Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Infinite gasped as he awoke, gripping his chest over the papery white hospital gown. Things were happening all around him. Shouts of orders, someone pushing him back down onto the uncomfortably plush bed, the needle in his arm, the bandages constricting his chest, and the disgustingly septic smell that reminded him too much of the room the Doctor used when implanting the Phantom Ruby into his chest.

Oh.

The Phantom Ruby...

Running his thumb over his chest, panic ran through Infinite's gut when he found the ruby gone, only to remember what had happened. The doctor, Eggman, drove the spiral drill of his floating chair directly into Infinite's chest, shattering it to pieces.

So why...

Infinite could still feel the Phantom Ruby's power coursing through him, weak as it was. It numbed the pain in his chest and made his paws tremble from where he stared at them in front of his face. Last he remembered, his hands were gloved and stained with blood, both those of the innocent mobians he killed and his own. Now, his hands were a dark, dark grey, ungloved and-

Wait a minute.

HANDS?!

Infinite did not scream. Those who say so are inferior beings and deserve to be crushed under the jackal's boot.

__

The rest of the day was blurry.

Maybe it was the shock from waking up in a hospital, seemingly in another world, or maybe it was from the blood loss, or maybe the fact that he was no longer a Mobian, but a human. Infinite wasn't sure -that was a lie, he was sure. Infinite was never unsure about anything.

The next day, a girl with red and yellow hair, and orange skin, came to visit him.

"Oh good, you're awake!" She said, a little too cheerfully, "The nurse downstairs told me that you might be asleep."

To say the least, Infinite was confused. He hated being confused because when he was one with the Phantom Ruby, he knew everything about anyone and anything. Now, this new world left him with question after question after question about his own questions.

"My name is Sunset Shimmer. I'm the one who found you after you fell from the portal to Equestria."

Equestra-huh now?

The first word out of his mouth since he came to this world fell from his tongue.

"What?"

The girl, -she has not earned enough of Infinite's respect yet to be called by her name- seemed confused as well.

"Equestria." She answered, "The other world filled with magical ponies and stuff..?"

Now, Infinite was sure she was crazy. Sure, mobians were talking animals, but ponies?

"Never heard of it." He responded, "But..." Infinite looked around the room, glancing over the girl with an imaginary flick of his not-there-anymore tail. "Mobius. Have you ever heard of Mobius?"

The girl seems to think for a moment before shaking her head. Infinite frowns.

Now his head hurts...

The girl seems to be talking, but Infinite doesn't bother to listen.

___

It had been a few days since initially waking in this new world. The girl had visited Infinite multiple times throughout his time in the hospital, occasionally bringing him new things from that world that she had once also been new to. Apparently, Sunset Shimmer was also from another world, just not Mobius. Equestria, she had called it, although she hadn't elaborated further.

Today, however, the girl came back with another person, this one also a girl, only with purple skin and darker-toned hair streaked in pink. They both came into the room as Infinite had tugged on his jacket, grateful to have spawned into this world wearing some semblance of clothing; a leather jacket that resembled the previous rib-like markings on his chest, lined with white fur, dark pants called "jeans," and a white t-shirt.

Speaking of, Infinite's new body was certainly strange. He looked very similar to his previous jackal appearance, only with less fur and more hair. His body was all black, with white hair in long, chunky locks, and jewelry on his ears that looked similar to the previous markings on his mask.

The hospital had discharged him earlier than they had expected, the traces of the Phantom Ruby's power left behind in Infinite's body being used to protect its host.

Lucky him...

"Hello." Infinite calmly greeted, keeping his eyes on the two girls. Something about the purple one...

It didn't sit well with him.

"Hey." Sunset Shimmer -who Infinite will have to refer to by her name now because it would become confusing to call both girls, "the girl." He would do the same to the purple one, most likely- responded, giving Infinite a light wave. Infinite didn't return the gesture. "I brought a friend. She'll be able to help you get back to your world."

Ah, that's right.

Mobius.

Infinite had barely thought about the place in the past few days he had been away from it.

Was it really that bad that he didn't want to go back..?

"Hello!" The purple girl said, "Sunset Shimmer didn't give me your name."

"I never gave her one," Infinite responded. When he looked over at Sunset Shimmer, she looked kind of embarrassed.

Infinite thought for a moment.

"You never gave me your name either."

"I'm Twilight Sparkle." The purple girl, Twilight Sparkle, said. "In Equestria, I'm the Princess of Friendship."

...

Huh???

"Princess... of Friendship?" Infinite deadpanned, "Really?

"Really!" Twilight Sparkle responded joyfully.

Well, that's just stupid.

But, he supposed that Sonic and his friends had defeated Infinite together, so that counted for something.

"And how are you supposed to get me back to my world?" Infinite asked.

Twilight Sparkle's mood deepened. "Well, the only portal that we know of leads to Equestria, so until then, on top of defeating the Dazzlings, we'll have to find another portal that leads back to your world."

"And who are the Dazzlings?" Infinite asked.

"Sirens from Equestria." Twilight Sparkle answered.

Infinite crossed his arms. "Like... mermaids?"

The purple girl shook her head. "More like seahorses that feed on negative energy."

"Ah."

An awkward silence followed.

"And... how long would that take?" Infinite asked hesitantly.

He was already running low on time. If Infinite couldn't get back to Mobius and find one of the fake Phantom Rubies...

It wouldn't be pretty.

Infinite remembered Dr. Eggman saying something about melting from the inside out.

He supposed that while he was here waiting to get back to his world in order to get his revenge on Eggman, he could help take care of these... Dazzlings. Perhaps everything would progress just a little faster with his assistance.

It's not like he had anything else better to do.

"I'll help." He finally said.

The two girls looked up from where they were whispering to each other, eyes wide with surprise.

"You... will?" Sunset Shimmer asked hesitantly.

Infinite rolled his eyes. "Yeah, why wouldn't I? An eye for an eye, or whatever... You saved me, so I'll save you."

"It's just..." Sunset Shimmer trailed off, her words seemingly being chosen very carefully, "You... don't seem like the type to want to help, is all. We don't even know your name."

Infinite frowned again.

Well, if he was going the hero route...

"It's Zero." Infinite, Zero, responded. "Zero."

A small smile appeared on Sunset Shimmer's face, while Twilight Sparkle's was wide and toothy.

"That's great!" Twilight Sparkle said enthusiastically. She turned to Sunset Shimmer and said, "The rest of the girls are waiting to surprise the Dazzlings in the gym at Canterlot High. We should get going."

The two girls left with Zero in tow, following them like a dog would its master.

No, not master anymore. Infinite was Dr. Eggman's plaything. Zero was as free as a bird in a cage with the key sitting at its feet, unable to unlock the door because the key would not fit in its claws.

Chapter Text

Zero was beginning to regret his decision to come to Canterlot High.

The whole place smelled similar to the Chaos Emeralds' power, strangely enough. The negative energy that Dr. Eggman had used them for still stained its scent on Zero's paws, or, hands, rather, with his new human form. It must have been from the Dazzlings' spell that they had supposedly put on the school.

Not that it mattered. The Chaos Emeralds were not in this world.

When Zero walked into the gymnasium of Canterlot High School with Twilight Sparkle, who was now being followed by a talking purple dog named Spike -He was the only thing Zero considered to be somewhat normal in this world. Zero had told him so, and Spike seemed to be proud of it, only for Zero to insult his fur color- and Sunset Shimmer, they immediately zeroed in -no pun intended- on a group of five girls standing by a table full of snacks. One of them, with pink skin and darker pink hair, was stuffing her face with more cupcakes than should have been possible. The rest of the gym was... lively. Students were arguing with each other, everyone in their respective groups. It was more than a little strange, but Zero had seen stranger.

"Is your school... always like this?" Zero asked Sunset Shimmer.

She shook her head. "No, everyone's usually so friendly." Then, she muttered, as if her words were not for Zero's ears, "Except to me..."

Zero decided not to mention it.

From across the room, Zero heard a sigh, followed by, "I'm gonna get more punch!" And then, a crash. Zero jumped -he did not!- looking over at where Twilight Sparkle was now on the ground, being helped up by a boy with blue hair and yellow skin.

"Twilight?" He asked as if he were surprised she was there. Well, if what Zero had been told so far was true, then it was unusual that the purple-haired girl was back at Canterlot High.

The "Princess of Friendship" stuff was still more than a little strange though.

"Eh, bumped, into, always, doing?" Twilight gracefully stammered out, taking a step back from the boy. Zero rolled his eyes and looked away, continuing to observe the rest of the gymnasium. Over by the punch bowl were three girls bickering with each other about the flavor of the fruit punch, one orange, one blue, and one purple. Around their necks, they each had a red jewel pendant not too different from the Phantom Ruby. Zero's chest suddenly began to ache.

Zero leaned closer to Sunset Shimmer and muttered, "I've seen more chemistry between a bird and a worm." He crossed his arms. "Is she always like this around him?"

Sunset Shimmer took a deep breath. "Well, yeah... The only thing awkward about it, other than Twilight's... ya know, is the fact that Flash Sentry used to be my boyfriend."

Zero hummed.

"What are you doing here?" The blue-haired boy, Flash Sentry, asked Twilight Sparkle. "You came back for the big competition, right?"

"Something like that." Twilight Sparkle responded.

Flash Sentry crossed his arms and smirked. "Huh. Not that there's gonna be any real competition. No one here wants this as bad as my band does!"

