Winds of Freedom

by Zephyr Winds 13

Rating: everyone
Tags: Adventure, Crossover, Alternate Universe, Human
Length: 17948

What happens when you try to contain the fastest thing alive? Things get pretty chaotic.

Sonic, the fastest thing alive, has been kept inside a castle for his entire life. He knows nothing of the outside world, yet it calls to him. What happens when he rises to the challenge to face a world that knows nothing about him?

A big thanks to http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Mesmes7777 for the story idea, and to Girutea on DeviantArt, who made the incredible cover art! Go check those incredible peeps out, give them a follow, whatever it's called!

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2015-06-07 19:35:25 UTC

Prologue- 19 years ago

"They're so beautiful," the lunar princess whispered, her tired form lying limp in her bed. She reached out weakly for the two crying bundles that her husband held. As he gingerly passed them to her, she got her first look at the twin boys. One had a surprisingly thick shock of hair that was deep blue, much the same color as her mane when it flowed with galaxies held within. The other, which also had thick hair, had a darker complexion, with locks of black hair with red streaks in it.

     "They are fitting sons of the Princess of the Night and the Dark Lord," announced her husband. Despite his serious tone, he was grinning like a fool, his somewhat unsettling eyes twinkling with delight.

     "Sombra, I sincerely hope that shan't be the best thing thou will say about thy sons," Luna chided, but she was smiling as well. But then she looked down sadly. "If only they could know," she murmured. Her voice held years of pain in it, the pain of secrets that can never be revealed.

     "Luna, we agreed. They cannot know that I am their father. The rest of the country would persecute them for their whole lives because of their sire's mistakes." Sombra let his hands rest on the white sheets of Luna's bed. "I cannot live with that on my mind." He began to pace around the small room, his boots thumping against the soft brown carpet.

     "Just as thine country cannot know of our love. The decisions thou have made are sound, but we cannot help but wish that circumstances were different. If only they could see you fell victim to the same evil that we did. If only..." Luna gazed up at the ceiling in frustration.

     The ceiling was painted with the stars, glowing like the night sky. Luna took pride in her art, but now it only reminded her of the trials she had gone through as the nocturnal half of Equestria's government. She had made her fair share of mistakes, but she had been forgiven. She was, after all, Celestia's sister. Sombra had not been forgiven. She doubted he ever would be.

     "My crimes can never be undone. But I can hold hope that my sons will make a difference in this world. That is good enough for me. I hope that is good enough for you as well," Sombra told her. He stopped his pacing and walked to his wife's side. His fingers entwined with hers, squeezing her hand. "It will be okay." He looked at her, his brow furrowed with concern, but he was smiling encouragingly as well.

     "I surely hope so." Luna smiled at her son's faces. They would certainly have an interesting future. Whether it would be a good one, only time would tell.

     "Sleep well, little ones," she whispered softly. "For the Night shall always be your guardian."

     "And your friend," added Sombra. They looked at each other sadly, before smiling again. They only had so long before this moment would disappear. They had best make the most of it.

Explanation- A Note On The Timeline

As you all may have noticed, both non-Nightmare Luna and (more surprisingly) reformed Sombra are in this fic. As such, I feel this requires some exposition that cannot smoothly be provided canonically in the story. Therefore, I have written this chapter to explain things directly from me, the author, to you, my dear readers.

     This happens a few years after Sombra is defeated. When his horn is cut off(or in this anthro version, his magic is torn from him), it separates him from the most concentrated area of pollution from the Nightmare forces, the same thing which corrupted Luna. (Yes, I know using the same bad guy is lazy writing on my part, but it was the only way that I could justify having a not evil Sombra in my story. If you have any better ideas on how this could work, then give me a shoutout, and I may edit them into the story in replacement of my own sloppy writing.)

     Anyways, Sombra goes into hiding for a few years, before going to Luna for help. Upon revealing his situation, an uneasy truce is obtained. Later truce turns into friendship, friendship turns into love and marriage, love and marriage turns into babies, and vòila! My story is born! (Pun completely intended.)

     But this would also mean that this a good deal later after the Elements are found by the Mane 6, and then an additional 16 years for the two children to mature. So, if their aging process was similar to ours, and with my estimate of them being around 18-21 years of age in the show at the time of becoming the Elements of Harmony, by the time this story happens, they would be well into their forties.

     Humans are generally NOT in their prime once they get to that age. BUT! There is still hope.

     (1) Twilight is an alicorn, so it doesn't matter.

     (2) Sonic and his brother (who I'm sure you know who it is, but the big reveal will be saved for later anyways) are also alicorns, so it doesn't particularly matter for them, either.

     That leaves the rest of the Mane 6, and the population in general. So, the average pony lifespan will NOT be that of a human's. They will live, on average, to be 350 years old.

     But then that leaves the plot hole of ponies forgetting Nightmare Moon in a 1,000 year span. Three generations? Really? What gives? How is it possible to forget that fast?

     My solution is this: Celestia was in so much pain over losing her sister that she outlawed speaking of her. Anyone who did so would spend the week in house arrest, with guards patrolling their property. That meant no contact with the outside world. Ponies quickly learned to keep their mouth shut. However, they did tell their kids of the boogeymare, Nightmare Moon, in the hopes the story would live on in some way. So, that's why nopony knew of the Nightmare after only about three generations.

     So when Twilight contacts Celestia about it in the beginning of the series, that's why she got shut down. It just hurt Celestia to think of her sister, especially since she felt she was at fault.

     (If you want my personal back story on why Luna and Celestia had a falling out, go on Youtube and watch the video Children of the Night by Duo Cartoonist, and it should come up pretty easily in your search. Anyways, that tells a really potent story -by using song, of course- about why all that stuff happened. It is a really good video and you should check it out.)

     Shameless plugs and more lazy writing, or lack of it, aside, I figure that since ponies live so long, twenty years or so doesn't make such a huge difference.

     This story is Anthro, so not ponies. Just humans with weirdly colored hair of which some have wings or the ability to use magic.(And they will have NORMAL skin color, thank you very much.) As for Earth Ponies, I figure they're just longer lived and generally tougher than the other two types. As such, they are still separated into "tribes", but all it means is that you either have wings, magic, or neither.

     Hopefully this explains everything that needs to be explained. If it turns out I forgot something, I will either write it in the A/N, or, if it's something major, I will write another expository chapter. Oh, and after this, the chapters will get a bit longer, so don't worry if short chapters aren't your thing.

Last thing before I let you go. I do have one other sonic/mlp crossover in my stories list, but I haven't updated it in a long time because I've hit a major writer's block. So I decided to try and leave it until I can come at it with a fresh mind and, hopefully, fresh ideas. I'll put it on Hiatus until I feel ready to come back to it.

Present Day

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and there was nary a cloud in the sky. It was peaceful and quiet, and the tranquility of the scene was astounding to behold. A maid carrying a basket of laundry stopped to enjoy the view through a large, majestic window. She had worked in the palace for a few years, but the mornings here never got old. It was a perfect moment to relax, and she took a deep breath of contentment. Reluctantly, she started on her way again, hoping to finish early so she could enjoy the rest of this beautiful spring day.

     A blue blur went racing past, sending the poor maid spinning in dizzy circles. Once she finally came to a stop, her eyes continued spinning, which caused her to nearly drop the basket of laundry she was carrying. As it was, stray socks had been strewn everywhere, and it would be another twenty minutes before she was sure she had found them all.

     Further down the hall, the speedster screeched to a near stop as he rounded a 90° turn before rocketing off again. He was pulling off tricks, grinding on handrails, and running on the walls. His agility knew no bounds as he leapt, twisted, and spun his way through the intricate halls of the Canterlot Castle. Was there a wall in his way? No problem, he'd just run up it. A group of servants? He wove through them so fast they didn't know he was there till he was gone. Family? Turn around and run the other direction. He felt like nothing could catch him. He was the fastest thing alive! He had wings, and magic, for that matter, but he was most comfortable on the ground. Who needed wings when he had his two feet?

     He had almost reached top speed. He pushed a little harder, hoping to make a sonic boom. He had made one once before, at almost the exact same time that one pegasus had done it, but that scarcely mattered to him. He was so close! Sonic could see the white cone beginning to form in front of him. He could feel the sound barrier beginning to split apart!...when he was brought to a lurching halt. The sudden loss of momentum knocked the breath out of his lungs. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he realized he couldn't move. A strange golden aura surrounded him, holding him just above the ground. A sense of dread filled him as he realized what had happened.

     "Sonic Maurice Nocturne!" called out a familiar voice. Sonic winced. She used the middle name. This was most certainly not good.

     "Ummm... Good, morning, Aunt Tia...?" he said hesitantly, grinning nervously. His grin got wider and more nervous as Princess Celestia approached her nephew. She was one of the few people who knew who his father was, but that also meant that she was extra hard on him, and his brother. She would not allow the sons of her sister to fall to the darkness.

     "What exactly do you think you're doing?" she asked sternly. Sonic knew she was one of the nicest people in his life, second only to his mother, but she did not tolerate his often reckless behavior.

     "Would you believe me if I said gym class?" Sonic asked, his grin failing a little. He had quickly learned how his aunt and mother had retained power for over a thousand years. You just don't piss someone off when they can control the sun and moon. You just don't.

     Celestia sighed. "You and I both know very well you don't take gym class. Or any other classes, for that matter. You graduated the expected curriculum a year ago! Honestly, by the standards of our people, you have matured remarkable quickly, your brother as well, but sometimes you act so reckless! It makes me wonder if you really have matured all that much." Celestia let him out of her magical grip, the golden glow that enveloped both him and her hand disappearing.

     "Maybe if you let me out of this Tartarus-forsaken castle, I could actually do what I want without it seeming so childish! I know that one pegasus that you know does it all the time, but she never gets called childish," Sonic complained.

     "Rainbow Dash," corrected Celestia, "is a grown and responsible citizen of Equestria. She may pull off reckless stunts, but her redeeming qualities far outweigh her bad ones. You simply seem to enjoy causing others trouble." Celestia's last sentence was ground out in a mock growl. Despite her words, Sonic knew he was out of trouble...for now.

     "I don't TRY to cause people trouble," Sonic protested. "They just end up in my way a lot." At this Celestia rolled her eyes, before giving him a friendly push.

     "Go find something to occupy yourself with. I have Day Court to attend to."

     Sonic needed no further urging, and ran off only slightly slower than the speed at which he came.

