Author's notes.

Welcome back.

I tell ya, I've lost steam on this fiction lately; the spark I once had just isn't there anymore…I'm still going to keep writing, though, and I'll make sure this meets expectations!

Shout outs.

Guacter: (sees a headless body hunched over a desk) Uh… I think I need to issue a warning before posting another fight scene.

Dark Shadic: Hey! If the individual wants the world to refer to him as iliekbuttsex, I'll gladly call him that. I don't know why he wants the internet to know he's has a fetish, but that his business.

Sondashfan: Not a bad idea, but for this fan fiction; it won't work with the mane 6. There's an explanation for that but I won't spoil anything.

SniperRed: No! You DON'T want SEGA creating another Shadow game! Remember Shadow the Hedgehog for the PS2 and GameCube? Developers thought it will be a good idea to let you choose between good and evil, and looked how well that turned out. You have to play a stage several times to get all the endings, and they all suck!

Leave it to the fans to handle the Sonic Characters…Never trust a corporation!

.73550: Let me answer your four statements

1. (wince) that was a typo, it was her husband that died.

2. Didn't know that the rings around his ankles weren't inhibitor rings…They LOOKED like the inhibitor wings around his wrist and I thought, "Hm, those things must be inhibitors too."

3. Chaos Slash and Chaos Lightening, I made those two up...Common, it's fan fiction, baby! XD

4. In order to answer that question, let me explain the chronology of this fan fiction…In Sonic's world, it's been several years after Sonic Generations. As one can state, a lot can happen in that time period. During one of those missions, Shadow had to blow up a planet to save their home world…The details are not important, the main point of that line is to describe the true power of those emeralds.

Hope that answered your questions…If you have any more concerns, let me know.

And I had a guess ask about when Sonic and Rainbow will date…I think it'll be a while before I can get the two to socialize. The plot is thickening and the climax of this story is coming to a head. Everything is planned out for it to happen, but not right now. I won't say much to spoil anything.

Enjoy the chapter.

---

"No…" Robotnic growled with a hand clutched together, "No! No! No! NO! NO!"

The HUB screen revealed the entire battle that took place between Shadow and the princesses, and the moment when the hedgehog took the six Chaos Emeralds he worked so hard to find. He banged his fists on the keyboard, huffing and blowing with each breath he took.

"It'll be impossible to kill Sonic at this point!" He screamed, "When Shadow returns to Canterlot, they'll have six Chaos Emeralds in their possession! It'll be impossible for me to conquer anything with that much power, even with the last emerald!"

He paced the metallic floor, becoming more upset the more he pondered.

"Why didn't I take Shadow into calculation? Why didn't I try to track him first before engaging war on this miserable planet!"

There was nothing he could craft that could possibly come close to even remotely match Sonic's powers. He already used the best metals and weapons when attacking Fillydelphia, and MIGHT have a chance against three emeralds with that robotic Ursa Minor.

Why does the emeralds have to have dark chaotic energy?...Why?

There was only one machine in his base that can come toe to toe with six Emeralds, but that bird is still decades away from being complete. It's one of his most prized creation, and sadly an engineering feat that might not see the light of day if Sonic discovers his base. Finally calming down, he sat down and slumped on his chair; pinching his nostrils in an attempt to relive his headache.

Suddenly, the base began to rumble; the floor beneath him shaking violently. Red flickering lights flooded the room.

"Don't tell me they've discovered me already!"

He quickly ran to his computer and checked every room in his base for the source of that distress call...After looking, his eyebrow raised.

"Huh, nothing unusual from the outer walls."

*BOOM!*

He quickly shot his head around and saw smoke seeping out from the exit door. With a gun in hand, he darted out and followed the trail. When he saw where the smoke was coming from, he ran as fast as he could.

"Cyber X!"

When he barged through the double door with gun drawn, he became completely bewildered of what he saw

Nothing…Nothing but a huge ripped hole from the back hall.

When he cast his eyes beyond the open space, he saw a faint jet trail leading out of the base. Thinking quickly, he summoned his portable carrier and hopped on; following the trail as fast as he could.

---

Faster than any eye could track, faster than sound could ever dream to match, and faster than any known thing on the planet, Shadow flew among the clouds with a long yellow trail leading behind him. His six Chaos Emeralds supercharged him extensively, power that boarders infinity. His spikes were illuminating their bright colors, turning to a shade of yellow but not completely gold. Normally, he would be taking pleasure in this exhilarating experience. But he was too angry to even care.

Discord was going to pay for what he did to him. Not only has Discord tricked in into attacking the princesses, and fighting his twin and his friends, but also caused him to take so many lives during his rampage. All of those guards slain by his own hands, all in pure confusion. Suddenly, he began to feel another emotion than just anger, an emotion he has never felt before.