The students around the gym begin to argue louder. If Zero still had his large, jackal ears, they would be folded down right about now.

Twilight Sparkle took another step backward. "Can you excuse me for just a minute?"

She quickly walked away and disappeared outside of the gym. Zero noticed that the girls beside the snack table had also made their way outside of the gym.

Sunset Shimmer ushered Zero over to the bleachers, leading him under them. "You're gonna want to be out of the way for this. Last time they did the whole 'pony power-up' thing they made a crater in the ground." She said, moving to stand slightly in front of him.

Zero hummed dismissively, but after hearing that, he figured that maybe this would be a show worth watching.

"This is just the kickoff party, girls." The orange girl by the punch bowl said menacingly, voice high pitched and bratty. Zero figured that those three must be the 'Dazzlings.' He leaned in closer, peering through the gaps in the bleachers to get a better view. The orange Dazzling continued, "Imagine what a tizzy they'll be in by the time the Battle of the Bands starts."

The doors to the gym burst open, and in walks the, now six, group of girls, led by Twilight Sparkle.

"There isn't going to be a Battle of the Bands!" Twilight Sparkle shouted, clearly confident in her ability to take down the Dazzlings. "We're gonna make sure of that! Alright girls, let's do this."

Zero tensed, narrowing his eyes. This was it.

"Friendship is magic!"

Awkward silence. Someone from across the room coughs.

What.

Zero slapped himself across the face, muttering, "Oh gods..." What else should he have expected? His cheeks reddened from the second-hand embarrassment alone, not to mention the hairs on the back of his neck sticking up from the intense stares the three Dazzlings were giving the six.

One of the girls beside Twilight Sparkle, with rainbow hair and blue skin, says awkwardly, "Uh, weren't there rainbows and lasers and stuff last time?"

Twilight Sparkle looked... scared? No. It wasn't fear, or, well, it was, but it was the kind of fear that Zero had seen on, surprisingly, Sonic's face when he was captured at the beginning of the war with Dr. Eggman. It was the fear for, in the blue hedgehog's case, his companion, Tails, who was with him at the time. In Twilight Sparkle's case, it was the fear for her friends around her.

Zero fed on it from afar, clenching his fists and trying not to smirk. He could feel drool pooling in his mouth from the fear radiating off of Twilight Sparkle in large, tsunami-like waves. It was delicious.

"You, uh... really need to go ahead and do the whole "magic of friendship" thing now," Spike said awkwardly, shuffling his front paws from side to side with anxiousness.

"I'm trying, Spike." Twilight panically whispered. "I thought the six of us standing together against the sirens would bring out the magic we needed to defeat them. That's what happened before."

Ah, right. Before. Zero would have to remember to ask about the first time this had happened. Hopefully without any sirens. These three were already annoying enough, and they had barely done anything yet.

The orange Dazzling smirked. "Talk about throwing in the gauntlet!" She said boastfully, "This group is obviously serious about winning! A little cocky though, aren't they? Claiming there won't really be a battle. Seems they think they've already got this thing all locked up."

"Not if the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie has anything to do with it!" A girl with light blue skin and white hair, who was apparently named Trixie, said cockily.

Flash Sentry yelled back at Trixie, "Whatever, Trixie! We're the best band at CHS!"

"No! The Crusaders are gonna win!" Another girl, looking similar to the orange-skinned one in Twilight Sparkle's group, only younger, shouted with a thick country accent.

Everyone in the gym begins to shout and yell at each other, as green mist begins sprouting from the teenagers' chests. It resonated along the wooden floor with a low humming sound, centralizing around the three Dazzlings' necklaces.

Zero brings his hands to cover his ears, only to notice a red glow encompassing his body, along with opaque, barely-there black cubes. A rush of weakness ran through his body, making him lean against the wall, panting with exertion, even though he had barely done anything.

From the punch bowl, he could still hear the Dazzling's arguing with each other.

"I think we may have found what we're looking for." The orange one said seductively, "Or rather, it found us."

The one with purple skin slaps herself.

"Magic!!" The orange Dazzling shouts, grabbing the purple Dazzling and roughly skating her. "Don't you see?! Everyone else has fallen under our spell. But not these girls."

She was right. Looking around, Zero could only see the six girls, Spike, Sunset Shimmer, and himself not arguing. However, Zero could feel the rage bubbling up inside of himself...

Strangely enough, it did not spill over.

"These girls are special."

Indeed they were. Zero could feel it in his bones. Magic was everywhere in this place. It was in the walls, in the people, in the instruments, and especially in the six girls who all stood at the entrance to the gym.

Zero couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Chapter Text

Back on Mobius…

It had been one week since the war. One week since Infinite's death. One week since Eggman’s disappearance.

One week since the Chaos Emeralds went missing.

Throughout Sonic’s life, however old he was, -he didn’t bother to keep count. He was alive, and that’s all that matters!- he had learned more than a few things. Magic was a stable part of Mobius. It was in everyone, sometimes as small as a seed and sometimes as large as the world tree, which was pretty large. It takes Sonic about three minutes to run around the whole thing, and that’s saying something.

Anyways, all of the magic was powered by one thing, the Master Emerald, and with the Master Emerald, came the Chaos Emeralds.

Now, this usually wouldn’t be a problem. Chaos Emeralds scattered after they’re used, however, all the power Eggman had drained from them could become a problem…

The Chaos Emeralds were connected to the world of Mobius in ways not even Sonic’s little brother Tails could comprehend -well, maybe he could. The kid knew a lot for his age- which was a problem.

Without the Chaos Emeralds, Mobius would crumble.

___

Eventually, at the next Resistance meeting, Tails brought up the missing Chaos Emeralds.

“I’ve been getting signals from my Chaos Energy Tracker in the Tornado.” Tails explained, “But whenever I go to the location it senses, it’s like a false positive!”

Sonic puts a hand on his chin, thinking.

“I have a theory that it has something to do with the Phantom Ruby’s disappearance. Originally, I thought Infinite could be using it and the energy remains, making my sensors think the energy that it left behind was from the Chaos Emeralds, but…”

“But we all saw Eggman rip the Phantom Ruby out of Infinite’s chest.” Knuckles said, rubbing his chin. Sonic grimaced.

It had been an ugly sight that Sonic couldn’t get rid of. After finally reaching the Phantom Ruby’s area reactor, Eggman…

Well, it was something Sonic would rather not think of. All that he could remember was that it was bloody. The look of surprise on Infinite’s unmasked face was enough to fuel a lifetime of nightmares.

“So,” Tails continued, “that would mean that Eggman still has the ruby, which is why…” He stands up and walks to a conveniently nearby whiteboard which has been split in two by a marker line. “I have created two teams. One will find Eggman and destroy the ruby while the other will focus on getting the Chaos Emeralds back!”

Sonic finally stands up, a cocky smirk on his face as he stands confidently with his arms crossed.

“Alright, guys.” He said, looking over everyone in the room. “Let's do this.”

Chapter Text

Back in the world of the Equestria Girls…

“It doesn’t make any sense.” Twilight Sparkle said, pacing around the front of the school while chewing on her bottom lip. Zero, who had lagged back with Sunset Shimmer underneath the bleachers, opened the door, leading to the outside world. All six of the girls who had previously failed to take down the Dazzlings sat around the statue of the horse, some with instruments in their hands. Twilight Sparkle continued, “I should have been able to create the spark that would help us break their spell. That’s how it worked before.”

“But to defeat me, you drew magic from the crown I was wearing.” Sunset Shimmer chimed in from where she stood in front of Zero. “The Sirens’ magic comes from their music. So maybe you have to use the same kind of magic to defeat them.” Twilight Sparkle perked up, releasing her lip from her bottom teeth. Sunset Shimmer’s voice wavered, “Or… maybe not.”

Twilight Sparkle shook her head, sporting a small smile. “No. I think you’re onto something.”

“Really?” Sunset Shimmer responded, eyes wide. Zero looked her up and down.

He almost had the full picture of Sunset Shimmer’s story. She was originally an enemy of Twilight Sparkle’s, now attempting to reform herself in any way she can. And when Zero says “any way” he means any way. He had seen the looks of desperation from where she looked on at the six girls from under the bleachers just earlier. It was similar to himself.

In a way.

“It’s when you play music that you transform now, right?” Twilight Sparkle asked.

The girl with yellow, hay-ish-colored hair answered, “Yup. Ears, tails, the whole shebang.”

“So maybe the way to use that magic to defeat the sirens is by playing a musical counterspell!” Twilight Sparkle excitedly hypothesized.

“You mean like a song?” The girl with light pink hair asked, pulling her hair back from over her right eye.

“Uh-huh.” Twilight Sparkle answered, “And in order to free everyone who’s been exposed to the sirens’ spell, we’ll need them all to hear it.”

All six of the girls simultaneously hummed.

Zero sighed. “Anyone want to catch me up?” He asked. Now, the attention was on him. Not something he wasn’t used to, but in this way, where the girls were looking at him with curiosity instead of fear… it was refreshing, to say the least.

“Everyone, meet Zero.” Sunset Shimmer said, stepping aside to reveal Zero in all of his now-human glory. “He’s agreed to help us with our little siren problem while he’s trying to get back to his world.”

The girl with white skin and purple hair gasps. “You’re from Equestria?! Oh my goodness, you’re so handsome! Sunset, why haven’t you told us about this jewel? Oh, I’m Rarity, by the way.”

