Chaos and Elements

Tempest in the Orchard

Sonic awoke the next day to the sun beaming through the window. Groaning, he got up from the still-uncomfortable bed and reread the letter from last night. However, something struck him as odd: When had he said that someone was trying to overthrow her? I'm not exactly eager to say that one of my subjects is planning to overthrow me.... Was she just paranoid? Or did she know more than she was letting on? He decided to just pass it off as paranoia, but it was still at the back of his mind. As he made his way down the stairs, he noticed Spike was already up, presumably running the library while Twilight was away.

"Hey, you're finally awake!" Spike called.

"Finally? What time is it?"

"Only about nine. But I usually get up right after Celestia raises the sun, at least when Twilight's not here."

'Celestia raises the sun? Huh?' He thought, but he decided to just play along. "Believe me, this is early for me. Usually I sleep until two or three, unless I set an alarm. That, or Tails calls and wakes me up." He said with a chuckle.

"Why do you sleep so late?" Spike asked.

"Because I stay up late."

"Doing what?"

"Playing video games, watching TV, messing around on the internet..." 'Trolling the occasional brony.....' He added mentally. "You haven't got any of that stuff here in Equestria, so I got to sleep at a reasonable hour."

"Ah okay. Hey, could you put these books on that top shelf? I'm a bit too short to reach it."

"Sure." He said, walking over to the indicated shelf.

An hour later, Sonic was on his way to Sweet Apple Acres to check on the Crusaders, when he was smacked into from behind by a grey pegasus with a blonde mane.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir! I was flying and I lost control!"

" 'S fine....." Sonic said, groaning as he got up. His headache was once again gracing him with its presence. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm.... used to it.... I'm Ditzy Doo. Nice to meet you, Mr..."

"Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. What did you mean, you were used to it?"

"I'm not a very good flyer.... It's how I got my nickname. But I try!"

"Nickname?" He noticed she was cross-eyed.

"Derpy... I do my best to try to not live up to it...."

'That's... kind of jerkish.'

"But, I get by... Anyway, I need to get this package delivered. It was nice meeting you!" She yelled, flying off.

"Huh. That was.... weird." Sonic said, and sped off towards the house. After hearing that the three fillies were in their clubhouse from a particularly tight-lipped stallion, he approached the small house, when he heard a crash behind him. He turned around and rolled into a fighting pose; ten years of Eggman's antics had trained him well. Looking, he saw a collapsed tree, with an indigo pegasus with a deep purple mane that had a red stripe through it like Sonic Wind's. She (He assumed, at least. It looked female.) also had a suit on that was identical to Sonic Wind's.

'Great. Another one of these ponies.' He thought. He noticed that she had.... something on her wings. Whatever they were, they looked sharp. 'They're probably what knocked that tree down.'

"Found you!" The pony said.

"Well, If I'd known you were looking for me, I'd have made it easier!" The ever-cocky Sonic shot back. "Who are you?"

"I am Tempest. And I'm here to kill you." Tempest said.

"Oh what a lame-ass line! Seriously!!!!!! Is that the best thing you could think up?"

"Well... I didn't have much time.. and... Shut up!"

"Heh, well, Tempest, I've dealt with things that are much more..... threatening, than you. You don't look like you could even hurt me!"

"Why don't you come on and find out how threatening I am!" The pegasus snarled, taking off and flying towards him, wings outstretched. Sonic rolled out of the way, and struck another fighting pose.... only to see that three of the trees that had been level with his head were no longer standing up. They were on their sides, clean cut, with Tempest flying above them.

'What in god's name is on her wings?' He thought. 'I can't let her get close to me.' He saw her dive down towards him again, and he took off running through the orchard. He couldn't run at full speed, though, for fear of smacking into a tree at nearly mach 1, so Tempest was able to keep up, just barely. She chose to fly over the trees, so she was able to fly faster. Sonic summoned one of the Chaos Emeralds he had with him and started drawing power from it. He jumped into one of the trees to get a better aim, and fired a Chaos Spear right at Tempest's wing. It hit, but the weapon she had on it took most of the blow. He began to focus and draw more power form the emerald.