Guilt.

Those deaths could have been avoided, he could have easily took the third emerald from the guards and just simply be on his way; their deaths were unnecessary. Thinking back on the attack on the Canterlot Palace, he could have just simply bypassed the guards and take the princesses head on. He wanted to show Celestia and Luna he was a power to be reckoned with, he wanted them and all who followed to fear him. Now, when he realized all was in vain…They didn't have to die.

"They chose to die by the princesses," Discord's words echoed in his head, his memory playing back, "this is exactly what they deserved."

His words will never relive his guilt, never in Shadow's endless lifespan could his words ever comfort him. He was wrong, very wrong. The hedgehog has went against his very purpose of his creation, and became more troubled the more time he thought.

Shadow shook his head and flew onwards, pushing his memories and the little feelings he had to the back of his mind. He clicked the headset in his ear. Feelings won't accomplish revenge.

"Come in, Sonic." He called.

For several seconds, he heard nothing but static until he heard a crackling voice on the other line. The device could only be transmitted for so far away, but by the rate he was going, it only took him seconds to fly close enough to make out his voice.

"Shadow?" Sonic answered, somewhat distraught, "Thank goodness your-"

Shadow cut him off before the blue hedgehog could say another word, "Meet me at the palace gates, and make sure you're alone."

"But-"

"I don't have time to answer questions," Shadow interrupted again, "Just meet me over there, and you better make sure no one else is with you."

*Click*

It would have taken a regular pony weeks to arrive in Canterlot from the desert, but with Shadow and his emeralds, this trip will only take him minutes. He could already see the mountain the Capital was built on.

---

In a secluded waiting room in Canterlot's best hospital, Twilight, Tails, Luna, and all the others were sitting together; nervously watching the doctor's door. The mane six were hopeful that the stab wound on Celestia's stomach would heal, but the others were very skeptical. That last desperate stab Shadow had put on her looked gruesome, and it was embedded deep; so deep that the surgeons were too scared to take it out.

After several minutes of waiting, a stallion dressed in a white coat gently pushed the double doors open; his muzzle covered by a white mask. Everyone in the room instantly stood up, staring at him intensely.

"Speak doctor," Luna commanded him, "Will my sister be well?"

The stallion quickly bowled in respect and took off his mask, "We're not for sure yet, you're highness. That shard penetrated pretty deep within her; a lot of her organs were sliced from within. It was a good thing she was brought over here immediately; otherwise she wouldn't have made it."

Everyone in the living room took in this information like a pile of bricks hitting concrete. Twilight stepped up, dry tears clearly sparkling on her cheeks. Just the thought of her mentor dying was enough to make her cry, "H-how bad is it, doctor?"

The doctor took in a deep breath, pushing any kind of feelings aside and preparing himself to tell her the facts, "She's stabilized for now by magic and powerful potions, but if she's ever going to have a chance of life, we're going to try to sow her damaged organs tomorrow…It's not a guarantee she'll make it, but it's the last shot we have to save her."

Amy began to walk to the double doors, "May we see her?"

The doctor nodded his head, "Yes, but make sure everyone wears a mask before getting close to her."

The group proceeded to step through the doors. Sonic was about to follow them until his headset suddenly beeped. Rainbow glanced back and saw him retreating to the back of the room, mumbling something before clicking the headset off.

"You coming?" Rainbow asked.

Sonic began to make his way to the exit, "I'll be right behind you; I need to take care of something."

"Take care of what?" She bluntly asked.

He realized he REALLY didn't need to directly answer her, if he mentioned anything about Shadow, she'll follow him and most likely try to avenge the princess, "Just a quick errand I need to run."

Sonic was about to bolt out the door until Rainbow flew in front of him, "Now wait a minute! What could possibly be more important than Princess Celestia's injuries!?"

Sonic looked her in her sparkling magenta eyes. A feature that will always grip the hedgehog's heart, "Can you trust me, Rainbow?"

"Trust?" The pegasus retorted, "What does this have to do with trust?"

"This is something private I have to do alone," Sonic carefully explained, "Can you trust me to go without you knowing why?"

Rainbow stared at him for a couple of seconds, then sighed in defeat. It's a bother that her friends have to keep secretes; especially your boyfriend.

But if she can trust her friends with secretes, so can she trust him keeping a secret from her.

"…Just be sure to hurry back." She answered.

"Don't worry," Sonic ensured her, "I'll be right back."

The blue hedgehog sprinted to the street, running to the city gate as fast as he could.

