Author

Readers, I'm going to have my hands full for what's ahead. I have almost tied myself into a knot trying to fit everything together, but during planning, I managed to get everything organized. It may not be as good as I was aiming for, but hopefully I've done you well.

Let me give my shout outs. Thank you again Maria for your support.

Epic Rainbow 22, I haven't forgotten about Tails and Twilight. I didn't have a chance to fit them last chapter.

DuskHeart13, again, thank you for your suggestion for the next bonus. It'll give me some inspiration.

For the rest of you, I regret nothing about the bonus. I mean common, it wasn't that bad. I warned you readers at the beginning that this was rated T, so it wasn't like I was going to chop his legs off or anything like that. Just a simple amusing scene was all I aimed for. Read back; I was very careful of not putting anything violent in (except maybe with the recorder…Charmy bee's lines are really that terrible! If you played any of the Sonic games, then you know exactly what I'm talking about! *shivers*).

I love Pinkie Pie, my favorite character in the My Little Pony show. As much as it pains me to have read the fan fiction and seen the video, I was willing to push my conscious aside for the sake of entertainment. I agree, something like that shouldn't exist, but as a wise man once said; if life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. And I made lemonade…Don't look to me as a bad man. :'(

When I make these bonuses…Expect the unexpected! These bonuses give me a chance to have fun with the two genres without following the story. The only rule I have to go by is the rating. Don't be scared to make suggestions either, because I'll by typing another real soon.

Anyways, enjoy the chapter.

---

"So where are we setting out?" Knuckles asked Sonic, who was walking through town with the rest of the group.

"Tails detected an energy signature near the mountains." He answered him, "Rarity has been over there before gathering gems. It's nothing but flat landscape so spotting it should be pretty easy."

"Reminds me of another character I rather not remember." Knuckles grunted.

The mane 6 and the others have been heading to the outskirts of Ponyville, following Tails who was leading the crowd of creatures. Twilight, during the entire trip, was walking closely by him; secretly casting gazes and stares at the yellow fox while he was studying the machine. Sonic and Rainbow may be snickering at the sight, but she didn't care at this point. They know the consequences if they opened their mouths.

What to do to entice this handsome creature? Oh, goodness; yesterday was fun! Being almost carried to her bedroom by this clueless fox, burying her head into his warm-colorful fur!

One problem, though. How is she going to follow up, and in front of her friends? He might be busy tonight working on the newly crafted machine, so her move has to be now. She leaned closer to him so she can whisper without anyone overhearing.

"I have a question for you." She casually asked, "Have you ever read a book called the Pony Anatom-"

Suddenly something bumped into Tails, almost tripping him over. He quickly looked up and saw a yellow mare standing in his way, who the ponies know as Carrot Tops.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She quickly apologized, picking the basket back up, "I didn't see you."

"It's alright." Tails addressed, "I should have watched where I'm going."

"You know, we almost had an embarrassing mishap by you landing on top of me." She joked.

They chuckled for a second and the green mare trotted away from the opposite direction. Tails didn't notice, but Twilight completely disappeared in a flash of purple. Carrot Top was simply walking back to her house with the basket in her mouth until a purple flash poofed in front of her. The mare stepped back when a blushing and enraged Twilight began eyeballing her, taking uneasy steps towards her.

"You listen here," She lowly but dangerously warned, "I saw what you were trying to do, and I'm going to tell you something…HE IS MINE! NOT YOURS, MINE!"

The terrified mare began taking steps back.

"I've waited for too long for the perfect guy to come into my life," Twilight screamed, "and I swear to Celestia, if I ever see you near him again; I'LL RIP YOU INTO LITTLE BITTY INSIGNIFICANT SHREADS!"

Carrot Tops hit the floor running, leaving the basket behind. She sneered at her until the yellow mare swung her home door open, zipping inside while closing the door with a click. With a satisfied and stern nod, she teleported back to the front; where her fox was waiting.

The group may not have heard what she said back there, but they sure did hear it.

