Lazy Daysby Art InspiredChaptersBig's Big PrologueZone Two: Everfree SwampZone Three: Seaside PlateauZone One: Ghost TrotSource MaterialBig's Big Prologue Mystic Ruins Plastic and wooden boats lined the walls of the shop. Each and every one of them were ready for aquatic use, and in front of the cash register belonging to the boat shop found just underneath the train station stood a skinny, middle-aged man. He was busy attending to his next customer. "You s-see, sir..." In front of him towered a stark figure. He was a purple, heavyweight bobcat with an indifferently colored, violet striped tail which complimented his broad and matching striped limbs. His chest and whiskers were white, and he wore a pair of oddly baggy, tanned gloves. He also had on a belt with a shiny, golden buckle securely fastened around the waist, and loosely wrapped around his pudgy feet were a couple of old, rugged beach sandals. Big the Cat also adorned a thick, rope strap that coiled snugly around his torso. It secured three prized belongings that were very important to Big. One of the items that was latched to his back was a fancy ukulele. There was also his signature long fishing rod, and in front of that was his broad beach umbrella. Big ominously stared blankly at the sales person. He didn't say a word for a long time. Big then merely kept on blinking, and stared at the many, many rows and rows of multicolored boats. He eventually pointed at one of them, and said, "I wanna ride on this one!" The sales person noticeably stumbled after hearing this. "Again, y-you see, s-sir... Mr...?" Big blinked, and waited a moment before coming to his senses. "Oh," he exhaled with a surprised expression. "I'm Big. I'm a cat, and I just really need a boat so that I can go fishing with Froggy." "Err... With Froggy? Who might Froggy be?" Suddenly, and to the sales person's shock, Big's pet Froggy leaped out from behind Big, and landed directly on top of the bobcat's round and slightly fuzzy head. "That's Froggy up there," Big then exclaimed with a bit of excitement in his voice. He also pointed, saying, "He's my best friend in the whole, wide world, and we've been through a lot together." The person in front of Big cleared his throat, and then said, "Well, that's all very good and nice, but... I've g-gotta s-sell you the boat, actually. You've been dodging my question this whole time." He tried to stand his ground, but Big was a mile above him. He was covered with the cat's entire shadow. "Do you have any money with you so that you can even buy this boat?" Big stood there, and blinked, and he then patted his sides as if he had pockets. "Nope," he said with a shake of the head. "Do you take rings? I've stashed about two or three back home. I keep them tucked under my bed." The salesman stumbled. "What's with you fluffy types and always trying to pawn those ring things off to everybody all the time?" He sighed, and then saw Big advance, but Big went right passed him in order to gaze at all of the boats once again. "It's been a while since I've been fishing way out in the ocean," he commented. "I fished non-stop when that big ship was there." The salesman scratched his head in wonderment, and then vocally asked Big, "Wait a minute... You're not that same cat, are you...?" "Hmm?" Big hummed curiously. "I think that... if I'm not mistaken, that was at least, like... three years ago," the sales person realized. "So you're... that same bobcat... that helped Sonic and all of his other friends while they took down Chaos and Dr. Eggman! Right?" Big just blankly blinked some more, and then, he nodded happily. "Oh," he sighed with a smile. "I remember now! Yup, that sure was me, but mostly, I liked going out to that huge, large boat that used to be over there. Now..." He looked around aimlessly. "I just need a smaller boat, but which one should I ride?" Unable to contain his rising anger any longer, the salesman tightly grabbed hold of his fishing hat, and growled for a moment. Soon enough, however, his groans would turn into shrieks. He hastily realized that one of his sharp hooks had pricked his thumb. These noises caused the manager of the establishment to come climbing up from the wooden latter. He asked as soon as his head popped up, "What's all the commotion?" "Boss!" The salesman panicked while he bandaged himself. "This humongous cat wants to buy a boat!" "Then let him! His money's good here." "With rings?" The manager was just about to turn back around when he heard this. He grumbled, and then, he took another glance at the violet and purple feline who giggled quite innocently. The sales person then also told him, "I think I'd rather just give him a boat since... well..." "Out with it." "Y-you see, I believe he might be friends with Sonic the Hedgehog!" There was a calming silence that followed, and the manager just nodded. He then breathed towards Big, and he then kindly stated, "A friend of Sonic the Hedgehog is more than deserving of a complimentary watercraft. Which one would you like?" The bobcat responded with, "I don't need a watercraft. I just need a boat." Following their conversations, Big somehow managed to pick out possibly the most expensive boat there was, but luckily for both the sales person and the shop owner, Big couldn't exactly understand or accurately figure out how the keys worked. Because of this, he decided to go with an old fashioned rowing boat. Once he had descended down the latter, he was amongst the many, many floating docks that occupied the open ocean's tides. "How about this one?" The manager offered Big a much smaller boat while gesturing to it with his arms. "That one looks great," Big merrily muttered as he came closer, and began inspecting the bow. "By the way," the manager said idly. "Those are some impressive stripes!" Big just watched as the manager patted him on one of his powerful forearms. "These aren't natural stripes," Big openly voiced to the manager. "It's a disease." The cat stared as the manager slowly removed his hand. "Wh-what? Really?" Big came in closer to say, "It's slowly taking over my body..." It grew grimly quiet as the manager tried to ask Big, "Is it... c-contag-" "Look, Froggy," Big blurted out loudly as he pointed giddily towards his newest possession. "It even comes with its own set of oars! That means we don't have to go home at all. Since we brought along all of the fishing gear that we're gonna need, why don't we both hop right on in and get moving?" He and his pet, Froggy did just that, and as they sailed away rather peacefully with their free row boat, the manager that was still standing underneath his store just stared on while squinting his eyes to shield his vision from the sun's blinding rays. The Open Ocean Water totally surrounded Big and Froggy. It didn't matter wherever the bobcat and his friend looked because the whole underneath of their boat was blue. It went on forever, but that was just fine for Big. It was a windy and sunny day, and Big could hear the faint sounds of distant waves. He smiled, and with a mere flick of the wrist, he sent his line flying as far out into the open ocean as he possibly could. "The past weeks have been going by so fast," He commented. He then sat back down, and carefully propped his fishing rod so that he could loosely keep an eye on it. After all, he didn't expect to catch hardly anything this early on, so he relaxed some more, and gently patted Froggy on the back. "It's all the same, Froggy. Y'know what I'm trying to say? The bright sky and shining sun... I just have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day." "Ribbit," Froggy croaked. "Mmmh?" Big adjusted himself in his seat. "Yep! I know what you're saying, little pal. It sure is a nice breeze. The sun is out, but it's not too hot, and everything is just so nice!" He closed his eyes, and although he might not've been able to spell tranquility, he slipped right into it. The sounds and distinct smell of the ocean's waves always helped make Big feel beyond calmed, and they soothed him almost to sleep. A tropical note was then struck rather suddenly. Big had pulled out his ukulele, and started playing a tune to match the breezy atmosphere surrounding him and Froggy. The time went on like this for quite a while, but eventually, Big would feel his fishing rod jiggling. He looked at it while somewhat sourly halting his performance. He prayed that this wouldn't turn out to just be a false alarm after all, and to his overwhelming joy, it wasn't. He had caught something for sure, so he tucked upwards. To Big's surprise, his lure came flying out of the clear, blue water rather easily. At the end of it shined a familiar, green light, and as it fell right into Big's opened, gloved palm, he gasped. "It's... gotta be one of those, uh... uhh..." He scratched his head and floppy ears momentarily, and tried to remember what they were actually called. "Oh, yeah! It's a chaos emerald. Right?" He looked towards his partner, but Froggy didn't answer. Instead, the amphibian leaped nimbly, and used its sticky lips to snatch the emerald right out of Big's grasp. Froggy then dipped into the water with a wet flop. That's where Froggy presumably swallowed the emerald, and this was because the water had immediately stopped glowing brightly. Big just sat there in his spot while shaking his head. In a confused state, he then held onto his boat for a second more before voicing aloud, "What... happened? Froggy?" He looked over the edge, and just faintly managed to see Froggy sinking further and further down. He just couldn't believe his eyes. Soon enough, Froggy had disappeared completely into the murky depths below, and for a moment, all Big could do was stare. "Not... again," he simply said while feeling a breeze as it lightly pressed against his back. Big took just two steps in preparation, and then, he grabbed hold of his nose along with some of his whiskers while performing possibly the most magnificent cannonball of all time. The waves were so powerful that they juggled and flipped Big and Froggy's boat around a couple of times. Remarkably, once it landed, the boat was somehow right side up with both of its oars still in their respective holders. As Big sunk further and further