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Suddenly, the purple dragon yelled, "Hey, watch out!" Sonic looked to see the dragons scrambling off of each other and quickly spreading their wings and taking flight. Looking up, he saw why they were doing that: a stalagmite bigger than any of the ones on top of the lava had just broken off from the ceiling!

"Heads up, guys!" he yelled as he turned and started running towards them, not wanting to be near the stalagmite when it struck the lava. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw the stalagmite coming down, but Silver, Twilight, and Celestia quickly straightened up and, as the stalagmite fell, Silver held his hands up, channeling his psychic energy into them while both Twilight and Celestia's horns lit up with their magic, all three of them focusing on it.

The stalagmite was soon surrounded by an aura composed of green, magenta, and yellow, its descent beginning to slow as Twilight, Silver, and Celestia poured their energy into their auras. Before the stalagmite's tip could touch one of the other stalagmites or the lava, it stopped in midair and was turned on its side. It then floated over towards the group, stopping a short distance above and in front of everyone, still floating as Celestia, Twilight, and Silver seemed to be debating what to do with it.

Sonic and the others looked up at it, Tails saying, "Whoa, that thing's huge! And yet you guys are holding it up like it's nothing!"

Twilight cracked her eyes open and said, "Well, it's not as hard since we're all working to hold it up. But what should we do with it?"

Pinkie Pie suggested, "It looks like a big dart! Maybe you could throw it at Iblis and hit it on the bull's-eye!"

Silver asked, "You think we should throw something like this at Iblis, Pinkie Pie?"

Twilight said, "Well, Sonic suggested that maybe you should throw something bigger at Iblis to defeat it, or at least damage it."

Silver asked, "Something bigger? That's…" He looked up at the stalagmite for a moment before looking in Iblis' direction and back up at the stalagmite. "That's not a bad idea, actually," he concluded.

Tails asked, "Um, even with the three of you, isn't it going to be kind of hard to throw something that shape that's that big?"

Braeburn said, "Yeah, Ah was wonderin' 'bout that mahself."

Celestia mused, "I suppose it could, especially if we don't all release it at the same time."

Silver grunted, "Guess we'll have to make it smaller then." A roar from Iblis caught his attention, causing him to raise a hand to his chin in thought, "Maybe…"

Sonic said, "Looks like you'll need time to do that, Silver. I can keep Iblis busy while you do that."

Luna spoke, "I would also like to help."

Silver looked at them and said, "If you both could, that would be great. Actually, Luna, if you could catch any rocks that Iblis throws and bring them here, it would help with this idea I just had." Although they wondered what idea Silver had, both Sonic and Luna nodded.

Fluttershy squeaked, causing everyone to look back at her. She pointed, "Those dragons… They're coming back…" Everyone looked and saw that she was right; it seemed as though the teenage dragons had decided nothing else was going to fall and were now moving back towards the group. And they didn't look too happy…

Twilight grunted in annoyance, "Ah, right. We can't forget about them either."

Rainbow spoke, "You guys do whatever you have to do! Tails and I can keep those jerks busy!" While he was surprised about being volunteered so suddenly, Tails nodded in agreement.

Silver nodded, "Great!" He looked at Celestia and asked, "Excuse me for asking, Princess Celestia, but is it possible for you to hold this stalagmite up yourself?"

Rarity was about to scold Silver for asking the princess such a thing, but Celestia calmly responded, "It is no trouble, Silver. I assume you're going to need your hands to make this stalagmite smaller?"

Silver nodded, "Unfortunately. I can't hold something up with my psychokinesis and use Psychic Knives at the same time."

Celestia said, "Then I will hold it up for as long as it takes to shrink it to an appropriate size."

Applejack asked, "What should the rest o' us do?"

Sonic answered for Silver, "Why don't the rest of you stay back and guard Blaze and Zecora? It wouldn't be good if they got hit by a stray attack after all, and someone's gonna have to be ready to carry them once we've taken care of Iblis."

Little Strongheart nodded, "Good point. Just be careful, all of you."

Everyone nodded, Silver saying, "You guys too."

Sonic said, "All right, let's do this!" With that, he and Luna turned and headed towards Iblis while Tails and Rainbow Dash flew up towards the teenage dragons, trying to draw their attention away from Sonic and Luna.

While the two groups went about keeping their targets distracted, Twilight and Silver released their holds on the stalagmite, allowing Celestia to take it for herself. As Silver began using Psychic Knives to chip away at the rock and Twilight started channeling her magic into her horn, she glanced over at Silver and asked, "What exactly do you have in mind for those rocks Iblis is throwing, Silver?"

Silver swept another Psychic Knife at the stalagmite and Twilight fired a trio of smaller beams like the ones her brother used against King Sombra at it before the hedgehog replied, "I'm gonna throw them back at it again, but this time, they're gonna combine with this stalagmite to make a much stronger attack. Considering Sonic and Luna have already hurt Iblis and will probably hurt it some more, this'll probably be enough to take it out!"

Twilight nodded, "I see. So we just need to convert this stalagmite into a more compact form that's better for throwing."

Silver replied, "That's right. We're gonna make our own Tom!"

Rarity's eyes widened for a moment at that name before they narrowed and she nearly shrieked, "Excuse me?!" Silver and Twilight stayed focused on the stalagmite so they wouldn't have to see the look Rarity was giving them. Applejack, meanwhile, had fallen over and was laughing her flank off.

Soon…

Spike looked over the situation as he, Applejack, Braeburn, Little Strongheart, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie stayed close together. Sonic and Luna had done a great job keeping Iblis preoccupied, Sonic doing most of the distracting himself while Luna caught Iblis' rocks with her magic and took them to Twilight, who held onto them with her own magic. Tails and Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, were still managing to keep the teenage dragons busy, but they were both beginning to tire out and they had already experienced a few close calls. "Come on, Twilight, Silver! Hurry up, you guys!" Spike internally cried.

After dodging another round of rocks from Iblis, Sonic watched as Luna dashed away with them in her magic grip. He then looked up at Rainbow Dash and Tails, his eyes widening as Tails narrowly missed getting roasted by the purple dragon. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Tails, Rainbow Dash! Come down and take a break, guys! I won't be able to catch you if you fall in the lava!" The two heard him and took the hint, evading the dragons one last time as they flew towards the others, Sonic following after them once they flew over his head. The dragons took a moment to land and catch their breaths before going after them.

Once the three of them got back to the others, they saw Twilight and Silver's… mental work. They had chipped the stalagmite down considerably, giving it a more rounded shape like a boulder. It looked to be quite a bit bigger than the original Tom. As Tails and Rainbow Dash stood with their knees bent and panted, Sonic looked at Twilight and Silver and asked, "Is it ready?"

Twilight replied, "Almost. We just have to add the flaming rocks." She moved said rocks forward at that.

Silver took the rocks from Twilight and surrounded the new Tom with them, taking the whole thing from Celestia's magic grip, the Solar Princess seeming a bit relieved at no longer needing to hold it up anymore. After looking it over for a moment, Silver said, "Yeah, we're ready. I just need a good shot at Iblis now." He looked at Sonic and asked, "Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog grinned, "Leave it to me!" He turned and dashed in Iblis' direction, plowing right through the teenage dragons as he went (Tails could swear he heard the sound of bowling pins being struck when Sonic crashed into them). He ran as far as he could go and cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling, "Yo, flame breath! Your mom was a salamander, and your dad solidified after you were born!" Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack snickered at that.

Iblis looked in his direction and growled loudly. Sonic waited until it was done growling before going on, "Yeah, I'm talking to you! I know baby dragons that can make better flames than you!" He paused for a second, lowering his hands before shrugging, "Well, one anyway." Spike seemed to puff up in pride upon hearing that last bit.

Iblis roared angrily and then disappeared beneath the surface of the lava. A second later, it burst out of the lava, soaring through the air directly towards Sonic! The blue hedgehog leapt backwards before Iblis landed, the huge lava worm crashing head first into the stalagmite the hedgehog had been on and getting its pincers caught around the stalagmite's midsection.

