Chaotic Origins

Chapter 5- A New Look

     Twilight sighed sadly. It had been two days since Discord's resurgence. Sonic still hadn't woken up. It had been shocking for her to realize how much she cared for Sonic, but the thought of him dying was too much for her to bear. She sighed again, staring into the amber liquid in her glass.

     "It's like your hearts being ripped out," Twilight murmured to herself. She downed the rest of her glass. She immediately refilled it. She was not ready to deal with the real world right now.

     Twilight jerked awake. She didn't know when she had fallen asleep, and she peered about to see what had disturbed her.

     Finally, she heard it. A gentle, almost nonexistant knocking. She tottered slowly to the door, and opened it just as the visitor knocked again.

     "Yes?" She hung on to the doorframe to support herself. A butter yellow pegasus which Twilight vaguely identified as Fluttershy was standing there.

     "Um, Twilight? Sonic's starting to stir. He'll be waking up soon. You should probably come...I mean, if that is you want to...you don't have to." Fluttershy ducked her head under her mane.

     "Huh?" Twilight sagged against the doorframe. Fluttershy cleared her throat.

     "Sonic's waking up." Well, THAT snapped Twilight into sobriety. Her suddenly clear mind did a skip as she squealed in excitement. She charged her horn and teleported away. Fluttershy smiled at her friend's enthusiasm, before shutting the door and following at a sedate trot.

     Sonic slowly awoke. His thoughts were foggy, and his memories of previous events were fuzzy. For a moment he expected to wake up in that old temple. His eyes opened, but rather than seeing red stone, he saw a homey cottage.

     He slowly took in his surroundings, desperately trying to wake up. Normally he was up like a light. Today, his mind seemed determined to go back to sleep.

     Sonic pushed himself up to a sitting position, shaking his head. It took a squealing purple pony to bring him back to reality. He turned to see her charging toward him from an open door. His eyes widened and he tried to jump off the bed before he was clobbered. Unfortunately for him, he got tangled up in the sheets and slowed down by sore muscles.

     "Sonic!" Twilight gleefully cried. She latched onto him, wrapping her forelegs around his arms and chest, and pinning him to the bed. The ecstatic unicorn nuzzled his chest, holding him close. "I'm so glad you're okay!" Sonic could only look on uncomfortably as the life was hugged out of him.

     "Um, I'm fine. Really. You can let go now," he said uncertainly. He heard a laugh and turned to see an orange earth pony walk up.

     "Don't worry about her. She's just drunk herself silly ever since ya got hurt. Ah'm not surprised she ain't exactly sober," Applejack assured.

     "What are you talking about?" asked an enraged Twilight. She looked up at Applejack angrily. " I'm completely -hic- sober!" Applejack laughed.

     "Sure ya are, sugarcube. Anyways, Ah gotta get back to the farm. Have fun!" she chuckled before walking out.

     Sonic looked down at Twilight, who had resumed nuzzling him. He sighed.

     "Seriously. You can let go now," Sonic repeated. "Twilight?" He then groaned, for he was now pinned to the bed with a drunk sleeping unicorn on top of him.

     Luckily for Sonic, Fluttershy arrived shortly afterwards and moved Twilight to the couch. As relieved as he was for that awkward ordeal to be over, he knew there was something they weren't telling him.

     Various ponies drifted in and out, including the rest of the Mane 6. Spike volunteered to stay with Sonic, and had hung around for a good hour or two. He had gone back to the library with Twilight though, so Sonic was by himself again.

     Fluttershy popped in every few minutes to encourage him to rest, but Sonic couldn't sleep. He was too riled up. All day he had gotten the feeling they were hiding something, and he was determined to figure out what it was. Right after Fluttershy checked in on him another time, he slipped out of the bed.

    Creeping around the corner, he tiptoed out towards the door. Something made him stop, though. He had caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror, and something seemed off. He turned around to look again. What he saw made him take a moment to make sure he wasn't crazy.

     Gone was his classic bright blue fur. In its place was a much darker shade. The strangest part, however, was the glowing blue sigils that stretched across his frame. One stretched across the top of his highest quills and his forehead, and other spots covered the tips of his ears. One even reached across his eye, ending at one edge and continuing across the other edge. Some stretched across his stomach and chest, but his legs were bare.

     They gave him a foreign, exotic look. In the right light they might even make him look savage. The only thing that seemed to have NOT changed was his eyes. They alone were reflected back at him like he always remembered. But, as he looked closer, he realized that they had changed too. They shone much brighter than ever before, and it seemed like they reflected a distant flame.

     But it only took a moment for his shock to turn into wonderment.

     "Cool!" he breathed. He then heard gentle hoofsteps coming from the hallway. Sonic ducked away and out the door before he was discovered.

     His first stop was Rainbow's house. He was noticed immediately, and Dash winged down and landed next to him.

