It was a beautiful and peaceful morning in Ponyville, and Rainbow Dash was fast asleep in her cloud home. On a normal day, one would have expected her to continue sleeping for another several hours, but this was not a normal day. No sooner had Celestia begun to raise the sun above the horizon when an alarm clock on Rainbow's bedside table began to ring, waking Rainbow from her slumber. Her eyes opened slowly at first, but then shot open when she remembered why she had set that alarm in the first place. Rainbow quickly stretched her limbs and flew over to a calendar placed on the wall near her bedroom door. Grabbing a red marker, she drew an X over the previous date and looked at the unmarked day next to it.
"Aw yeah! Today's the day!" She exclaimed, looking at today's date which had "Movie Auditions" written on it. Not wasting another moment, she dashed out of her house and zoomed towards Twilight's castle. Her friends had promised to join her on this momentous occasion, and she was going to make sure that they made it on time.
***
TWENTY MINUTES LATER
"Gonna be a movie star! Gonna be Daring's sidekick! Uh huh! Oh yeah!" Rainbow continuously chanted to herself as she flew at a brisk pace toward Ponyville City Hall, moving her body left and right in time with her chant. Trotting along right behind her were six of her closest friends, who were all showing various levels of annoyance at Rainbow for the rather rude awakening she had given each of them, except for Pinkie Pie, who was displaying her usual amount of cheeriness with a wide grin and quite literal bounce in her step.
"Gonna be a movie star! Gonna be a bit actor! Oh boy! Oh yay!" Pinkie chanted in time with Rainbow, her bouncing even synchronized with Rainbow's dancing.
"Land's sakes, Pinkie. Ah'm startin' to wonder if ya even sleep at all." Applejack mumbled before letting out a big yawn.
"Oh, I do hope this is worth sacrificing a few hours of beauty sleep." Rarity said, her stylish mane not being quite as stylish as usual. She had barely had enough time to decently groom it before Rainbow had dragged her out of her boutique, shouting about them being late if she kept worrying about every stray hair.
"I'm tellin' ya, Rarity." Rainbow said, turning to face the group and putting on a relaxed pose with her forehooves behind her head. "You already act like a movie star. They'll probably hire you the moment you introduce yourself."
While Rarity mulled over whether to take that as a compliment or an insult, Fluttershy spoke up. "I'm actually rather excited. Being in a movie and performing in front of just one camera should be much easier than being on a stage in front of hundreds of ponies. "
"Ahem," Applejack cleared her throat. "Ah hate ta break it ta ya, Fluttershy, but there's prob'ly gonna be more than just the one camera."
As Applejack explained the details of a movie production crew to Fluttershy, Twilight Sparkle looked around at the townsfolk who were just starting their day. "I'm sure this will be a good experience for all of us." She turned back to face Rainbow. "We all have something to learn from auditioning for this movie. That is why you invited us along, isn't it, Rainbow?"
A surprised look briefly flashed across Rainbow's face, but it quickly morphed back into a smug grin. "Uh, yeah, of course." Rainbow said, turning in the direction she was flying. "It's totally not because I'm nervous about this audition and wanted moral support. What would give you that idea?"
Twilight stifled a chuckle, and then looked over her shoulder when she heard a groan coming from the dragon who was currently laying on her back. "Well, I'm just glad you decided to bring me along this time." Spike said as he sat up. "Sometimes it feels like you guys leave me out of this stuff more often than not."
"Aw, Spike, you know what they say, the more the merrier." Rainbow said, glancing over her shoulder. "Besides, it's not like this is some big adventure or anything. We're just auditioning for a movie. What's the worst that could happen?"
"Knowin' us, Ah don't feel like answerin' that." Applejack said, rolling her eyes.
"Well you won't have to, because there it is!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping in front of Applejack and motioning to Ponyville City Hall, where a booth had been set up just a few feet away with a black banner reading in big, white letters: "Daring Do Movie Auditions. Sign Up Here" with an arrow pointing down towards the entrance to the booth. Rainbow couldn't help but let out an excited squee and rushed inside, her signature rainbow trail following right behind.
"Welp, we're here!" Applejack said as she turned to her friends. "Ya'll ready?"
"I would've liked a bit more time to make myself more presentable, but I suppose there's no going back now." Rarity said, tossing back her mane. The five ponies made their way inside, Spike still sitting on Twilight's back.
"My friends and I would like to sign up for the movie audition." Rainbow said to the yellow earth pony clerk sitting behind a desk inside the booth.
"Awesome!" The clerk said. "What role are you most interested in auditioning for?"
"The Sidekick, of course!" Rainbow exclaimed, puffing out her chest. "That role was practically meant for me!"