Iblis growled at Sonic as he stood (basically) across from it. The hedgehog waved his hand in front of his nose, saying, "Whoa, your breath stinks! How would you like a psychic breath mint?" With that, he jumped and delivered a quick Homing Attack to its forehead, hitting it right in its third eye. As Sonic rebounded back off towards the others and Iblis was sent flying, Sonic called, "Now, guys!"

Twilight said, "Here comes Tom 2!"

Ignoring Rarity's high-pitched squeal at that name and a round of laughter from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Silver quickly levitated the new Tom (with the rocks still surrounding it) up and sent it flying in a straight line towards Iblis, yelling, "Meteor Smash!" It flew over Sonic's head (the hedgehog rolling on the ground after landing on one of the stalagmites) and struck Iblis right in the forehead before it could disappear back below the lava. It hit so hard that Iblis was knocked back into the wall, where Tom 2 gave off a fiery explosion, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

When they looked again, they saw Iblis' tail sinking into the lava, following the rest of Iblis. Just as its tail was about to disappear from view, a ring of flames suddenly burst from it, spreading out like a wave! It swept past the stalagmites, but it didn't go on top of them and the flames disappeared as soon as they hit the rocky wall. Before anyone could relax, however, the ground (if you could call it that) started shaking beneath them!

"What's happenin'?!" Braeburn exclaimed as he tried to keep his balance.

"Is this that demon's doing?!" Luna wondered.

Tails looked at the lava, noticing the way it was moving. It almost looked like… "Iblis must have triggered something within the volcano! Like another eruption!" he exclaimed.

Sonic started running towards the others, calling, "It's trying to take us down with it! It's time to bail!"

Twilight looked at Spike and said, "Spike, the ring!"

The baby dragon straightened up at that, "Oh, right!" He moved the ring out from under his arm and took it in both of his claws, bringing it up over his head and throwing it forward. It flew straight for a second before it stopped and expanded with a *PHVWOW*.

Sonic ran up alongside the ring and placed his left hand on its side, the shimmering surface inside the ring faintly showing the clearing in front of Zecora's hut. Rainbow flew straight towards the ring, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she flew up to the ring and hovered above it. "Come on, you guys! Let's go!" she called.

Silver could see that the shaking was still keeping all the non-flyers from finding a stable footing. Eying the trail Dash left, he focused his psychokinesis on it before it could disappear completely and began to manipulate it, lowering it down so it didn't exactly touch the shaking stalagmites, but also led straight to the Warp Ring. He looked at the others, saying, "Here, use this!"

Twilight, while carrying Spike on her back and Blaze and Zecora with her magic, managed to get on top of the rainbow trail and found it to be solid thanks to Silver's psychokinesis. "Thanks, Silver!" she said before running across it, the others quickly following. Applejack went through after Twilight, followed by Rarity (carrying her gem pile), Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Little Strongheart, Braeburn, Tails, and the princesses.

As he released his psychic grip on the rainbow trail (causing it to disappear), Silver looked down at the lava and saw that, in addition to its more liquid-like movements, it was beginning to rise. He then looked over at Sonic and Rainbow, "That just leaves us now!"

Sonic gestured to the ring and said, "After you guys!"

Rainbow nodded, "See you on the other side!"

The teenage dragons, in all the confusion, had finally managed to recover from being bowled over and were now noticing all the activity around them. "Hey, I don't like the look of all this!" the brown dragon said.

The purple dragon looked over and saw Rainbow Dash flutter down from where she was hovering above the Warp Ring and fly through it. "Hey, looks like they're using that ring thing to get out of here!" he pointed out.

Silver ran over and jumped through the ring as Garble said, "Wherever they're going is good enough for us right now!" Sonic looked over as the dragons started moving in his direction. He looked at them for a moment before gripping the side of the Warp Ring with his left hand and swinging himself around, going through it on the side opposite the teenage dragons. As the ring began to shrink, the teenage dragons managed to slip through it just seconds before a sudden lava wave fell over the spot where the ring had been.

________________________________________

The teenage dragons grunted as they hit the ground face first. They quickly recovered from the sudden landing, at which point they realized something was different. Looking down at the ground, they realized that it was completely white and felt like dirt and grass. "What's going on? Where are we?" the purple dragon asked.

Before Garble could answer, they heard voices behind them and turned to see Sonic, Silver, and Rainbow Dash standing a short distance away. Silver was speaking, "Those were some pretty cool maneuvers back there, Rainbow Dash. I was focusing on getting that stalagmite chipped down to size, but I did get a good look at some of them."

Rainbow rubbed a hoof over her chest as she smugly replied, "Well, of course! I'm always working on my moves! The Dash does everything with a little bit of awesomeness!"

Sonic and Silver couldn't help but smile at attitude. Silver then looked at Sonic and said, "And Sonic, you did a good job back there too. Just what I'd expect from the real deal."

Sonic grinned as he shrugged, "Well, I try."

Silver reached back into his quills with his right hand and pulled out the silver Chaos Emerald. He looked at it for a moment before looking at Sonic and holding out to him, saying, "Here, you can have this, Sonic. You guys are collecting them, right?"

Sonic looked at the Chaos Emerald as he replied, "Well, yeah. No doubt they're going to come in handy fixing this mess." He then looked up at Silver and asked, "But are you sure that's okay? You're not going to need it later?"

Silver nodded, "I'm sure. I wasn't really planning on using it for anything. Besides, you proved yourself back there. You deserve it."

Sonic said, "All right, if you say so, dude!" He held out his right hand and closed it around the top of the Chaos Emerald, taking it from Silver's hand.

Garble finally chose this moment to speak up, yelling, "Hey, hold on a minute!" The trio turned to look at him and the other dragons, noticing them for the first time. Garble went on, "You hand over that gem right now! If you think we're going to give it up now, you're dead wrong!"

Before he could continue, Applejack called, "C'mon over here, y'all! The color's comin' back!" Sonic, Rainbow, and Silver turned to look at the rest of their friends, who were standing in front of Zecora's hut with Blaze and Zecora in front of them, and ran over to join them, the teenage dragons forgotten. As they joined the group of friends, they saw that Applejack was right. The grass in the clearing had already regained its color, and Zecora's hut and the surrounding plant life was beginning to regain its color as well. Within a minute, the color had completely come back to the clearing.

Looking to Blaze and Zecora, they saw that they were beginning to regain their color as well. Blaze was the first to recover, and to Spike and the ponies' surprise, she, after blinking several times, leapt up, turning around in midair and landing on top of the nearby tree branch coming from Zecora's hut. She then quickly jumped again, landing on top of the hut directly beneath the canopy covering with her arms crossed.

Zecora, meanwhile, finished regaining her color. After blinking twice, the zebra examined her body, smiling when she was sure she was back. She then looked at the group and spoke, "I was afraid when the creature grabbed me, but now I am pleased. You came to rescue me, so my worries are eased."

Blaze, having noticed Sonic, Tails, and Silver among the group of unfamiliar faces and deeming it safe, leapt down from the top of Zecora's hut, landing next to the zebra. She stood up straight and said, "I must extend my thanks to you all as well. Although I do dislike relying on others, I am grateful for your aid. The creature was… too much for me to handle alone." She held her arms out in front of her and clenched her fists as she finished speaking, seeming to be slightly upset that she could not do more. Silver, Sonic, and Tails nodded at her, Silver holding up his left hand and clenching his fingers into a fist while looking down.

Before anyone else could say anything, Garble angrily yelled, "HEY!" Everyone turned to look at the teenage dragons, each of them raising an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't get to turn your backs on us! We want all of those gems you idiots have, and we want them now!" he stated.

Sonic tsked, wagging a finger as he said, "Are you guys still going on about that? Why don't you give it up already?" He lowered his hand and smirked, "Being over persistent won't win you any popularity contests, you know!"

