination-

Ben Muttski: I'm sure you don't.

Big: I'm scared!

Eclipse: Aren't we all?!

Knuckles: Are they trying to get us killed?!

Noah: If they are, stay away from the harpoon!

[Tempest and Infinite waited by the side of their ship as they pulled Celaeno's to safely board. Celaeno was shocked to see it was the Storm King's commander boarding her airship, but she and her crew kept their cool as Tempest stoically marched onto their vessel, Infinite and Grubber following behind her]

Grubber: [chomps]

Tempest Shadow: Where are the Pony Princesses?

Captain Celaeno: "Princess"? Prin-Cess, Prin-Cess... Nope. All we're hauling is Storm King merchandise.

Squabble: [squawks]

Tempest Shadow: You do realize that if you were to shelter fugitives, the Storm King would be quite... explosive.

Captain Celaeno: [gulps]

Infinite: Best think about the answer you'll give us. We've already got one conniving cat who helped them escape, and after seeing that massive rainbow target around your ship, we don't want to hear any tall tales. If you pollies want a cracker that'll save your tail feathers, you tell us where you're hiding them.

[Below deck, some of the heroes were worried about their location being blurted out]

Shadow: [whispering loudly] We need to get out of here now before they tell Tempest we're hiding in here!

Sonic: [whispering loudly] Oh please, we just helped them with Baldy McNosehair. There's no way Celaeno or her crew is gonna tell them we're here, we helped fixed their broken spirits, and now we're like part of their crew.

Orion: They're not gonna give us up!

Rainbow Dash: I mean, we DID help the pirates get their mojo back.

Sapphire: She's got a point.

Princess Celestia: Either way, We don't want to risk getting captured.

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, it's all on us, we're the ones Tempest wants. We're the alicorn princesses here.

Starlight Glimmer: Well, we have to do something. They'll be sure to realize we're in here eventually.

Rarity: [breathes loudly]

Fluttershy: [shivers]

Applejack: [sighs]

Pinkie Pie: Whoa! [crash!]

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs; then looks around, seeing a gray tarp, hatch lever and some stuff nearby] I think I have a idea.

Shine: Well, whatever it is, I trust you.

Dulcy: I think we all do.

[Above deck]

Tempest Shadow: Now, I'm gonna count to three, and if you don't tell me where they are, your ship is going down. One...

Infinite: This could be interesting...

[Twilight used her magic to bring the tarp over to Rainbow Dash]

Twilight Sparkle: Hold this.

Rainbow Dash: Got it.

Tails: Uhh, Twilight. What are you doing?

Tempest Shadow: ...two...

[Captain Calaeno gripped her sword tightly, ready to fight]

Grubber: Oh, this in intense!

Tempest Shadow: Three!

[Suddenly, they heard a mysterious opening sound below them followed by several yelps that were faint]

Pinkie Pie: [screams]

Tempest Shadow: What?

[She and Infinite looked down at the deck, then at each other, Celaeno was relieved to see they managed to get away, but by dropping from several thousand yards high above ground level was incredibly dangerous

[Infinite looked around the deck, finding the hatch leading down to the cargo hold, he quickly flicked the hatch open, only to find the drop hatch opened, some of the crates of Storm King merchandise lost by whatever opened it, but no sign of any people. Grunting in frustration, he closed the drop hatch to keep from losing anymore cargo, then slammed the hatch to the hold down]

Rarity: Oh, for Celestia's sake!!!

Vector: I THINK I'M GONNA BE SICK!!

Amy Rose: This isn't what I had in mind!

Tunette/Gem: Us either!!

Pinkie Pie: [screams, laughs] Whee!

Tails: Whoa!

Ben Muttski: [scared] WE'RE ABOUT TO BECOME LIVING PANCAKES! I HATE PANCAKES!!!

Fluttershy: [yells] I can't look!

Rarity: [screams] Ooh! [resumes screaming]

Emerl: Uh, what's our chance of survival?

Gamma: My censors indicate that the ocean will be too cold for us, so death by cold water shock is inevitable, so overall, survival rate is 12.5%.

Sonar: Not what we wanted to hear!!

Relic: Yeah, now someone do something! [to Muttski] And for the record, pancakes rule!

Fixit: I'm not ready to die!!!

Silver: Wait, does anyone else remember that some of us can fly?! [levitates himself]

[the heroes with a flying ability quickly remembered, with Tails quickly grabbing Sonic, Whisper grabbing Tangle before using her Variable Wispon's Hover Mode, Ray grabbing Mighty, Vector and Espio grabbing onto Charmy and Saffron, Emerl, Gmerl, and FriendBot activating their jets and Knuckles, Amy, and Blaze's Jewel Pixie Animals gave them butterfly wings]

Sonic: Thanks, Tails. [to Twilight] I assume you have a plan to save the others so that they don't all drown at the bottom of the ocean, right?

Twilight Sparkle: Y'up. Girls, Jewel Pixie Animals, with me! We've got this!

[The Mane Nine flew down and use their combined magic to lift the other heroes who were still falling into the basket and started to bring things over]

Monkey Khan: What are they up to?

Fiona: Don't know, but look, I see trees, guess we got a little farther than we thought...

Gamma: In that case, death by splattering upon contact with the ground is inevitable.

Sonar: Seriously?

Fixit: He's got a point, we're falling a quater of a mile of 3 to 30 feet per second, you know what that means?

Ben Muttski: [scared] PANCAKES!!!

Honey: [annoyed] Would you quit it?!

[The Jewel Pixie Animals quickly use their pixie dust to give the other heroes butterfly wings]

Sonar: Oh, this works!

Marine: I get it now!

Sticks: Woohoo! [flies with butterfly wings]

Omega: Observation: These wings must be strong if they can lift my mass so effortlessly.

[Once the Mane Nine had secured the rope tightly around the crate, Twilight flew inside, grabbed Spike, then squeezed him hard while aiming his head up into the tarp. Spike blew out a powerful stream of flames, sending hot air into the cloth, causing it to expand like a balloon. Enough hot air managed to slow down their fall, causing the makeshift hot air balloon Twilight built to bounce a little, barely hitting the treeline of the forest they fell toward. Safely floating several yards in the air, the others sighed in relief, thankfully not having eaten any lunch with the parrot pirates to lose any after a close brush with death]

Mane Nine: [cheering]

Pinkie Pie: Whee-hee-hee!

Mane Nine: [sighing]

Rarity: Thank goodness.

Applejack: Phee-yew! Quick thinkin', guys!

Twilight Sparkle: Yahoo! Ha ha!

Sonic: Oh boy. What a rush that was, your quick thinking really saved our bacon, Twi.

Sapphire: Wish you told us what you were planning before dropping us out of the blue like that though.

Marine: Even if we hadn't done that, I'm sure Captain Celaeno would have fought tooth and nail for us to keep Tempest off our backs. [looks on] I just hope they'll be alright...

Pinkie Pie: That was fun! Can we do it again? Pretty please?

Sweetie/Amour: [chuckle nervously]

Starlight Glimmer: I think that's not a good idea.

Trixie Lulamoon: I'd rather not fall to my death again.

Shining Armor: Yeah, I think I'd prefer riding in this balloon rather than free falling. [his face goes green] Darn it, forgot about the air sickness...

Vector: Ah, don't worry about it, it happens to the best of- [throws up out the balloon]

D-Fekt: Oh dear...

Vector: Ugh, there goes my breakfast...

Jet: Now, that's how I like to start the day. You never feel more alive than when you're almost dead.

Jewel: Yeah, well some of us prefer staying alive, thanks.

Tangle: You okay, Jewel?

Jewel: Yeah, just a little shaken up.

Shadow: Well, I suppose that works, but how do we get to Mount Aris from here?

Sunset Shimmer: What do you think?

Shadow: [understands] Oh, I get it now, let's go!

Rainbow Dash: Next stop, Mount Aris!

Twilight Sparkle: We're home free!

Sally Acorn: Onward!

Big: Adventure ho!

Jewel Pixie Animals: [cheering]

Mane Nine: [cheering]

[Out in the distance, they could see Mount Aris on the horizon. Thanks to Celaeno, they were able to make it a bit closer, and with a short hot air balloon ride across the sea to the mountain of land, they'd reach it in no time. Rainbow hovered out of the makeshift basket and pushed them along while the others relaxed, some still shaky from the terrifying fall]

[Tempest's soldiers began grabbing all the cargo from Celaeno's vessel, transporting the Storm King's merchandise safely on her own since they couldn't trust the pirates. They also searched around for any sign of the heroes, but as they emptied the airship, they found no trace of them anywhere on board. A storm guard followed behind Capper, forcing the cat to cross onto Celaeno's ship]

[storm creatures grunting]

Grubber: There's no ponies. But I found this. It's a... kind of a cupcake... with sprinkles... Oh, yeah, and I found this, too.

Tempest Shadow: Huh.

Grubber: Wow, this is a real artist!

[Infinite held the map up for him and Tempest to see, though Infinite's eyes opened wider in surprise. On the map was the illustration of Mount Aris, a red dashed line marking the direction they were headed with a big X at the base of the mountain, and a drawing in pink of a familiar pink pony with a big smile and hearts around the mountaintop]

Infinite: ...A decent clue... Finally, something not about this little porker's black hole of a stomach. But where the heck is this?

Tempest Shadow: Looks like they're heading to Mount Aris. [gave the traitorous delivery crew and feline a dirty glare. Capper glanced around nervously, biting his lower lip, knowing that pleading with them would be a moot point after already misleading them earlier] And this ship had gone off its delivery route to head in that very direction. You've all made incredibly poor choices with me today, and I'm not too happy about it.

Capper: Really? [stammering and laughing nervously] Mou- Mount Aris? I... Well, that's my mis— I didn't know that... Mount Ari... My bad, I didn't... That's my... I'm sorry, I'm very very sorry.

Infinite: What's even there? [squinting at the map to see what was flying around the mountain that wasn't a heart]

Tempest Shadow: It's where a kingdom of hippogriffs resided, but it's been empty for years. That begs the question as to why they would go to an abandoned kingdom to escape us.

Captain Calaeno: Because they'll put a stop to you and the Storm King for taking over the world! One of the ponies you're looking for, Rainbow Dash, she's a very skilled princess. I haven't seen much after we found her and her friends stowed away on my ship, but her words ring true. With her and her friends' help, we're no longer listening to your king's orders.

Tempest Shadow: [not even fazed] So sad to hear you're quitting... Now, about your betrayal...

Capper: Uhh, think I can take a rain check on that?

Infinite: Adios. [warps away]

[Tempest's horn sparked as her vessel began to push away, then released a powerful surge of electricity onto what remaining cargo was left on Celaeno's ship. Capper and the parrots gasped as the magical bolt struck, causing a series of explosions that blew up a huge chunk of the ship, sending it falling down to the ground below. Tempest watched the airship crash before turning and head for the wheel, steering her airship toward Mount Aris]

[Back on Tempest's airship]

Tempest Shadow: [to Infinite] Alright Jackel, you better have a good idea on how to get to the princesses, cause my patience is at a all time low.

Infinite: Hmm, I think I've got it! If we can get the alicorns away from Sonic and his friends long enough, we should be able to finally get them!

Tempest Shadow: But how are we gonna do that?

Infinite: Just leave that to me. [walks away as the ship heads towards Mount Aris] Not even Sonic will be able to stop this plan! He and his other useless friends have only delayed the inevitable! [laughs evilly]

Exploring Mount Aris/Meeting Princess Skystar, Queen Novo and the Seaponies/One Small Thing/Gaining Novo's Trust

[Back in Ponyville, several Freedom Fighters had returned with more ponies from Canterlot]

Brian: Okay, we're back.

Iggy: We brought back as many as we could.

Himari: But I think they're finally beginning to take notice.

Kouta: Yeah, we nearly got spotted.

Longclaw: Well, keep doing what you're doing.

Old Man Owl: Yeah, Canterlot needs us more than ever.

Rikka: If you say so.

Mameo: I just hope Sonic and the others make it back with that backup soon.

Icarus: Yeah, at this point, I'm not sure how many more rescues we can do.

Meiko: We can only hope for the best for now...

[The hot air balloon managed to reach Mount Aris in record time. The only problem was that Rainbow tried to make it in record time. Being the impatient alicorn she was, she pushed the makeshift balloon too fast, causing them to lose altitude and steer out of control, crashing them into the base of the mountain. Luckily, there was a path of land from the mainland to Mount Aris, along with a path along the mountain for travelers on land to walk on and reach the hippogriff kingdom. The group were already halfway up the mountain before Rarity began complaining]

Rarity: We had to crash the balloon at the bottom of the mountain! That's it! I simply... cannot... even! I have nothing! The bad guys have won! I'm so sorryyyyyyyy-y-y-y!

Perci: Don't give up dramatically yet, Rarity!

Staci: We're almost there!

Espio: About time.

Wysteria: Yes!

Minty: Awesome!

Tangle: And the best part is, we made it unharmed!

[Vector throws up behind some rocks]

Tangle: Well, almost unharmed anyway.

Shining Armor: How could so much come out from one big crocodile?

Cream: [flies over to Vector] Feeling better, Mr. Vector?

Vector: [weakly] I... won't... die!

Cream: [sympathetically] Awww....

[Vector continued throwing up as Amy, Rarity, Scootaloo, and Jewel groan in disgust]

Star Swirl: Is he gonna be okay?

Monkey Khan: It's just air-sickness. [to Vector] Don't worry, my friend. It will pass eventually.

Ruby: [creates a red and pink rose flower crown before putting it on Vector's head] These roses will make you feel better once we find the queen and the Hippogriffs.

Vector: [weakly] Thanks, Ruby...

Apple Bloom: How much farther is it?

Scootaloo: Yeah, we're tired...

Sweetie Belle: It can't be that far...

Ray: Yeah, it just has to be close!

Sonic: [gets his communicator out] Yo, Uncle Chuck, you there?

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] Oh, hey Sonic, I assume you and the others made it.

Amy Rose: Thankfully, yes. Any update on the rescue missions? Like, have you found Songbird Serenade yet?

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] I can't see her from where we're scoping the city. [thinks for a moment] Do you want me to help you guys? I can head down and help you guys out if you want.

Sonic: No, we're fine,  We...had a few close calls, but we managed to get away.

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] Well, there isn't much me and the others can do here without causing a scene, and don't worry; I'm not gonna act like a bigshot hero if you're that worried about your old man. [A moment of silence passed before Charles let out a heavy sigh] ...Sorry. I can't really control the words that come out of my mouth sometimes. Your instincts and can-do attitude just...kick into me out of the blue.

Sonic: It's fine.

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] I'll keep watching the city for you, if you don't call back after asking the hippogriffs for their help in the next few hours, me and the other Freedom Fighters will be right there to help plan a strike to save Equestria.

Sonic: Got it, see ya!

Chip: Hmm... [sees an archway up ahead that look like two hippogriffs to make up an entrance into the city] Look guys, I think we're finally getting close!

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] This is it!

Pinkie Pie: Ooh!

Applejack: Well, I'll be. [laughs] Hippogriffs, here we come!

Rarity: [sighs] Time to rest my hooves!

Starlight Glimmer: Okay. This is our only chance... I just hope we can convince the queen to help, I really hope she can help us.

Sunset Shimmer: The best news is that she might be aware of the Storm King and his kingdom domination spree. If she has an army that can face the Storm King's, we'll free everyone in no time. [trying to stay positive of their outcome]

Lina: Hmm? [looked at the state of the stone hippogriff entrance: a few cracks lining them, some moss or weeds growing from them, and for a kingdom of creatures, there was a complete lack of them making noise and going about their business] Wait... Something's wrong...

[Once inside the city proper, Lina let out a startled gasp, everyone else doing the same in shock as they saw the state of the hippogriff kingdom. The cloudy sky and foggy mist didn't help add to the empty city: no lights to brighten through the fog, trees bare of leaves and seemingly dead with other flora climbing over the empty homes, even some of them that happened to be stores with broken windows, whatever wares were left stripped clean by thieves or wildlife looking for a snack. There were no hippogriffs at all, which meant they either moved their kingdom elsewhere, or, at worst, they were all held prisoner by the Storm King in his kingdom]

Rarity: Are we sure this is the right place?

Stygian: The whole place looks deserted.

Gem: What in the world happened here?

Princess Cadance: I'm not so sure, but this does feel a bit creepy.

Tikal: Yeah...

Gold: Not as creepy as how the abandoned street I've seen in horror films.

Somnambula: This could be a riddle for any of us to solve.

Flash Magnus: Probably, Somnambula.

Starlight Glimmer: Come on, let's take a look around.

Applejack: Hello?! Is anypony home?!

Sonic: [runs past everyone then heads back] Well, nothing in there.

Tails: [holding the Miles Electric] I checked on my handheld, bupkus.

Amy Rose: I inspected some of the buildings, zilch.

Pinkie Pie: No Hippogriffies here! Or here! Or here! Or here or here or here! Waaaaaiiit! Nope! This place is emp-ty!

Shadow: What? That can't be.

Twilight Sparkle: [feeling more worried than ever] But... Celestia... The map. They have to be here.

Bunnie Rabbot: Yeah... We didn't just come here for nothing...

Spike: Something bad happened here.

Sticks: Something that turned this whole place into a ghost town.

Cream: G-G-GHOSTS?!? [covers her eyes with her ears]

Fluttershy: A g-g-g-g-ghost town?!

Lightning Dust: You're not scared, are ya, Fluttershy?

Amy Rose: Jeez, not funny!

Gadget: Yeah, dude, don't scare Fluttershy.

Lightning Dust: I'm a girl.

Gadget: I know, I was just saying.

Reaper: This might be hard to find the Hippogriffs.

Vanessa: I'm more capable of handling this myself

Reaper: Yes, even the most beautiful gems and flowers like you can be dangerous

[Reaper then grabs Vanessa's hand, kissing it]

Reaper: Like the past.

Vanessa: [blushes before smiling] Like the past.

[Vector looks at Reaper and Vanessa before continuing to throw up. Vanessa looks at the distance, sighing]

Jewel: Uh, Vector, I think you can stop with the throwing up now.

Vector: Oh, sorry.

Tangle: It's fine, shouldn't the flower clown's effects be kicking in now though?

Vector: Huh, oh yeah, that feels much better.

Ray: How do the Jewel Pixie Animals even make stuff like that.

Mighty: I'm not sure myself, you may have to ask Celestia.

Reaper: [smirking behind Vanessa] Where's the fun now?

Vanessa: [smiling, turning back to Reaper] Well, it's the fun that you're looking for.

[Vanessa presses her lips against Reaper's, kissing him as Reaper kisses her back]

Daiman: [crying in joy] Gets me every time.

[Nine seconds later, Reaper and Vanessa pulled away from each other, smiling romantically at each other]

Vanessa: How'd you feel?

Reaper: Good. You?

Vanessa: The same

Charmy: That's so sweet and romantic!

[They headed deeper into the abandoned city, hoping to find SOME sort of life around here. They looked through windows, some spiders making homes in the empty buildings with several webs covering corners, the sills, etc. Twilight wondered if all their traveling amounted to nothing, her hopes dashed as the help they'll need no longer existed. In the silence, everyone paused when they heard something faint]

Fluttershy: [gasps]

Cosmo: Huh?

Galaxina: What's that?

Mina Mongoose: I have no idea.

Sonar: Let's check it out. [perking his ears up to figure out where it was coming from. It sounded like someone singing, though whether it was from a survivor, a non-hippogriff, or a monster luring victims in its new home. Summoning his sword just in case, Sonic guided the group toward the singing]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] It's coming from over there!

Sonic: In that case, let's follow it! Let's speed keed! [runs off]

Shadow: Again with the old catchphrases...

Maria: Be calm about it, Shadow.

Lilly: Yeah, it's not like they're harming anyone.

Perci: They've got a point, now come on.

[The singing came from the entrance of what looked like a cathedral, the entryway blocked by a bit of rubble from the mountain]

Tails: What is this?

Digit: I think we're about to find out.

Blaze: Although I like the humming tune.

Weather: Me too!

Vector: Hey guys! Look! A shiny gold-glowing being!

Rainbow Dash: Vector's right, I see it too!

Jewel: Yeah, me too! Come on!

Amy Rose: Alright, let's go, Rarity.

Rarity: If you insist.

[The group quietly moved the rocks out of the way for them, then snuck inside to see who was singing. They could also hear the sound of water flowing in the center of the empty cathedral. There was a pool of water in the middle of the room, several lilies floating on the water's surface with one big one in the center of the pool. It was odd seeing healthy flowers like these in the desolate kingdom outside, but what made their hearts jump was the bigger lily glowing a faint light through its petals, where the singing was originating from. Unsure it it was dangerous, Pinkie slowly made her way down the steps to get a closer look while the others stayed back. One of the steps crumbled the moment she went down a couple, the noise making the creature in the flower gasp in surprise]

Princess Skystar: [gasps] What was that?! [splash!]

Sonic: Huh?

Cream: It's in the water. We have got to check it out. [splash!]

Pinkie Pie: Hey! Wait up! Cannonball! [splash!]

Charmy: Wait for me! [splash!]

Twilight Sparkle: Cream, Pinkie, Charmy!

Big: [pushes everyone into the water as they were walking in] Wait for me, Froggy! [Froggy jumps on his head]

Amy Rose: Big!

Big: Sorry...

Gmerl: Yeah, well, don't do that again.

Chocola: Chao-chao.

Sunset Shimmer: Or at least give us a heads up.

Big: Okie dokie.

Sonic: [a bit shaken up] Yeah... (Just keep calm Sonic, you maybe in H2O, but if you think about it, you know how to swim now, so it shouldn't be as scary as it was...)

Amy Rose: You alright, Sonic?

Sonic: Huh, oh yeah, don't worry about it, Ames.

Pinkie Pie: [sputters] She's gone!

Sweetie: Oh...

Twilight Sparkle: Now what?

[bubbles]

Pinkie Pie: Huh?

Tangle: What the?

[Suddenly, the water began shifting, dragging Pinkie out as it began to swirl. The others soon began to get sucked into the strong current, swept off their feet or hooves as they were getting sucked into a whirlpool]

Everyone: [scream]

Rotor: I'm getting dizzy!

Rarity: Oh, boy. I hate epic adventures.

Mane Nine: [screaming, trying to talk]

Amy Rose: SONIC!!!

Bean: Haha! This is actually pretty fun! Whee!!

Sonic: Everybody, hang on!

[The Jewel Pixie Animals held onto Team Sonic’s quills/Mane Nine’s manes tightly. The others screamed as they sank deeper and deeper into the underwater vortex, unable to focus on taking in a deep lungful of air before getting sucked down to wherever the whirlpool would fling them]

Infinite: [watching from afar] Thought you could get away from us did you? We'll see who gets the last laugh. [warps away]

[Everyone flipped and spun out of control, disorienting them as they struggled to hold their breath. The whirlpool flung them out of the cathedral and into an underwater alcove. Sonic quickly righted himself underwater and swam for the entrance, only to have the hole they came through close up on them, leaving them in pitch black darkness and no air pockets for the others to catch their breath]

[With no oxygen in sight, everyone (aside from Team Robot, FriendBot and D-Fekt, who technically can't drown, what with being robots and all that, and neither could Chaos for that matter) tried to catch their breath but to no avail. Sonic panicked, not wanting to drown, and tried to find a way out, or at least a air bubble, but without any light, he couldn't see any way for them to get out, after several seconds, he gave one final beg for air which didn't come as his lungs gave out, his vision starting to get black and fuzzy. Before his eyes closed, he looked at Twilight who on the verge of losing consciousness as well when he saw a quick flash of light]

Sonic: [gasps for air] Wait, I'm alive? I'm alive! [realized that a magic air bubble was around his head, allowing him to breathe, like a scuba helmet]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps for air] Sonic?

[Sonic turns to notice Twilight, who also had a air bubble around her head]

Everyone: [gasping for air]

[The hedgehog and the alicorn looked around them and saw the rest of the heroes all having air bubbles around their heads]

Apple Bloom: Well, that was almost too close...

Scootaloo: Yeah, I'll say...

FriendBot: Are you all okay?

Cream: I think so...

Cheese: Chao-chao-chao.

Pinkie Pie: Way to leave it to the last minute, Twilight!

Sweetie Belle: Yeah, thanks for the save.

Twilight Sparkle: I didn't make these bubbles!

Sonar: Say what now?

Mighty: For real?

Rouge: You serious?

Gold: Wha-

Amy Rose: Where even are we, Tunette, can you find out for us?

Fluttershy: [notices Amour isn't hanging on tightly on her mane] About that, where are the Jewel Pixie Animals?

Ash Mongoose: Say what now?

[The others quickly noticed the Jewel Pixie Animals aren't in the bubbles]

Sonic: Sapphire, are you still around?!

Salt\Moonlight (Selkie forms): [suddenly appear in front of Tails, Storm, and Mina] Hello!

Tails: GAH!! [jumps into Sonic's arms]

Storm: [scared] AHH!!! [holds Jet tightly in his arms]

Mina Mongoose: What the?!

Cream: [surprised] Oh my!

Cheese/Chocola: Chao-chao-chao.

Gmerl: What on Earth?!

Sapphire (Selkie form): [giggles] Surprised?