"Hmm, sidekick, sidekick..." The clerk mused to herself as she pulled out a sheet of paper and slowly scanned it. "Ooh, I'm sorry, but that role's already been filled."
The silence that suddenly overtook the booth was palpable. Everypony present slowly turned to look at Rainbow, who had a look of utter disbelief on her face. After what seemed like ages, she finally managed to voice a quiet "W...What?"
"Yeah, see, here's the thing..." The clerk explained. "Auditions are also being held over in Mobius, which is just east of Equestria. Since the sun rises earlier there, they've already finished with their audition sign ups. Time zones, am I right?"
The clerk's attempt at lightening the mood did little to ease Rainbow's mind, who was still having trouble processing this development. "Whuh...buh...who...?" She continued to question.
"Well let's see, the one who got the Sidekick role was one Sticks the Badger." The clerk said, continuing to scan through the paper she was reading. "Apparently, the director thought her wackiness was a perfect foil for the more serious Daring Do." The clerk put the paper down and looked at Rainbow with a reassuring smile. "I'm sorry about that, but there are other roles open if you still want to sign up."
Rainbow fell back onto her flank, defeated. She just couldn't believe it. She had been waiting for this opportunity for weeks only to have it snatched out from under her by some girl from another country. She wasn't even a pony, and she thought she had what it takes to be Daring's sidekick? Twilight walked up to Rainbow and put a hoof around her shoulder. "I'm sorry Rainbow, but I suppose that's just show business. I'm sure you'll get another chance to work with Daring some other time."
"What other roles are left?" Rainbow suddenly said, looking up at the clerk and catching Twilight off guard.
The clerk once again fetched her paper. "Let me see. There are nine roles left, but all but one of them are just bit roles that only have one scene."
"And the last one?" Rainbow gulped, getting a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.
The clerk looked up from the paper, as if to create an air of suspense. "The Villian." She said slowly.
No sooner had she finished enunciating "Villian" when Rainbow quickly stood up and slammed her forehooves on the desk. "I'll take it!" She shouted. This provoked a shocked gasp from everypony in the booth, except for the clerk, who remained as calm as ever.
"Why, Rainbow..." Rarity uttered. "Surely you don't mean to suggest that you intend to play the role of Daring's adversary?!"
"It's not what I was hoping for" Rainbow said, turning to her friends, "but I'll take anything I can get at this point. Besides, it's just a movie role. I'm not actually going to become Daring's enemy." She turned back to the clerk. "Sign me and my friends up for the audition." She stated, her friends each voicing their agreement.
"Gotcha." The clerk said. She quickly counted the number of heads in the booth and pulled out an audition form for each of them. "Just fill these out and we'll get you over to the main studio in Station Square." When some of the ponies gave her a look of mild confusion, she explained. "That's the capital city of Mobius." She continued to explain as the future auditioners filled out their forms. "You'll meet the director, the actors, and the rest of the auditioners. The director will give you the details on how the auditions will work." When the last audition form had been returned to her, she gathered them up and filed them away. "Perfect! We'll arrange transportation to the studio for you A.S.A.P." The auditioners turned to leave the booth. "Good luck!" She shouted to them.
"Lady" Rainbow glanced back at the clerk, the smug grin having returned to her face. "I don't need luck!"
***
A FEW HOURS LATER
Rainbow and her friends arrived at the studio, looking at all of the unfamiliar devices around them. It hadn't taken long for them to figure out that Mobian technology was very different from that of Equestria. Twilight even theorized that the most likely reason that the main studio for a Daring Do movie was located in Mobius would be because a movie like this could only be possible with Mobian technology.
"Alright, so where's A.K. Yearling?" Rainbow asked, frantically looking around. "I wanna catch up with her a bit before we get started."
"Who knows?" Applejack scanned the room with wide eyes, still trying to get accustomed to the size of Mobian buildings. "This place is so huge, and she could be anywhere."
"Or she could be right over there!" Pinkie pointed a hoof at a blue actor chair sitting at the far end of the room. A golden star was emblazoned upon it with "Daring Do" written on it in large, white letters. And sure enough, A.K. Yearling was sitting on this very chair, dressed in her Daring Do outfit, minus the pith helmet, and looking quite bored, but she perked up a little upon seeing Rainbow and friends walk into her field of vision.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Rainbow Dash." She said, straightening her posture. "I had a feeling I'd be seeing you here."
Hearing this, Rainbow put on a cocky smile and raised her head high. "What, you thought Daring Do's number one fan would miss an opportunity to be in a movie with her?"
Yearling smiled and glanced at Rainbow's friends. "I see you've brought your entire posse along as well."
Twilight stepped forward and politely bowed to Yearling. "A pleasure to see you again, Ms. Yearling."