down, he had to move himself from left to right in order to catch the rising air bubbles. Otherwise, if he didn't, he'd surely run out of oxygen and drown. The more he descended downwards, the more and more anxious Big felt. He'd never gone this far below the ocean before, but all he could really concentrate on was somehow catching up to his little buddy, Froggy. "I hope I didn't pass him," Big thought while glancing around, but amongst all of that blue and vast water, the was nothing else but himself. "I'd better keep going..." Soon enough, something strange happened. Big began hearing a rather odd noise sounding in the background. The closer to the bottom he got, the louder it became, and eventually, he started seeing just why this was happening fathoms and fathoms below the surface. It was the Egg Carrier of all things, and based off the sounds that it was making, it appeared that its automated distress signal had been triggered. With a bubble leaving his murmuring lips, Big asked aloud, "Froggy?" Directly below Big was his friend, but from the looks of things, Froggy didn't seem as though he was about to willingly swim back to his daring owner. One of the Egg Carrier's giant, industrial tubes had sucked the poor frog up like a vacuum. "Riiibbiiit!" "Froggy!" Because of losing even more oxygen as he continued to spout the amphibian's name, Big sank that much more faster. He hastily and involuntarily dipped directly into the slipstream only to get sucked into the sunken battleship as well. BANG! "Ouch," Big said. CRASH! "Ouch," Big said once again while he was harshly launched out of an air duct. It was connected to one of the Egg Carrier's restrooms, and as Big got up, he made his way towards a nearby rack of towels. Just before drying himself off, however, he made sure to first check around for Froggy, but Big just couldn't find him. After leaving into the rounding hallways, and while still holding onto the towel, Big commented, "I bet even his napkins has the Doctor's weird face thingie all over them, too..." Egg Carrier It doesn't take Big long at all to somehow locate the camera room. Inside were lots and lots of screens for him to look at, but most of them were blank, cut off or showed off all of the remnants of the Egg Carrier's previous and fatal battle with Sonic. At the moment, there were only two televisions worth Big's time. They both had familiar faces on them. Big brought his hand up to Sonic's screen. He also saw that Tails was in the blurry shot as well. Even though Big knew that Sonic wouldn't be able to hear him, he still said to the screen, "Hey, little guy..." Big's attention was then diverted to the other screen where Dr. Eggman was making a grand reentrance. As usual, he was riding around on that strange, floating contraption, but this time, it seemed much bulkier. "Lights," he commanded. "Bots... and they're on! Most importantly, turn off that alarm! Just how long has that thing been running?" He scratched the back of his neck, and then flipped another switch while mentioning, "I'd better get to work..." In an instant, his machine that he sat on stopped flying in the air, and instead, it grew new, mechanical legs. It also sported a rocket launcher and a second, high powered machine gun. Armed and finely mustached, he proceeded. All the while, Big just kept on listening in, and heard him also state, "The Egg Carrier has been like this for far too long. Most of my defense robots are malfunctioning. Time to take out the trash..." Big then heard Tails say something on the other television. "Thank goodness the submarine didn't rupture, but you were right, Sonic! Eggman really is trying to salvage his old tech. What do you think it could be?" Sonic rubbed his nose, and said, "Knowing Eggface these days, and considering this is from when we nailed Chaos, it could be anything. We'd better hurry." Sonic dashed away, and Tails did his best to keep up. On another screen, Big faintly saw Dr. Eggman bouncing around and obliterating robots with swift precision. He then heard Dr. Eggman say with a somewhat agitated voice, "I must get to the boiler room. That's where that infernal frog will be." Hearing this made Big gasp, and his ears perked intuitively. "It must have some of Chaos still left within him. It's the only logical explanation as to why he keeps on eating my chaos emeralds!" Big took off quickly in order to locate a nearby map, and after that, he made his way to the boiler room. "Froggy," he called while allowing his voice to bounce. "Wait for me!" Lower Levels Huge, copper tubes lined the walls of the wide room, and Big walked right on in without a hitch. "Wow," he said as he entered. "The boiler room wasn't that hard to find! I even got here before the doctor. I wonder what's taking him so long to get here... Oh, well..." He came closer to the end of the walkway. To the left of Big were dysfunctional lasers that seemed to be inactive, and to the right of him was a huge, gaping hole. He shivered as he saw some water loosely pouring in, but Big couldn't allow himself to be distracted. "Froggy?" he asked suddenly, and loudly. Right in front of Big was his little buddy, but Froggy was encased in a glass dome. It didn't take Big very long to free Froggy, and afterwards, Big gave his best friend in the whole wide world a gentle hug. "I found you again again!" He just laughed and laughed his cares away while relief washed over him. He held Froggy up for a moment longer in both of his hands while saying, "You gotta stop wandering off like that!" Once he was done celebrating, Big looked all around, and double checked his surroundings thoroughly, but it didn't seem as though there were any other exits except for the passage that he had originally came from. "Oh, no, Froggy... I think we're lost..." Big turned back around to face the caged in wall, and for a second or two, he and Froggy merely stood there with no real or exact idea on what to do next. Luckily for the two of them, from up above, Sonic busted through, and bent the steel bars along his way. He landed directly in front of Big. From a majestic, kneeling position, Sonic arose, and just stared at the cat for a while before crossing his arms, and smiling. "Hey there, big guy! Haven't gotten yourself into any trouble, have you?" Big could only respond by giggling, and chuckling happily while saying, "Hey there, little guy..." Sonic then presented a fist for Big, and just when their fingers brotherly bumped against each other, another crashing sound echoed from nearby. "You two had better go on ahead! I've cleared the way, but I'm staying. I've got unfinished business to take care of." Before Big knew it, he was climbing, and climbing just in order to reach the hole that Sonic had created, but it hardly seemed as though they were getting any closer anytime soon. Finally, once they had pulled themselves up one last time, Big took a breather, and huffed while holding onto Froggy tightly. "That was tough," he said as he sat down. "Froggy, look... Sonic's taking on a bunch of the Doctor's robots!" Even though they should've left immediately, Big then offered, "Let's watch and see what happens..." Sonic spin slashed his enemies to pieces while also dodging a wide assortment of deadly projectiles including a wooden chair. "Hey, c'mon, Eggman! Is that the best you got?" He jumped into the air several times only to be repeatedly returned to the ground moments later. "Not so hot now, are you, Sonic?" The blue blur bounced clear off one of Eggman's more hearty robots, and observed its sharp, electric shielding. "Shoot! My attacks aren't going through..." He then looked up towards his floating nemesis, and decided to try and level with him for a change. "Say? Dr. Robotnik..." His hairless eyebrow rose. "What is it?" He sounded dastardly, and as though he might have something up his sleeve. Sonic thumbed at it, saying, "This thing's actually a real challenge. What is it?" Dr. Eggman just laughed, and said, "Fool... I'll bother telling you, but only because this'll be your end... After this, you'll be gone for good." He cleared his throat, and gestured with his hands, "I've devised a way to infuse the life-force of Chaos into this very machine!" Sonic then asked more dramatically, "What's that? Chaos? How's that even possible? There was nothing left of Chaos after I battled him personally! Eggman, what did you do?!" He then laughed, and said, "That exasperating pet frog of Big the Cat still had some of Chaos left within his bloodstreams. All I needed to do was remove it, and do you want to know what the cherry on the pie is, Sonic?" The hedgehog just kept on smiling, and asked modestly, "What is it?" "It's that I've also stuffed six of the chaos emeralds into this baby!" This last big reveal left Sonic just a little bit uneasy. "Just hand over your chaos emeralds, Sonic... or I'm going to quite literally blast you into a whole other universe." Sonic bluffed, "Okay, but what kinda universe is it? I might like it over there... especially if it means that I'll never have to deal with taking you down again!" Dr. Eggman just stared at his foe awkwardly, but he couldn't be sure if Sonic was being serious or not. "What does it matter? Just hand over the emerald... unless..." He leaned from the edges. "You don't have it, Sonic?" Shrugging, Sonic confessed, "I wish I did... I'd juts give it over, and figure out a way to win somehow in the end. This actually... works out in your favor. I just wish I could've said bye to Tails, and everyone else, too." He just beamed at Eggman cockily, and said, "Last battle for the ages..." The teleportation device fired without warning, and for Big, it was like watching events in slow motion. Sonic dodged every shot just in time, and he seemed to have things under complete control for the most part, but Big wouldn't actually have the luxury of seeing this thrilling fight all the way through to the very end. That was because of just one, single stray line of shimmering light that skimmed through the air, and went right towards him. It struck Big's chest with a radiant flash of odd and mystifying aura. Whether or not Sonic managed to stop the Doctor no longer mattered in the slightest to the onlooking, fluffy