Spike: Yes actually.

Espio: I have several questions...

Elias Acorn: Me too...

Whisper: How did you do that?

[The Jewel Pixie Animals soon gather around together in their selkie forms, leaving everyone in awe]

Nyx: That's amazing!

Marine: What is this some form you take when underwater of something?

Shade: Yeah, we're curious.

Princess Celestia: Sapphire and the others took the form of selkies. I've been teaching them so much how to change form when they're in underwater.

Sonic: Huh, neat.

Tangle: Are you kidding, that's awesome!

Cream: Yeah, how long has you been teaching them to do that, Princess Celestia?

Cheese: Chao-chao?

Digit (Selkie form): Three years. It was hard at the start, but now we're getting really good at it!

Knuckles: Nice, but when did it start exactly? Sometime after Luna gave the Mane Nine their Jewel Pixie Animals or something?

Tunette (Selkie form): That was BEFORE that, Knuckles.

Knuckles: Oh... So- Okay, you've lost me...

Princess Luna: After my older sister gave you your fairy partners, I figured that I teach the Mane 9's Jewel Pixie Animals the same thing.

Knuckles: Oh, I get it now.

Sonic: That's so cool! But Sapphire, did you and the others made these bubbles?

Sapphire (Selkie form): No, we didn’t!

Weather (Selkie form): Sorry to disappoint you.

Sally Acorn: But if you didn't...

Fluttershy: Then [pants] who did?

Amour (Selkie form): We're not sure yet.

Amy Rose: Well if Twilight or none of the Jewel Pixie Animals made these bubbles, then who did then?

[Something moves in the shadows]

Maria: Huh?

Shadow: Who goes there, friend or foe?

Sweetie (Selkie form): Please be friend, please be friend.

Moonlight (Selkie): I'm almost certain it will be...

Mane Nine: [gasp]

Twilight Sparkle: Uh, Hello? We're looking for the Hippogriffs.

[A orb of yellow light appears from the shadows]

Princess Skystar: How do I know I can trust you?

Twilight Sparkle: Please. The Storm King invaded our land. And we need their help.

Princess Skystar: The Storm King?!

[The light swam up to them, her body glowing as bright as the small light she already emitted. Everyone got a better look at her, and to their shock, it was a seapony, far from a menacing creature of the deep blue sea. Her skin was a bright yellow, her mane, hooves, and tail fin a light aqua blue, one of her bangs the source of the glowing light from the darkness earlier, and a pair of translucent red fins on her back that looked like a pair of underwater wings]

Princess Skystar: I'm so glad I saved you guys! I'm totally taking you to my mom!

[She grabbed Twilight while the others held onto them and each other in a line, the seapony dragging them through the underwater alcove, Applejack using a hoof to keep her stetson on her air bubble to avoid losing it in the water]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] Does your mother know where they are?

Princess Skystar: Oho! [singsongy] She might have an idea! [giggles]

Rotor: In that case, would you be kind to lead us to where she is?

Princess Skystar: Sure thing.

Lupe: Great.

Twilight Sparkle: Hoo-hoo! [bubbles]

Omochao: Oh, so we have a escort now, nice.

[There were various schools of fish they swam past, heading further down into the ocean, which the pool in the abandoned hippogriff kingdom's cathedral seemed to take them to]

Princess Skystar: We're almost there!

[The seapony guided them to what appeared to be the exit, where a light seemed to shine from above. The heroes followed after her, and when they exited the alcove, they gasped in awe at the sight of an underwater kingdom enclosed by a much larger cavern. The lights in the hanging underwater city left a pinkish glow around the many homes and the royal palace on the bottom of the structure]

Sonic: [amazed] Whoa...

Amy Rose: It’s so beautiful!

Tails: Wow...

Princess Luna: Incredible.

Cream: This looks amazing.

Cheese: Chao-chao...

Manic: Sweet.

Princess Celestia: We've never seen anything like it.

Sonia: Yeah.

Everyone and everypony: Wow!

[At the bottom of the cavern, they saw more seaponies gathering some of the underwater plant life, or with the younger foals, playing, who noticed them and watched them follow the mare who saved them. They were curious and wary, especially the foals as they tried to swim closer, only to have their parents hold them back. They entered what seemed to be the seaponies' royal throne room from the entryway at the bottom. Seapony guards glanced at them, wearing seashell styled armor and bared spears, eyeing them cautiously, and lounging on a huge throne was who they all assumed was the ruler of the ocean kingdom. Her skin was a pure white with dark purple hair, her tail fin matching her hair color, three blue bangs matching similarly to their guide's with the same glowing lights at the end, light blue hooves, and transparent purple fins]

Princess Skystar: Mother, look what I found!

[The queen didn't glance at them, seeming annoyed by her daughter's pestering with her quiet time]

Queen Novo: Is it another shell?

Princess Skystar: Mm-mm.

Queen Novo: Because I am telling you if it is another shell, I am- [gasps loudly when she sees the heroes but then sees that the Pillars of Old Equestria were among them, she was completely amazed] Star Swirl?

Star Swirl: Queen Novo I presume.

Sonic: [whispers] Uh, Twilight, call me crazy, but does this person sound like she knows Star Swirl?

Twilight Sparkle: [whispers] I'm not sure...

Shine (Selkie form): I guess she does...

Queen Novo: Yes, y'all are looking at her. So, I take it these land dwellers are with you? Because I strictly told my daughter, Skystar here that surface dwellers are forbidden here.

Vector: Wait, they are?

[The guards stationed by the entrance swam toward the group, their spears pointed at the them]

Amy Rose: Oh dear.

Tunette (Selkie form): Well, that could be a problem.

Tart (Selkie form): Oh boy...

Princess Skystar: No no n-no! M-M-Mom, please! It is so not like that! The Storm King is trying to destroy their home, too!

Twilight Sparkle: We need to find the Hippogriffs. Do you know what happened to them?

Diamond (Selkie form): We've been looking for them all day.

Silver: And we had to walk through a desert and everything!

Salt (Selkie form): You can't imagine what we've been through to get here.

Queen Novo: Well, of course I know. I'm the queen. I know everything.

Princess Skystar: Oh, oh, it's such a good story!

Sticks: Wait, story, I'm listening...

Gem (Selkie form): Go ahead.

Wave: We're listening. Tell us the story.

Queen Novo: Don't you dare tell them!

[Skystar swam up to the windows around the throne room. The Equestrians didn't notice it before, but those windows had artistic depictions on them as she waved her hoof in front of them, lights glowing and creating images on them. The first was an image of Mount Aris and hippogriffs flying around the mountain]

Princess Skystar: Once upon a time, like, a while ago, the Hippogriffs did live on Mount Aris.

[The queen gave Skystar a deadpanned stare, being ignored as their guests her daughter brought began telling them everything]

Mane Nine: Oooh!

Majesty (Selkie form): Guess we were heading in the right direction after all, huh?

Fauna (Selkie form): Well that's a relief...

Sapphire (Selkie form): Thank goodness.

Queen Novo: Of course he would. [to Skystar] We're not supposed to tell outsiders, but hey? I'm just the queen. Don't mind me.

Princess Skystar: Fine! I can't tell you! But if I COULD tell you, I'd say that that horned beast did show up to steal their magic!

[The princess revealed the next image, showing the Storm King, followed by one of the queen as a hippogriff, then the underwater kingdom with seaponies]

Sunburst: Okay...

Cream: That's... terrible...

Queen Novo: Seriously?

Princess Skystar: But, to keep it out of his clutches, their brave and majestic leader, Queen Novo, hid them deep underwater where he could never go! We ARE...Well, we WERE the hippogriffs! [laughs; the pictures and Skystar's summary of their story shocked the ponies. The hippogriffs were the very seaponies they were talking to, and their magical transformation from creatures of the sky to creatures of the ocean astounded them. Skystar swam over to her guests, ignoring that scary look a mother gives to their kids, ensuring to punish them after doing something they were specifically told never to do, but they did it anyway whispers to Pinkie Pie] But I totally did not tell you that!

Sonic: Uh, you clearly obviously did.

Blaze: Not really that good at keeping secrets, are you?

Cream: It's okay if you're not, we're won't judge.

Queen Novo: Well, I guess the pearl is out the oyster now. I am Queen Novo.

Rockhoof: I think we figured that from that picture.

Princess Celestia: Indeed, It's been ages.

Queen Novo: Wait, Celestia? [notices Luna] And Luna too?

Princess Luna: About time you noticed.

Queen Novo: Huh. [notices Discord] I see Discord is roaming around freely again, that I wasn't expecting considering all the problems he caused.

Princess Celestia: Fear not, Discord's been reformed, so he's using his chaos magic for good instead of evil.

Discord: Well, most of the time anyway.

Fluttershy/Cream: [hushed] You're welcome!

Applejack: Hold on now. Lemme get this straight. When the Storm King came, you just abandoned your entire city and fled?

Princess Skystar: We didn't flee! [it didn't seem to matter how she tried to state it when they basically ran and hid] We swam! Y'know, in order to flee.

Twilight Sparkle: But... how?

Amy Rose: Yeah, how?

Princess Skystar: Oh! Can we show them? Huh? These are the first guests we've had in, like, foreveeerrr! Can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we, can we?

Queen Novo: [rolled her eyes and chuckled, giving in to her daughter's endless pleading] Well, I suppose I SHOULD make sure it still works [chuckles]

[Skystar squealed and giggled with glee, following her mother as they both swam up to a large jellyfish floating like it was an underwater chandelier. Its many tentacles opened, glowing and sparking as it gently floated down a large pink pearl]

Princess Skystar: [giggles]

Queen Novo: Careful, now.

Princess Skystar: [squeals]

Mane Six: Huh?

Bean: Oooh, pretty...

Storm: Shiny...

[Fang and Jet gave the two a glare]

Fang: Should we tell them that-

Jet: I won't if you won't.

Fang: Deal.

[Novo gently caught it in her hoof, then with the other, swirled it around the pearl, releasing a magical aura that came from within the enchanted spherical gem. With a flick of her hoof, she sent the aura down toward the Equestrians, surrounding them and made their bodies tingle. They let out startled squeaks or gasps, laughing a little at the tickling sensation of being transformed. Their air bubbles popped, able to breathe freely as all seven ponies transformed into seaponies, mermaids and mermen]

Sunset Shimmer: Whoa!

Twilight Sparkle: Oh! [laughs]

Fluttershy: Ooh! Oh! [laughs]

Applejack: Oh. Wa-wa-whoa! [laughs]

Mane Nine: [awed reactions]

Fluttershy: Wow!

Rainbow Dash: [laughs]

Rarity: These fins are divine!

Charmy: Sweet! I looked so cool with a mermaid tail!

Shadow: [confused] What just happened?

Sonic: Not sure, but I like it!

Amy Rose: Oh, wow! These mermaid tails look so cute!

Apple Bloom: Yeah.

Tails: Wow, I'm speechless, I mean, how is it possible that-

Discord: I thought you were speechless.

Scootaloo: This is so cool!

Sweetie Belle: Agreed.

Rainbow Dash: Hey, Applejack, I'll race ya to that coral!

Applejack: You're on!

Vector: This is so cool! [swims]

Espio: A bit weird, but something I can live with.

Mighty: Hmm, yeah, this is pretty swell.

Ray: Are you kidding, this is amazing!

Sunburst: Well, he isn't wrong.

Cream: Wow, isn't this cool, Cheese?

Cheese: Chao-chao!

Blaze: Amazing...

Kristy: Awesome!

Pinkie Pie: Woo-hoo! [giggles] Ooh! Try it, Fluttershy!

Fluttershy: [giggles] Yay.

Charmy: Hey Vec, wanna race?

Vector: You're on!

Spike: Guys? Guys? What is... [puffs] ...happening?!

Fluttershy: Aw, so cute!

Jet: [to Spike] You just had to ask.

Twilight Sparkle: This is amazing! With this, we could transform everypony at home into something powerful enough to face The Storm King!

Queen Novo: Or it could end up in their greedy claws!

Twilight Sparkle: [her jaw drops] But...

Shine: She is right, Twilight. Anyone who's looking for an all-powerful weapon could misuse it for their own evil purposes.

Queen Novo: Your little friend is right. I'm sorry about your home, honey. I truly am. But my responsibility is to protect MY subjects. [The jellyfish that protected the pearl lowered its tendrils down, taking the enchanted gem Queen Novo held up for it to grasp and protect in its shocking, and possibly painful, tentacles] This pearl is not going anywhere.

[Sonic's jaw fell, heavily distraught hearing the queen refusing to help them after getting this far for nothing, but he could see her side of their predicament]

Rotor: Well that's sad.

Blaze: Not to mention disappointing.

Pearl (Selkie form): And quite depressing...

Princess Celestia: We understand, Your Majesty. [Twilight glanced at her, shocked to hear her basically giving up instead of trying to convince Queen Novo to help them] I think we're all a bit disappointed that you can't help us, but your subjects come first I suppose.

Twilight Sparkle: But we've come all this way. And you can't just hide down here! Trapped forever! There's so much you're missing!

Queen Novo: We are one hundred percent okay with that! I shall allow you all to stay until you are ready to leave, but that is all I can do for you.

[Twilight began worrying about what to do next, a small octopus floated up to the queen and said something in a chittery language]

Jamal: [chitters]

Queen Novo: Yes, Jamal?

[The creature spoke again, intriguing Novo]

Jamal: [chitters]

Queen Novo: Ooh! Time for my seaweed wrap. Later, girls!

Jamal: [chitters]

Queen Novo: Yes, a massage, too. Mama needs her deep tissue.

[With that Nova left, leaving the heroes now stuck without any assistance after traversing a desert, escaping a port city of greedy creatures, avoiding Tempest, befriended sky pirates, fell several thousand yards in the air to escape their pursuers once more, and almost drowned to find their saving graces, only for their pleas to be refused from the queen's fears]

Cream: Okay, we'll watch over the pearl, don't worry.

Caramel (Selkie form): We won't let anything happen.

Ruby (Selkie form): That's a promise.

Blaze: [sighs] Back to square one...

Applejack: So that's it? We left home for nothing?

Sonic: Beats me, but if Novo knows about Celestia, Luna, Discord, Star Swirl, and the the Pillars, does she know the Jewel Pixie Animals?

Tails: That, I'm not so sure yet.

Tart (Selkie form): Likely not.

Shadow: [sighs] Welp, back to square one...

Princess Skystar: Oh, my gosh! Best... idea! You can stay with us! Forever! [laughs]

Starlight Glimmer: Uhh, princess-?

Princess Skystar: There are so many things we can do! We can make friendship bracelets out of shells and... picture frames outta shells and... decorative wastebaskets out of shells... Oh, I have so many projects that involve shells, haha! Now I have someone new to share them with! I mean, aside from my friends, Shelly and Sheldon. Right? "Shelly"?

Pinkie Pie: [gasps]

Princess Skystar: And "Sheldon"? [chuckles] Get it? [chuckles, snorts]

Sonic: [begins to chuckle a little when Shadow covers his mouth]

Shadow: No.

Rarity: Ooh, ooh...

Pinkie Pie: [giggles]

Tangle: Now that is pretty clever.

Rarity: That sounds lovely, darling, but you must realize, we can't stay.

Applejack: We've gotta get back to our families.

Sally Acorn: Yeah, and plus, we don't exactly know how long this transformation will last.

Nicole: Good point.

Sunset Shimmer: Equestria's in trouble, and we have friends and family that need our help. Someone has to stop the Storm King, and if your mom can't help us... we'll have to come up with a new plan.

Princess Skystar: Oh, no. Of course. Of course. Heh. Of course you have your own friends back home. It's fine. It's fine. Heh. [whispering] Shelly and Sheldon get jealous anyways. Heh. It's probably for the best. [sighs] Yeah, I'll just, um... [sadly] I'll get Mom to, uh, turn you back so you can go home. [swims sadly away]

[As they watched Skystar swim off to let her mother know of their plans, Twilight was still deep in thought about what they should do]

Cream: [sighs] So, now what do we do?

Sonic: ...Looks like we're going to head back and try to take back Equestria ourselves, it's risky, even if it's all of us against a army, but we don't have any other choice at this point.

Rainbow Dash: Sonic, I know I'm reckless, but that's a hundred percent more crazy than Pinkie Pie! What if they set up a trap for us if we set hoof in Canterlot!?

Sonic: I'd rather take that risk than have you girls, and the princesses, get caught. If the Storm King is after magic, and if he wants the alicorns' power, then it's important that you all stays safe and we stop him immediately. Otherwise, we might face another Tirek encounter, except it's with a weird monkey creature with horns...and hooved feet...What is he, anyway?

Pinkie Pie: [looks guilty] I know we have to go, but...can we stay just a little bit longer? Princess Skystar looked really sad, and it wouldn't feel right leaving her so disappointed.

Tails: Well, I mean...

Digit: Pinkie, I know you mean well, but you know we can't stay. Sonic's idea might not be the best, but we don't really have a choice.

Applejack: Yeah, we just don't have time for—

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, no. No no. Pinkie's right.

Rainbow Dash: Say what now?

Silver: Hmm?

[Everyone looked at Twilight, shocked by her agreeing with Pinkie when the more pressing matter toward the Storm King was more important]

Digit (Selkie form): What are you talking about, Twi?

Twilight Sparkle: Well, I think we need to come up with a better plan than storming Canterlot and liberating it from the Storm King. A few minutes won't make that much of a difference.

Sonic: Twilight, are you sure? I can't think of anything or anyone else who can help us now, and as of right now, you girls are more of a priority target for Tempest. And if Queen Novo was right about the Storm King stealing powerful magic, then stealing the magic from the alicorn princesses HAS to be his main goal! Forget Equestria falling in Eggman's hands; all of this world would fall to ruin if the Storm King had all that power!

Twilight Sparkle: Well, rushing in headfirst into a well-guarded place isn't exactly better, and if there's anypony who can cram a lifetime of fun into a blink of an eye, it's Pinkie Pie!

Pinkie Pie: [squee]

Cream: You know, you're right, Miss Sparkle.

[Silver glanced back at Twilight, confused by her sudden change in behavior from being despondent with Queen Novo's refusal to help them to being positive and willing to come up with a new plan. Normally, he'd trust in her genius mind to come up with a solution on the fly, and maybe a few minutes of relaxing could do him some good from all the stress they've been through all day, but something seemed, off...]

Silver: (Hmm, something about this seems a bit suspicious, maybe I should go into the future and see?) [sends his consciousness several minutes into the future via his future sight where a alarm began blaring] (Huh, what in the- W-What's going on, is the ocean under attack?)

Female seapony: The pearl alarm! Oh, no, the pearl alarm!

Future Princess Skystar: [gasps]

Future Twilight Sparkle: [yelling in distance]

Silver: (Oh, don't tell me THAT'S what she's thinking!) [looks up to the throneroom. And there was Twilight, trapped in the jellyfish guard's tentacles while trying to reach for the pearl, letting out yelps as she was painfully shocked with each movement she made]

Future Twilight Sparkle: [struggling] Ow!

Silver: (You've gotta be kidding me... What in the name of the Multiverse is she doing!?)

Future Queen Novo: [snarls]

[The queen was absolutely furious. Swimming toward the alicorn, she took the pearl swiftly out of the jellyfish's protective tendrils without getting shocked, making Twilight panic]

Future Twilight Sparkle: No! Please!

Future Queen Novo: Really? All of this just so you could sneak in and take the pearl?! Our kingdom's most important magical artifact more or less!

Future Twilight Sparkle: Wait, I can explain-

Future Queen Novo: SILENCE! I don't want to hear any excuses! I allowed you and your friends to stay in our home, as seaponies, until you were ready to leave, and you abuse my offer just so you can steal our pearl!

Future Princess Skystar: [yelps]

[Novo swam to Skystar, grabbed her hoof with one while keeping the pearl kept safely in the other, and forcefully dragged her away from where Silver was nearby]

Future Queen Novo: [to Skystar] This is why we don't bring strangers into our home! I told you time and time again to NEVER go back up to the surface, but you just don't listen to me!

Future Princess Skystar: M-Maybe they did it because they were that desperate to-

Future Queen Novo: I do NOT want to hear a word about this, Skystar! [to Twilight, ominously while holding the pearl out, and unleashed its magical aura] You don't deserve to be one of us.

Silver: (I think I've seen just about enough...) [his consciousness heads back to the present] (Best stop that from happening, or the Hippogriffs will never help us out, and after we came all this way, I am NOT about to let us get banished!) [If they did get banished, their rekindled hope would be quickly drenched by being accused as thieves]

Big: We should probably enjoy ourselves while we're here!

Sweetie (Selkie form): Yeah, we should have fun while we're down here!

Twilight Sparkle: Exactly, so, go ahead and show Skystar the best time ever!

Marine: Alright then, Twilight!

Sonic: Time to give them a show!

Pinkie Pie: I won't let you down! [everyone, except for Silver, Salt, and Shine swam away]

[Twilight watched the others swim off to find Skystar, and once they were out of sight, she looked up at the jellyfish floating up on the ceiling of the throne room, eyeing the pearl it protected between its shocking tendrils]

Twilight Sparkle: [gulps] I'm counting on it... (We're gonna need that pearl, but if I have to steal it while Novo's distracted, so be it... I'm sure the others will understand) [was about to swim away when Silver stopped her with his psychokinesis] What the?! Silver?!

Silver: As much I'd like to say you have the best of reasons, I really think stealing the pearl, which is a rather unscrupulous move by the way, would more than likely get us all kicked out, then the Hippogriffs would never help us out.

Twilight Sparkle: [dumbfounded] Wait, how did you kno- [realizes] Oh right, you're from the future... I assume you jumped forward in time to see the outcome?

Silver: Yeah, and it wasn't pretty. So why steal the pearl? Is a crime really the best choice? I mean, seriously?! Was that really what you came up with while you sent us off!? Stealing their pearl!?

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] It's the only way to save Equestria, and-

Silver: [gave a disappointed glace at Twilight, her excuse far more poor than any made by a child caught red-handed as they snuck snacks before dinner] By STEALING their kingdom's most prized and powerful artifact!? You say it's the only way, except it isn't. Look Twilight, I'm an optimist, but I'm also a realist, if you end up going ahead with this, what do you think will happen if you get caught?

Twilight Sparkle: Look, Silver, I know it's wrong to do, but this isn't Equestria! We can't just dance around with con artists, make rainbooms in the sky and expect everything to work out! It's not enough! WE are not enough!

Silver: [confused] Excuse me!? Since when did we dance around with a con artist!? [realizes] If you mean that shifty cat, did you completely forget that he tried to pawn us off to that mole rat for money!? I'm surprised he didn't try to pilfer any stolen stuff on us...

Twilight Sparkle: Oh, and what about befriending pirates WHO WORKED FOR THE STORM KING!? Or the fact that Rainbow Dash almost got us caught again! Be grateful I thought fast and got us out of there!

Silver: They would have fought to keep us safe knowing they were after us! Maybe it was a bad idea, but with the right KIND of pirate you meet, they'll treat you like a part of their crew! Some of us, including you, just didn't want to trust them because they USED to work for the Storm King before we brought back their fighting spirit! They don't anymore thanks to us, and we even stopped Eggman together!

Twilight Sparkle: I get that, but who's to say they didn't try to save their skins? They probably told Tempest where we were going before we left.

Silver: I highly doubt that, Twi. [sighs] Look, if I'm being honest, the only reason we've lasted this long is because we've been sticking together to avoid getting caught. Heck, you went along with us when Capper guided us through that awful city, so despite some of us having suspicions, you STILL followed them so you didn't get separated. We took huge risks back in that city just to reach the docks, and it paid off when we stowed away on Captain Celaeno's ship without getting caught! [Twilight remained silent] What, nothing smart to say? Maybe you're thinking of a way to THANK us for all the times me and the others saved the lives of you and your friends from certain peril, including back in Kludgetown? And don't go blaming us for being powerless, we did all we could, but there were too many innocent people in Canterlot for us to try to save, not to mention we had to save you and the other princesses from getting trapped as statues, and going back after all that would have gotten us all killed.

Twilight Sparkle: But, I- Well, I...

Shine (Selkie form): We get it, Twilight, you're desperate to save your home at this point, but don't you think there are other ways you could do this. I mean, if your friends find out, they might think you didn't want them to show the seaponies the best time ever, they'll think you just wanted us to distract them.

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] What? But I would never-

Salt (Selkie form): Get yourself together, Twilight! You're smarter than this, remember?

Silver: And presides, I don't want to see you get renounced as our friend because of all this. Imagine, losing everything, because of what? Your desperation to save Equestria by stealing the seaponies' pearl and trying to convince us YOU were in the right to take it!? Regardless if you're desperate or not, you don't just take a different kingdom's priceless relics or treasures because you need them! You could end up sparking a war between the hippogriffs and ponies for doing that, and you're more concerned with the fact that you're trying to save your own kingdom by using another's resources without their permission!

Twilight Sparkle: [finally starting to have second thoughts, Silver was right, she would be betraying her friends' trust in her by using them to get the pearl while the seaponies were distracted; sighs] You know what guys, you're right. I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking?!

Shine (Selkie form): Getting stressed hinders your judgement, remember? Honestly, I could tell were distressed when you felt so helpless leaving your subjects in Canterlot to be taken prisoner.