"The pleasure is all mine." Yearling said, returning the gesture. "I take it that all of you are here for the auditions."
"You know it!" Rainbow exclaimed. " I was kinda hoping to land the Sidekick role, but it looks like I was a bit too slow on that one."
"Yes, quite." Yearling mumbled. They both turned to look at the Sidekick chair sitting to the left of Yearling's, which was currently occupied by an orange badger girl with brown-striped hair that was styled into two pigtails that made Rainbow think of a boomerang for some reason. She wore a beige cloth around her chest, with matching skirt and moccasins, which made her look like she had just walked out of a jungle. She had been glaring at Rainbow's group, and was now engaging in what looked like a staring contest with Pinkie Pie, even though Rainbow was pretty sure that the only one who actually thought it was a staring contest was Pinkie.
"I don't know, Yearling..." The badger said in a nasally voice with an accent that vaguely sounded like it was from Manehattan. "What if they're secret agents sent to sabotage the movie? You can never be too careful."
Twilight smiled at the girl. "You must be Sticks the Badger. I'm Twilight, and these are-"
Sticks suddenly stared at Twilight, her eyes widening. "HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?!" She shouted as she dove behind her chair, slowly peeking out. "Who's your informer? Who do you work for?" Everyone in the room stared at Sticks with a concerned face, except for Pinkie, who was too busy being excited at the prospect of making a new friend as energetic as she was.
After several seconds, Rainbow turned back to Yearling. "What's her deal?" She asked, slightly tilting her head.
"A regular conspiracy theorist, that one." Yearling sighed. "Apparently, she spent most of her life growing up in the jungle away from society, so she tends to be distrustful towards any form of government. In fact, she hardly even auditioned. She just showed up ranting about how our movie was going to hypnotize the masses into following the government's demands, and that idiot director got it in his head that she was perfect for the role. Something about being the Costello to my Abbott. I tried to object, but he was dead set on it, and eventually I was the one who caved. At least I was able to convince her that the movie isn't a government plot." She put her head in her hooves. "Honestly, I don't know why I agreed to this whole thing."
"I've been meaning to ask about that." Twilight spoke up. "What gave you the idea to make a movie in the first place?"
"Wasn't my idea." Yearling said, rolling her eyes. "That director just came up to me one day saying how he was a big fan of my novels and wanted to make an adaptation of my latest one, 'Daring Do and the Mystery of the Sneaky Hermit.' He has a producer lined up who's funding this, though I've yet to meet them." She tapped a hoof to her chin as she said this. "Really, I only agreed to this because I'm desperate for money."
"Now wait just a darn minute!" Applejack exclaimed with a confused look. "Ah remember readin' that book, and Ah sure don't remember Daring havin' a sidekick in that one."
Rainbow turned to Applejack and shrugged. "Eh. Probably just added comic relief. Adaptations like this always add in new characters that weren't there before if they think it'll keep the audience entertained."
Yearling chuckled. "Well, it's been nice, but the director will be here soon, and you'll probably want to meet everyone else here before he starts opening his big mouth."
"Oh, and who else is here?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, for starters" Yearling said, pointing a hoof behind the group. "Two more of the main actors are standing right behind you." Flutteshy spun around and yelped, as two other people were indeed standing behind them; a white bat-like creature wearing a pink, heart-shaped vest, black pants, and white boots with pink hearts at the tips, and a blue unicorn who was easily identified by her purple, star-decorated cloak.
"TRIXIE?!" Rainbow shouted as she flew over to where Trixie was standing. "What are you doing here?!"
"Isn't it obvious?" Trixie said, throwing back her mane. "Trixie is doing what she does best: perform. And I must say that a movie is certainly a step up from that traveling magic show."
"Well, it's nice to see that you're putting your talent for showmareship to good use." Twilight said as she walked towards Trixie. "Though I'm curious as to how you got into this movie. We didn't see you at the sign-up booth in Ponyville."
"Trixie signed up at the booth in Station Square." Trixie explained. "I was touring Mobius with my magic show, since it was one of the few places where my past mishaps aren't common knowledge, and I quite simply leapt at the chance."
"Oh, you certainly leapt alright." Trixie's companion muttered. "You were so excited when they accepted you that I thought you were going to crash right through the ceiling."
Twilight blinked at the new face. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are my manners?" She held out a hoof. "Twilight Sparkle. Princess of Friendship from Equestria."
The bat-girl grabbed Twilight's hoof with her hand and shook it. "Rouge the Bat. Part-time government spy and full-time jewel collector." Both Rarity and Spike perked up at the mention of jewels. "The director had a few jewels lying around that he was willing to part with if I agreed to this role."