Blaze and Zecora stepped forward, joining the others. Blaze looked at Silver and asked, "Who are these three?"

While glaring at the dragons, Silver replied, "They're a bunch of thugs, Blaze. Thugs that don't know when to back off when someone says 'no'."

The purple dragons growled, "You trying to be smart, white guy?"

Spike said, "Hey, Silver's only telling her the truth! There's nothing wrong with that!"

Celestia spoke, "You three have caused quite enough trouble for one day. As co-ruler of Equestria, I order you to cease your efforts at once."

Zecora said, "With Princess Celestia, I most certainly agree. Leave here now or in more trouble you will be."

Garble smirked, "Oh yeah, like I'm afraid of you. What are you going to do, rhyme me to death? Let's see how you like this!" He then reared back and thrust forward, unleashing a plume of flames from his mouth!

Spike, Tails, Zecora, and the ponies all took a step back at that, Tails saying, "Oh no! That's sure to spread to the rest of the Everfree Forest!"

Sonic and Silver looked at Blaze, Sonic asking, "You got this, Blaze?"

Raising her left hand up, Blaze replied, "Of course I do, Sonic." She then snapped her fingers; as soon as she did, something started to happen to the flames. They were going in a straight line before, but now they were starting to angle down towards the ground, striking the ground right in front of Blaze. Instead of spreading out like everyone expected, they instead stayed there for a moment before what looked like a snake's head made of flames stretched up out of the flames, stopping when it was eye level with Blaze. Spike, Zecora, and the ponies looked on in awe; despite the fact that it was made of flames, it looked like a real, coiled up snake that was extending its head up.

Even the dragons were shocked by what they were seeing. "Wh-what the-?!" Garble exclaimed.

While stroking the fire snake's head with her right hand, Blaze said, "My soul is alit with flames. I can control them, create them…" she raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the fire snake immediately disappearing; she then gave the dragons a piercing stare as she finished, "and end them."

Spike muttered, "Whoa…"

Garble grunted, "Huh. Never would have expected a kitty cat to be able to do that."

A vein grew on Blaze's forehead when she heard that. "What did you just say?" she asked with a noticeable sharpness in her voice.

Sonic crossed his arms and whistled while rolling his eyes, "Oh boy, he did not just call the princess of another dimension and the guardian of the Sol Emeralds a kitty." The expression on Silver's face indicated he also knew what was about to happen.

Garble smirked, "Oh, so she's a namby pamby princess too? Well, isn't that-?" He didn't get a chance to finish; in the blink of an eye, Blaze dashed from the spot where she was standing and right up to Garble with her right fist in front of her, slamming it right into the dragon's stomach as the trail of flames left in her wake started to shrink. Removing her fist from his stomach, Blaze stepped back as Garble fell to his knees. "Guh…! You… Ugh! How…?" he groaned as he tried to recover from that sudden strike. Blaze's only response was to strike again, this time kicking him in the face with her high-heeled shoes and sending him flying onto his back.

Once again, Spike, Zecora, and the ponies were in awe at Blaze's display while the dragons just looked shocked. Silver, meanwhile, grinned, "Looks like they just found out you've got claws, huh Blaze?"

Blaze nodded, "A smart falcon hides its claws from view. So, am I still 'namby pamby'?"

The brown dragon stuttered, "Er, no, sir, ma'am! You're tougher than that!" He and the purple dragon quickly moved back, reaching down and grabbing Garble by his arms to pull him up.

As they finally managed to get him on his feet, Garble glared at the brown dragon and growled, "Are you kidding me?! You're just going to give up because she's 'tougher than that'?! Well, I'm not! She's going to pay for this!" Before either dragon could reply, Garble broke free and ran towards Blaze, who lowered herself into a fighting stance.

As they started fighting, Luna looked at Sonic and asked, "Should we help?"

Sonic looked over at Blaze and Garble, noticing the way Blaze was nimbly dodging Garble's attacks (moving to the side when he punched, leaping up when he tried to use his tail to knock her feet out from under her, and ducking under his wings) before he replied, "You can, if you want. But I don't think it's Blaze who needs the help."

Blaze continued to dodge Garble's anger-induced attacks for about a minute before finally catching his fist in both hands. She then gave him a hard push backwards, throwing him off balance for a few moments. She then dashed up to him and jumped on him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She then jerked back, falling to the ground and bringing the dragon with her! As soon as her back touched the ground, she brought her right foot up and planted it against his stomach, mentally engaging her fire abilities as she did. As she pushed up with her foot, a burst of flames suddenly blasted out of her shoe, sending Garble flying. He landed on his back near the other two dragons, groaning. Sitting up, Blaze looked back at them and said, "I've had enough of this." She looked at Silver and asked, "Silver, do you mind taking care of them?"

The hedgehog replied, "Gladly!" He ran towards the dragons as the brown and purple dragons were helping Garble get back on his feet again. Just as he finished getting up and finding his balance, Silver grabbed them with his psychokinesis, his green aura surrounding the dragons and his left hand. He glared at them for a moment before saying, "Take THIS!" As he spoke, he swung his arms outward, blasting them with his psychic force and sending them flying straight through the canopy of the Everfree Forest!

Soon…

Following the 'departure' of the teenage dragons, introductions had been made for both Blaze and Zecora. Afterwards, Zecora went to check that everything in her hut was present while Twilight's friends began to crowd around Blaze, keeping Twilight, Spike, Celestia, and Luna from getting a chance to talk to her. While Applejack and Rainbow Dash cheered her for her display and Fluttershy was her usual shy self around her, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were a bit more intrusive. Rarity appraised her clothing like the fashionista she was, and Pinkie Pie was her usual bubbly self, being cheerful and jumping from one topic to the next, unknowingly making Blaze feel very uncomfortable. Sonic and Silver eventually had to step in and convince them to give Blaze her space.

It was at this moment that Zecora came out of her hut wearing a concerned look on her face. Tails noticed her coming and asked, "Is everything okay in there, Miss Zecora?"

Zecora smiled, "Please, young Tails, there is no need to use 'miss'. Saying my name itself is fine and would not be amiss." Her smile then eased off as she said, "As for your question, it's not all okay, that's for sure. Several potions and my saddlebags are unaccounted for."

Little Strongheart asked, "You mean they've been stolen?"

Zecora replied, "That is the only thing I can guess at this time. But it begs the question: who would commit such a crime?"

Braeburn looked at Applejack and said, "Cousin Applejack, you know Ponyville better than Ah do. Is there anypony in town who'd wanna do such a thing? Ah don't mean to speak badly about anypony, but stealin' from a zebra? T'ain't right."

Applejack replied, "Nopony in Ponyville's ever had anythin' against Zecora since we found out the truth 'bout her. And Ah doubt the Changeling Queen or Gilda woulda taken her potions or bag for any reason." She looked at Rainbow Dash and asked, "Gilda didn't do anythin' funny durin' yer race with her, did she, Rainbow?"

Rainbow replied, "Other than try to cheat by dropping Scootaloo off the clouds, no. I tried to keep an eye on her throughout the race, and she didn't go off the course or anything like that. Besides, what would Gilda do with potions anyway?"

Applejack grunted, "Ah don't know! That's why Ah'm askin'! You know that griffin better than any o' us!"

Tails said, "Well, that crosses both the Changeling Queen and Gilda off the list."

Silver asked, "So where does that leave us?"

Blaze said, "It sounds like it leaves us no closer to the answer."

Sonic crossed his arms, "Yeah, we've got nothing right now. No suspects, no evidence…" He looked over at Zecora and asked, "Did you see anything out of place in your hut that looked like it could be a clue, Zecora?" The zebra shook her head. Sonic then looked at the others and finished, "Then all we're doing right now is going around in circles, asking questions that we don't have any answers to."

Celestia nodded, "I agree with Sonic. There is nothing more we can do here right now. For now, we should head back to Ponyville. Perhaps some of the citizens noticed something or somepony unusual enter or exit the forest."