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     Sonic slowed down to a normal speed just as he reached the door to the room he shared with his brother. He had often wondered why they shared a room when there was plenty of rooms in the palace for them to have their own, but he had never gotten a straight answer. However, he did know that they had grown closer as a result.

     Very often, any mischief at the palace was instigated by the two expert pranksters, though half the time the more dangerous pranks were Sonic's doing, and not his twin's. His brother (who was older by about two minutes) often exercised more caution, and was quieter as well. That didn't mean he was shy, though, and many arguments were caused by Sonic trying to boss him around. It never ended well for Sonic, who wasn't quite as accomplished at close-quarters wrestling as he thought he was.

     He was, however, a natural leader, and when Sonic's advice made sense, his twin was willing to go along. They considered each other equals and partners in crime as much as they considered each other brothers. Therefore, on most days, they got along just fine.

     This was not one of those days.

     "Good job, Sonic Maurice," Sonic's brother taunted from where he sat, reading. His gaze never left his book, and he didn't move from his beanbag at all, but the mocking tone in his voice said it all.

     "Oh, shut up, Shadow Tiberius," Sonic shot back. Shadow hmmphed in response and fell silent. Even when they disagreed, they could agree on one thing. They both had stupid middle names. Sonic personally felt that Maurice was worse than Tiberius as far as middle names go, but he wouldn't tell Shadow that. Sonic ran a hand through his spiky blue hair. His emerald green eyes looked exasperated, but he didn't say anything else.

     Walking forward decisively, he opened the large window in his room and hopped out, carefully bracing his feet against the slanted roof so he wouldn't slip. He climbed up to the top of his window, above which was an eave that was relatively flat. He pulled himself up and sat there, his legs dangling, gazing over the city of Canterlot. Moments later, Shadow joined him, and they didn't speak a word as they looked at the great big world that they were denied access to.

     "What do you think it's like down there?" Sonic asked, breaking the silence.

     "Why are you asking me? I know no more than you do."

     "I know that! But what do you think it's like, meeting new people every day, getting to go and do whatever you like? What would it be like if the life you led was your decision?

     "... I suppose it would always be different. Every day would bring new experiences and new people into your life. You would never know what to expect. Even when you followed a routine, something would happen that makes it new."

     "Yeah. Sounds like a lot of fun. I bet we could do so much! But..."

     "The life we lead is not our choice. We cannot meet new people or go where we please. We must remain in the castle, away from the eyes of the public."

     "And no one will give us a goddamn reason why." Sonic swore. Shadow looked at him, surprised. He had never heard Sonic resort to profanity before, as "royalty" were supposed to remain refined. Sonic often tried to take these lessons to heart, but Shadow knew Sonic felt he wasn't cut out to be pampered royalty.

      The more Shadow thought on the matter, though, the more he realized that he felt the same way. There was no need for princes in a government with immortal rulers. They didn't even know who their father was, and the public didn't know they existed. The castle staff had been notified that any leak about their existence would be met with harsh punishment, so they hardly knew more than anyone else.

     Shadow looked over at Sonic, his blood red eyes filled with confusion and doubt. Sonic didn't notice, being too busy watching all the people in the streets below. They had considered running away more than a few times, but the sense of guilt and betrayal in their hearts had always stopped them. Now though, every day brought them closer to the breaking point.

     Shadow knew it was only a matter of time before Sonic snapped.

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     Six hours later saw Celestia and Luna drinking tea together, soon after the close of the Day Court. While their duties as ruling princesses took up most of their time, the evenings they reserved for a little R&R. They might be immortal, but that didn't mean they couldn't go without any time to themselves.

     "I'm worried, Luna." Celestia caught her sister's eye and held it.

     "Worried about what, Tia?" asked Luna, her curiosity peaked at Celestia's serious tone.

     "About the twins. They've grown more and more independent, and Sonic in particular talks a lot about wanting to leave the castle. I've managed to dodge the subject so far, but I fear we can't keep him cooped up much longer. As for Shadow, he's still difficult to read, but I get the feeling he thinks much the same way."

     "Tia, we both knew we couldn't keep them hidden away forever, but we wish they'd given us a bit more time. But why should we expect any less from them? They are certainly the children of their father." Luna sighed in regret. She hadn't seen Sombra in seventeen years. He had disappeared after rumors of him being in the castle had circulated through Canterlot. The two princesses had searched for the culprit who leaked the information with a vengeance, but had never found them. She had never heard from Sombra again, and had no idea what happened to him.

     "I just hope they don't do anything brash. Of course, we need time to set up a way to introduce them to the public, if it comes to that. But will they give us that time?" Celestia worried. The twins were quite dear to her. How could they not be, as the children of her beloved sister? If anything happened to them...

     Luna noticed the pained look on the Sun Princess' face, and immediately understood what must have been going on in her head. "Tia, thou knoweth that Nightmare Moon twas not thine fault, and neither is anything that might happen to them. Even if they do end up going out on their own, they can take care of themselves. If need be, we can even sic Discord on them." The thought of Discord handling her admittedly chaotic nephews made even Celestia giggle a bit.

     "We both know that it's impossible to contain those two when they set their minds on something. For now, all we can do is to start setting up a public relations meeting where we introduce them to the world. On the down low, of course." Luna looked kindly at her sister. "Please don't blame yourself."

     "I'll try."

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     That night, dinner was uneventful, ending with Sonic and Shadow finishing quickly (as always) and then heading to the practice room. Celestia and Luna shared a look, having barely finished half of their supper. With little else to occupy them, the two boys had turned to martial arts to give them things to do. Over their years of practice, including with battle magic, they had become skilled fighters, but they had no experience of what a real battle was like. Even so, everyone who had seen them sparring knew that whoever crossed them would rue that day.

     Sonic was more accomplished in the acrobatic part of fighting, using his innate speed to give him an incredible edge. While Shadow was not quite as fast as his brother, he was a brilliant strategist, and he knew his brother quite well. Their battles, when they got serious, were close every time, and they had never truly declared a winner.

     Battle magic was a similar story. After asking their mother to teach them, and very quickly being shut down, they had figured it out on their own. Shadow excelled at it, especially teleportation, which he could do instantly. Otherwise, his battle magic was quite simple, mostly consisting of unrefined beams of energy. Even as crude a strategy as it was, they were incredibly powerful. He also had figured out how to slow and even stop time, which Sonic found very hard to counter until he figured out how to do it himself. Even so, he wasn't quite as good at it as Shadow.

     Sonic was better at using battle magic to augment his own powers. He would curl into a ball and cover himself in a shield of rapidly moving blue magic, giving the impression he was spinning. By using this technique, he could hold himself in the air indefinitely, which was handy for targeting what he planned on attacking. It also helped him to pack quite a punch, as he could shear straight through metal. As refined as it was, that made it incredibly hard to predict, as he could manipulate his mid-air trajectory to confuse and track targets even when they dodged.

     He also had a good handle on his pegasus magic, and used it to manipulate the winds. His kicks and punches were already lightning fast, but by bending the air around him, he could reduce drag and move even faster. He was also fond of shooting out vacuum blades, which were blades of incredibly densely packed air. As they moved, they created a vacuum around them, which made them visible to the naked eye as they distorted light rays.

     All in all, Sonic's arsenal of tricks was much more varied than Shadow's, but even so, they were on equal ground. There was only one thing that Sonic was the undisputed champion of: sword fighting. They had taken up this particular hobby only a few years back, but in those few years, they had learned so quickly that even their mother, who constantly held them to high standards, was astounded at their progress. Shadow was extremely good at it, and had copied Sonic somewhat in using agility to complement his fighting style. Sonic beat him hands down every time, though. Even Captain Shining Armor (who knew of their existence for security reasons) had fallen to Sonic's might with a sword. He could even be argued to be the best swordfighter in all of Equestria.

     This was one thing that Sonic didn't brag about, though, as he felt that would've been wrong. Between the two of them, Sonic definitely had the greater sense of justice. Even though he was a prankster, and incredibly reckless, anytime he heard about someone suffering, he wanted to go out and fix it THAT INSTANT. Shadow, of course, wasn't cruel, but he stewed about such injustice in a much quieter way.

     Such powerful might held in the hands of such inexperienced young boys often scared the maids and man servants who saw them. Celestia and Luna had weathered many complaints about how "dangerous" they were.

     They did worry about their use of battle magic, though. Figuring out how to use it on one's own was unheard of, and yet these two boys had figured it out in the matter of days. Not weeks, not months, DAYS. When you put together incredible power and two hot headed young boys, it didn't always end well. But, then again, not much did when it involved those two.

Doubts

After a long, drawn out training period, Sonic and Shadow decided to call it a night and headed back to their room. The somewhat long walk between the training room and their bedroom seemed even longer tonight, since both boys were tired and sore. When they started sparring, they didn't hold back. Once they finally made it to the last flight of stairs, they were intercepted by their mother, who wrapped them both in a loving hug. Shadow had grown out of such gestures of affection, so he looked rather uncomfortable. Sonic didn't mind, and hugged his mother back, realizing with a start that he was nearly as tall as her. He was now eye level with the top of her shoulder, which surprised him to no end.

     "I'm just about to raise the moon. Did either of you want to watch?" Luna offered. Shadow immediately shook his head no, as he just wanted to hit the hay, and Sonic, after a moments consideration, also declined her offer. Luna looked slightly disappointed at their refusal.

     "Are you sure? Tonight will be the full moon, and you haven't joined me for The Painting in a long time." Luna looked at them hopefully.

     "Nah, we're both beat. Thanks though!" Sonic said before heading back up the stairs after Shadow. Luna pouted a little before heading on her way as well. Sonic looked back a little guiltily, but he didn't stop. Both boys pelted up the steps as fast as they could, eager to get to the privacy of their room.

     "I think that she's getting pretty upset we keep bugging out on her," observed Shadow as Sonic closed the door.

     "Yeah, but I'd rather watch from here. That balcony they do it from has gotten awfully stuffy as of late." Sonic again looked irritated, much as he had earlier that day.

     "So you sense the tension as well?" Shadow queried.

     "Yeah, like there's something that they're hiding, or something they disagree about telling us. I don't know, it just feels...awkward."

     "Like we can't trust each other." Sonic stared at Shadow as he said this, but realized that what his brother had said was all too true. It felt strained, tense... doubtful. Sonic didn't want to dwell on it, but over the past year, as he and his brother had grown more and more impatient with being trapped inside this cage of a castle, the twins had seemed to drift away from the only life they had ever known. It was strange and frustrating, like floating in a black limbo with absolutely no control.

