Equestria Girls: True Blueby MLPFollowerChapters2) CHAPTER ONE4) CHAPTER THREE5) CHAPTER FOUR6) CHAPTER FIVE7) CHAPTER SIX8) CHAPTER SEVEN9) CHAPTER EIGHT10) CHAPTER NINE11) CHAPTER TEN12) CHAPTER ELEVEN1) PROLOGUE: OUT OF THE BLUE 3) CHAPTER TWO13) EPILOGUE: LIFE IN THE FAST LANE2) CHAPTER ONESeveral weeks later A single patrol car rested on the outskirts of the city, its occupant holding up his slumping head with one hand. The other hand gripped a radar gun, which he constantly had to keep upright when it drooped down. “Come on, one car,” he groaned. “One car, that’s all I ask.” Nothing came his way. Wanting to keep himself occupied, the person pretended cars were coming his way, moving the radar gun in certain directions. “Vrroom. Sshhooom. Brrrr-ah!” He moved the gun a little too fast, the tool smacking him against the cheek. “That… that’s gonna leave a bruise,” he moaned. His radio buzzed, drawing his attention to it. “Soarin, come in. Soarin, do you read me? Are you there?” Soarin sighed, picking up the radio and pressing the transmitter. “I’m here at the speed trap, Shining…” he spoke. “...and I am very, very bored. Bored to the extreme. Bored times ten thousand. Did I mention I’m bored?” “Well, since you’re not busy at the moment, I’ve got something you might be-” “Shining, hold that,” Soarin said, noticing movement right outside. “I think I got something.” Not bothering to wait for his response, he grabbed his radar gun and aimed it down the road. He adjusted the sights until the moving thing caught his attention. A hedgehog. With blue spiky quills. Beep. The radar gun displayed the small creature’s speed… as one mile an hour. Soarin couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the result… but chose to make the best of it. “Hey, buddy!” he called, leaning out the patrol car’s window. “Where’s the fire? Kids are living around here!” The little animal did not respond in the slightest, leaving Soarin to chuckle at his own joke. “Thought it was kinda funny. Sorry.” Setting his radar gun on the dashboard, he reached for his radio to see what Shining Armor had for him… WHOOSH! Beep. Soarin glanced at the radar gun… which read 296 mph. He blinked in confusion, believing it to be a malfunction. Until Soarin remembered one person who could go that fast. Sighing, he leaned his head out the window again. “HEY, RAINBOW!” he called, even though he knew the athlete couldn’t hear him. “PICK SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR MORNING RUN, WILL YOU?!” Settling back down into his seat, he sighed and tried to pick up the radio again… ZOOM! Beep. This time, the radar gun read 300 mph. And judging by the dust, Rainbow had spun on her heel and was now sprinting full-speed in the other direction. Soarin groaned. Now, where was she headed off to? “Come on, Dash. I don’t have time for this…” he mumbled. “Heh heh heh!” A small chuckle came from right behind his car: a voice that for sure wasn’t Canterlot High’s resident jock. Soarin whirled his head to look… but by the time he did, no one was there. “Hello?” he said, concerned. “Someone out there?” “Soarin, you there? You haven’t dozed off or anything, have you?” Instinctively, he snatched up the radio. “Uh, yeah! I’m here! Whaddya need?” “I need you down on Main Street. I’ll explain on the way.” “Roger that!” Soarin gunned the engine, guiding his patrol car out onto the road. He drove off into the city, barely noticing the car in the opposite lane. The car heading right for the blue hedgehog. The creature was oblivious to the imminent danger, about to munch on some discarded berries. Its tiny ears picked up the sound of the approaching engine… and it turned its head to look. A blue blur snatched the critter from the asphalt just before the front tire could squash him. The creature blinked in confusion, wondering what in the world had just happened. “Whoa, buddy! Almost got yourself killed out there! What are you, some kind of adrenaline junkie?” The hedgehog looked up when it felt a finger tap it on the head. A human boy in the start of his teenage years had the critter in the palms of his white fingerless gloves. His emerald green eyes stared at the animal in compassion and his blue hair was in a spiked ball-like state. For attire, he wore a blue t-shirt with a lightning bolt and red and white outlines on it, a pair of skin-tight jeans with holes in the knees, and a pair of battered, taped-up running shoes. A wristwatch rested on his right arm. “You’re lucky I was here to stop you from becoming roadkill!” the boy exclaimed. “You’re welcome… hey, you actually look kinda cute. I think I’ll keep you as my little pet. But first, you need a name. Hmm…” he tapped his left foot in thought. “Aha! How about Needlemouse? That’s what I used to call hedgehogs when I was little!” he decided. “By the way, the name’s Sonic! Hey, how about as a token of appreciation, I can show you my place! Hold on tight now!” Seconds later, both boy and hedgehog were blazing down the road at high speeds. Sonic whooped delightfully as he ran, Needlemouse’s quills blowing in the wind. “Whoo-hoo-hoo! Have you ever felt so alive, buddy?! And I do this all the time!” He spread out his arms, keeping a hold of the hedgehog. “This is great! You’re doing amazing!” He turned to his new pet… only to see that he was gone. “Oh, geez!” He ran back along the highway in a blink, returning seconds later with the little critter. “Whew! Good recovery!” Resembling a bolt of blue light, the boy zoomed along the road, cheering along the way. At a certain point in the road, he zipped