"As I was saying," Twilight continued whispering to him with a sly smile and heavy eyes, "There is a book on the pony anatomy I want you to read. I have a page marked that you might find interesting."

Tails quickly glanced at her with curious eyes, "What is it about?"

"Uh…" She blushed, thinking on her hooves, "Horns. Y-yea horns."

Sonic was walking right by Rainbow Dash, snickering and giggling at the two as they carried on.

"Is that little friend of yours ever going to figure it out?" Rainbow giggled glancing at Tails.

"If he ever does," Sonic playfully stated, "I'll be his best man at his forced wedding."

The two couldn't help but suppress a snicker, almost laughing out loud when they visualized Tails wearing a tuxedo with shackles fixed around his leg. Sonic slowed his breathing to catch his breath, and glanced at Rainbow Dash to see her grinning at his joke. Again, that same sensation rushed over him; he couldn't help but to smile with her, the alien like sensation of having what felt like butterflies fluttering inside of him. He felt his face heating up He was blushing again! What has gotten into him? He saw the colorful pegasus as a close friend, but this feeling…Why does it persist!?

With her attention diverted, he slowed his pacing, separating himself gradually as he fell behind the group. He felt something brush against his spiky back, and he turned around to see what it was.

"Watch where you're going, silly!" Pinkie politely pardoned, "You always go point A to point B, not point B to point A."

Sonic quickly took a step back with hands in front of him, "S-sorry, I didn't see you."

He was just about to walk off until Pinkie narrowed her eyes at him yet again. It didn't take him long to figure out why she was suspicious, his face was still heating red.

Sonic quickly scanned his surroundings, searching for an escape route. The first thing he saw was Fluttershy. Pinkie was still studying him until he shot away from her in a flash of blue, standing right by the yellowish mare.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" Sonic nervously greeted putting a hand on her back.

He heard a small squeak and felt the muscles on her back strain; his hand quickly retreaded.

"Sorry." He quickly apologized, quickly glancing ahead to see if Pinkie was watching him. He sighed in relief when he saw the happy pony bouncing along as usual.

"Um…" Her head was somewhat hidden behind her long mane, "What brings you here?"

"Just thought I might chat," He quickly answered, "How's Amy doing caretaking with the animals?"

He may be trying to hide his nervousness from Pinkie and Rainbow, but Fluttershy could clearly hear distress in his voice. It wasn't natural for him just to simply carry a random conversation with someone, that would be something Pinkie would do.

"F...Fine." She quietly answered, but studying him at the same time, "She's been a big help with the animals."

"Well that's great." He commented, turning to his side to see Amy walking alongside him.

It was only a short conversation for the shy mare, but it was the only thing she needed to draw what was wrong with him. To have care taken animals for so long, it became second nature to pick up various body languages and signals.

Red face, façade, nervous behavior. Fluttershy listed in her head, that could only mean…Her face lit red when she drew the conclusion in her mind. Sonic is infatuated.

She thought of Amy boasting about him while caring for the baby kittens, claiming that he's her boyfriend, or she's waiting for him to ask her hand in marriage. She also heard from Knuckles about Amy's 'outbursts' when she doesn't see Sonic for so long.

That's not good. She thought, worried as she looked upon Sonic nervously talking to Amy as if they were close friends.

This is not like him…Not one bit.

*beep, beep…beep, beep*

Sonic heard the head set in his ear ring suddenly, and immediately everyone heard there's ringing as well. As soon as the blue hedgehog clicked the button, everyone gasped to hear the caller's voice.

"Sonic. Can you read me?" Shadow called on the other line.

Sonic took one glance around and saw everyone's mouths on the floor in a complete state of shock. He gave one quick wave to everyone, signaling them to stay quite.

"I hear you loud and clear." Sonic answered, "What happened? I couldn't contact you when we first landed."

"I was out of range." Shadow answered.

There were a thousand things running through Sonic's mind, so many questions he wanted to ask. Rainbow began huffing, but Fluttershy was quick to calm her down. If they were to be any questions answered, they have to remain quite.

"Wh-where have you been?" Sonic asked, picking his questions carefully.