Pinkie Pie popped up in front of Zecora and said, "Don't you worry your stripy head, Zecora! We'll track down that mystery thief and make them give back everything they stole from you! Just like when we solved the mystery of who ate the Cakes' MMMM! Did I ever tell you about that time? Oh, it's a really good story! You see…"

Pinkie was silenced (somewhat) when Rarity came up behind her and slapped a hoof over her mouth, causing Zecora to raise an eyebrow at her while Pinkie talked into her hoof. Rarity laughed nervously, "Well, those details aside, Pinkie is right, Zecora. We will most certainly help you in any way we can." She then backed away nervously while dragging Pinkie, Zecora still looking at her oddly.

Sonic looked over at Tails and asked, "Hey, Tails, is your radar picking anything up?"

The fox reached into his tail and pulled out his radar, flipping it open and examining it for a few moments. He soon looked up and said, "Uh, no. I'm not getting any new signals right now. But it'll let me know right away if it picks anything up."

Blaze asked, "What kind of radar is it, Tails?"

After putting the radar away, Tails answered, "Well, since time is all messed up right now and portals to various locations and time periods are showing up all over Ponyville, I made this radar out of the spare parts from Eggman's old Badniks to detect the signals of new portals when they appear. Makes finding them easier for us, you know?"

Silver asked, "And you made that out of old Badnik parts?" Tails nodded.

Blaze smiled, "You mechanical prowess continues to amaze me, Tails." Tails blushed and giggled a bit at that.

Sonic spoke, "Well, since nothing's showing up on the radar right now, we should have time to check around Ponyville like Princess Celestia said."

Applejack took off her hat and said, "Yeah, and maybe Ah could get this fixed while we're at it. Ah don't particularly like havin' a flame hole in mah hat."

Rarity finally took her hoof off of Pinkie's mouth, the party pony saying, "And then I said, 'Oatmeal?! Are you crazy?!' I mean, I've…"

As Pinkie continued to ramble about how some things shouldn't go together (before switching to another subject), Rarity shook her hoof, making sure Pinkie hadn't gotten any spittle on it before turning to Applejack and using her magic to take her hat from her hoof. "I will take care of it as soon as we get back to Ponyville, Applejack darling. I need to take all of these gems back to the Carousel Boutique anyway," she said.

Sonic looked over at Zecora and asked, "Hey Zecora, you want to come with us? I'm sure you're used to the Everfree Forest and all, but right now, it might not be a bad idea to hang around Ponyville."

Zecora nodded, "After seeing that creature, I would have to agree. I wonder now if it has before been in the Everfree."

Celestia said, "Then let us go now. There is no time to waste." With that, she turned and started walking in the direction of Ponyville. Luna soon turned and followed after her and so did everyone else after Spike climbed onto Twilight's back.

As they walked through the Everfree Forest, Twilight noticed Blaze was talking to Silver. For a moment, she considered waiting until they got to Ponyville to try to talk to her, but then decided that now would probably be the best time. Quickening her pace slightly, she walked until she was walking alongside Blaze, though still letting her have her space. When there was a break in Blaze and Silver's conversation, Twilight spoke, "Uh, excuse me… Princess Blaze?"

Blaze looked over at her and said, "Please don't address me by my title. It means nothing here in Equestria, and I don't like it when my guards address me by it."

Twilight looked nervous at that, saying, "Sorry…"

Blaze waved a hand and then asked, "So did you have something you wanted to say to me, Miss…?"

Twilight perked up a bit at that and said, "Oh, right! You might not have heard earlier because Pinkie Pie and Rarity were talking to you, but my name is Twilight Sparkle. And this is Spike, my friend and number one assistant." She gestured to the baby dragon sitting on her back as she said that last part.

Spike, for his part, waved while saying, "Hi!"

Blaze looked at Spike, "Oh, um, hello. I can't say I've ever had the privilege of meeting a baby dragon before…" Spike seemed satisfied to hear that. Blaze then looked at Twilight and asked, "So is there something you wanted, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight replied, "Uh, well, earlier I was talking with Sonic and Tails about some of the things my friends and I have gone through since Spike and I moved to Ponyville. And during a few of those conversations, Sonic mentioned you."

Blaze raised an eyebrow, "He did?"

Twilight nodded, "Yeah. He told me a bit about you and said some nice things about you. Things that made me want to meet you."

Blaze's expression returned to normal at that. "Oh. What did he say, exactly?" she asked.

Twilight replied, "Well, he told me that, until you traveled to his world and met Cream and Cheese, you were kind of a loner, preferring to do things by yourself. Is that true?" Blaze nodded in confirmation, so Twilight went on, "That's kind of like how I used to be before Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville. Except for my brother and Spike, I didn't really have any friends. I was too focused on my studies and thought the idea of having friends was… silly."

Blaze asked, "But you learned otherwise?"

Silver nodded, "You sure don't seem like that now, Twilight."

Spike giggled, "Yeah, but other than that, she hasn't changed that much!"

Twilight glared back at him for a moment before turning back to Blaze and Silver and saying, "Yes, I did learn that there's nothing wrong with having friends; in fact, they're great things to have. I realized this when they insisted on helping me after I read about a thousand year old prophecy and wanted to stop it. They helped me every step of the way, and we succeeded in preventing the night from becoming eternal and saving Princess Luna. After that, I wanted to stay in Ponyville with my new friends, and Princess Celestia allowed me and Spike to."

Blaze nodded, "I see. That reminds me of what happened when I first met Cream, Sonic, and their friends for the first time. The Sol Emeralds that keep my world alive had been taken by Dr. Eggman, and as I followed him, I was sent to Sonic's world, where I set about trying to retrieve them from him. Shortly after I set out, I met Cream and her Chao friend Cheese, who insisted on coming with and helping me. I was initially confused by her actions, and did not agree with her and her other friends when they said I should seek out Sonic. We eventually fought, which is when I realized that I was wrong for thinking I could save my world by myself, and after I saved Cream from Dr. Eggman, Sonic and I set everything right and I departed for my world."

Twilight smiled, "Well, it seems like you've become good friends with Sonic, just like I've become good friends with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

Blaze nodded, "I have. I've reflected on everything that Cream, Sonic, and their friends have taught me, and I see the wisdom in them. While I am still wary around others and still try to handle things by myself, I am more open to… social events and spending time with friends. Honestly, at times, I feel foolish for being alone for as long as I was."

Silver patted her on the shoulder while saying, "Don't worry about it, Blaze. That kind of thing happens to all of us. Besides, you admit that you've changed; that's a good sign if I ever saw one. Despite what Spike says, I'm sure Twilight's changed a lot too."

Zecora stepped up alongside Twilight and spoke, "She has indeed, Silver, and as she learns, she changes still. Since her arrival, she has done much and become a part of Ponyville."

As their conversation continued, Sonic and Tails, who were walking a little further ahead, listened in as they walked. Tails soon smiled at Sonic, "You were right, Sonic. They're getting along great."

Sonic nodded, "I had a feeling they would. It never hurts to know someone you can relate to."

As they continued walking, a thought began to work its way up into Twilight's brain. When they were near the edge of the Everfree Forest, Twilight looked at Silver and asked, "Hey Silver, what did you call that crescent-shaped blade of energy you made before?"

Silver thought about her questions for a moment before the answer hit him. "Oh, you mean the Psychic Knife?" he asked.

Twilight nodded, "Yeah, that. How do you do that? Is it something you've mastered?"

Silver replied, "Uh, sort of. I came up with it and perfected it after hours of training my psychokinetic powers. Why, why do you ask?"

Twilight looked down at the ground as she started, "Well, this might sound a bit silly, but…" She looked up at Silver and asked, "I was wondering if you'd be willing to teach me how to do it?"

Description
Suddenly, the purple dragon yelled, "Hey, watch out!" Sonic looked to see the dragons scrambling off of each other and quickly spreading their wings and taking flight. Looking up, he saw why they were doing that: a stalagmite bigger than any of the ones on top of the lava had just broken off from the ceiling!