into the forest. Speeding past trees and hopping over rocks, he dove into a small gap between two stones… ...and landed in a beanbag chair while spinning as a ball of blue light. Bouncing off it like a trampoline, he touched down feet first and set the hedgehog down on a desk of racing decorations. “Ah! Crashpad, sweet crashpad!” he sighed, oblivious to the quivering animal nearby. “So make yourself at home, little guy. Get yourself settled in and all that.” He placed some berries in front of the creature, turning to a bunch of tapes. Some of them had words that read “Supersonic Jams”, “Way Past Cool Mix”, and “Rainbow Rocks”. He picked up the latter cassette, decorated with rainbow colors on the corners. “As for me, I am gonna live my best life!” Sonic declared, holding up the tape. “My most favorite person in the whole world made this tape for me. And it’s one of my favorites!” Needlemouse just blinked, and the boy’s smile temporarily vanished. “Okay, so she didn’t write it for me, but that’s not the point! The point is, it fits us both perfectly!” Setting the cassette into a 90s-style radio and making sure only the first song would play, he pressed the button. The second he did, rock music began to blare from the speakers. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be!” Sonic zipped off and grabbed a hairbrush, lip-syncing to the first line as if it was a microphone. Speeding to a blue and red guitar, he pulled off some killer moves on it. Running to a corner, he spun around while doing a small breakdance. Finally, he ran to a jump rope and moved so fast it looked like there were three of him playing with it. “First you see me ridin’ on a sonic boom Got my guitar shreddin’ up my latest tune There is nothing you can do to beat me I’m so good that you can’t defeat me” The instant the chorus kicked in, Sonic sped to a tire swing with the guitar in hand. Swinging around the cave, he rocked out and tried to match the tune. “Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be! Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be!” Sonic leaped off the tire swing in a backflipping motion, landing on the beanbag chair and setting the guitar down while the song continued to play. Picking up a Daring Do comic book from a nearby pile, he opened it and started to page through. But deciding this wasn’t good enough for him, he sped-read the issue along with all the rest so that the pile was now on the other side of the beanbag chair. The second verse of the song kicked in at the moment he finished reading his collection, he sped to a treadmill and slowed to a jog. Keeping his breathing steady, he checked his wrist pulse. “Step aside now, you’re just gettin’ in my way I got sick chops you could never hope to play” “Waaah!” Sonic cried, wearing a headband and holding up two pairs of nunchucks. He twirled them around in a fast and impressive fashion… until one of them hit him on the head, toppling him. "Ow!" he muttered. “When it comes to makin’ music, I’m the ruler You wish you could be twenty percent cooler!” Now at a ping-pong table that he fashioned out of cans and a highway sign, he twirled a paddle in his hand. Zipping to the other end, he made a “come at me” gesture. Picking up the ball, he played a one-on-one game with himself, speeding to both ends of the table to hit the ball. “Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be! Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be!” On the last line, Sonic dove for the ball… but his paddle hit a brown pouch instead, spilling out a piece of paper and gold rings. “Oh, no!” he gasped, the song dying down and the cassette popping out. The paddle falling from his hand, he rushed over and scooped the rings back in. Sonic took the piece of paper in his hand, unraveling it to reveal several diamond-shaped gems. They formed a circle around a glowing, powerful-looking aura, and five words stood out at the top of the paper. The Seven Gems of Miracles Sonic glanced off to a trophy case, where only one thing lay: a blue diamond that sparkled when sunlight reached it. The other six spots were barren and empty. At the sight of this, Sonic groaned sadly. “All this time of searching… and I’ve only found one. Ugh… okay. So I’m not the world’s best treasure hunter. But it’s the only way to save them.” Picking up a ring, he tossed it in front of him. The ring flashed and expanded, revealing a window to a beautiful coastal island. Forests, mountains, architecture consisting of loop-de-loops, corkscrews, and others… and a village along the south end. The only thing that stood out was a bunch of dark, ominous clouds looming above the island. Purple lightning flashed in the blackness, making the boy feel slightly nervous. “Don’t worry, guys… I’ll fix this.” He held out his right hand, causing the magic ring to shrink and fly back to him. Catching it, he stuffed it back in the pouch. He stared at the ground, wondering about what to do next… The blue streak died down on top of a hill, giving the energetic teen a good look at all of Canterlot City. A pair of black and blue headphones were pumping an upbeat tempo into his head, and he glanced at his wristwatch. Three ’o Clock. And considering what today was… He sped down the hill and into the city. A sapphire streak raced through the streets, too quick for the citizens to notice him. Those who did notice brushed it off, believing it to be the wind. The streak raced towards Canterlot High School, traveling up the side and stopping on the roof. Like the cool guy he claimed to be, Sonic leaned against the dome