cat, because he and his pet frog were then and there bound for somewhere else. Zone Two: Everfree Swamp ~Everfree Swamp~ The Entrance to the Castle of the Two Sisters Shimmering rays of the sun's light reached through many green and vibrant leafs that dangled from high above the grassy ground. Big just sat at the bottom of the stone stairs that led back to the old and crumpling castle, and Froggy sat in front of him. The cage laid next to Big's feet, and he then told his tiny friend, "Yep, I'd say we did pretty good in there. Wouldn't you agree, Froggy?" Knowing that he was the rescuer of several young, trapped souls made Big laugh gleefully for a few moments. "Now then... We gotta figure out where we are... and how we're going to get back home." He took a step forth, and then looked left, and then he did the same thing only this time, he looked to the right. "I can't see anything... and these woods don't look anything like the ones back in the Mystic Ruins... I wonder what we're going to do, Froggy..." He took his time as he placed Froggy back inside of the cage, and Big then said, "I guess... we'll just have to keep on going until we find somebody that can help figure out what happened to us." While getting up, Big also made sure that all of his belongings were securely strapped in place, and he then started walking forth while saying, "This sure is a nice forest, though." "Ribbit..." "Hmm..." Big had to give that one a little bit more thought. "I suppose you're right, Froggy. It's so much more dense, like a swamp if anything." Birds chirped above Big's head as he went along the path. There was water all along the sides of where he walked, and he said, "Better not fall down... I didn't bring along my green life belt this time. I really didn't think I'd need it. Oops..." The walk was nice, and even as the road confusingly twisted and turned, Big somehow managed to stay on track, and on course nearly the whole way there. In time, however, he came upon something that would stop him and his pet frog completely. It was a fourteen-way fork in the road. All around Big were branching and sandy streets, and right in the middle of the clearing was a lone bench to sit on. Behind it stood a tall lamp post with many nailed signs, but they were all too old to read, and quite a few were missing. "Umm... Which way, Froggy?" Big asked openly while unlatching the frog from his back. He held onto the black bars that were wrapped with tiny fence wiring, and huffed. "Uhh..." It was quiet, and even as he sat down, the area around him seemed pleasing to say the least, but there was a feeling of doubt that Big couldn't shake. He just sat there staring blankly at the center of the ground where all the paths made a star. He blinked at the gravel a few times, and breathed slowly. He understood his situation, and knew that he couldn't take any of these paths, so he just waited patiently. "They say, Froggy," he said shakily. "Whenever you're lost... stay put." He blinked with worried eyes, and just watched as the leafs fell from a few nearby trees. "That's... all we can do now." He then gulped, and mentioned, "We're probably a long ways from where we came from, but... this swamp sort of reminds me of home." A flock of birds flew overhead. "Although I don't really mind making a new hut all over again, I thought we'd be back by now." He then tapped his thumbs together thoughtfully. "It's getting late..." He blinked nervously. "Wait a minute... W-where am I going to sleep tonight? I don't think I have enough time to make myself a bed!" Rubbing the wood beneath his gloved hands, he commented, "I guess this'll have to do, but... it's awful rough, and old... Oh, Froggy... What have we gotten ourselves into?" The sun was finally beginning to go down, and as it does, the street lamp illuminated the purple cat and his green pet, Froggy. That was where they remained for about two and a half hours, waiting while Big dozed periodically. Froggy could be heard croaking every so often, and sometimes, Froggy got to feed on a few glow bugs that somehow found their way into the cage. The bubble that had formed underneath Big's nose popped, and he awoke with a starling gasp. Raindrops began to fall, and it created a mist all around them. While it continued, the cat just sighed, "I'm just not sure, Froggy... What should I do?" He didn't get an answer. "By now..." he yawned before saying, "I thought someone would've showed up..." Big nodded off again, and for only a moment, he dreamed of a lot of things like Station Square, and Twinkle Park, and most of all, he dreamed about all of his friends. He dreamed about Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, too. Of course there was Amy, Cream and Cheese as well, and just when he envisioned himself being way back on the sunny, coastal beach, Big was awoken by a voice. It belonged to a girl. She asked Big the Cat, "Uhm, scuse' me, sir?" "Huh?" He blinked his eyes a few times, and looked downwards. Before him stood a somewhat small horse with a blond mane and a gray coat. Her eyes were askew, and she was also accompanied by a Chao who slept on her back. The Chao similarly had gray and yellow colors. She stared at the large cat with her right eye for a few seconds before asking him forwardly, "Are you lost?" He stayed silent at first, but the pony seemed to already know the answer to her question. She was now staring at him using her left eye. "My name's Derpy Hooves... It's very nice to meet you! What's your name?" He spoke up, "Big... I'm... B-Big the Cat. This here... is Froggy, and, uh..." He admitted, "We came from the swamp over there. Do you know which way to go?" Derpy merely giggled happily, and just as the rain ended momentarily, she said, "Ponyville is this way! We'd better hurry before it pours on us some more!" She took off, but Derpy then giddily stopped only a few trots away from Big to wait up for her new friend. It only took Big a second or two for him to latch Froggy back onto his rope. Afterwards, the two took off for town. "So," Derpy voiced. "You're a cat, huh?" Zone Three: Seaside Plateau ~Seaside plateau~ The Path to Ponyville Water rippled against the sandy shores, and the wind was gentle that day. Numerous palm trees towered high above the beach, and seagulls could be heard and seen everywhere. The air tasted and smelled strongly of seasalt. Derpy Hooves and Big the Cat walked along the path, and they lightly talked with one another as they went. "You're from another world?" Derpy asked with shock, "How'd you get here?" Big responded by saying, "If you don't know who Sonic the Hedgehog is... then I think I really must be in another world. Sonic's been everywhere on our planet thanks to his amazing speed. As far as how I got here..." He scratched the top of his head as he voiced, "I'm just not sure how that happened, but it must've been because of the doctor." Derpy questioned onwards, "You mean that same exact doctor that's always going after your friends?" Big nodded, and mentioned, "He can be a real meanie sometimes. It must've been him... Oh well..." He shrugged, and felt some mist from the ocean grace his fur. "Nothing I can do about it now... except fish..." He then promptly got out his fishing pole. While he got everything ready, he gently placed Froggy down, too, and in very little time at all, Big was casting out his hook and lure towards the wide and vast sea. "So, this world only has ponies in it?" Big asked while glancing downwards at his companion. Derpy nodded, and said, "Yep, and there're these Chao that we like to take care of." Big said, "We actually have a few of those in my world, too." He laughed, "I know a cute little bunny rabbit that's the same size as you. Her name's Cream, and she would love it here." Derpy rose a hoof, and questioned, "A... bunny... that's as big as me?" She shrugged. "I guess... I shouldn't really be all that surprised." "What's his name?" Big asked kindly. Derpy gasped, "Oh... My Chao's name is Bubble. He's had a very, very long day, so he's all tuckered out. I'm a delivery pony, by the way." She blinked, and her eyes rotated. "I was busy delivering something to Zecora. She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest. Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing I bumped into you when I did because not that many ponies come through here." Big simply asked, "They don't?" "No, silly," Derpy responded with a slight giggle. "It's dangerous over there... Town is just along this beach. Once we get to the top of the hill, we'll be at the rails. I don't tend to use them since I can fly." She proceeded to spread her wings so that Big could see, and she then stated, "They're used mostly by unicorns and earth ponies as modes of transportation." Big nodded, and redirected his attention back out at the sea in front of him to say, "These rails sound a whole lot like the ones I have in my world." It went quiet after that. Wave after wave slowly went by, but Big still remained stationary where he sat. The current changed, and as it did, Big asked his new friend, "Wait... there are unicorns here, too?" Derpy laughed, and then said, "Of course there are! You're funny, Big, and you're fun to be with!" The cat just laughed, and he soon got up. He had to increase his speed as well just so that he could keep up with the pony. "This reminds me of running with Amy." "Is that another one of your friends, Big?" Derpy asked this shortly after taking off for flight. She stayed relatively low to the sandy ground, though, so that she could keep on talking with Big. "Yup," he replied after putting away his equipment. "She's another hedgehog like Sonic, but they're way different. Anyways, enough about my world, Derpy. I wanna know even more about yours!" Derpy just laughed, and while the two of them then traveled along the long stretching beach together, she told Big about Ponyville, and about the other surrounding towns. They passed by tiny, red crabs, and sail boats, and airplanes that flew far up above in the sky. "Finally," Derpy told Big. "There's Canterlot Palace! It's one of the greatest places I've ever been to!" Big nodded, and said, "It sounds huge. Is it a large town? I tend to get lost in large