     "This is pointless! Every time I look for answers I just get more questions. I'm outta here!" Sonic growled before leaping out the window. Shadow looked at where his brother had disappeared into the darkness. Concern was etched on his face, but he did not go after him.

     Sonic dashed to the edge of the roof and leapt off, landing on the edge of another tower and running off that one as well. He continued to perform a rather impressive display of parkour until he finally reached the outer wall, where he screeched to a halt. The frustrated teen walked along the edge, kicking loose stones and staring frustratedly at the ground far below. Today, despite being like every other day, had ticked him off. What was it that frustrated him so? His mind was filled with questions, all of which were clamoring for his full attention. He was so wrapped up in his inner turmoil that it didn't click in his head that he was farther outside the castle than he had ever been. Being so preoccupied, as Sonic paced along the outer edge of the barrier, he failed to notice an old abandoned guard post right in his way. In his irritation, his gait was quick and choppy, and he sped up even more every second.

     Sonic rammed right into the guard post, and with a startled exclamation, took a hasty step back while rubbing his sore nose. In doing so, he only placed half of his foot on the outer edge of the wall, on a smooth, polished stone, no less. With a strangled yelp, he ingloriously fell off the wall and into the world beyond. He hit the ground with an incredibly loud thud, managing to land right on his face. He lay there for a second, not quite believing how clumsy that was.

     "I really should've seen that coming," he groaned, pulling his face out of the dirt, and rising to one knee. His face was now extremely sore, and he was sure his nose would break if it went through too much more abuse. "I really hope no one saw that," he murmured. Suddenly, his situation sunk in. He was outside the castle walls. HE WAS OUTSIDE THE CASTLE WALLS. "Oh man, oh man, oh man, I am in so much trouble if Mom or Aunt Tia find out about this!"

     Without wasting a second, he bounded back up to the top of the wall, using holes and cracks as footholds to jump from. He almost fell once he reached the top, but with a final jump, he managed to pull himself all the way up. Sonic heaved a sigh of relief. He should be fine now-

     "Hold it right there! You are trespassing on royal grounds! Stay where you are, and put your hands up!" boomed out the voice of a guard. Peering through the darkness, Sonic could just see a guard on the next guard post, glaring at him. Doing what any good citizen would do, he rose to his feet...

     And ran as fast as he could back the way he came. Behind him were the angry yells of the guard and reinforcements as they heard the commotion up top, but Sonic was pretty sure they hadn't gotten a good look at his face. He retraced his steps right down to the last tower roof, until he finally saw the window of his room in front of him. One last jump, and he launched himself straight at it. If his aim was right, he would sail straight through the open window. Turns out, his aim was spot on. Unfortunately, it also turns out that the window was closed.

     For the second time that night, Sonic slammed face first into a hard surface. But this time, he slammed into magically reinforced glass, which hurt a lot worse than the packed dirt that directly surrounded the backsides of the castle proper. He let out a small whimper as his already aching nose let out a small pop and hurt even more. Touching it gingerly, he found it didn't seem to be broken. His inventory check was cut short, though, as the yells of the guards got extremely close. Frantic at the prospect of the guards being almost upon him, he urgently opened the window, hopped in, and shut it. Just as he clicked the lock shut, he could see a spotlight hover over the slightly dented window before moving on.

     "Smooth," was the welcome that Sonic got from his brother, who was staring at him from the other side of their vast room where his bed was situated.

     "Wow, your concern for my wellbeing is touching," said Sonic, his voice dripping with sarcasm. But he knew his brother was right. He had only been dicovered since he was being a clumsy oaf. He would never admit it, though.

     "Well, what are brothers for?"Shadow fired back, his voice loaded with as much sarcasm as Sonic's.

     "Oh, shut up and go to sleep," Sonic grumbled. His little excursion had done nothing to improve his mood, despite the fact that it had taken him outside the walls, and he was certainly in no frame of mind for witty banter. He could hear his twin chuckle slightly before rolling over and falling back to sleep. Sonic quickly realized how exhausted he was after the perils of the night, and without further ado, flopped into his bed and went straight to sleep as well.

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     Sonic wearily woke up the next morning, feeling even more stiff and sore than he had the night before. The phrase, "He's gonna feel THAT in the morning" had never held so much meaning to the bruised and beaten up prince. To make matters worse, he hadn't even changed before he fell asleep, which meant that the thick and durable seams of his favorite sweatshirt had dug into his skin. All in all, it had been a rather unpleasant night.

     Sonic took a quick shower and changed into a fresh set of clothing. He was currently at that awkward stage where nothing seemed to fit, so despite being a prince, he had relatively few sets of clothing. He also wasn't the most organized either, so right now, most of his clothing was in a laundry basket in his closet. To his chagrin, he only had a few clean shirts left, all of which being ones he never wore. Finally, he chose the lesser evil and pulled out a vest.

     It was a dark blue that was almost the same shade as his shaggy hair. He shrugged it on without undoing the zipper, almost regretting that there weren't sleeves. To compensate, he pulled on a pair of gloves. Of course, he always wore jeans, so that much wasn't in dispute. All of this took about two minutes, as he was prone to just throwing on whatever was easiest and calling it good. To finish his ensemble, Sonic pulled on his favorite red trainers that he wore every day.

     Having finished his morning routine, he pelted downstairs to breakfast. Unfortunately, he was waylaid by Cadance and Shining Armor, both of whom looked much too cheerful for it being that early in the morning.

     "Oh, so you DO like the vest I gave you," laughed Shining. "I thought you said you would never wear it." It took a moment for Sonic to understand what his adoptive cousin (by way of marrying Cadance, who was basically Sonic's cousin because of her relationship to Celestia) was talking about.

     "Meh, it was the only thing I had left to wear," Sonic replied. He had forgotten that Shining had given this to him. Supposedly, it was a reinforced material used to line the armor of the Imperial Guard. Shining had even gotten it tailored to fit Sonic, as he was too lanky to fit a good deal of normal clothes. While Sonic had certainly appreciated the thought behind the gift, he had just never felt like wearing it.

     "Oh, Sonic, be nice! Shining got that just for you, you know," chided Cadance. As she did so, she pulled her cousin into a brief hug, ruffling his hair with her free hand. Sonic laughed and pushed her away.

     "Oh, get off!" he tried to sound angry, but he failed miserably, earning himself another noogie, this time from Shining. Sonic laughed again and ducked away from his assailants to continue on towards the breakfast hall. "See you later, Crystal Crazies!" he taunted, having given them that nickname after they had taken over rule of the Crystal Empire to the north.

     Sonic finally reached the dining room, and he plopped down in a chair next to his brother. His mother and Celestia sat across from them at the small table, which was only used for the royal family. Sonic was immediately served bacon, eggs, toast, and, to his mother's chagrin, coffee.

     Shadow suddenly elbowed Sonic, who silently hissed in pain as one of his bruises was struck by Shadow's bony elbow. Sonic glared at his twin, but all he got was a meaningful *look* before Shadow glanced at Celestia's coffee cup. 'Ooooohh, I get it...' thought Sonic. He held his hand under the table, and waited for his aunt to take another sip. As soon as she did, Sonic made a pulling motion with his finger. The closer her cup came to her lips, the farther the coffee itself got from that edge of the cup. Celestia took a moment to realize that her coffee was running away inside her cup.

     Luna looked over and giggled. Her gaze traveled to her two children. Shadow seemed as nonchalant as ever, but Sonic had a silent look of concentration on his face, and he was only eating with one hand.

     Celestia tried to take another sip, but her coffee ran away again, this time completely defying gravity on the other side of her cup. She looked at her sister in irritation, but her sister looked like she was about to burst into laughter.

     Celestia tried one more time, this time expecting it to run away again. So, when she found that it actually DIDN'T run  away, she had a mouthful of coffee that she wasn't prepared for. With a series of coughing and wheezing, she finally got over the worst of it, but she swore she could feel the coffee sloshing around in her lungs.

     Sonic couldn't hold it in anymore. He started to laugh, but he tried so hard to keep it in, it almost sounded like he was choking on something too. Shadow, being the quiet person that he was, only cracked a small grin, but the mirth on his face was evident. Luna finally burst into outright laughter at the look on her sister's face. Celestia quickly decided now was a good time for a change in subject.

     "So," she began, "did any of that commotion wake you two up last night? The guards told me that someone tried to sneak onto castle grounds, and that they went right past your window. They didn't manage to catch him, though. Did you see him?" Celestia was desperate enough to change the topic in conversation that she didn't notice Sonic stiffen as soon as she mentioned 'commotion'. It was only Shadow's swift thinking that saved him.

     "Yeah, we woke up when we heard him slam into a window nearby. The idiot apparently thought that we leave our windows open at night and were going to invite him in with open arms." Sonic sighed in relief, but glared at his brother as well. 'I'll get you for that,' he swore to himself. 'Just you wait.'

○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○●○

     Sonic's revenge would have to wait, however, as they first had to deal with another problem. One that was called 'Prince Blueblood'. He always hung around whenever he felt like it, acting like he owned the place. Normally, Sonic and the phony prince would duke it out in a battle of wits, but this time, Sonic walked right past him without even acknowledging his existence. Blueblood did not miss this implied insult, and whirled around and grabbed Sonic's arm.

     "What, you think you can just walk by one of noble blood without giving them the proper respect? No wonder the Princesses keep you cooped up in here. Your manners are atrocious," Blueblood sneered. Sonic didn't even turn to look at him before he replied.

     "I'll give you respect when you actually start acting like a noble." While Sonic refused to look at the 'prince', Shadow did meet his eyes, and his gaze told Blueblood to let. Go. Of. His. Brother. Blueblood scoffed in feigned ignorance of Shadow's threat, but he did let go of Sonic. He turned around and walked away with a dignified sense of being disgusted by his company.

     "Remind me why that jerk knows we exist?" grumbled Sonic, not really wanting an answer.

     "Because he somehow found us after getting free roam of the castle." Shadow answered, knowing and not caring that Sonic didn't expect a response. "He is certainly too nosy for his own good." It didn't help that he was held as a shining example by the rest of the corrupt nobility. His rather handsome build didn't help, either. He would often be found flirting with the prettiest girls he could find, flipping his immaculate blonde hair while flattering them to no end.