with one hand. A bell finished ringing throughout the building, leaving the blue boy to witness a wide array of students leaving the school. While he did pick up some of their conversations… only a certain group stood out to him. Seven girls caught his eye, and they needed no introduction. They were a musical group of friends called “the Rainbooms”, but Sonic had another name for them: the Mane Seven, giving the city’s horse-related architecture. Let’s see… There was Twilight Sparkle, the brains of the group and harnesser of telekinesis. Sonic knew one other kid from home that would’ve taken a liking to her. Applejack was the one in the cowgirl style. A real down-to-earth person that just happened to be insanely strong. But at least she wasn’t duped easily like someone else Sonic knew… Pinkie Pie was the cheerful one, and she threw the best parties Sonic had ever seen. Now, if only he could find a way into one of those things. Oh, and those exploding sprinkles of hers? An odd choice for magical power, but whatever works. Fluttershy had a heart for things great and small, something Sonic admired about her. She was the quiet one of the group, but sometimes she wasn’t afraid to speak up. Sunset Shimmer had a great choice in style, Sonic could say that much. But he couldn’t help but think the whole “seeing memories from a touch” thing was kinda creepy. Rarity was a true fashionista and conjurer of diamond shields. Maybe if Sonic got the chance, she could design something cool for him. Or… was coolness not something she worked well with? And finally, Rainbow Dash, his favorite of the seven and his idol. The reasons? She was the most awesome guitarist he ever saw, played in every single sport in the school, she had a craving for adventure, and she was insanely fast. Not as fast as him, per se, but it was fun to have a challenge. In other words, she was exactly like him on so many levels. And now that it was officially summer break, they’d be spending more time together just kicking back and relaxing. Sonic occasionally joined in secretly, wanting to have as much fun as possible. He suddenly had a thought. Seven gems, seven girls… could there be a connection? He shook his head, dismissing that question and getting back on track. Canterlot City was his home-away-from-home, but despite blending in among the crowd… he could never do stuff his way. If he drew too much attention to himself, others after the gems would discover him in the city, arrive to look for the gems… and endanger people. In other words, Sonic was in isolation while in public. And isolation led to loneliness. Perhaps… the boy would be alone all his life. Never having a true friend. Never knowing what friendship was. As if to explain his fear, all of the students had now left the school. Cars were driving away from both the building… and from him. Sonic sighed. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t forget about the Gems of Miracles and that he had to find the other six before anyone else could. His home depended on it. Sonic ended up staying on the school roof for a while. Rising to his feet and walking to the edge, he casually jumped down and rolled to a stop. He took one look at the horse statue in front of the building… and took off at a high sprint without a word. One day, he might find a friend. Maybe more than one... Author's Note Poor Sonic. Having to hide his existence to prevent sinister forces from discovering him is really lonely. Hopefully seven certain girls can help him rediscover the magic that is Friendship. On to the next chapter, which will focus on the seven other main characters of this story! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 4) CHAPTER THREELater, out on the streets of the city The boy adjusted his headphones to make sure they wouldn’t fly off. Most of the ones he bought always had that problem, throwing off his groove while he rushed to save them from smashing into the ground. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolling through a collection of songs. None of them seemed to match his style. All except for one. Smiling, he tapped it and secured the phone in his jeans pocket. He double-checked it to make sure it was tightly packed. Then the beat began. “I have so much more to say But I live in slow-motion From moment to moment, hey” Sonic lightly bounced up and down, stretching out his arms and legs. He always needed a good warm-up. “Holding back from day to day The clock’s ticking slowly But time cannot hold me down” The boy let out a deep breath, cracking both his neck and knuckles. He tapped one shoe on the ground and placed both feet apart. He drew one arm back. “Find myself in the rhythm of my feet Feel it in my heartbeat The time is now and I won’t hold back, hold back” The second the chorus hit, he took off at high speed. All of Canterlot City raced by in a blur: cars, shops, street lights, all of it. “Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin!’ Watch me, yeah-yeah, I’m runnin!’” Noticing an approaching truck at an intersection, Sonic bounced off the road and on top of the trailer. Parkouring off with a sapphire streak trailing behind him, he blasted back down the road and past parked cars. For moving vehicles, he weaved around and jumped over them. “I let go in this moment All roads open Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’! I was born to break free!” Sonic twirled up a street light, swinging off it and landing on top. Now at a good vantage point, he sighed in a relaxing manner. “I choose my path, I choose my dreams My spirit’s a fighter, a passion igniter, yeah” Sonic threw some quick jabs and a hook, feeling pumped up from the song. “All I need’s inside of me A light shining brighter A spark to a fire now” The teen hopped off the street light, touching down on the road below. He got into a runner’s stance and closed his eyes. As he concentrated, blue electricity flickered on his feet and up his legs, flowing to the rest of his body. “Find myself in the rhythm of my feet Feel it in my heartbeat The time is now and I won’t hold back, hold back (Whoa-oh-oh-oh)” He opened his eyes with a smirk. Instead of their normal green shade, they were now a bright blue. The words of his idol filled his ears… and he blasted off at sonic speed. “Gonna break free, yeah, I’m runnin’! (yeah-ah) Watch me, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’! (I’m runnin’, runnin’, whoa!)” He blasted down the streets, making a sharp right at Sugarcube Corner. He raced past diners, the music center, and everything else he didn’t bother to look at. He also didn’t bother to see the citizens’ dumbstruck expressions when they saw the blue blur rush past. Blown off their feet? Their loss. Distracted and not watching what they were doing? Meh. Sonic didn’t care about anything. Anything but freedom, that is. Spiraling up and down skyscrapers, bouncing off walls when he was going too fast to make a turn, and circling entire blocks like loops. “I let go in this moment All roads open Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’!” Making another turn at a long stretch of road leading to Canterlot High, he blasted right down it with a big whoop. Behind him, a blue pulse wave flew out from his body. “I was born to break free!” At Canterlot High, a group of kids was in the middle of a soccer match for fun, one of them being slightly taller than the rest. Sonic zipped behind a tree… and his eyes lit up at the sight. “Whoa… the playoffs!” Looking to the bleachers, he recognized the shapes of Rainbow’s six friends cheering her on. Sprinting right to the fence, he peeked out at the field. The score was tied, and Rainbow was leading her team valiantly. She stole the ball from one of the opposing players, making a break for the goal. “Come on, Dash!” he heard Pinkie shout out. “Give ‘em a one-way ticket on the express train to ‘You’re Going Down’!” The athlete narrowed her eyes, giving the ball a strong kick. The orb shot forward, bypassing the goalie’s defense and smacking the net. Then, Sonic’s world was drowned out with the sound of excited cheers. All he could focus on was the sight of Rainbow high-fiving the kids on her team, ruffling the hair of a purple-haired girl. She seemed to be happier than all the rest, as Sonic noticed. And the rest of the Mane 7 came down to congratulate her. Oh, she is so awesome… Several congratulations and high-fives later, the girls departed the field to do who-knows-what. The sun began to set, giving the sky an orange hue. Sonic waited until they were gone before he vaulted the fence flawlessly. The teen walked onto the field, eyeing every inch of it in awe. Personally, he hardly saw himself as the athletic type… but soccer could be his thing, right? He noticed the ball, goalie gear, and a referee cap just off to the side. At the sight of them, a smirk came across his face. Yeah. Soccer could be his thing… “This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The play of the game!” the boy announced to an invisible audience, juggling the ball between his feet. “Thirty seconds on the clock, tie score, and the crowd is on the edge of their seats!” He sped to the goal, decked out in protective gear. “It all comes down to this, folks! Will Sonic bring home the trophy for the Wondercolts, or will he taste the dust?” He zipped back to the ball at center field, taking a deep breath. “Okay, focus, Sonic,” he told himself. “If you make this goal, you’ll be the most beloved kid in Canterlot City.” Then he was wearing the referee cap at the edge of the field. “Alright, ladies! Let’s pick up the pace here! And none of you bozos want to help washing out those grass stains, right?!” He sped back to the ball, looking to his right. “Break left. Got it. Those guys are pushovers.” Referee Sonic took a deep breath… and blew into his whistle. Captain Sonic dashed off with the ball in tow, sprinting down the field and weaving past the imaginary members of the other team. He kicked the ball to the left, where Teammate Sonic caught it. “Come on, Blundercolts!” Goalie Sonic taunted. “This game is ours!” Teammate Sonic dashed down the field, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. “Over here! I’m open!” Captain Sonic called, waving his arms wildly. Gritting his teeth, Teammate Sonic kicked the ball right for him. Captain Sonic kept the ball in his grip… and shot for the goal with a mighty kick. Goalie Sonic dove to the left to intercept the ball… but the ball flew past him and, as Goalie Sonic hit the ground with an “oomph”, smacked against the net. “Gooooaaaal!” cried Referee Sonic. “Oh, YES! Yes, yes, yes! We did it!” Captain Sonic cheered, punching the air and jumping in victory. Triumphantly, he held his hand up for a high-five. “Did you guys see that?! We did it! I did it! I…” But nobody was there. No Referee Sonic, no Teammate Sonic, and no Goalie Sonic. And no one in the bleachers. “Guys?” Sonic called out, his voice slowly dropping to a whisper. “Ref? Ladies and gents? A-Anyone…?” All he heard was the sound of chirping crickets as the light of the sun vanished. Sonic lowered his hand, staring at it with his eyes growing