"And what role would that be?" Rainbow asked.
"The two of us will be playing a duo of criminals that initially oppose the heroes, but begrudgingly team up with them to face the larger threat." Trixie explained.
Rainbow made a face of realization. "Oh yeah, those guys! Boy, were they a hoot!" She said before letting out a small chuckle.
"Well, now that we are properly acquainted..." Rarity said, "Are there any other actors that we should get to know?"
"Hmm, not really." Rouge said, looking deep in thought. "But there are seven more auditioners that you'll probably want to meet. They're in that room over there." She pointed at a door in the back left corner of the room that read "Auditions: Meet Here." "I feel I should warn you, though. I know all of those people, and they're quite the cast of characters."
"Well, so are we, right?" Spike said, earning blank stares from most of those present. "I'm sure we'll get along just fine." He started to run toward the door.
"Well, in any case, best to know our competition, I suppose." Rarity said, glancing at Rainbow. "Right, Rainbow?" Rainbow made a cocky smile and flew towards the door, the rest of the group following behind.
***
As Rainbow's group walked through the door, they noticed that this room was a bit smaller than the previous one, but still larger than most of them were used to. It seemed to be a prop room, with various props laying against the walls of the room. Unbeknownst to anyone in the room, a camera hidden away in a corner of the room turned and focused on the group that had just arrived. After glancing around a bit, Rainbow's attention was drawn to a group who seemed to be conversing in the center of the room. They were mostly made up of the same types of creatures as Sticks and Rouge, though one stood out, as he was much taller than the rest of the group and looked more like the humans that the group had seen upon arriving in Mobius.
"Welp, that looks like our competition. What do you say we introduce ourselves?" Rainbow said in a tone that worried Twilight, since she usually used it when she was preparing to issue or be issued a challenge. Rainbow flew over to the other group and cleared her throat before striking a pose where she spread her hind legs, threw her head back and raised a hoof into the air. "Attention! The soon-to-be portayer of the Sneaky Hermit has arrived! Hold your applause!"
The group of Mobians turned to Rainbow, looking generally confused, and a certain blue hedgehog with red, pointed shoes who had had his back turned to Rainbow was particularly unamused. "Oh yeah? Get in line." He said, pointing his right thumb behind himself. At this point, both groups dispersed throughout the room to mingle with one another, with Rainbow and the hedgehog staying where they were, glaring at each other.
Eventually, Rainbow saw fit to plant her hooves on the ground and try to start a conversation with this hedgehog who she had a feeling was going to be a thorn in her side, and not just because of the sharp-looking quills protruding from the back of his head. "So anyway, I'm not sure if your country has heard of me yet, but I'm Rainbow Dash." She said as she proudly placed a hoof on her chest. "And I'm a pretty big deal back where I come from."
The blue hedgehog placed a thumb on his chest. "I'm Sonic. Sonic the Hedgehog. And I'm a pretty big name myself."
"Uh huh." Rainbow said, somehow unconvinced by this hedgehog's bravado. "So anyway, what's a guy like you doing auditioning for a Daring Do movie?"
Sonic scratched his cheek with his finger. "To be honest, me and three of the others here are just here to keep an eye on our friend Sticks."
Rainbow once again glared at Sonic. "Oh, you mean that jungle girl who got the Sidekick role that was rightfully mine by sheer accident?"
"Ah, so you already heard that story." Sonic said, turning to the side as he recalled the events that led him to his current predicament. "Yeah, in one of her paranoid frenzies, Sticks somehow managed to land herself a role in a movie. We didn't feel right letting her travel here all by herself, so we agreed to sign up for auditions here so that we could go with her."
"Huh." Rainbow said. "You were really that worried about what would happen to Sticks at this studio?"
"More so we were worried about what would happen to the studio." Sonic said, turning back toward Rainbow. "If you've already met Sticks, I don't think I need to explain why."
"Hehe, yeah." Rainbow chuckled, scratching the back of her head with her hoof.
"And who knows?" Sonic continued. "It might actually be fun. Things have been pretty boring around here lately."
"Yeah!" Rainbow exclaimed, starting to warm up to Sonic. "Even if neither of us land a role, it'll probably still be a lot of fun. But I mean, what're the chances of that happening, right?" Sonic merely chuckled at Rainbow's confidence.
As Rainbow turned to leave, thinking that she may have had the wrong impression of Sonic after all, he spoke up, catching her attention again and stopping her in place. "Oh yeah, and did I seriously hear you say that the Sidekick role was 'rightfully yours'?" Rainbow slowly turned to face Sonic. His arms were crossed and he was wearing just about the largest smirk she had ever seen. "I don't remember seeing your name on that chair. Do you?"