---

Zipping through the city and taking to the roof tops, Sonic hopped from building to building to stay above the hundreds, if not thousands of ponies below. They were crowded around the hospital, the entrances and exits blocked by photographers and newspaper reporters. No doubt, the word of Celestia's deadly wound spread through the entire Kingdom. If he's correct, Shadow wouldn't be immediately at the gate; he'll be hiding somewhere in the area.

To no surprise, when he did arrive at the heavily guarded gate, he was nowhere to be seen.

After searching a bit, he did find Shadow leaning against a tree. He was glowing, the six Chaos Emeralds still empowering the hedgehog with astounding power. Sonic had to shield his eyes from the unnatural light pouring into his eyes. When they adjusted, he could see Shadow staring at the ground in remorse; his mind and spirit appearing heavy. This was a normal for him, but Sonic could tell something was a little off about him. Shadow shot his eyes up and stared at him for a couple of seconds before summoning his six emeralds. His black and red fir instantly dimmed, letting the blue hedgehog see him without difficulty.

"You came." Shadow mumbled out loud, "I was becoming worried you wouldn't show up...Took you so long to get here."

Yea, least he still has his dry sense of humor. So many questions ran through Sonic's mind, "Where have you been, Shadow? What have you been doing? Why would you-"

Shadow held a hand up to stop him mid-sentence, "In order to answer your questions, I'm going to tell you my side of the story when we arrived here." He propped himself back against a tree, also letting Sonic settle before continuing, "Have you ever heard of Discord?"

The Ultimate Life Form took this time to tell his side of the story, from the time they arrived to where they were at right not. He didn't leave anything out, not even the time when he annihilated the Changeling's colony. Sonic occasionally asked a question or two, like how he was tricked or some of the details about the fight just moments ago. With his questions answered and understanding achieved, Sonic stood back up.

"How could anything withstand the power of six Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked.

"Don't know," Shadow mumbled, "he must be more powerful than predicted, or there's something we're not seeing. He did say something about the elements before disappearing, but from what I know right now, I have no idea how he could have survived…That blast wiped out every little thing in my surroundings."

Sonic rubbed his shoulder a little, "If you wanted those emeralds, you could have just asked."

His twin shook his head and pouted, "I'd rather take matters to my own hands than letting you handle him. I wanted revenge, and I was going to get it then."

Sonic looked back to Canterlot, surely his friends are waiting for him, "You need to come with me, Shadow. I'm sure I can explain to the others what happened."

"No." He bluntly declined.

Sonic turned back to him, "Shadow, you really need to come with me-"

"I said no." He raised his voice, "Do you really think the guards will take it lightly when they see me walking the streets?"

The blue hedgehog was persistent, "You can Teleport around the guards…Princess Celestia is severely injured, you need to come and explain yourself."

Shadow shook his head and cast his gaze to another direction, "I said I'm not going."

"Why?" Sonic asked.

"I…" The last thing Shadow will do is explain the turmoil inside of him. He knew the guards he killed had families, and those families will be around the hospital where their co-ruler is resting. It wasn't the fact of being caught that worried him, in fact he couldn't care less of being seen.

Just seeing the tears of those ponies mourning over their loved ones was what he didn't want to see. He didn't want anybody to know that, though; showing emotion for him is a sign of weakness.

"…I have my reasons." Shadow simply answered, "You're just going to have to meet me out here when you're finished."

Suddenly, a sudden gush of wind rushed over them; the trees and bushes around them bending wildly to the side.

"I believe that's a little too sudden to be a gush of wind." Shadow hissed, taking the emeralds and skiing to the outskirts of the forest.

"Wait!" Sonic shouted, running after him.

Least Shadow didn't decide to use his emeralds to boost to the open where he would lose the blue hedgehog. When Sonic and Shadow arrived at the dirt road leading to the city gates, they looked up and saw something that resembled a giant bird hovering in the air. Even though it may be just a spec from how far it was, it slowly became bigger and bigger until a large shadow was casted over them. At that moment they realized what was coming.

Sonic clicked his headset while Shadow charged with his six emeralds rotating around him.

"Tails! Knuckles! Everyone! Get over here!"

---

Just moments earlier

Princess Luna and Twilight galloped as soon as the doctor let them inside the patient's room. The others were quick to follow, just as worried for Celestia's health. When they arrived, they didn't see much of the Princess of the Sun. Her entire body was covered by a white sheet, save her head and neck. She was half awake, struggling not to rest to see her subjects and sister. Luna was the first to stand beside her, nudging the side of her neck in a display of affection.

"Dear sister?" Luna softly called, "Are you well?"

Celestia tried to lift her head, but was too tired to even move, "I'm…Fine. Just a little…tired"

Twilight stood right over her, her giant violent eyes gleaming with tears, "Celestia! I was so worried! I thought I will never see you again!"