moist. The reality sank in and his heart did the same, forcing him to admit a terrible truth: one he had tried to deny or keep hidden. “I… I really am alone.” he muttered silently, slowly starting to walk. “All alone, forever.” Without even thinking, he started to speed up. He ran across the edge of the field, a blue trail coming to life behind him. Dust kicked up in his wake. He rounded all four corners in no time, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. The boy ran faster and faster, more than he had ever traveled before. Everything became a blur to him, and he would’ve felt sick if it wasn’t for his magic. But the only emotion he felt was sadness. His heart throbbed and burned as his sadness grew larger and larger. Larger to the point where it was no longer sadness. His body was overwhelmed with anger and frustration. His hair lit up a light blue color, his eyes turning from their emerald green shade to a sapphire hue. Blue lightning flickered off him while his legs became a blur. The ground beneath him was weakening. The grass was giving out, and Sonic was digging into the dirt as he ran around the field over and over. The only sounds he heard now were his own panicked breaths and a low whine that increased in pitch. His mind was rattled with his own thoughts. Tears flowed free, breaking off and getting lost in the winds he conducted. I really am alone Prolonged isolation So-called friends Lonely Haven’t met yet I don’t exist His nerves tingled, his breaths quickened, and his arms moved faster than they ever could before. He wanted to run. He wanted to get away. I’m invisible I don’t fit in I’m a shadow I’ll never know friendship A blank page I’m nothing Unknown Nameless, faceless You’re afraid you’ll be alone forever All alone Alone Forever ALL ALONE FOREVER “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” CRACK-A-BOOOOOM! Sonic snapped back to reality. He dug his heels into the ground, feeling the ground of the soccer field rip apart as he braked. He placed his palms on his knees, all of the energy inside him fading away. Then he looked around him… ...and saw that everything was dark. And not from the night or the moon. Both goals had been knocked over. Lampposts had popped and exploded, blue electricity tingling and sparks flying from them. Cars had screeched to a halt, and Sonic could hear both the shouts of people and a blue wave with a loud boom traveling away from him. A sonic boom. Oops. “I…” he cracked, struggling to find his voice. “I’m sure no one noticed that giant blue explosion, right?” Wrong. “What the hey just happened?!” “This is an utter disaster!” “I’ve never seen anything like this!” “What in tarnation is going on here?!” “Stupid party poopers!” “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared!” “Everyone, everyone, EVERYONE!” Twilight called out, silencing the group. “Relax! Please settle down! I don’t think this is anything serious!” “We’re in the dark here, Twi!” Sunset reminded her. “One minute, this sleepover at your place was going smooth, the next? Boom! Major blackout!” “You’re the smart one,” Applejack spoke up. “You don’t think this is some kind of power plant malfunction or something?” “Er, not that I know of,” Twilight replied, adjusting her glasses in thought. “EMPs aren’t that strong, and no meteors, solar flares, and comets were reported for tonight.” “Well,” Rarity stated. “It certainly sounds like you’re good at figuring out what it was not.” “It’s called ‘narrowing it down’!” Twilight countered. “Anyway, we need to find out exactly what this blackout was, whether magic or not. So, who’s with me?” Rainbow Dash sprung to her feet eagerly. “We’re in this together! You know that!” “Good. Then let’s go!” A whimper came from beneath the bedsheets, prompting everyone to turn to a shaking lump. “Is it over?” a panicked voice squeaked. “Can I come out now?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes, Spike. Now come on. I’m taking you for a late-night walk.” A small purple dog poked its head from under the blanket, its eyes wide with interest. “A walk? Oh, boy!” he pounced from the bed and dashed off. Everyone else followed Twilight downstairs… except for one pink-haired girl lost in thought. “Think, Pinkie…” she muttered. “What was the first thing she said to do?” She tried to think back… and her eyes lit up. “Aha! That’s it!” she chirped with a snap of her fingers. “Relax!” She jumped onto the bed and laid down with hands behind her head. “Ahh…” Without the glow from lampposts, the streets were darker than usual. The only light sources in sight were those from two cell phones. “So, whaddya think it is this time, Sun?” Rainbow asked with a challenging smirk. “Manipulator of lightning? Bringer of darkness? Hater of lightbulbs? Or… maybe one of Trixie’s acts gone horribly wrong?” “Keep guessing, Dash,” the voice of her friend said with a hint of boredom. Rainbow shone her flashlight across the street, catching glimpses of cars, houses, and lampposts with burst bulbs. “Wait… Rainbow, look at this!” Sunset called, her tone now full of alarm. The athlete ran back instantly, catching up to her friend and looking to where her phone’s light was shining. It was a speed limit sign… but something wasn’t right about it. “Two twenty-five?” Rainbow read aloud, her eyes on the added spray-painted number in front of the 25. “Is this a street or a racetrack? But, on the other hand… he’s got an artistic talent.” Below the number were two small lightning bolts. Sunset raised a brow. “This wasn’t like this the last time I saw it,” she