     Needless to say, the twins couldn't help but be jealous that this officious prick had more free rein than they did. To say it was maddening would be the understatement of the millenium.

     "And why is he even called a prince? His relationship with Aunt Tia is incredibly distant!" complained Sonic. Of course, he already knew the answer, as he had asked that question many times. But he just wanted something to complain about, as he was in an incredibly bad mood.

     "And why are you even griping about something we can't change?" countered Shadow. "We can't do anything about it until we're older. All we can do is wait."

     "That's all we've done all our lives, is wait! I'm tired of waiting. I want to leave this castle behind. I want to see the world we live in, not just watch it from our window! We're told constantly to just be patient. Things will change. We'll be able to do more, and actually leave these walls. Well, you know what? I'm SICK and TIRED of being patient!"

     "Is that so?" Sonic and Shadow whirled around to see who was eavesdropping on their conversation. Although, considering Sonic's previous outburst, it was hard not to.

     Despite the fact that they had never met the person they found standing behind them, the twins immediately knew who it was.

     "Discord, I presume?" Shadow smoothly began, cocking an eyebrow in a slight show of curiosity. Discord smiled happily at being recognized. Then, without warning, he reached forward and grabbed the collar of Sonic's vest. The unsuspecting teen yelped in surprise, before falling silent as he saw Discord's hands up close. One had pads like you would find on a cat's paw, and the other had deadly looking claws.

     Sonic, at first uncertain, suddenly narrowed his eyes in anger. He pulled away and out of Discord's grip, spinning into a tight and controlled punch. Discord dodged smoothly away, his body contorting like a snake. Using his wings, Sonic made his own body follow the same motion as Discord's and punched again, feinting at his face while smoothly bringing his other arm forward into Discord's stomach. Sonic executed this technique so smoothly that his lower arm's movement looked like the followup of the first. As such, Discord was completely unprepared for the lower jab, even as he dodged smoothly around the upper.

     Sonic crowed in triumph as his strike hit home. Discord actually looked surprised, and bent over a little as the breath was knocked out of him. He immediately straightened however, and looked at Sonic with a conspiratorial eye.

     "Well, I certainly think that you could take care of yourself in the great big world. I wonder why the Princesses don't agree?" Discord's voice was practically begging them to question him about what he knew. He of course knew everything about their heritage, as you can't keep anything a secret from the God of Chaos, but Luna had begged him not to tell them anything. But that didn't mean he wouldn't help them along, so to speak.

     Sonic, for one, didn't like how obviously they were being led on, or how easily Discord had recovered from his punch, but he was just a bit too curious to stop himself.

     "I don't suppose you would know why they don't?" Sonic asked, adopting much the same tone that Shadow had earlier.

     "Maybe I do, maybe I don't," was his infuriatingly vague answer. "But I do know one thing."

     "And that is?" Sonic goaded on.

     "That vest is incredibly tough. What's it made of, reinforced mithril thread? Don't they use that in the Imperial Armor?" Discord asked, leaning in to inspect the seam on Sonic's left shoulder. Sonic scoffed in impatience and took a step back. The irritation on his face was evident, and Discord felt like their conversation was too serious.

     In order to lighten the mood, he conjured a tea cup and a pitcher of egg nog. Pouring the egg nog into the cup until it was filled to the brim, he leaned forward and took a delicate sniff. His pre-snack requisites having been completed, he dumped the egg nog out over his shoulder and popped the tea cup into his mouth. Both boys stared in horrified fascination as the sound of breaking glass emerged from Discord's closed mouth.

     "Want some?" he offered, conjuring another cup that floated lazily above his palm.

     "I'm good, thanks," Sonic smiled uneasily, unsure what to make of this strange creature with animal hands and mismatched horns growing from his head and similarly mismatched wings sprouting from his back. Discord turned the cup into a swirl of oil, and disposed of it by spreading it in the path of a very unfortunate maid, who, coincidentally, was carrying a basket of laundry.

     "Now," Discord interrupted, drawing the teenager's eyes away from the impending disaster down the hall. "How badly do you want out of this castle?"

The Not So Great Escape

"What kind of question is that? How are you supposed to rate how badly you want something? I mean, sure, I want it a lot, but still! I know you're a Chaos Lord, but can you make sense, please?" Sonic was rapidly losing his patience with this conversation, as they were only going in circles right now.

     "Fine. On a scale of cupcake to octopuses, how badly do you want out?" Discord, somehow, kept a straight face.

     "One, it's octoPI. Not octopuses. Two, that still makes no sense, so I'm just going to leave it at yes, we want out." Sonic hoped that this would get him somewhere other than eggnog-flavored tea cup snacks.

     That little incident was still throwing Sonic for a loop.

     Shadow suddenly spoke up. "As it is, I see little possibility of your assistance making any difference in our escape. We can fly, teleport, and at the least, run and fight our way out. For I do know that the Princesses will not be happy about our... vacating the premises." Discord grinned. The dark youth in front of him might be serious, but he was smart. And the blue one... he seemed to hold great potential as well. It had been a long time since he had met someone who could possibly weild Chaos, and yet here were two boys, brothers no less, who had that power. He would keep his eye on these two.

     "But if you were to teleport, then Sunbutt would immediately know. Moonbutt, too. But if I do it, then you wouldn't be detected. Besides, a venture like this has some degree of chaos mixed in no matter what happens. It's best if I help."

     "You want us to owe you, huh? That's what this is all about, isn't it? Cause if that's the case, then we'll do it on our own, and the consequences be damned." Discord raised an eyebrow, and Shadow grinned. Celestia would have his hide if she caught him talking like that. Although, considering their personalities, most would suspect Shadow of foul language rather than Sonic.

     "No, I'm doing it to get back at Moonbutt for being a hypocrite. First she imprisons me in stone, acting like she and her sister are perfect harbingers of justice, and then she goes and does more damage than I ever could. This is the best way to show her up. The best part is that she brought it on herself... Not that I don't consider her a friend," Discord tripped over his own tongue as he saw the looks on the rather pissed teens. "I just want to make sure she knows that I haven't forgiven her for that. You know, a grudge. It's all in good fun."

     "I'll take your word for it. But, if you are going to get us out of here with no one noticing, I have a request first." Sonic looked at Discord, an earnest expression on his face.

     "Shoot."

     "A sword. And not some rinky dink sword like the ones we use to practice with. A real sword, with a sharp edge and a good grip." Sonic looked up at the draconequus expectantly. Discord bowed elegantly, although the wicked grin on his face undid the effect a little. Sonic yelped and jumped back as he felt something strap itself onto his shoulder and around his waist. He looked down and saw a black leather belt around his hips, with a single strap coming diagonally from left to right up his chest and over his shoulder, before going on the same course down his back. Sonic craned his neck around as he felt a weight materialize in between his shoulder blades.

     An elaborate black leather sheathe with gold stitching held an even more elaborate sword. Sonic reached back and grabbed hold, as he drew it he noticed how easily it rested in his closed fist, for grooves were cut into the handle that his fingers fit in perfectly. The hilt was wrapped in eel skin, also dyed black, while the top of the golden hilt where it merged onto the blade showed a dragon, as if it were biting down on the good Damareus steel.*

     The blade itself was incredibly balanced, and the folded metal shone in the light of Celestia's sun. Sonic whistled in appreciation. As inexperienced as he was with real sword craftmanship, he knew this one was NICE.

     "Any last requests before I  send you on your way?" Discord asked. He was secretly pleased at how happy Sonic was with the sword. 'Must be Fluttershy rubbing off on me,' Discord thought. 'She always loves to make other people, or mostly animals, happy.' He looked at the two teens expectantly, who were holding their own private debate.

     "Should we really go through with this?" asked Shadow.

     "Too late to turn back now," Sonic replied with a shrug.

     "But what will Mom and Aunt Celestia think?"

     "Every time we thought about leaving, wondering about that kept us from taking that first step. I'm not going to let that happen again."

     "Are you even treating this seriously? This isn't a game, it isn't a training session, this is REAL. And the repercussions of our actions are REAL. What if we mess up? What if something terrible happens?"

     "Shadow, I'm aware of the risks. If you think they're too great, then go ahead and stay. I'm going." Sonic gave Shadow a look that told his twin he wasn't joking.

     "Awww," cooed Discord. "You're like an old married couple!" Sonic and Shadow shared a look.

     "Ew, no," gagged Sonic. "That's just nasty," and he shook his head as if ridding his mind of such thoughts.

     "So are we getting out of here or what?" asked Sonic. "I want to leave before anyone sees us, especially with you, birdbrain," and Sonic pointed his finger straight at Discord.

     "I'm offended! Just for that, I'm going to make you run out of here on your own. And I'm telling Celestia too. After all, what fun would it be without a challenge?" With that, Discord disappeared.

     "Oh no," groaned Sonic.

     "Nice going. Now we really have to run. And you should probably put a glamour on your sword until we get outside." Shadow took off down the hallway.

     Sonic followed at a slow jog, wincing as he heard a cry of surprise from the throne room where no doubt Discord had just told Celestia and Luna of their plans. 'This is escalating way too fast. I wanted another day or two to prepare!' thought Sonic, looking back at the door to the guard barracks, where their pursuit was most likely to come from. Then, following his brother's advice, he put a high level camoflauge spell on his new sword and sheathe. It shimmered out of view, invisible to all but the blue haired teen.

     He quickly caught up to Shadow at near supersonic speeds, before slowing down to match his brother's pace. They both ran a little faster when they heard the Royal Guard start up in chase. Sonic and Shadow knew the twists and turns of the castle better than anyone, so they knew the quickest route to the back door in the kitchen storage. (They had agreed a long time ago to use that door, as it led to the back of the castle and straight into the alleys of the city.)

     "Wait! Come back!" Sonic turned to see the Guard behind them, just coming around the corner. They were led by none other than Shining Armor himself. "You really should reconsider this!" Sonic grabbed Shadow's wrist and ran as fast as he could, ignoring Shining's pleas.

     Shining suddenly teleported in front of them, his arms spread wide to prevent Sonic from passing him. He also erected a shield which spread from wall to wall and all the way up to the ceiling. With the sound of rubber screeching against tile, Sonic drew to a stop.

     "Let us through, Shining!" Sonic demanded, looking through the pink wall of energy at his cousin.

