Sonic: Friendship is Eternal Ch. 46

The Room of Self-Actualization

"This is ridiculous!" Amy shouted. "If Sonic goes, then I go!" she continued, only able to sit up due to injuries she received from the White Dwarf.

"Look Amy I know you want to help, but me, Dash, and the others who went through Discord's trials are the only ones that have the strength to go after Eggman at present." Sonic explained. Amy opened her mouth to protest before seeing Celestia enter the room and smile softly at her.

"It's alright Amy, besides you need to rest that ankle" she said calmly.

"It's fine see?" she asked as she turned and got her feet off the edge of the bed, setting them against the ground before lifting up. As soon as weight hit her ankle gravity took her down hard. Celestia just sighed at that, using her magic to get Amy back into bed.

"Rest now dear child." She said.

"Alright" Amy said reluctantly. "Be careful out there. All of you" she said to Sonic and the others. Sonic gave her a thumbs up before going with Dash to the others.

Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Tails, Rouge, Espio, Twilight, Trixie, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie all smiled at those two.

"Tails, any idea where Eggman went?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, I managed to get a tracker on his Mobile to find out where he went." Tails said holding up his handheld device that pinpointed where Eggman was. "If we just follow this, we'll find him in no time. However…it's inconclusive, I don't have a map of Equestria" he said. The device not really showing anything except a dot that beeped constantly. Celestia approached him and used her magic on the device.

"There you are Tails. A map for your travels" she said. Sure enough the device now showed a complete map of Equestria and the dot where Eggman was.

"That's…right near Appleloosa" Applejack said.

"How long would it take us to get there?" Sonic asked.

"About a week on foot, and about a day or two by train." She answered. Tails examined his handheld for a while.

"Tails?" Fluttershy asked.

"From where we are, it'd take about 1 ½ days to reach Appleloosa via train" Tails said.

"Then let's get going" Shadow said, earning nods from the others as they headed out. Saying their goodbye's on the way out the door.

Luna's Room

Luna was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling as a lot of things went through her mind. The fact that Stargazer was just as resilient as ever, and that Nightmare Moon was quiet. Too quiet in fact. Luna was unnerved by this silence and was startled to the point of a gasp and jump when a knock came at her door. She panted a bit as she tried to settle her racing heart before speaking, "Enter" she said with a rather shaky voice.

Celestia entered the room and took one look at her sister before she got worried. "Luna, I came here to tell you the Room will be ready tomorrow."

"That's good, the sooner the better" she said.

"That's not all. I also came here to tell you about it." Celestia said as she sat beside her sister. "How much do you already know about it?" Celestia asked.

"I remember when we were fillies, that the room was used to make a better pony out of one's self" she said. Celestia nodded.

"Yes, the room is used to help a pony find out who they are as an individual. Hence its name" Celestia said. "I should know, I entered the room myself"

Luna's eyes widened as she looked at her sister and sat up a bit. "You used that room? But, when?"

"Soon after banishing you to the moon and sealing Stargazer in Orion's Belt, I became very detached. A sort of depression washed over me, and I lost sight of who I was. I entered the room about a year after you were gone. And when I emerged, this is what came out" she said pointing her hoof at herself. "I emerged the benevolent and just ruler of Equestria that I am today"

Luna was awestruck, that her sister was in such a state of disarray that she used the room. And that it didn't just help her overcome that, it shaped her into what she was today. If it could do that to a depressed Celestia, just imagine what it could do for her troubled soul. She couldn't help but smile at the possibilities.

"All the more reason for me to use the room myself. I'll need if I am to face Stargazer again" she said. Celestia looked at her sister with a more serious expression.

"Luna, even if you emerge from that room you may not have what it takes to vanquish him." She said.

"We'll just have to wait and see dear sister" Luna said. Celestia just looked at her sister and sighed before standing up and walking to the door.

"I will come get you when the room is ready. In the meantime, prepare yourself for what is to come" Celestia said as she exited the room and shut the door behind her. Luna laid back down, eager to enter that room and get that much closer to finishing off Stargazer once and for all. The thought alone made her giddy with excitement.

With Vector

Vector was the only one besides Omega, and Big that was walking around a-ok. Helping out with getting the place cleaned up and getting repairs set up. It was certainly a work load, even for him. Seeing that things were handling themselves he decided to exit the palace and walk around, enjoy the sun and fresh air. He walked the streets of Canterlot, earning some friendly gestures from those who weren't as stingy. The other gestures, well let's just say after the 5th one Vector was half-tempted to act very uncivil.

"Geez, save their sorry asses and this is the kind of thanks that is to be expected. I'd rather be in a room with Blueblood for an hour." He said as he continued to walk, not watching where he was going and bumping into something that yelped and fell down go boom. He arched a brow and looked down, seeing a white unicorn with magenta shades, an electric blue mane and tail that looked unruly. What was even more interesting was that her cutie mark was an eighth note.