Zero inches back at the sudden onslaught of compliments. After months of not receiving anything other than the outcries of Mobius’ citizens and Dr. Eggman’s orders, it felt… strange. No, that’s not the right word. Extraordinary… difficult to process. There, that’s it.

“Not Equestria.” Zero corrected shortly. He then turned to Twilight Sparkle, “Didn’t you see their amulets glowing? Those things were powering whatever spell they used in there, and sucking up the green mist the other bands’ anger was producing.” He explained, “I say, we destroy the amulets and take away their power source.”

Mentally, he compared the similarities of the Phantom Ruby and the Dazzlings’ amulets. Both were red and produced powerful magic. Maybe the Phantom Ruby was more powerful, with its ability to create illusions and alter reality, however, messing with people’s emotions like the Dazzlings’ amulets did was a powerful ability and not one to be toyed with.

Sunset Shimmer sighed. “They won’t let us get close to those things.” She said, “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Rarity gasps again. “I’ve got it! The band competition!” She stands up, hitting her fist in her palm. “That's the next time we can be certain everyone will be in the same place at the same time.”

The girl with hay-colored hair smirks. “Guess the Rainbooms are the band to beat.” She says cockily. Then, to Zero: “Oh, and I’m Applejack. That’s Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy.” She points to each girl respectively.

Rarity continues, “And I believe you two just became the Rainbooms’ newest members, Twilight and Zero.”

What.

No.

Oh gods… is this a musical?!

The rest of the girls, minus Twilight Sparkle and Sunset Shimmer, laugh and cheer. They all group around Twilight Sparkle, leaving Zero and Sunset Shimmer behind. She, Sunset Shimmer, looked crestfallen. Zero eyed her, then looked away, crossing his arms and frowning once more.

There’s more to the story then. A girl who was previously an enemy is trying to redeem herself, although the heroes of the story are doing nothing to help her cause.

The girl with the fuzzy pink hair, Pinkie Pie, suddenly appears beside Twilight Sparkle and Zero.

“So, what do you wanna play?” She asks enthusiastically. “Triangle?” Suddenly, she pulls out a triangle from her hair and dings it. “Sousaphone?” She does the same thing with the sousaphone, only blowing into it to create a ‘fwomp’ sound right in Twilight Sparkle’s face, leaving her hair frazzled. “Theremin?” She plays the theremin, creating a magical, almost hypnotizing sound. Zero shakes his head. “Soooo magical.”

Twilight Sparkle shakes her head. “I might take a little too long to learn how to play something with these.” She holds up her hands as if they were paws, or hooves, in Twilight Sparkle’s case. “I’ll just sing.”

“Like, as in, lead singer?” The rainbow-haired girl, Rainbow Dash, said suspiciously, “Cuz that’s usually my gig. This being my band and all.”

Applejack stands up with her arms crossed. “It’s our band!” She defends, frowning. “And, of course as lead singer. She’s the one with the magical know-how to help us pull this thing off.”

Ah, so they weren’t so unaffected by the Dazzlings’ spell after all.

Rainbow Dash huffs and crosses her arms, rolling her eyes. “Okay, yeah, that’s cool.” She says. It was clearly not okay, but Zero guessed she knew what was best for her and her world, or school, in this case. “I’ll just use this as a chance to hone my already insanely good lead guitar skills.”

So she was competitive… Zero guesses that’s good to know, in case he has to exploit that fact later.

“What about you, Zero?” Pinkie Pie asked enthusiastically, sliding up to rest one of her arms around Zero’s shoulders.

“I play guitar.” Zero said, “But I’m not interested in joining your… band.”

Of course, there were multiple sounds of protests from the girls, minus Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle

“It’s only temporary.” Twilight Sparkle reassures Rainbow Dash, “And we don’t have to win the battle of the bands. We just have to perform during the first round of competition.”

Rainbow Dash’s mood seems to take a full 180 as she says, “Let’s get to learning that musical counter-spell!”

“Well, that’s just it.” Twilight Sparkle said a little nervously. “I don’t know any.”

The five girls all simultaneously “Awww…”

“But I’m sure I could figure out how to write one!” Twilight Sparkle continues with a glint of hope in her eyes.

“Totally!” Spike finally chimed in, “Twilight can write a spell like it’s nobody’s business.” He pats Twilight Sparkle’s boot and crosses his arms. Paws? Whatever. “That’s pretty much how she got to become a princess in Equestria.”

“Technically, I helped finish a spell.” Twilight Sparkle said, “And there was a little more to it than that, Spike.”

Spike rolls his eyes and pouts, saying, “Yeah, whatever.”

“I’ve got this.” Twilight Sparkle reassured, although it seemed more to herself than the rest of the group. “C’mon, Spike.”

Applejack looked at Twilight Sparkle with a confused expression on her face. “Where’re you goin’?” She asked.

Twilight Sparkle answered, “Well, the last time we were here, Spike and I spent the night in the library.”

Zero snickered, earning a look from Twilight Sparkle.

“What’s so funny?’ Twilight Sparkle frowned.

“Are there bookworms in this world? I think you might be one of them.”

Twilight looked offended, and Spike growled at him.

Pinkie Pie shouts, “Are you crazy?! We’re besties now!” She wrapped her arms around Twilight Sparkle, bringing the girl into a tight hug that left her legs kicking in the air as she tried to break free. “Slumber party at my house!”

Even Sunset Shimmer looked excited, so maybe there was something to this.

Chapter Text

That night, Zero found himself in Pinkie Pie’s kitchen after everyone had fallen asleep when Twilight Sparkle walked in. She looked surprised to see him, only to sit down next to him at the table and open up Fluttershy’s notebook.

“I would have thought you would be asleep by now.” She said. Zero hummed.

“I… have not had the need to sleep for a long while now.” Zero answered.

The Phantom Ruby had provided Zero with an unlimited amount of energy, so sleeping, eating, and anything else that could be considered recreational was off the table. However, that energy wouldn’t last for long. The ruby’s power that remained in Zero’s was running out, slowly but surely. He felt like he could collapse at the slightest hit to the chest. He wouldn’t, of course, it was just a feeling after all. A singular punch could not knock down Zero to the ground.

Also, maybe he was a little wary of sleeping in a place he wasn’t familiar with. He’s had too many experiences where people turned on him in his sleep. Sue him.

Twilight Sparkle doesn’t answer. Instead, she begins to write in Fluttershy’s notebook, using the pen with her mouth. This continued for several minutes until she spat out the pen, leaving small drool marks on the notebook.

“What’s your world like, Zero?” She asked.

Admittedly, Zero had to think for a moment before he answered.

“It is… very different from this one.” He finally said, “There is a doctor who torments the land with his robots, and a blue hedgehog and his team who fight against the doctor. Everyone believes in them. When the war started, and Sonic was captured, I could taste every bit of despair from the mobians on my tongue, sour as it was.” Zero sighed, leaning backward onto the chair and crossing his arms. “How’s Equestria?”

“Magical.” Twilight Sparkle answered, “Magic is in everything. It’s so beautiful. I have to protect it for as long as possible, which is why I’m here.”

“You’re not here for your friends?” Zero asked.

Twilight Sparkle chortled. “Of course I am, but… there would be no friends without Equestria.”

“Smart words.” Zero hummed. “What else does your world have?”

Twilight Sparkle shrugged. “The usual. Earth ponies, pegasus, and unicorns. There are four alicorns, including myself, that help rule over Equestria and keep the peace.”

“We have something like that too, I guess.” Zero said, “Sonic and his friends. They’ve saved the world more than once. I was one of the ones they saved it from, actually.”

He probably shouldn’t have said that.

Twilight Sparkle smiled like she was recounting a good memory, and not like she had just learned of Zero’s villainous past. “One of the princesses, Princess Luna, was corrupted because the ponies of Equestria didn’t like the night. She’s the princess of the moon by the way. Princess Celestia, her sister, cursed her to spend a thousand years in the moon. When she got out, my friends and I helped her return to her former self using these jewels called the Elements of Harmony. That was how we all met, actually.”

“We have something like that.” Zero mumbled, “The Chaos Emeralds, seven of ‘em. They… well, I couldn’t tell you what they do. They’re powerful when they’re all brought together, is all I know.”

Twilight Sparkle tapped the pen on the paper. “Your world is interesting, Zero. I would love to see it someday.”

“Yours as well.”

Twilight nodded and went back to writing with the pen in her mouth.

__

“No, that’s not gonna work.” Twilight spits out.

Zero, still sitting beside Twilight, fiddles with a can of whipped cream. He is just swallowing the bit he had squirted into his mouth when Sunset Shimmer came into the kitchen.

“Hey Twilight, Zero. You guys are up late.” She said.

Twilight smiles. “Just looking over the counter-spell.” She responds, “We only get one shot at this. It has to be perfect.”

“Have you ever thought about letting the magic come from your heart?” Zero asked. “Cheesy as it sounds, back in my world, magic comes from the heart. Your intentions determine how your magic is used. Maybe that’s the case here?”

Twilight nods. “You’re right. When we were battling against Sunset Shimmer, while she transformed into a horrible beast, no offense,”

“None taken.”

“We transformed into our pony forms.” Twilight finished.

Zero nodded.

Sunset Shimmer sighed and said, “Must be nice to have everyone always looking to you for answers to their problems… instead of waiting for you to cause a problem.”

“Just because everyone expects something from you doesn’t mean it’s guaranteed to happen,” Twilight answered.

“Well, that doesn’t stop them from expecting it.”