"Heads up, guys!" he yelled as he turned and started running towards them, not wanting to be near the stalagmite when it struck the lava. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw the stalagmite coming down, but Silver, Twilight, and Celestia quickly straightened up and, as the stalagmite fell, Silver held his hands up, channeling his psychic energy into them while both Twilight and Celestia's horns lit up with their magic, all three of them focusing on it.

The stalagmite was soon surrounded by an aura composed of green, magenta, and yellow, its descent beginning to slow as Twilight, Silver, and Celestia poured their energy into their auras. Before the stalagmite's tip could touch one of the other stalagmites or the lava, it stopped in midair and was turned on its side. It then floated over towards the group, stopping a short distance above and in front of everyone, still floating as Celestia, Twilight, and Silver seemed to be debating what to do with it.

Sonic and the others looked up at it, Tails saying, "Whoa, that thing's huge! And yet you guys are holding it up like it's nothing!"

Twilight cracked her eyes open and said, "Well, it's not as hard since we're all working to hold it up. But what should we do with it?"

Pinkie Pie suggested, "It looks like a big dart! Maybe you could throw it at Iblis and hit it on the bull's-eye!"

Silver asked, "You think we should throw something like this at Iblis, Pinkie Pie?"

Twilight said, "Well, Sonic suggested that maybe you should throw something bigger at Iblis to defeat it, or at least damage it."

Silver asked, "Something bigger? That's…" He looked up at the stalagmite for a moment before looking in Iblis' direction and back up at the stalagmite. "That's not a bad idea, actually," he concluded.

Tails asked, "Um, even with the three of you, isn't it going to be kind of hard to throw something that shape that's that big?"

Braeburn said, "Yeah, Ah was wonderin' 'bout that mahself."

Celestia mused, "I suppose it could, especially if we don't all release it at the same time."

Silver grunted, "Guess we'll have to make it smaller then." A roar from Iblis caught his attention, causing him to raise a hand to his chin in thought, "Maybe…"

Sonic said, "Looks like you'll need time to do that, Silver. I can keep Iblis busy while you do that."

Luna spoke, "I would also like to help."

Silver looked at them and said, "If you both could, that would be great. Actually, Luna, if you could catch any rocks that Iblis throws and bring them here, it would help with this idea I just had." Although they wondered what idea Silver had, both Sonic and Luna nodded.

Fluttershy squeaked, causing everyone to look back at her. She pointed, "Those dragons… They're coming back…" Everyone looked and saw that she was right; it seemed as though the teenage dragons had decided nothing else was going to fall and were now moving back towards the group. And they didn't look too happy…

Twilight grunted in annoyance, "Ah, right. We can't forget about them either."

Rainbow spoke, "You guys do whatever you have to do! Tails and I can keep those jerks busy!" While he was surprised about being volunteered so suddenly, Tails nodded in agreement.

Silver nodded, "Great!" He looked at Celestia and asked, "Excuse me for asking, Princess Celestia, but is it possible for you to hold this stalagmite up yourself?"

Rarity was about to scold Silver for asking the princess such a thing, but Celestia calmly responded, "It is no trouble, Silver. I assume you're going to need your hands to make this stalagmite smaller?"

Silver nodded, "Unfortunately. I can't hold something up with my psychokinesis and use Psychic Knives at the same time."

Celestia said, "Then I will hold it up for as long as it takes to shrink it to an appropriate size."

Applejack asked, "What should the rest o' us do?"

Sonic answered for Silver, "Why don't the rest of you stay back and guard Blaze and Zecora? It wouldn't be good if they got hit by a stray attack after all, and someone's gonna have to be ready to carry them once we've taken care of Iblis."

Little Strongheart nodded, "Good point. Just be careful, all of you."

Everyone nodded, Silver saying, "You guys too."

Sonic said, "All right, let's do this!" With that, he and Luna turned and headed towards Iblis while Tails and Rainbow Dash flew up towards the teenage dragons, trying to draw their attention away from Sonic and Luna.

While the two groups went about keeping their targets distracted, Twilight and Silver released their holds on the stalagmite, allowing Celestia to take it for herself. As Silver began using Psychic Knives to chip away at the rock and Twilight started channeling her magic into her horn, she glanced over at Silver and asked, "What exactly do you have in mind for those rocks Iblis is throwing, Silver?"

Silver swept another Psychic Knife at the stalagmite and Twilight fired a trio of smaller beams like the ones her brother used against King Sombra at it before the hedgehog replied, "I'm gonna throw them back at it again, but this time, they're gonna combine with this stalagmite to make a much stronger attack. Considering Sonic and Luna have already hurt Iblis and will probably hurt it some more, this'll probably be enough to take it out!"

Twilight nodded, "I see. So we just need to convert this stalagmite into a more compact form that's better for throwing."

Silver replied, "That's right. We're gonna make our own Tom!"

Rarity's eyes widened for a moment at that name before they narrowed and she nearly shrieked, "Excuse me?!" Silver and Twilight stayed focused on the stalagmite so they wouldn't have to see the look Rarity was giving them. Applejack, meanwhile, had fallen over and was laughing her flank off.

Soon…

Spike looked over the situation as he, Applejack, Braeburn, Little Strongheart, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie stayed close together. Sonic and Luna had done a great job keeping Iblis preoccupied, Sonic doing most of the distracting himself while Luna caught Iblis' rocks with her magic and took them to Twilight, who held onto them with her own magic. Tails and Rainbow Dash, meanwhile, were still managing to keep the teenage dragons busy, but they were both beginning to tire out and they had already experienced a few close calls. "Come on, Twilight, Silver! Hurry up, you guys!" Spike internally cried.

After dodging another round of rocks from Iblis, Sonic watched as Luna dashed away with them in her magic grip. He then looked up at Rainbow Dash and Tails, his eyes widening as Tails narrowly missed getting roasted by the purple dragon. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "Tails, Rainbow Dash! Come down and take a break, guys! I won't be able to catch you if you fall in the lava!" The two heard him and took the hint, evading the dragons one last time as they flew towards the others, Sonic following after them once they flew over his head. The dragons took a moment to land and catch their breaths before going after them.

Once the three of them got back to the others, they saw Twilight and Silver's… mental work. They had chipped the stalagmite down considerably, giving it a more rounded shape like a boulder. It looked to be quite a bit bigger than the original Tom. As Tails and Rainbow Dash stood with their knees bent and panted, Sonic looked at Twilight and Silver and asked, "Is it ready?"

Twilight replied, "Almost. We just have to add the flaming rocks." She moved said rocks forward at that.

Silver took the rocks from Twilight and surrounded the new Tom with them, taking the whole thing from Celestia's magic grip, the Solar Princess seeming a bit relieved at no longer needing to hold it up anymore. After looking it over for a moment, Silver said, "Yeah, we're ready. I just need a good shot at Iblis now." He looked at Sonic and asked, "Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog grinned, "Leave it to me!" He turned and dashed in Iblis' direction, plowing right through the teenage dragons as he went (Tails could swear he heard the sound of bowling pins being struck when Sonic crashed into them). He ran as far as he could go and cupped his hands around his mouth, yelling, "Yo, flame breath! Your mom was a salamander, and your dad solidified after you were born!" Both Rainbow Dash and Applejack snickered at that.

Iblis looked in his direction and growled loudly. Sonic waited until it was done growling before going on, "Yeah, I'm talking to you! I know baby dragons that can make better flames than you!" He paused for a second, lowering his hands before shrugging, "Well, one anyway." Spike seemed to puff up in pride upon hearing that last bit.

Iblis roared angrily and then disappeared beneath the surface of the lava. A second later, it burst out of the lava, soaring through the air directly towards Sonic! The blue hedgehog leapt backwards before Iblis landed, the huge lava worm crashing head first into the stalagmite the hedgehog had been on and getting its pincers caught around the stalagmite's midsection.