whispered, shrugging her shoulders moments later. “Meh. Probably just the work of some punk. Not important.” “You sure?” Rainbow asked, staring at the sign. “This kinda looks pretty cool… huh?” She turned to Sunset’s position, only to find it was empty. “Hey, wait up!” She called, running after her. On the outskirts of the city, one drone beeped in alarm. Its sensors focused on Canterlot City, a single red optic staring out at the metropolis. Auditory sensors picked up panicked and confused chatter, and its primary CPU caught traces of a major energy wave. Whether magic or something else, the machine cared little. “Unknown power surge detected. Locating point of origin.” a mechanical voice said, sensors scanning the city. “Objective: inform Doctor Robotnik. Objective: locate source.” It flew away from Canterlot City, programming driving it to complete its mission. Author's Note And things started out so fun. Until Sonic's fears of being alone forever inadvertently triggered a massive blackout, which has caught the attention of not just the HuMane 7, but also a certain evil scientist. Next up, we get to meet our story's bombastic big bad! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 5) CHAPTER FOURIt was all everyone would talk about now. Twilight hadn’t gotten any luck in her own search, even with her dog’s help. The following morning, that blackout was all over the news. Repairs and recoveries were still in progress. But if you were someone with an intellect as good as Twilight’s… some things need a second look. So that’s what she did. As soon as she was able, she and Spike set out to look for the origin of the blackout again. And this time, Twilight was more than prepared. She took her pendant-shaped device and held it out in front of her. The sight of it brought… less-than-pleasant memories of the Friendship Games. Shuddering slightly, she let it dangle from her neck and kept walking. Last time she used it, it had been to absorb magic. This had led to draining the others of their own magic and turning her into a winged demon when all of it was unleashed at once. But rather than destroying it… Twilight decided it could serve a better use. The device flashed for a split-second, causing her to stop in her tracks. Spike poked his head out of Twilight’s backpack, his canine eyes locked on the object. “Are you sure that’ll work?” Twilight sighed. “It’s got to. I didn’t reconfigure it into a magic detector for nothing.” She kept moving, making sure to check the device as often as possible. Pulses would come into view whenever she drew close to a magical source… or, in Twilight’s case, the origin of that wave that knocked out the city’s power. Soon, the pulses began to come in a bit faster. Intrigued, Twilight kept moving as if she was following a compass needle. She kept her eyes on the device, watching it as the pulses came quicker and quicker… until it was like a racing heartbeat. Twilight looked ahead of herself… and her eyes raised in confusion. “Canterlot High?” she muttered in disbelief. “The… the source of the wave is here?” Why am I not surprised? Her mind told her, seeing as how she once investigated magical properties coming from that specific location. “Well, Spike…” Twilight said, letting the device dangle from her necklace. “We’re about to yank the tarp off this myster-huh?” The sound of a rumbling engine cut through the air, prompting the young genius to turn and look. And what she saw nearly made her jaw drop. A black 18-wheeler rumbled down the road, turning at the school’s parking lot. Several black cars followed it through like a funeral convoy. Her heart itching to know what was up, Twilight sprinted over to the building. By the time she did, she was almost out of breath. Voices filled the air… over by the soccer field. Running over to that corner of the building, Twilight turned to Spike. “Stay in there and be quiet,” she whispered. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” The device on her necklace was going crazy before she turned it off. The soccer field had to be the spot! But, as Twilight soon found out, she might have been too late. Police cruisers and S.W.A.T. vans from the Canterlot City Police Department were parked right on the field. Research tents were placed onto the grass. Even the Magic Crisis Force, an organization dedicated to researching magical anomalies and protecting Canterlot City from dangerous magic, was here! Twilight could see officers, armed men, and people in hazmat suits investigating: trying to dig up clues Twilight would have wanted. The field itself was a sight Rainbow Dash would be horrified at: burnt-out lights, trampled grass, goalposts toppled over, and a deep-dug line all across the border. The young genius’s depression was soon replaced with suspicion when she heard the rumbling sound again. The 18-wheeler barreled through the fence, crushing it under its tires like a tank. The cars spread out and slowed to a halt. And all along the field, all personnel stopped and turned to the newcomers. One of them, a gold-haired woman with aviator shades, reached up to her face and removed the glasses. Her orange eyes were narrowed in confusion. “What the…?” The truck hissed when it came to a complete stop, and Twilight caught a red whirring eye-like light just above the window. The crimson orb seemed to stare into Twilight’s very being, causing goosebumps to prickle all over her skin. That, and the fact that she now realized the vehicle was automated. Which meant no driver. What kind of technology was this? A part of the truck’s trailer