“Which only makes things harder because the last thing you want to do is…”

“Let everybody down.” The two girls said at once.

It’s crazy how in sync everybody is here, Zero couldn’t help but think.

___

Zero had elected not to come to the practice that was organized in Applejack’s family barn, so the next time he saw the girls was at the Battle of the Bands. Instead, he lay on Pinkie Pie’s floor, on a palate of blankets, and slept for the first time since he arrived in this world.

Chapter Text

Back on Mobius…

“I’ve got it!” Tails shouted, jostling Sonic from where he was relaxing on a hammock inside his little brother’s workshop.

“Got- hk- got what?” Sonic asked drowsily, stuttering on his words.

Tails turned to Sonic with a bright, toothy grin on his face. “I found the Chaos Emeralds!”

That was enough to get Sonic on his feet.

“Remember how we Chaos Controlled into another world a while back?” Tails asked, “Well, that must have been what happened to the Chaos Emeralds! I used the old sensor from the human world to track down the Chaos Emeralds’ energy signatures. Sonic, they’re in another world!”

“That’s great!” Sonic said enthusiastically, “Only one problem though. How are we gonna get there?”

Tails wagged a finger at Sonic. “Don’t think I don’t have a plan.”

Chapter Text

Author's note:

Hello everyone! I'm so happy to be back writing Jackals in Equestria once more, four years after its original release date.

I would like to say really quick that I do not enjoy the self-promo that's been going on in the comments. While most of them have been deleted as of now, it still annoys me to no ends because this is my story(although the helpful criticism is appreciated). If you would like to share a story with me, please do it via my Discord: CorpseSALT

Just a quick reminder, for those who never read the original(which is no longer up, due to... cringe...) lyrics will look like this:

[Character name]

Lyrics

Lyrics(backing vocals)

Thanks again, and enjoy the read!

____

Back on the Equestria Girls' world...

"Welcome to the first-ever Canterlot High School Battle of the Bands!"

Zero covered his ears, the cheering of the students ringing in his head like he was inside a church bell.

The principal of the school, Celestia, a beautifully aged woman with white skin and pastel hair, stood on the CHS gymnasium stage with her sister, Vice Principal Luna, a younger -than Celestia, at least. She was still pretty old- woman with dark navy, almost black skin, and black flowing hair. Principal Celestia held a microphone in her hand, announcing the start of the Battle of the Bands.

She continued once the cheering had died down and Zero uncovered his ears. "I believe I speak for everyone when I say it is by far the greatest thing we have ever done here at this school! We are so glad our three newest students encouraged us to turn this event into something exciting!"

"But, as this is now a competition, we can only choose one winner." Vice Principal Luna chimed in with her authoritative voice. She reminded Zero of a war veteran, for some reason. Maybe it was the way she stood, or maybe it was, again, because of her voice. Either way, the respect for the woman was immediate in Zero's mind.

The students, instead of cheering, began to argue with one another, causing Zero to cover his ears once more. Sunset Shimmer -who, Zero had finally decided, would only earn his respect by finally redeeming herself and joining Twilight's little friend group. Twilight had already earned Zero's respect with her little speech about protecting her world, Equestria, and now it was the other girl's turn- put a hand on Zero's shoulder, her face full of concern. Zero shrugged her off and put his hands down, deciding to deal with the noise without help from his hands.

___

The two beatboxing on stage were... interesting, to say the least.

They definitely didn't look old enough to be in high school.

The shorter -very shorter- one with blue skin and yellow hair, Snips, began.

[Snips]

They call me MC Snips and that ain't no lie

My favorite food is pumpkin pie

[Snails]

I'm DJ Snazzy Snails, I like whales

When I go to the beach, I always bring my pails

Zero had a feeling no one actually called them by those names.

Oh gods, Zero's ears hurt.

He covered them again, hunching his shoulders from where he sat beside Sunset Shimmer on the bleachers, while the other six girls stood beside the stairs to the stage. The microphone feedback made him huddle into himself even further, wincing in pain.

"Please do not drop the microphones." Zero heard Principal Celestia say from where she sat with her sister in front of the stage.

"Yeah! Bam!" Snips shouted while Snails laughed alongside his friend: "In your face, Rainbooms!"

"At least we know one group who won't stand in the way of us gettin' to the finals," Applejack muttered. Zero internally snickered.

"Let's get ready to rock!" Rainbow Dash cheered, pumping her fist in the air. She picks up her guitar and begins to confidently walk onstage, only to be stopped by Pinkie Pie.

"Wait! Where's Rarity?" The frizzy pink-haired girl asked, looking around in the most obscure of places. She went as far as to check under Zero's arms, and in his ears, which were still covered.

Zero zoned out, looking at the ground.

Something about this was wrong. Everything about this school, this competition, felt wrong. Sure, sirens were feeding off of the negative emotions of the competitors, but other than that...

Something was wrong, and Zero couldn't figure it out.

[The Rainbooms]

We've just got the day to get ready

And there's only so much time to lose

Because tonight, yeah, we're here to party

So let's think of something fun to do

We don't know (we don't know) what's gonna happen

We just know (we just know) it's gonna feel right

All our friends are here

And it's time to ignite the lights!

Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight

Shake your tail! Shake your tail!

Shake your tail 'cause we're here to have a party tonight

Shake your tail! Shake your tail!

Zero let the music fade into the background, taking a deep breath.

Although he had to admit, that while he wasn't a fan of pop music, he did like the pony references. Very clever, to the person who wrote the song.

He was snapped out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you alright?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

Zero sighed. "Yes, everything is just so loud..." He said, flinching back at a microphone screeching from onstage. "I'm a jackal back in my world. My hearing is more sensitive than you would expect."

Just as Sunset Shimmer opened her mouth to continue, crying came from up on the stage. Zero's eyes snapped up, hands uncovering his ears as he watched the end of the seemingly disastrous performance of the Rainbooms. Rarity was the one sobbing, the sleeves of her outfit torn off, hanging off of magnets that were dangling above her. Fluttershy was behind Pinkie Pie's drum set, hiding from a spotlight. Confetti was on the ground, which Twilight was coughing up a large amount of.

What had happened?

The two principals were the only ones clapping.

"Ruined! Absolutely ruined!" Rarity whined. She was the first to walk off stage, mascara running down the cheeks of her face.

"Rarity, were you tryin' to make us lose out there?!" Applejack shouted from where she was walking behind Rarity.

Rarity gasped. "Wh- oh! This was not my fault! This was an act of sabotage!" She defended herself. Zero stood up, at alert, just to be sure that, if something were to happen, he would be able to stop it.

Applejack spat back at her. "Yeah, well, whoever did this couldn't have done this if you didn't insist on dressin' like... like... this!" She crossed her arms. "We need to sound good! Is there some reason that concept seems to escape you?"

"And what was with the confetti, Pinkie Pie?" Rainbow Dash shouted, getting close enough to Pinkie Pie that she was only inches away from the other girl's face. "How am I supposed to shred if there's paper stuck in my frets?!"

"It was pretty distracting..." Fluttershy nervously chimed in.

Pinkie Pie angrily turned to face Fluttershy. "Ugh! Says the girl who was running from a light the whole time! A light!"

Sunset Shimmer stood up and walked over to the Rainbooms, Zero following shortly after her. "You still sounded much better than most of the other bands." She reassured, "I'm sure you'll make it to the next round, but it won't matter if you don't have that counterspell ready." She walked over so she was standing closer to the stage. "You all find a place to practice where the sirens can't hear you. I'll keep an eye on things around here."

Just as she said that, three other girls came on stage, one of them playing a musical saw. Zero sighed.

These girls sounded... fine -they sounded good, Zero just didn't want to admit it out loud- He was sure they would make it to the next round, since the principals liked their performance, and they were fairly popular. Also, faced with the three girls on stage...

Yeah. They had a pretty good chance of winning.

"I'll go with you all." He said quietly, "Just in case something does happen."

Chapter Text

As the next band played, Zero accompanied the Rainbooms in the hallways of Canterlot High.

The near-silent hallways of the school were a relief to Zero. The ringing in his ears had calmed down, accompanied by the quiet chatter of the girls in front of him, interrupted by a, "We really need to stop bumping into each other like this."

Zero looked up to see Flash Sentry and his band standing against the lockers, Twilight having run into Flash Sentry. Again. If Zero were to go off of Twilight's words, then they run into each other, a lot. What a high school romance cliche.

Zero remembers, that with the Jackal Squad, they occasionally had movie nights when they weren't booked with a job, and when they had the money to do so. His second hand loved romance movies, while two of the others liked action, so they usually tried to see something along those lines. All the movies in Mobius came from the human realm, usually due to leaks in the space-time continuum, and humans dumping their trash everywhere. Carrie was one they frequented. Zero remembers that they had gone to see Hercules as well when it reached the mobian theaters.

Zero was never a fan of romance. He always thought, "I love you" was the hardest thing to say.

Anyway, there's no use in dwelling on the past. Back to the present, Zero.

The boy looks over to his bandmates.

"Uh, you guys hear something?" He asked. Both of the other boys shook their heads.

Oh hell no.

Twilight persisted, however. "I said, we have to stop-"

"There it is again." Flash Sentry interrupted. "So annoying."

"Hey!" Zero said, voice raised. "The hell do you think you're doing?"

Twilight's eyes, along with the other five girls', went wide.

"She is trying to take away my victory!" Flash Sentry shouted, "That's the only reason she came back here."