"That's not important." Shadow answered in his dark voice, "Do you have a Chaos Emerald with you?"

Sonic lifted his emerald into his own view, "Yea, but-"

"Good, we'll need them…I have seen nothing but pain and suffering since I've arrived."

The six mares have been giving glances at each other.

"What are you talking abou-"

"Have you not seen the towns?" Shadow raised his voice, "Did you not see the ponies starving to death on the streets? Did you not see the buildings on fire!?"

Sonic stood quite after hearing him, trying to make sense of his comment, "I don't know what you're talking about, Shadow. Everything was perfectly O.K. when I came out of Ponyville."

"I don't know what world you've been on, Sonic." Shadow almost shouted, "But I've been busy trying to free innocent lives from imprisonment of their own kingdom. How could you be that inconsiderate!?"

"I don't know what has gotten into you," Sonic said, "But I haven't seen anything on fire."

"You're more ignorant than I realized." Shadow grunted, "I've managed to steal the Element of Magic from the princesses' palace; it'll keep them from shielding their city as you and your team break into the Castle and deal with the guards while I put those two unicorns in their places. They will regret of ever testing my power."

Rainbow Dash was on the verge of screaming.

"Shadow…" Sonic sighed, "I don't know what happened to you, but you need to come to your senses."

"There is nothing to make sense out of," Shadow spitted, "I don't care what you do, but I need that emerald you have. It's the only thing I need to free Equestia. Luna may have over powered me last night, but I will make I'm the last thing she sees…Death will be their only redemption."

Rainbow lost it, "You listen here, mister! No one is going to lay a single appendage on Celestia or Luna as long as I'm around!"

A deafening silence smothered the group. Everyone on the area glared at the cyan pegasus who was panting with anger.

"Who was that?" Shadow asked Sonic in a threatening tone.

Sonic saw Tails and Rarity putting a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"…Shadow." Sonic tried again to reason, "The two princesses are doing what's best for the Kingdom. They even sent out a group of guards to scout out the land for the missing emeralds. Eggman is here, and we need to find them before he does."

"How could you say that when I saw countless of ponies starving to death on the streets!?"

"Because I've met them!" Sonic shouted back, "Me and the rest of my friends have met them. They're hunting for you; you took away something that would have kept Canterlot protected and possibly put Eggman in his place."

"Eggman is none of my concern at this point." Shadow said, "And from what I heard, you don't need to be anywhere near the crown…You're a traitor for joining the forces that oppresses the innocent! I'm going to find you, and when I do, I'll finish the job myself!"

Click

The mane six was simply baffled from what they heard. Rainbow stomped her hoof on the ground, "Who does he think he is!?"

"He sound diluted." Knuckles grunted, "We may not see death and destruction around here, but somehow he's seeing it."

Tails began pushing a couple of buttons on the machine, calibrating it, "We'll answer those questions later. We're approaching our designated area."

The group continued on in silence.

---

It was a quite walk to the open field, mostly because what has happened earlier, and also the deafening silence sweeping over the land. Dust gently kicked from the ground as a gentle wind blew over the landscape; it was way too quite. Tail's machine started beeping, the numbers on the screen increasing its value.

"It's somewhere around here!" Tails announced to the group, breaking the silence, "Keep your heads up!"

Rarity had some blissful memories while trotting along with the others…Those poor Diamond Dogs; who can withstand the scorn of a mare?

Spike was walking alongside the graceful pony the entire walk. If only she would pay him a little more atten-

Wait. Idea!

He casually walked right in front of her, strolling along as if he's minding his own business. Rarity cast an unusual glance at him until he slowly tripped over. She used her magic to catch him before he hit the floor.

"My dear Spike," She addressed while levitating him upward to her head, "Are you alright? I could have tripped over you."

"Uh…" He cheekily smiled, "Weak ankles?"

He wasn't for sure what kind of expression Rarity was giving him. She had a frown, but her sparkling blue eyes were showing a bit of complexion.

"…I'll let you slide." She calmly spoke.

