"Oh, hey, Twi." said Rainbow nervously, "It's kind of a long story..." she chuckled lightly.

"Yeah. It was." Sonic agreed.

Twilight looked at the hedgehog, a confused look on her face as she observed him. "I've never seen anything like you before. What are you?" she asked.

"Me? I'm Sonic the Hedgehog." he introduced. 

"Sonic... The Hedgehog?" repeated Twilight, "I've never seen a hedgehog like you before. My name is Twilight Sparkle."

"There are plenty of things not like me apparently." Sonic admitted, "Except for my friends. And the ponies of my world as far as I'm aware. I'm kinda from another world." he explained. "Rainbow Dash and I just got caught in a little scuffle."

"Scuffle?" asked Twilight, "Against each other?" she said in a deadpan manner.

"Nope. Some nutcase called Dr. Eggman. He showed up here with an army of robots trying to destroy Sonic." Rainbow Dash elborated on the hedgehog's story. "Apparently the two of them are enemies back on his world!"

"An enemy followed you? Why?" wondered Twilight.

Sonic rubbed his head, "You see... My friends and I were on a mission to stop him from turning my world into a robotic dystopia. We got separated, but that was only because we used powerful artifacts called Chaos Emeralds to warp ourselves away to this world by accident." he explained briefly.

The hedgehog pulled out the Chaos Emerald in his possession, "There are seven of them. I have one and Egghead has one as well. I think they're scattered across the world. Maybe. I need help in finding them before he does."

"I think I've seen this before." whispered Twilight.

Sonic raised a brow, "Really? Where?"

Twilight gestured for the two to enter the castle. Sonic and Rainbow glanced at each other before walking in behind the alicorn. Sonic took note of the size of the castle. "Uh... Excuse me for a second, ladies." he politely said.

"Why?"

Before the alicorn could get an answer, Sonic zipped away in a blue blur, coming back a few seconds later. "Yep. This place is huge. I gotta get a map or something."

"H-How?" was all Twilight muttered, earning a snicker from Rainbow Dash, "Y-You're fast..."

"Yeah. I am. I'm the Fastest Thing Alive back on my world for a reason after all." boasted Sonic with a smirk, "Rainbow did put up a good race against me, though." he admitted.

"Twilight!"

A purple dragon ran out of his room, "A strange blue blur came into the castle! We gotta--" he cut himself off upon seeing Sonic, the hedgehog looking at the dragon.

"Sup?" the hedgehog greeted.

"It's okay, Spike. This is Sonic. He's a... Friend." she struggled to find the right words. "But he won't hurt you."

"She's right, dude. I'm an ally." the hero assured.

Spike looked at the three before sighing, "Fine. Nice to meet you, Sonic. I'm Spike."

"Same here, Spike. I guess I'll be stickin' around while I find the emeralds." Sonic said.

"That's why I brought you in here, Sonic." said Twilight, leading them into a small dimly lit room, where they found scattered papers and pens lying on a desk. "I found this early yesterday. I felt a strange energy resonating from it and I tried to figure it out, but I still can't figure it out." the alicorn explained.

Sonic walked to the desk and picked up the gem lying in the middle of it, "I feel the energy too. This is definitely a Chaos Emerald. Good. Makes searching a lot easier." he revealed, "Mind if I can keep this, Twi? I have a friend that can explain this type of thing better than me. If I can find him anyway."

"A Chaos Emerald?" Spike muttered, "Can I eat it? I'm hungry."

Sonic shook his head, "Sorry, dude. But I don't want to know what happens when someone eats these things. Even having one can cause a strange effect. With all seven, one can have infinite power if they so desired."

Spike groaned, "Aw..."

"I'll find you something later." Twilight assured, "So that's three. We need to find the other four then."

Nodding, Sonic put the emerald away, "Yep! Let's just hope I find Shadow and Tails soon. They can help track them down easier." he said to himself.

"Where are they? Were they with you?" asked Rainbow.

"Yeah they were. I know they'll be fine on their own until I find them though. So I can rest easy." assured Sonic with a wave of his hand. "We can start searching soon." he started to walk out of the room, but stopped when he heard static.

'Zz--Onic--Zzzz'

"Uh, Sonic? Is that normal?" Spike wondered.

Sonic raised a brow, pulling out his walkie talkie. "Tails? Is that you?" he responded.

'Zzz-- Thank goodness! I got a signal working! Zzz-- listen, I'm in some kind of forest and I have a --Chaos--- Zzz-- I see a small town--- Won't make it fast enough-- Tired--' said Tails from the other end through static, which Sonic could barely make out.

"Don't worry, buddy! We're comin!" declared Sonic.

"Was that one of your friends?" asked Rainbow.

"Yep! C'mon, Tails mentioned that he's in a forest! So we gotta rescue him quickly!" Sonic said. "Is there a forest nearby?"

"The Everfree Forest? Yes, but we have to get our friends. It's too dangerous."

"Well, get them." ordered Sonic, "I'll go ahead on my own and meet you there, but I may be done by the time you do."

"Are you sure? The forest can be full of dangerous creatures." Twilight replied. "You should wait for us--" the alicorn was cut off by Sonic talking again.

"I'm sure. I fought off worse than a few monsters. Wait up for me, okay? I gotta hurry." and in the blink of an eye, Sonic vanished in a blue blur, leaving the ponies in the castle.

"He's as stubborn as you, Rainbow." grumbled Twilight.

"Hey!" Rainbow shouted.

Eggman hopped out of his broken Egg-Mobile. "Stupid hedgehog. Stupid pony. I'll pay them back soon enough." he grumbled, looking at the damages made to his hovercraft, "I can fix this up in due time, but it'll be time that I'm wasting..."

"Then perhaps I can help."

The scientist snapped his head to the side, seeing a figure cloaked in blue. "Who are you?" asked Eggman.

"Do not worry, Eggman. I may prove to you that I am an ally." the being assured.

"Eh? Why help me?" the doctor questioned.

The figure crossed his arms, "I was told you could be a valuable asset in my Cabal. I'm the one who gave you the Egg Pawns necessary to go through with the attack. A mutual friend aided us so to say." he explained as much as he could.

"A mutual friend, huh?" Eggman repeated, "Very well. What do you want with me?"

"You can help my Cabal, doctor. If you can prove your worth against Sonic, then I'll grant you a place on my legion. And you'll be in a world that will appreciate your mind like it does my council and myself. I can give you the supplies necessary to begin your reign." the blue figure elaborated.

"Feh. Fine. I shall join you. Only so I can destroy the hedgehog!" Eggman declared.

"That may be prove difficult. I have a feeling that accursed mare may have followed me here, so she may already have gotten in contact with Sonic about joining her team like the other heroes in different worlds. At worst, my Cabal can give you a chance at revenge." the blue hooded being added.

"Okay then... I need equipment to rebuild the Egg Carrier. Tell your mutual friend to give me the robot power to bring it back to its former glory." Eggman suggested.

"It is already done thanks to Albert, doctor."

Eggman raised a brow, "Who are you, anyway? And how do you know Albert, if you are talking about the one I've crossed paths with once before. The scientist from another world of robots."

The being sighed, "It's that man. And if we are to be working together, it would be best if I tell you my name. But you cannot reveal it to anyone else, especially Sonic."

Eggman was unsure of what the next word meant, but he supposed that it was his new ally's name.

"Doom."