Celestia gave her pupil a small smile, trying to be of comfort, "Don't…Worry about me, my dear student."

The lavender unicorn leaned back a bit to give her some room, "But…T-the doctor said-"

"Have…Faith." Celestia wheezed , "I'll…make it."

Twilight's friends and the others began to crowd around her, the mares could feel a tip of hate boiling in them towards the black hedgehog…Especially Rainbow.

"Celestia, your majesty," Rarity spoke out, "When we find that crenate, we'll make sure to give him what for!"

"Yea!" Rainbow shouted, "Not only he decided to hurt you, but also take it upon himself to hurt Sonic and Knuckles before stealing the emeralds!"

"Ah don't know about ya'll," Applejack grunted, "But ahm gonna give him the bucking of a life time when we find him! We're back to square one!"

"That hedgehog could be anywhere with the emeralds!" Pinkie chimed in, "And to think he nearly destroyed half of Canterlot!"

"…Don't blame him."

Everyone mare except Luna stared at Celestia in complete disarray.

"He…Was confused," Celestia stated, wincing a bit in pain, "There was a…Powerful spell on him."

The mares just looked at each other. Luna has not yet spoken of whom has done such a thing, and the time to inform them couldn't have been better. She kept silent about him before to prevent a panic, but now they were in a confound room where no one could hear, she could properly tell them.

"...Discord performed that delusion spell." Princess Luna sighed.

Everyone gasped and turned to her.

"Discord!?" Twilight shouted, "Discord has been turned to stone!" Her ears flopped down, "Don't tell me-"

"I'm afraid so," Luna said, "I saw him when I followed Shadow. When he realized he was diluted, he took the emeralds and teleported to confront him…That explosion everyone witnessed was Shadow, well; to put this lightly, whipped him off the face of this planet."

"…So ya here to tell me your highness that he hurled an exploden' white thing at Sonic THEN punched knuckled to blow up Discord." Applejack hissed.

"That's Shadow for ya." Amy chimed in.

Tails walked in front of the mares to get their attention, "Now, listen every pony. I know you may be mad at him for hurting the princesses, attacking Sonic, damaging Ponyville, and…Many other things, but Shadow isn't a bad guy."

Rainbow sneered at him, "What kind of foany baloney is that, Tails!?"

"Listen, I know it sounds ridiculous," Knuckles butted in, "But he saved us countless of times when we were fighting Eggman."

"You're darn right it sounds ridiculous!" Rainbow shouted at him, "There's nothing I want more than to buck him for hurting my boy-"

She immediately cut herself off, knowing that Amy will over hear.

"Everypony!" Luna shouted, cutting the argument dead, "Shadow may have committed countless of unforgivable acts when he arrived, but he at least tried to amend what he has done. If it wasn't for him, Discord will still be alive…Or in one piece for that matter."

Everyone was quite, the mares taking her words into deep consideration. Rainbow however was still furious.

"Princess Celestia!" the colorful pegasus called, "Tell them! Tell them that hedgehog deserves to be punished!"

The princess was quite, not even bothering to look up.

"Rainbow!" Twilight scorned, "How dare you address our princess that way!"

"My…Little ponies." Celestia coughed.

Everyone hushed and turned to her.

"Don't…Become spiteful towards him." She whispered, "I…"

Luna trotted a little closer to her, "How could you say that? He has cause our Kingdom nothing but pain since his arrival. How could you have a forgiving heart so quickly? I know he was tricked, but he needlessly killed hundreds of our troops in rage."

"I…Hold nothing against him." Celestia finished, "It's…Not his fault."

"Again I speak," Luna addressed her, "How can you forgive him just like that? You may not even-"

"He…Reminded me of you…When you became Nightmare Moon."

Her words stopped Luna cold.

"What is the difference…" She continued, "Between…You and him…When he unleashed his power?"

The room became ill quite, but there was a large debate going on in everybody's mind.

"…But those poor soldiers," Twilight mumbled, "They had families, all mourning over their lost fathers and sons. There hasn't been a day like this in Equestia."

"I guess one can say this Kingdom had the first taste of a real war." Luna mumbled, "We've been at peace for so long; the closest thing we've ever been in a national fight was against chrysalis, and we didn't suffer any casualties during that incident. There hasn't been a day like this in Equestia…Ever."

*Beep! Beep!*

Suddenly, Tails' earpiece began to ring. With a click, he quickly answered and whispered. His eyes suddenly shot open.

"Everyone!" Tails shouted, taking off towards the door, "Sonic just called, he needs us at the gate entrance!"

Amy and Rainbow immediately shot after him, "What's going on?" Rainbow asked.