Spike stayed afloat for a bit, and then was levitated onto Rarity's back. Rarity heard a squeak of excitement when the little dragon wrapped his arms around her neck; a little smile crest across her lips…Just a little smile, not even noticeable from a distance.

Suddenly, Tail's machine began beeping more frequently, the numbers on it spiking.

"Ah think I see somethin'!" Applejack shouted pointing with a hoof.

Everyone cast their gaze towards her direction and saw something sparkling in the distance. When Tails pointed his machine at it, the percentage on the screen spiked to ninety-five percent.

"That's it!" Sonic shouted, "That's our second emerald!"

Suddenly, they heard a low rumbling sound underneath them. The ground violently shook afterwards. Everyone stumbled in place, Pinkie by some shot of a miracle lost her footing.

"What was that?" Amy asked out loud.

"…Oh, dear." Rarity groaned, "If I remember correctly, this is where I was taken by the Diamond Dogs."

"In fact, I think this is the exact spot you was kidnapped." Twilight commented, "I definably remember the land scape."

"Should we be concerned?" Sonic asked, readying his emerald.

"Uh…Not really." Rainbow answered, "An half an hour with Rarity and they were DONE."

"He, you don't say!" Sonic chuckled.

Rarity gave him such a look; even Spike gave the hedgehog a cold glair with his slit eyes.

"What?" Sonic asked, "It makes perfect sense."

"I don't think we should be worried," Twilight cut in before things escalated, "If we can handle a half of dozen of killer mechanical timberwolves, then we can definably handle a handful of dogs."

All of a sudden, a loud noise rumbled through the field; dust exploded in front of them and smothered the group. The emerald was sent skyward and almost landed out of sight. The group gasped when they saw what stood before them. It was a machine, and a huge one at that. It stood four stories above them; it's giant two front paws planted firmly on the ground. The arms attached to it almost doubled in size compared to its slender body; touching the ground and it legs shorter and out of proportion. It slowly lift one of its paws into the air, and the paw itself began widely shifting in shape; sharp objects poking in and out of the undefinable mast. A second later, the pieces formed itself into a giant drill. The drill started spinning, the sound of metal rubbing against on another hummed from it. In one swoop it struck the ground, and the next second it was buried beneath the earth.

"Why can't anything be easy?" Knuckles grunted, turning his head to his friends, "Everyone, get ready!"

Before everyone had time to take position, another burst of dust kicked off the ground, just several feet away from the group. Another machine appeared, took the model of the first one, much smaller but still towered over the group. It threw its body forward and planted its giant pawn on the ground, revealing a double barrel cannon attached on its back. With a sickening boom, it fired its weapon; two white balls of energy heading right towards them. Twilight immediately cast a purple screen in front of the pack; and the spheres exploded on impact. An inferno expanded outward; the screen itself crackling but withstanding the heat from the sudden impact. As soon as it became clear, Sonic immediately charge head on to the machine, the emerald shining its red color as he curled himself into a ball. In one zip he bulleted through its belly, sparks flying from the other side as it tumbled backwards. Sonic ran back to his friends as the machine exploded. He quickly glanced back to see what was inside the machine; it was an unconscious diamond dog.

"Cast a shield!" Sonic yelled to Twilight, "We'll have more of a chance fighting those things if we watch each other's back!"

The group huddled together as the lavender unicorn summoned a shield around them; thick in color but still transparent. She watched on as the diamond dog slowly opened his eyes, and took off running as soon as he regained his footing. It became quite, still; in complete tranquility. Everyone had their eyes open for even the slightest movement. Seconds became minutes as the lavender unicorn kept her powerful shield up.

"I can see the emerald from here." Amy announced pointing a finger, just barely visible from where they were at.

Sonic crouched down, ready to sprint forward if Twilight lowers her shield.

"We don't know what to expect." Knuckles argued, "Those things know we're here, and I wouldn't doubt they're waiting for-"

The ground trembled beneath them; then suddenly the group was thrown outwards by a burst of dust underneath them. Her shield disappeared as soon as she took off the ground. The four story machine reared on its short back legs as the party landed several meters from each other, hitting the ground with a boom. Sonic instantly charged at it, but his target dug back to the ground before he could home in.