towns..." "Well," Derpy said comfortingly, "We're not going there today, Big. I'm taking you to Ponyville. Remember?" He slowed down, and stopped. Derpy turned around to ask him, "What's wrong?" "Is that it? Right over there?" He pointed, and Derpy just glanced at the shimmering beacon that could faintly be spotted over the horizon. "Yessir, it is, Big! Tee hee!" She brought both of her hooves up to her cheeks excitedly, and squealed. Meanwhile, the cat just asked her, "Are we gonna go fishing again soon, too?" They soon came up to the long, and stretching electric cables that connected the city to the mountains, and then the very forests as well. They stretched for what seemed like miles, and miles. "We gotta ride on those?" Big asked before glancing down at the insanely long fall. "But... if we fall off..." Derpy flashed her wings at Big, and boasted, "I can catch you, and bring you back up!" He gulped. "That might work... but I'm way bigger than you! How're you gonna- Whoa!" Derpy zoomed on over to the humongous kitty, and miraculously hoisted him up with ease and poise. "Heh," She huffed. "You're a heck of a lot more heavy than you look... b-but, I've... I've done w-worse! GAH!" She dropped Big flat on his butt, and collapsed to the ground, saying, "Oh... k-kay, so... if you fall... Big? Would you do me a really huge favor? Whatever you do, don't fall again for at least a few minutes. Otherwise, we might not be able to make it across safely." She smirked at him, and asked, "Think you can do that?" He blinked, and rhetorically asked the pretty little pony, "We're really doing this, aren't we? Hmm... I guess it's time to get serious!" Zone One: Ghost Trot ~Ghost Trot~ The Dark and Hollow Basement A distinctly familiar, and ghastly smell wafted by Big's nose. The outside of the glass windows were dark as night, and different. The plants were all blood red, and the soil seemed tainted to the point of no return. Blue candles illuminated a round room which contained only two doors. Big knew right away that he was no longer within Dr. Eggman's ship. Despite never having been within this place, something about his new surroundings seemed oddly reminiscent to a haunted castle he had visited not too long ago. "Is this the same place...?" Big took another look around, and shook his head. He then said, "Nope... I've certainly never been here before. It just looks the same... That's all... But, still, where do I go?" He looked down at Froggy who remained rather stationary on the ground, and then, the frog began to bounce forth. He leaped to the door on Big's left, and that's when the cat asked, "You really think that we should go that way?" He just watched as the door opened quickly, and it then closed immediately again after Froggy had leaped to the next room over. It took Big a moment for him to react. "..." He then blinked. "FROGGY!!!" In an instant, he came up to the door, and panicked. "Open up, will ya! My buddy's in there!" He started to try and lift the door with his hands. All the while, he kept yelling, "I just got him back! I only just got my Froggy back, I tell ya!" Thanks to Big's impressive strength, it came open in time. Although, once he was at last on the other side, and out of that odd, round room, he just stopped while staring, and shivered a little bit. "This castle is bigger than I thought..." Big stood atop what looked like a horse's hoof, but it was made of sheer stone. The runway once again had those crimson plants aligning either sides of it, and in the distance were huge, orange pumpkins that sat atop other familiar, hoof-like pillars. In the background, Big could scarcely see anything else except red, rolling hills, and a few droves of overgrown pumpkin patches. The scarce amounts of trees that somewhat dotted the landscape were mostly bare, and seemed to have daunting faces scratched into them. Big ran along as quickly as he could, and as he reached a large loop, he commented while upside down, "I wonder where froggy has wandered off to now..." He then came up to a bounce pad, and imminently found himself suspended in the air. After landing, he'd see Froggy on another nearby platform. It was located directly in front of the one he was on, but the jump was far too great for Big to make on his own. He yelled energetically, "Hold on, Froggy! I'm on my way!" In the middle of both platforms were all too familiar, round orbs with white, illegible writings on them. The closer Big got to his, the more and more it shined. The words almost seemed to mysteriously hover outside of where they had actually been written. He swatted it with his fishing rod, and as the switch activated, Big felt himself begin to float upwards in the air. Like the cat he was, Big landed on his two feet with ease, but he was now upside down. Luckily, the roof had no gaps for him to worry about, so Big came running on over to where Froggy could be seen. It was then a simple matter for Big to use his fishing rod once more to reach the other orb. He once again was falling down, and landed with a huff. "There we go... Now then... Froggy?" He looked at the pet amphibian. "Ribbit?" "What was the big idea, little buddy? Why'd you run off like that?" The frog just stayed where it was. "Well... anyways, ever since I got here... I've been thinking." He turned to the towering, two ton door that was in front of him, and opened it with one, single shove. Within were remnants of obvious mechanical torture, and tools for the blatant infliction of pain. Shackles, and stockades, and tomes lined a couple of the walls, and Big then continued with what he was saying. He also placed his rolled up fists on his hips, and beamed left and right while scanning the area. "Since we're a long ways from home, Froggy, and because I've lost count of just how many times you've tried to escape... Maybe it might be a good idea for me to finally make you a carrying cage!" He got to work without delay, and used whatever materials he could find. However, Big wouldn't stop just there. He worked tirelessly to make sure that Froggy's cage could be as comfortable for his little pal as possible. Once he was done, he gracefully snatched up the little guy and voiced loudly, "Woo hoo! Now I'll never lose you! And you seem... so happy in there!" He gasped. "That must be it! You were just getting tired, and didn't want to bounce around anymore! You must've wanted me to carry you the whole way to the boat shop, huh? Am I right? Did I figure it out, froggy?" Big peered inside, and through all of the small, iron bars. Froggy had already settled down to take a nice nap, so Big guessed that he must've been correct in assuming this after all. "Yahoo!" Big ecstatically celebrated his success, but only for about two or three seconds. His voice had bellowed a bit too loudly, and as a result, a dozen or so ghost ponies awoke from their graves. Each and every single one of them sported a translucent, white and gray hue. Big could even see the skulls, and bones which reached all they way down to each of their swirly, ectoplasmic tails. Naturally, he raised his fishing rod in one hand. While he placed Froggy away, he also reached for his ukulele with the other. "I'll d-defend myself if I h-have to..." They just got that much more closer. "I've d-dealt with ghosts like you b-before!" His words didn't seem to be working. "Don't... make me-" He cowered, and then, a few of them grabbed hold of Big. A sudden, and thoroughly undeniable sense of safety, and relaxation came over him, and instead of fear, and terror, Big began to feel oddly calm. He at first had to close his eyes because of how scared he initially was. After opening them back up to take another look, though, he saw that each and every single one of the ghosts that floated in front of him were all young, shy foals and colts. They were completely innocent, and incapable of inflicting any such harm towards anyone or anything. The cat merely huffed as more and more ghost ponies approached him, and they soon kindly brought him and his pet to a nearby, wooden door. It appeared as though it hadn't really been used in over a century. One last time, Big sighed, but he dared not say another word. He knew what each and every one of these lost and lonely souls wanted of him. Without much hesitation, Big the Cat selflessly freed the spirits by opening the way for all of them to leave alongside him, too. Source MaterialThis chapter serves as the sound test room, and it also lists a few interesting, and helpful key notes regarding the story and its development. The Source Material is also frequently used to help regulate the pacing. *This will be updated along with the story. Big's First Adventure Big's Voice (Heroes) Big's Theme Song For the next part, the "Session" is what I listened to while I actively wrote each of the chapters, and unless you read faster than Sonic can run, the "Story Song" is what you're supposed to listen to while you read. Mystic Ruins Session Mystic Ruins Story Song The Open Ocean Session The Open Ocean Story Song Egg Carrier Session Egg Carrier Story Song Lover Levels Session Lower Levels Story Song Ghost Trot Session Ghost Trot Story Song Everfree Swamp Session Everfree Swamp Story Song Seaside Plateau Session Seaside Plateau Story Song Notes and World Building Info for the Readers: Big refers to Dr. Eggman mostly as just, "The Doctor," or, "Eggman." The timeline for this story is set right in between the events of Sonic Heroes and Sonic Riders. Froggy has irremovable remnants of Chaos still coursing through his veins, and this is why he can't help but to swallow the chaos emeralds. The Equestria that Big visits actually isn't the spitting image of the show. This will become very clear to readers after they reach what is essentially The Castle of the Two Sisters and The Everfree zones. Most of the layout is very Sonic the Hedgehog video game based, and this was decided early on for the sake of the story's overall arching theme. Big has already demonstrated that he doesn't just rely on fishing alone in order to save his pal, Froggy. He'll do whatever he has to do just to be reunited with his little buddy. All members of the main cast from My Little Pony will have their very own chao that they take care of. *Check back after each chapter update for more content under Source Material.