separated itself and lowered down to the ground. The interior reconfigured itself to form a staircase… from which a mustached man descended. From her hiding place, Twilight gulped nervously. She heard a small whimper from her backpack and turned her head, shooting her dog a look. “Sorry!” Spike whispered. “It’s just that that guy looks a little creepy!” Twilight took a deep breath. “On that, we can agree.” The man, dressed in dark shades and a black coat, approached the gold-haired woman while several men and women followed from their cars. They, too, were all dressed in black and had neckties. This was a sign that didn’t bode well. Several men held their weapons steady, but a signal from the woman made them stand down and back away. The mustached man took off his shades. “Are you in charge here?” “Yes, I a-” “NOPE!” the man abruptly cut her off. The woman shuddered from the intrusion but kept her cool. “My-” “Wrong!” “Name-” “I’m in charge!” “Is Sergeant-” She raised her voice. “ME!” “Spitfi-” “I’m in charge…” the man dropped to a whisper, and Twilight could’ve sworn she heard the woman huff in frustration. One of the other men walked up, holding some kind of… what was that? A tablet? Twilight could barely make out what was on it… a QR code, maybe? “You’ve never seen anything like this before,” the man explained. “It says I’m the top banana in a world full of hungry little monkeys. Allow me to clarify.” The man turned his head and hand with a robotic movement, mimicking buzzing sounds as he did so. “In a sequentially-ranked hierarchy based on level of critical importance, the disparity between us is too vast to quantify. Agent Stone?” “The doctor thinks you’re basic,” the other man replied. Twilight rolled her eyes. She knew what that meant. “On whose authority are you here?” the woman asked sharply. “And who are you, anyway?” “I’m initiating a sweep sequence,” the man said, outright ignoring her and irritating her further. “Ten miles in every direction should suffice.” He fiddled with his glove (which Twilight now understood to be a controller), causing the top and sides of his truck to open up. While Twilight caught the sight of white oval drones emerging from the top, racks flung out from the sides of the vehicle… to reveal bipedal robots. She shrank back at the sight of them. These weren’t ordinary machines… but machines built for combat. Machine guns on each arm. Inactive missile launchers on the shoulders. And claw-like feet to ensure grip on the terrain. She shuddered at the thought of them marching into the city. “Is she still looking at me funny?” the mustached man said, breaking Twilight’s thoughts. “Yes, she is.” “Tell her to stop or I’ll pull up her search history.” “If you don’t stop looking at the doctor, he’ll take a closer look at your-” “I’m. Not. Deaf,” the woman spat furiously. “And tell her her men report to me now, blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah.” The man droned, making some wacky arm gestures as he did. “Excuse me,” the woman said coldly. “I don’t think you realize who-” “I’m sorry, Sergeant,” the man turned around with arms spread. “What was your name?” Twilight heard the woman sigh in relief. “Spitfi-” “NOBODY CARES!” the man blurted out. The woman cringed in anger. “Nobody cares…” he repeated mockingly, slowly walking back up to her. “Listen, Sergeant Nobody-Cares. Do you know why nobody cares who you are? Because nobody cares about your feeble accomplishments.” Feeble? After being on the school’s soccer team until she graduated, Spitfire was one of the top members of the force since she decided to enter! Who was this guy to make fun of her? “And nobody cares how proud your mommy is that you’re now reading at a third-grade level,” he tauntingly continued. “Have you finished Charlotte’s Web yet? Spoiler alert: she dies in the end. But she leaves a big creepy egg sac!” The oval-looking drones hovered over the man, who chuckled and spread his arms wide. The racks on the trucks let go, dropping the walking robots onto the field. Their systems came online, their heads pointing straight and their forms standing tall. “Aw, my babies. Look what came out of my egg sac,” the man boasted. All eyes turned to the robots, Twilight’s included. The man stood proud, placing one hand on Spitfire’s shoulder and gesturing to the drones. “You know what I love about machines?” he asked, looking at the drones like a proud father. “They do what they’re told. They follow their programming. They don’t need time off to get drunk and put the boat in the water.” Spitfire frowned at him as he pointed right at her face. “And you do what you’re told. Stand over there on the edge of your personal abyss… and let my machines do your job.” Spitfire didn’t reply. Instead, she turned and moved away without breaking eye contact. The other police and MCF personnel soon followed her lead. “Can you feel it, Stone?!” the man called out in a tone Twilight guessed to be ecstatic. “I can feel it, Doctor.” “It’s evolution, Stone… it’s EVOLUTION!” The drones rose into the air and flew off into the forest in multiple directions. The ground robots began to walk towards the trees, weapons primed and ready. “Twilight, I know I’m no expert…” Spike whispered in the girl’s ear. “But this looks bad. Really, really bad.” “We gotta tell the others,” Twilight told him. Taking a quick look around to make sure no one spotted her, she ran from her hiding place and towards the statue in front of the school. A swarm of drones buzzed over her as she reached it. And frantically, she pulled out her phone and started