---

Knuckles had his fists positioned in front of him as he awaited for his target to pop out of the ground. After an antagonizing moment, four of those machines bulldozed their way from the earth; surrounding the red echidna from all four corners. With drills ready, one took a wild swing at him, but was easily dodged by a jump backwards. Knuckles saw an opening and charged with a fist reared back. The machine didn't have time to retaliate and took a full fledge punch to the stomach. It flew several feet back, tumbling to its back as it landed. He took another charge to the same mechanical diamond dog, this time jumping up and gliding his way to it. Now right above it, he dived bombed down with two fists in front of him and slammed into the machine's body. He flipped backwards and landed on his two feet, shaking his fists and snickering at his successful attack. The machine stood back up, and Knuckles nearly dropped his jaw of what he saw…His punch only made a dent. Suddenly he felt a powerful blow to his side, literary launching him several meters from where he was at and skidded on the dirt when he landed. Coughing, he lifted his head and saw the same four machines running right towards him. One of them slammed its paws on the ground and reared forward, revealing a double barrel cannon. Knuckles recovered and jumped out of the way just in time to dodge the blast. He resumed his fighting stance as the four machines resumed their charge.

---

Tails and Fluttershy dodged left and right as a Robotic diamond dog swung its arms. Amy has been hitting it time and again when she sees an opening, trying to at least damage it; but that Armor has to be thick to withstand the force of her piko piko hammer, it's not even leaving a dent.

"This is not working!" Tails shouted, dodging another swing from the machine.

"You think!?" Amy shouted back, her hammer hitting the machine with little effect.

Suddenly the machine caught a lucky break as its paw made contact with Tails, sending him flying and slamming into a nearby rock. He thumped to the ground, knocked unconscious from the impact. Enraged, Amy took one more desperate swing at it; hopping into the air and slammed her hammer right to the side of its head. It didn't even flinch, and it swung its paw at her; hitting her and sent her skidding on the dirt for several feet before finally coming to a slow halt. She tried to stand back up, but the impact must have broken something, because she couldn't stand on her legs. Amy watched on in horror as it began rearing itself over Fluttershy, morphing its paw into a drill. The timid pegasus trembled, shaking in place as the machine readied itself to annihilate its target. Stray tears fell from her face as her life flashed.

If we don't put ourselves aside, Rarity's voice echoed in her head…No one will.

Her eyes instantly narrowed into fury, sidestepping just in time to dodge the drill. She flapped her wings and took to the skies as the machine yanked its drill from the dirt. Fluttershy made sure to stay within the machines view as it charged, diving to the side as the drill slammed against a boulder, shattering it into pieces. She saw four other of those machines charging at knuckles from the distance. With the machine taking another aim, she flew as far away from it as she could. It slammed its front paws forward and aimed its cannons on her. She checked back to make sure the other four robots were in place, and to her relief they were exactly where she wanted them. The machine fired, and Fluttershy dived out of the way. She flipped back, and watched as the twin energy spheres made their marks. A violent explosion erupted, smothering the four machines. Knuckles covered his eyes to shield it from dust, and when it settled, saw nothing but four unconscious diamond dogs. He looked to his side and saw one of those machines approaching Fluttershy from behind, he charged as fast as he could with a fist reared back and slammed it into the machine, sending it flying several feet. He jumped and glide in midair, and instead of dive bombing into it, he simply landed on top of it. With it still recovering, he began a series of quick and powerful punches to its neck. The dent on it became deeper and deeper by each strike; when the machine began charging its drill, he quickly jumped out of way as it skewered its own neck. He watched on as it beany red eyes slowly faded. Fluttershy was staring over the carnage she created, a small smile on her face.

"Good one!" Knuckles commented as he approached her, "You literary saved my skin."

When he gently put his fist on her back, she squeaked and jumped a couple of feet into the air.