Zero scowled. "Yeah, I don't think so. Apologize to her or I beat your ass."

Flash Sentry scoffed, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Yeah right, and what are you gonna do-"

Smack!

All of a sudden, the pitiful boy was on the ground, panting while holding his nose from where it was now bleeding. There was blood on Zero's fist. He turned to Flash Sentry's bandmates.

"Scram, unless you want one too."

They did, indeed, scram.

Twilight hesitantly walked up behind Zero, putting her hand on his shoulder. He turns to her, sighs, and continues walking, making sure to step on the boy's hand on his way past.

"Zero?" Twilight said quietly.

Zero took a deep breath, wobbling on his feet. The pain in his chest grew, hurting enough for him to wince. When Zero looked down at his hand, the scratches on his knuckles had already healed.

"I may be a villain, but even I know that's not how you treat a lady." Zero spat out. "Disgusting."

From on the floor, something seemed to flicker in Flash Sentry's eyes.

"Let's go." Zero said, "There's gotta be an empty classroom here somewhere that someone's not making out in."

And they did indeed find an empty classroom that no one was making out in, where Zero was praised by all the girls for his "heroic" actions against Flash Sentry.

Maybe...

Maybe. Just maybe, Zero could get used to having friends again.

___

Extra:

Just around the corner, Adagio Dazzle chuckled, lifting an orange hand to cover her smirking mouth.

"Blood already?" She said cockily with her hands on her hips. "This is only the first round."

From beside her, her two companions snicker.

Over the speakers, Principal Celestia announces, "The next band to take the stage will be Trixie and the Illusions."

Adagio Dazzle rolls her blood-red eyes, saying, "Better head back. We're supposed to go on after Trixie."

She leads the three girls down the hallway, back to the gymnasium doors blanketed in darkness.

She wasn't paying attention, too focused on her goal, on the negative energy pouring out of the doors, to even notice Sunset Shimmer standing there by the doors.

"You're never gonna get away with this."

Adagio Dazzle smirks.

"Why? Because you didn't?"

Sunset Shimmer's face contorts to one of fear before it settles into determination. Adagio makes sure to lay it on thick, because that would just be one more horse out of the race. She approached Sunset Shimmer, circling her like a vulture would a piece of roadkill.

"Oh, we know all about you, Sunset Shimmer." Adagio Dazzle purred, "You've got quite the reputation at Canterlot High."

"I've changed!" Sunset Shimmer rebutted, "I'm in a much better place now!"

"While you're waiting in the wings while your friends have all the fun?"

Sunset Shimmer brings her hands in front of her chest, wringing them tightly. Adagio smirks.

"Oh, yes, you girls are so tight!" Adagio teases, "And yet... they didn't ask you to be in the band."

From beside her, Aria Blaze crosses her arms cockily. "Probably afraid no one would want to see them play if she was in the group.

Adagio watches pridefully as Sunset Shimmer's face turns into one of realization, like she hadn't even thought of that possibility before.

"Too bad! So sad!" Sonata Dusk shouts in Sunset Shimmer's ear, mocking her with a demonic grin on her face.

"If it's any consolation," Adagio said, snapping her fingers to lead her girls away. "No one is going to remember you at all by the time we're done."

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, or maybe not, with the main character energy they had, the Rainbooms made it to the semi-finals.

Zero was exhausted. The Phantom Ruby’s energy was finally almost out of his body, and now, he was ready to collapse.

Sitting on the bleachers was definitely an improvement to standing for almost hours on end next to the stage, watching the other performances with a grimace while Twilight sat on the ground beside him, writing in that notebook, trying to come up with a counterspell. Sure, some of the performances were good, but… not all of them.

Definitely not all of them.

He watched as the Rainbooms bickered over what their next song would be while Trixie’s band finished their act, walking off stage and spitting on the floor in front of the group.

“Hmph. You’re never gonna top that performance, ‘rain-goons.’” Trixie bragged, “You shouldn’t be allowed to when you have such a big advantage over the rest of us.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “My superior guitar playing and off-the-charts awesome singing voice?” She asked cockily, although it was more of a statement than a question.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t be ridiculous.” She said, “I mean her! If you were really all that, Rainbow Dash, you wouldn’t have needed to bring in some magical ringer to have half a chance. Everyone’s talking about it.”

Rainbow Dash laughed heartily. “Puh-leeze! I could win this thing as a solo act and everybody knows it!”

Trixie scoffs, throws down some sort of powder, and suddenly disappears. Pinkie dramatically gasps, before spotting Trixie behind some speakers and other equipment.

“Next up, the Rainbooms.” Principal Celestia says unenthusiastically from in front of the stage.

“Knock ‘em dead!” Spike shouts from where he stood by Sunset Shimmer’s feet.

“Good luck.” Zero wished.

Sunset Shimmer gave them a nervous smile that eventually turned into a grimace.

“I’ll be here… just… watching.”

___

Once again, there was something wrong with this performance.

Zero actually paid attention to it this time. He had to admit, the Rainbooms were a good band. Not that he would listen to them on the regular, of course. Again, pop music was not his chosen genre.

As Rainbow Dash began to sing, Zero could already tell that she was way in over her head. She bounced across the stage, taking the spotlights, until-

Her head began to glow. This must be what they’ve been talking about.

[Rainbow Dash]
Yeah I’m awesome, take caution
Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be (yeah!)
I’m awesome, take caution
Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be

[The Rainbooms]
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey! Hey!
Hey! Hey! Hey!

Zero leaned forward, eyes narrowing. His body tensed, waiting for the moment when he could finally see what everyone was talking about. He could feel the magic sparking in the air, and then-

Just as Rainbow Dash was about to fully sprout her second pair of ears, Zero could see Sunset Shimmer lunge from the corner of his eyes. He sprang up, rushing closer, to the side of the stage as Rainbow Dash was knocked down by Sunset Shimmer. Everything came to a crashing halt.

Zero skipped the steps two at a time, wheezing, reaching Sunset Shimmer in just a matter of seconds. Rainbow Dash glared at Sunset Shimmer, no, scratch that, everyone was glaring at Sunset Shimmer. The crowd jeered.

“Now that’s the bad girl we love to hate!”

“I knew she was still trouble!”

“The real Sunset Shimmer is back!”

Sunset Shimmer’s eyes went wide. She froze, standing up, facing the crowd.

“Come on.” Zero muttered, ushering her off the stage with an arm around her shoulder and blocking her from the crowd’s view.

“What was that?!” Rainbow Dash shouted once everybody was off stage.

Sunset Shimmer broke off from Zero’s hold on her and began wringing her hands in front of her chest. “You were showing them your magic. I- I didn’t know what else to do!” She said desperately.

Rarity groaned. “Close the curtains? Unplug her amp? Give us a chance to deal with the situation?”

“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.” Sunset Shimmer grimaced.

“Yeah, well, you didn’t.”

Zero took a small step in front of Sunset Shimmer.

“She did what she thought she had to.” He said cooly, attempting to quell the situation. “What’s done is done. It got the job done, didn’t it?”

“Good show, ‘Rain-brooms.’” Trixie cackled, coming out of nowhere. “I especially liked the part where Sunset Shimmer, in a fit of jealous rage, knocked out Rainbow Dash mid-guitar solo!”

“It wasn’t a fit of jealous rage!” Sunset Shimmer shouted angrily. A glimmer of pride filled Zero’s chest.

The Rainbooms looked at Sunset Shimmer in a way that said, “It was.” Zero scowled.

“If you say so.” Trixie said, sighing, only to look down the hall at the other end of the stage to see Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna talking over a clipboard. “Looks like they’ve already decided who’ll be moving on to the finals! I’m guessing it wasn’t too difficult a decision.”

From behind the two principals, Zero could hear a door opening. When he turned his head, the Dazzlings were already hypnotizing the two sisters with their spell. His eyes narrowed. From beside him, Sunset Shimmer let out a noise of confusion.

“What are they doing?” Sunset Shimmer mumbled, taking a small step towards Zero.

Zero sighed. “Manipulating the teachers. They want to make it to the finals to spread their influence over all the students and gain enough power to get back to Equestria.”

Sunset Shimmer frowned, but she didn’t say anything more.

Back with the Rainbooms, they continued to argue.

Zero took in a deep breath to try and quell the anger inside of him, forcefully put there by the Dazzlings.

“What can we do?” Rarity asked, “There isn’t gonna be another opportunity for us to play. And I had the most gorgeous outfit for the finals!”

Applejack rolls her eyes. “Yep, ‘cause that’s the real tragedy here, Rarity - that you won’t get to play dress-up!”

“You know perfectly well that is not what I meant!”

“You guys wanna keep it down?” Rainbow Dash interjected, “They’re about to announce who’s moving on.”

“Who are you kidding?” Fluttershy murmured, “You know it isn’t going to be us.”

The chatter between the girls died down as Principal Celestia said, “The band that will be joining the Dazzlings in tonight's finals is…”

Silence.

“The Rainbooms!”

“What?!” Trixie shouted angrily, just as the Rainbooms, Sunset Shimmer, and Zero all simultaneously said, “Huh?”

Dang it. This world is rubbing off on him.

“Did they just say the Rainbooms?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Trixie furiously turned around, hands in fists. “This isn’t over!” She screamed as she stormed out the exit of the gym.

As the Rainbooms went on stage to be congratulated and protested by the crowd. Zero’s ears picked up on a conversation happening right outside the doors that Trixie just stormed out of.