This instantly made Rainbow's temper flare as she spun around and zoomed toward Sonic until their faces were inches apart. Sonic leaned back a little, but his smirk never wavered. "Are you saying that I'm not fit for that role?" Rainbow questioned.
"I don't know. Am I?" Sonic shrugged.
"Oh, that does it!" Rainbow stomped a hoof on the ground. "I am going to kick your butt in the auditions!"
"Oh yeah?" Sonic said. "Just make sure you watch your flank, or you'll be the one getting kicked!" The two then returned to what they had been doing when they first met; glaring at each other. Twilight watched this display of butting heads from the side of the room, and she was sure that for a moment she could see sparks igniting where Rainbow and Sonic's gazes met.
"Oh boy, there he goes again." The yellow fox standing next to Twilight said. "Once Sonic sees competition, there's no stopping him."
"And Rainbow just hates having her abilities challenged." Twilight sighed. "Great. I just hope those two don't break anything."
"That would defeat the purpose of us being here." The fox nervously chuckled. "Anyway, I'm Miles Prower, but all of my friends call me Tails." He turned to give Twilight a better view of the two bushy tails on his backside. "Three guesses why."
Twilight chuckled. "It's nice to meet you, Tails."
Tails smiled and turned to face Twilight again. "So you said you study magic?"
Twilight gave a proud smile. "Yep. I'm currently focusing on the magic of friendship, but I'm intrigued by pretty much anything magic related."
"I'm an inventor myself, and I'm really interested in how the study of magic has affected your technology over in Equestria." Tails said.
Twilight grinned. "It's true that the ways that our technologies have evolved are radically different. I heard someone say that you use electricity to power your inventions in this country?" Tails nodded, and Twilight thought for a second. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she gasped. "What if we combined the two? Magic and electricity. Just think of the possibilities!" She gently hopped in place, her mind going into overdrive just imagining what could come about from this revelation.
"Hmm..." Tails put a hand to his chin, thinking through the concept from a more logical viewpoint. "It's certainly possible, though there are risks. I've dealt with magic a few times before, and I know that misusing it can have catastrophic consequences."
"Oh, there's always risks." Twilight said with a wave of her hoof. "But if we put our minds together, we should be able to figure this out without it blowing up in our faces."
"If you say so." Tails said, scratching his head. "You're the magic expert."
Applejack watched as Twilight and Tails were already forming mental blueprints for the combination of their countries' technology. "Well, good ta see some of us are makin' friends." She said to herself, before turning back to the red echidna who was trying to lift up what looked like a background prop for one of the scenes. "Ya sure ya don't need any help, Knuckles?" She called.
"I've...urk...got it." Knuckles said through labored breaths, but Applejack could tell from the amount of sweat forming on his brow that he did not, in fact, have it. Without a word, she trotted over to the other side of the prop and lifted it with her forehooves. With the amount of strength between them, the prop was lifted into the air effortlessly. Knuckles stood gaping at Applejack. "Uh, how did you do that without fingers?"
"Ah could say the same to you". Applejack said, pointing out Knuckles' gloves which only had separate holes for the thumbs, with the rest of the fingers forming into one big lump.
"H-hey! These are the only gloves I could find that had spikes on them." Knuckles said. "At least I have thumbs. What's your excuse?"
Applejack chuckled before answering. "Lotsa practice. Ah've had these thing mah whole life, after all."
Knuckles smirked. "I must admit, I underestimated you ponies. You're a lot stronger than you look."
Applejack gave a proud smile. "Ta be fair, Ah am one of the strongest ponies Ah know." She looked back at Knuckles. "You're a lot stronger than ya look, too."
"Yeah, I get that a lot." Knuckles said, looking to the side. "People always say they expect me to be more buff, but honestly I think I'd just look ridiculous."
They both shared a laugh at this, and after they calmed down, Applejack spoke up. "So, are we just going to stand around talkin' and lookin' silly, or are we actually going to move this thing?"
"Huh?" Knuckles said, before looking up and seeing the prop that they were both holding above their heads. "O-Oh yeah! Come on! The director said he wanted it over here."
With Knuckles leading, the two carried the prop over to the far corner of the room. On the way, the prop almost smacked into a pink hedgehog wearing a red dress and red boots. Fortunately, she ducked just in time to dodge the swinging prop. "Hey! Watch where you're going with that thing!" She yelled.
"Oops! Sorry, Amy!" Knuckles called from the other side of the prop.
Letting out a frustrated sigh, Amy turned back to her conversation with Pinkie Pie. "So Pinkie, what are some things you like to do?"
"Oh, I can't choose. There's so many!" Pinkie said, racking her brain. "But if I had to choose, my absolute favorite thing to do would be throwing parties."