Iblis growled at Sonic as he stood (basically) across from it. The hedgehog waved his hand in front of his nose, saying, "Whoa, your breath stinks! How would you like a psychic breath mint?" With that, he jumped and delivered a quick Homing Attack to its forehead, hitting it right in its third eye. As Sonic rebounded back off towards the others and Iblis was sent flying, Sonic called, "Now, guys!"

Twilight said, "Here comes Tom 2!"

Ignoring Rarity's high-pitched squeal at that name and a round of laughter from Applejack and Rainbow Dash, Silver quickly levitated the new Tom (with the rocks still surrounding it) up and sent it flying in a straight line towards Iblis, yelling, "Meteor Smash!" It flew over Sonic's head (the hedgehog rolling on the ground after landing on one of the stalagmites) and struck Iblis right in the forehead before it could disappear back below the lava. It hit so hard that Iblis was knocked back into the wall, where Tom 2 gave off a fiery explosion, forcing everyone to shield their eyes.

When they looked again, they saw Iblis' tail sinking into the lava, following the rest of Iblis. Just as its tail was about to disappear from view, a ring of flames suddenly burst from it, spreading out like a wave! It swept past the stalagmites, but it didn't go on top of them and the flames disappeared as soon as they hit the rocky wall. Before anyone could relax, however, the ground (if you could call it that) started shaking beneath them!

"What's happenin'?!" Braeburn exclaimed as he tried to keep his balance.

"Is this that demon's doing?!" Luna wondered.

Tails looked at the lava, noticing the way it was moving. It almost looked like… "Iblis must have triggered something within the volcano! Like another eruption!" he exclaimed.

Sonic started running towards the others, calling, "It's trying to take us down with it! It's time to bail!"

Twilight looked at Spike and said, "Spike, the ring!"

The baby dragon straightened up at that, "Oh, right!" He moved the ring out from under his arm and took it in both of his claws, bringing it up over his head and throwing it forward. It flew straight for a second before it stopped and expanded with a *PHVWOW*.

Sonic ran up alongside the ring and placed his left hand on its side, the shimmering surface inside the ring faintly showing the clearing in front of Zecora's hut. Rainbow flew straight towards the ring, leaving a rainbow trail behind her as she flew up to the ring and hovered above it. "Come on, you guys! Let's go!" she called.

Silver could see that the shaking was still keeping all the non-flyers from finding a stable footing. Eying the trail Dash left, he focused his psychokinesis on it before it could disappear completely and began to manipulate it, lowering it down so it didn't exactly touch the shaking stalagmites, but also led straight to the Warp Ring. He looked at the others, saying, "Here, use this!"

Twilight, while carrying Spike on her back and Blaze and Zecora with her magic, managed to get on top of the rainbow trail and found it to be solid thanks to Silver's psychokinesis. "Thanks, Silver!" she said before running across it, the others quickly following. Applejack went through after Twilight, followed by Rarity (carrying her gem pile), Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Little Strongheart, Braeburn, Tails, and the princesses.

As he released his psychic grip on the rainbow trail (causing it to disappear), Silver looked down at the lava and saw that, in addition to its more liquid-like movements, it was beginning to rise. He then looked over at Sonic and Rainbow, "That just leaves us now!"

Sonic gestured to the ring and said, "After you guys!"

Rainbow nodded, "See you on the other side!"

The teenage dragons, in all the confusion, had finally managed to recover from being bowled over and were now noticing all the activity around them. "Hey, I don't like the look of all this!" the brown dragon said.

The purple dragon looked over and saw Rainbow Dash flutter down from where she was hovering above the Warp Ring and fly through it. "Hey, looks like they're using that ring thing to get out of here!" he pointed out.

Silver ran over and jumped through the ring as Garble said, "Wherever they're going is good enough for us right now!" Sonic looked over as the dragons started moving in his direction. He looked at them for a moment before gripping the side of the Warp Ring with his left hand and swinging himself around, going through it on the side opposite the teenage dragons. As the ring began to shrink, the teenage dragons managed to slip through it just seconds before a sudden lava wave fell over the spot where the ring had been.

________________________________________

The teenage dragons grunted as they hit the ground face first. They quickly recovered from the sudden landing, at which point they realized something was different. Looking down at the ground, they realized that it was completely white and felt like dirt and grass. "What's going on? Where are we?" the purple dragon asked.

Before Garble could answer, they heard voices behind them and turned to see Sonic, Silver, and Rainbow Dash standing a short distance away. Silver was speaking, "Those were some pretty cool maneuvers back there, Rainbow Dash. I was focusing on getting that stalagmite chipped down to size, but I did get a good look at some of them."

Rainbow rubbed a hoof over her chest as she smugly replied, "Well, of course! I'm always working on my moves! The Dash does everything with a little bit of awesomeness!"

Sonic and Silver couldn't help but smile at attitude. Silver then looked at Sonic and said, "And Sonic, you did a good job back there too. Just what I'd expect from the real deal."

Sonic grinned as he shrugged, "Well, I try."

Silver reached back into his quills with his right hand and pulled out the silver Chaos Emerald. He looked at it for a moment before looking at Sonic and holding out to him, saying, "Here, you can have this, Sonic. You guys are collecting them, right?"

Sonic looked at the Chaos Emerald as he replied, "Well, yeah. No doubt they're going to come in handy fixing this mess." He then looked up at Silver and asked, "But are you sure that's okay? You're not going to need it later?"

Silver nodded, "I'm sure. I wasn't really planning on using it for anything. Besides, you proved yourself back there. You deserve it."

Sonic said, "All right, if you say so, dude!" He held out his right hand and closed it around the top of the Chaos Emerald, taking it from Silver's hand.

Garble finally chose this moment to speak up, yelling, "Hey, hold on a minute!" The trio turned to look at him and the other dragons, noticing them for the first time. Garble went on, "You hand over that gem right now! If you think we're going to give it up now, you're dead wrong!"

Before he could continue, Applejack called, "C'mon over here, y'all! The color's comin' back!" Sonic, Rainbow, and Silver turned to look at the rest of their friends, who were standing in front of Zecora's hut with Blaze and Zecora in front of them, and ran over to join them, the teenage dragons forgotten. As they joined the group of friends, they saw that Applejack was right. The grass in the clearing had already regained its color, and Zecora's hut and the surrounding plant life was beginning to regain its color as well. Within a minute, the color had completely come back to the clearing.

Looking to Blaze and Zecora, they saw that they were beginning to regain their color as well. Blaze was the first to recover, and to Spike and the ponies' surprise, she, after blinking several times, leapt up, turning around in midair and landing on top of the nearby tree branch coming from Zecora's hut. She then quickly jumped again, landing on top of the hut directly beneath the canopy covering with her arms crossed.

Zecora, meanwhile, finished regaining her color. After blinking twice, the zebra examined her body, smiling when she was sure she was back. She then looked at the group and spoke, "I was afraid when the creature grabbed me, but now I am pleased. You came to rescue me, so my worries are eased."

Blaze, having noticed Sonic, Tails, and Silver among the group of unfamiliar faces and deeming it safe, leapt down from the top of Zecora's hut, landing next to the zebra. She stood up straight and said, "I must extend my thanks to you all as well. Although I do dislike relying on others, I am grateful for your aid. The creature was… too much for me to handle alone." She held her arms out in front of her and clenched her fists as she finished speaking, seeming to be slightly upset that she could not do more. Silver, Sonic, and Tails nodded at her, Silver holding up his left hand and clenching his fingers into a fist while looking down.

Before anyone else could say anything, Garble angrily yelled, "HEY!" Everyone turned to look at the teenage dragons, each of them raising an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't get to turn your backs on us! We want all of those gems you idiots have, and we want them now!" he stated.

Sonic tsked, wagging a finger as he said, "Are you guys still going on about that? Why don't you give it up already?" He lowered his hand and smirked, "Being over persistent won't win you any popularity contests, you know!"