     "You know I can't do that, Sonic! You have to stay in the castle, you know that!" As Shining said this, Sonic sighed in regret as he prepared a high level defense. With a flourish of blue energy, Sonic cast the spell on Shining. It was a disrupt spell, capable of completely blocking a magic wielder's flow of magic for a few minutes. It was a variation on the rings used to seal the magic of criminals.

     Sonic only used it for a few seconds, just enough to cancel

out the shield and to disorient the caster. With that, their opposition decreased to zero, and they found they could run in relative peace, as the entire guard was concentrated behind them.

     "By the way, you should thank me for getting you out of here." Discord appeared above them, floating on his back.

     "No way, you didn't help us at all!" Sonic protested.

     "Agreed, you didn't even teleport us out as you originally proposed," Shadow put in. He had finally activated the rocket enchantment that he had placed on his shoes, and he now skated across the white marble floors easily.

     "No, but I gave you motivation. You two would never have gotten a move on if I hadn't set the fire under your tails, so to speak. Besides,isn't this FUN? Wonderfully chaotic, too! And the look on that Armor's face was priceless! You sure you're not a draconequus? You're quite good at causing havoc."

     "I'm sure," Sonic deadpanned. Shadow shot a glare at Discord before swerving into the kitchen storage where their escape lay.

     Sonic shut the door behind him, and Discord disappeared as they walked in.

     The two teens hurriedly traced their way through the maze of boxes and crates of non perishable foodstuffs. It took about 10 minutes of rushed searching and another ten of hiding as a few guards searched the room before they finally found the door that led outside.

     "This is it," breathed Sonic, his hand clenched around the door handle. He slowly began to turn it before he turned around in shock.

     "Please don't so this," begged a haggard looking Shining Armor. "Please..."

     Sonic stared at his friend for a few long moments. His head hung in shame as he contemplated the husband of his old babysitter.

     "I-... Tell Mom we're sorry." Sonic didn't meet Shining's  eyes. With that the two boys ducked out the door and into the darkness of the nearest alley.

     The defeated Head of the Guard slumped against the wall.

     "What am I going to do?" he asked himself miserably.

Split Apart

"So now what?" Sonic asked. He and Shadow leaned against the crumbling brick wall of a building down in the lower areas of Canterlot. They had evaded pursuit for the last two hours, navigating dark alleys and running across rooftops in a seemingly endless chase. After two hours of nonstop running, climbing, and spellcasting, the two boys were exhausted.

     "I'm not sure. I don't have the strength for a long range teleport at the moment, and even if I did, we don't know enough about the surrounding area in order to do so." Sonic sighed in defeat and slumped against the wall, his chest heaving as he drew in deep breaths. He already knew the answer to his question before he asked it, but he decided to ask anyways.

     "Maybe we should go back?" His tremulous query caught his brother off guard, who shot him a shocked look.

     "You're the one who dragged me into this, don't even think of backing down now," Shadow retorted, his face one of amused incredulity. Sonic laughed tersely, but quit, as it used up too much of the precious air he was drawing greedily into his stressed lungs.

     Unfortunately, their short respite was all too short, as they suddenly found themselves surrounded on both sides by the City Guard, the 'little brother' of the Royal Guard.

     "Now then, we finally have you little street rats cornered!" laughed the head honcho of the small troop currently surrounding them. Sonic and Shadow looked at each other tiredly. "Now, I don't know why Celestia wants you two in custody so badly, but it musta' been bad if she's willing to send the whole guard after ya. So, now that you're gonna be dragged back before Celestia to face her judgement, got any last words?" The grin on the leader's face disgusted the two boys, but Sonic wasn't about to let an opportunity like this slide.

     "Last words? Well, I've got a few for you."

     "And what would they be?"

     "That's PRINCESS Celestia to you!" With that the royal twins grabbed all the dumpsters and miscallaneous junk in the alleyway and threw them at the unsuspecting guards.

     "See you later, losers!" taunted Shadow, turning and dashing past the row of garbage covered guards.

     "Come back here!" yowled the commander, glaring at them through a rotten banana peel.

     "Gotta catch me first!"crowed Sonic triumphantly, bowling through the guards rather than going around them.

     Sonic rounded countless corners and spared no one in his escape. Many found themselves losing hats or their dignity as skirts flared up much higher than they were supposed to. Although his chest hurt and his legs ached, Sonic still loved the feeling of the wind on his face. Nothing could spoil the joy of speed for him. His crooked and roundabout journey did have a destination, though: the train station, filled with so many people that they could blend in. Once they lost their pursuers in the crowd, they would be home free, and could go wherever they wanted from there.

     Speaking of 'they', Sonic couldn't see his brother anywhere. Sonic flipped around and ran backward down the hill, his eyes roving the streets above. His search yielded no results, however, even when Sonic cast his eyes all the way up to the castle that sat elegantly at the top of the hill. Sonic sighed and turned around.

     He didn't turn around in time to see the bend in the road. Cries of alarm and rage filled the streets as the historical old library came crashing down around the mysterious blue blur. A shocked silence filled the air as the dust settled.

     "Ouch." People yelped and jumped back as a figure rose up from under the pile of rubble. Sonic shook his head and groaned. He looked around at the people around him, all of whom were staring at him in horror.

     "Just for the record," Sonic gasped out, unaware of the gruesome sight he presented, with blood slowly dropping down the side of his face from a fresh gash in his forehead, "I blame Discord." With that, he pulled himself entirely out of the debris and ran off.

     "And he said what exactly?" Celestia asked, trying to soothe the nerves of the noble in front of her who had come in ranting about the destruction of a priceless historical site.

     "I believe it was, and I quote, ahem, 'I blame Discord'. This only goes to show that this is a direct result of that menace's influence on today's adolescents. If you would only listen to my proposal-"

     "That's quite enough, thank you," Celestia cut him off. She nodded to her personal entourage, who began escorting the noble out.

     "Perhaps you should reconsider, if you would just-"

     "Thank you for your cooperation goodbye!" quickly stated Celestia's assistant as she as politely as she could shoved their visitor out the door.

     "Thank you, Xion." Celestia sighed in defeat. Her faithful friend nodded in agreement.

     "No problem, Princess," Xion smiled wearily at the door, no doubt imagining the earful the guards were getting right about now. "So were you going to tell me what this is all about? Why those two boys are so important?" Celestia looked at Xion sadly.

     "I- I'm sorry, maybe another time, Xion." The insulted assistant ran a hand through her coppery hair and pouted, making sure Celestia saw her comically dramatic face. The results came quickly, a small grin making its way onto the Princess' face.

     "You sure? You know that I'm not the sort to leak information," Xion continued, dropping the silly act. Her statement was true. Whenever Celestia needed to vent and Luna wasn't available, she turned to Xion. She knew more national secrets than the most dedicated of hackers, government officials, or dedicated gossipers. Xion had never leaked a secret, not a one. In her time as Celestia's secretary, she had grown to be the sun ruler's friend.

     "I know, but this... this is different."

     "You mean it's personal." Celestia turned and looked at her in surprise. "Don't give me that look, I've been around the nobles manipulating too long to not have figured out how to read the truth behind the lies. That, and I know you too well." Celestia laughed, nodding in agreement.

     "I'd have to agree. Sometimes I wish I had just skipped straight to a democracy instead of fooling with a monarchy. I thought I would ease them into a more modern government, but I suppose that was foolish of me." Celestia shook her head in regret. "I suppose that noble, oh what is his name? Neku Sakurabi? He's just one of many of his kind."

     "Neku Sakurabi, huh?" Xion rolled the name around on her tongue. "That's a mouthful. Wonder what his parents were thinking."

     "It really isn't," countered Celestia. "I've heard some rather outlandish ones in my day." Then she sighed again, her mind wandering to the descriptions she'd heard of the boy with rocket shoes and the boy in blue. One disappeared, the other with fearsome injuries, but was also off the radar.

     "I've suppose I should explain to you," began Celestia, but halted when her friend held up a hand.

     "Hold on a sec and let me grab a pot of tea. I get the feeling this is going to take some time."

Escape From The City

The sound of milling crowds, busy messengers, occupied officials and hopeful businessmen filled the square. The noise they created carried quite a ways, and drowned out anything else in the vicinity.

     All, that is, but the throbbing of a certain teenager's  headache. In fact, it only added to the feeling of drums and chisels being pounded on inside his head. Sonic had managed to clean up the small trickle of blood, and had applied his extensive knowledge of medicinal magic to his various cuts and bruises. Still, this only kept it from getting worse, as Sonic wasn't prepared to nuke himself with a pain killing spell. Not until he could rest for a while.

     And there was still no sign of Shadow, even though Sonic had been wandering about the crowded square for almost an hour. Despite his discomfort, he didn't want to leave without his brother. This had been the cause of several close calls, as the City Guard had been patrolling all afternoon. According to the newly posted signs on the bilboard, there were two runaway orphans/pickpockets who needed to be corralled and brought back for a meeting with the Princesses.

     Sonic sighed and leaned back against the wall of the café. He had taken a break from looking for Shadow and was hanging out next to the small restaurant, nursing a cup of coffee. He was sure he'd spot his brother's black and red hair and dark hoodie soon enough. But that left one problem:the rest of his family.

     Sonic smiled and nodded absently as another curious tourist looked over at him where he stood in the small corner. His mind was running rampant with thoughts of guilt, excitement, and, to some extent, complaints.

     "I was hoping that an escape would be more glorious than this," he grumbled to himself. He took another sip of his coffee, staring glumly at the rich dark color of it. "Well, I guess it's good enough as long as I don't get caught." The thought of going back didn't even occur to Sonic as an option. He didn't know how he could face his family, anyways. He could see the look in his mother's face now: confused and sad, hopeless, a little angry, eyes sparkling with tears...

     It took Sonic a moment to realize that it was more than imagination that allowed him to see his mother's expression so vividly. His eyes widened in shock and a little fear as his mother walked not twenty feet away from him. She stepped onto a pedestal, and turned to face the crowd. Slowly, the noise died down as everyone turned to face the Princess. In their confusion, everyone had stopped moving, and they awaited the words of the ruler of the night. Luna looked about before clearing her throat, and she began to speak.

     "I am here to address the matter of two missing boys: brothers, and twins. Sonic and Shadow Nocturne are boys with no father and a mother who didn't seem to have nearly enough time for them. One of them, is known to have left the city. The other, well, no one knows where he is." Luna paused to let her eyes sweep over the crowd. Sonic sucked in a breath and retreated farther into his hidey-hole.