Silver: Remember, this isn't just about you. We're all in this together. We all have to understand that we have important roles on this journey: finding assistance to help take back Equestria from the Storm King, and protecting each other from getting captured.

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, I suppose, but what should I do?

Silver: I would suggest you talk to Queen Novo about it, she'll know what to do, and presides, it seems like Celestia and her know each other well. I promise by the time we're done here, Queen Novo will realize we're people worth saving and we'll finally get the help we've been needing since this whole mess started.

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs] Alright, but I really hope you're right, Silver. [goes over to talk to Queen Novo on how to save Equestria from the Storm King]

Silver: [swims up to Sonic and the others] Hey guys.

Blaze: Silver, where were you?

Silver: Oh nothing, just saving our skins from impending disaster.

Rouge: What?

Silver: Nothing.

Pearl (Selkie form): Well, anyone got any ideas.

Sonic: Hmmm... If we can't get Novo to help us, how do we get her to see that we're trustworthy?

Tails: Hey Pinkie, since you're a great party-planner, how about you show Novo what fun really feels like?

Cream: Yeah!

Pinkie Pie: I've got ya!

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs as she swims up to her friends] I hope so.

Silver: Hmm? Didn't work out?

Twilight Sparkle: Well, I figured I'd see what Pinkie was up to and see if she can convince her otherwise.

Silver: Huh, alright.

[Pinkie swam ahead of the others, and they didn't have to look too far for Skystar. She had been trying to delay telling her mother to change her new friends back, which she would quickly lose since they had to go back to their home to save their friends and family. She sniffled, trying not to cry, completely understanding why they couldn't stay and be safe with them]

[strings and harp]

Princess Skystar: [sniffling] It's probably for the best. [holding back tears]

[Pinkie Pie]

[as Shelly] Hey, now, don't be sad

[as Sheldon] I know we cannot stay

[normal voice] But we've got a couple minutes

And a little time to play

[Princess Skystar]

I know you have important things

So it's okay, just go

[Pinkie Pie]

But we can still pick one small, little thing

To do with you, y'know!

[They push Skystar and swam together through Seaquestria]

[Pinkie Pie]

One small thing doesn't seem like a lot

One small thing, work with the time you've got

Soon, one small thing becomes two

After two, perhaps another few

Then one small thing is not so small

One small thing can be the biggest thing of all

[Princess Skystar]

All right now, since you're here

Let's see what we can do

Swim with the flow until you go

Together, me and you

[Pinkie Pie]

I've got necklaces for everyfish

So what else do ya got?

[Princess Skystar]

Well, we could play the bubblefish

You'll like this one a lot!

[Pinkie startled Spike, making him puff up like a balloon]

[Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar]

One small thing, it's a good place to start

[Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy]

(Just one small thing)

[Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar]

One small thing, and we don't seem so far apart

[Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy]

(Don't seem apart)

[All]

Soon, one small thing leads to more

It's so much more than there was before

Just one small thing, and you will see

The start of something big for you and me

[Queen Novo swims out of her spa room to find out what all the noise is about]

[Pinkie Pie]

One small thing

[Seaponies]

Just one small thing

[Twilight Sparkle]

Or a tall thing

[Seaponies]

Just one tall thing

[Fluttershy]

Or a sing thing

[Seaponies]

Just one sing-y thing

[Rarity]

Or a bling thing

[All]

Just one bling-y thing

[Applejack]

A conga thing

[All]

Yeah, a conga thing

[Rainbow Dash]

Or a longah thing

[Seaponies]

Just one longah thing

[Pinkie Pie]

A blue thing, true thing, you thing

[Seaponies]

(Oooh-oooh)

[Princess Skystar]

A whee thing, sea thing, me thing

[Seaponies]

(Oooh-oooh-oooh!)

[Pinkie Pie and Princess Skystar]

So many things and everything until our time is done

There's one small thing for each and everyone!

[Princess Skystar]

One small thing, so much we can create

You and me, we started something great

It's so amazing, look around

At all the happy sights and sounds

One small thing is big, it's true

You did this all for us

I just wish there was one small thing

An extra special kind of thing

[Princess Skystar and Seaponies]

That we could do for you...

One small thing!

[The queen laughed, enjoying the short couple minutes of the party, which was a complete success on Pinkie's list as she cheered in satisfaction. As Novo calmed down, she swam over to their visitors with a warmer smile, a better look than her suspicious and wary scowl when she first met them]

Queen Novo: Woo! [laughs]

Princess Skystar: Hmm?

Mina Mongoose: That was awesome!

Pinkie Pie: [giggles]

Rest of the Mane Six: [laugh]

Sunset Shimmer: I'll admit, that was pretty cool.

Lilly: Yeah, great work guys.

Sticks: WOOHOO!

Cream: This is fun!

Tails: Yeah!

Marcus: Yes, I must admit, that was pretty enjoyable. [claps]

Jewel Pixie Animals (Selkie forms): [laugh and cheer]

Manic: Let's do that again!

Sonic: [to Novo] Not bad, huh?

Queen Novo: You know, after such an exciting party...I guess there is ONE small thing we can do for you.

Pinkie Pie: Ahhh!

[The ponies and Spike let out a surprised gasp, shock turning to joy at what the queen was implying]

Twilight Sparkle: Y-You...You mean...you're gonna help us!?

Stygian: Seem like she will at this point...

Blaze: Unless something ends up going wrong last minute...

Pearl (Selkie form): I mean, anything's possible...

Star Swirl: Well, whatever the answer is, we're more than happy to help out.

Queen Novo: Is that so? [to Skystar] And you trust them, Skystar?

Princess Skystar: Yes, Mom. More than anything. So, can we help them, can we, can we?

Queen Novo: [sighs] Alright, we’ll help you in your fight against the Storm King.

[Twilight grinned and cheered with her friends rejoicing]

Amy Rose: Alright!

Discord: Marvelous!

Sonic: Yes! [hi-fives Tails]

Shadow: Hmm. [grins] I knew we'd do it.

Pinkie Pie: Woo-hoo! They think we're ponies worth saving!

Reaper: Never had my doubts.

Vanessa: Same thing.

Silver: [sighs in relief] (Phew, crisis averted...)

[With that said, Twilight was relieved to have earned her trust as everyone and everypony cheered]

Twilight Sparkle: Thank you so much for reconsidering, Your Majesty! Trust me when I say that, together, we'll kick the Storm King far away from our kingdoms and beyond! I can't wait to tell everypony back home about this! We'll meet you on the surface.

Queen Novo: See you there.

[With that said, everyone and everypony prepared to go back up to the surface]

Returning to the Surface/Surprise Attack/The Mane Nine and the Princesses get Captured/Crossing the Line/Infinite Defeats Sonic

[Now we go to the surface, where we see a glow underwater, then a magic sound was heard as our heroes resurface gasping for air and made it to the shore to dry themselves off, at last, everyone found themselves near the shore of the mainland and a far distance away from Mount Aris and getting ready to take back Equestria with rekindled hope, the dreary, cloudy sky, while not ideal, was the best they had for now]

Everyone: [gasping for air]

Vector: Phew, finally made it back...

Rainbow Dash: [coughing]

Knuckles: Well, there was a lot more water between here and Seaquestria than I thought.

Ruby: That was established pretty early on, Knuckles.

Rarity: [gasping, faints]

Sonic: [pops out of the water and then gasp for air] Note to self, never ask to be returned to normal when you're only half-way to the surface, but hey, at least I can say I'm not scared of water anymore...

Amy Rose: Indeed, Sonic, and I'm proud of you for overcoming your fears. [hugs him]

[Twilight smiled as she began drying her hair, the others already starting to dry off]

Marine: I'll admit, I really liked being a mermaid.

Blaze: Indeed, good to be on dry land again though.

Pearl: Uh huh.

Starlight Glimmer: [squeezes the water out of her tail] Yeah.

Cream: Is everybody here?

Cheese: Chao-chao?

Sunburst: I believe so.

Omega: [checks everyone] Yes, everyone is present and accounted for.

Princess Luna: Good to hear, Omega.

Tails: So, Queen Novo, what made you change your mind?

Digit: Yeah, we're curious.

Queen Novo: Seeing the way you know a good friend, I guess Skystar was right to trust y'all. We've been into hiding in Seaquestria only to stay safe, we've forgotten what it's like being hippogriffs again.

Tails: Ah, I see.

Rouge: Now that we have the Hippogriffs, we can head home and stop the Storm King for good.

Knuckles: Yeah, I can't wait to show this Storm King who not to mess with!

Gilda: I'm just glad we all made it through okay.

Whisper: Okay, Stygian. You ready?

Stygian: Yes, Whisper, I'm ready to do what I must to save Equestria.

Tangle: In that case, I think we're all set.

Rainbow Dash: Well, what are we waiting for?

Weather: Let's go!

Sonic: Yeah, it's time to take back Equestria!

[everyone cheers, when suddenly, some storm creatures appear out of nowhere, and unknown to everyone, the Phantom Ruby's sound effects could be heard quietly nearby]

Genji: What was that?!

Eclipse: Oh now what?

Star Swirl: Storm Guards.

Nyx: Oh no...

Troy: What?! You've gotta be kidding me!

Knuckles: Oh come on, seriously?!

McCree: Thought we saw the last of them!

Queen Novo: Okay, that right there is the reason why we hid in Seaquestria!

Kyle: Thankfully, your highness, defeating evil is our specialty.

Shining Armor: They just don't know when to give up, do they?!

Sonic: Yeah, either way, we should probably take care of them if anything! [to Spike] Spike, get the princesses out of here, we'll take care of this!

Amour: And please, be careful.

Spike: On it!

[Spike took the 12 princess as far as they could go]

Megan Acorn: Good luck.

Mage Meadowbrook: Be careful.

Mistmane: We believe in you.

Gamma: The storm guards must be eradicated! [take aim]

Winston: An whole army for us to smash!

Feels: Showtime!

Lightning Dust: Okay, come get some ugly!

[the storm creatures charge at the heroes]

Knuckles: Let's go!

Sonic: Aw yeah, let’s do this!

[the heroes charged at the storm creatures, taking down as many as they could. Unknowingly to them, these storm creatures were just mere illusions Infinite had created to distract them]

Infinite: Suckers. [warps away as he goes onto the ship, then talks to Tempest and the storm creatures] The Freedom Fighters and those other idiots are distracted.

Tempest Shadow: Excellent! [to the Storm Creatures] Now go capture the princesses immediately!

[Meanwhile, somewhere in the middle of the ocean, the Eggman Empire was seen on some debries from the Egg Carrier, with the Deadly Six, the Hard-Boiled Heavies, Neo Metal Sonic, Rough, Tumble, Orbot, Cubot, Decoe, Bocoe, Bokkun, Scratch, Grounder, Coconuts, Sleet, and Dingo pushing it from behind]

Dr. Eggman: Faster, you idiots! Faster! Put your backsides into it.

Orbot: Technically, robots don't have backsides, boss.

Heavy King: Yeah, did you forget that or something?

Dr. Eggman: I don't care! Just push. We have to get back to the base. I already have my revenge against Infinite planned out, and since it won't be against Sonic, I will not fail!

Orbot: Of course you won't boss. Of course you won't. On the bright side, none of your robotic minions have ceased to function due to being in water yet.

Cubot: Yeah, which is great, considering what happened with Metal Sonic when he was put under Lyric's control! Oh hey, remember a few years back when we were chasing those little alien guys? What was up with those things anyway? They sure were funny looking. Hahaha. Smelled good, though.

Dr. Eggman: Ugh, what I wouldn't give for the maddening silence of Space right about now.

Doctor Starline: You're not alone on that front.

Lien-Da: Yeah.

Snively: Same. [sighs]

Captain Whisker: Alas, the sea is a cruel mistress..

Metal Sonic: Just don't pay attention to him, eventually he'll tire himself out.

Cubot: Oh, I wish we had some sushi. Bummer we didn't bring any with us. Not that we could eat it since we're robots, but we could have looked at it. I love looking at stuff. I love stuff! This year has been really great. Hey, how did Infinite get the Egg Carrier to blow up like that? Loved it! By the way, did we destroy Sonic earlier? Duh, sorry, dumb question. We never destroy Sonic! Hey, where are we going... Ohhhhh look at that cloud... oh, and that one... and that one... and that one... that one's nice... oh look at that!

Speedy: I like this guy.

Morpho: Ugh, do we even ever win?!

Dr. Eggman: That depends on your definition of win.

Morpho: Beating Sonic.

Dr. Eggman: Oh, well then no.

Morpho: Well that doesn't give me much hope.

Rough: [sighs] We don't get paid enough for this...

Tumble: I know right...

Speedy: Wait, we're getting paid, since when?

[The scene changed to the waves crashing as we see the princesses and Spike looking around the path leading to the edge of a cliff, the alicorn hunched over as she sat by the edge, making sure no one was following them]

Spike: Okay, all clear. [walks away]

Twilight Sparkle: Phew, that's a relief. You know, I'm honestly glad we were able to get Queen Novo's trust.

Starlight Glimmer: Yeah, I'll admit, this whole journey's been fun, even if we did spend most of it looking for sompony to help us.

Princess Cadance: At least, now we have a chance to take back Equestria.

Pinkie Pie: Yeah, and plus, once we've saved Equestria, we can get back to the Friendship Festival!

Applejack: Y'up.

Rainbow Dash: Let's not also forget that we would've of gotten this far without Sonic and the others.

Sunset Shimmer: Yeah, had it not been for them, we would've likely been captured already.

Fluttershy: Or we could've all been petrified by those weird orb things.

Rarity: Yeah, this whole adventure's had a lot of close calls.

Princess Celestia: Indeed so, but we never gave up on our goals.

Trixie Lulamoon: And even if the journey had its' less than stellar moments.

Princess Luna: We still made it in the end.

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah... Honestly, I'm just happy Nova agreed to help, cause I'll admit, I nearly did something really stupid. So stupid that it could have started a war between our two nations.

Sunset Shimmer: What do you mean?

Twilight Sparkle: You're probably gonna be angry at me for even thinking about it, but I was pretty close to stealing their pearl...

Pinkie Pie: You mean... you were going to USE us as a distraction?!

[The others gasped, their shock worsening when the alicorn turned her head, barely denying the claim]

Pinkie Pie: B-But you said I was the best pony for the job by helping lift their spirits with a party!

Rainbow Dash: Seriously, Twi?! If we knew that was gonna happen, we should have just gone back to Canterlot and faced the Storm King ourselves!

Twilight Sparkle: I know, I nearly blew it for all of us, but at the time, I thought it was the only way... But Silver knocked some sense into me, and it worked out in the end. [looked at Pinkie with a apologetic look on her face, while the rest of her friends looked just as bitter and appalled by the alicorn's "plan", they quickly switched over to understanding faces though]

Applejack: Sugarcube, we're your friends, and nothing's gonna change that, but what in the hay were you thinking?

Twilight Sparkle: I have no idea... I guess all the stress of everything that happened finally got to me... I mean, a lot of us weren't taking things too seriously. You know, since we were just singing songs and doing Sonic Rainbooms and instantly trusting strangers when we were on the run.

Rainbow Dash: You never said we couldn't have at least a little bit of fun. I'm still sorry though.

Pinkie Pie: Yeah, I admit, we were being a bit stupid.

Twilight Sparkle: But despite everything, it all still worked out... You know what, I'd say we go back and help them, I mean, Equestria isn't gonna save itself, presides, I've think we've done enough hiding for one day.

Rainbow Dash: You know what, you're right Twilight.

Twilight Sparkle: Exactly, so let's- [suddenly hears muffled screams] Spike? [gasp]

Spike: [being held capture by a storm creature] Guys, help!

Mane Nine: [gasps]

[Twilight tried to use a spell but then bars shot up around her and the others and closed shut]

Twilight Sparkle: [screams] W-What!?

[A chained hook dropped down through the clouds, which blew away and revealed Tempest's airship, a storm guard hooked it up to the cage, the alicorns were trying to break through the tough steel bars with their magic, but alas, the cage was magic proof. After levitating the hook securely, the guards tugged the chain to signal the guards on the ship. The cage rose up, being hoisted toward the airship, making the princesses panic]

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] No no no no no! Noooooo!

Applejack: What the?!

Fluttershy: Oh no!

Pinkie Pie: What gives?!

Rarity: Huh?!

Rainbow Dash: What in the world?!

Princess Celestia: This is not good.

Princess Luna: Not good at all.

Princess Cadance: This cannot be happening. This cannot be happening!

Starlight Glimmer: Impossible!

Sunset Shimmer: It can't be!

Trixie Lulamoon: Who, what, where, how?!

[They were hoisted up to the ship, unable to escape as Spike watched them get taken away]

Twilight Sparkle: No! Spiiiiiike!!!

Spike: [watches from below in horror] Twiliiiiiight!!! [deciding he wasn't going to continue remaining a hostage any loger, growled and breathed fire around the storm guards, forcing the one holding him to let go, he then wished he was a dragon born with wings so he could fly after them and burn whoever ratted them out to Tempest. The princesses disappeared into the airship, the hatch closing tight as the vessel began to make its way back to Canterlot] No! They got them... I hope the others haven't left yet... [ran as fast as he could for dear life down the path to find the others, dreading to tell them the bad news, all while Tempest watches from the top deck with evil satisfaction]

Tempest Shadow: [chuckles] Easy as pie.

Grubber: Oh, I love pie. [looks at the cage through a telescope, seeing the alicorns] Oh, you've definetly got the Princesses now!

Infinite: Indeed. Hook, line, and sinker!

[Meanwhile, the heroes and the Hippogriffs had all taken down the storm guards]

Sonia: Well, that was easy.

Manic: Yeah, too easy actually.

Flash Magnus: Yeah, weird...

Sonic: I have to agree. [shrugs] I don't think Tempest is even trying anymore.

Shadow: Yeah, we should get the princesses and Spike and head back to Equestria now.

[Sonic was about to go get the girls and Spike when he saw the baby dragon himself running up to them from where they washed up after avoiding almost drowning]

Spike: [running to them in a panic] They've! Been! Taken!!!

[Everyone quickly looked at Spike, Team Sonic quickly getting up and meeting the baby dragon halfway]

Big: What?!

Sonic: Huh?! What's wrong, little buddy? [looks around; worried] Wait, where are Twilight and the others?!

Spike: They've been taken, Tempest! She grabbed them, and took them on her ship!

Sonic: [mutters gibberish and gasps] WHAT!?!?

Tails: HUH!?!??!

Knuckles: ARE YOU FLIPPING KIDDING ME?!

Amy Rose: What?!?!

Shadow: ARE YOU- ARE YOU BEING SERIOUS?!

Cream: Oh my goodness!!

Rouge: What?!

Silver: Dios mio...

Blaze: What?!?

Discord/Pillars of Old Equestria: What?

Shining Armor/Sunburst/Queen Novo: WHAT?!?!

Nyx/Snowdrop/Skyla/Gabby: What?

Gilda/Cutie-Mark Crusaders/Princess Skystar: What?!?

Big/D-Fekt: Huh?

Omega/Gamma/FriendBot: This does not compute! THIS DOES NOT COMPUTE!

Emerl/Gmerl: WHAT?!?

Babylon Rogues/Eclipse/Nite/Don/Ben Muttski: Seriously?!?!

Heavy/Bomb: OH COME ON!

Team Chaotix/Fiona/Belle/Genji/Winston/McCree: Huh?!

Mighty/Ray/Julie-Su/Saffron/Elias Acorn/Megan Acorn/Monkey Khan/Omochao: WHAT?!?!?

Team Hooligan/Chip/Lupe: WHAT?!?!?!

Moon Dancer/Lightning Dust/Firefly/Posey/Wysteria/Minty: [confused screaming]

Sally Acorn/Bunnie Rabbot/Nicole/Antoine/Rotor/Dulcy: What?

Sticks/Zooey/Perci/Gold/Staci: Say, what?!?!

Team Overlander/Hawkeye/Bullseye/Fireheart/Yukimura/Wormwood/Midnight: WHA..?!?!

Jewel Pixie Animals: [horrified] Oh no!

Cosmo/Marine/Sonia/Manic/Sonar/Maria/Lina: B-But how?!

Mina Mongoose/Ash Mongoose/Shard/Tikal/Shade/Gadget: What?!

Tangle/Whisper/Jewel/Honey/Galaxina/Relic/Fixit: Wait, what?!

[Flurry-Heart, Alexis, Chaos, Cheese, Chocola, Froggy, Birdie, and Yacker were visibly shocked]

Sonic: [flabbergasted] How is that possible, I thought we- [suddenly hears the Phantom Ruby sounds as the storm guards vanish in thin air] An illusion?! [his pupils shrunk in a mix of realization and horror] B-But that means-

[The others gasped in shock upon realizing they had been fooled, but the members of Team Sonic took it the worst]

Amy Rose: [shocked] No... They didn't...

Shadow: [facepalms] Darn it, they played us...

Tails: No...No. [anxiously panting] No no no no no! They found us!?

Infinite: [warps in] Indeed we did!

Team Sonic: Infinite!

Sonic: This was all a trick to distract us so Tempest could capture the princesses without interference, wasn't it?!

Infinite: Indeed, I mean, seriously, did you really think you'd be able to protect them forever?!

Sonic: [looked defeated] I was hoping...

Infinite: Of course you would! [laughs] Your teamwork and friendship is pathetic.

Cutie-Mark Crusaders: Is not!!!

Silver: [to Infinite; angrily] Does anyone but you believe your lies?!

Knuckles: Yeah! Give it a rest already!

Omega: Urge to maim: rising!

Infinite: Pfft, no matter, it wouldn't be worth it to finish you off here anyway.

Spike: [sarcastically] Oh, that's good to know!

Infinite: Indeed, but I must say, from what I saw, you're a little tough guy, little dragon. Too bad you're not worth my time right now, small fry!

Sonic: [his look of defeat turned to anger] I've had enough! [revs up] Who do you think you are anyway?! [charges towards Infinite]

Tails: Wait, Sonic, what are you-

Sonic: [picking up speed as he uses his boost] You're mine! [attempts to punch Infinite only for him to block it] What?!

Infinite: Did you forget who I am?! [fires a laser from his palm at Sonic (to which he dodges) and the latter uses his Homing Attack on Infinite, only for the hedgehog to be kicked into the air and then roundhouse kicked into a rock, cratering it from the impact]

Sonic: [gets up; to Infinite] Do you think you're invincible now that the Ruby's overclocked, you're forgetting that I've defeated you before, buddy! [charges up Light Speed Attack before spindashing towards Infinite at full force, only for him to repel the blue blur back]

[Sonic charges at Infinite, only for the Jackel to knock him back]

Infinite: Forget it, Sonic, just give up! [fires two lasers from his palms at Sonic (to which Sonic also dodges)]

Sonic: Not until you and Tempest release our friends! [dropdashes towards Infinite who just roundhouse kicks him again]

Infinite: If you insist, though before we continue, what would like your epitaph to read, how about, "Here lies the Blue Buffoon".

Sonic: [clenches his fist] Why not "Here dozes the Masked Clown". Gotta make one for the person who needs it, right? [spindashes into Infinite only to get hit by his laser and knocked back; groans as he looks at Infinite] You think you're better than me, Infinite?

Infinite: I don't think I'm better than you; I KNOW I'm better than you! It's like you're not even trying... But you're quite persistant, I'll give you that.

[Sonic growls as he gets up back on his feet]

Infinite: [chuckles] Yes, come to me, Blue Savior. Let us settle the score. I underestimated you once, I will not make the same mistake again.

[Sonic]

This has to stop now

Whatever it is that you're going through,

we'll fix it together - me and you

Just like we've always done

[Infinite]

No! This has to stop now

This thing where you think that you've been my foe

And don't even hear how you condescend

The way you've always done

[Sonic]

Infinite, listen

[Infinite]

I'm listening

[Sonic]

I know it isn't true

[Infinite]

Isn't it?

[Sonic]

Just look into my eyes now

[Infinite]

Well?

[Sonic]

I know you feel it too

[Infinite]

Perhaps I do

[Sonic]

Infinite, listen

[Infinite]

I'm listening

[Sonic]

I swear it's not too late

So before another line gets crossed

and everything we've had is lost

just wait...

[Infinite]

Wait? No, I won't wait.

There's a line between the winners and the losers

There's a line between the chosen and the rest

And I've done the best I could

But I've always known just where we stood

Me here with the luckless

You there with the blessed

And that line between the beggars and the choosers

is a line you never let me quite ignore

How I've tried to jump that great divide!

But I've never got the chances you were given

You don't know how much I've been denied

Well, I'm not being patient anymore

I'm crossing the line!

And I'm done holding back

So look out, clear the track, it's my turn!

I'm taking what's mine

Every drop, every smidge

If I'm burning a bridge, let it burn!

But I'm crossing the line...

As for us, if we're over, that's fine...

I'm crossing the line

Shadow: Excuse you.

Infinite: Oh what now?!

Shadow: You've been ignoring someone this entire time.

Infinite: Tails?

Shadow: No, you idiot! You have been ignoring the Ultimate Life Form!

Infinite: What is the Ultimate Life Form to a God? 