"Oh? What kind of parties?" Amy asked.
"All kinds!" Pinkie rambled. "Birthday parties, holiday parties, slumber parties, you name it! Any party's fun as long as it's a Pinkie Party!"
Amy chuckled at her new friend's enthusiasm. "And is there any particular thing you enjoy doing at parties?"
Pinkie once again put on a thoughtful expression. "Hmm...Ooh, ooh! Telling jokes! I love doing that!"
"Jokes?" Amy frowned. "Oh, dear. I'm afraid I'm not very good at that."
"Aw, come on!" Pinkie giggled. "I'm sure you're not that bad. C'mon, tell me a joke right now!"
Amy looked a bit surprised. "R-really? Well, okay." She closed her eyes and searched the depths of her mind for the funniest joke she could think of. "Hmm...Oh! I've got one!" Pinkie leaned in, eager to hear what kind of gut-buster Amy came up with. "What do you call an egg that flies a plane?"
"What?! What?!" Pinkie asked.
"Scrambled!" Amy finished, stretching her arms out in a "ta-da" pose.
Pinkie's face became a blank stare. "Um, points for trying?" She shrugged.
A voice came from behind Amy. "Oh come now, I've heard much better egg jokes than that! Most of them from Sonic."
Amy spun around to the source of the voice; a tall, round human with a brown, bushy mustache wearing a red jacket, black pants and boots, and goggles on top of his bald head. "Mind your own business, Eggman!" She shouted before turning back and walking away, Pinkie trotting close behind.
"Hmph, if you insist." Eggman muttered before turning back to the pony who had chosen to mingle with him, Rarity.
"If I might ask, is Eggman your real name?" Rarity inquired. "It sounds a bit...silly."
Eggman looked down. "No, it isn't. My real name is Ivo Robotnik, but Sonic and his friends made a habit of calling me Eggman due to my...shape." He gestured to his body as he said that. "Eventually, the whole world started calling me that, and I resigned myself to the fact that I would forever be known by that name."
"Just be glad we didn't let Baldy McNosehair stick!" Sonic called from the center of the room. Rainbow could be heard bursting into laughter.
Eggman growled before turning to Sonic and yelling "Quiet, you!" He quickly composed himself and turned to Rarity. "My apologies. That blue rodent has a tendency to bring out the worst in me."
"Why do you continue to associate with him, then?" Rarity asked. "And whatever happened to make him act like that towards you?"
Eggman gave a wicked smile. "Ah, you see, that has to do with the reason why I am here. You see, I've always had a fascination with robots, and it is my dream to share them with the world. Unfortunately, many people believe that robots are too dangerous to have around, and that I am a madman for wanting to build them. So, I decided that if the world wanted to label me as a madman, then a madman I would be. I built an army of robots for a single purpose: take over the world! And I would have succeeded, if Sonic hadn't interfered. Time and again, he destroys my robots and foils my plans for world domination. But this time, I have a new plan. One that doesn't involve hostile takeovers. I shall become an actor, and once I become a big enough star, I shall use my influence to make my dream of a world filled with robots a reality! Now if you'll excuse me, I should rehearse. Farewell."
Eggman walked away, leaving a stunned Rarity, who could only stare and smile as she processed what she had just heard. "E-Excuse me?" She stammered. Eventually, she broke out of her stupor enough to stumble towards the entrance to the room, bumping into Fluttershy on the way there.
"Oh, hello Rarity." Fluttershy said, looking over her shoulder. "These Mobians are such interesting creatures, aren't they?" She turned her head back to the Mobian that she had been conversing with; a white hedgehog wearing black boots with turquoise tips and white gloves with glowing blue circles on their palms. "This is Silver. He says that he comes from the future and has psychic powers. Isn't that fascinating?"
"Y-yes, dearie, that's nice." Rarity said, still in a daze. "If you'll excuse me, I think I need a bit of fresh air." She fumbled her way out of the audition room and closed the door. After a few seconds, Fluttershy and Silver heard a "Wahaha!" from the other side of the door.
"Oh, dear." Fluttershy said. "Something must have really spooked her."
"Considering who she was talking to, I'm not surprised." Silver shrugged.
Fluttershy turned back to Silver. "Anyway, I'm sorry to hear about where you come from. It sounds like the future isn't a very nice place to live."
"Well, it's tolerable now." Silver said. "If I hadn't come back to help Sonic as much as I have, it'd be a lot worse."
"So you time travel a lot?" Fluttershy fidgeted. "I wouldn't know anything about that. It sounds awfully confusing, constantly changing history."
Silver crossed his arms. "You learn to not think about it after a while."