"I don't know; he was cut off before he had a chance to finish!" Tails shouted at them, "Common everyone, he needs us!"

He, the pegasus, and Amy followed after him with the rest behind them. Luna cast a glance back at her sister before galloping down the halls.

"Will you be alright by yourself?" She asked, "I could stay by your side if you wish."

"Go…With them, Luna," Princess Celestia said to her, "They…Need you."

With those parting words, Luna galloped after the party.

---

"Shadow!"

Sonic watched in unbelief and horror as the black hedgehog was knocked back by this giant mysterious machine. The swing hurled Shadow against the city gates, creating a loud boom along with thick blankets of dust. When the smoke cleared, Sonic only had a second to see him before Shadow flew after him.

*WHAM!*

Yet again, as soon as Shadow homed in, the colossal mechanic bird struck him with its giant talons. This machine bewildered Sonic to no end. Shadow was fighting this machine with six empowered Chaos Emeralds, and no matter what he did, the machine simply swats him away like a fly. He was sent skewering several trees before he finally crashed to the ground. These hits meant nothing to the Ultimate Life Form with his six emeralds steadily rejuvenating him. He stood back up, facing the machine again.

"This is impossible!" Shadow hissed, "How could any machine withstand the power of six Chaos Emeralds!?"

When Shadow flew to the heavens above, the machine flew after him; flapping its giant wings and jetting after him. Sonic looked on as they continue to escalate in height until Shadow was no longer visible…Even with the two just above the world's atmosphere, Sonic could still see the mechanical bird's silhouette from below. It was that huge.

Suddenly, as Sonic watched the barrage of rays and fiery explosions erupting high above him, he heard a series of clops behind him. When he glanced back, he saw Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Luna, and the rest of the six galloping and running for him.

"Where is he?" Tails feverously asked.

His question was immediately answered when a wide, violent yellow beam shot right above them; completely covering the mechanical beast. The sky was covered with yellow, arcs of green lightning wildly ricashaed through the thick clouds and open air. The ground shook violently, as if ready to be cracked open like an egg. The beam lasted for several seconds until it finally died down. To everyone's surprise, they could still see a silhouette of a giant bird hovering in the air.

"…No way." Amy mumbled.

"What the heck is that?" Knuckles asked with wide eyes, "It's huge!"

"I don't know," Sonic answered, staring at the sky worryingly, "I would say it's one of Eggman's machines but…I never seen anything like it."

The giant bird spread its gigantic wings; several small jets igniting beneath it to keep it afloat. Suddenly, with several loud booms, swarms of heat seeking missiles raged towards the invisible Shadow. The next thing Sonic and the others saw were several large fireballs exploding above them, sparks puffing outwards in brilliance. The fight may have been taking place just on the world's atmosphere, far beyond any naked eye could ever see, but they saw those explosions as clear as day.

Several seconds passed and the next thing they saw was a small black body free-falling towards them, along with six shining specks of light around it. Thinking quickly, Luna readied her horn and teleported the creature; carefully levitating him to the ground while letting the six emeralds hit the ground carelessly. Before the Twilight and the others got a good glance at the body, a sudden and powerful gush of wind almost blew them off their hooves and feet. When they looked up, they saw nothing but glistening metal. Whatever this machine is, it stood above any creature, any building, and any town. Its talons gently touched ground with the help of its gigantic wings and small jets beneath it. Its body completely blocked the sun, an ominous shadow being cast on the heroes. Further up, they could see the bird like creatures head looking down on them, its slit eyes completely hollow and life less. It open its mouth, and shocked every little thing when he used his voice.

"Surprised to see me; my would be enemies?" A deep voice kindly asked with a small chuckle.

Their mouths gapped in shock.

"Discord!?" Luna shouted, "H…How-"

"Shocked beyond anything you've experience, I take?" He laughed, his voice amplified but very much the same, "Care for me to explain how I got my fashionably awesome makeover?"

Rainbow's wing magically extended, glowing pure white as she growled, "The only thing you need to explain is how you ended up in pieces!"

"Rainbow!" Sonic shouted.

She paid no heed; Rainbow charged with lightning speed, her wing positioned and ready to cut him down by his chest. He didn't care to react to this threat, no; he just simply yawned as a flash of darkness covered him with a white slash. Of course, he was unaffected, but it didn't stop her from swooping around and striking him again. After this repeated several times, Discord carefully stretched his wings and talons so he wouldn't hurt her, and settled himself to explain his story…Just his movement was enough to make the trees sway.