"Hey, sorry about that. You okay?" he asked. The unicorn rubbed her head a bit and stood up.

"Yeah, I'm okay" she said before looking at him and cracking a grin. "That's one way to bump into somepony. Name's Vinyl Scratch." She said.

"I'm Vector. Vector the Crocodile" he said with a smile.

"So I take it you're one of those new dudes running around Equestria?" she asked.

"Yep that's me." He said.

"You guys like saved Equestria once right?" she asked.

"Well it was more Ponyville than the whole Equestria, but yeah we did."

"I heard there was quite a commotion at the palace, what happened?" she asked.

"Something big, evil guy named Stargazer showed up and started wreaking havoc. Now some of my friends are going off to get the Chaos Emeralds back from Dr. Eggman" he said.

"Whoa, dude you gotta tell me everything. This is like a good story, except I'm like in it" she said. Vector just grinned and sat on a nearby bench.

"Then have a seat, for this will be a long story" he said. She sat down next to him, ready to listen. He told her all about the Emeralds, Eggman, and what's been happening lately. Reaching the end of the story by sunset. Vinyl's jaw was hanging from the sheer magnitude of what she just heard.

"Dude, that's so incredible I can't even find the words" she said with a chuckle. He chuckled as well, looking at the sunset.

"You know, I never really get this much time to just sit and relax. Usually I have fans wanting my autograph or telling me stories I don't much care for. But for some reason, it's a lot different with you" she said. Vector just smiled.

"Maybe because I'm talking to you as a friend, not a celebrity" he said. She smiled, removing her glasses and revealing her bright crimson eyes.

"Yeah, that's probably it" she said, turning her gaze to the sunset. "Beautiful" she said, referring to both the sunset and the fact that Vector and her had a friendship.

"Yes indeed. And I intend to make sure it stays that way." He said. Vinyl just smiled at that before yawning.

"I should get home, it's getting late" she said.

"Allow me to walk you there" Vector said. Vinyl blushed to the point her fur looked pink on her cheeks.

"How chivalrous of you" she said, accepting his offer and walking with him.

"Chivalry ain't dead yet" Vector said with a smile. They talked more as they walked, about what they do for their special talent and how much fun they have doing it. Once at her house they gave their goodbye's before Vinyl entered her home and Vector headed back to the palace.

Vinyl sighed happily as she looked out the window and saw him fade into the distance while a smile grew on her face. "Can't wait to hang out some more" she said before heading to her bathroom to get cleaned up and ready for bed.

Cadence and Shining Armor's home that night

Shining returned from a long day of work, getting repairs in order and setting up a defensive perimeter to ensure nothing else went south was certainly a tiring thing for him. He let out a deep sigh as he removed his armor and set it to the side.

"Welcome home" came the voice of his loving wife, Cadence. Her smile wide and full of love as she trotted up to him and kissed him lovingly.

"Glad to be home" he said softly as he hugged her.

"Oh by the way, I went to the doctor. Since you know, we assume I've got stomach flu" she said. Shining nodded.

"Yeah I know, what'd they say?" he asked. She blushed softly and smiled happily at him.

"11 months from now" she said softly as she moved a hoof to rub her belly. His eyes shot open before a huge smile broke across his face.

"We're gonna be parents?" he asked. She nodded happily. He just kept smiling, feeling so extremely happy before the reality sunk in and combined with his exhaustion made him collapse on the floor. Cadence just sweatdropped.

"Perhaps I should have waited till morning…" she said with a chuckle. "Oh well"

On the train bound for Appleloosa

"Never expected to be going to Appleloosa to stop a madman" Applejack said as she looked out the window of the train, watching the horizon go by. She was sitting on her bed, with Knuckles beside her.

"You've been there before?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, to give my cousin Braeburn an apple tree for the orchard. Ended up settling a dispute between them and a tribe of Buffalo." She said. A sigh escaped her as she continued to think on what kind of trouble Eggman was causing, and if her cousin and buffalo friends were alright.

"Don't worry, I'm sure they're all okay" Knuckles said. Applejack turned to him and hugged him. Knuckles hugged her back, letting her know he was there for her.

"Thank you Knuckles. I love you so much" she whispered softly to him.

"I love you too, and don't worry. I'll always be there when you need me" she just smiled and kissed him as a second thank you.

"Let's get some shut eye, we'll need it" she said after the kiss ended. Knuckles nodded and laid down with her to fall asleep.

Sonic was still awake, the excitement of thwarting Eggman again building in him. Dash was right beside him and could just feel his excitement coming off in waves, which of course got her excited as well.