Big's Big Prologue Mystic Ruins Plastic and wooden boats lined the walls of the shop. Each and every one of them were ready for aquatic use, and in front of the cash register belonging to the boat shop found just underneath the train station stood a skinny, middle-aged man. He was busy attending to his next customer. "You s-see, sir..." In front of him towered a stark figure. He was a purple, heavyweight bobcat with an indifferently colored, violet striped tail which complimented his broad and matching striped limbs. His chest and whiskers were white, and he wore a pair of oddly baggy, tanned gloves. He also had on a belt with a shiny, golden buckle securely fastened around the waist, and loosely wrapped around his pudgy feet were a couple of old, rugged beach sandals. Big the Cat also adorned a thick, rope strap that coiled snugly around his torso. It secured three prized belongings that were very important to Big. One of the items that was latched to his back was a fancy ukulele. There was also his signature long fishing rod, and in front of that was his broad beach umbrella. Big ominously stared blankly at the sales person. He didn't say a word for a long time. Big then merely kept on blinking, and stared at the many, many rows and rows of multicolored boats. He eventually pointed at one of them, and said, "I wanna ride on this one!" The sales person noticeably stumbled after hearing this. "Again, y-you see, s-sir... Mr...?" Big blinked, and waited a moment before coming to his senses. "Oh," he exhaled with a surprised expression. "I'm Big. I'm a cat, and I just really need a boat so that I can go fishing with Froggy." "Err... With Froggy? Who might Froggy be?" Suddenly, and to the sales person's shock, Big's pet Froggy leaped out from behind Big, and landed directly on top of the bobcat's round and slightly fuzzy head. "That's Froggy up there," Big then exclaimed with a bit of excitement in his voice. He also pointed, saying, "He's my best friend in the whole, wide world, and we've been through a lot together." The person in front of Big cleared his throat, and then said, "Well, that's all very good and nice, but... I've g-gotta s-sell you the boat, actually. You've been dodging my question this whole time." He tried to stand his ground, but Big was a mile above him. He was covered with the cat's entire shadow. "Do you have any money with you so that you can even buy this boat?" Big stood there, and blinked, and he then patted his sides as if he had pockets. "Nope," he said with a shake of the head. "Do you take rings? I've stashed about two or three back home. I keep them tucked under my bed." The salesman stumbled. "What's with you fluffy types and always trying to pawn those ring things off to everybody all the time?" He sighed, and then saw Big advance, but Big went right passed him in order to gaze at all of the boats once again. "It's been a while since I've been fishing way out in the ocean," he commented. "I fished non-stop when that big ship was there." The salesman scratched his head in wonderment, and then vocally asked Big, "Wait a minute... You're not that same cat, are you...?" "Hmm?" Big hummed curiously. "I think that... if I'm not mistaken, that was at least, like... three years ago," the sales person realized. "So you're... that same bobcat... that helped Sonic and all of his other friends while they took down Chaos and Dr. Eggman! Right?" Big just blankly blinked some more, and then, he nodded happily. "Oh," he sighed with a smile. "I remember now! Yup, that sure was me, but mostly, I liked going out to that huge, large boat that used to be over there. Now..." He looked around aimlessly. "I just need a smaller boat, but which one should I ride?" Unable to contain his rising anger any longer, the salesman tightly grabbed hold of his fishing hat, and growled for a moment. Soon enough, however, his groans would turn into shrieks. He hastily realized that one of his sharp hooks had pricked his thumb. These noises caused the manager of the establishment to come climbing up from the wooden latter. He asked as soon as his head popped up, "What's all the commotion?" "Boss!" The salesman panicked while he bandaged himself. "This humongous cat wants to buy a boat!" "Then let him! His money's good here." "With rings?" The manager was just about to turn back around when he heard this. He grumbled, and then, he took another glance at the violet and purple feline who giggled quite innocently. The sales person then also told him, "I think I'd rather just give him a boat since... well..." "Out with it." "Y-you see, I believe he might be friends with Sonic the Hedgehog!" There was a calming silence that followed, and the manager just nodded. He then breathed towards Big, and he then kindly stated, "A friend of Sonic the Hedgehog is more than deserving of a complimentary watercraft. Which one would you like?" The bobcat responded with, "I don't need a watercraft. I just need a boat." Following their conversations, Big somehow managed to pick out possibly the most expensive boat there was, but luckily for both the sales person and the shop owner, Big couldn't exactly understand or accurately figure out how the keys worked. Because of this, he decided to go with an old fashioned rowing boat. Once he had descended down the latter, he was amongst the many, many floating docks that occupied the open ocean's tides. "How about this one?" The manager offered Big a much smaller boat while gesturing to it with his arms. "That one looks great," Big merrily muttered as he came closer, and began inspecting the bow. "By the way," the manager said idly. "Those are some impressive stripes!" Big just watched as the manager patted him on one of his powerful forearms. "These aren't natural stripes," Big openly voiced to the manager. "It's a disease." The cat stared as the manager slowly removed his hand. "Wh-what? Really?" Big came in closer to say, "It's slowly taking over my body..." It grew grimly quiet as the manager tried to ask Big, "Is it... c-contag-" "Look, Froggy," Big blurted out loudly as he pointed giddily towards his newest possession. "It even comes with its own set of oars! That means we don't have to go home at all. Since we brought along all of the fishing gear that we're gonna need, why don't we both hop right on in and get moving?" He and his pet, Froggy did just that, and as they sailed away rather peacefully with their free row boat, the manager that was still standing underneath his store just stared on while squinting his eyes to shield his vision from the sun's blinding rays. The Open Ocean Water totally surrounded Big and Froggy. It didn't matter wherever the bobcat and his friend looked because the whole underneath of their boat was blue. It went on forever, but that was just fine for Big. It was a windy and sunny day, and Big could hear the faint sounds of distant waves. He smiled, and with a mere flick of the wrist, he sent his line flying as far out into the open ocean as he possibly could. "The past weeks have been going by so fast," He commented. He then sat back down, and carefully propped his fishing rod so that he could loosely keep an eye on it. After all, he didn't expect to catch hardly anything this early on, so he relaxed some more, and gently patted Froggy on the back. "It's all the same, Froggy. Y'know what I'm trying to say? The bright sky and shining sun... I just have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day." "Ribbit," Froggy croaked. "Mmmh?" Big adjusted himself in his seat. "Yep! I know what you're saying, little pal. It sure is a nice breeze. The sun is out, but it's not too hot, and everything is just so nice!" He closed his eyes, and although he might not've been able to spell tranquility, he slipped right into it. The sounds and distinct smell of the ocean's waves always helped make Big feel beyond calmed, and they soothed him almost to sleep. A tropical note was then struck rather suddenly. Big had pulled out his ukulele, and started playing a tune to match the breezy atmosphere surrounding him and Froggy. The time went on like this for quite a while, but eventually, Big would feel his fishing rod jiggling. He looked at it while somewhat sourly halting his performance. He prayed that this wouldn't turn out to just be a false alarm after all, and to his overwhelming joy, it wasn't. He had caught something for sure, so he tucked upwards. To Big's surprise, his lure came flying out of the clear, blue water rather easily. At the end of it shined a familiar, green light, and as it fell right into Big's opened, gloved palm, he gasped. "It's... gotta be one of those, uh... uhh..." He scratched his head and floppy ears momentarily, and tried to remember what they were actually called. "Oh, yeah! It's a chaos emerald. Right?" He looked towards his partner, but Froggy didn't answer. Instead, the amphibian leaped nimbly, and used its sticky lips to snatch the emerald right out of Big's grasp. Froggy then dipped into the water with a wet flop. That's where Froggy presumably swallowed the emerald, and this was because the water had immediately stopped glowing brightly. Big just sat there in his spot while shaking his head. In a confused state, he then held onto his boat for a second more before voicing aloud, "What... happened? Froggy?" He looked over the edge, and just faintly managed to see Froggy sinking further and further down. He just couldn't believe his eyes. Soon enough, Froggy had disappeared completely into the murky depths below, and for a moment, all Big could do was stare. "Not... again," he simply said while feeling a breeze as it lightly pressed against his back. Big took just two steps in preparation, and then, he grabbed hold of his nose along with some of his whiskers while performing possibly the most magnificent cannonball of all time. The waves were so powerful that they juggled and flipped Big and Froggy's boat around a couple of times. Remarkably, once it landed, the boat was somehow right side up with both of its oars still in their respective holders. As Big sunk further and further down, he had to move himself from left to