“This is a travesty! A travesty!” Trixie yelled.

“It really is!” It was the orange Dazzling. “The Rainbooms don’t deserve to be in the finals. Not when your band was so much better in the semis.”

“And wanted it so much more.” Said the purple Dazzling.

“Alas, that is the way it’s going to be. Dazzlings vs. Rainbooms.” Continued the orange Dazzling.

“Unless, of course, the Rainbooms don’t manage to make it to their set, or they’re held up for some reason…”

Trixie sinisterly chuckles.

Chapter Text

“Check, one two.” Rainbow Dash said into the microphone. “Testing, testing…”

Zero sat on a box of equipment, leaning on the side of a large crate, occasionally drifting off. He was almost asleep until a loud, echoing, “Testing…!” came from Rainbow Dash’s microphone, making him jolt up from where he was sitting with a grimace.

“This doesn’t make any sense,” Fluttershy muttered from where she was tuning her tambourine a few feet away from Zero’s perch. “We were awful. Doesn’t anybody else think it’s strange that we’re the ones that made it to the finals?”

“Very strange.”

Zero admits it, he jumped. His head swiveled around hard enough to give him whiplash, spikes of pain running up into his brain as he stood up, standing beside Fluttershy.

How did he not notice Trixie and her band standing right behind him?

It was this world, Zero concluded, that was making him grow soft. It was these girls and their stupid, naive ideals that were making him grow soft.

Trixie stands behind the group on the left side of the stage with her lackeys behind her, smirking menacingly.

“What are you doing here, Trixie?” Rainbow Dash sneered, “Pretty sure losers are supposed to be up there in the cheap seats.”

Trixie brings a hand up to examine her nails. “The Great and Powerful Trixie is the most talented girl at Canterlot High.” She declared, “It is I who deserves to be in the finals, and I will not-”

She snaps her fingers.

“-BE DENIED!!”

Chapter Text

It had been hours since the Rainbooms and Zero had been knocked into the bottom of the stage by Trixie and her band.

By now, Zero could hear Trixie’s song being played on stage with people cheering, echoing within the wooden walls of the bottom of the stage. Mosquitoes buzzed around his head, making him feel itchy, even if they hadn’t bitten him yet. He leaned against the wooden wall of the stage, taking deep breaths, trying to fight off exhaustion.

He couldn’t fall asleep. Not now.

From Zero’s right, Rainbow Dash runs into the locked door, their only way out of this hot, stuffy hellhole. She fails to knock it down. Again.

“Give it up, Rainbow Dash,” Applejack says, rolling her eyes. “You’ve been tryin’ at this for hours. It’s not gonna open.”

From his left, Twilight stands up, arms hugging her torso. “Maybe it doesn't even matter that we’re trapped down here.” She says quietly, “I don’t think the counter-spell would have worked anyway.”

“Of course it would have worked, Twilight,” Applejack says, putting a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Assumin’ a certain band member didn’t try to hog the spotlight the whole time we were tryin’ to play it!”

Applejack’s head fiercely turned to Rainbow Dash, who put her hands on her hips.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash cried out, “If you wanna tell Twilight she’s getting a little too caught up in trying to be the new leader of this band, you don’t have to be all cryptic about it!”

Rarity came to stand in front of Twilight. “She was talking about you, Rainbow Dash.” She said.

Rainbow Dash shouted, “Me?!” Rainbow Dash shouted, “I’m just trying to make sure my band rocks as hard as it needs to!”

“OUR BAND!!” The rest of the girls, minus Twilight and Sunset Shimmer, yelled in unison.

“But why wasn’t it working?” Twilight said, sliding to the ground next to Zero, back against one of the wooden walls. “I should know what to do. How could I not know what to do? How could I have failed like this?”

The distressed aura Twilight was giving off did not taste as sweet as it did the first time this happened, back at the gymnasium of Canterlot High. This time, it was sour and greasy.

The rest of the girls continued to argue. Twilight put her head in her hands.

“You’ve never written a counterspell before, have you?” Zero asked softly. When Twilight shook her head, he continued, “Yeah. Then don’t stress it. If everything in this world is how you say it is, then magic comes from the heart. You don’t need to have the right song. You can sing whatever the hell you want, and It’ll work. I can guarantee it.”

Twilight smiled. The smell of fear dampened until it became nothing but a blimp in the air.

“Thank you, Zero.”

Zero smiled and turned away. Something glimmered in the corner, projected out of the lights from Trixie and her band’s show.

Zero stood up and walked over to it, expecting it to be an abandoned piece of equipment, only to see-

A Chaos Emerald.

The immediate rush of energy was all Zero needed to feel alive.

___

“It might’ve been your idea to start a band, but it’s not just your band, Rainbow Dash!”

“I’m the one who writes all the songs!”

“I write songs! You just never let us play any of them!”

“I had the most perfect outfits for us to wear!”

“Again with the costumes! No one cares what we’re wearin’!”

“I care, Applejack! So sorry if I enjoy trying to make a creative contribution to the band!”

“Hey! Does anybody here remember fun?! I’ll give you a hint: It’s the exact opposite of being in the Rainbooms!

“I wish I never asked any of you to be in my band!”

“I wish I never agreed to be in it!!!”

“Me neither!”

As the girls continued to argue, a green glow surrounded their bodies like auras, only smoke began to come off of them. Zero perked up from where he was standing, now watching the girls argue with a peaked interest. Sunset Shimmer, who stood aside as to not get in the way, looked horrified.

This was similar to…

In that instant, Zero finally understood the Dazzlings’ plan. They were the sirens, who fed off of the negative energy of other people by singing their songs. The energy created by the six Rainbooms was massive. Even when they weren’t under the Dazzlings’ spell, Zero could tell that these girls were special. Feeding off of that kind of negative energy would give the Dazzlings all they needed to finally get their full powers restored.

A red glow, similar to that surrounding the Rainbooms, engulfed Zero’s body. Small, black cubes occasionally glitched into the area. Zero’s eyes widened.

The Phantom Ruby, protecting its former master.

How poetic.

From above, Trixie’s song ended, and almost immediately after, the Dazzlings’ began.

They didn’t have much time.

Chapter Text

“STOP!!!”

Zero jumped, hissing in a sharp breath of air from his nose. He looked over at Sunset Shimmer, who was the one shouting. Her eyes were wide, looking panicked while she gestured wildly to the other girls.

From above the stage, the Dazzlings’ song continued.

“You have to stop!” Sunset Shimmer continued, “This is what they’ve been after all along! They’re feeding off of the magic inside you!”

“How can they be using our magic?” Applejack sneered, “It’s the magic of friendship.”

Sunset Shimmer sighed, glancing back at Twilight and Zero before she spoke. “Ever since you started this band, you’ve been letting little things get to you.” She explained, “I never said anything ‘cause I didn’t feel like it was my place. Not when I was so new to this whole ‘friendship’ thing. I still have a lot to learn, but I do know that if you don’t work out even the smallest problems right at the start, the magic of friendship can be turned into something else.”

“The energy coming from you six is larger than a Chaos Emerald,” Zero explained. The girls were confused, and then Zero remembered that they wouldn’t know what a Chaos Emerald was. “Feeding off of that energy would give the Dazzlings all they would need to get their powers back. That’s why all these bad things have been happening. Rarity’s dress, the spotlight, the arguing, it was all the Dazzlings’ plan.”

All girls, even Twilight, looked guilty, biting their lips and furrowing their brows, looking at each other with apologetic eyes that said more than just, “I’m sorry.” They said, “You were right” and “how did I not realize this sooner” and, most importantly, the thing that was the hardest to say, -in Zero’s opinion, at least- “I love you.”

From beside him, Twilight perked her head up. She stood up and walked to stand by Sunset -her name, to Zero, was Sunset now. She had more than earned it- with her hands wringing in front of her chest. Zero did the same, standing on Sunset’s other side with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

“I can’t believe all this tension was happening right under my nose and I didn’t realize it.” She gasped, “I’m supposed to be the one with all the answers, and all I've done since I got here is let you down.”

“I don’t think anyone is supposed to have all the answers,” Sunset said sympathetically, placing a hand gently on Twilight’s shoulder. “But you can count on your friends to help you find them.”

Zero had to agree.

Twilight smiled gently, which slowly turned into a toothy grin. “I think you already have.” She said happily, spreading her joy to the other girls, Zero included, this time. “C’mon! We need to get out of here!”

In an act of stupidity, all the girls rush to the door, slamming against it. Zero fondly rolled his eyes, letting a small smile grace his face when all seven of the girls fell at once.

Zero approached them, looking at the door for a moment, before-

WHAM!!

Zero kicked the door with his left foot, letting the Phantom Ruby’s power flow through his legs, exiting when the metal toe of his boot hit the doorknob. He coughed, waving the air in front of him to clear any remaining dust while clutching his chest with his other hand. The music instantly grew louder, the beginning of the Dazzlings’ song finally progressing further. In front of him, Spike, along with another girl with white skin and blue streaked hair wearing headphones, stood astonished, looking at the door with surprise.

The red glow around Zero faded away, along with the pain in his chest, as he said, “I’m-” he cleared his throat. “We’re running out of time.”

“Spike!” Twilight shouted from behind him, running forward to tightly hug her animal companion.

“Sorry I took so long,” the dog said worriedly, “I had to find somebody who wasn’t under the sirens’ spell to help me get you out.”

“Too short to reach the doorknob?” Zero teased with a hand in front of his mouth. Spike growled.