"You see my little ponies and whatever the rest of you are," He began, with the pegasus still trying to cut away at him, "Technically, that grumpy hedgehog did slay me…When he unleashed those emeralds on me, I have been; well, to put this lightly, completely whipped out with nothing of me left. Do you know what it felt like having your appendages being slowly ripped out and disintegrated by a large explosion?" He shook his head a little, "It's not a very pleasant experience."

Luna began to charge her horn, not to attack him but defend everyone around her if he makes any sudden moves. Sonic and the others took their stances as well.

"To be truthful," Discord sighed, letting Rainbow take a good slice at his long neck with no effect, "This you see is actually plan B. I was hoping for Shadow to use his emeralds to kill the princesses so I can take back what they have took from me, but since the little hedgehog had more power than I could ever predict, I had to take other measures...This somehow indestructible body you see was actually one of Eggman's personal pet projects, and as soon as I snooped around his base, I happened to find this gigantic robot just sitting in a cold dark room. I had to improvise a little to complete the machine, sure; but it's suiting me just nicely!" He looked over at a badly injured Shadow, "You can't put out fire with fire. Can't you Shadow?"

Although Rainbow was at the brink of exhaustion, she kept slashing away at him. Every strike she made on him did absolutely nothing to hurt him.

"Now…I don't know if this is destiny or just sheer dumb luck," Discord chuckled, turning back to Luna and the others, "But it seems I'm holding all the cards. There's nothing you lot could do to hurt me, and I can do so much to hurt you…In fact," He summoned the crown with his magic and levitated it in the air, "I'm afraid you won't even have the elements to rid me!"

Before possessed machine could say anymore, Rainbow took this chance and zipped to the crown; grabbing it and landing beside Twilight in a twinkle of an eye. The machine reared back in surprised.

"What!?"

"Think again, Discord!" Rainbow yelled, "We've used the elements to defeat you once. We'll use them to defeat you again!"

He reared back and shook his head in fear, "Wha- how did you move that quickly, Dash!? That wasn't supposed to happen!"

With the other five elements already clicked around the ponies' neck, Twilight levitated the crown onto her head. Instantly, the six mares began to gradually float; the six symbols magically appearing from their necklaces and floating around them. Tails and the others looked in complete awe, even Shadow; who was bruised and barely able to lift his head, felt immense energy radiating from the six. He made sure no one saw him, but his eyes grew wide in astonishment…Even his six emeralds couldn't compare to this.

"Now, now," Discord pleaded, "Let's not be hasty here, my little ponies. Maybe-"

Before he had a chance to say another word, a mystical rainbow like ribbon began to surround Twilight, her eyes glowing brighter and brighter by each intense second. Suddenly, with a loud boom, the ribbon arced itself away from them and towards the mechanic mass.

"Noooo!"

Slowly, the rainbow trail began to circle around him, engulfing him in a bright colorful embrace then flashing pure white with a loud bang. Tails and the rest of his kind shielded their eyes, but colorful and faded spots of color floated in front of them. For several seconds, there was silence…No noise, no mechanical noise, not even a single clop as the six mares gently touched ground. When the colorful spots floating around Sonic's and the others eyes faded, they looked ahead to see if their foe was vanquished…What they saw sent shivers down their backs.

Discord, who was still possessing the mechanical bird, stood unhurt; not a single scratch on his metallic body. In fact, after the attack was over, he began laughing like a mischief child.

"W…What is the meaning of this?" Luna whimpered, now beginning to comprehend the seriousness of the situation, "Nothing can withstand the elements of harmony."

"Or so you thought," Discord chuckled, knocking on his thick armor, "Turns out the old man crafted this metal to withstand literary anything!"

"But there's nothing, NOTHING! That can withstand the elements!" Twilight shouted, "This is not possible!"

Discord was laughing hysterically, his voice echoing throughout the landscape.

"Ah, but remind yourself of whom you're addressing." He sighed, trying to catch his non existing breath, "Do you honestly think that I didn't have EVERYTHING planned before flying over here with my new body? I mean honestly, how stupid do you lot think I am?"

Discord, with his colossal mechanical bird now in his complete control, cast his hollow eyes towards Canterlot, "Now, if you're willing to bow and swear you're dying loyalty to me; I'll let this little innocent slip and we can all live happily ever after in my kingdom."

"Never!" Luna shouted, with the others taking sides by her. Shadow began to stand, some of his energy returning to him but limping. When he grabbed one of his emeralds, he was instantly back to full health. He quickly nabbed the other five emeralds and began to float, ready to charge at him again.

The mechanical bird simply shrugged his shoulders and began to flap his gigantic wings, almost knocking the trees around him from the amount of wind, "Oh well…I'll start by finally finishing that pitiful excuse of a princess. It's a shame really, I even gave you the chance to back down but noooooo, you just had to give this adventure some kind of plot."