Blaze and Zecora stepped forward, joining the others. Blaze looked at Silver and asked, "Who are these three?"

While glaring at the dragons, Silver replied, "They're a bunch of thugs, Blaze. Thugs that don't know when to back off when someone says 'no'."

The purple dragons growled, "You trying to be smart, white guy?"

Spike said, "Hey, Silver's only telling her the truth! There's nothing wrong with that!"

Celestia spoke, "You three have caused quite enough trouble for one day. As co-ruler of Equestria, I order you to cease your efforts at once."

Zecora said, "With Princess Celestia, I most certainly agree. Leave here now or in more trouble you will be."

Garble smirked, "Oh yeah, like I'm afraid of you. What are you going to do, rhyme me to death? Let's see how you like this!" He then reared back and thrust forward, unleashing a plume of flames from his mouth!

Spike, Tails, Zecora, and the ponies all took a step back at that, Tails saying, "Oh no! That's sure to spread to the rest of the Everfree Forest!"

Sonic and Silver looked at Blaze, Sonic asking, "You got this, Blaze?"

Raising her left hand up, Blaze replied, "Of course I do, Sonic." She then snapped her fingers; as soon as she did, something started to happen to the flames. They were going in a straight line before, but now they were starting to angle down towards the ground, striking the ground right in front of Blaze. Instead of spreading out like everyone expected, they instead stayed there for a moment before what looked like a snake's head made of flames stretched up out of the flames, stopping when it was eye level with Blaze. Spike, Zecora, and the ponies looked on in awe; despite the fact that it was made of flames, it looked like a real, coiled up snake that was extending its head up.

Even the dragons were shocked by what they were seeing. "Wh-what the-?!" Garble exclaimed.

While stroking the fire snake's head with her right hand, Blaze said, "My soul is alit with flames. I can control them, create them…" she raised her hand and snapped her fingers, the fire snake immediately disappearing; she then gave the dragons a piercing stare as she finished, "and end them."

Spike muttered, "Whoa…"

Garble grunted, "Huh. Never would have expected a kitty cat to be able to do that."

A vein grew on Blaze's forehead when she heard that. "What did you just say?" she asked with a noticeable sharpness in her voice.

Sonic crossed his arms and whistled while rolling his eyes, "Oh boy, he did not just call the princess of another dimension and the guardian of the Sol Emeralds a kitty." The expression on Silver's face indicated he also knew what was about to happen.

Garble smirked, "Oh, so she's a namby pamby princess too? Well, isn't that-?" He didn't get a chance to finish; in the blink of an eye, Blaze dashed from the spot where she was standing and right up to Garble with her right fist in front of her, slamming it right into the dragon's stomach as the trail of flames left in her wake started to shrink. Removing her fist from his stomach, Blaze stepped back as Garble fell to his knees. "Guh…! You… Ugh! How…?" he groaned as he tried to recover from that sudden strike. Blaze's only response was to strike again, this time kicking him in the face with her high-heeled shoes and sending him flying onto his back.

Once again, Spike, Zecora, and the ponies were in awe at Blaze's display while the dragons just looked shocked. Silver, meanwhile, grinned, "Looks like they just found out you've got claws, huh Blaze?"

Blaze nodded, "A smart falcon hides its claws from view. So, am I still 'namby pamby'?"

The brown dragon stuttered, "Er, no, sir, ma'am! You're tougher than that!" He and the purple dragon quickly moved back, reaching down and grabbing Garble by his arms to pull him up.

As they finally managed to get him on his feet, Garble glared at the brown dragon and growled, "Are you kidding me?! You're just going to give up because she's 'tougher than that'?! Well, I'm not! She's going to pay for this!" Before either dragon could reply, Garble broke free and ran towards Blaze, who lowered herself into a fighting stance.

As they started fighting, Luna looked at Sonic and asked, "Should we help?"

Sonic looked over at Blaze and Garble, noticing the way Blaze was nimbly dodging Garble's attacks (moving to the side when he punched, leaping up when he tried to use his tail to knock her feet out from under her, and ducking under his wings) before he replied, "You can, if you want. But I don't think it's Blaze who needs the help."

Blaze continued to dodge Garble's anger-induced attacks for about a minute before finally catching his fist in both hands. She then gave him a hard push backwards, throwing him off balance for a few moments. She then dashed up to him and jumped on him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She then jerked back, falling to the ground and bringing the dragon with her! As soon as her back touched the ground, she brought her right foot up and planted it against his stomach, mentally engaging her fire abilities as she did. As she pushed up with her foot, a burst of flames suddenly blasted out of her shoe, sending Garble flying. He landed on his back near the other two dragons, groaning. Sitting up, Blaze looked back at them and said, "I've had enough of this." She looked at Silver and asked, "Silver, do you mind taking care of them?"

The hedgehog replied, "Gladly!" He ran towards the dragons as the brown and purple dragons were helping Garble get back on his feet again. Just as he finished getting up and finding his balance, Silver grabbed them with his psychokinesis, his green aura surrounding the dragons and his left hand. He glared at them for a moment before saying, "Take THIS!" As he spoke, he swung his arms outward, blasting them with his psychic force and sending them flying straight through the canopy of the Everfree Forest!

Soon…

Following the 'departure' of the teenage dragons, introductions had been made for both Blaze and Zecora. Afterwards, Zecora went to check that everything in her hut was present while Twilight's friends began to crowd around Blaze, keeping Twilight, Spike, Celestia, and Luna from getting a chance to talk to her. While Applejack and Rainbow Dash cheered her for her display and Fluttershy was her usual shy self around her, Rarity and Pinkie Pie were a bit more intrusive. Rarity appraised her clothing like the fashionista she was, and Pinkie Pie was her usual bubbly self, being cheerful and jumping from one topic to the next, unknowingly making Blaze feel very uncomfortable. Sonic and Silver eventually had to step in and convince them to give Blaze her space.

It was at this moment that Zecora came out of her hut wearing a concerned look on her face. Tails noticed her coming and asked, "Is everything okay in there, Miss Zecora?"

Zecora smiled, "Please, young Tails, there is no need to use 'miss'. Saying my name itself is fine and would not be amiss." Her smile then eased off as she said, "As for your question, it's not all okay, that's for sure. Several potions and my saddlebags are unaccounted for."

Little Strongheart asked, "You mean they've been stolen?"

Zecora replied, "That is the only thing I can guess at this time. But it begs the question: who would commit such a crime?"

Braeburn looked at Applejack and said, "Cousin Applejack, you know Ponyville better than Ah do. Is there anypony in town who'd wanna do such a thing? Ah don't mean to speak badly about anypony, but stealin' from a zebra? T'ain't right."

Applejack replied, "Nopony in Ponyville's ever had anythin' against Zecora since we found out the truth 'bout her. And Ah doubt the Changeling Queen or Gilda woulda taken her potions or bag for any reason." She looked at Rainbow Dash and asked, "Gilda didn't do anythin' funny durin' yer race with her, did she, Rainbow?"

Rainbow replied, "Other than try to cheat by dropping Scootaloo off the clouds, no. I tried to keep an eye on her throughout the race, and she didn't go off the course or anything like that. Besides, what would Gilda do with potions anyway?"

Applejack grunted, "Ah don't know! That's why Ah'm askin'! You know that griffin better than any o' us!"

Tails said, "Well, that crosses both the Changeling Queen and Gilda off the list."

Silver asked, "So where does that leave us?"

Blaze said, "It sounds like it leaves us no closer to the answer."

Sonic crossed his arms, "Yeah, we've got nothing right now. No suspects, no evidence…" He looked over at Zecora and asked, "Did you see anything out of place in your hut that looked like it could be a clue, Zecora?" The zebra shook her head. Sonic then looked at the others and finished, "Then all we're doing right now is going around in circles, asking questions that we don't have any answers to."