---

Twilight scanned her surroundings for any kind of ambushes; she saw Rainbow summoning her graceful white wing as she took to the skies with a powerful flap of her wings. Dust exploded onto her face suddenly as a two story machine reared itself up and pounded its paw beside the unicorn, chronic mechanical noises screeches from the machine as its other paw began shifting in shape. Twilight gasped in horror and quickly charged her horn with whatever magic she had as the paw morphed into a drill. She fired an electrical ball just in time before the drill made contact. It tumbled backwards, small arcs of lightning engulfing the machine as it struggled to stand up. Suddenly, a whistle echoed above her; before she could blink, a bright white slash slicing through the machine with a high pitched ting. The machine froze for a couple of seconds; then the lower half of its body slowly slid off like butter. The two separated bodies exploded with a loud boom, the drill beside it still running on full power; kicking dust off the ground. Twilight looked beyond the explosion and saw Rainbow crouched over with her angel like wing bent over her face.

---

Rarity teleported when the machine burst from the ground, dust kicking from all direction as its feet planted itself on the dirt. She literary stumbled back when she saw it. It stood four stories tall, taller and more buff than its counter parts. The machine morphed its paw into a drill; Rarity teleported again to avoid being skewered into pieces. With one arm still free, it lunged out for her; she jumped backwards just in time to dodge the swing. With its drill out of the ground, it lunged at her again. She took another jump back and galloped for cover behind a giant boulder, readying her horn as the machine took a couple of ground shaking steps towards her. With a light blue aurora engulfing the boulder in front of her, she strained to lift if off the ground, summoning all the magic she could, and pushed the boulder to it. The giant rock slammed against its head, knocking it off balance and sent it tumbling backwards. Spike widen his eyes in awe while he was watching the fight from a safe distance…The way her mane swished around her, it was making him drool.

Suddenly, the machine slammed its paws on the ground and leapt back to its feet, throwing a wild swing as it regained its ground. Rarity was caught off guard and was sent skidding against the ground, she rolled over a couple of times before coming to a halt. With her vision blurred, she watched on as the machine began taking slow steps towards her with its paw morphing into a drill. It was just about to lunge until a sudden white slash appeared on its attacking arm. The drill was cut off instantly, saving Rarity from a certain death. Rainbow Dash flew right in front of her with her giant white wing shielding the white mare.

"You alright?" The cyan pegasus asked while staring down the giant, waiting for it to make a move.

"I-I'm quite alright, dear." Rarity huffed while standing on her four legs, "Where on earth did you get that wing?"

Rainbow ignored her question as she saw the mechanical giant rearing itself for another attack; Slowly lifting its other paw to strike down at its targets. Rainbow swung her wing forward and was just about attack it again, but halt herself when she noticed something off.

The machine wasn't moving at all.

Its paw was still lifted high in the air; tiny red eyes staring at the two ponies. Rainbow slowly crouched her way towards it, cautious of any kind of sudden assaults. Suddenly, its head began twitching to one side; spark spitting out from the side of its neck. A loud, howling moan erupted from the machine as it tumbled backwards. The moaning became screeching when its body parts began jerking violently from left to right, thumping the ground and kicking small trails of dust in its wake. Sonic and Tails walked by the cyan pegasus as they watched on the terrifying sight, followed by the rest of the group. The machine's one arm morphing into a wild clunk of metal; It screeched even louder when its legs suddenly detached itself from its body. Everyone was too scared of going anywhere near it.

The seizure continued for several long minutes, its final limb suddenly spewing out of its sockets. The head of the mechanical monster was wildly thumping its head on the dirt, consecutively at first then slowly beginning to die down. The screeching stopped, and the group listened to the last thumps it made with its head. They heard another noise coming from the machine, a high pitched, but quite scream coming from its front. Twilight and Rarity teleported as the rest of the group rushed to their side. They closely watched its head as they listened to the muffled scream inside of it. Suddenly, a small purple claw stuck out, then quickly retreated and four more claws stuck out of the machine's head. The group gasped in shock.

"Spike?" Twilight called.