“Why isn’t she under their spell?” Twilight asked, looking at Spike, then the other girl.

Spike shrugged. “Never takes off her headphones.”

The girl gives Spike a thumbs up.

Applejack stepped in front of the group, one hand on her hip and one pointing out the door. “Come on, y’all!” She shouted motivationally, “Time to prove we’ve still got the magic of friendship inside us!”

“We’re getting the band back together?” Pinkie Pie asked hopefully in her high-pitched voice.

Rainbow Dash smirked. “We’re getting our band back together!” She said with her hands on her hips.

Pinkie Pie loudly cheered as Rarity said excitedly, “Which version of the counter spell are we going to play?”

“I don’t think it matters what song we play,” Twilight said as she shrugged, also putting her hands on her hips. “As long as we play it together as friends.”

“And I know just the song!”

Everybody gives Rainbow Dash a look like they haven’t completely forgiven her actions from before. They most likely hadn’t, but then again, this wasn’t Zero’s world. People don’t hold grudges for years on end until they finally kill someone in revenge.

… not that he was speaking from experience, of course…

Rainbow Dash continued, “Fluttershy’s written a really good one.”

Fluttershy brightly smiled, giving Rainbow Dash a small side hug that the other returned vigorously.

“We’re about to save the world here.” Applejack chimed in. “Personally, I think we should do it in style. Rarity?”

From out of literally nowhere, Rarity pulls out a dressing rack.

“I thought you’d never ask!” She squeals, “I even have something for you, Zero, dear. But only if you join us!”

Oh…

Zero is… more excited for this than he should be.

___

The top of the hill, overlooking the stadium laced with green mist, was… surprisingly beautiful. The view was magnificently wicked, all the people in trances, waving in sync to the Dazzlings’ music, was enough for Zero to even space out for a moment. A red glow began to surround him once more, again, the faint traces of the Phantom Ruby’s power were protecting him.

Zero was now dressed in a leather jacket with silver studs and nicer black boots, instead of his previous jacket that showed off his rib-like markings and the dirty, worn-out boots he was wearing before. He stood beside Sunset at the back of the group.

“You can join them now, you know.” Zero muttered.

“So can you.” Sunset playfully rebutted, crossing her arms to match Zero’s stance with an eyebrow raised while she looked in his direction. Zero looked away bashfully, embarrassed by Sunset’s newfound determination.

“You made your point.” Zero said softly, “I have not. When my time comes, I will stand with them at the front of the line.”

Sunset smiled softly. “How poetic.” She gently said.

Zero focus turned to the three sirens on stage, the jewels on their necklaces glowing brightly in the green mist. Their voices were truly beautiful.

Black cubes began to form in the mist, similar to that of the Phantom Ruby, as the sirens’ necklaces began to glow even brighter. Zero narrowed his eyes, wishing for his jackal vision back so he could see things clearer.

Wait…

The necklaces.

Zero now understood why he always felt stronger when he was around the Dazzlings’.

Their necklace, the red gem…

… was made up of the missing pieces of the Phantom Ruby.

Chapter Text

Author's note:

Hi all! Just want to remind everyone that the format for lyrics should look like this:

[Character name]

Lyrics

Lyrics (backing vocals)

We're at the end stretch, and to those who stuck around, I would like to say,

Thank you.

___

Zero's first "death" was at the hands of Dr. Eggman, when he drove the drill of his flying eggship into the Phantom Ruby, which was then implanted in Zero's, Infinite's, chest. He remembered very vividly that the jewel was shattered into three pieces, each an exact copy of the other.

And now, here they were, inside of the Dazzlings' necklaces while they played the villains of the story, and Zero the hero.

How sickeningly ironic.

Zero looked back down at the Dazzlings as they began to sing, finally spouting words out of their mouths as they moved in sync with one another. It would be a good performance, despite the circumstances.

[Adiago Dazzle]

Welcome to the show...

[Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze]

Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah

[Adiago Dazzle]

We're here to let you know

[Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze]

Ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah

[Adiago Dazzle]

Our time is now

[Sonata Dusk and Aria Blaze]

Ah-ah-ah-ah, ah

[The Dazzlings]

Your time is running out

The wind blew dramatically, making Zero have to spit out one of the white dreadlocks from where it had landed in his mouth. He drew a thumb over the light blue Chaos Emerald he had found earlier, shoving it in his pocket.

The girls, all of a sudden, looked discouraged.

"How are we supposed to play over them from up here?" Rainbow Dash shouted over the music.

The girl from earlier, the one with the headphones, -Zero still wasn't sure of her name. He was pretty sure nobody knew her name, actually- honks the horn of her car. She presses a button, and all of a sudden, large speakers that must have cost more than just a fortune sprouted from the sides of her car.

The girls cheered, Pinkie Pie in particular being incredibly enthusiastic.

"Alright, everyone!" Twilight said, determination filling her voice, "Let's do this."

[The Dazzlings]

Feel the wave of sound

As it crashes down

You can't turn away

We'll make you wanna sta-a-a-ay

The Dazzlings began to float upwards, making Zero's pupils shrink. Their bodies were almost immediately engulfed in a menacing red glow, coming from the Phantom Ruby strapped to each of their necks.

[The Dazzlings]

We will be adored

Tell us that you want us

We won't be ignored

It's time for our reward

Their bodies began to transform, sickening sounds coming from the stage as ears sprouted from their heads and their hair grew longer. Their bodies, -which were just shells, really- began to crack, leaving way to a metamorphosis of iridescent, opaque wings that looked similar to that of a dragon's. Zero recoiled, the taste of the Dazzlings' new form not sitting right on his tongue. It was thick and heavy, like eating straight Crisco and cinnamon, then a spoonful of pepper, although that would be mild, compared to how it really felt.

[The Dazzlings]

Now you need us

Come and heed us

Nothing can stop us now!

[The Rainbooms]

Oh-oh, oh-woah-oh

I've got the music in me

Oh-oh oh-woah-oh

The Dazzlings' ears pinned back to their heads as they winced, clearly bothered by the interjection of the Rainbooms' music. Zero stood at the ready next to Sunset and Spike, hands curled into tight fists. The crowd seemed to momentarily break out of their trance to look back to where the girls had set up their "stage." Gasps came from the crowd.

[Twilight Sparkle]

Don't need to hear a crowd

Cheering out my name

I didn't come here seeking

Infamy or fame

[The Rainbooms]

The one and only thing

That I am here to bring

Is music, is the music

Is the music in my soul

Similarly to the Dazzlings' transformation, the Rainbooms began to sprout pony-like ears as well, only their transformation gave off a positive, freeing aura that Zero couldn't compare anything to.

Was this really the magic of friendship?

[The Rainbooms]

Gonna break out (Out!)

Set myself free, yeah

Let it all go (Go!)

Just let it be, yeah

Find the music in your heart

Let the music make you start

To set yourself apart!

"So the Rainbooms want to turn this into a real Battle of the Bands?" The orange Dazzling sneered cockily, "Then let's battle."

[The Dazzlings]

What we have in store (ah-ah)

All we want and more (ah-ah)

We will break on through (ah-ah)

Now it's time to finish you!

The Dazzlings' eyes began to glow a deep red as lines of what looked like sound waves were shared between the jewels of their necklaces, and from them came humongous dragon-like creatures that Zero had never seen before. The very sight of them left Zero cowering in his skin.

The Rainbooms were quick to react, Pinkie Pie beating her drums like never before, Rainbow Dash shredding her guitar, and Twilight letting out a long, high note into her microphone, of which the volume had been turned up on.

Rarity played a series of notes, and from the end of her keyboard came various diamond-like shapes that hit one of the Dazzlings' mirages. Zero hadn't seen an instrument do that much damage to a monster since the underground band that led the resistance years and years ago had defeated Dr. Eggman's father. A blue, pink, and green hedgehog all worked together and ended the Robopocalypse. Now that he thought about it, the blue hedgehog looked awfully familiar...

Fluttershy, in a moment of rare bravery, furiously shook her tambourine, and out shot millions of pink butterflies that struck one of the Dazzlings' mirages right in the center of its chest. Zero smirked.

Twilight once again let out a long, high-pitched note that resonated sound waves to the remaining Dazzling. The siren, however, reacted swiftly. She responded with a note of her own that sounded like a majestic scream, making Twilight choke on her own spit. The other two sirens joined her, simultaneously letting out beautiful shrieks that had Zero covering his ears while dropping to his knees.

When Zero peaked open his eyes, the only thing he could see was the girls falling to the ground, the microphone being knocked out of Twilight's hand. In a moment of bravery, -which was more of stupidity. Zero should know not to make such stupid mistakes- Zero stood up and lunged for the microphone. He grabbed it, choking when he landed face-first on the ground.

He turned to Sunset Shimmer and threw the microphone, shouting her name over the ringing in his ears. He could feel something running down the side of his face, and when he reached to check, it was blood coming out of his ears.

"Sunset Shimmer, we need you!" Twilight shouted, reaching a hand out to Sunset.

Just as Sunset opened her mouth, either to protest or sing, something- no, someone stopped her.

"Is that you?!" A voice shouted from the far side of the hill, facing away from the stadium.

"Infinite!"

Chapter Text

Tails had quickly found a way to locate the Chaos Emeralds using energy signatures from the Master Emerald, which led Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to...

Another world?

___

Sonic jumped out of the Tornado as soon as he could, spitting out any leaves and dirt that had filled his mouth after their crash landing. From the other wing of the plane, Knuckles limply fell off with a grunt.