---

"This is impossible!" Dr. Robotnic shouted as he followed the trail of white smoke, still high in the sky, "There's no way Cyber X could be completed, I haven't even built its outer armor yet!"

Pushing his small egg carrier to its limits, he sped through the thick clouds and vapor. Suddenly, he could make out a large silhouette hovering among the clouds, far but can easily identify it as his life long war machine. His carrier stopped, his eyes and mouth wide to see his sophisticated machine taking life as it slowly hovered away from him; flying towards the capital of Canterlot.

"…How?" Was all he could whisper.

Suddenly, and with total surprise, sparks began to spit out of the machine's neck. He saw its head jerking to one side. Slowly, it began to hover back down.

---

Sonic and all of his friends looked on in confusion as the machine began to hover back down. It wasn't just his neck that began to spit out sparks anymore, sparks began to fly out of his talons, a portion of its gigantic wings, and more noticeably at the side of its head. Suddenly, a loud screech roared from the machine…It wasn't Discord's voice by all means, it was way too high pitched to be Discord.

"What's going on?" Luna asked herself.

As it landed, the gigantic bird wobbled wildly jerked from left to right. Discord, still in possession of the machine, tried to regain control…Something was fighting against his will, as if trying to gain control.

"What is this force?" Discord asked himself, struggling to control the machine's body, "This was simply an empty shell before I possessed this thing. What's AHHHHHHH!"

A deep amplified scream roared from the colossal machine as it violently toppled over to its side, shaking the ground and almost toppling Sonic and his party over. The machine began to go to a full seizure, blood curling screams roaring from Discord. The pack began to take steps back, keeping a very respectable distance between them and the convulsing machine. Several minutes passed, and the disturbing episode pursued nonstop…Suddenly, just as mysteriously as it began; the machine suddenly freezes.

---

Discord found himself surrounded by a vast blue sea of numbers when he lost control of the machine. He didn't know what submitted him, or even what could possibly have that much will to boot him. The master of chaos flew as fast as he could, small rain of numbers and symbols rushing by him trying to find his way out. No matter how far he traveled, no matter how many times he tried to teleport, he was stuck in the same environment. He tried flying up, arks of thin blue arcs traveling between metal to metal whooshing pass him. Again, he found no end.

"What is this?" He asked himself.

When he looked down, he saw a vast sea of numbers; crashing and colliding with each other like waves of an ocean…Whatever fought against him not only booted him, but somehow trapped him in an endless vast of space. He felt so little being in this strange place; a grain of sand in a vast desert.

He pondered, trying to think of what happened to him…This machine was completely unoccupied when he controlled it. The only thing he did was use his magic to complete this complex machine, piecing every piece of the puzzle together to assemble it.

A theory suddenly came to him…When he was controlling the machine, he felt absolutely no resistance frying out of the base and to Canterlot's gates. While he was talking to his foes, he remembered something stirring inside of him, as if something was awakening from a slumber-no, as if something was being born. After a second, he finally realized what overthrew him.

"…The machine itself was what fought me." Discord concluded, "This thing wasn't awake when I controlled it, but after some time after completion...It began to truly come alive."

He then realized where exactly he was at. He was inside the machines mainframe, there was no other place this thing could have sent him. With these facts in mind, he began to endlessly travel through the vast sea of numbers, hoping desperately to find a way out.

---

Dr. Robotic halt his small egg carrier when he saw the machine suddenly shaking violently, wildly thrashing on the ground with thick layers of dust kicking around it. He was still among the white puffy clouds above, invisible to any naked eye, but he can see other figures staring at the machine. When the machine suddenly freezes with the dust kicking around it began to settle, he could make out small creatures standing at the foot of the machine, seven mares and five other creatures he has yet to identify. After a second, the creatures looked up and saw something metal hovering above them. At that same moment, the mechanical genius instantly recognized the party.

"Eggman!" Sonic shouted in anger.

He kept his distance, but he slowly began to approach them while still hovering. His figure was on a red panic button, ready to teleport out if anything were to happen…But Sonic and his friends were the last thing on his mind, the only concern he had was his twenty years' worth of work. He didn't know how Cyber X managed to create itself or have knowledge where Sonic was at in the first place, but he didn't care…His war machine was lying dead.

"My creation!" He shouted, "My beautiful creation!"

Sonic smirked a little when he saw the doctor's shocked face, "Should have spent a little more time to make sure it didn't deactivate itself!"

"But this is impossible!" Dr. Robotnic shouted, "This machine wasn't even finished when it took off on its own!"

The theory that Discord was in control was confirmed, but they kept that to themselves. Shadow, now completely recovered with the help of his six emeralds, began to slowly approach him.