She was answered by the sound of screeching metal, a gaping hole appearing from the top of the machine's head. A certain baby dragon appeared in the dark hole, clawing the metal edges as he stood to his feet. The group backed a bit when they saw him; his eyes were slit, narrow and blazing with rage. He completely ignored the crowding front of him and turned around, facing the giant the he just slew. He heaved, his claws shaking. His breathing became louder and louder by each pout, then became a war cry as he began viciously clawing at the machine's head.

"NO ONE HURTS RARITY!" He screamed, tearing away the metal surface, "NO ONE!"

He kept clawing at the machine, sheering the metal in front of him in blinded fury until he felt a mussel beside him. It a gentle mussel, the fur gently brushing against his stomach. His slashing slowly halted, so did his screaming but still heaving. He looked to his side and saw Twilight by him, her eyes gentle and compassionate, washing over the little dragon as his body relaxed. The purple mare spoke, clearly but low enough so only he can hear her.

"You know Rarity may not feel the same way about you."

He didn't say anything. His head was tilted down and expressing such anguish that Twilight couldn't help but pity. The dragon didn't a word; he just simply walked over by the lavender unicorn's side and mounted. He looked over the horizon, seeing scraps of metal laying all across the open field. The Chaos Emerald was just in his view, only visible by the sun's glare. The group slowly walked, sure that the attack was over. Spike kept his head down, shielding his face from anyone who might cast a look to his direction...Until Somepony touched his shoulder.

"You're a compassionate dragon, Spike." Rarity spoke to him, "You hold a special place in my heart…Remember that."

Her smile always made his day, but he heard her tone. It was dry, no meaning behind it. He knew she would say that out of generosity, but he knew her heart. She will never open up to him. No matter how many times he assisted her. Tried as he might; he can only dream.

Sonic zipped to the emerald and zipped back with it in his hand. The two emeralds began to sparkle, pumping the hedgehog with energy; begging to be unleashed.

"Finally found the stupid thing." Knuckles grumbled.

"heh, but it's always worth it!" Sonic chuckled, "It'll give us the edge to take on any robot that might get in our way."

Rainbow butted in, puffing out her chest while summoning her magical wing, "You said it! Did anybody see me? I took that thing down in one swipe! I always thought I was awesome, but I never imagined myself being that awesome!..."

Twilight and Rarity readied their teleportation spell before they had to endure anymore of Dash's rant. Sonic drew power from his two emeralds; an all too satisfying enhancement bubbled inside of him. He boomed towards Ponyville, leaving a shock wave in his wake. He took one second to look back and saw Rainbow Dash still boasting of her new found abilities

He couldn't help but smile.

---

Some days have been tolerable enough to sit in the court room with his two bosses; some days he'd rather drown himself at a rainbow pool to escape from them. Some days he would love to live again; some days he would rather forget.

But this day…Why this day at all?

"Sister…For the last time…My backside has no business being mentioned here in the Royal Court!"

"Oh, common," Princess Celestia lowly chuckled like a mother to an adolescent, "You're the one who brought it up."

Poor Luna; her face was blushing red for the entire conversation; "The only thing I said was one of my dresses didn't fit. YOU'RE the one who said my uh…hiny was too big."

"The maids saw your dress." Celestia combated with a smile, "They said it themselves…You got a big butt!"

Shining Armor had no choice but to sit by Celestia's side and endure this conflict of power. If he didn't care about the safety of Equestia, he would have retired in a heartbeat; he has every right to do it!

"It's not big," Luna cowered on her seat, "It's just…Poofy, that's all it is!"

"Denial." Celestia playfully huffed before resuming her paper work; Writing to foreign nations this time, much of Luna's relief.

The good captain stared nervously ahead, trying to look as if he was too focused guarding the throne. There were well over fifty guards posted around the Royal Court as well as a handful of elites, but they all just stared ahead…Shining Armor taught them well.

"Well," Luna stuttered, "Look at you! What size do you wear, A three X?"

Celestia slightly lift from her seat, casting a bemused looked at her own flank before scooting herself back down, "Four X." She answered with pride.

Luckily for him, things seemed to settle down. Celestia resumed to her paper work…Actual paper work to much of Luna's relief.