Shadow: A god?! YOU DON'T BELIEVE IN ANYTHING BUT YOURSELF! [charges at Infinite] HEAAAAAAAAAAA- [Infinite suddenly flies forward and kicks Shadow hard in the left arm, breaking it. Shadow squealed in pain, grabed his broken arm, walked a few feet, then sinked to his knees. He as quiet for a moment, then] FFFFFFFU-

[Shadow is cut off by a loud burst of organ music coming from a church, several frightened birds flying out of the trees, then cuts back to the heroes and Infinite]

Silver: Yeesh, that was the loudest profanity I've ever heard...

Apple Bloom: What does that even-

Vector: You'll learn when you're older, kid.

Perci: You okay?!

Shadow: [in pain] I've had worse... [to Infinite] If you think breaking my arm is enough to defeat me, Infinite, I'll show you how wrong you are- [Infinite warps behind Shadow before grabbing his right arm and twisting it behind him, forcing the hedgehog to scream]

Narrator: And that's when the Ultimate Life Form realized that when you grab a bull by the horns...

[Infinite warps in front of Shadow]

Narrator: Sometimes, he'll take you for a ride...

[Infinite promply kicks him in the chest, which causes Shadow to squeal in pain in slow motion before the jackel punches him in Maria's direction]

Maria: Shadow, no! [catches Shadow]

Infinite: [kicks Maria into Zooey and Perci] Now, before I resume my fight with Sonic, Shadow. Tell me, who has two broken arms and is a total weakling.

Shadow: You stupid fool, you only broke one of my-

[Infinite slammed his foot into Shadow's right arm, effectively breaking it. Shadow began to squeal with pain]

Infinite: THIS guy...

Sonic: [angrily] Oh, now you've crossed the line! [Sonic, nearly at wit's end, draws his sword and slashes at Infinite, only for the jackel to counter him with his own blade before sending Sonic backwards into the sand]

Infinite: Fighting me is useless now, Sonic, just face it, you've reached your limit!

[Rage was beginning to fill Sonic's eyes, after everything that jackel had done, he had finally had enough, his eyes only saw red, his mind clouded with anger, and he began gritting his teeth]

Sonic: [his eyes shrink in anger] Limit? LIMIT?! [speeds off to the other side of the beach at the Speed of Sound, startling everyone]

Tails: WHOA!

Marcus: WHAT THE?!

Infinite: What in the- What's he doing?!

Shadow: Tails, what's he up to?!

Moonlight: [worriedly] What does he think he's doing?!

Tails: [looking at the Miles Electric] I-I don't know, he's running faster than I thought he could. [tracking his location] He's on the other side of the beach!

Sonic: [enraged; revs up as blue lightning appears from his shoes and go into his pupils] LIMIT!? I'VE GOT YOUR "LIMIT" RIGHT HERE! [his eyes briefly turn blue as he speeds back towards with a Sonic Boom, breaking the sound barrier in the process, before slamming his head right into Infinite like a speeding locomotive, sending him flying backwards into a wall] H-HA! H-How's that for my limit, Infinite?

[To Sonic's absolute shock, Infinite had warped behind him without even a scratch]

Infinite: It's just fine, Sonic.

Sonic: [horrified] NO WAY!

Infinite: But still not powerful enough to do any real damage! MY TURN! [warps in front of Sonic]

Narrator: And that's when the Fastest Thing Alive realized that against Infinite, his speed was about as useless...

[Infinite roundhouse kicked Sonic into a rock with enough force to crack it]

Narrator: As a screen door on a submarine.

Infinite: Face it, I bested you, I deceived you, I outsmarted you, I WON! [launches Sonic into the air, Infinite then blasts lasers from his palms, before using four Infinite illusions to pummel him for a little while]

Sonic: [getting pummeled] Could use a little help here, guys!

[Infinite delivered one last blow on Sonic, slamming him into the sand in front of the others, who look on with concern. Battered and bruised, Sonic tried to lift himself up, but to no success as he had no strength left to do so, and collapses in defeat, much to everyone's horror]

Tails/Sapphire: [horrified] Sonic!

Amy Rose: [tears welled in her eyes] NO!!!!!

Reaper: Impossible!

[Shadow watched in shock as Moonlight healed his arms]

Infinite: [as he hovers down to the Blue Blur, who slowly opens his eyes weakly] As I predicted. You're not even worth the effort to finish off, honestly, it's a shame that your pointless hero antics have led to this. [grabs him by the neck] But heed my words, Sonic. In time, everything you have ever known will come, and go. And don't worry about your precious alicorn princesses, I guarantee you that they'll be a lot better once the Storm King has their magic! [laughs maniacally as he drops Sonic, who despite his broken and badly injured state, was still concious]

Sonic: [grunted, trying to stand back up] Infinite... I'm... Not through with you yet... [coughs]

Infinite: [drops down] Oh, but I'm quite done with you. Just remember... this is all your fault... you were the one who got the princesses captured... [begins walking away] Now stay out of my way, or it'll be your friends that'll pay the price... [hearing this made Sonic finally snap]

Sonic: [enraged] NOOOOOOOOOO!!! [gets up and runs up at Infinite, only to get punched right in the face and sent back into the sand]

Infinite: Stay down, dog.

Sonic: [weakly; coughs, scrambled back to his feet] GET BACK HERE AND FIGHT, COWARD! [groans in pain as he threw his sword at him, the blade shattering upon making contact with his fist, Sonic quickly summoming another one]

Infinite: Alright fine. [madly] HAVE IT YOUR WAY THEN! [charges up a powerful ball of energy]

Sonic: [shocked; realizing just what was about to happen, the amount of energy Infinite was charging up making him gasp] I-Infinite, wait! [held his hand out to try to get the jackel to stop]

[The others gasped in horror, seeing what Infinite was about to do. They tried to tell him to stop, but their words, even Sonic's, fell on deaf ears, too focused on showing Sonic just how weak he was compared to him]

Infinite: DIE!!! [throws the giant energy ball towards Sonic]

[Sonic tried to run away, but Infinite used his Phantom Ruby powers to force him in place so he could get blasted by the powerful attack. As it got closer, all he could do was watch with paralyzed fear. The orb made contact with his chest, Sonic clenching every muscle in his body as he braced for the searing pain he'd feel. The energy ball quickly expanded and exploded in a blinding, burning flash, Sonic's scream of agony echoing the silent beach while everyone was blinded. The blast sent Sonic flying, his whole body completely singed along with the cuts and bruises Infinite inflicted on him. His flight ended harshly as his body smacked violently into the side of the cliff on the shore, letting out a loud, pained gasp as he bounced off, his grip on his sword lost once he lost consciousness and his friends could only watch on in horror as he fell to the sand with a painful thud]

[Infinite panted heavily, waiting for Sonic to get right back up and keep fighting]

Infinite: Well? What's wrong? Peformance issues? [gets no response; annoyed] Come on, Sonic! Get up! Quit faking it! You're stronger than me, right!? Get back up and keep fighting me!

Cream: Mr. Sonic? [the hedgehog remained unresponsive, then her eyes widened with terror as she saw blood beginning to run down from his nose and mouth] Oh no...

[Amy didn't move an inch. She was just sitting there on her knees, eyes wide and tears falling, her pupils the size of pinpricks]

Knuckles: Sonic! Sonic?!

[Tails, with tears streaming down his cheeks and a stinging in his eyes scurried to his feet and rushed over towards his big brother, he slid down next to Sonic and turned him over onto his back, placing his hand behind Sonic's head and lifting it up]

Tails: SONIC!!! SONIC, WAKE UP, PLEASE!!! PLEASE, YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP!!! [got no reply from the limp Hedgehog. The young Fox shook his head frantically] Nononononononononono, not you, anybody but you! I-I can't lose you this soon! I ju-just can't! SONIC! SONIC, WAKE UP!!! [shook the Hedgehog's body, but it was no use, he wasn't dead, but he was seriously injured] PLEASE, BIG BROTHER, YOU'RE STRONG ENOUGH! FIGHT! FIGHT GOSH DARN YOU, FIGHT!!! SONIC!!! SOOOOOONNNNIIIICCCC!!! [sobbed heavily as he held his brother figure close and cried into his chest]

[Not that Tails or anyone else noticed, but Infinite actually seemed to notice that he might've taken things WAY too far]

Infinite: Huh, I guess that's it then... I'll see myself out. [warps away as the rest of Sonic's friends ran over to the unconscious hedgehog to make sure he was okay, the group gravely worried as they tried to wake him up, but the damage had already been done. Thankfully, Sonic was still breathing, but he was out cold, and there was no idea how long he'd be out for]

Sapphire: [to Tails] It'll...It'll be ok. Sonic will be back on his feet soon, and we can find another way.

[Some time later...]

[After what felt like forever, Sonic regained consiousness, his body sore and exhausted as he grunted and groaned in pain]

Queen Novo: Don't try to move, dear.

Sonic: I'll rest...when I'm dead... [struggles to his feet]

Shadow: And Infinite almost killed you. [slapped Sonic in the face] YOU IDIOT! Why'd you let him beat you? Did you force yourself to go easy on him in a attempt to make him feel bad?

[Sonic recalled what happened in his fight with Infinite. He slowly glanced at Shadow, slightly shaking his head in response. His answer shocked the heroes, looking at each other in bewilderment before staring back at the beaten, bruised, and just as shellshocked hedgehog]

Amy Rose: [with tears flowing down her cheeks] I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU!!! Are you okay?!

Sonic: Well, I'm still alive... [a wave of pain wracked his battered body, making him groan and almost fall over while clutching his side] I'm still really banged up though...

Sapphire: [looks over him] Confirmed, though I'm surprised none of your bones were damaged.

Shard the Metal Sonic: Well, still, those wounds look pretty bad though.

Sonic: [stretches his back into place] Eh, I've survived worse. [puts his hand on his head] Presides, we've still got a world to safe...

Blaze: You really should just lay back down, you can barely stand, let alone sit up without looking like your body will give out.

Tails: I'm sorry, Sonic, we should've told you to stop while you were still standing, but I guess we were too reluctant...

Sonic: [smiles] Don't sweat it, I'll heal.

Tails: B-But what do we do now? [falls to his knees; tearing up] I-It's over... The Princesses and the Mane Nine are finally captured, and to make matters worse, Infinite's right, this was all our fault! We doomed Equestria... the Storm King's won! [sobs]

Silver: [sighs] (I don't know what's worse, the fact that Sonic got himself hurt big time, or the fact that Twilight nearly resorted to stealing a powerful magical item just to liberate Equestria by any means.)

Sonic: [looks on] Yeah, for now...

Amy Rose: For now? What do you...?

Sonic: Well, we're still breathing, aren't we? And we've still got the Hippogriffs for support, right?

Queen Novo: [sighs] Despite everything that's happened, yes. Just don't be so reckless, you've could've easily been killed.

Sonic: Great, just wanted to make sure you didn't change your mind. Also, I'll try to be more careful next time, okay.

Knuckles: [to Sonic] What are you saying?

Angela: Yeah, what?

Sonic: What I'm saying is, we still have a chance to turn this around, assuming we come up with a plan on how we're gonna do this first...

Shadow: [stretches his back into place] Well, what do we do now exactly?!

Moonlight: We gotta save Twilight and the others!

Silver: Yeah, it's just a matter of how...

Jayden: Indeed, but Tempest is probably half way across Equestria, and I fear even with the hippogriffs' help, the storm creatures could still overwhelm us.

Kristy: Big brother's right, we need to think of this carefully....

Sapphire: Relax and just leave it to Sonic, he's the man with the plan, right?

Sonic: Yeah, well, I will be once I think of one.

[Tails, Knuckles, and Sapphire collapse in shock]

Sapphire: Sorry, I guess I kinda jumped the gun, huh...

Open Up Your Eyes/Reinforcements Arrive/Preparing for the Final Battle

[Inside the ship, the girls grunted while trapped inside the cage, trying to break themselves free with any means possible. They were stuck in a large portion of the airship, the cage hanging over a grated floor that held part of the ship's engine, a long staircase connecting the bottom to the top with some mechanisms. They didn't care much about where they were held, knowing they werebeing delivered back home to the Storm King on a silver platter. the Mane Nine continued busting themselves free, but the cage was far too tough and magic proof to slice apart or blast to smithereens with a spell]

Rainbow Dash: There's just gotta be a way out!

Applejack: And how do you plan on finding it?

Twilight Sparkle: Come one! [pouring all her magic into a beam on the cage bars, straining herself until she let out her held breath and panted heavily. Barely making a dent, the alicorn sat in defeat] It's no use, it's like the cage is nullifying our magic.

Sunset Shimmer: Just like how some of those storm creatures reflected our magic with those shields earlier...

Starlight Glimmer: [sees Tempest walk in] Uh, girls?

Trixie Lulamoon: What's wrong, Starlight?

[The girls' ears twitched as she heard metallic hoofs stepping down the wooden stairs, then onto the grated floor. Looking up, they gasped as their unfortunate visitor was none other than Tempest. The broken-horned mare smirked at the alicorns as she approached the cage]

Tempest Shadow: Aww, the "Princesses of the Sun, Moon, Love, and Harmony". [chuckles as she began to slowly circle the cage] With no way out! [taps the cage] Magic proof, made of the toughest steel to keep you confined, and with no lock, you can't simply unlock it to free yourself. Think of it like a claw; it only opens when I decide to release you from its clutches. [giggles]

Rarity: Just what's so funny about that?!

Tempest Shadow: Oh nothing, though I must admit, your friendships with the others, though pathetic, got you far, until now...

Pinkie Pie: What would you know about friendship?!

Princess Celestia: Tempest, we can help you.

Princess Luna: But only if you let us.

Princess Cadance: It doesn't have to be like this.

Twilight Sparkle: Yeah, why are you even doing all this? Why do you serve the Storm King? You're a pony! Just like us...

[Tempest stopped, leered at Twilight, then slammed her hooves on the bars of the cage while unleashing a surge of magic against it, startling the alicorns]

Tempest Shadow: [angrily zaps the cage with her magic, causing the princesses to yelp] I'm nothing like you! I'm more than you'll ever be.

[Tempest backed away while the girls watched her. They wanted to know what made Tempest want to side with the Storm King when she was a unicorn; an Equestrian. She was helping a mad tyrant take over several different kingdoms, and take whatever magic they had to become more powerful than anything in the world]

Twilight Sparkle: You think being by yourself is better? I thought that, too, but I never realized how wonderful having friends would be. And I wouldn't have become a princess without them, neither would they of for that matter.

Tempest Shadow: You don't have all of them now, though, do you? You twleve are so naive. You don't believe the harsh truth of reality when it comes to losing your friends?

Twilight Sparkle: I'm not living a happy fantasy. It was real.

Tempest Shadow: 'Was' being the key word.

Princess Luna: You're betraying Equestria!

Tempest Shadow: Equestria's not my concern. [reached into her outfit and pulled out a small crystal] I just want back what I've lost; what made me feel incomplete.

Fluttershy: Your heart?

Tempest Shadow: [chuckles darkly with a shake of her head] Do you really want to know why? [tossed the crystal into the cage, making the alicorns wary and uncertain as to what the crystal would do to them] It's a memory crystal, not an electric trap. You're already imprisoned. [Cadance picked up the crystal with her magic] See for yourselves if you want to know why I disregarded friendship to help me through my life.

[Tempest Shadow]

It's time you learned a lesson

It's time that you understand

Don't ever count on anybody else

In this or any other land

I once hoped for friendship

To find a place among my kind

But those were the childish wishes

Of someone who was blind

Open up your eyes

See the world from where I stand

Me, among the mighty

You, caged at my command

Open up your eyes

Give up your sweet fantasy land

It's time to grow up and get wise

Come now, little ones, open up your eyes

[The Mane Nine and the princesses glanced at the crystal. Sighing, their curiosity won her over as Cadance activated the crystal with her magic. The memory that was transferred inside showed Tempest as a filly, laughing and playing with other unicorn foals in a village that she must have grown up in, her horn intact and no scar over her right eye. She and her friends were tossing a ball around with their magic as they ran down a path leading to a forest far from their home]

We all start out the same

With simple naive trust

Shielded from the many ways

That life's not fair or just

[One of the other ponies flung the ball hard off the path, which bounced through the trees and into a cave. As Tempest and her friends chased after it, only to stop when they reached the cave. There were warning signs set up, making sure everyone nearby stayed far away as it was an ursa den. It was even boarded up to keep others from trying to explore it and risk getting themselves mauled by the dangerous, starry ursine that might reside in there. Tempest and her friends looked at each other, silently pondering who would be brave enough to get their ball. The other two foals gestured Tempest to go in. She was afraid, but she didn't want to chicken out and lose their ball]

But then there comes a moment

A simple truth that you must face

[Filly Tempest went inside the cave, finding the ball at not too far from the cave entrance. As she picked it up with her magic, her horn's light alerted an ursa minor that was sleeping, waking it up with a growl as it leered at the filly. Tempest gasped, recklessly facing the blue and starry bear after tossing her ball back outside. She was about to cast a small stunning spell on it, but the ursa was much faster, and with a roar, swiped its paw at her. Twilight gasped as she watched the ursa swipe the unicorn hard, wincing as she heard the crack of Tempest's horn getting snapped off while the filly screamed in pain, along with the scar the present unicorn now bared from one of the ursa's sharp claws]

If you depend on others

You'll never find your place

[Filly Tempest was smacked back hard, sent tumbling out of the cave while wailing in agony. The memory warped as her friends helped her up to take her to a hospital, changing the next scene to Tempest with her broken horn and scar, somberly walking down the road. She looked up when she saw her friends playing, wanting to join them to forget about the horrible loss she experienced. The two ponies spotted her as their ball rolled over to Tempest, accepting her in joining their game. When the filly tried to pick the ball up using levitation, she strained her face as her broken horn sparked. The magic began to surge, causing discharges of electric energy to surge out around the ball. Her friends gasped and backed away in fear of getting zapped, taking the ball away and running away from her]

And as you take that first step

Upon a path that's all your own

[Tempest watched as she was completely rejected by her friends, apparently too dangerous as a unicorn to cast any simple spells. They left her and found someone else to play with, which only upset the filly more. Filly Tempest sobbed and began walking away, leaving her hometown and the friends who abandoned her in her time of need. The sorrow in the filly's eyes quickly turned to anger, her tears ceasing, her heart and mind made up after experiencing a far worse pain than having her horn snapped off by an ursa minor. Filly Tempest looked back at her town, making the Mane Six feel sympathetic for her as she just ran away from home to escape the pain of having her friends up and leave her after such a traumatizing experience, even when they gave her a chance]

You see it all so clearly

The best way to survive is all alone

[As the twelve alicorns watched the end of the memory with Tempest walking away, never looking back with a scowl, vowing never to make anymore friends, the commander took back the crystal. The princesses looked up at Tempest, completely speechless as the commander walked away from them]

Open up your eyes

See the world from where I stand

Me, among the mighty

You, caged at my command

Open up your eyes

And behold the faded light

It's time to grow up and get wise

Come now, little one, open up your eyes

Open up your eyes!

[Tempest pulled a lever that made the alicorns' cage rise up to the top deck. The girls shielded their eyes from the light before looking shocked ahead at Canterlot. Clouds covered the entire mountain city, several other airships flying off toward the very city. Likely more storm guards to to lay witness to the tyrannical king's complete takeover. They looked down sadly before Tempest came up onto the top deck]

Fluttershy: T-That's so horrible!

Pinkie Pie: I never knew it was like that...

[Twilight looked at Tempest, wishing the two had met many years ago so she didn't have to feel that alone]

Twilight Sparkle: We're so sorry you felt so alone.

Tempest Shadow: Don't give me any of your sympathy, I saw the truth. My "friends" abandoned me when times got tough. [hearing this made the Mane Six think about how Team Sonic nearly abandoned them in their time of need during Cadance's wedding] Now I would recommend you stop trying to escape, you're here until further notice.

Starlight Glimmer: What do you plan to do with our magic?!

Tempest Shadow: That's frankly none of your business.

Rainbow Dash: You'll never get away with this! Sonic and the rest of our friends will come and stop you!

Tempest Shadow: [holds a obsidian orb] Unless you want to spend the rest of your existence as a statue, I would recommend you stop talking! Presides, it's already too late.

[Tempest walked away, leaving the Mane Nine and the Princesses alone in their cage, on top of the airship]

Infinite: [warped in] Welcome home, Your Highnesses. [notices the glum looks in their faces] Hey, cheer up. You're gonna have a big welcome party soon. Probably not with all your friends, but hey, at least there's someone who's giving it to you, now that you have no one to help keep you safe or help Equestria...

Pinkie Pie: Just our luck...

Infinite: I'm just glad we were able to catch you. Your new friends were gonna give us the runaround until we found that map leading to Mount Aris.

Rarity: Friends?

Infinite: Yeah. First, that sneaky cat thought he could pull a fast one on Tempest by misleading her east instead of south to some random island.

[The girls' ears slowly rose as she listened to Infinite's explanation. Rarity was even shocked to hear that Capper had actually help them after he tried to sell her and the others for money]

Infinite: Just in case, they took him aboard to ensure he wasn't fibbing, and what do you know? He did! Led them astray when we saw that giant rainbow target Rainbow Dash made heading in another direction. THAT was luck right there.

Rainbow Dash: And suddenly, I feel like a complete idiot...

Infinite: Then, we met those former parrot pirates, although they seemed to be really into getting back into the pirating gig with their outfits. We had a hunch you were hiding in their ship, even when I thought we heard something open beneath their deck. [impressed] You dropped yourselves out of the sky before we gave them time to think about giving away your position...Smart. Dumb, but pretty darn smart.

Twilight Sparkle: It was my idea.

Infinite: [surprised] Wow... I thought Sonic made that decision... You're dumber than him! [laughs, Twilight groaned, not appriciating being called dumber than Sonic] Even after we searched the ship and came up with nothing but that map, those birds would have tried to fight us off to keep their beaks sealed and reveal where you were. It's too bad they and the cat won't be of much help for you anymore. Tempest zapped some of their supplies, causing a chain reaction explosion and sent them falling down, down, down to the ground below.

[Twilight's heart dropped as the awful news about Capper and the now lost parrot crew reached her ears, she now deeply regretted not trusting the pirates]

Starlight Glimmer: Hey, after we were caught, we heard a bit of commotion going on at the beach, and I swore I heard Sonic screaming in agony... D-Did you and Sonic fight?

Infinite: Why yes, we did... And it was glorious! Too bad his speed and skills as a fighter weren't enough to keep me from knocking him unconsious! [laughs]

[Upon hearing this, the Mane Nine immediately started kicking, punching and tackling against the bars of the cage]

Twilight Sparkle: What did you do to him?! HE BETTER NOT BE HURT! [continued tackling against the bars along with her friends]

Infinite: Oh don't worry, he'll live... I made sure of it... It won't matter in the end, death will come for him eventually.

[Twilight started punching even harder against the bars of the cage in anger]

Sunset Shimmer: You allowed him to live? You had the perfect chance to kill him! His friends wouldn't stand a chance against someone like you! Why didn't you finish him off!?

Infinite: Believe me, I could have. I could've easily snapped his neck, I could've easily stabbed him through his heart with my blade, but Sonic's not gonna stay down and out for too long, Tempest gave the Storm King a special magic staff that's only fully powered after absorbing the magic of the alicorn princesses. If it can do just about anything, maybe I can convince the Storm King to use it on those mobians to really catch them without them using their powers.

[The girls were shocked to learn about why they were so important to being captured, Infinite then warped away, having felt like he had said enough]

Twilight Sparkle: [tears welled in her eyes as she looked back out to the landscape] I guess we'll have to make peace with our fate... [bawled as she sobbed into Celestia's chest]

[Infinite was looking beyond the horizon, thinking about his own past]

Infinite: [voiceover] Believe it or not, I didn't always rely on the Phantom Ruby, no... Before Mobius was merged with Equestria, I was the leader of a doomed squad that were hired as bodyguards for one of Eggman's facilities. Unfortunately, every single member of that squad fell, leaving me as the only one left.

[The scene flashbacks to Shadow looking for some cover while intruding on the entrance of Eggman's Facility. The hedgehog reaches for his communicator watch on his wrist. The camera cuts to the area where Infinite leaps from stone pillar to stone pillar finding a spot to attack Shadow.]

Dr. Eggman: [over radio] Hey, you! I know you can hear me! You're captain of Jackal Squad, aren't you?! Your squad was useless! GO CLEAN UP THEIR MESS ALREADY!

Infinite: Yeah, yeah, I got it...

Dr. Eggman: [over radio] Good, but don't you go getting yourself put out of commission too, do you hear me?! I'm not in the mood to clean up anymore messes, and I already have my hands full with your squad members in the infirmary!

Infinite: I won't stop until I've captured him, Doctor! He'll pay for coming here!

Dr. Eggman: [over radio] Did you even hear anything I just- [Infinite hangs up]

Infinite: [locates Shadow] I found him! You. You destroyed my squad. You endanger EVERYTHING the doctor has planned! Now I'll show you why they call me the Ultimate Mercenary! [charges at Shadow] Take THIS!

[Shadow activates Chaos Control]

Infinite: What?! Impossible!