Celestia nodded, "I agree with Sonic. There is nothing more we can do here right now. For now, we should head back to Ponyville. Perhaps some of the citizens noticed something or somepony unusual enter or exit the forest."

Pinkie Pie popped up in front of Zecora and said, "Don't you worry your stripy head, Zecora! We'll track down that mystery thief and make them give back everything they stole from you! Just like when we solved the mystery of who ate the Cakes' MMMM! Did I ever tell you about that time? Oh, it's a really good story! You see…"

Pinkie was silenced (somewhat) when Rarity came up behind her and slapped a hoof over her mouth, causing Zecora to raise an eyebrow at her while Pinkie talked into her hoof. Rarity laughed nervously, "Well, those details aside, Pinkie is right, Zecora. We will most certainly help you in any way we can." She then backed away nervously while dragging Pinkie, Zecora still looking at her oddly.

Sonic looked over at Tails and asked, "Hey, Tails, is your radar picking anything up?"

The fox reached into his tail and pulled out his radar, flipping it open and examining it for a few moments. He soon looked up and said, "Uh, no. I'm not getting any new signals right now. But it'll let me know right away if it picks anything up."

Blaze asked, "What kind of radar is it, Tails?"

After putting the radar away, Tails answered, "Well, since time is all messed up right now and portals to various locations and time periods are showing up all over Ponyville, I made this radar out of the spare parts from Eggman's old Badniks to detect the signals of new portals when they appear. Makes finding them easier for us, you know?"

Silver asked, "And you made that out of old Badnik parts?" Tails nodded.

Blaze smiled, "You mechanical prowess continues to amaze me, Tails." Tails blushed and giggled a bit at that.

Sonic spoke, "Well, since nothing's showing up on the radar right now, we should have time to check around Ponyville like Princess Celestia said."

Applejack took off her hat and said, "Yeah, and maybe Ah could get this fixed while we're at it. Ah don't particularly like havin' a flame hole in mah hat."

Rarity finally took her hoof off of Pinkie's mouth, the party pony saying, "And then I said, 'Oatmeal?! Are you crazy?!' I mean, I've…"

As Pinkie continued to ramble about how some things shouldn't go together (before switching to another subject), Rarity shook her hoof, making sure Pinkie hadn't gotten any spittle on it before turning to Applejack and using her magic to take her hat from her hoof. "I will take care of it as soon as we get back to Ponyville, Applejack darling. I need to take all of these gems back to the Carousel Boutique anyway," she said.

Sonic looked over at Zecora and asked, "Hey Zecora, you want to come with us? I'm sure you're used to the Everfree Forest and all, but right now, it might not be a bad idea to hang around Ponyville."

Zecora nodded, "After seeing that creature, I would have to agree. I wonder now if it has before been in the Everfree."

Celestia said, "Then let us go now. There is no time to waste." With that, she turned and started walking in the direction of Ponyville. Luna soon turned and followed after her and so did everyone else after Spike climbed onto Twilight's back.

As they walked through the Everfree Forest, Twilight noticed Blaze was talking to Silver. For a moment, she considered waiting until they got to Ponyville to try to talk to her, but then decided that now would probably be the best time. Quickening her pace slightly, she walked until she was walking alongside Blaze, though still letting her have her space. When there was a break in Blaze and Silver's conversation, Twilight spoke, "Uh, excuse me… Princess Blaze?"

Blaze looked over at her and said, "Please don't address me by my title. It means nothing here in Equestria, and I don't like it when my guards address me by it."

Twilight looked nervous at that, saying, "Sorry…"

Blaze waved a hand and then asked, "So did you have something you wanted to say to me, Miss…?"

Twilight perked up a bit at that and said, "Oh, right! You might not have heard earlier because Pinkie Pie and Rarity were talking to you, but my name is Twilight Sparkle. And this is Spike, my friend and number one assistant." She gestured to the baby dragon sitting on her back as she said that last part.

Spike, for his part, waved while saying, "Hi!"

Blaze looked at Spike, "Oh, um, hello. I can't say I've ever had the privilege of meeting a baby dragon before…" Spike seemed satisfied to hear that. Blaze then looked at Twilight and asked, "So is there something you wanted, Miss Sparkle?"

Twilight replied, "Uh, well, earlier I was talking with Sonic and Tails about some of the things my friends and I have gone through since Spike and I moved to Ponyville. And during a few of those conversations, Sonic mentioned you."

Blaze raised an eyebrow, "He did?"

Twilight nodded, "Yeah. He told me a bit about you and said some nice things about you. Things that made me want to meet you."

Blaze's expression returned to normal at that. "Oh. What did he say, exactly?" she asked.

Twilight replied, "Well, he told me that, until you traveled to his world and met Cream and Cheese, you were kind of a loner, preferring to do things by yourself. Is that true?" Blaze nodded in confirmation, so Twilight went on, "That's kind of like how I used to be before Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville. Except for my brother and Spike, I didn't really have any friends. I was too focused on my studies and thought the idea of having friends was… silly."

Blaze asked, "But you learned otherwise?"

Silver nodded, "You sure don't seem like that now, Twilight."

Spike giggled, "Yeah, but other than that, she hasn't changed that much!"

Twilight glared back at him for a moment before turning back to Blaze and Silver and saying, "Yes, I did learn that there's nothing wrong with having friends; in fact, they're great things to have. I realized this when they insisted on helping me after I read about a thousand year old prophecy and wanted to stop it. They helped me every step of the way, and we succeeded in preventing the night from becoming eternal and saving Princess Luna. After that, I wanted to stay in Ponyville with my new friends, and Princess Celestia allowed me and Spike to."

Blaze nodded, "I see. That reminds me of what happened when I first met Cream, Sonic, and their friends for the first time. The Sol Emeralds that keep my world alive had been taken by Dr. Eggman, and as I followed him, I was sent to Sonic's world, where I set about trying to retrieve them from him. Shortly after I set out, I met Cream and her Chao friend Cheese, who insisted on coming with and helping me. I was initially confused by her actions, and did not agree with her and her other friends when they said I should seek out Sonic. We eventually fought, which is when I realized that I was wrong for thinking I could save my world by myself, and after I saved Cream from Dr. Eggman, Sonic and I set everything right and I departed for my world."

Twilight smiled, "Well, it seems like you've become good friends with Sonic, just like I've become good friends with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity."

Blaze nodded, "I have. I've reflected on everything that Cream, Sonic, and their friends have taught me, and I see the wisdom in them. While I am still wary around others and still try to handle things by myself, I am more open to… social events and spending time with friends. Honestly, at times, I feel foolish for being alone for as long as I was."

Silver patted her on the shoulder while saying, "Don't worry about it, Blaze. That kind of thing happens to all of us. Besides, you admit that you've changed; that's a good sign if I ever saw one. Despite what Spike says, I'm sure Twilight's changed a lot too."

Zecora stepped up alongside Twilight and spoke, "She has indeed, Silver, and as she learns, she changes still. Since her arrival, she has done much and become a part of Ponyville."

As their conversation continued, Sonic and Tails, who were walking a little further ahead, listened in as they walked. Tails soon smiled at Sonic, "You were right, Sonic. They're getting along great."

Sonic nodded, "I had a feeling they would. It never hurts to know someone you can relate to."

As they continued walking, a thought began to work its way up into Twilight's brain. When they were near the edge of the Everfree Forest, Twilight looked at Silver and asked, "Hey Silver, what did you call that crescent-shaped blade of energy you made before?"

Silver thought about her questions for a moment before the answer hit him. "Oh, you mean the Psychic Knife?" he asked.

Twilight nodded, "Yeah, that. How do you do that? Is it something you've mastered?"

Silver replied, "Uh, sort of. I came up with it and perfected it after hours of training my psychokinetic powers. Why, why do you ask?"

Twilight looked down at the ground as she started, "Well, this might sound a bit silly, but…" She looked up at Silver and asked, "I was wondering if you'd be willing to teach me how to do it?"