     "My sister," Luna continued, "is of the mind that these boys must be brought back to the palace, where we would try our best to mend the situation ourselves. Nothing is more important to us than the youth of this fine country. Thine- no, your efforts to spot them and report it to the City and Royal Guards respectively have been admirable. But I am here to tell you that this is no longer necessary." At this, the crowd gasped in shock. This was not an official announcement. Luna was obviously going behind her sister's back, and no one knew why. Sonic stepped out from his corner in shock, his mouth open and eyes wide.

     "Please, know this, I-" and suddenly Luna stopped as her eyes met those of her son's. Sonic quickly realized his mistake, and made to step back into the shadows, but Luna shook her head. Sonic, after some hesitation, stayed put.

     "I want you to help these boys on their way when you can, if you do see them. Trust me, they'll know when it's time to return. I have faith in them." With that, the Princess stepped off the pedestal and walked into the crowd, making her way back to the palace. Sonic could only stand and stare in shock. His mother had just... said it was okay for them to leave? It didn't make any sense, especially since Celestia should have been there to make the announcement with Luna.

     But that was besides the point, at least for now. Sonic now knew that Shadow had left the city, and that meant that he should get going too. Right now, he needed food and a place to rest, and the closest place for that was the home of Celestia's prized former student and fourth princess, after Cadance. Ponyville.

     The origin of the town's name was beyond Sonic's understanding, but it was close and it was small, so it would serve his purposes for the time being. With that, Sonic casually strolled away from his corner, finishing the last of his coffee and throwing the empty cup into a trash can. He sauntered along with the flow of the crowd until he reached the station, where he slipped away behind the train. There, he walked down the tracks, heading on his way to Ponyville. It was a long walk, but it would be worth it to see everything at his own pace. Sonic grinned and took off down the mountainside.

     Celestia took a deep breath at the end of her tale, looking at Xion's expression. Her friends face was one of intense concentration. Her serious look was helped by her peculiar slitted eyes, which matched the bat wings that rustled on her back, twitching in her concentration. Indeed, Xion was one of the nearly extinct branch of the pegasus tribe, known as thestrals, or to most, a 'bat'.

     Her species' history was long and troubled. Her particular type of wings and draconian eyes had led to persecution from the magic, earth, and pegasus tribes for her differences, as had happened to her ancestors for hundreds of years. In desperation, she had turned to the Princesses for help. This in turn, had been the perfect diplomatic solution. It had been about two years ago, many had their knickers in a knot over the fact that Nightmare Moon was helping rule their country. For some reason, they had suddenly decided with a vengeance that Luna was a monster, even though Celestia had thought that they had gotten over this particular idea a long time ago. Convinced that the night and the creatures associated with it were evil, protests went up to depose Luna. Celestia had tried in vain to stop these petitions.

     Then a seventeen-year-old Xion had come along, asking for a position under one of the Princesses. By taking in a thestral, Celestia had shown her approval of not only Xion's kind, but of Luna and of the night in general. That had shut up most of the nobles, and those who continued to complain learned why other nations didn't dare to go to war with a seemingly peaceful and unprepared Equestria: you just don't piss someone off when they can control the sun and the moon. You just don't.

     Since then, Xion had spent almost every moment with the sun ruler. She had also gone on special missions and assignments for her Princess, varying from delivering or escorting sensitive packages, to acting as an ambassador towards other countries. Xion was even written in as a stand in ruler should anything happen to all four Princesses, or to act as an advisor to Cadance or Twilight if only Celestia and Luna were unavailable. It was unlikely to happen, but it was an honor nonetheless.

     "So now that these boys have gone missing in a rather spectacular fashion," began Xion, breaking through Celestia's flashback. "You want them back, for their own benefit, am I right?" Celestia nodded, glad her assistant agreed.

     "Indeed, and I want to-"

     "But," interrupted Xion, "they don't want to be found. And if you do indeed bring them back, you will never find that easy camaraderie you have enjoyed in the past. They blame you for their incarceration, and don't even complain, you know you practically imprisoned them in a gilded cage. And then what's going to stop them from doing it again? Having achieved success once is no doubt a boost to their ego." Xion looked at Celestia expectantly, and was rewarded with a shocked look that nearly made her lose her composure. Celestia's eyes were bugged out as she realized the implications of what her friend was saying. She then closed her mouth and sighed, realizing the logic of her friend's assumptions.

     "Then what do you suggest I do?" Celestia asked.

     "I think Shadow can take care of himself. He seems smart enough and wise enough to not make a fuss, or at least that's what I gather from your description." Celestia nodded in confirmation. "But Sonic, he concerns me. He seems like a loose cannon, and who knows what he might take it into his head to do. Stubborn, too. I find it hard enough to keep Rainbow Dash under control when the need arises. I'm still surprised she turned down the Wonderbolts' offer. It was a surprisingly level headed decision." Xion looked out the window, not really focusing on anything in particular.

     "Exactly. But how does that pertain to our situation?" Celestia cocked her head in confusion.

     "I think Shadow will be fine if we leave him alone. But Sonic... I'll find him and keep an eye on him. I'll decide how close I should get when I can ascertain the situation." Xion nodded to herself, pleased with her conclusion. "And I know where he went, too."

     "You do? How?"

     "He's been raised with stories about the heroes of this day, role models for the young, the same stories everyone tells their children. Whether he realizes it or not, he'll want to meet the subject of those stories." As Xion spoke, realization dawned on the Princess' face. "He's heading for Ponyville. That and it's the closest town available, and if he's smart, he'll try and find someone to treat that nasty head wound you told me about." Xion nodded again, her decision in mind.

     "You should leave immediately. And... thank you," said Celestia. Xion wasted no time and immediately left, closing the door behind her and leaving the sun ruler by herself- again.

     She sighed in regret, before regaining her straight face when Luna walked in. Both of them looked at each other with serious faces, before taking a deep breath and speaking...at the same time.

     "I've decided to not try and bring the boys back-wait, what?" Both sisters stared at each other in shock as each processed what the other had said.

     "Are you saying...?" Luna began.

     "That we went behind each other's backs to do the exact same thing?" Celestia finished. "I imagine so." Their giggles suddenly filled the air as they realized what had just transpired. After a few minutes, when the rulers had explained what each had done, silence laid thick in the afternoon air.

     "So now what?" Luna finally asked, leaning back in her chair and closing her eyes.

     "Now you go to sleep and I go and finish up Day Court," Celestia answered, not really looking forward to what was on her agenda.

     "Sounds good to me," Luna yawned, before getting up and making her way to her room. "Do give Xion my thanks if you get the chance."

     "I will."

     Celestia stretched, before hurrying to the public throne room where the Day Court was held. She was not looking forward to trying to find a polite way to tell the nobles to shut up and get to the point without useless rambling, but it would have to be done in order to get to all of today's attendees. She sighed and opened the door, smiling as her announcer bellowed out that the Princess had arrived.

     Yes, some of her subjects could be infuriating and reckless, and not just a little misguided, but she loved them nonetheless. All of them.

     Sonic jogged down to the Ponyville train station, going at a reasonable pace for once in order to avoid drawing attention. He had timed his arrival so that it would coincide with a train from Appeloosa, further disguising his appearance. The train screeched to a halt in front of him, and it was no problem to blend in with the small group that got off. He had heard that the whole Apple family would be getting together to celebrate 150 years of farming the best apples Equestria had to offer, and the best sales of their product EVER. He had heard it was going to be the biggest get together of the year besides the Harvest Festival for the small agricultural town of Ponyville.

     Thankfully, his headache had died down, but the gentle throbbing in the back of his head was a painful reminder that he needed to take a break and put some higher level medical spells to use on it. He had taken lessons from Cadance, so he was rather skilled compared to your average magic user. But that didn't matter, as Sonic had to go somewhere to be alone in order to keep up his disguise. He was acting as a pegasus by subverting his earth and unicorn magics, which meant he couldn't use magic until no one else was around, or someone would connect the dots and label him as an alicorn.

     "Hiya there!" Sonic jumped back as he suddenly registered the fact that someone was talking to him. In front of him was a short girl wearing a pink dress that was short but poofed out. The sleeves were similarly poofy, and her hair was a shockingly bright pink that somehow outdid the pink of her dress. Her pink curly hair was contained in two pigtails that bounced and shook as she giggled at him.

    "Umm, hi?" Sonic smiled uncertainly back.

    "Are you new to Ponyville?" the pink girl asked.

    "Oh, yeah. This is my first time here. I wanted to see the Apple family get-together, I hear it's going to be a lot of fun."

     "Really?! And will you be staying here?"

     "Staying? No, I'll only be here for a few days."

     "Awww, that's sad. But where are you going then?" The pink girl looked up at him expectantly, and it was only then that Sonic realized he was in a conversation with a girl he didn't even know. Without thinking, he had walked right into the middle of Ponyville without even knowing her name,

     "I don't know exactly. But before we go further, what's your name?" Sonic smiled, finding it surprising how easy it was to talk to this girl.

     "Oh, I'm sorry! My name's Pinkie Pie, what's yours?" Sonic blinked before extending his hand to her.

     "I'm Sonic. Pleased to meet you." And with that, Sonic had met the first of the Elements of Harmony. Pinkie Pie giggled and then suddenly reached behind her back and pulled a cupcake out of nowhere. She held it out to him, her grin growing bigger at the shocked look on his face.

     "Well, I guess I can't give you a party since you're not gonna stay, but I can do this!" Sonic looked down as she placed the gargantuan pastry in his hand. "It's filled with sugar, frosting, sprinkles, and Pinkie magic!"

     "Pinkie magic?"

     "Yeah, silly! Don't you know what Pinkie magic is? It makes you all happy and warm and giggly inside!" At this, Sonic could only think of one thing.

     'Wait. She's handing out spiked cupcakes?!' he thought to himself in shock. Sonic didn't have time to really respond to her explanation of... Pinkie magic before she grabbed his arm and started dragging him down the street.

     "C'mon, Maurice, I wanna show you where I made it! Back at the Sugarcube Corner!"

     "But how...? No, my name's Sonic," he hastily corrected, not even wanting to think about how she knew his middle name.

     "Yeah, but your middle name's Maurice, right? Or would you prefer it if I stuck to your first name?"

     "Yeah, I would. It's just Sonic," he affirmed. But he didn't have time to say anything else as he was hastily dragged into a giant gingerbread house. It even looked like actual gingerbread, too, and it took a lot of self control for Sonic to keep himself from taking a bite to see how it tasted.