[Shadow attacked Infinite with a roundhouse kick, launching the jackal in the air, and slams him down with his two fists, making him fall to the ground. Shadow delivers the final blow to Infinite with another roundhouse kick, launching him into another stone pillar, where Infinite can be heard groaning as he struggles to get up from getting easily thrashed by Shadow and his chaos powers]

Shadow: [steps on top of a nearby stone, looking down at Infinite] Is that all? I'm disappointed. It's not even worth finishing someone as worthless as you off. Don't show your pathetic face around me ever again.

[The camera cuts to Infinite's point of view as Shadow teleports away to continue his mission]

Infinite: Y-You coward! Come back and fight, darn it! [notices that he's shaking] Wait, I... I'm shaking... Me? Me... Afraid...?! [growls] Pathetic?! Me... [gets up] He's calling ME weak?! No...! I am not weak. I'm... I'm not. I'm not weak! I AM NOT WEEEEAAAAK! I hate you...! I HATE YOU! [screams in absolute rage]

[The scene cuts to about a month before Eggman took over Mobius, Infinite is seen putting on his mask, and showing off the finalized Phantom Ruby on his chest. A red aura surrounds the jackal as he spreads his arms out.]

Infinite: [voiceover] That day, I nearly lost my will to live, in the aftermath, I gave up my own unsightly face. And I let go of the old me, the one that was so weak, discarding whatever mortality I had left in order to become stronger. And then, at last... I obtained the power. The power to make all of reality yield to my will. I... was... REBORN!

[End of Flashback]

Infinite: [voiceover] And the rest, as they say, is history...

[At that moment, Infinite felt a disturbance, Infinite used Phantom Ruby Projection to see that Sonic had survived his earlier fight]

Infinite: Oh, so the hedgehog survived his wounds... I'm actually quite surprised, should've expected that though, hero types like him tend to survive a lot, oh well, no problem. [teleported to where Tempest was] So, Tempest, I couldn't help but wonder something. While you were down there with the princesses, what was with the singing? You trying to serenade them into giving up?

Tempest Shadow: It happens from time to time.

Infinite: You just break out into a musical number out of nowhere? Weird, but I will admit that was a bit catchy. Not a fan of the weird sad bit in the middle. Doesn't fit you at all.

[Tempest rolled her eyes, ignoring the jackel]

[Back on the beach, a majority of the group were figuring out a plan on how to save Equestria]

Nite: Okay, communications are back online, you can call as you want, Sally.

Sally Acorn: Thanks. [activates her communicator]

Sir Charles Hedgehog: [via communicator] Oh, there you are. I was wondering when you were gonna call again.

Sally Acorn: [via communicator] Yeah, very funny.

Don: So, are the rescue operations all finished?

Professor Von Schelmmer: [via communicator] Yeah, we weren't able to save everyone, but I think we got enough.

Elder Scruffy: [via communicator] We tried our best, but it was only a matter of time before they realized what we were up to.

Vanilla: [via communicator] Thankfully, everyone is okay, and we should be able to rescue Songbird Serenade shortly after this call.

Harvey Who: By the way, how was the mission to Mount Aris? Did it go well?

Sally Acorn: [with a sad look on her face] Yes, but unfortunatly, we've got some bad news.

Breezie: [via communicator] We know, you failed to stop Tempest from kidnapping the princesses.

Og: [via communicator] Don't blame yourselves, you did the best you did. And I'm sure the princesses are thankful for that.

Elias Acorn: I guess, anyways, we'll meet outside of Canterlot, correct.

Mighton: [via communicator] Y'up, that's the plan!

Bolts: [via communicator] Just be careful when getting here, it could be dangerous.

Elias Acorn: We've dealt with more dangerous things than you can imagine, but thanks.

Megan Acorn: No doubt.

Geoffrey St. John: [via communicator] No problem, now, see you at Canterlot.

[Sally turns off the communicator]

Sally Acorn: Uncle Chuck reported the success of the rescue missions back home, they weren't able to rescue everyone, but they've got more than enough who volenteered to help us take the Storm King down.

Sonic: Alright, we don't want to waste any time, the sooner we figure out how to save the princesses, the better!

Amy Rose: That could take a while though, and what's stopping us from just, I don't know, breaking into the airship and rescuing them ourselves?

Shadow: Tempest is likely already back in Canterlot by now, and considering how long Sonic was out for, we'll never catch up! So it wouldn't be worth it.

Marcus: And I hate to admit it, but we can't just attack the airship head on.

Tails: Well, we have to do something, we have to get our friends back!

Kristy: How? If we don't think of something soon, Twilight, Sunset, Starlight and the others are done for!

Sonic: Yeah... [sighs] I still can't believe Infinite tricked us like that. I mean, c'mon, I'm suppose to be the fastest, but I was too slow to realize those storm guards were just illusions...

Sally Acorn: It wasn't your fault, Sonic, he fooled everyone.

Discord: I for one want to know how he even does that.

Gadget: The Phantom Ruby is the source of his powers, Discord.

Bunnie Rabbot: Yeah, it's kinda what powers him, but he's even more powerful now with that thing being overclocked.

Shining Armor: And I don't think Tempest is gonna make getting to the castle easy...

Tails: Yeah, heck, taking out the Phantom Ruby won't be easy, especially since it no longer has a vulnerable energy supply.

Discord: So, we're basically dealing with a insane jackel with a invulnerable ruby?

Knuckles: A good deduction, Discord, but yeah, I'm afriad so...

Discord: [short pause] We're doomed...

Maria: Um, just a question, but how are we even gonna get back to Equestria if we don't have a ride to get back there?

Sonic: We could use a ring portal... [gets a ring out]

Lina: Well still, even if we do get back to Equestria, there'll be no way to get back to Canterlot in time to stop the Storm King from stealing their magic, and we got no way to defeat those monsters.

???: Well, good thing I happen to know of a group of mighty heroes that could handle this easily!

[Startled, everyone turned around, their mysterious guest surprisingly being none other than the sly, con-artist feline of Kludgetown: Capper. The cat stood atop a tall rock as he announced his presence, though none of the heroes were happy to see him]

Rouge: [angrily] Well! Look what the cat dragged in! Himself!

Cream: Capper?

Caramel: What's he doing here?

Capper: These heroes have faced the Storm King's armies and escaped! I've seen them topple the streets of the roughest towns, break out of the tightest situations, and inspire others to join their cause!

Spike: Ooooh.

Shadow: Now don't get too excited. He's just talking about us.

All [except Shadow]: Awww.

Apple Bloom: You really take the fun out of things sometimes, Shadow.

Big: It's not his fault, it's just how he works.

Marine: Well, at least Capper's words are encouraging.

Troy: Yeah, I'll give him that.

Digit: Me too.

Capper: They even escaped certain doom at the hooves of Commander Tempest! [his eyes shrink when he sees a Chaos Spear incoming] H-Hey, now! I just narrowly dodged getting my whiskers singed earlier!

Shadow: Back off, traitor! Why'd you follow us? To get that debt of yours paid off? Sorry to burst your bubble, but twelve of the mares in your boss's collection have been kidnapped, and we need to save them!

Capper: Uhh, right. Still sore about that. Look, I'm not here to try to sell you all again.

Blaze: Like any of us are gonna trust you after that stunt, choke artist.

Charmy: Maybe we did have a right not to trust him...

Emerl: Yeah. But I will admit, the speech was pretty great.

Captain Celaeno: Are you kidding me?! That was awesome!

Squabble: [squawks]

Mina Mongoose: Captain Celaeno and her pirates!

Sticks: What are you guys doing here?

Boyle: Figured you could use a claw!

Captain Celaeno: We're on board to help you fight the Storm King! Just not on board our... actual ship.

Mullet: That crazy unicorn sunk it. But you got back our argh! And we're ready to kick some booty.

Boyle and other pirates: [laugh heartily]

Mighty: Well, looks like we have more backup then.

Ray: Sweet!

Jet: Awesome!

Noah: Alright!

Fang: [smiles] Nice.

Sonic: Glad to have your help. But why is Capper with you?

Captain Celaeno: You'll just have to trust our word for it! Capper's with us. He used to be part of our crew years ago before he and a friend of his snuck off with one of our captured airships.

Capper: Eheh. Guilty. It was a...short-lived career as a sky pirate. And...well, a long life living as a con-artist and thief.

Amy Rose: Huh, alright, but why is he here now? [to Capper] You didn't tell Tempest where we were headed, did you?

Capper: I was at first... but I didn't. [holding up his sleeves, showing Amy the gold cufflinks Rarity sewed into his coat's sleeves] Princess Rarity reminded me of the only nicest thing any creature has ever done for me in my whole life. For years, I was cautious of whoever gave me anything. There was always some sort of catch; the fine print in a deal that could only been viewed with a magnifying glass. But she didn't want anything in return. After feeling guilty for selling you to Verko, I thought misleading those other ponies would be the perfect way to pay her back for such a small thing. It was a risky bet, but it almost paid off, even though I was forced to join them to ensure I wasn't lying to them.

Espio: Then they changed course after seeing the sonic rainboom.

Lix Spittle: Yeah, but even when they boarded us, there was no way we would have given away where we hid you guys.

[Hearing this made Shadow feel bad, Sonic and Rainbow were right saying Celaeno and her crew would have covered them, even at the cost of their lives. He didn't understand Capper's motives for helping them after what he did, but now he regretted berating Rainbow for making friends with the parrot crew]

Orion: Well that's a relief... Thanks for not ratting us out, but how did Tempest know where we were heading?

Boyle: They found that map of Mount Aris your purple friend had that she left behind. Speaking of, where is she and other princesses?

Shining Armor: Tempest caught them. We need to save them, and we're already wasting time.

Sonic: Yeah... [sighs] You know, if there's one thing that working with all of you has taught me, it's that the things that can't be defeated are heart, soul, and the bonds of teamwork and friendship. Three things the Storm King and his storm guard lackeys lack!

Tails: Yeah, and one loss shouldn't get us down, I mean, we've all done great things, haven't we?

Silver: Indeed, the amount of times we've saved the world is beyond belief at this point.

Blaze: I'm going to agree, it feels like we're saving it on a daily basis.

Charmy: So what do we do?

Sonic: Well I don't know about you, but I'd say we go back to Canterlot and show the Storm King what for! Will you stand with me?

Eclipse: Of course, Equestria isn't gonna save itself, so I'll stand with you.

Firefly: Yeah, I'm ready.

Sonia: Me and Manic are too.

Manic: I mean, siblings have got to stick together.

Amy Rose: I'm with you no matter what, Sonic!

Star Swirl: Hedgehog, say the word and we'll follow you into battle.

Jet: This could very well work, I'm in!

Reaper: You know by now that Team Overlander's with you.

Sweetie Belle: Yeah, we have to save my sister and the others no matter what!

Cream: What about you, Queen Novo, you still with us?

Queen Novo: Of course, we're willing to help you save your friends and their home.

Princess Skystar: Yeah, after all, one small thing... [whispering] can make a really big difference!

Marine: That's great!

Scootaloo: Awesome!

Spike: That's it, right? We didn't make friends with anypony else?

Sonic: Okay then, then it's settled, it's time to save the day!

Shadow: Sonic. Are you even well enough to fight?

Sonic: I'll live, I can't rest when the princesses are all counting on me. I appriciate your concern, but I'll be fine. Nothing's gonna stop me.

[Everyone suddenly heard mumbling and looked to see Eggman and his minions walking towards them]

Cream: Is that what I think it is?

Sonic: [sighs] Yes...

Dr. Eggman: I swear if I ever see that traitorous jackel again- [notices Sonic and the others] Oh great, I run into my mortal enemies, the hedgehog version of my long deceased cousin, and my old revenge obsessed robot, who wants to destroy me, big whoop!

Lien-Da: Woop-de-flipping-do.

Maria: Oh my...

Fiona: Not them again...

Sonic: Eggman, what are you even doing here?

Shard the Metal Sonic: Yeah, haven't you caused enough trouble already?

Dr. Eggman: You know what, those are great questions. How did we get here, Snively?

Snively: Well you got me. [pulls a chart down, detailing their journey since the Egg Carrier went down] By all accounts, it doesn't make sense.

Omega: Eliminate Eggman! [loads his cannon]

Gamma: Hold your fire, Omega.

D-Fekt: More importantly, why aren't you and your minions on the Egg Carrier?

Decoe: You're not the only ones having a bad day, y'know.

Bocoe: Yeah, our day's been a real space odyssey.

Lien-Da: Long story short, Infinite turned on us, and blew up the Egg Carrier. Not that I'm surprised... [gave Eggman a glare, as she remembered warning Eggman that the Phantom Ruby would render Infinite unstable, but in his rushing to destroy Sonic, the mad scientist had refused to listen]

Bokkun: Which wasn't nice in the slightest!

Eggman Nega: You did see Infinite, right?

Sonic: Why yes, we did see him, and by see him, I mean. [angrily] HE HELPED TEMPEST CAPTURE TWILIGHT AND THE OTHERS AND THEN BEAT THE ACTUAL DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME TO THE POINT WHERE I ALMOST DIED!!! [breathes in rage] My body's still aching from all the blows it took, ouch...

[Sapphire quickly uses his fairy dust to heal Sonic's injuries]

Sonic: Much better, thanks Sapphire.

Sapphire: Anytime.

Dr. Eggman: Right, well, if you're talking about going to Canterlot to rescue your friends, I want in.

Lina: Wait, how did you-

Cubot: We kinda noticed the princesses getting captured when we got out of the ocean.

Orbot: Quite the unfortunate turn of events for your friends I must add.

Sonic: We know, and they're on their way back to Canterlot now. This is not good...

Doctor Starline: No kidding, I'm actually somewhat impressed at Infinite though.

Shadow: Oh, forget this! We've got to save the princesses now! Why do you even want to team up with us again, Eggman?

Dr. Eggman: Because that madman tried to kill me as well, once I'm through with him, he'll think twice before commiting treason to the Eggman Empire! I know I hate your guts, but now's not the time for that, is it? So, are you gonna let me help or not...

Sonic: I don't know, I mean, how do I know you won't betray us and try to take their magic for yourself to power up some robot or something.

Metal Sonic: Come on, you know mobians can't use magic.

Snively: Can you just accept it and be done with it.

Sonic: Ugh, fine...

Dr. Eggman: Good, but just remember that this is only a temporary truce, once the Storm King's invasion is foiled, it's back to business as usual.

[Sonic only nodded, this wasn't the first time the two enemies had worked together, but Sonic nearly felt sick to his stomach every time, at least, at first. But he wasn't going to let that stop him from doing what needed to be done]

Espio: Somehow we knew you'd say that.

Knuckles: Yeah, but okay, enough wasting time already. Let's go save Equestria!

Capper: Alright, y'all! I think our course is clear. Y'all ready to do this thing?

Silver: Of course, come on! We've got a king to overthrow!

Tails: We're coming, Princesses!

Everyone: [cheers]

Tails: As soon as we bake up a plan!

Sonic: Bake... [gasps] Eureka! That's it! Tails, you absolute genius, you've just given me a idea!

Tails: I have?

Sonic: Yes, all we need is a cart, a disguise for Capper, a fake shipping order and a big honking cake.

Sally Acorn: Alright, in that case, let-

Sonic: Hey, can I say it?

Sally Acorn: [giggles] Alright.

Sonic: Freedom Fighters and citizens of Equestria and beyond, let Operation Princess Rescue commence!

The Storm King takes the Magic/Team Sonic and Friends to the Rescue/Night Falls/Team Sonic vs. Infinite/Infinite's Defeat

[Outside of Canterlot, the Freedom Fighters and the residents of Ponyville they had rescued were waiting when a ring portal opens up and Sonic and the other heroes walked out]

Sally Acorn: Told you we'd make it!

Cream: [hugs Vanilla] Mother!

Vanilla: Oh Cream, I was so worried.

Sir Charles Hedgehog: Good to see you still in one piece, Sonic.

Sonic: Yeah, you too, Uncle Chuck.

Whisper: So, is this everyone?

Smithy: Yeah, just as promised.

Claire Voyance: Now we're ready to help take back Equestria and save the world!

Slinger: We also got in contact with the rest of Eggman's forces, since you said we'd be working for them.

Dimitri: Yeah, not used to working with heroes, but if it's to stop Infinite as well, I'm in.

Sally Acorn: Alright, now, before we start. [gets out the plan, several wispons, and several sheets of paper] Here's the plan we're using, here's several wispons, and here's the waivers you have to sign so that we don't get sued.

Fiona: We're getting waivers now?

Sonic: I was almost murdered several hours ago!

Sally Acorn: Yeah, sorry, anyways, let's get right to it! Just remember, when we fight the Storm King's army, we work as a team and we try our best in order to win! The Storm King must not be allowed to take over Equestria, and if we can capture Infinite, we may be able to get him under control.

[Over in Canterlot, it had quickly turned into a massive prison camp in only one day. Ponies that hadn't been rescued yet were muzzled as they were chained together while escorted to a different part of the city, some placed in cages as they began losing any hope of being saved, and those who were strong enough were forced to pull carts and wagons full of heavy equipment or more cages. Songbird Serenade tried to sing to everyone, doing her best to lift the ponies' spirits in this hard time and believing they'll be free]

[Songbird Serenade]

I am here and I see your pain

Through the storms, through the clouds, the rain

I'm telling you you can not escape

[Sadly, her song was cut short as one of the nearby guards slammed her cage hard, silencing her while scolding her to keep quiet in their grunting language. Songbird let out a sigh and obeyed, slowly shaking her head]

Songbird Serenade: [sighs] Everypony's a critic.

Grubber: Make way, troops! Delivery comin' through!

[Songbird looked down the road, Infinite, Grubber, and Tempest leading a pair of imprisoned stallions pulling a cart carrying the princesses' cage, seeing their rulers being carted off to the castle as prisoners destroyed every pony's last hope of being freed. The Mane Nine looked over at Songbird Serenade, the singer silently watching them pass by with a somber expression. The girls looked away, feeling like failures. Celestia looked around, enslaved ponies were seen in every direction, the other princesses looked devastated]

[As soon as the coast was clear; Nite and Don quickly dropped out of a ring portal, released Songbird from her cage and the three of them reunited with the others]

[Meanwhile, Tempest, Grubber and Infinite approached the castle, wheeling the princesses through the halls and into the throne room]

Tempest Shadow: Okay, now how are we gonna do this...

Infinite: I think I have a solution.

[10 seconds later]

Infinite: And done! [had placed the princesses in seperate cages before placing them in the middle of the room, each princess standing on the ends of the petals of a floral design on the floor] There we go, my work here is complete. Although, it's only been a day and a half since your promised deadline, Tempest, but better to get this over with sooner than later.

[The guards took the two stallions with them out of the castle]

Grubber: Yes! All twelve princesses! The Storm King will be pleased!

Twilight Sparkle: This is bad.

Princess Celestia: Tempest, don't do this. Don't give the Storm King-

Tempest Shadow: Your magic? Did you think you'd keep it all to yourselves? Time to share. [Twilight and Celestia saw that they weren't going to convince Tempest to change her mind. Even though they and the others now understood why she acts so cold and harsh toward others, giving someone so much alicorn magic could only bring disastrous results, just like Tirek when he succeeded in taking every single pony's magic] I'd love for everybody out there to know what I can really do.

Applejack: [sighs] That's it then? We're doomed?

Pinkie Pie: Yeah, this can't be how the movie ends, can it?

Princess Cadance: [notices a shadow] We may not have to wait long to find out...

The Storm King: Ooh, fascinating! What can you really do? [comes out of the shadows with the Staff of Sacanas in his hand] Y'know, aside from light a little candle with that sparkler of yours?

Grubber: Your bidding, of course, Your Mighty One. [bowed down before the Storm King, while Tempest stood still like an obedient soldier. When nothing else happened, Grubber quickly ran out the room, closing the door behind him. Tempest rolled her eyes at his cowardliness]

Rainbow Dash: Saw that coming.

Sunset Shimmer: Yeah...

Princess Luna: Figures.

Trixie Lulamoon: I have a bad feeling about this...

The Storm King: Eh, what can I say, bidding's good. I like bidding. [notices the ponies] Um, what are you supposed to be?

[the ponies look at the Storm King, clearly not amused]

Starlight Glimmer: Really?!

Rarity: It's fairly obvious what we are darling!

Fluttershy: Yeah, we're the princesses of Equestria!

The Storm King: [laughs] Oh. That's nice. [to Tempest] Why are they all still moving?!

Tempest Shadow: They and their friends put up a bit of a fight, but we finally got them in the end. Either way, they won't be a problem.

Infinite: The Freedom Chumps and those other do-gooder heroes are still out there, but the blue hedgehog's taken quite a beating, courtesy of yours truly, and knowing him, he'll come back to try and save his friends, along with the rest of his allies.

The Storm King: Yeah. So, speaking of problems, this place, it seems a little too-oh, I don't know- CUTE!!! I don't like cute! I never did like cute!

Infinite: [stared blankly at the Storm King while he went on his random tirade, shifting his gaze to the princesses] ...You know, I'm kinda starting to regret teaming up with this guy, can I go back to working with Eggman?

The Storm King: [paced around the middle of the floral design] This whole cute thing doesn't really go well with my whole 'big bad powerful magic guy' thing, does it!? Deliver the punchline, Tempest, because this has gotta be a joke! [Yelling in frustration, he lifted his staff over his head and slammed its end into the floor. Incidentally, he had slipped it right into a small oval shaped hole, which connected to the symbol of the four petaled flower in the center of the room, where the alicorns had been placed] Huh? [gasps]

[Infinite and Tempest quickly leapt away from the glowing petals, but the Storm King looked around, baffled, shocked, and a bit worried about what he just did]

[The princesses tried to move their hooves, but the force of the ritual kept them solidified on the ground against their own will as they grunted and writhed in agony. Illuminating vein-like forms began to manifest on their bodies, holding them in place as they felt their magic get yanked right out of them. Their eyes glowed and magic came swirling out of their horns]

Twilight Sparkle: [struggling] No!

Pinkie Pie: [struggling] This can't be happening!

Rainbow Dash: [struggling] This is impossible!

Rarity: [struggling] I feel weak!

Applejack: [struggling] I don't feel so good!

Fluttershy: [struggling] Help!

Princess Celestia: [struggling] Our magic is fading!

Princess Luna: [struggling] He can't do that to us!

Princess Cadance: [struggling] It can't be!

Starlight Glimmer: [struggling] This hurts too much!

Sunset Shimmer: [struggling] Make it stop!

Trixie Lulamoon: [struggling] Get us out of here!

[The staff continued draining the magic, causing a great deal of pain towards the ponies as well, it was like having their magic drained by Tirek, only TEN TIMES as painful]

The Storm King: [laughs] Check out the light show! I can practically feel this stick pulse with unbelievable power!

[Outside, Equestria was starting to lose its' color a little, frightening even the storm creatures, and the whole castle began to spark wildly as the ponies outside all watched in terror at what was happening inside. it was no wonder Queen Novo didn't want to face the Storm King again. No wonder Captain Celaeno was so terrified of his wrath. The Storm King was truly a monster in every sense of the word]

[The heroes were watching from outside Canterlot with shock and horror]

Moon Dancer: WHAT IN THE NAME OF CELESTIA'S SUN IS GOING ON IN THERE?!

Firefly: Dear Faust...

Eclipse: He's already draining their magic?! [facepalms] Great, we're too late...

FriendBot: Negative, it's not too late until someone says it is.

Sonic: True, the Princesses would want us to save the day, and that's what we're doing, now come on, the disguise is just about ready.

Blaze: You sure this'll even work?

[Sonic nodded and sat back up, unable to wait to free Equestria from the Storm King's tyranny]

[Back in the castle, the staff sparked with intense magical energy and once the Storm King removed it, he could feel its power coursing every bone and muscle in his body, his eyes lighting up at the sparks of magical power coursing through his new weapon as he laughed triumphantly, Infinite cringed nearby, this was becoming increasingly painful to watch, even for him]

The Storm King: Wow! Wow! Now that’s what I’m talking about! All the magic of this land... FINALLY MINE, BABY!

[The twelve alicorns' eyes stopped glowing, then they gasped in pain as their legs went numb and they collapsed to the bottom of their respective cages, weak and paralyzed from the whole ordeal, the color in their eyes faded. They wanted to believe there was still hope, but their magic was now gone and they thought that their friends didn't know where they were, in other words, all hope truly was lost]

[Infinite stepped up to Twilight's cage, but showed no concern for her or the others]

Tempest Shadow: Indeed, sire, you now possess all the magic of the alicorns; with it, you can destroy anyone who stands in your way.

The Storm King: Indeed. Hahaha, those jelly bean ponies have a new master to serve now! So, let's get this storm started! Ooh, hey, that's good. I should trademark that. [uses the staff to hit the princesses out the room, breaking their cages like they were made of glass in the process]

Mane Nine/Princesses: [yelp in pain as they tumbled onto the balcony, too magically drained to move. Debris and shards of the window flew across the floor. Smoke from the impact clouded their vision but the Storm King's towering presence manifested faster than the girls wished]

The Storm King: Not bad. Actually, kinda first rate. What else does it do?

Twilight Sparkle: Tempest, please! You can’t do this! Think of your own kind! You don’t want to-

Tempest Shadow: SHUT IT! Why would I think of those who turned their backs on me? Friendship has truly blinded you, Princesses!