Just hang in there, Shining Armor. The captain thought to himself, Your two hour break is just around the corner. Soon, you'll be snuggling up to Princess Cadence on a large, soft couch with a cup of hot coco, He smiled at the very thought, She even said something about a surprise tonight...

His smile only grew bigger; almost grinning.

"Captain." Celestia softly called to him, "May I ask you something?"

That lustful smile on him disappeared almost instantly when he turned to her. There was a warm smile on Celestia's face; but after all of these years protecting her, he knew to never trust it, "A-anything; dear princess."

"…What was that little dance my niece taught my student, Twilight?"

As if things couldn't get any more awkward, "Uh…I-I don't remember it, your majesty," He politely answered while forcing a smile, "It's been such a long time."

Celestia frowned, but resumed her position with a hoof on her chin; casting her gaze upwards as he searches her memories.

"Now, what was that hoof shake Princess Cadence use to do with my dear student?" She mumbled with a small smile, "I always thought it was cute."

Shining Armor began praying to whatever god or being above that created this world.

Please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember, please don't remember,

"Oh, I remember!"

...

"Shining Armor," Celestia called with a stern voice, "Stand to attention."

With a deep breath, he slowly trotted in front of her throne with plenty of space between them. Celestia stood from her seat, trotting towards him until she was five or six feet away from him.

"I know your dear wife taught you this ritual at least once during your marriage."

"Uh, never paid attention; your majesty." He quickly answered, "It's just a silly little game Cadence and My little sister likes to play."

"And it should be none of your concern!" Luna called down to her.

Shining Armor took a split second to scan his surroundings. The Royal Guards decided to take this one time to break their code and glare at him, snickering and whispering to their brothers; even the elites were getting a kick out of this display.

"I always wanted to do this with my nephew," Celestia's smile has never been more firmer, "I think you clearly remember how it goes."

"I'm sorry, your majesty," Shining Armor again stated with a serious look, "I cannot recall."

There was one look Armor and the rest of his guards feared from their beloved ruler; a warm smile and a cocked eye brow.

With a long sigh escaping from his lips, admitting defeat; he sat down on his haunches and slowly lift his two front hooves; with a head down in complete shame.

Celestia caught him off guard with a little cheer only a little filly would give, and began the ritual with much rejoice…Her dear nephew wasn't as enthusiastic.

"Sun shine, sun shine, ladybugs awake!

Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"

Of course, they had to turn around and shake their bottoms at each other. Some of the Royal Guards just lost it and began laughing out loud at him. He cast a cold glare at his men, but it meant nothing with a big blush on his face. With a huff and a pout, he returned to his post; Princess Celestia trotted back to her throne with a satisfied smile on her face.

"Sorry, Dear Nephew. It would just kill me if I didn't get that off my chest." She chuckled.

"N-no worries, your majesty," He answered.

He glanced around and still found his stallions chuckling at him…He would never hear the end of it.

CRASH!

Suddenly, the ceiling in the center of the court collapsed; debris fell to the floor as sunlight poured in from above, dust kicking all around it. When it became clear, they found a large metal container slap dab in the middle of the floor. Another mechanical device came through the roof, this time slowly hovering its way to the two Princesses. Shining Armor readied his magic, every guard in the room drawing their spears. The elites scattered across the room slowly stepped up to the floating device, getting in position to leap. Princess Celestia and Luna saw something on top of the floating machine, a creature wearing some kind of glasses.

"Forgive me for making such a rude intrusion." He spoke, "But I simply must introduce myself."

Author's notes.

---

Tiresome, this chapter was, but I hope this little number did everybody well.

Anyways, I've seen the new episode of MLP…Not even Discord could resist Fluttershy's friendship, but again who wouldn't? New episode posting tomorrow, and I will be there!

And I hate to break this to everyone…I will not be announcing the deadline from here on out. I am cutting these chapters close! And I have to rush through so I could meet the deadline. I hope no one is upset; I will try to get a chapter posted in one or two weeks.

May God bless you all!

Harry