right in order to catch the rising air bubbles. Otherwise, if he didn't, he'd surely run out of oxygen and drown. The more he descended downwards, the more and more anxious Big felt. He'd never gone this far below the ocean before, but all he could really concentrate on was somehow catching up to his little buddy, Froggy. "I hope I didn't pass him," Big thought while glancing around, but amongst all of that blue and vast water, the was nothing else but himself. "I'd better keep going..." Soon enough, something strange happened. Big began hearing a rather odd noise sounding in the background. The closer to the bottom he got, the louder it became, and eventually, he started seeing just why this was happening fathoms and fathoms below the surface. It was the Egg Carrier of all things, and based off the sounds that it was making, it appeared that its automated distress signal had been triggered. With a bubble leaving his murmuring lips, Big asked aloud, "Froggy?" Directly below Big was his friend, but from the looks of things, Froggy didn't seem as though he was about to willingly swim back to his daring owner. One of the Egg Carrier's giant, industrial tubes had sucked the poor frog up like a vacuum. "Riiibbiiit!" "Froggy!" Because of losing even more oxygen as he continued to spout the amphibian's name, Big sank that much more faster. He hastily and involuntarily dipped directly into the slipstream only to get sucked into the sunken battleship as well. BANG! "Ouch," Big said. CRASH! "Ouch," Big said once again while he was harshly launched out of an air duct. It was connected to one of the Egg Carrier's restrooms, and as Big got up, he made his way towards a nearby rack of towels. Just before drying himself off, however, he made sure to first check around for Froggy, but Big just couldn't find him. After leaving into the rounding hallways, and while still holding onto the towel, Big commented, "I bet even his napkins has the Doctor's weird face thingie all over them, too..." Egg Carrier It doesn't take Big long at all to somehow locate the camera room. Inside were lots and lots of screens for him to look at, but most of them were blank, cut off or showed off all of the remnants of the Egg Carrier's previous and fatal battle with Sonic. At the moment, there were only two televisions worth Big's time. They both had familiar faces on them. Big brought his hand up to Sonic's screen. He also saw that Tails was in the blurry shot as well. Even though Big knew that Sonic wouldn't be able to hear him, he still said to the screen, "Hey, little guy..." Big's attention was then diverted to the other screen where Dr. Eggman was making a grand reentrance. As usual, he was riding around on that strange, floating contraption, but this time, it seemed much bulkier. "Lights," he commanded. "Bots... and they're on! Most importantly, turn off that alarm! Just how long has that thing been running?" He scratched the back of his neck, and then flipped another switch while mentioning, "I'd better get to work..." In an instant, his machine that he sat on stopped flying in the air, and instead, it grew new, mechanical legs. It also sported a rocket launcher and a second, high powered machine gun. Armed and finely mustached, he proceeded. All the while, Big just kept on listening in, and heard him also state, "The Egg Carrier has been like this for far too long. Most of my defense robots are malfunctioning. Time to take out the trash..." Big then heard Tails say something on the other television. "Thank goodness the submarine didn't rupture, but you were right, Sonic! Eggman really is trying to salvage his old tech. What do you think it could be?" Sonic rubbed his nose, and said, "Knowing Eggface these days, and considering this is from when we nailed Chaos, it could be anything. We'd better hurry." Sonic dashed away, and Tails did his best to keep up. On another screen, Big faintly saw Dr. Eggman bouncing around and obliterating robots with swift precision. He then heard Dr. Eggman say with a somewhat agitated voice, "I must get to the boiler room. That's where that infernal frog will be." Hearing this made Big gasp, and his ears perked intuitively. "It must have some of Chaos still left within him. It's the only logical explanation as to why he keeps on eating my chaos emeralds!" Big took off quickly in order to locate a nearby map, and after that, he made his way to the boiler room. "Froggy," he called while allowing his voice to bounce. "Wait for me!" Lower Levels Huge, copper tubes lined the walls of the wide room, and Big walked right on in without a hitch. "Wow," he said as he entered. "The boiler room wasn't that hard to find! I even got here before the doctor. I wonder what's taking him so long to get here... Oh, well..." He came closer to the end of the walkway. To the left of Big were dysfunctional lasers that seemed to be inactive, and to the right of him was a huge, gaping hole. He shivered as he saw some water loosely pouring in, but Big couldn't allow himself to be distracted. "Froggy?" he asked suddenly, and loudly. Right in front of Big was his little buddy, but Froggy was encased in a glass dome. It didn't take Big very long to free Froggy, and afterwards, Big gave his best friend in the whole wide world a gentle hug. "I found you again again!" He just laughed and laughed his cares away while relief washed over him. He held Froggy up for a moment longer in both of his hands while saying, "You gotta stop wandering off like that!" Once he was done celebrating, Big looked all around, and double checked his surroundings thoroughly, but it didn't seem as though there were any other exits except for the passage that he had originally came from. "Oh, no, Froggy... I think we're lost..." Big turned back around to face the caged in wall, and for a second or two, he and Froggy merely stood there with no real or exact idea on what to do next. Luckily for the two of them, from up above, Sonic busted through, and bent the steel bars along his way. He landed directly in front of Big. From a majestic, kneeling position, Sonic arose, and just stared at the cat for a while before crossing his arms, and smiling. "Hey there, big guy! Haven't gotten yourself into any trouble, have you?" Big could only respond by giggling, and chuckling happily while saying, "Hey there, little guy..." Sonic then presented a fist for Big, and just when their fingers brotherly bumped against each other, another crashing sound echoed from nearby. "You two had better go on ahead! I've cleared the way, but I'm staying. I've got unfinished business to take care of." Before Big knew it, he was climbing, and climbing just in order to reach the hole that Sonic had created, but it hardly seemed as though they were getting any closer anytime soon. Finally, once they had pulled themselves up one last time, Big took a breather, and huffed while holding onto Froggy tightly. "That was tough," he said as he sat down. "Froggy, look... Sonic's taking on a bunch of the Doctor's robots!" Even though they should've left immediately, Big then offered, "Let's watch and see what happens..." Sonic spin slashed his enemies to pieces while also dodging a wide assortment of deadly projectiles including a wooden chair. "Hey, c'mon, Eggman! Is that the best you got?" He jumped into the air several times only to be repeatedly returned to the ground moments later. "Not so hot now, are you, Sonic?" The blue blur bounced clear off one of Eggman's more hearty robots, and observed its sharp, electric shielding. "Shoot! My attacks aren't going through..." He then looked up towards his floating nemesis, and decided to try and level with him for a change. "Say? Dr. Robotnik..." His hairless eyebrow rose. "What is it?" He sounded dastardly, and as though he might have something up his sleeve. Sonic thumbed at it, saying, "This thing's actually a real challenge. What is it?" Dr. Eggman just laughed, and said, "Fool... I'll bother telling you, but only because this'll be your end... After this, you'll be gone for good." He cleared his throat, and gestured with his hands, "I've devised a way to infuse the life-force of Chaos into this very machine!" Sonic then asked more dramatically, "What's that? Chaos? How's that even possible? There was nothing left of Chaos after I battled him personally! Eggman, what did you do?!" He then laughed, and said, "That exasperating pet frog of Big the Cat still had some of Chaos left within his bloodstreams. All I needed to do was remove it, and do you want to know what the cherry on the pie is, Sonic?" The hedgehog just kept on smiling, and asked modestly, "What is it?" "It's that I've also stuffed six of the chaos emeralds into this baby!" This last big reveal left Sonic just a little bit uneasy. "Just hand over your chaos emeralds, Sonic... or I'm going to quite literally blast you into a whole other universe." Sonic bluffed, "Okay, but what kinda universe is it? I might like it over there... especially if it means that I'll never have to deal with taking you down again!" Dr. Eggman just stared at his foe awkwardly, but he couldn't be sure if Sonic was being serious or not. "What does it matter? Just hand over the emerald... unless..." He leaned from the edges. "You don't have it, Sonic?" Shrugging, Sonic confessed, "I wish I did... I'd juts give it over, and figure out a way to win somehow in the end. This actually... works out in your favor. I just wish I could've said bye to Tails, and everyone else, too." He just beamed at Eggman cockily, and said, "Last battle for the ages..." The teleportation device fired without warning, and for Big, it was like watching events in slow motion. Sonic dodged every shot just in time, and he seemed to have things under complete control for the most part, but Big wouldn't actually have the luxury of seeing this thrilling fight all the way through to the very end. That was because of just one, single stray line of shimmering light that skimmed through the air, and went right towards him. It struck Big's chest with a radiant flash of odd and mystifying aura. Whether or not Sonic managed to stop the Doctor no longer mattered in the slightest to the onlooking, fluffy cat, because he and his pet frog were then and there bound for somewhere else.