Starlight Glimmer: We can help you! We can show you the true ways of friendship!

Tempest Shadow: It’s too late for that... [to the Storm King] Your Excellency, you promised to restore my horn and give me-

The Storm King: Deh-deh-deh-deh-deh, okay. Hang on. [raises the staff and the sun mimics the movement; gasps] You gotta be kidding me! I can move the sun?! [laughs] Aha ha! Wow! Now this is what I'm talking about! Now this branch is the stuff!!! Ha ha! Time to play! [began laughing like a little kid in a toy store, then began playing around with the staff's magic like it was a toy, changing the time of day like he was flicking a light switch on and off in amusement] Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday! Day, night! Day, night! Day night! Day night! Day night! Sunrise, sunset! [humming gleefully]

[The alicorns looked at each other while the Storm King kept monkeying around with the celestial bodies of Equestria as Infinite walked forward]

Infinite: [unimpressed] Pitiful, he calls himself a bad guy, and yet he's using his staff to play with all that magic like a child's play thing, and here I thought he'd use it for, shall we say... [in a warped voice] TOTAL DESTRUCTION! [his eyes blink as his voice went back to normal] Almost lost my cool there.

Pinkie Pie: I'm pretty sure you did.

[Suddenly, the Storm King used the staff to zap the Mane Nine and the Princesses who all cried out in pain]

Twilight Sparkle: [trying to fight off the magic... but it was no use] What are you doing?

The Storm King: I command you... BOW TO ME!!!

[On that, the girls were soon forced to bow before the Storm King, who laughed evilly as he watched them try and resist, only to fail]

Infinite: Pathetic... [walks back inside]

[Outside the city of Canterlot, the sky constantly switching between day and night due to the Storm King playing with his new power, Capper, wearing a pastry chef's hat and apron, led Moon Dancer, Firefly, Lightning Dust, Shining Armor, and Sunburst up the road to the city. The ponies and stallions were hooked to a cart carrying a huge triple-layered cake, while on top of the cake pretending to be a dragon topper was Spike, blowing out a small stream of green fire from his mouth to add to the decorated cake about the Storm King's successful takeover of Equestria. Inside the cake, however, were the rest of the heroes ready to liberate everyone from the Storm King in a Trojan horse-style ambush, not a delicious cream filling since the surprise will bring a bitter end to the tyrannical primate (how everyone managed to get inside the cake is well beyond me)]

[The ponies looked down miserably, acting enslaved as they approached the gates, Capper approaching the guards as he got out a letter bearing a forged seal from the Storm King]

Capper: Uh, yeah, I got a delivery here for a Mister "The Storm King". I was given explicit instructions to bring this here cake to this here castle's throne room.

[The Storm Guards looked at the giant cake, the ponies and Spike. Feeling suspicious, they grunted and pointed their spears at Capper. Barely flinching, Capper remained calm, lifting up a paw in defeat]

Capper: All right, then. Look here. Could one o' y'all go be a pal, go tell your boss he's not gettin' his "congratulations on subduing defenseless pastel ponies" cake? 'Cause I don't wanna be the one responsible for the big guy missin' his special dessert. You know what I'm sayin'?

[Capper turned around and walked back to the cart with a shrug to the guards. Their plan didn't seem like it was going to work, but Capper silently counted down from three with his fingers, then pointed his thumb at the guards, who stepped aside to let them through]

Capper: Thank you kindly, fellas. I'mma be sure and put in a good word for the botha y'all.

[As they walked through the gates, the Storm Guards glared at them suspiciously]

Moon Dancer: [quietly] If we're quiet, they won't suspect anything.

Lightning Dust: [quietly] Right.

Firefly: [quietly] It's working so far. We're entering the main square.

Shining Armor: [quietly] Great. We're tricking the guards, but I don't know if some of them can tell it's a trap. I just hope we're not too late.

Sunburst: [quietly] Uhh...we might, actually. The sun and moon kept switching around the time of day, and I don't think they have sentient thought to argue over who's supposed to rise first.

Moon Dancer: [sighs; quietly] Their magic's gone...and the Storm King's...playing with the sun and moon?

Minty: [quietly] At this rate, it'll take us a whole year to reach the castle. [chuckles] Sorry. Just...trying to break the tension for us.

Lightning Dust: [quietly] Swing and a miss.

[As the cart continued slowly making its way down the road toward the castle, passing more guards and enslaved ponies, their plan seemed to be working. None of the guards patrolling the streets noticed the surprise inside the giant cake. Unfortunately, as they passed by a stand with an assortment of pies that Grubber was helping himself to eating, the hedgehog spotted the enormous pastry]

Grubber: Mmm! Pie! Oh, hello, cake! [he ran over it and climbs onto the cart that is carrying it] Ooh! Don't mind if I do!

[Smearing his hand across the lower tier, Grubber scooped up a big glop of frosting, stuffing it in his face and revealing an eye hidden inside, which happened to be Squabble's eye. The others noticed the small bit of frosting that was taken as the hedgehog had his "small" sample, remaining quiet and holding as still as they could while cramped inside the cake]

Grubber: Mmm! That's some, like, gourmet icing! [was about to grab another taste, but then noticed the eyeball staring at him] Who puts eyeballs in filling? [The eye blinks, making him hyperventilate] G-Guards! Guards!

Reaper: [quietly] Grab him!

[Squabble lunged out of the cake, snatching Grubber, and dragged him inside while keeping his mouth shut]

Narrator: And that's when the hedgehog thing realized that when you eat a cake with someone in it... you better... Aw, what in the world am I doing? [gets up and walks away]

[Unfortunately, the guards heard their commander's right-hand assistant shout, quickly surrounding the group and halting their progress]

Capper: Uh-oh. Time for Plan B?

Minty: The jig is up!

[Minty kicked the cart, signalling the hiding group their cover's blown. Spike broke out of his pose, hopping off the cake. Hearing the signal, The heroes and the Eggman Empire burst out of the cake, splattering frosting all over the surprised guards faces. Capper then unhitched the ponies from the cart]

Sonic: [to his friends] Let's go!

Shadow: For Equestria!

Jewel Pixie Animals: Be careful, everyone!

[The heroes charged forward, yelling and shouting, and began fighting their way through the army of storm guards, leaving Grubber behind on the cart with cake splattered all over the place. Gunfire of various types flew everywhere as the projectile using heroes unleashed various firepower on the approaching storm creatures]

[Chorus]

Watch your back, watch your back

Watch your back, watch your back

We can counter their attack

Hit them 'til the armor cracks

[Dr. Eggman]

This could get a little sticky

Handling this battle could be tricky

But I know the best way

Fall back, let me lead

You fall in line

And we'll bring them to their knees

[Sonic]

Swords in the air if you're with me

They got us out numbered one to fifty

The victory is ours 'cause I got a strategy

you take the left and the rest of you can follow me (uh uh)

This is my crew

[Dr. Eggman]

Well this is my squad

[Sonic]

This is my turf

[Tails]

Oh my gosh, look guys

We've got bigger fish to fry

Put your differences aside

Cause right now we're on the same side

[Chorus]

Until the night falls

[Everyone]

We'll stay together 'til the battle is done

Watch your back, watch your back

Watch your back, watch your back

We can counter their attack

Hit them 'til the armor cracks

Until the night falls

We're aligned

It doesn't mean that we're on the same side

Watch your back, watch your back

watch your back, watch your back

Hit them hard and hit them fast

they're too heavy to react.

[Sonic]

This situation's getting kind of heavy

Hold your weapons tight keep them steady

'Cause if we stick together we can make it out alive

I'll cause a distraction you attack them from the side

[Dr. Eggman]

All my soldiers stand if you're ready

We can cut them up like a confetti

We'll hit them from the front, you counter from behind

And don't forget the fate of Equestria's on the line

[Chorus]

This is all-out war

they got us out numbered

The way the swords crash is the sound of the thunder.

[Sonic]

And we are not going under

We will never run for cover

[Chorus]

We battle for the victory

And ride for each other

Until the night falls

[Everyone]

We'll stay together 'til the battle is done

Back to back, back to back

Back to back, back to back

We can counter their attack

Hit them 'til the armor cracks

Until the night falls

We're aligned

It doesn't mean that we're on the same side

Back to back, back to back

Back to back, back to back

Hit them hard and hit them fast

They're too heavy to react.

[Sonic]

Suit of armor strong and true, make this metal bust a move!

[Chorus]

(Hahahaha) Ahhh-ahhh

Ahhh-ahhh

Ahhh-ahhh-ahhh-ahh

Ahhh-ahhh Ahhh-ahhh

Until the night falls

You can trust

I'm gonna help you in this battle because

I got your back, got your back

Got your back, got your back

All for one and that's a fact

Knights fall pitch black

[The battle continues]

Hawkeye: Let's go!

Wormwood: Charge!

Yukimura: Time to do this!

Bullseye: It's smash bad guys time!

Midnight: Save some for me!

Fireheart: And me!

Shine: We're going to find Twilight and the others! The rest of you take care of the rest!

Pearl: You've got it!

Digit: Just be careful out there.

Majesty: We will.

Amour: I mean, we have been through worst.

[Shine and the rest of the Mane 9's Jewel Pixie Animals flew to find the princesses]

Sally Acorn: It's showtime! [activates her ring blades and slashes through the storm guards' spears]

Omega: Targets reconfirmed. Extermination mode initiated. Payback for false enemy trick: INEVITABLE. [fires at the storm guards coming close at him with Gamma and Shard helping]

Captain Celaeno: Come on!

Antoine: Take no prisoners!

Dr. Eggman: [in the Egg Dragoon] Wasn't counting on it!

Mullet: Harr!

Princess Skystar: Oof! [grunts] Gotcha!

Squabble: [squawks]

Lix Spittle: [grunts and laughs]

[She stabbed a Storm Creature in the butt with her fork leg, causing it to jump and yelps in pain]

Knuckles: Take this! [knocks out several storm guards]

Tails: [flies by in the Tornado] Combot mode, engaged! [presses a button and the Tornado enters its' cyclone state]

Digit: Yeah, you're in for it now, fire at will!

[Tails proceeded to fire at several storm guards]

Lien-Da: [attacking several storm guards] Back off!

Jet: [rams into several storm guards with Storm and Wave] How's that?!

Storm: I'd say it hurt.

Wave: I'm pretty sure it did, for them at least.

Bunnie Rabbot: [gets in front of a storm creature] G'Day. [punches it with her robotic arm]

Zooey: [hits a storm guard with a frying pan] Take that!

Fang: [shooting at several storm guards with his rifle while Bark and Bean cover him] I've tagged Sonic more than once, compared to him, these storm guards are nothing!

Bean: [throwing bombs like nonstop] This is fun!

Bark: Take this seriously, Bean.

Tangle: [smacks several storm guards with her tail] You messed with the wrong people!

Whisper: [using her Variable Wispons' many modes to attack the storm guards] That should put these things in their place.

Shadow: Chaos Control! [stops time and knocks out a good number of storm creatures] Pathetic.

Knuckles: So true.

Moonlight: Well, they're trying their best, but, not really.

Metal Sonic: [blasts several storm creatures away with his laser] Eliminate the enemies!

Manic: Prepare to rock and roll, dudes! [attacks several storm guards with his hammer wispon] Booyakasha!

Sonia: Take that! [blasts through several storm guards with her burst wispon]

Silver: How about this! [psycho-kinetically immobilizing several storm guards, which the Chaotix members knock out shortly afterwards]

Vector: Oh yeah!

Espio: Too easy.

Charmy: Yahoo!

Sally Acorn: Nice work, guys!

[Chaos could be seen holding back several storm guards while Fiona and Tikal knocked back some more]

[Julie-Su, Saffron, Mighty and Ray could be seen attacking more storm guards]

Mighty: Is that all ya got, bub?!

Ray: Yeah, come on, come get some!

Dingo: What do we do, Sleet?

Sleet: I've got this! [uses a lasso to tie up a Storm Creature and make it fall over]

[Three Storm Creatures charges into battle, only to trip over some fabric that Capper, Ash, Mina, and Honey use to tie them up]

Mina Mongoose: Lovely!

Honey: Alright!

Ash Mongoose: Nice work!

[Jewel, being mostly a pacifistic didn’t do much fighting, but she did use her crossbow on some storm guards occasionally to ensure her survival]

Doctor Starline: [a storm guard lunges at him, but he uses the Warp Topaz to warp behind it] Over here! [the storm guard lunges at him again, only for him to teleport again] Missed me! [punches the storm guard] Haha, woo! I wonder if Eggman saw that.

Rough: Likely he didn't.

Tumble: Yeah, not that anyone would care really.

Doctor Starline: Oh shut up.

[Speedy had somehow found Pinkie's party cannon and used it to send multiple storm guards away with powerful blasts of confetti]

Tunette: Amy, look out!

[Amy smashed a storm guard with her Piko Piko Hammer]

Amy Rose: Don't mess with me!

[Rouge, Blaze, Emerl, and Gmerl could be seen taking out more storm guards, Kyle was even able to fight off multiple guards with his strength]

Blaze: Feel my flames!

Emerl: Take this!

Gmerl: And one of these!

Chocola: Chao-chao!

Rouge: [spinkicks into a storm guards] You storm creatures have bad taste.

[several storm guards could be seen approaching Orbot and Cubot]

Cubot: I think we should run...

Orbot: I have a superior idea. [presses a button on Tails' weather-controlling device, which generates a big storm cloud over the storm guards]

[McCree, being a snake, used evasive moves that were timed at the right moments which caused the storm guards to accidentally attack each other]

Decoe: Surprise! [gives a Storm Creature a present then Bocoe pops out of it]

Bocoe: Double surprise!! [throws several cupcakes at The Storm Guard]

Bokkun: Triple surprise!!! [gives the storm guard one of his explosive TVs, which explode almost instantly]

[Coconuts could be seen hitting a storm guard with his mop]

Coconuts: Scratch, Grounder, you guys mind helping?!

Scratch: Sure thing, Ba-ha! Ha-ha! [grabs a mallet and knocks the storm guard into the sky]

Grounder: Nice job, Scratch.

[Feels and Winston take out some storm guards with their karate skills]

[One Storm Creature points his spear to the ground in front of Cream and Cheese]

Cream: [whimpers] Ooh!

[storm creature growls]

Cream: You seem tense. Do you wanna talk about it?

Caramel: Pretty please?

Cheese: Chao-chao?

Storm Creature: Huh?

[Lina knocked more Storm Creatures away with her magic]

Lina: Nice!

[Spike, being young, didn’t have a lot of combat experience, but he was able to help out as much as he could. Whenever a friend was looking overwhelmed by storm guards, he’d either jump onto a guard’s back and pull it's ears or he’d sneak up from behind and bite one of his legs. Also, the dragon’s small size made it difficult to guards to get ahold of him.]

[Captain Calaeno fought off some Storm Creatures]

Captain Celaeno: Yeah!

Sonic: Yahoo! [Sonic Boosts through several storm creatures] Yeah! [slashes through more of them with his sword]

Sapphire: That's what I'm talking about!

[Fighting alongside the stallions that he served once again, Shining Armor was able to defend himself with his superior combat skills and his defensive spells that were unrivaled in the guard. He didn’t become captain for nothing]

Captain Celaeno: Head for the castle! We'll hold them off!

Sonic: On it, come on guys!

Gadget: Here we come!

Big: Let's do this!

[They ran off toward the castle except Cream and Cheese who were consoling a sobbing Storm Creature]

[storm creature blubbering]

Cream: Let it all out.

Everyone else: Cream!

Cream: Oh! Sorry, our time is up. Buh-bye!

Storm Creature: Goodbye!

[The heroes ran to the castle, more storm guards show up]

Lina: Here comes more of them!

Kyle: More enemies incoming! [punches one straight in the face]

Fiona: Oh that's a skull fracture for sure.

Princess Skystar: Keep going!

Queen Novo: We'll hold them off for as long as we can!

Sonic: You've got it!

Princess Skystar: Shelly? Sheldon?

Shelly and Sheldon: [chattering]

[She threw Shelly and Sheldon at a Storm Creature, pecking it in the eyes]

Storm Creature: [grunts] I can't see!

Gmerl: We're almost there, keep it up!

[Team Sonic and the others charged forward, easily tearing through the guards as they advance, they eventually got near to the courtyard when more Storm Creatures block their way]

Sonar: Uh-oh.

Vector: What the heck? More storm guards?!

Charmy: Oh no, there's so many of them!

Emerl: Sheesh. I didn't think there were THAT many of these guys.

Omega: All the more to annihilate! [blasts several storm creatures]

Capper: [to Spike] Hey, hold on, ain't you a FIRE-breathing dragon?

[Getting the hint, Spike looked at Capper with a grin and a nod. Capper grabbed the baby dragon, holding him up by the chest with one paw while the other grasped his tail, then pulled his tail to let Spike spew out a stream of green fire at the Storm Guards like a living flamethrower. Their shields can block magic spells, but they certainly can't protect them or their hairy bodies from fire. Capper laughed maniacally, aiming Spike's mouth at the guards, catching some of them on fire as they screamed and scrambled to put themselves out. He took the lead while the ponies followed, making the other guards retreat, some of them getting ignited with green fire as it spread over their bodies]

[From the balcony high above them, Tempest, Infinite and the girls heard the screams beneath them. The twelve alicorns managed to find the strength to stand, joining Infinite and Tempest as they looked down over the railing in shock]

Tempest Shadow: What?! HOW?!?

Infinite: Seems like they got here sooner than I thought. [sees Capper and the pirates] Wait, is that the same cat we keelhauled with those parrots? How'd they survive!?

Tempest Shadow: This is impossible!

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps; a grin slowly appearing on her face seeing that Sonic and the others came to save her and her friends] It's... It's the Magic of...

The Storm King: Yeah, yeah! [sarcastically] Friendship, and flowers, and ponies, and bleh! I'm so totally over the cute pony thing. [to Infinite] What are you still doing here? You’re supposed to be out there trying to stop them!

Infinite: [notices Sonic] So, the little blue savior and his friends came back to save the day. Hmph, not if I have anything to say about it! [to the princesses, the Storm King and Tempest] Stay where you are! [the aura from the Phantom Ruby surrounds him] I've got some mobians I need to make into corpses! [jumps off the balcony]

[While the alicorn princesses backed away slowly; the Mane Nine's Jewel Pixie Animals suddenly flew in to them]

Shine: There you are! We finally found you all!

Twilight Sparkle: [gasps] Shine! Everyone!

[The Jewel Pixie Animals embraced their owners]

Starlight Glimmer: Thank goodness you're all okay! How did you find us?

Majesty: We flew all the way to the castle to find you all once we made it back to Canterlot.

Tart: There were a couple guards but we were able to avoid them pretty easily.

Rainbow Dash: Really impressive for little fairies like you to do that.

Twilight Sparkle: Tempest and the Storm King are present, so they better not see you or any of the others.

Shine: Got it!

[The Mane Nine's Jewel Pixie Animals quickly hid in the ponies' manes to avoid detection; the scene cuts to outside, where Infinite had just landed]

Sonic: [rushes in to confront Infinite, more than ready to settle the score with him] Hey, Infinite! Long time no see! Did you miss me?

[As Infinite spoke, Sonic was joined by rest of his friends, the Eggman Empire and the Jewel Pixie Animals]

Infinite: Why yes, I did. I've been looking forward to finally finishing you and your annoying friends. [unleashes a powerful wave of energy, knocking back the group] I trust you're all ready for oblivion? If you're not... oh well. Once this battle is over, I will burn this city to ashes, and you along with it!

Snively: This was always your endgame, wasn't it? From the moment you returned to the Empire...

Infinite: Starline was wise to convince me to come back.

Doctor Starline: Yeah, but I never planned for you to do this!

Lien-Da: Infinite, listen to me! You are not yourself, the Phantom Ruby's overclocked state has corrupted you! Fight it!

Infinite: Fight it? Why fight it when I can embrace it! [Lien-Da jumps out of the way as he unleashes a dark energy wave]

Lien-Da: You're making a big mistake, Infinite!

Infinite: I never make mistakes!

Sonic: It doesn't matter if you have to go through me or my friends, we're not letting the Storm King take over Equestria!

Silver: Exactly!

Infinite: Hmph, no matter Hedgehog, even if you did survive our last encounter, I still have enough power to smash you into blue jelly.

Amy Rose: You don't even have the right to talk, you nearly killed him eariler! And over what!? Your desperation to prove that you're not weak!

Infinite: [groans in anger] Fine, Sonic, I'll show you and your entire team how outclassed you really are!

Sonic: I'm in a class all my own. Either way, it's time to put-up or shut up, [points at Infinite] Infinite!

Infinite: [chuckles evilly] Then let this be our final battle! [he glows in a red aura as Sonic nods]

Reaper: [to Team Sonic] Take care of Infinite, we'll help Novo and the others with the Storm Creatures. [deep down, he knew Team Sonic could win this, even if he knew Sonic's body had its limits after witnessing the battle between him and Infinite]

Sonic: Alright, good luck. [to Team Sonic] Let's get him!

[Team Sonic nod and all nine of them charge at Infinite, though it was nine on one, the battle was technically in Infinite's favor due to the Phantom Ruby, though eventually, the jackel was beginning to get annoyed and the groups' refusal to give up]

Infinite: [groans angrily] Is there no end to you annoying insects?!

Sonic: Can you just throw in the towel already, it doesn't matter what you throw at us, we'll never give up!

[Infinite gave a cold chuckle which straight up turned into demented laughter as he powered up into his Phantom form; concerning everyone]

Phantom Infinite: FOOLS! I have more power than you will ever have! [charges up a powerful energy wave] Now Sonic, perish, along with your useless friends! [unleashes the energy wave, but Team Sonic summon the Chaos Emeralds, which put a protective barrier over them] WHAT?!

Sonic: [serious; clenching his fist] My friends got me this far, and together we're gonna win! [to Team Sonic] Let's do it!

[Team Sonic transform into their super forms; surprising the jackel]

Super Sonic: Time for a little Super Sonic action!

Phantom Infinite: [groans angrily; but then smirks] Well, if you can last in those forms, then you might actually be worthy opponents to fight, but you will still lose!

Super Shadow: Keep telling yourself that!

Super Sonic: Now, let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!

[Team Sonic and Infinite engage in a full on battle that looked like it came straight out of Dragon Ball Z, but this time, Team Sonic had the upperhand, thanks to their super form enhanced skills]

Phantom Infinite: [shocked] How am I being overpowered?! [angrily] I refuse to give up! [summons several Phantom Ruby cubes and fires them at Team Sonic, who destroy them effortless; much to Infinite's shock] I-Impossible!

[Sonic managed to land a kick on Infinite, sending him crashing down onto the ground]

Super Sonic: Consider that payback for earlier!

Super Shadow: Infinite, enough is enough! Give up now!

Phantom Infinite: [breathes heavily as he body began glitching; furiously] H-How could this be?! I don't understand, the Phantom Ruby should be more powerful than the Chaos Emeralds, your super forms can't be that strong!

Super Tails: Maybe not if you fought us individually.

Super Knuckles: But you're kinda facing nine opponents at once.

Super Amy: Yeah, face it, Infinite, you're through!

Super Cream: Go away, you meanie!

Phantom Infinite: [his eyes shrink in insane fury; then screams furiously] I WILL NOT STAND FOR THIS! I WILL NOT BE HUMILIATED BY NINE LOW CLASS WRETCHES!

Super Sonic: [laughs] Looks like someone's triggered.

Phantom Infinite: [finally snaps] You know what, that does it, that's it! This planet is HISTORY, hear me, Hedgehog! YOU'RE FINISHED!!!

[Team Sonic's eyes shrunk a little]

Super Sonic: (What? But if he destroys the planet, then we'll all die...)

Phantom Infinite: [breathes heavily] I don't need this stupid planet, I'll just charge my Phantom Ruby powers to max and blow the WHOLE THING UP! No planet, EVERYONE DIES! BOOM! THE END! GAME OVER!

Super Rouge: He can't seriously be thinking about destroying the world, can he?

Super Silver: [sighs] He's been relying on the Phantom Ruby for too long, his sanity must be utterly destroyed by now because of it....

Super Blaze: Well, we're not gonna let him kill everyone we love, are we?

Super Shadow: No, of course not...

Phantom Infinite: [gives Team Sonic a death stare] Team Sonic, I'm done playing games with you! So dodge this next attack if you can, but even if I miss you, THIS WHOLE PLANET'S GOING UP IN SMOKE!!! [his body glows in a dark red aura as he charges up all the Phantom Ruby energy he can muster]

Super Sonic: Infinite, have you gone mad?!? 'Cause you're not so calm and quiet as always!

Phantom Infinite: [flies up as he prepares to fire his Phantom Ruby laser; laughs maniacally] SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR PLANET, HEDGEHOG!

Super Silver: [yelps] He could wipe out the whole continent if he unleashes that!

Super Knuckles: Infinite is going crazy!

Super Cream: That's not nice at all!

Phantom Infinite: OF COURSE IT ISN'T, I'M FLUFFING EVIL!

Super Sonic: INFINITE, CUT IT OUT, YA NUT!!!

Phantom Infinite: [growls angrily] IF I CAN'T HAVE THE WORLD MY WAY, THEN YOU WON'T HAVE IT AT ALL!!!