His body felt... weird. He was taller, a little skinnier, and his powers felt dampened. It wasn't a nice feeling, that's for sure.

"Tails?" Sonic groaned, rubbing his head with a hand on his hip. "Knux'?"

"We're here, Sonic." Tails muttered from inside the plane.

Sonic walked over to the plane, peering inside to see...

Tails?

"Sonic?"

"Tails?"

...

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

___

This new world was almost like Earth, Sonic noted, only more...

Colorful.

It was refreshing. After months of Mobius being wartorn and grey, all this color was something akin to a child finally finding their mother after being lost in the grocery store.

Bad news, though. No Chaos Emeralds had been found.

____

The music had led Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles to the stadium. The voices were beautifully hypnotizing, and by the time the three reached the top of the hill, there stood eight girls, a purple dog, and...

Infinite.

Chapter Text

Author's note:

Reminder, lyrics look like this:

[Character name]

Lyrics

Lyrics (backing vocals)

__

"Infinite!"

Zero looked back, and there stood three boys. One with blue hair and peach skin, wearing mostly black clothing with blue accents. Another was younger, with yellow hair that was a little bit longer at the ends, splitting over the end of his shoulders in two pieces while on his head were a pair of pilot goggles. The last one had spikey red hair with ornamental decorations around some of the strands and darker skin.

Zero knew exactly who these three were.

"You've got to be kidding me." Zero muttered.

"Zero?"

Zero turned back to face the rest of the girls. Sunset was still where she had been previously standing, legs shaking. Zero stood up, coughing his lungs out for more than a few moments after he stood.

"So you've finally found me, you rat." Zero spat, "Why did it have to be now?"

Sonic and his team seemed to be confused. Zero rolled his eyes.

"Look, you can torture and kill me all you want, but for right now," Zero reached down and grabbed Rainbow Dash's guitar from her. He looked a little ridiculous with it, but it got the job done, and that's all that matters. "I have to finish this. Those sirens have the Phantom Ruby, and I-"

"What?! No way!" Sonic shouted. Knuckles crossed his arms, and Tails took a step backwards. "That ruby is the reason why we're all here! There's no way we'd let you have it back!"

Knuckles appeared to be confused. "I thought we were here for the Chaos Emeralds." He stated.

Zero frowned and took out the emerald from his pocket.

"You can have this after everything here is finished." Zero grumbled, "You have my word, rat."

Sonic seemed like he was about to protest, only for Zero to turn his back on the blue hedgehog, pocketing the Chaos Emerald and resting both hands on the guitar.

He turned away from Sonic and his friends, stepping in front of his own along with Sunset.

"The Phantom Ruby is my only way back home, Sonic." Zero shouted, "The doctor connected it to my very life force. The only reason I've been able to survive this long is because it's still here! You won't get in my way now, will you?"

From behind him, the girls, including Sunset's, eyes went wide.

"Zero-"

"Not now." Zero interrupted. He turned to Sunset. "Sing, now, before things get too messy."

Sunset nodded, shedding her jacket as she began to sing, Zero playing the guitar alongside her. Music began to play from the car behind them.

[Sunset Shimmer]

You're never gonna bring me down

You're never gonna break this part of me

My friends are here to bring me 'round

Not singing just for popularity

Sonic and his team's eyes went wide, clearly not expecting the music, while Sunset helped Twilight off of the ground.

"Infinite-!"

Tails put a hand in front of Sonic, finally stepping up.

"Wait." He said, squinting his eyes. "I want to see how this plays out."

[Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle]

We're here to let you know

That we won't let it go

The rest of the girls stood up, Rainbow Dash retrieving a guitar from the vehicle behind them. Zero could feel his frown beginning to turn into a small smile.

[The Rainbooms]

Our music is a bomb and it's about to blow

[Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle]

And you can try to fight

But we have got the light of-

[The Rainbooms]

Friendship on our side!

A blast of magic sprouted from Twilight and Sunset's hands, knocking back the Dazzlings' mirages. On the stage, the sirens stumbled, eyes blinking out the previous red glow for a look of fear and desperation.

[The Rainbooms]

Got the music in our hearts

We're here to blow this thing apart

And together, we will never

Be afraid of the dark

Just like the Rainbooms and the sirens, Sunset was suddenly engulfed in an orange glow, originating from her chest. Zero stepped back as she sprouted ears, her hair growing longer with a beam of red light following her, leading up to the cloudy sky. A bright smile crossed her face, one that Zero hadn't seen before in his few days of being in this world.

Somehow, it was refreshing. A rush of energy flowed through Zero as he, too, was engulfed in a brighter red light, black cubes surrounding him, now fully visible.

[The Rainbooms]

Here to sing our song out loud

Get you dancing with the crowd

As the music of our friendship

Survives, survives!

The rest of the Rainbooms began to levitate upwards into the sky, similar beams of light following them, creating a circle of magic that sprouted beautiful, majestic wings, which slowly turned into some kind of horse with wings and a horn. Zero recalled Twilight's earlier lesson.

This was an alicorn.

And it was beautiful.

Zero smiled.

[Everyone -Dazzlings]

Got the music in our hearts

We're here to blow this thing apart

And together, we will never

Be afraid of the dark

Here to sing our song out loud

Get you dancing with the crowd

As the music of our friendship

Survives, survives, survives!

The alicorn stepped out of the clouds, and a look of horror crossed the Dazzlings' face as they were blown away in a ground-shaking blast of magic from the creature's horn. Their shells crumbled, necklaces snapping at the clasps and dropping to the floor.

Just like that, the Dazzlings were defeated.

"Sonic!" Zero shouted, tightly holding onto Rainbow Dash's guitar. "The rubies!"

Sonic seemed to be released from his shock. He ran down to the stage with a trail of blue lightning, returning swiftly with all three necklaces in his hand. They glowed and vibrated just from being next to each other.

As the girls were cheering and hugging each other, -Zero also thought he saw Flash Sentry in there somewhere with a mess of one Twilight Sparkle- Zero attempted to reach for the rubies, only to drop down to the ground, a hacking cough that resulted in blood spilled on the ground resounding around the area.

"I... did not spend... all this time in this damn place to die like this." Zero stuttered weakly, "Give me the rubies."

"No way!" Sonic shouted. Tails came to kneel on the ground next to Zero, while Knuckles stood by Sonic.

"Sonic..." Tails muttered, "You saw the same thing I did, right? He just helped save a bunch of kids..."

"Tails-"

"Sonic." Tails gave the blue-haired boy a look. Sonic looked at Zero, then to Tails, and to Zero again.

Sonic reached out a hand.

"So, what do they call you in this world?"

"Zero. My name is Zero."

Chapter Text

In which the Rainbooms' final attack destroys the Phantom Ruby, like it does to the Dazzlings' necklaces in the original movie:

Zero held the crushed rubies with his hand, wincing as the shards cut into his palm. In an instant, the rushing energy of the Phantom Ruby, all its power finally leaving Zero's body, collapsed onto him, leaving him choking on his spit and clutching the middle of his chest.

Zero slumped into Sunset's side. Shards of red jewels cut into his paws -hands. They were hands, not paws- as he gasped for air atop the large hill above the stadium, where the Dazzlings' lay on the stage, defeated.

From behind him, he could feel Sonic's eyes on him, running over his body with...

Was that... worry? Nervousness? No, not from Sonic the Hedgehog. Not to his enemies, at least.

Shouts came from around him, the girls, who were now his friends -gods, Zero couldn't believe he could say he had friends again. How pathetic was that?- crowding around Zero with concern that matched his own, all those months ago when the situation was reversed and he was the one holding his dead friends in his arms.

Zero looked over to Sonic, leaning into Sunset's neck. He was close enough to see the sweat on her nape, wavy hair sticking to it in large strands.

Zero's last words, his real last words, muttered in a raspy, harsh voice while blood trickled out of his mouth and flooded his lungs, coming from his chest where the Phantom Ruby was once implanted, were:

"I love you guys..."

The hardest words ever in the existence of living, in both Mobius and Equestria, had just come out of Zero's mouth while he lay on his deathbed.

Sonic's eyes went wide, wider than they had been, while Tails' ears drooped and the gun he had in his hand finally hit the ground. Knuckles looked away with a tough frown, arms tightening from where he had them crossed over his chest.

"Thank you, Sonic the Hedgehog."

Chapter Text

Table of Contents:
-Thank you
-Future plans(if you read any of this, read this one.)

Thank you:

Jackals in Equestria has finally been put to rest, aka it’s finally finished. Out of four remakes in four years, this is the only one I’ve seen all the way through.

Thank you for the comments, the likes, the kudos(for our AO3 readers), and thank you most of all for reading this through. You all are the greatest readers I’ve had in a while.

Thank you for everything.

Future plans:

-I plan to go through and make Zero a better character, as this was originally very rushed and terribly edited.
-I also plan on making a sequel some time in the near future revolving around the next movie. Would you all like that? Let me know!

Chapter Text

Yes, there will be a sequel following the Friendship games plot. Here is what I told my Wattpad readers in a 5 sentence-long summary:

Yes, there will be a sequel. It is going to take time, so please do not rush me in any capacity. I don’t know when it will be done.

Any suggestions are welcome relating to plot points, relationships (platonic only, I can’t write fluffy romance to save my life), or one shots revolving around the group (of which I have already had suggestions and ideas).

Love and guts,

CorpseSALT