     "This is where I help the Cakes make all the yummy treats!" Pinkie explained, smiling happily at her guest. Then she noticed that Sonic hadn't even taken a bite out of the huge cupcake, and she frowned a little.

     Sonic didn't have time to react before Pinkie grabbed his arm again and pulled him over to a nearby empty table. Grabbing hold of his shoulders, she sat him down before sitting opposite of him.

     "Now you can enjoy that cupcake! Sorry, I didn't even think about it being hard to walk and eat it at the same time!" Sonic looked down at the huge cupcake, complete with frosting and a cherry on top. He hesitantly took a bite, making sure to look for little green flecks on the inside of it. But there were none, and the cupcake was delicious. Sonic could already feel the sugar rushing into his bloodstream, and he smiled at Pinkie, who was eagerly awaiting his reaction. Upon seeing that he liked it, she immediately launched into an explanation of every single building, person, and rock in Ponyville.

     Many locals smiled at the familiar sight of Pinkie talking the ears off of yet another visitor, who was holding a very large Pinkie Pie Cupcake Special, although it was growing smaller and smaller as the minutes ticked by.

     Surprisingly, Sonic had no problems with listening to the chatty pink girl as he slowly finished off the cupcake. He hadn't found any suspicious green leaves in it, so he figured it wasn't spiked. But it did make him feel good inside as he finished it off. This also surprised him, as most rich desserts left him feeling sick to his stomach and dizzy. Sonic had given up on most desserts after it kept happening, but this was possibly the richest thing he had ever eaten, and he didn't feel the least bit sick.

     "Ah see ya'll trapped another tourist, Pinkie. Sorry if she's a mite talkative, but she loves ta meet new people," apologized the girl in front of him in a thick but cute country accent. She had her thick golden hair tied back in a loose ponytail that draped over her shoulder, and all of it was contained under a worn old cowboy hat. She smiled at him, showing off freckles and bright green eyes that shone in the midday sun. She wore a orange plaid shirt with a knot tied in the front, so that her midriff was bare. She wore Daisy Duke style shorts, leaving her long legs open to the air as well. Sonic smiled back at her and extended his hand.

     "Naa, it's no problem. I don't mind listening. My name's Sonic, what's yours?"

     "Applejack, and Ah'm mighty pleased ta meet ya. Ya new in town? Wait, that's a silly question, considerin' Pinkie has you cornered here. Ya plannin' on stayin'?" Applejack asked, grabbing his hand in hers and shaking it with a surprisingly strong grip.

     "Why does everyone keep asking that?" Sonic complained good-naturedly. "It almost makes me feel guilty about having to leave in a few days," and Applejack grinned and glanced over at Pinkie, who was watching the whole exchange in interest.

     "Well, then I hope ya feel guilty enough to stick around. Ponyville always has room for a new neighbor!" With that, she tipped her hat and walked off, exiting through the front door. Sonic turned back to Pinkie, who inhaled in preparation to keep talking. However, she paused in mid-breath when Sonic held up his hands.

     "Hey, you've been telling me so much about Ponyville that I kinda want to see it myself! Would you mind giving me the grand tour?" Sonic asked, feeling the need to stretch his legs after having all that sugar forcibly pumped into his bloodstream. Pinkie jumped up and grabbed his arm, before bouncing up and down in place.

     "Ooh, ooh, that's a good idea! Come on, there's so much to show you, and there's only twenty-six hours in a day, you know! Hurry, hurry!"

     "Don't you mean twenty-four?" asked Sonic as he was dragged back out of the bakery.

     "No, twenty-six! Don't you know how many hours there are in a day, silly?" Pinkie asked, taking a hold of his arm and bouncing up and down while grinning at him. Her pigtails were rolling and bouncing all over the place too, making her look incredibly goofy. Sonic couldn't help but smile.

     'I guess I know why she's the Element of Laughter,' Sonic mused. 'And Applejack's Honesty, right? I guess they really do want me to stick around. Who knows? Maybe I will,' but Sonic could think on the matter no more as he was dragged along by an enthusiastic Pinkie Pie.

A Place To Call Home

In no time at all Pinkie dragged Sonic up to a strange, round building that looked like a carousel. Sonic whistled appreciatively at the fine clothing held up in the windows, positioned on mannequins.

     "Wow, this place looks pretty first-class for a town like Ponyville. Wait, that came out wrong," and Sonic grinned apologetically. Pinkie just nodded in understanding before continuing her explanation.

     "No, I know what you mean! Rarity runs the nicest place in Ponyville. We're lucky to have her since this is such a small town. But it's okay cause she's my bestest friend in the whole wide world. Except for Fluttershy, oh, and Twilight, and Applejack, and Rainbow Dash, and-"

     "I get the point!" Sonic exclaimed desperately, hoping to stop the flood of names before he got too confused. "So Rarity runs this shop?"

     "Mmhmm! The Carousel Boutique! She's super pretty too, so don't get any funny ideas!" Pinkie gave Sonic a mock glare, laughing as his face turned bright red.

     "Wha-... But I would never-"

     "I know, I'm just teasing you, silly! Come on, Sonic, you have to meet her! She'll love your vest, too!" Pinkie made her vise-like grip on his arm even tighter and pulled him towards the door. Walking forwards, she expertly opened the door and hauled Sonic in without letting go of either of them, before shutting the door behind her.

     "Rarity, are you here? There's someone I want to introduce to you! He's new, and he's only staying for a few days, but I'm trying to convince him to live here, so make him feel guilty about leaving, kay?" Pinkie called out, not in an extremely loud voice, but one that would carry to whatever part of the building Rarity was in.

     "Pinkie Pie, is that you, darling? So what poor soul did you capture this time? You said 'he', didn't you dear? Well, what's his name?" Rarity asked as she elegantly sauntered into the room. Suddenly Sonic understood what Pinkie was talking about when she told him not to "get any funny ideas".

     Rarity was gorgeous, and she knew how to flaunt it. Her naturally beautiful face and form were augmented by skillful use of makeup and well-designed clothing. Her blue eyes were complimented by matching eyeshadow, and her purple hair fell in waves and curls down her back. She wore a deceptively simple yet charming little white dress. A small blue jewel hung at the neckline, and she wore matching earrings to draw out the sky blue color. Her shapely, graceful legs ended in delicate feet that rested in black flats that also had a small sky-blue jewel at the top of each. All in all, her outfit was expertly put together.

     "Uuh... My name's Sonic. And I already heard your name, Miss Rarity," Sonic introduced himself as gracefully as he could, and found it near impossible not to stare. He forced himself to focus on her eyes, which sparkled in amusement at Sonic's consternation.

     "Oh, darling, it's such a pleasure to meet you! Pinkie said something about you staying...?" and she gave him a quizzical smile.

     "The pleasure's all mine, Miss Rarity. And no, I'm moving on in a few days, it's just Pinkie Pie is trying to guilt trip me into staying," Sonic responded with a winning smile of his own, all his lessons in manners and royal behavior coming back to him instinctively.

     "My, you surely found a gentleman this time, Pinkie! And do keep the pressure on him, we wouldn't want such a handsome, promising young fellow to move on." Rarity seemed to take delight in the spreading blush that was making itself known on Sonic's face. Then her gaze went straight to his clothes.

     "Dear, now you must tell me where you got that vest! I've never seen fabric like this before, and that intrigues me to no end. Where did you get it?" Rarity eyed him with a stern look that told Sonic that she wouldn't let him leave without answering her.

     "It was a gift from a friend of mine that's in the Royal Guard. It's made of mythril thread. They use it to line the armor of the Guard, but this one was tailored for me specifically."

     'At least that much is true. I don't want to have to lie to her, but I don't know how to explain knowing Shining Armor' Sonic groaned internally. 'Please don't ask who gave it to me...'

     "And who exactly gave it to you, darling?"

     "Uhhh, it was, uhh... a guard by the name of Flash Sentry, I met him in Canterlot. He's an okay guy, but I think he only gave it to me so he would look better to his friends." Sonic at least felt better about telling the truth about Flash Sentry, who was a dodgy character at best. It still grated to have to lie at all, though.

     "Flash Sentry?" Rarity rolled the name around her tongue as if tasting something bitter. "I believe I know him, or of him, at least. A friend of mine had a crush on him a few years back, but quickly got over it when she saw his true colors. He may have acted like a gentleman, but it turns out he just wanted to have the thrills of marrying a princess. At the time, my friend was still quite naive and didn't even think to consider that Sentry might not truly love her." Rarity scowled in distaste. She also looked a bit guilty, too, as if she had done something similar once...

     Sonic was reminded of the stories he had heard when Blueblood had once been flirted with by a 'commoner'. Or at least, that's how Blueblood put it. Apparently Rarity had it in mind to marry a prince, but Sonic was glad that the phony royal hadn't gotten the idea to actually go along with it. That would be a torture Sonic wouldn't inflict on anyone.

     "Anyways, I shouldn't keep you too long. Pinkie is probably dying to introduce you to the others. And remember, if you decide to stay, there's always a room open for you here at the Boutique." Rarity batted her eyelashes at the flushed teen, clearly mistaking his nervousness at having to lie for embarrassment at being around her charms. To be honest, Sonic was finding it troublesome to keep his gaze from drifting towards where it shouldn't have been.

     "C'mon, don't keep me waiting!" called out Pinkie, who was somehow already standing outside.

     'Funny, I didn't hear the door open,' Sonic thought, confused. He quickly joined her outside, bidding farewell to Rarity and closing the door behind him.

     "So!" began Sonic, clapping his hands together, "where are you taking me next, Pinkie?"

     Sonic was not expecting the answer to his question to be a giant crystalline castle. Sonic stared at in astonishment, craning his neck upwards so that he could see its distant peak. Sonic had been impressed by the class and refinement of the Boutique, but this was on another level entirely.

     "This is Twilight's castle!" Pinkie informed him, skipping up to the giant doors. "She's my bestest friend in the whole wide world! Well, except for Rarity, and Fluttershy, and Applejack, and I can't forget Rainbow Dash! And there's-"

     "Pinkie!" Sonic interrupted her. She stopped and stared at him with those endlessly cheerful blue eyes of hers.

     "Yes?"

     "Did you really-... you know what? Never mind."

     "Oh, okay!" Pinkie turned back around and skipped the rest of the way to the front door. With a practiced air, she pounded on the door as loud as she could.