"Chaos.....SNAP!!!!!!!!!!" He felt the Chaos energy coursing through him, and he teleported around her several times before appearing above her and homing attacking her wing. The attack knocked her off course and knocked the blade off her wing, and she spiraled down into the orchard.

'Wait... How am I supposed to get down?' Sonic looked down, and suddenly felt like he was a cartoon character that had just walked off a cliff. He plummeted to the ground, trying but failing to grab a tree branch, and came down hard on his ankle, with a loud crack.

"Gah!!!!!!" He yelped in pain. Blinking the tears of pain out of his eyes, he saw Tempest galloping off through the trees. cradling her hurt wing. He leaned back against one of the trees, examining his ankle. It looked like he'd broken it, alright, but he'd have to ask Twilight about it........ Except Twilight was still in Las Pegasus. However, he heard hoofsteps rushing towards him, with a very familiar voice saying: "Ah saw him land over here!!"

"Applejack?" He called out.

"Ah heard him!"

"I did too!" Twilight.

"Hey! Over here!" Suddenly, he was face-to-face with two unicorns and an earth pony.

"Found you! You okay, sugarcube?" Applejack said.

"Yes, darling, that couldn't have been very pleasant." Rarity added.

Biting back sarcasm at Rarity's comment, he replied, "Yeah, I'm fine, but I think I broke my ankle. But aren't you supposed to be in Las Pegasus?"

"Well, we were going to stay there for another day, but that wasn't very responsible of us when our sisters were most likely in danger, now was it?" Rarity said.

"We woulda been back last night, but the trains were shut down after what happened with the tables."

"And since Princess Celestia left right after getting your letter, we couldn't get her to overrule the conductors." Twilight added. "Now hold still, I'm gonna try to fix your ankle." Sonic's leg was wrapped in a purple glow, and he felt his bones being shifted around. Deciding to wisely change the subject, he asked: "Where are the others?"

"Rainbow Dash chased after the pegasus that was fightin' you, Fluttershy's checkin' on the Crusaders, and Pinkie Pie's.... well, I don't rightly know what happened ta her." Applejack said, looking around.

"What made you come to the farm?"

"Well, we were coming here because we knew the Crusaders would be here." Rarity answered. "But when we saw that pegasus, we got a little suspicious. Sure enough, we saw you jump into the air, and start teleporting around, so we rushed over here." The was a crack as Sonic's bone slipped back into place.

"There, that should do it." Twilight said. "Though I'd stay off it for a couple days. Medical magic is my weakest point."

"Got it." Sonic said, getting up and walking towards where Tempest's weapon had fallen. It was in the ground, sticking straight up. He heard Twilight's voice behind him.

"Sonic, did she have wingblades?" Twilight asked, sounding genuinely spooked.

"Is that what those things are called?" Twilight nodded. "Then yes. They're responsible for the deaths of at least four of AJ's apple trees, and they nearly took my head off. They're sharp."

"They're also illegal." Twilight said. "The only ponies who are allowed to use them are Princess Luna's Shadowbolts."

"Are they like the Wonderbolts?" Sonic asked, remembering Dash's idols.

"Not really, no. They're a group of elite fliers, but the similarities stop there. Every ten years, Princess Luna would take ten fliers from across Equestria and train them from childhood."

"And the parents?"

"They were allowed to say no, but most don't. They know what an honor it is..."

"So they were trained just like the Wonderbolts?"

"No... they were trained in the art of battle... They were trained to kill. That's why the wingblades are so sharp; the fact that she missed you proves a testament to your reflexes. The Shadowbolts don't miss."

"So you think she's a rogue Shadowbolt?"

"Possibly... I need to get in touch with Princess Luna. I'll see you back at the library, Sonic." She said, taking off, with the others following suit. Sonic took one last look at the wingblade and followed.