A thought crossed Fluttershy's mind. "So why are you here? Surely you didn't come back in time just to be in a movie. And wouldn't you see yourself in that movie in the future?"
Silver tapped his foot. "Don't worry about that. This movie will be long forgotten by the time my future rolls around. And besides, there aren't many chances to perform in the future. I wanted to give it at least one shot."
Fluttershy smiled. "Well, it was nice meeting you, Silver." They waved to each other as Fluttershy turned and walked toward the back of the room, coming across a very agitated Spike. "Hello, Spike. Have you made any friends here?"
"I'm trying to, but this guy keeps ignoring me!" Spike said, not turning his gaze away from the tall reptilian Mobian in front of him. He had green scales with red spikes going down his back and wore black sneakers and a gold chain around his neck. He seemed to be dancing, and Spike could faintly hear music coming out of the strange black device that was covering his ears. Upon deducing that the Mobian couldn't hear him, Spike decided to try a more physical approach to getting his attention. He grabbed the Mobian's tail and yanked on it as hard as he could. "Hey! Down here!"
This apparently worked, as the green Mobian stopped his dance and looked down at his tail, finally noticing Spike. "Huh? Oh, sorry about that, little buddy." He pressed a switch on the device, causing the music to stop. "I tend to get lost in my music sometimes. It's a bad habit, I know."
Spike breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, now that I got your attention, I'm Spike, and I'm here to audition with my friends. What about you?"
The Mobian put his hands on his hips, or at least where Spike guessed his hips would be. "I'm Vector the Crocodile, head of the Chaotix Detective Agency."
Spike's eyes went wide. "Detective?! Cool! Does that mean you'll be playing one in the movie?"
"If I was, I wouldn't be in this room." Vector shrugged. "Business has been slow on the detective front, and I'm kinda strapped for cash. I was hoping to make a quick buck with this gig but..." He looked around the room at his competition. "Turns out it's not going to be that easy."
Spike thought for a moment. "Well, you seem to like music a lot. Why not try that?"
Vector put his hands on his hips again and glared at Spike. "Kid, just because I like listening to music doesn't mean I'm good at making it."
"Aw, c'mon!" Spike said. "I'm sure you at least have a decent singing voice."
Vector glanced at a nearby wall, unaware that he was looking right into a hidden camera. "Your funeral, kid." He cleared his throat, took a deep breath, and...
YEAH! YEAH! I'M THE ONE! I'M VECTOR THE CROCODILE!
Everyone in the room was forced to clap their hands over their ears to protect themselves from the sound that dared to call itself music. Once Vector had finished, Amy yelled out, partly to admonish Vector, and partly to ensure that her hearing wasn't destroyed. "Vector! You promised not to do that again!"
Vector put on a puppy dog face and pointed a thumb at Spike. "He asked for it."
Spike shook his head to banish the ringing from his ears. "Yeah well, I probably won't be asking again anytime soon."
At this point, a gray unicorn stallion peeked into the room with a frown on his face. "Vector, I thought we talked about your singing."
Spike raised his hand. "That's my bad. Sorry."
The unicorn paused, looking around the room and realizing that a few unfamiliar faces had turned up. His face almost instantly morphed into a big smile. "Ah! More auditioners! Fantastic!" He said as he walked into the room, revealing that he was wearing a red collared shirt and beige jeans with brown stripes. "Let me see here..." He counted the number of those present in the audition room. "Hmm, there still seems to be one missing."
"Present." Rarity said as she slowly made her way back into the audition room, making sure to keep her distance from Eggman.
"Splendid!" The gray unicorn said before clearing his throat. "Now that you are all here, allow me to introduce myself. I am Gil Ponystein, and I am the director of this wonderful film."
"You're the director of this movie, huh?" Applejack said with a raised eyebrow. "Does that mean we can get started now?"
"Almost, my dear Applejack." Gil said, chuckling when Applejack showed a surprised look. "Surprised that I know your names? Well, I've been over every audition form and I can safely say that I know all of your names by heart."
"Ooh! Ooh!" Pinkie excitedly bounced up and down. "Do me! Do me!"
Gil chuckled. "Yes, of course, Pinkie Pie, I have you memorized as well."
"Ooh, he's good." Pinkie whispered to Rainbow, who simply rolled her eyes.
"Well now that we've established that you've got us memorized," Silver said as he crossed his arms. "Can we please get to the reason why we're here?"
"Yes, yes, of course." Gil said. Clearing his throat again, he began to explain. "So you are all here to audition for parts in the Daring Do movie."
"You bet!" Sonic exclaimed, with everyone else nodding in agreement.
Gil's face suddenly turned sour. "Unfortunately, I am sorry to say that with fourteen auditioners gathered here and only nine roles left to fill, some of you will be going home empty-hoofed/handed."