"I should be more worried about myself than your precious machine if I were you." Shadow growled in his low voice.

And just to make matters worse for the doctor, he now has to face against the power of six emeralds with nothing but a pitiful flying machine armed with nothing but a weak laser…Least he has a teleportation button than can take him back to his base-

"GACK!"

…Until Shadow grabbed him by the throat and held him above his cushy seat. The doctor felt his wind pipe being constricted to the point of being crushed, no air flowing in or out of him. His face began to fade purple.

"Remember me?" Shadow hissed at him, the rest below staring up at him in shock, "Remember the experiments your father has set on your 'pet project' while I suffered in an experimental tube with wires running through every inch of my body?"

A chaos spear formed in his other hand.

"DO YOU REMEMBER!?"

Eggman kicked and flailed his appendages helplessly as his vision began to blur, his lungs beginning to constrict from the lack of oxygen, but the enraged hedgehog firmly held his grip. He held his spear right against his plopped stomach, the very tip of it barely touching him.

"Normally, I would quickly kill my oppressors with a slash of my dagger," Shadow's face slowly inched to the doctor's, "But you…I'm going to poke a hole in your stomach and watch as you slowly bleed out while you scream in agony." He tore a little hole in on his shirt, making him whimper, "I'm going to enjoy watching you suffer."

*BAM!*

Suddenly, Robotnic felt the fingers around his neck loosen as something slammed against the black hedgehog. The doctor didn't see what it was that slammed the menace to the ground, but whatever it was, it was huge. When Dr. Robotnic looked, he saw Cyber X's wings wildly flinging, as if it was trying to set itself up from its fall. Sonic and the others began to step back, putting a good distance between them and the raging machine. Slowly, it began to stand on its metal talons; slamming on the ground with quaking force at it began to gain its footing.

With Shadow laying on the ground with his emeralds knocked out of him, Sonic and the others looked on in awe as Cyber X, the real Cyber X, stand tall. It stretched out its wings, stretching its head upward and letting out a high-pitched screech that echoed from where they were to the ends of Equestia. Its eyes, once hollow, began to glow bloody red. Robotnic, just saving himself from being hurled off his seat, stood from his seat and beheld his creation standing over his long timed enemies, screeching to the top of its speakers. Dr. Robotnic began to chuckle, then his giggling became a full-fledged laugh.

"YEEEEEEESSSS!"

He didn't know how this has come to be, but he didn't care; his near indestructible machine was now standing right in front of him, bigger than life, bigger than anything he has ever assembled. No man has to operate it, no animal inside to control it, and no possible thing could restrict it. It existence was for one thing and for one thing only.

Kill Sonic and anyone who's with him.

The machine slowly turned its body, staring at its master with figures and numbers flashing before its screen, calculating his age, weight, height, strengths, weaknesses, species, even life expectancy. All of this information flashing before just from simply looking at him. Slowly and humbly, it bowed, showing its creator respect and dignity. With a wide smile, Dr. Robotnic turned his gaze to the blue hedgehog, along with the rest of his friends.

"…You know you're objective." He lowly spoke.

The machine turned back to the creatures below it, who were nothing more but color specks from its point of view. With a loud screech, it spread its four story wings and flapped, taking to the skies and locking on. Sonic and the rest of his company braced themselves, ready to face this machine with everything they had.

---

Author's notes.

I know this chapter was a little disappointing, but…Man! I've been losing it lately!

Regarding the last bonus, I phrased my statement wrong when I said this fan fiction landed the top spot. What I meant was that I was the most commented on Sonic/MLP fiction. Is this the best sonic/mlp crossover?...I don't know, that's subject to opinion. Sorry for the confusion, I didn't mean to brag or show off like a snot. I respect the other authors and know too well that there will always be a better fan fiction to read.

Deadline: Again, one or two weeks.

…(sigh)…I guess this is the point in every work that push its creator to its limits. I think I'm beginning to understand why so many writers simply put down their unfinished work and let it forever rot on the world wide web…Let me tell you, no matter how much of a struggle this becomes, I will continue to push until I see this through, and do it within every time date when possible. I realized there are too many of you tuning in every week to check on this work, and by God I will not disappoint you.

If I wish to become a writer, I will have to live up to everybody expectations, and if possible beyond what you expect.

Signing out...And I decided to try something. I'm thinking about putting a bible verse at the end of each chapter for encouragement for ya'll and for myself. If you don't believe in the Christian faith and find it offensive, then don't read the very bottom texts for the coming chapters. They will appear below my signature.

God bless.

Harry.

"But the path of the just is like the shining sun. That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble."

Proverbs 4: 38-39