Vector: [over radio] Guys, what's going on? There aren't less enemies! There's MORE!

Super Tails: What?

Vanessa: [over radio] How could there be so many?

Reaper: [over radio] Confirmed sightings indicate a whole army of Storm Creatures... Thousands of them!

Espio: [over radio] Hurry, we can keep them in check for now but not for long.

Spike: [over radio] But if the worse happens, please, save the world, and kick some butt for all of us.

Super Sonic: What have you done!?

Phantom Infinite: Are you blind?! I'm putting all my energy into this, so of course it would have a effect on the ground forces!

Super Knuckles: Must be a prodigious amount of energy.

Phantom Infinite: Indeed! Impressive, isn’t it?

Super Sonic: [groans] Of course. [to Team Sonic] Alright, guys, we've only got one shot at this, if we fail, Infinite wins!

Super Amy: Right.

Super Tails: We're with you, Sonic!

[Team Sonic powered up to their Hyper Forms]

Hyper Sonic: Let's end this!

Hyper Shadow: Right!

Hyper Sonic/Hyper Shadow: [in unison] Chaos Fusion!

[Sonic and Shadow fused into Shadic]

Shadic: Alright, time to charge up our ultimate attack! [charges his attack as the rest of Team Sonic grab onto his shoulders] Final... Ka... Me...

[Everyone stared in suspense, after several minutes, both Team Sonic and Infinite's attacks were fully charged]

Shadic: Ha... Me...

Phantom Infinite: This is it, make peace with your fate, because your lives are now over!!! [unleashes the laser]

Shadic: [serious] HA!

[With support from the rest of Team Sonic, Shadic unleashes Final Kamehameha, the two beams colliding with each other]

Phantom Infinite: [surprised] Wha- It can't be... Their attack is as powerful as mine?!

Shadic: [struggling] Put your backs into it, guys!

Hyper Cream: [struggling] We're trying!

Shadic: [struggling] Well, keep going, if we transform back now, everything we've been through will of been for nothing!

Hyper Tails: [struggling] If we fail, everyone we care and love will die!

Hyper Amy: [struggling] Including us!

Hyper Knuckles: [struggling] We mustn't give up!

Hyper Rouge: [struggling] I don't even know how much longer we can hold!

Hyper Silver: [struggling] It's no use!

Hyper Blaze: [struggling] It's either us or him, and I'd rather the victor be us!

[Everyone looked on, completely worried; Team Sonic were really struggling, their eyes closed as they tried to keep Infinite's attack from killing everyone]

Phantom Infinite: You vermin have embarrassed me for the last time! This is the end, TIME TO DIE! [puts more energy into his beam] Resistance is futile. You're suffering is at an end, there is no hope. No savior to save you from ME!

Shadic: [struggling] C'mon, we haven't given up yet!

Hyper Amy: [struggling] Shadic's right, we've never given up before!

Hyper Silver: [struggling] And we're not going to give up this time either, we'll never let our friends down!

[Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Cream, Rouge, Silver, and Blaze started to glow in their respective colors]

Shadic: [struggling] Lend me your power, and we can hopefully finish this once and for all!

[The rest of Team Sonic nodded, disappearing as they transferred their power to Shadic, effectively making part of the fusion, Shadic glowed in bright light, as he entered his super form]

Super Shadic: [now with the voices of all nine Team Sonic members] Here we go! [summons his sword and slices Infinite's laser completely in half]

Phantom Infinite: [shocked] No! What is happening?! How did you gain so much power?!

Super Shadic: [serious] You wouldn't understand. This power doesn't come from me alone, this is the power that mainfiests when good friends work together as one, even if the Phantom Ruby in its' current state made you the most powerful thing in the universe, if not, all reality itself, you'd still never be able to defeat the Freedom Fighters because you don't possess the most powerful magic of all! THE MAGIC OF FRIENDSHIP!

[with that, Shadic starts unleashed a hyper charged Final Color Blaster, the beam completely headed Infinite's way, and for the first time in months, Infinite had genuine fear on his face]

Phantom Infinite: [horrified] THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!!! NO, THIS IS NOT HOW IT ENDS!!! [fired his laser to try desperately to block the attack, but it was no use, as the beam completely overpowered his attack]

Narrator: And that's when the jackel realized that he was as dead as a... robot, because... [turns a page] robots are technically not alive by the traditional definition of... THESE PEOPLE EVEN GIVE A DARN ANYMORE?! I swear, they stopped trying after Season 2!

Infinite: [the beam completely engulfs him] NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

[The Phantom Ruby stopped glowing, the energies that had caused it to become overclocked disintegrating; as the beam faded, Infinite, who had reverted to his normal form, fell right out of the sky, and crash landed on the ground hard enough to leave a crater, all the while, Shadic reverted back to Team Sonic in their Hyper forms]

Hyper Sonic: All right! We won!

[Team Sonic cheered]

Hyper Knuckles: I knew we'd do it!

Hyper Tails: YES!

Hyper Rouge: Piece of cake.

Hyper Shadow: [grins] Naturally...

Hyper Silver: Yeah!

Hyper Amy: We did it!

Hyper Blaze: Infinite's finally defeated!

Hyper Cream: Alright!

Cheese: Chao-chao!

Team Sonic's Jewel Pixie Animals: [cheer in joy]

Infinite's Redemption/The Storm King Betrays Tempest/The Princesses Save Tempest/Our Heroes Reunited

[Team Sonic flew down and returned to normal, the Storm Creature replicas having been reduced to nothing, leaving just the real ones left, at that moment, Infinite got up, he looked like he wasn't finished just yet, but then he held his hands to his head and fell to his knees, much to Team Sonic's confusion]

Infinite: [growls in pain] My head! What have I done? What happened to me?! What did this cursed ruby turn me into?! [rips his mask off his face before pulling the Phantom Ruby out of his chest]

[It seemed at that moment, Infinite's true self had finally been restored from that monster he developed into, and a crushing weight of guilt and despair had washed over him]

Knuckles: Uh, what happened to him?

Tails: Lien-Da mentioned that the Phantom Ruby was corrupting Infinite, like its' overclocked state and Infinite's constant use of it was effecting his mental state somehow.

Silver: Huh, I guess we managed to stabilize the ruby and return it to its' normal state.

Sonic: Yeah... [knew all too well that it was the Phantom Ruby's overclocked state which was what gave Infinite that much more power that almost killed him as he walked over to Infinite] Well Infinite, you fought well, but it was your own madness that caused your downfall, maybe if you understood friendship and teamwork better, things could've been different...

[Infinite stood there, a stupefied look on his face, tears flowing down his cheeks, unable to utter a single word in response]

Amy Rose: Even so, you've just shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what's in your heart.

Infinite: [remorseful] I-I'm sorry. I’m so sorry... [looks down in shame] I didn't know there was another way.

Shadow: Hmm, I'll admit, when I first saw you during that recon mission with Team Dark, I'll admit, I was a little bit horrified knowing that I unknowingly caused your creation.

Infinite: You... Remember?

Shadow: Of course, but just forget about the past, after all, had I been in your shoes, I would've done the same thing. That still doesn't excuse your actions, you beat up Sonic in front of everyone and you almost got him killed when he tried to stop the fight!

Infinite: Right... [gets up] If you're going to have the Freedom Fighters arrest me, I'll come peacefully... I’ve given you guys enough trouble and now I’ll probably never be forgiven...

Amy Rose: [sighs] Infinite, please, we all know it was the Overclocked Phantom Ruby corrupting you.

Cream: Yeah, it was literally making you into a soulless monster.

Infinite: [looks around] Why did I even agree to rejoin the Eggman Empire in the first place? I'm a fool...

Shadow: Well, the damage you caused has already been done, but, you can try and redeem yourself now so maybe you'll get a lighter sentence.

Infinite: [sighs; grabs the Phantom Ruby and puts it back on his chest] You're right.

Knuckles: But however this turns out, you will answer for what you've done. Not only for here, but for what you did to all the people you've hurt over the years.

Infinite: I understand, and I will accept the consequences of my actions. [grabs his sword before putting his mask back on] But for now, I promise to make this right! [rushes to several storm guards and defeats them with his sword and Phantom Ruby in powers (which were still intact), leaving some members of the Freedom Fighters stunned]

Gadget: [confused] What just happened? [Infinite warps to him] Agh, stay back, I'm armed!

Infinite: [hugs Gagdet] I’m so so sorry for the torture I put you through.

Gadget: What?

Infinite: [stops hugging Gadget] Oh I-I-I'll get off now, sorry.

Shadow: [grins before noticing some of the Storm King's airships still in the sky] Hmm. [his Inhibitor Rings slide off his gloves before rocketing off to them, his chaos energy building up as he glowed in a red aura] CHAOS- [he warped to the middle of the airships] BLAST! [unleashes a great explosion of chaos energy that completely destroys the airships; warps back, his Inhibitor Rings warping back to his gloves]

Sonic: Nice work, Shadow!

Shadow: Of course.

[The Storm King and Tempest, having watched the whole thing unfold were watching in shock]

Tempest Shadow: Oh you've gotta be kidding me!?

Twilight Sparkle: Guess you shouldn't of underestimated them, huh?

The Storm King: [groans angrily, but then looked at his staff before grinning evilly] This... ends... now! [raising his staff up to the sky, the Storm King unleashed its magic on the clouds above, making them swirl faster and faster around the castle as lightning started to streak through the air and rumbling thunder grow louder, the princesses could only watch in shocked awe at the massive storm the Storm King was creating. Even the rescue party down below stopped attacking the guards when the weather suddenly shifted as the dark and gloomy suddenly got windy and stormy. All the while, the Storm King was laughing, creating the mother of all storms, making it strong enough that it could destroy the entire mountain if he wanted to]

Capper: Uh-oh.

Amy/Cream: [yelp]

Knuckles: [shocked] Whoa, you've got to be kidding. That's just a special effect, right?

Tails: No, it's not! While the Storm King's staff has alicorn magic in it, that storm's a part of our reality!

Espio: Unbelievable! What chance do we have against that?

Infinite: Oh, so NOW he decides to do something useful with that thing! Honestly, why did I even try...

Sally Acorn: Easy for you to say, is this even what you wanted?! Was a destructive storm worth you switching sides from Eggman to the Storm King?

Infinite: Honestly, I have no idea at this point...

Dr. Eggman: [worried] Okay, I've seen enough, sorry but I'm out, Eggman Empire, fall back, regroup, retreat!

[Eggman and his minions quickly made a retreat when the wind went into tornado-levels of dangerous]

Sticks: H-Hey!! Where are you going?! We're not even finished yet!!!

Shadow: EGGMAN, YOU COWARD!

Knuckles: COWARDS!!

Dr. Eggman: Call us cowards all you want, I'd rather not get sent to the outer limits of Space! [notices something as he looks on] Hmm? [looks in the mirror that had a "objects in mirror may be closer than they appear" label on it to see some debries coming his way, debries that knocks him and the Eggmobile into the horizon] WHY MEEEEEEE?!

[ding]

Cream: [waves] Bye, Mr. Eggman!

Metal Sonic: Uh, Infinite, you coming?

Infinite: No, in fact. I'm tending my resignation from the Eggman Empire! Effective immediately.

Doctor Starline: You what?! You're bluffing!

Infinite: Ask Gadget if I'm bluffing! But the next time you see Eggman, tell him to ‘Thank Team Sonic’ for showing me the error of my ways.

Lien-Da: [sighs sadly] Understood.

[The Eggman Empire promptly left Canterlot]

Shadow: Hmm. Good riddance I say.

Amy Rose: Let it be, guys! Let's just go before we get sucked into the twister!

[The Princesses and Tempest watch with stunned looks on their faces as The Storm King unleashed magical energy into the sky]

The Storm King: [maniacal laughter] Yeah!

[The storm winds began to blow fiercely over Canterlot]

Infinite: Move those feet, people!

[The jackel and his new allies barely made it out as he saw some of the guards chasing them away get swept away by the powerful winds]

[storm creatures yelling]

[Grubber was seen getting blown away only to grabbed by FriendBot]

FriendBot: [to Grubber] Congratulations, you are being rescued. [points Grubber in front of Omega, who was preparing to fire] Please do not resist.

Grubber: Oh, uh... [holds up a white flag] I surrender?

Omega: Eh, destroying you wouldn't be worth it.

[The heroes took cover in a shed and look put at the storm]

Grubber: Okay, I know I was working with Stormy, but I did NOT see that coming.

Scootaloo: What do we do?

Lightning Dust: We'd have to be flying faster than a speeding Pegasus to break through that wind!

Sonic: Hmm, I think I have a idea...

Gmerl: What did you have in mind?

Infinite: [looks at the castle] I'll go on ahead, see you there!

Silver: Whoa whoa whoa, just because you just helped us with defeating some of the Storm King's army doesn't mean you're off the hook!

Infinite: I'm not trying to trick you or get out of facing the consequences of my actions, I understand now that everything I did up until this point was wrong, selfish and horrible, and the reasons why were self-righteous and in no way worth it. I accept that I have a long way to go to make up for my misdeeds or even earning your trust. But the princesses are still in there, and if they get dragged into that storm without their magic, they're as good as dead.

[There was no hint of deception in Infinite's voice, he sounded like he generally wanted to redeem himself]

Sonic: Alright, but be careful.

Infinite: On it. [warps away]

[Back with The Storm King on the balcony]

The Storm King: [maniacal laughter] Yeah! Now I truly am the Storm King! And the entire world will bow to my ba-ba-ba-boom, baby! [laughs]

Tempest Shadow: Yes, yes, you are every bit as powerful as I promised, sire, now, restore my horn and I swear to use my magic to serve you!

[Tempest bowed to him as she swore her loyalty to him, but instead of being granted her end of their bargain, the Storm King just laughed at her like it was a joke, then glared at her]

The Storm King: Who cares about your dinky little unicorn horn?!

Tempest Shadow: [shocked] B-But...we...we had an agreement!

The Storm King: Get with the program! I used you!

[Those words were like a stab to the heart, one that she hadn't felt since she lost her horn. Tempest looked horrified and confused as she came to realize the truth, no matter how much she wanted to deny it]

The Storm King: It's kind of what I do! [shrugged at Tempest, brushing off her shock as an, "Oh well. Things happen," sort of manner, then aimed his staff at the mare] I'm afraid your services are no longer required...!

[He fired several bolts of lighting at Tempest, who quickly leapt away as he attacked her. Growling angrily at holding back his promise, Tempest retaliated back with her own surged lightning magic. The two bolts connected, causing an explosion that sent them flying away from each other. The Storm King stayed safely on the balcony, thrown for a loop from the blast, but Tempest wasn't lucky as she got too close to the railing, the storm beginning to suck her away]

[The Mane Nine and the Princesses watched Tempest cling onto the railing, holding on for dear life to avoid getting sucked into the intense magic storm that was slowly destroying Canterlot Castle. There was also the staff, held weakly in the Storm King's hand as he slowly recovered from the explosive force of the clashing lightning bolts. They wanted to take the staff and use it against him, but there was also Infinite, who had just warped in. They were unaware of his reformation at the moment, and without their magic, they were completely defenseless. It was either push their way past Infinite and take the staff from the Storm King, or help Tempest, who was in dire peril and needed someone to help her when she needed it most]

[Tempest grunted, her hoof beginning to slip from the railing as the wind was pulling far too strong. Her horn sparked in desperation, but with it so broken, she couldn't do any magic spells to pull herself back to safety or protect herself if the high winds bashed her into the mountain. She couldn't hold on for long, losing her grip and flailed with a yelp, but Twilight quickly grabbed her outstretched hoof, saving her from the storm]

Pinkie Pie: Hold on!

[Tempest looked at Twilight with a stunned, baffled expression, being saved by the princess she had been hunting down all of yesterday overriding the fear of getting killed in the Storm King's destructive storm]

Tempest Shadow: Why are you saving me?

Twilight Sparkle: [gave Tempest a small, reassuring smile] Because this is what friends do.

[Confused, Tempest was struck with disbelief, being called her target's friend. She felt no remorse chasing after her or her friends, but that all came crashing down on her after the Storm King tried to kill her after breaking his promise to her after all these years. She could never forgive herself now after all she's done to Equestria, to all the kingdoms she helped the Storm King conquer, and where she expected to be hated by her enemy, the Princess of Friendship saved her when she was in danger and didn't leave her when she needed help like her former friends did when she was a filly. Her cold heart melted, her look of guilt slowly softening into a grateful smile]

Fluttershy: Now hold on, please!

Princess Cadance: We'll get you to safety!

[Using all their strength, Twilight and her friends pulled Tempest back onto the balcony, safe from the powerful gales tearing the city apart]

The Storm King: [sarcastically] Awwww! Isn't that just so sweet! [laughs] Yeah. [aims the Staff of Sacanas at the alicorns and Tempest and charges it up] See ya.

[The Princesses, the Mane 9's Jewel Pixie Animals, and Tempest looked on as the staff charged up, at that moment Infinite walks up to them]

The Storm King: Oh, Infinite, I was wondering where you were, do me a favor and blast these miscreats out of existance, would ya?

Tempest Shadow: [to the Mane Nine] You wield the Elements of Harmony, right? Can't you just blast them?

Twilight Sparkle: We can't help!

Starlight Glimmer: The Storm King drained every ounce of magic in us. Even Rainbow Power is out of reach right now.

[Infinite stared at the group for a second, the Mane Nine slowly gulped, not knowing that Infinite had changed, when suddenly, Infinite got in front of the Storm King and held his sword out]

The Storm King: [shocked] Wha- What are you doing?!

Infinite: [serious] Living for the future, in other words, fixing my mistake... [to the princesses] Your highnesses, I yield. [the 12 alicorns and Tempest look shocked] You mess with the princesses, you mess with me!

The Storm King: Oh, so you're turning on me too? [sarcastically] Great... Well. it looks like I'm destroying 14 people today.

Infinite: [saw Tempest took a defensive stance] What are you doing?

Tempest Shadow: Helping right a horrible wrong I caused. [gave Infinite a nervous glance, disturbing the jackel after only seeing her show only one expression: stone-cold seriousness] I understand if you don't trust me, but I know you can't stop him on your own. Not with the magic he has.

Infinite: Regarding trust, the feeling's mutual... But you're his commander; you WORK for him.

Tempest Shadow: ...Not anymore, I promised him to gain all the magic he needed to conquer the world, but my intentions weren't as sadistic as his. In exchange for my services and the promised magic, he would give me back my horn I had lost to an ursa minor when I was a filly. [Infinite looked at her in shock. He looked at her broken horn, and the scar over her eye, unable to imagine how terrifying and dangerous a situation was like for her. She was lucky to have only lost her horn, but that loss was a huge part of who she was as a unicorn] All he did was use me to get what he desired, giving me false hope to make me feel whole again... He even tried to kill me with that staff. But...Twilight and the others saved me from getting caught in this storm.

[Infinite looked over at the Mane Nine. They looked away from them, still a little scared but he knew that if the princesses decided to spare Tempest and save her, they must have learned of her past and wanted to help her]

Infinite: Don't worry, help's on the way...

Twilight Sparkle: And why should we believe you?!

Infinite: You'll just have to take my word for it...

[Meanwhile, Team Sonic, their the Jewel Pixie Animals, and their friends were in Pinkie's party cannon from earlier]

Mullet: You sure about this?

Sonic: Just do it, we're running out of time!

Jewel: Is this safe?

Relic: Maybe, maybe not.

Fixit: Who knows?

Charmy: I'm excited! Who's excited?! Aaah! I've never been so excited!

Tails: Please calm down, Charmy.

Princess Skystar: Hellooooooo!! Me again!

Tangle: Wait, Skystar, what are you doing in here?

Princess Skystar: [giggles] I'm gonna get so grounded for this, but I talked things over with Shelly and Sheldon and they pointed out that I should probably come with you guys.

Sonic: Hmm. Alright then. [puts on his sunglasses] Let's roll!

Squabble: [squawks]

[Squabble pushed the plunger and the cannon fires the heroes into the air and right through the tornado]

Team Sonic & Allies: [screaming]

The Storm King: [laughs] Huh? [sees the heroes] Ooh!

[The heroes crashed right into The Storm King, knocking him to the ground. His staff getting caught in a stained glass window. The heroes landed up on the floor]

Sonic: Woohoo! Best plan ever!

Tails: Not sure I agree, but yeah, sure.

Lina: Yeah, I'm not sure if I want to do that again.

[the rest of the Freedom Fighters were eventually blasted over to the castle, some of them dizzy from being fired out of a cannon at breakneck speeds]

Capper: Huzzah!

Omega: Mission complete!

Starlight Glimmer: [gasps] You made it!

Whisper: Barely.

[Team Sonic embraced their pony partners]

Knuckles: Good to see that you're all still alive.

Fluttershy: Yeah, but why are Capper, Celaeno, and Skystar with you?

Pinkie Pie: And why is Infinite acting less like a bad guy all of a sudden?

Infinite: Bad guy...? [his ears droop miserably]

D-Fekt: It's a long story.

Sticks: Okay, seriously, are you twelve okay?

Rarity: Well, we've been better.

Princess Cadance: Aside from having our magic forcefully drained out of our bodies and the fact that the process was more painful to go through than Tirek's magic absorption powers, we're fine, I guess.  

Cream: Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get your magic back once this is all over with, but I'm just happy that you're all okay.

[Team Sonic and the Mane Nine hugged each other, when Shadow and Rainbow notice something]

Rainbow Dash: Uh, We may wanna do this later! We got bigger problems right now!

Shadow: She's right! This isn't over!

[She pointed to the staff sticking out through the window, which began sparking uncontrollably with magical energy. It unleashed a bolt of lightning in the room, breaking the ceiling as rubble began falling down around them. Everyone panicked and got out of the way, even Tempest when she was able to feel her limbs function properly again, splitting her from the others]

Getting the Staff/The Storm King's Defeat/Returning the Magic/The Storm King in Tartarus/The Friendship Festival continues/Epilogue

[The storm outside began to get worse as the wind began picking up, slowly shifting into a tornado with lightning streaking dangerously through the sky]

Tart: Yikes...

Applejack: [looks at the staff in the window] Uh, I don't think that's a good thing...

Twilight Sparkle: It's worst than that, the Staff is still making the storm more powerful, if we don't do something soon, it could destroy all of Equestria, if not the entire planet...

[everyone gasps]

Antoine: What the what?! Pardon my french but that sounds total baguette!

Rotor: That wasn't even french.

Antoine: [looks at Rotor, unamused] Touché.

Gamma: Probability of survival if we get sucked into that storm: 0%.

Sonar: Again with telling us things we don't want to hear!

Fauna: Don't panic, we need to be calm about this...

Amy Rose: How powerful is that thing?!

Galaxina: Yeah, we need to know!

Tails: [holding the Miles Electric] We don't know, this storm's so powerful, our scanners can't measure it!

Espio: Blast! We've gotta do do something before it gets too powerful for us to stop!

Julie-Su: Well, what options do we have?

Maria: Yeah, there has to be something we can do!

Saffron: But what?

Princess Luna: [looks up at the staff] We've gotta get control of the staff and stop it from putting anymore power into the storm before it gets too powerful.

Sonic: [to the Princesses and the Mane Nine] In that case, would you 12 care to do the honors, I mean, it is your magic powering that thing.

Shadow: Sonic's right, you have to do this!

Cream: Yeah, you've got this girls!

Cheese: Chao-chao!

Twilight Sparkle: [sighs before holding her hoof out] No. We've got this. Together.

[everyone looked at each other before smiling]

Shining Armor: She's not wrong.

Thorax: Would not be the first time.

Knuckles: Alright then, is everyone ready?

All Heroes: Ready!

Sonic: Come on, guys! Let’s do this!

[The heroes soon formed a chain while wrapping Applejack's lasso onto a rock and flying up towards the staff]

[Everyone quickly grabbed hold of each other's hands/hooves before going gently towards the staff, with the Mane Nine and the Princesses at the front]

Pinkie Pie: Whee!

Tails: Whatever you do, everyone, do not let go!

Emerl: We'll try not to!

Starlight Glimmer: Good, if the window breaks we could all get sent flying into Space so I suggest you hold on tight.

Silver: You've got it, Starlight!

The Storm King: [emerges from the rubble] Wha... [notices the heroes going for his staff] Hey, the staff belongs to me! [starts to climb the debris]

Trixie Lulamoon: Uh, guys, he's awake!

Maria: Hurry, grab it!

Twilight Sparkle: We're trying, just need to get closer...

The Storm King: [grunting]

Mane Nine: [whimpering]

Twilight Sparkle: [grunting]

Shining Armor: He's getting closer!

Sonic: [annoyed] Can this guy just give up already?!

The Storm King: NO! That's MY staff! [grunts]

Twilight Sparkle: [grunting]

The Storm King: [grunting]

Twilight Sparkle: [grunting]

The Storm King: Miiiiiine!! Mine!!!

Applejack: Whoa!

Twilight Sparkle: No!