"Well that's definitely not going to be me!" Rainbow said as she puffed out her chest, earning glares from both Sonic and Twilight.
"Now usually auditions simply consist of every auditioner reading lines from the roles they want and the production crew deciding who they want for the part." Gil said. "However, I've been speaking with the producer, and he's decided to make the auditions a bit more...interesting." This seemed to catch everyone's attention, and he continued. "You see, we will be traveling to each of the locations where your scenes will be filmed. There, you will compete in events in order to earn that scene's role."
Everyone began murmuring at the mention of "events." "And the production crew will decide from these 'events' who gets to be in the movie?" Tails asked.
Gil waved a hoof and made a "tsk, tsk, tsk" sound. "Not the production crew, and this is the most exciting part." He used a hoof to gesture to the room they were in. "You see, the moment you stepped inside this room, hidden cameras have been transmitting your every move onto live TV." This earned a gasp from most of the auditioners, with Fluttershy instinctively curling into a ball and Rarity being quick to try and console her. Sonic merely whistled.
"And I suppose that our 'auditions' are going to be on television as well?" Twilight theorized.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Gil shrugged. "This way, the audience can vote on who they want for each role." This revelation earned a chorus of "Oooh"s.
"And what happens once someone gets a role?" Spike asked. "Do they just stay at that location and film the scene?"
"Of course not!" Gil replied. "They'll continue to audition for the rest of the roles like everyone else. We'll begin filming once all of the roles are filled."
"Hold it!" Eggman exclaimed. "You just basically told us that an auditioner can earn multiple roles! In fact, I'm willing to bet that it's possible for one of us to earn every single role if they're popular enough!"
"That's part of the fun!" Gil explained. "It's no fun if the competition dwindles after each location."
Hearing this gave Rainbow conflicting feelings. On one hoof, she realized that her chances of being in the movie had sunk even lower. On the other hoof, she was getting excited upon hearing the word "competition." Still, there was something nagging her that she just had to know. "What about the Villian role? I remember that character having multiple scenes, so how are we going to decide who gets that one?"
"Oh yes, I was getting to that." Gil replied. "It's true that that's the only role left with multiple scenes, so we decided to make it so that the auditioner who earns the most votes overall will be awarded the coveted SUPERVILLAIN role." None of the auditioners particularly cared for how he had decided to emphasize "Supervillian."
"So basically" Knuckles summarized. "You've decided to turn a movie audition into a sporting event." He thought for a moment before bumping his fists together. "I'm in!"
The audition room was filled with a chorus of approval as every auditioner decided that they were game for this new audition process, even Fluttershy, who assured her friends that as long as she could keep her mind off the cameras, she would be okay. "Super!" Gil exclaimed. "Well, no time to waste. Let's get you all over to the first location. I'll be holding down the fort over here, but I'll be watching and cheering you on. Good luck!"
"I don't need luck!" Rainbow exclaimed.
"Who needs luck?!" Sonic said at almost the same time as Rainbow. Noticing this, they once again fixed their glares to each other as everyone made their way outside and to their first audition.
Seeing them off, Gil closed the door to the studio and chuckled to himself. "Oh, this is going to be good!"
***
TEN MINUTES LATER
Gil was in his office just finishing up some paperwork when the phone on his desk rang, spooking him out of his chair. He quickly stood back up and levitated the phone to his ear to speak into it. "Gil Ponystein speaking."
A voice could be heard on the other end of the phone, which Gil recognized as his producer.
"Ah! Sir! So nice to-" Was all Gil was able to say before the producer cut him off and asked him for a status update. "Okay, okayokay yessir! The plans are all in place! I'm in the main studio now, and I am confident! We have found-" The producer cut him off again, asking him question after question. "Yessir! I'm aware of how important the Daring Do movie is, and I'm completely convinced-" The producer interrupted him once again, asking Gil if he remembered the process. "Yessir! Sure, sure, sure! We'll put all the contestants through their paces, see how they do in the three events, and the one that performs the best will get the part." When the producer gave confirmation, he continued. "Yessir, and the most popular contender overall will be awarded the coveted SUPERVILLIAN role."
The producer said something that could possibly be interpreted as a joke. "Heehee, good one, pal." Gil said into the phone, though he quickly regretted saying it, as the producer immediately started berating him for his faux pas. "I-I am so, so, so sorry I called you that, sir. I just got a bit carried away with the moment. It won't happen again." The producer told him to just get on with it. "Yessir! Okay okay okay! Just leave it to me, I'll take care of everything." He hung up the phone and called out to his secretary. "Ms. Ponykin, get me the first contest host on the line! NOW!"