"You know, we won't be able to do much hind kicking if we aren't well rested" Rainbow Dash said.

"Coming from Ms. Take a Nap at every available chance" he teased, she just turned to him and playfully nudged him with her hoof.

"You hush" she said to him with a smile. He finally laid down beside her, his face close to her muzzle and a smile forming on both of their faces. She then moved a bit forward and kissed him, which he gladly kissed her back.

"I love you Sonic" she said softly.

"I love you too Dash" he said just as softly as he looked into her eyes.

"Let's get some rest, and kick Eggman's rear super-fast." she said. Sonic just smiled.
"definitely." he said happily as he wrapped his arms around Dash and fell asleep with her.

Tails was relaxing with Fluttershy, Changer at the foot of their bed curled up and asleep. The little Changeling happened to be in good enough shape to join them at the last minute, which nobody seemed to mind. Fluttershy turned to Tails and kissed his cheek. The boy smiled and turned to her, catching her lips in a tender loving kiss. She blushed softly and giggled shyly as she looked into his eyes when the kiss ended. They both smiled at one another as they laid down and went to sleep.

Espio and Pinkie were already asleep, since Espio wanted to head to bed early and Pinkie wanted to sleep with him. Not in that way you dirty minded pervs. Wait, if you didn't think of it and I mentioned it does that make me the perv?

"Hey, breaking the fourth wall is my job" Pinkie mumbled in her sleep. Oh right, sorry. Now where was I?  Oh yeah.

Twilight was smiling as she gazed at the stars from her window. Shadow couldn't help but smile at the sight of her watching the stars. She yawned lightly before turning to Shadow just as he began to yawn. She giggled softly before kissing his cheek and laying down. He just arched a brow at her and smiled before laying down as well.

Twilight began to think and think. Wanting to tell him now, but knowing it should wait. The fact she had to make the time perfect for the reveal killed her on the inside.

"Good night Twilight" Shadow said softly, which jarred her from her thoughts.

"Good night Shadow" she said, deciding to worry about it later and fall asleep.

Rouge and Rarity were asleep in separate beds, for somewhat obvious reasoning. Silver looked to Trixie after having seen everyone get all cozy with one another, a big hopeful smile on his face. She just pointed her hoof to the bed on the other side of the coach, Silver pouted and went to that bed. Both of them soon laid down and fell asleep.

The Next day

The train came to a stop at Appleloosa and our heroes emerged from it, each one of them looking at the western community.

"Wow, just like Texas before it became industrial" Sonic said.

"Wha?" Dash asked.

"Nothing" he said.

"Well howdy" came a male voice, Braeburn's voice.

"Howdy Braeburn" Applejack said before hugging her cousin.

"So what brings ya'll to Appleloosa?" he asked.

"Would it by any chance be a creature with no hair on its head, but instead on its lip?" came a deep voice from nearby. They all turned to see a buffalo with a Native American headdress and tribal markings on his face.

"Chief Thunderhooves" Applejack said with a smile.

"It is good to see you all again" he said.

"What was that you said about a guy with a huge mustache?" Sonic asked.

"Ah, so you do know of him?" Thunderhooves asked.

"That's the reason we're here, to beat him and take what he stole back." Sonic said.

"Then come with me, my tribe shall assist you in reaching his fortress, and in bringing it down."

"Much appreciated" Applejack said. Thunderhooves nodded and led them to his tribe.

Canterlot Palace

Luna stood with her sister in front of an ornate double door. It was a pure black in color, with all the markings and details a stark white.

"So this is it" Luna said, her nerves a little on fire as her heart raced.

"Yes little sister, this is The Room of Self-Actualization" she said. "Are you ready?"
"Yes, I am" Luna said even though on the inside she was freaking out.

"Then enter the room" Celestia said. Luna nodded and conjured some magic in her horn before tapping the doors. They opened and she gave her sister a farewell smile before entering. The doors shut behind her quite loudly. Celestia just sighed, knowing her sister was in for one hell of a ride.

Inside the room it was dark, not pure black, just a very dark gray color. There seemed to be no walls or ceiling, just a floor and a huge expanse of nothingness.

"Certainly is way different than what I came to expect from its name" Luna said as she looked around.

"So you finally came" came Nightmare Moon's voice, Luna was shocked to hear her voice again, and even more so that it was outside her head. She turned and saw her darker self standing no less than ten feet away from her, grinning madly.

"How?" she asked. Nightmare just laughed.

"Simple you little fool. This room is where you face your inner Demons. And as an added treat" she said, pointing to where Luna entered. She turned and saw no doors anymore.

"You can't leave this room until you've accomplished its purpose. Which is to make you discover what you truly are" Nightmare Moon said with a laugh. Luna was shocked and now completely scared.

"What have I gotten myself into?" she wondered