Zone Two: Everfree Swamp ~Everfree Swamp~ The Entrance to the Castle of the Two Sisters Shimmering rays of the sun's light reached through many green and vibrant leafs that dangled from high above the grassy ground. Big just sat at the bottom of the stone stairs that led back to the old and crumpling castle, and Froggy sat in front of him. The cage laid next to Big's feet, and he then told his tiny friend, "Yep, I'd say we did pretty good in there. Wouldn't you agree, Froggy?" Knowing that he was the rescuer of several young, trapped souls made Big laugh gleefully for a few moments. "Now then... We gotta figure out where we are... and how we're going to get back home." He took a step forth, and then looked left, and then he did the same thing only this time, he looked to the right. "I can't see anything... and these woods don't look anything like the ones back in the Mystic Ruins... I wonder what we're going to do, Froggy..." He took his time as he placed Froggy back inside of the cage, and Big then said, "I guess... we'll just have to keep on going until we find somebody that can help figure out what happened to us." While getting up, Big also made sure that all of his belongings were securely strapped in place, and he then started walking forth while saying, "This sure is a nice forest, though." "Ribbit..." "Hmm..." Big had to give that one a little bit more thought. "I suppose you're right, Froggy. It's so much more dense, like a swamp if anything." Birds chirped above Big's head as he went along the path. There was water all along the sides of where he walked, and he said, "Better not fall down... I didn't bring along my green life belt this time. I really didn't think I'd need it. Oops..." The walk was nice, and even as the road confusingly twisted and turned, Big somehow managed to stay on track, and on course nearly the whole way there. In time, however, he came upon something that would stop him and his pet frog completely. It was a fourteen-way fork in the road. All around Big were branching and sandy streets, and right in the middle of the clearing was a lone bench to sit on. Behind it stood a tall lamp post with many nailed signs, but they were all too old to read, and quite a few were missing. "Umm... Which way, Froggy?" Big asked openly while unlatching the frog from his back. He held onto the black bars that were wrapped with tiny fence wiring, and huffed. "Uhh..." It was quiet, and even as he sat down, the area around him seemed pleasing to say the least, but there was a feeling of doubt that Big couldn't shake. He just sat there staring blankly at the center of the ground where all the paths made a star. He blinked at the gravel a few times, and breathed slowly. He understood his situation, and knew that he couldn't take any of these paths, so he just waited patiently. "They say, Froggy," he said shakily. "Whenever you're lost... stay put." He blinked with worried eyes, and just watched as the leafs fell from a few nearby trees. "That's... all we can do now." He then gulped, and mentioned, "We're probably a long ways from where we came from, but... this swamp sort of reminds me of home." A flock of birds flew overhead. "Although I don't really mind making a new hut all over again, I thought we'd be back by now." He then tapped his thumbs together thoughtfully. "It's getting late..." He blinked nervously. "Wait a minute... W-where am I going to sleep tonight? I don't think I have enough time to make myself a bed!" Rubbing the wood beneath his gloved hands, he commented, "I guess this'll have to do, but... it's awful rough, and old... Oh, Froggy... What have we gotten ourselves into?" The sun was finally beginning to go down, and as it does, the street lamp illuminated the purple cat and his green pet, Froggy. That was where they remained for about two and a half hours, waiting while Big dozed periodically. Froggy could be heard croaking every so often, and sometimes, Froggy got to feed on a few glow bugs that somehow found their way into the cage. The bubble that had formed underneath Big's nose popped, and he awoke with a starling gasp. Raindrops began to fall, and it created a mist all around them. While it continued, the cat just sighed, "I'm just not sure, Froggy... What should I do?" He didn't get an answer. "By now..." he yawned before saying, "I thought someone would've showed up..." Big nodded off again, and for only a moment, he dreamed of a lot of things like Station Square, and Twinkle Park, and most of all, he dreamed about all of his friends. He dreamed about Sonic, Knuckles and Tails, too. Of course there was Amy, Cream and Cheese as well, and just when he envisioned himself being way back on the sunny, coastal beach, Big was awoken by a voice. It belonged to a girl. She asked Big the Cat, "Uhm, scuse' me, sir?" "Huh?" He blinked his eyes a few times, and looked downwards. Before him stood a somewhat small horse with a blond mane and a gray coat. Her eyes were askew, and she was also accompanied by a Chao who slept on her back. The Chao similarly had gray and yellow colors. She stared at the large cat with her right eye for a few seconds before asking him forwardly, "Are you lost?" He stayed silent at first, but the pony seemed to already know the answer to her question. She was now staring at him using her left eye. "My name's Derpy Hooves... It's very nice to meet you! What's your name?" He spoke up, "Big... I'm... B-Big the Cat. This here... is Froggy, and, uh..." He admitted, "We came from the swamp over there. Do you know which way to go?" Derpy merely giggled happily, and just as the rain ended momentarily, she said, "Ponyville is this way! We'd better hurry before it pours on us some more!" She took off, but Derpy then giddily stopped only a few trots away from Big to wait up for her new friend. It only took Big a second or two for him to latch Froggy back onto his rope. Afterwards, the two took off for town. "So," Derpy voiced. "You're a cat, huh?"
Zone Three: Seaside Plateau ~Seaside plateau~ The Path to Ponyville Water rippled against the sandy shores, and the wind was gentle that day. Numerous palm trees towered high above the beach, and seagulls could be heard and seen everywhere. The air tasted and smelled strongly of seasalt. Derpy Hooves and Big the Cat walked along the path, and they lightly talked with one another as they went. "You're from another world?" Derpy asked with shock, "How'd you get here?" Big responded by saying, "If you don't know who Sonic the Hedgehog is... then I think I really must be in another world. Sonic's been everywhere on our planet thanks to his amazing speed. As far as how I got here..." He scratched the top of his head as he voiced, "I'm just not sure how that happened, but it must've been because of the doctor." Derpy questioned onwards, "You mean that same exact doctor that's always going after your friends?" Big nodded, and mentioned, "He can be a real meanie sometimes. It must've been him... Oh well..." He shrugged, and felt some mist from the ocean grace his fur. "Nothing I can do about it now... except fish..." He then promptly got out his fishing pole. While he got everything ready, he gently placed Froggy down, too, and in very little time at all, Big was casting out his hook and lure towards the wide and vast sea. "So, this world only has ponies in it?" Big asked while glancing downwards at his companion. Derpy nodded, and said, "Yep, and there're these Chao that we like to take care of." Big said, "We actually have a few of those in my world, too." He laughed, "I know a cute little bunny rabbit that's the same size as you. Her name's Cream, and she would love it here." Derpy rose a hoof, and questioned, "A... bunny... that's as big as me?" She shrugged. "I guess... I shouldn't really be all that surprised." "What's his name?" Big asked kindly. Derpy gasped, "Oh... My Chao's name is Bubble. He's had a very, very long day, so he's all tuckered out. I'm a delivery pony, by the way." She blinked, and her eyes rotated. "I was busy delivering something to Zecora. She's a zebra that lives in the Everfree Forest. Come to think of it, it's probably a good thing I bumped into you when I did because not that many ponies come through here." Big simply asked, "They don't?" "No, silly," Derpy responded with a slight giggle. "It's dangerous over there... Town is just along this beach. Once we get to the top of the hill, we'll be at the rails. I don't tend to use them since I can fly." She proceeded to spread her wings so that Big could see, and she then stated, "They're used mostly by unicorns and earth ponies as modes of transportation." Big nodded, and redirected his attention back out at the sea in front of him to say, "These rails sound a whole lot like the ones I have in my world." It went quiet after that. Wave after wave slowly went by, but Big still remained stationary where he sat. The current changed, and as it did, Big asked his new friend, "Wait... there are unicorns here, too?" Derpy laughed, and then said, "Of course there are! You're funny, Big, and you're fun to be with!" The cat just laughed, and he soon got up. He had to increase his speed as well just so that he could keep up with the pony. "This reminds me of running with Amy." "Is that another one of your friends, Big?" Derpy asked this shortly after taking off for flight. She stayed relatively low to the sandy ground, though, so that she could keep on talking with Big. "Yup," he replied after putting away his equipment. "She's another hedgehog like Sonic, but they're way different. Anyways, enough about my world, Derpy. I wanna know even more about yours!" Derpy just laughed, and while the two of them then traveled along the long stretching beach together, she told Big about Ponyville, and about the other surrounding towns. They passed by tiny, red crabs, and sail boats, and airplanes that flew far up above in the sky. "Finally," Derpy told Big. "There's Canterlot Palace! It's one of the greatest places I've ever been to!" Big nodded, and said, "It sounds huge. Is it a large town? I tend to get lost in large towns..." "Well," Derpy said comfortingly, "We're not going there today, Big. I'm taking you to