     "Ooooh, SPI-iiike! Open up please!" Pinkie Pie called out in a sing-song voice. From within the great doors Sonic heard a grumble.

     "Come on, Pinkie. You know that you can just walk in any time, just like any of the girls," responded what Sonic presumed to be the entity known as Spike.

     "I know, but the author couldn't think of a better way to introduce you to the readers, Spike!" Pinkie called back. Sonic looked around him in bewilderment.

     "Author? What, is someone writing a book about this?" he wondered aloud. There was a great heaving sigh from inside the castle, and suddenly the doors slowly opened. Sonic looked inside to find himself eye to ankle with a purple dragon the size of an elephant. The dragon, Spike, glared around the vicinity in suspicion.

     "Stinkin' lazy authors," Sonic heard the dragon groan. He twitched his giant wings when he saw Sonic.

     "Who's this?" he asked, addressing Pinkie but not looking away from the blue haired teen.

     "This is my brand new friend, Sonic! I'm trying to convince him to stay in Ponyville, so don't scare him, okay?" Spike laughed softly at Pinkie's explanation. He leveled one great eye at Sonic.

     "Don't worry, Pinkie, I won't," Spike reassured her. Despite the fact it sounded like his voice was emanating from deep within his chest, and it was very forceful and made the very air vibrate, it wasn't loud or very deep. Rather, it was soft, almost like the sound of the waves on the beach: powerful, but soothing at the same time.

     Sonic smiled up at the large reptile, and he was rewarded with a responding smile; one full of sharp teeth. Sonic wasn't afraid though, and he rather liked Spike. He seemed trustworthy.

     Even so, it was not enough to fully prepare him for being snatched up by those deadly looking claws. Sonic yelped indecorously as he was unceremoniously lifted up and deposited on the dragon's back. He landed hard on Spike's shoulder blades, right in between the points where his wings jutted out from the tops of his shoulders.

     "What'd you do that for?" Sonic asked, his voice uncertain.

     "It's easy to get lost in the castle. Wouldn't want to find your bones a few months from now. And I'm not kidding, we don't use a lot of the castle. We try to keep anyone from going missing, but we've had a few close calls." Spike explained nonchalantly. Sonic gulped. The idea of being lost in a castle, even dying that way, was a foreign thought to the palace-raised teen.

     "Oh." Sonic answered, making himself comfortable on the dragon's broad shoulders.

     "Spike!" Pinkie scolded. "I told you not to scare him!" She put her hands on her hips and glared straight at the dragon.

     "He's fine! Right, Sonic?" Spike craned his head around to look at Sonic from the corner of his eye.

     "Right!" Sonic responded. Spike rumbled happily and turned around to enter the castle. All of the hallways seemed to have high ceilings, so Spike had no trouble fitting through, though Sonic was forced to duck when they went through some smaller doorways.

     It took about a minute and a half of confusing twists and turns before they finally reached a giant doorway that Spike and Sonic easily fit through. The quadruped dragon reared up on his hind legs in order to knock on the door.

     "Hey Twilight! Can we come in? Pinkie Pie brought company," Spike announced. There was a muffled yelp and a bang as something got knocked onto the floor.

     "Umm, yes, Spike, come on in. Owww..." said a female voice on the other side of the door. Spike wasted no time and immediately pushed the door open with his shoulder. Inside, the walls extended much higher than in any of the other rooms they had gone through. They walls were covered in shelves, and the shelves, in turn, were covered with books. There must have been thousands of books on each wall.

     There were also piles of books on the floor, the most notable being a human sized pile with an actual human in it. Sonic quickly slid off Spike's shoulder and down his front leg. Helpfully, he pulled the stack of books off the girl and placed them neatly on a nearby table. His sharp eyes immediately noted that they were science books, based on the theories and work of Clover the Clever and Starswirl the Bearded.

     "Are you okay?" Sonic asked, taking the girl's hand and pulling to her feet.

     The girl known as Twilight, like the other girls Sonic had met, was exceptionally pretty. She was wearing a simple, purple long shirt, with shorts of a color just a shade darker poking out from underneath. She had clear violet eyes that seemed to sparkle. Her hair was a pretty navy blue, the same color as the night sky just after the sun sets. It was offset by two stripes of different colors in her hair: one a deep purple, and the other a rich but not bright pink. She wore sneakers of the same color as her dress.

     She looked at the books on the table before finally turning to Sonic. That was when she noticed that he was a total stranger. Before she could freak out, Spike jumped in.

     "Twilight, this is the company I was talking about. Pinkie Pie's showing him around." Twilight looked Sonic up and down critically before allowing a smile to creep onto her face.

     "Hi, I'm Sonic. And you're Twilight, right?" Sonic gave her a reassuring smile.

     "Umm, yeah. Twilight Sparkle. Thanks for making sure the books were okay," she responded. Her answer threw Sonic off, but only for a moment.

     'She likes books to a fault, huh?' he thought to himself. 'Well, I guess I have to make conversation, even though it's egghead stuff.'

     "Those are pretty advanced books. You read them often?" Sonic asked. Twilight's eyes lit up and almost looked manic in their enthusiasm.

     "Oh, yeah, they're my favorites. I love studying the way air currents and ambient magic affect spell-casting, especially since as an alicorn I can combine the two magic forms." Twilight smiled at Sonic, who for once knew exactly what she was talking about. His answer astounded Pinkie and Spike.

     "Well, that's actually relatively simple. They can be combined, but they slide off each other like oil and water a lot of times, making pegasus and unicorn magic incredibly hard to combine, especially since you need two different people working in perfect unison. Yet this isn't a problem for an alicorn's power, since they're all three combined. As such, they can be meshed much easier if you're an alicorn, but there's a great deal of magical friction, which means the more you try to combine them the more effort you have to put into a spell..." Sonic paused in his answer as he saw the shocked looks on all three's faces.

     "You...know...advanced magical theories?" asked Twilight slowly. Sonic grinned sheepishly.

     "I dabble," he said hesitantly.

     'Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!' he thought to himself. 'How the hell am I supposed to explain how I know this? The only reason I do is because I mesh pegasus and unicorn magic all the time!' He internally panicked.

     "That's so cool!" Twilight squealed. "Finally I have someone to talk to! No one else really knows this stuff, but now-"

     "I don't actually know that much!" Sonic protested. "I was just..."

     "Just what?" asked Spike, walking forward a few steps to stand directly above and behind Sonic,

     "Just trying to talk about something Twilight would be interested in," Sonic responded softly. "I wanted to make sure that you liked me as a friend. I don't know! I don't really have many people to talk to, so I'm not used to just having conversations with people I don't know!" Sonic's outburst surprised everyone in the room.

     "Are you saying... you don't have friends?" Pinkie asked sadly.

     "Well, I have one really good friend. He was traveling with me earlier today, but we got separated and I haven't seen him since. I know he can take care of himself, but I'm worried. Other than that, no. I don't have any friends." Sonic looked out the window, his brow furrowed.

     "Well, in that case, you'll just have to stay here!" Twilight interjected.

     "What?" Sonic looked at her, confused.

     "You'll stay here in Ponyville until you find your friend," Twilight said, not a trace of hesitation in her voice.

     "No, I can't do that. I'm leaving in a few days, I can't stick around."

     "Oh, no you don't!" refused Pinkie happily. "There's no way you're getting out of this now! Haven't you noticed? Everyone wants you to stick around, me Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, even Spike! Right?" The dragon nodded in affirmation. "Besides, we need another boy around! Poor Mac is all by his lonesome, and so is Spike! You can't leave them hanging!" Pinkie Pie looked up all him with hopeful eyes. Sonic looked at her, and then at Twilight, then at Spike, then back at Pinkie.

     "Oh, alright. I'll stay. But only until I find my friend."

     "Pinkie Promise?" Pinkie asked. Sonic sighed. Aunt Celestia had once explained the premises of the all-powerful Pinkie Promise.

     "Cross my heart," and Sonic did so, "hope to fly," he flapped his wings dramatically, causing Twilight to giggle, "stick a cupcake in my eye," and he pantomimed doing so. "That would be an awful waste of a cupcake though," Sonic said with a smile. "I'd rather stick it in my mouth."

     "Now that that's settled," Twilight said authoritively, " where are you going to stay?"

     "Well, Rarity said that-"

     "Here in the castle!" Spike interrupted, stopping Sonic from mentioning Rarity's offer. "You know, if that's all right with you, Twilight," he amended.

     "I don't see a problem with it. Just try not to get him lost." Sonic opened his mouth to protest the fact they were making this decision for him, but he didn't have a chance to before Spike wrapped the end of his prehensile tail around his waist and carried him out of the library.

     "Spike, wait!" Sonic exclaimed, struggling in the tight grip of the reptile's tail. He squirmed and wriggled, but there was no escaping Spike's tight grip.

     "No. I need someone else around who's a boy. I'm sorry, but only having good girls around was driving me mad. I mean, I love them all, and would give my life to protect them-"

     "Don't worry about it," Sonic stopped him, suddenly understanding the situation. "I know what you mean."

     "So I guess you'll be staying here. It's not like there's a shortage of rooms, so it's not a big deal or anything. Where would you like to stay?"

     "Whichever room is closest to the door. That means there's less area for me to get lost in." Spike laughed in agreement before again settling Sonic on his shoulders. He padded toward the entrance in silence.

     "So you haven't met Fluttershy or Rainbow Dash yet, right?" Spike suddenly asked.

     "Right," Sonic affirmed.

     "Rainbow Dash shouldn't be a problem, we just need to catch up to her. Fluttershy, though... introducing you to her might be harder."

     "Why's that?"

     "The best way to put it is that her name describes her all too well," Spike explained, coming to a halt in front of a set of double doors. "Here, this is the closest room I can think of to the entrance."

     "Thanks!" Sonic said, again sliding off of Spike's back. He pushed open the doors, and stared at the room inside. It was BREATHTAKING.

     The sun was at just the right angle to shine into his window, as it was getting close to sunset. The light was reflected over and over again, making a spectacular light show of sunbeams.

     "Here it is!" Spike announced. "Your home away from home!"

     'Huh. A place to call home. Didn't think I would find one outside the castle.'

     "C'mon, I should get you acquainted with this part of the castle," said Spike, breaking through Sonic's thoughts.

     "Oh, right." Sonic turned around and followed the purple dragon, listening as he began to explain the layout of the castle.