[As Twilight grabbed the staff, the Storm King lunged at the twelve alicorns, but only ended up going right into the window, causing it to break and getting all thirteen of them sucked into the powerful storm with a scream as they were launched higher into the air. Team Sonic and the others could only watch in horror as the Mane Nine and the princesses disappeared in the swirling clouds destroying the castle, a huge chunk of the ceiling getting torn away from above them]

Cream: Girls! [tears started to appear in her eyes] NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

[Infinite and Tempest looked at the scene in horror. The heroes lowered down to the ground and looked up to the sky as the storm outside begin to clear up, the swirling clouds slowing down before fading away, Team Sonic and the others stepped closer to the balcony entrance, watching the storm die down. They searched desperately for any sign of the princesses, but there was nothing but the sky slowly clearing up, some instantly feared the worse]

Reaper: No... No... This can't be happening!

Vanessa: We failed?!

[The Cutie-Mark Crusaders, Flurry-Heart, Charmy, Tails, and Cream looked as if they were about to cry]

[Discord, Vector, Knuckles and Rouge looked down in sadness]

Spike: [stood there motionless, trying to process what had just happened] No...NO!!! They can't.... They can't be gone!!!

[Shining Armor, Sunburst, Espio, Shadow and Silver looked distraught]

[Amy looked down sadly and shut her eyes whilst Blaze patted her shoulder comfortingly]

Sonic: [falls to his knees] I'm... so sorry... [sheds a tear, and for good reason, this wasn't supposed to happen, how could the Freedom Fighters fail to save their friends and the rulers of Equestria?]

Charmy: [in tears] Twilight, girls!! COME BACK!!! [dug his face into Espio and Vector]

[Tangle, Whisper, and Jewel wrapped their arms around each other, wiping away tears]

Shadow: [frustrated, yet upset] Dang... Not here... [Rouge, Maria and Perci walk up and comfort him]

[Discord, Shining Armor, Sunburst, Shard, Mighty, Ray, Saffron, Julie-Su, Gadget, and Honey hung their heads in shame]

Blaze: [sighs sadly] Never thought it would end like this... [Silver, Gold, and Marine comfort her]

Cream: [sobs hysterically while Cheese, Emerl, Gmerl, and Chocola comfort her]

Omega: Mission failed...

[Team Overlander quietly closed their eyes and payed their respects]

Knuckles: [sighs sadly] Darn it... [Julie-Su comforts her]

FriendBot: [looks down] Friends...

[Jet, Storm, and Wave took their goggles off, while Fang and Bark took off their headgear and Bean wiped his eyes, using his scarf as a tissue]

Tails: [tearing up] No... [Fiona, Zooey and Cosmo comfort him]

[Amy hugged Sonic in tears as Sonic comforted her while Sonia and Manic watched in disbelief]

Sally Acorn: [sighs] May they rest in peace...

[A majority of the Freedom Fighters and the Mane Nine's friends were also deeply upset, even Infinite, who had taken his mask off, felt guilty. He made the mistake of helping with capturing the Mane Nine and the Princesses and letting their magic get drained in the first place, so he thought that if he was the one to perish, it would make sense, and without Celestia and Luna, who would rule Equestria? Had the whole kingdom just become leaderless? The jackel just couldn't believe what his vendetta had led to what happened]

[Tempest felt much the same, it wasn't supposed to end like this... it was supposed to end with her horn being restored, no one was supposed to-]

Tempest Shadow: [in self-disgust] (No... I didn't care about anypony else, I didn't spare a thought on how the Storm King's plans would affect anyone, I was selfish... I should've realized he was using me from the start... This is not at all what I wanted...)

[Regardless. It was done. Canterlot was saved. Equestria was saved. The Storm King was beaten. They had won. But it came at a grave cost...]

[Tempest was about to lower her head and silently pay her respects to the fallen alicorns, but up in the sky, she thought she saw a light blinking the colors of the rainbow gently fall through the gaping hole in the clouds]

Tempest Shadow: What is that?

Infinite: [looked up] Everyone, look!

[Everyone looks up to see twelve silhouettes majestically fly down, everyone gasped as they recognized who's silhouettes they were, the Princesses appeared with the staff with windswept hair and tired eyes, safe and unharmed and flying towards the balcony]

Charmy: [gasps] Look! They're still alive!

Cream: Yay!

Tails: Yeah! [laughs] All right!

Sonic: [breathes a sigh of relief] Oh thank goodness... [wipes the tears of his face]

Pinkie Pie: Yay!

Applejack: Yee-haw! [laughs] All right!

Mane Nine: [laughing and cheering]

Pinkie Pie: Group hug! [squeals]

[The Mane Nine's Jewel Pixie Animals tearfully embraced their owners as everyone cheered, Shadow even cracked a smile as he crossed his arms]

[Tempest was in awe after witnessing all of this. She was glad to see that the princesses were was alright, but seeing them together with their friends and family and happy made her feel lonely. Tempest had given up something like that, and she didn't deserve redemption after causing all this trouble. Sighing, she began to turn around to make her leave, to go off on her lonesome to repent for the atrocities she committed as the Storm King's commander]

[From her peripheral vision, she looked back at the balcony when she saw something trying to climb onto the railing. Tempest gasped when she saw the Storm King pulling himself up with one hand, one of his horns broken while his body was covered in wounds, bruises, and scorch marks]

Tempest Shadow: Behind you!

Sonic: [hearing this got his attention] Wha-

[Everyone suddenly got struck down and electrocuted by the Storm King, who had his claws armed with electrical shocks]

Gold: Ouch!

Gamma: Circuits freezing!

Amour: What on earth?!

Sunburst: W-Wait! He has electrical powers?!

Mina Mongoose: You've gotta be kidding me!

Majesty: So not fair!

Weather: Not cool either!

Ash Mongoose: Yeah, how did we not see that?!

Rotor: I don't know!

Tempest Shadow: Why did you think he was called 'The Storm King' in the first place? In fact, his kind posses really powerful thunder and lightning attacks.

Fiona: Thanks for the info, genius! That could have been helpful!

The Storm King: Well, too bad. [holds out a obsidian orb] I've been saving this for the right moment. And this is it. I may not have the alicorn magic, but I still can beat you and win! After that, I'm going to go after that traitor for messing everything up! And trust me, I don't tolerate traitors!

Rainbow Dash: Hey, you betrayed her first, brainiac!

The Storm King: Whatever, anyways, say goodbye! [prepares to throw the obsidian orb on the heroes, Tempest runs in to save the heroes as the Storm King threw the orb towards them]

Tempest Shadow: NOOOO!!!!

[Tempest jumped in the way, and the orb turned herself and the Storm King to obsidian. Twilight kept Tempest from falling off the balcony, while Infinite used his Phantom Ruby to warp the petrified Storm King, who was already plummeting to the ground like a rock, back into the castle before gently lowering the crystallized villain back to the floor]

Infinite: As much as that monster I became would enjoy seeing the Storm King as a broken lawn ornament sitting outside the castle, this is suppose to be a kids movie. Presides, he should at least answer for his crimes.

Knuckles: Man... I'm so glad we didn't have a stray attack go for the others...

Cream: Did she...save us?

Sonic: [shocked] ...Yes. Yes, she did... I can't believe she did that!

Twilight Sparkle: My friends and I can.

Amy Rose: How come?

Princess Celestia: That's a good question.

Tails: [puts it all together] You girls showed her the Magic of Friendship, didn’t you?

Starlight Glimmer: Yes.

Sunset Shimmer: [looked at the Storm King's statue] I guess he must've been pretty durable if he survived that fall.

Knuckles: Wait, I'm still confused... Tempest worked for him, yet, she saved us. Why would she do that?

Twilight Sparkle: The Storm King used her to get this staff, he promised to get her horn back, but it was all a lie.

Spike: Wow. What a jerk.

[Twilight looked at the staff. Using its magic, she released a stream of mana, letting it surround Tempest to reverse the petrification enchantment from the orb. To his relief, it worked as the hornless mare returned to normal, letting out a gasp after being freed. Confused, she looked around, surprised to still be alive as she stared at the heroes. She looked away in shame, despite being grateful for them giving her a second chance, however brief it would be]

Knuckles: Tempest...You didn't have to take a hit for us, but thanks for the save.

Twilight Sparkle: Yes, thank you, Tempest.

Tempest Shadow: I-I...You're...welcome...? But... You shouldn't have. I... I don't deserve forgiveness. I appreciate you saving me, but...how can you forgive me so quickly? What I did to you? To them?

Sonic: Believe it or not, some of us are just really quick to forgive anyone once we get to know them and why they did the awful things they did. Heck, I never let go of my true friends. Even when I fight with them in both verbal or physical arguments.

[Tempest smiled with understanding, several minutes later]

Princess Skystar: [sees Queen Novo fly in] Oh, hi mom. [hugs her]

Queen Novo: You are so grounded! [laughs] For a week. While we're 'visiting' Canterlot. I think I still need to stretch my wings after swimming for so long.

[Princess Skystar frowns for a few seconds before smiling]

[Sonic was seen talking to the petrified Storm King]

Sonic: Wow, sometimes I even impress myself. For a second there I wasn't even sure if we were gonna pull it off. Oh who am I kidding, we both knew how this would end. [chuckles]

Tails: Uh, are you talking to the petrified Storm King who can't hear you?

Sonic: Uh, maybe. That's between me and the Storm King. See, the important thing here is we won, and the planet is safe again.

Twilight Sparkle: Absolutely.

Sonic: So we can just forget about the whole talking to petrified villains thing, right?

Applejack: Nope.

Sonic: I knew you'd say that.

Knuckles: Well, come on, you've helped save the day countless times. But we've never seen you talk to a statue.

Sonic: Touché. [facepalms in embarrassment]

Maria: What are we even going to do with the Storm King?

Shadow: I would personally return him to normal and throw him in Tartarus for all the crimes he committed.

Rouge: Personally, I agree.

Diamond: Yeah, that sounds pretty fitting after everything he's done.

Tempest Shadow: [to Novo] While me and Grubber are still here, I should mention that we're truly sorry for the damage we caused in your kingdom, Queen Novo, I know I have no right to... what I mean is... I have no excuse. I didn't even consider what the Storm King would do after he got the alicorn magic, but... I would do anything to make up for what I've done, and that's the honest truth. I understand that won't redeem all the damage I caused, but believe me, I didn't know the Storm King was using me at the time...

[Everyone was unsure whenever to forgive her or not, then Stygian came up to Tempest and vouched for her]

Stygian: I believe you.

Tempest Shadow: Really, why?

Stygian: Because that's what friends do for each other, Tempest. Yes, that was not wise of you to do what you did, but no matter what cruelty you once did, it's never too late for a second chance of forgiveness. The Princesses of Harmony and their friends once inspired me and the Pillars to understand the Magic of Friendship, and they also more or less saved me from my own darkness.

Tempest Shadow: Huh, I never actually thought of it that way.

Grubber: Me either.

Infinite: Oh, while I'm here, Team Sonic, I should tell you that I'm grateful for all of you. If it weren't for you, I'd still be just a monster wandering around without a soul. Thank you for saving my life, guys.

Cream: You're welcome, Mr. Infinite.

Fluttershy: [looked at the castle, seeing all the collateral damage that was done from the storm and the Storm King abusing the Staff of Sacanas' power] Now what?

Tempest Shadow: [levitates the staff] Now, we fix everything...

Silver: How? It's gonna take months to repair the castle, even the city if any debris was flung toward the buildings.

Tempest Shadow: The Staff of Sacanas will undo everything if we give the magic it stole back to the princesses.

[Trusting Tempest, Twilight nodded and gave her the staff. Everyone followed the unicorn back inside the throne room as Tempest brushed away the debris covering the indent in the middle of the floral design on the floor, then set the staff inside it. The magic flowed out from the staff, returning it to its rightful owners as bright and colorful lights shimmered around them. And just as Tempest promised, the magic began to automatically restore the castle as the debris floated back to where they once belonged, all while being mended like nothing was ever done to the palace. The Mane Nine and theprincesses even felt their magic return. The magic continued to spread out and repair the city and other locations the Storm King's army attacked, very soon, Canterlot was completely restored and everything for the festival was restored as well]

[Several hours later]

The Storm King: [slowly waking up] Ugh, my head... Who turned out the lights? [looks around to notice he was in a cage in Tartatus] OH COME ON!

Lord Tirek: Hey, who's the new guy?

Lyric: Beats me, but I don't really care.

Black Doom: Yeah, me neither.

Black Death: Seconded.

Seelkadoom: I agree, now, can you all keep quiet, I'm trying to get some shut eye...

Nazo: Same...

[It was fair to say that the Storm King had been sentenced to life in Tartarus, he had tried to steal alicorn magic, and therefore had to suffer the consequences]

[After Canterlot was completely restored and everyone was updated on the adventure the heroes embarked on, the Festival of Friendship was back on track as evening set in. Despite Tempest's former employment as the Storm King's commander, she was still willing to accept any punishment for assisting the now de-throned tyrant for overtaking Equestria and several other kingdoms. Considering what the Storm King tried to do to her, along with her explaining her reasons for working with him and the false promise he gave her after losing her horn and her friends as a filly because of her lost appendage. The Mane Nine vouched for her when she fought back, and to Tempest's surprise, the others gave her the benefit of the doubt and spared her from serving a life sentence in the dungeon. They figured a life alone, left with no stable magic, and almost killed by the madmonkey she served seemed enough of a life-changing experience]

[Thanks to the alicorn magic returning, everything for the festival was restored as well. Everyone gathered toward the stage as the main event of the night was about to begin. Up on the DJ booth on the upper rafters of the stage with Vinyl Scratch ready to start, Spike, with a pair of sunglasses on, picked up a mic to announce the star of the show]

Spike: [clears throat] Fillies and gentlecolts, get ready for a little... [the spotlights shined down on the singer, her wings covering her face while crouched down, taking her cue as she stood up and slowly spread her wings to greet her fans with her special entrance] Songbird Serenade!

[The crowd cheered in excitement, even the main heroes who saved Equestria as they stood out in the middle of the crowd]

Songbird Serenade: And now, to celebrate the fact that we're all still here in one piece, give it up for The Princesses of Harmony, Team Sonic, and all their friends!

[The ponies all congratulated and cheered for the heroes]

Male Pony 1: All right! Way to go, guys!

[Photo Finish took lots of photos]

Bulk Biceps: Yeah! Ha ha ha ha!

Knuckles: Thank you everyone, but after this crazy adventure, I think we all deserve to just relax and have some fun.

Sonic: Until the next villain comes, that is.

[Celestia, Luna and Cadance bow down to the Mane Nine who return it too. The lights began to dim around the area as the performance was about to begin. Spotlights lit up Songbird Serenade as music started to play, the singer turned away from the audience before she slowly turned to face them]

[Songbird Serenade]

I know you, you're a special one

Some see crazy where I see love

You fall so low but shoot so high

Big dreamers shoot for open sky

[The low and somber tune soon became more upbeat, backup dancers behind the mare spread out on the stage to join Songbird Serenade in the performance, the mares and stallions dancing with matching hairstyles to the singer's, the mares' bows on their tails while the stallions' were around their neck. The crowd went wild as colorful lights flashed to make the performance more exciting]

So much life in those open eyes

So much depth, you look for the light

[In the middle of the performance, in the crowd, the friends the gang met along their way to the hippogriffs enjoyed their time with their new friends. Celaeno and her crew got along well with Rainbow, Marine, and Sonic. Rarity and Honey gave Capper a bit more of an added touch to his red coat, working on a cloak and top hat as the festival was getting set back up again. He looked a lot more sophisticated, and the added accessories fit him perfectly. Since he wasn't going to be returning to Kludgetown, he'd be better off living in Canterlot with his new clothes, fitting in perfectly with the noble elite with his suave personality]

Capper: Ooh!

Rarity: And perfection!

[Pinkie and Skystar were laughing and just enjoying the fun]

Sally Acorn: Well everyone, you did good out there.

Tangle: Thanks, Sally, though it's fair to say we all did great, right Whisper?

Whisper: What are friends for, right?

Princess Skystar: [sighs happily before looking at Queen Novo] Isn't this great, mom?

Queen Novo: Indeed, these people are indeed the bravest and noblest heroes I ever met. I am so proud of you, Skystar.

[Songbird Serenade]

But when your wounds open, you will cry

You'll cry out now and you'll question why

I can see a rainbow

In your tears as they fall on down

I can see your soul grow

Through the pain as they hit the ground

I can see a rainbow

In your tears as the sun comes out

As the sun comes out

[As Songbird sang the chorus of her song, a platform in the stage rose up, along with a wooden perch she stood on that came up with said platform. She then flew up and soared over her audience, ponies trying to reach up and touch the pop singer's hooves. She hovered over to where Twilight stood with her friends, giving the princesses a nod before resuming her flight over her adoring fans. As the heroes watched Songbird fly off, Team Sonic and the Mane Nine noticed Tempest and Infinite far beyond the crowd, remaining by themselves and no joining in the party. Seeing they still felt guilty, they made their way through the other ponies to see if they could help raise their spirits]

Sonic: Yo Tempest, Infinite, you alright.

[Tempest looked out at the twilit sky, her ear twitching as she heard Sonic calling her name]

Tempest Shadow: Well, that's one thing that never changes around here. The party.

Twilight Sparkle: Well, I hope you'll stay. More friends are definitely merrier.

Infinite: I suppose.

Tempest Shadow: [sighs] But, um... my horn.

Starlight Glimmer: You know, your horn is pretty powerful, just like the pony it belongs to.

Espio: Don't let the guilt from your past mistakes get in the way of the present.

Tails: Also, Infinite, if you want, the Freedom Fighters always has room for one more member.

Infinite: I appreciate the offer, but I'll need time to think and self-reflect, I did a lot of terrible things back then, and all I've ever done since I resurfaced is mock you all and try to destroy you. Not to mention I don't know the first thing about friendship.

Sonic: [points to the Mane Nine] I bet they can teach you.

Infinite: [smiles fondly] I guess, though I'd like to redeem myself on my own terms for now, maybe save a couple villages from Eggman's attacks or what, even so, if I do decide to join the Freedom Fighters, you'll be the first people to know.

Sally Acorn: Alright, however, that does not change the fact that you abused the Phantom Ruby's powers and used them to cause harm. Making up for your mistakes is noble, but on a scale of what you put us all through now and what you put us through during the war to take back Mobius, there has to be consequences.

[The others agreed, while Infinite had come to understand the wrongness of his actions and his motivations and even aided them in preventing the ruin of Equestria, that doesn't change the fact that he is still dangerous, that he still had many other misdeeds to answer for, and they cannot overlook those misdeeds and permit them to just walk away]

Elias Acorn: She has a point, you have shown yourself to be quite dangerous, Infinite, and you proved to Sonic that you're stronger than he is multiple times.

Infinite: Oh come on, I'm not stronger than Sonic.

Knuckles: Sure looked like it when you kicked his butt all over the beach.

Sonic: Oh shut up.

Sally Acorn: Well, besides that... Do you accept the judgement that the laws demand? I'll be willing to pass it now if you do.

Infinite: ...I accept your judgement, Princess Sally. There's no excuse for what I did, and I'm ready for whatever punishment you think is fair.

Sally Acorn: Very well, Infinite, for the crimes of high treason and malevolent use of power against the citizens of Equestria, I hereby sentence you... to probation. [the others looked surprised, expecting something worse]

Infinite: Okay, so I'm on probation, but for how long?

Elias Acorn: Indefinete, or until we're convinced that you won't misuse the Phantom Ruby again or use it to cause harm to anyone without just cause. We'll also be keeping a eye on you, so if you go evil again, you'll lose your probationary status and be branded a fugitive, to be tracked down with extreme prejudice and charged to the fullest extent of the law. The same condition applies if you attempt harm upon anyone.

Infinite: Understood, though I think I can trust myself to not go insane again, presides, I'm pretty sure the residents still see me as a criminal, so I think it's best to redeem myself in their eyes.

Sally Acorn: Alright then, we'll trust you.

Infinite: Great, thank you, Sally! Redemption, here I come! [everyone stares at him] Though, of course, not right now, I was just foreshadowing. [chuckles]

[The heroes laughed at his response, which made Tempest smile a little. She looked at the crowd enjoying Songbird Serenade's performance, though the friends dispersed from the other ponies to watch them, then to Twilight]

Twilight Sparkle: So, what now?

Tempest Shadow: I did tell you I wanted to show everypony in Equestria what I could do, right?

[Tempest looked out to the view from the mountainside, lowered her head, and let her horn spark. They all wondered what she was doing when she launched a stream of lightning up into the sky. After reaching its highest peak, the bolt of lightning suddenly turned into a magical firework, releasing colorful sparks in a massive orb of energy. The magic swiftly zipped across the sky and created many more colorful fireworks, adding more flair to the festival and the performance from Songbird Serenade]

[Songbird Serenade]

I can see a rainbow

In your tears as they fall on down

I can see your soul grow

Through the pain as they hit the ground

[Sonic's jaw dropped at the light show Tempest created, and with a broken horn that made her magic unstable]

Sunset Shimmer: Awesome!

Sweetie: I've never seen anything so beautiful...

Trixie Lulamoon: Yeah, that's honestly the best fireworks display I've ever seen!

Pinkie Pie: Nice touch, Tempest!

Tempest Shadow: Actually, that's not my real name.

Pinkie Pie: Oooh! What is it?!

Tempest Shadow: [quietly] It's "Fizzlepop Berrytwist".

Pinkie Pie: [gasps] Okay! That is the most awesome name ever!

Infinite: [looks at the fireworks] Yeah, nice touch there.

Vector: Man, today's been crazy. I'll admit, when we started the adventure, I had no idea we would pull this thing together and see it to the end, or that Infinite would redeem himself. [pats Infinite's back] I've changed my mind about you.

[Infinite just sighs happily]

Tails: Our battle against Infinite is done and our fight against the Storm King has come to a close, but we'll be friends forever. A single person cannot save the entire world. We have to work together and make a diligent effort!

Sonic: Yeah, now, let's just continue enjoying the show.

[Everyone nodded and said "Yeah!" in agreement before going to the festival to enjoy themselves, unknowingly, Lien-Da had secretly observed from the shadows with a solemn and sadden expression from the nearby bushes unnoticed. Truthfully with a sad sigh, she wished she could do the same as what Infinite did with her own feelings, she had family in the Freedom Fighters in Julie-Su, but even so, she was still connected to the Dark Legion, and the Eggman Empire, she then slinked back and away from the festival while using the nearby trees and bushes for cover to avoid being spotted]

[For the rest of the evening, Tempest and Infinite joined their new friends in the Festival of Friendship. Tempest's inhibitions quickly faded as she partook in the other performances after Songbird's was done, ate some of the delicious sweets made for the party, feeling a lot more welcome than she ever did after her menacing presence since her arrival. The fun lasted all through the night, almost like the Storm King and his army's invasion never even happened, even though there were still several Storm Guards that were around. Thankfully, they were harmless now that they had no king to follow, much less menacing without the Storm King ordering them to do his bidding. Peace had returned to Equestria and the many kingdoms terrorized by the Storm King, but there were still far more threats out there and beyond the world. For now, everyone's going to enjoy the moment and rest before needing to face the next villain who would try to disrupt that peace, whether it be another mad, world-conquering tyrant or the Eggman Empire]

Narrator: And so the Guardians of Hope and the Princesses of Harmony prevailed against the machinations of the Storm King, and Equestria was safe once more. Team Sonic and the Mane Nine did not know what challenges may lay ahead, but they were comforted by the knowledge that, together, they could conquer anything...

Epilogue/Terios Returned to Life?/Eggman Stranded in the Badlands

[Meanwhile, back in Eggman's base, Eggman's troops were watching the festival from afar]

Doctor Starline: Well, gotta admit, that is beautiful.

Lien-Da: Yeah, so romantic as well. [winks at Starline]

Doctor Starline: Uh, what's that suppose to mean?

Lien-Da: Oh nothing...

Doctor Starline: Right... [walks away]

Metal Sonic: Uh, what was that all about? [Lien-Da looks at him] Be completely honest here, are you crushing on Starline? If you are, I won't tell anyone, I swear.

Lien-Da: [blushes] Well, I suppose...

[The scene cuts to Snively walking out of a room with a keep out sign on it]

Snively: Well, I didn't think reconstructing a body based on life energy was possible! But I can't believe Eggman actually did it... I just hope he stays in there long enough for him to see when he gets back. [walks away]

[The scene cuts to inside the room, a familar looking hedgehog was straped to the wall, covered in wires, as the scene zoomed in on his face, it was revealed to be... Terios the Prototype, returned from death]

Terios: [slowly waking up] W-Wha... Where am I?

[the scene then cuts to black, before showing Eggman stranded in an empty desert land outside Equestria, he looked more zany than usual, and looking at his reflection in a puddle of water]

Dr. Eggman: My grasp on sanity remains... absolute. [turns his head] Isn't that right, Starline?

[We see a stone carving of what is supposed to be Doctor Starline. Eggman picks up the rock]

Dr. Eggman: Why don't you get a head start? [tosses the rock] Do some Rock-Connaissance! [laughs at the joke he made; then picks up his doctor's log and a small canister of water] Here's the "sitch": Uninhabited wasteland, [picks up a large backpack from his damaged Eggmobile and puts it on his back] no resources, no supplies, no apparent way back to civilization! A lesser man would die here. [turns to the audience] I'll be home by Christmas. [starts cackling loudly as he starts making his way back to Equestria as the movie finally ends]