Ponyville. Remember?" He slowed down, and stopped. Derpy turned around to ask him, "What's wrong?" "Is that it? Right over there?" He pointed, and Derpy just glanced at the shimmering beacon that could faintly be spotted over the horizon. "Yessir, it is, Big! Tee hee!" She brought both of her hooves up to her cheeks excitedly, and squealed. Meanwhile, the cat just asked her, "Are we gonna go fishing again soon, too?" They soon came up to the long, and stretching electric cables that connected the city to the mountains, and then the very forests as well. They stretched for what seemed like miles, and miles. "We gotta ride on those?" Big asked before glancing down at the insanely long fall. "But... if we fall off..." Derpy flashed her wings at Big, and boasted, "I can catch you, and bring you back up!" He gulped. "That might work... but I'm way bigger than you! How're you gonna- Whoa!" Derpy zoomed on over to the humongous kitty, and miraculously hoisted him up with ease and poise. "Heh," She huffed. "You're a heck of a lot more heavy than you look... b-but, I've... I've done w-worse! GAH!" She dropped Big flat on his butt, and collapsed to the ground, saying, "Oh... k-kay, so... if you fall... Big? Would you do me a really huge favor? Whatever you do, don't fall again for at least a few minutes. Otherwise, we might not be able to make it across safely." She smirked at him, and asked, "Think you can do that?" He blinked, and rhetorically asked the pretty little pony, "We're really doing this, aren't we? Hmm... I guess it's time to get serious!"
Zone One: Ghost Trot ~Ghost Trot~ The Dark and Hollow Basement A distinctly familiar, and ghastly smell wafted by Big's nose. The outside of the glass windows were dark as night, and different. The plants were all blood red, and the soil seemed tainted to the point of no return. Blue candles illuminated a round room which contained only two doors. Big knew right away that he was no longer within Dr. Eggman's ship. Despite never having been within this place, something about his new surroundings seemed oddly reminiscent to a haunted castle he had visited not too long ago. "Is this the same place...?" Big took another look around, and shook his head. He then said, "Nope... I've certainly never been here before. It just looks the same... That's all... But, still, where do I go?" He looked down at Froggy who remained rather stationary on the ground, and then, the frog began to bounce forth. He leaped to the door on Big's left, and that's when the cat asked, "You really think that we should go that way?" He just watched as the door opened quickly, and it then closed immediately again after Froggy had leaped to the next room over. It took Big a moment for him to react. "..." He then blinked. "FROGGY!!!" In an instant, he came up to the door, and panicked. "Open up, will ya! My buddy's in there!" He started to try and lift the door with his hands. All the while, he kept yelling, "I just got him back! I only just got my Froggy back, I tell ya!" Thanks to Big's impressive strength, it came open in time. Although, once he was at last on the other side, and out of that odd, round room, he just stopped while staring, and shivered a little bit. "This castle is bigger than I thought..." Big stood atop what looked like a horse's hoof, but it was made of sheer stone. The runway once again had those crimson plants aligning either sides of it, and in the distance were huge, orange pumpkins that sat atop other familiar, hoof-like pillars. In the background, Big could scarcely see anything else except red, rolling hills, and a few droves of overgrown pumpkin patches. The scarce amounts of trees that somewhat dotted the landscape were mostly bare, and seemed to have daunting faces scratched into them. Big ran along as quickly as he could, and as he reached a large loop, he commented while upside down, "I wonder where froggy has wandered off to now..." He then came up to a bounce pad, and imminently found himself suspended in the air. After landing, he'd see Froggy on another nearby platform. It was located directly in front of the one he was on, but the jump was far too great for Big to make on his own. He yelled energetically, "Hold on, Froggy! I'm on my way!" In the middle of both platforms were all too familiar, round orbs with white, illegible writings on them. The closer Big got to his, the more and more it shined. The words almost seemed to mysteriously hover outside of where they had actually been written. He swatted it with his fishing rod, and as the switch activated, Big felt himself begin to float upwards in the air. Like the cat he was, Big landed on his two feet with ease, but he was now upside down. Luckily, the roof had no gaps for him to worry about, so Big came running on over to where Froggy could be seen. It was then a simple matter for Big to use his fishing rod once more to reach the other orb. He once again was falling down, and landed with a huff. "There we go... Now then... Froggy?" He looked at the pet amphibian. "Ribbit?" "What was the big idea, little buddy? Why'd you run off like that?" The frog just stayed where it was. "Well... anyways, ever since I got here... I've been thinking." He turned to the towering, two ton door that was in front of him, and opened it with one, single shove. Within were remnants of obvious mechanical torture, and tools for the blatant infliction of pain. Shackles, and stockades, and tomes lined a couple of the walls, and Big then continued with what he was saying. He also placed his rolled up fists on his hips, and beamed left and right while scanning the area. "Since we're a long ways from home, Froggy, and because I've lost count of just how many times you've tried to escape... Maybe it might be a good idea for me to finally make you a carrying cage!" He got to work without delay, and used whatever materials he could find. However, Big wouldn't stop just there. He worked tirelessly to make sure that Froggy's cage could be as comfortable for his little pal as possible. Once he was done, he gracefully snatched up the little guy and voiced loudly, "Woo hoo! Now I'll never lose you! And you seem... so happy in there!" He gasped. "That must be it! You were just getting tired, and didn't want to bounce around anymore! You must've wanted me to carry you the whole way to the boat shop, huh? Am I right? Did I figure it out, froggy?" Big peered inside, and through all of the small, iron bars. Froggy had already settled down to take a nice nap, so Big guessed that he must've been correct in assuming this after all. "Yahoo!" Big ecstatically celebrated his success, but only for about two or three seconds. His voice had bellowed a bit too loudly, and as a result, a dozen or so ghost ponies awoke from their graves. Each and every single one of them sported a translucent, white and gray hue. Big could even see the skulls, and bones which reached all they way down to each of their swirly, ectoplasmic tails. Naturally, he raised his fishing rod in one hand. While he placed Froggy away, he also reached for his ukulele with the other. "I'll d-defend myself if I h-have to..." They just got that much more closer. "I've d-dealt with ghosts like you b-before!" His words didn't seem to be working. "Don't... make me-" He cowered, and then, a few of them grabbed hold of Big. A sudden, and thoroughly undeniable sense of safety, and relaxation came over him, and instead of fear, and terror, Big began to feel oddly calm. He at first had to close his eyes because of how scared he initially was. After opening them back up to take another look, though, he saw that each and every single one of the ghosts that floated in front of him were all young, shy foals and colts. They were completely innocent, and incapable of inflicting any such harm towards anyone or anything. The cat merely huffed as more and more ghost ponies approached him, and they soon kindly brought him and his pet to a nearby, wooden door. It appeared as though it hadn't really been used in over a century. One last time, Big sighed, but he dared not say another word. He knew what each and every one of these lost and lonely souls wanted of him. Without much hesitation, Big the Cat selflessly freed the spirits by opening the way for all of them to leave alongside him, too.
Source MaterialThis chapter serves as the sound test room, and it also lists a few interesting, and helpful key notes regarding the story and its development. The Source Material is also frequently used to help regulate the pacing. *This will be updated along with the story. Big's First Adventure Big's Voice (Heroes) Big's Theme Song For the next part, the "Session" is what I listened to while I actively wrote each of the chapters, and unless you read faster than Sonic can run, the "Story Song" is what you're supposed to listen to while you read. Mystic Ruins Session Mystic Ruins Story Song The Open Ocean Session The Open Ocean Story Song Egg Carrier Session Egg Carrier Story Song Lover Levels Session Lower Levels Story Song Ghost Trot Session Ghost Trot Story Song Everfree Swamp Session Everfree Swamp Story Song Seaside Plateau Session Seaside Plateau Story Song Notes and World Building Info for the Readers: Big refers to Dr. Eggman mostly as just, "The Doctor," or, "Eggman." The timeline for this story is set right in between the events of Sonic Heroes and Sonic Riders. Froggy has irremovable remnants of Chaos still coursing through his veins, and this is why he can't help but to swallow the chaos emeralds. The Equestria that Big visits actually isn't the spitting image of the show. This will become very clear to readers after they reach what is essentially The Castle of the Two Sisters and The Everfree zones. Most of the layout is very Sonic the Hedgehog video game based, and this was decided early on for the sake of the story's overall arching theme. Big has already demonstrated that he doesn't just rely on fishing alone in order to save his pal, Froggy. He'll do whatever he has to do just to be reunited with his little buddy. All members of the main cast from My Little Pony will have their very own chao that they take care of. *Check back after each chapter update for more content under Source Material.