     "Hey, you're up! How you feeling? It looked pretty painful from what I saw when you got blasted." As she said this, Sonic's suspicions were confirmed. They didn't want him to know about his new look. So he decided to have a little fun.

      "I'm fine. So what do you think of the new look?" Sonic crossed his arms across his chests, grinning smugly. "Yeah, I just noticed it when I snuck out of Fluttershy's. Pretty neat, right?" Rainbow Dash's mouth hung slack, and her eyes bugged out.

     "You...know about it...then," was all she managed to say. Her mouth still hung open, and Sonic swore he saw a bug fly in. He didn't see it fly back out.

     "Shut your mouth, RD. And yes, I do know. It's not really that big of a deal. You coulda told me." He took a great deal of joy from Rainbow's confuzzled look. But she did shut her mouth. She smiled nervously.

     "Yeah, Twilight thought it might not be good to tell you for a while. She didn't know how you would take it," Rainbow explained. Sonic sighed.

     "You realized I could have just looked down and seen it, right?" The ridiculousness of the whole situation wasn't worth it, in Sonic's eyes at least.

     "Oh. Yeah, the plan had holes. Doesn't matter now, though."

     Sonic realized Dash really wanted to talk about something else. "How about a little race, then?" Sonic proposed.

     Rainbow grinned evilly. "Sure, why not? I bet you can't make it to... THAT cloud in, say, ten seconds flat?"

     Sonic returned her smirk. "Deal." He wasted no time, and immediately took off. Rainbow started counting. Sonic raced up the side of a tree, swerving and dodging around the branches. He jumped at the last second, launching himself in the direction of the cloud. He fell in a slow arc, landing dead center in the middle of the cloud.

    Rainbow silently cursed. He had done it in 6 seconds. She flew up and landed next to him. He ran his hand appreciatively over the fluffy surface. It was that moment when Rainbow realized that HE WAS STANDING ON A CLOUD. Sonic gave her a weird look.

     "What?" he asked. Rainbow glared at him.

     "You're standing on a cloud. Only pegasi can do that!"

     "Last I checked, I wasn't a pegasus."

     "But you're standing on a CLOUD!"

     "So? I've done it before."

     "Bu- wait, seriously? I was expecting more than a 'been there, done that'."

      "That's all you're gonna get, though."

      Rainbow threw her hooves up in frustration. She grumbled, but suddenly got a conspiratory look in her eye.

     "I can't wait to tell everyone else that you know about your new look."

     Sonic immediately got her drift.

     "Yeah, I wonder how they'll react."

      Two heart attacks, one mini party, one fainting spell and one scolding later, Rainbow and Sonic found themselves wandering around Sweet Apple Acres.

     "The look on Rarity's face was PRICELESS!" laughed Dash.

     "I almost think you enjoyed that too much, RD," Sonic laughed.

     "There's no way to enjoy a prank too much, Sonic. Just ask Pinkie Pie." Rainbow Dash protested.

     "Don't worry, I believe you. There's no need for drastic measures," Sonic reassured her. Rainbow chuckled at his discomfiture.

     "I still don't think Twilight needed to freak out so bad, though," complained Rainbow Dash. Sonic nodded in agreement, thinking of the disaster they had narrowly avoided.

ABOUT AN HOUR AGO:

     "Oh, Twilight! You there?" called Sonic. He stood just inside the library door. Twilight walked up to him, smiling brightly. She was apparently sober now, as she didn't try to hug or nuzzle Sonic.

     "Oh! Hi! What are you doing up do soon?" asked Twilight.

     "I snuck out of Fluttershy's house," Sonic replied candidly.

     "Of course you did," muttered Twilight. Sonic may have only been around for a few weeks(2 or 3, she couldn't remember exactly) she was very well aware of his inability to sit still.

     "So what do you think?" Sonic burst her thought bubble.

     "Think of what?" she responded suspiciously.

     "The new duds, of course! What else would I be talking about?" Sonic asked, putting on an air of puzzlement.

     "W-w-well, you could have been talking about a number of things..." Twilight stammered, trying to think of something to say.

     "Like what, exactly?" Sonic prompted.

     "It could have been the pretty weather, or, or, or the, the...uummm..." Twilight's voice trailed off into silence. Sonic gave her a look.

     "What is it?" Sonic asked, trying his best not to burst into laughter and reveal the prank.

     "Alright, who told you? Was it Rainbow Dash? I bet it was Rainbow Dash..." Twilight ran a scanning spell to look for the rainbow pegasus. Her suspicions only seemed to be confirmed when her spell told her Rainbow was lurking just outside the door. She unceremoniously grabbed Rainbow in her telekinesis and dumped her on the floor in front of her.

     "Why'd you tell him, Rainbow? We Pinkie Promised!"

     "But I didn't! I swear!" Rainbow protested.

     "Don't lie, Rainbow. How else could he have found out?!"

     They both looked over sharply as they heard a loud smack. Sonic had facepalmed.

     "You do know there are MIRRORS in Fluttershy's house, right?" Sonic grumbled. Twilight backed away from Rainbow Dash, her ears back in embarrassment.

     "Oh. Right." Twilight blushed.

     "See Twi? I would never break a Pinkie Promise!" Rainbow piped up.

     "What I'm confused about is why you didn't want me to know," Sonic interrupted. Twilight looked over at him, a trace of red still in her face.

     "I didn't want you to freak out is all." She scuffed the ground with one hoof. Sonic scoffed in reply.

     "Sorry, Twilight, but you're the only one who freaks out and makes a complete mess of things," Sonic joked. He realized, too late, how offensive that was. He looked up at Twilight. Her bottom lip was quivering and her eyes were watering.

     "I'm sorry," he said softly. "That was uncalled for." Twilight nodded.

     "It's okay. I accept your apology. But you're right. I do always make a mess of things." Twilight said even more softly than Sonic. Sonic stared at her in disbelief, righteous anger at his own words boiling up inside. Sometimes his tongue was too quick for his own good.

     "That's not true! Everyone messes up sometimes! And look at what you HAVE done! I mean, if you hadn't quote-unquote messed up, I wouldn't be standing here!" Sonic shut his mouth quickly, realizing what he had just said. In trying to right his mistake, he had just said exactly opposite what he believed.

     "Well, theoretically," he finished lamely. Twilight had caught his slip of tongue, though, and was now grinning happily.

     "You do believe it!" she squealed happily. At this point Sonic was getting confused by all of Twilight's sudden mood swings. While he was happy she was no longer so down in the dumps, this was not where he had expected the conversation to go.

     "No!" he denied, "It just, slipped out, is all." Sonic rubbed the back of his head nervously. Twilight grinned mischievously. She loved a good argument just as much as the next girl, though she'd never admit it.

     "But it wouldn't have slipped out unless you meant it!"

     "Yes it would! Wait, that came out wrong." Sonic scowled in irritation. It was obvious he was losing this argument. Twilight laughed, and Rainbow Dash was grinning from ear to ear.

     "Why is it so awful that you were born in the Nexus?" Twilight asked.

     "Well, it isn't, but-"

     "Well, then why are you being so stubborn?" This made Sonic pause for a second. Why was he being so stubborn? But he shook his head. Now was not the time to debate the philosophical repercussions of his decisions.

     "I have my reasons," he finally answered, not sure of what else to say.

     Rainbow gasped. "Even he doesn't know!" She laughed, her sides shaking in mirth. Sonic glared at her.

     "I thought you were on my side,RD!" Sonic couldn't help but feel betrayed.

     "I was, but not anymore!" Rainbow laughed uproariously at Sonic's expression.

     "Dirty double crosser," he muttered. This of course, made the girls laugh even harder, and even Sonic cracked a grin.

THE PRESENT

     Rainbow Dash giggled. "You can't argue to save your life," she joked. Sonic glared at her.

     "Well, it's not like I had much experience in the subject!" Sonic protested. Rainbow just laughed and scooted closer to Sonic, so they brushed against eachother as they walked. Sonic looked down in surprise, but didn't move away. And Rainbow counted that as a success.

     Applejack watched as the two walked through the orchards, talking. When she saw how happy they were, especially when Rainbow scooted right up next to him, she gritted her teeth in frustration.

     "Is somepony jealous?" asked a slow, male voice behind her. Applejack spun around, only to sigh in relief as she saw it was only the familiar face of Big Macintosh.

     "Of course not!" Applejack denied. "Ah'm just... making sure they don't take too many apples! Ya know how Rainbow eats."

     "Never bothered ya before," was Mac's no nonsense answer. Applejack blushed but didn't say anything. She looked up when Big Mac didn't say anything either.

     "Were ya gonna say something else?"

     "Eenope."

     "Well, then were ya gonna go?"

     "Eenope."

     "*sigh* Ya want me to come with ya and leave them alone, don't ya?"

     "Eeyup."

     Applejack sighed again. "Alright, Ah'm comin'."

     Sonic turned his head around. "Did you hear something?" he asked.

     Rainbow cocked her head, listening. "Nope, nothing," she replied. Sonic looked unconvinced, but shrugged his shoulders.

     "I can't believe that Rarity fainted, though!" Rainbow chuckled, continuing their previous conversation.

     "Probably dreaming of new designs," Sonic grumbled ungraciously. He looked around furtively as if expecting her to swarm him with her tape measures, needles, scissors, and bolts of cloth right then and there. Dash was privately amused at the thought. She couldn't help but wonder how Sonic would look in one of Rarity's outfits, though.

     It was hard to believe him looking any better than he did right now.