a group text. The drones scattered into the forest, the sound of their engines startling wildlife. Deer turned their heads at the flying machines while birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other small critters bolted for safety. One drone descended to the forest floor, its main optic scanning the ground. Nothing seemed unusual. Just dirt, twigs, leaves, and rocks… ...and a footprint on a rock. “Logging anomaly…” the drone beeped, hovering closer to the footprint. A red beam emitted from its optic, tracing over the sneaker print. “Initializing spectral analysis… initializing mineral composition… transmitting…” Back at the 18-wheeler truck, the man saw the footprint on his main monitor. His assistant entered the vehicle, standing at attention. “Agent Stone.” “Doctor.” “Do you see anything useful in this image?” Stone squinted at the shoeprint. “Nothing at all, Doctor.” “Of course you don’t,” the mustached man replied. “Your eyes weren’t expertly trained to spot tracks from the Native American Shadow Wolves.” His fingers flew across another monitor with elegance. The image of a human foot appeared within the shoe print, followed by the words “DNA SCAN IN PROGRESS”. Within seconds, more words appeared. MATCH FOUND. ACCESSING LOCAL SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS Images and short video clips blinked into existence on the monitor. Each of them showed different locations throughout Canterlot City. At first glance, there were either crowds or an amount of several people in each one. “This is fascinating, Doctor,” Stone told him. “But I don’t see what you can gain from this.” “Computer,” the man spoke up. “Locate matching DNA signature in these surveillance cameras and the city’s residents.” SEARCHING… Several figures in the photos and videos lit up in a red silhouette, but the resident match showed different results. ERROR. NO MATCH FOUND IN CANTERLOT CITY DATABASE. “Increase magnification on the cameras.” Each of the footages zoomed in on one figure. A teenage boy with green eyes and a blue hoodie in public areas. In other locations like city streets, he was shown with spiky blue hair. He interacted with no one, politely declining any offers thrown his way. “That narrows it down significantly, Doctor,” Stone noted. “But… he’s not a resident of Canterlot?” “No name, no identification, nothing,” the man replied. “On the plus side… I know this guy.” “You do, Doctor?” The man typed in something else, bringing up another image. But unlike the others, this one was not from Canterlot City. Instead, the image was taken at an outpost near the outskirts of the city. And that image showed that same boy with a blue diamond tucked under his arm, his face one of determination. “This kid is a thief,” the man stated. “Whoever he is, he stole the blue Gem of Miracles from my outpost. No doubt he’s after the other six. The robots and my agent there reported that he was using magic unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And that magic is, without a doubt, the cause of this blackout. And that means one thing. That guy… is here. We just need to find him and retake what’s mine.” The man turned to Stone. “Divert all search units to the site of the footprint.” “Yes, Doctor,” Stone replied, making his way out of the truck while the man turned back to the shoe print. “That’s one small step for man… one giant leap for me.” The tranquil island village was a peaceful place. Arguments were rare, and harm never came to its people. Until today. A sunflower was crushed beneath a metallic foot. Hundreds of killer robots marched onto the village. Their mission: raze it to the ground. They came in all forms. Mechanical ladybugs on wheels. Flying bionic bees. Cloaking chameleon robots. And among them were deadly combat machines with guns spinning up and missiles ready to fire. The citizens quaked and shivered in fear. They had nothing to defend themselves with. All hope was lost. Animals ran away in panic, lest they were abducted for the soulless machines’ power sources. The village was bound to be burned until nothing remained of it… but not if one brave kid had anything to say about it. A sneaker-clad foot bounced off a rock, and a blue bolt touched down right in front of the mechanical menaces. Sonic rose to his feet, staring down the robots. They did not relent, so neither did he. At the sight of their savior, the people cheered. Knowing what was about to follow, they retreated into their homes. Weapon pods opened up. Guns aimed right at him. Missiles locked on target. Targeting sensors kicked in… ...and the air was flooded with the sound of gunfire. Missiles and rockets flew, flying towards the boy. Unwilling to back down from anything, the blue boy took off at high speed. In a blur, he created a mountain of scrap metal. He kicked away rolling robots, slam-dunked hovering horrors, and spun into combat machines like a pinball in a pinball machine. He broke through chassis after chassis, scrapping each one. He whirled around a large robot in a blue tornado, confusing its systems. Missiles flew for Sonic and he jumped out of the way, making them hit the larger robot and blowing it up in a cloud of fire. War droids fired their machine guns, but Sonic pounced away. The bullets dug into other units, one of them going haywire and causing a serious case of friendly fire. Sonic slammed into each one in his ball form, a blue aura surrounding him. He blasted through another wave in half a second, nuts and bolts clattering to the ground. He stomped down near another robot, the resulting shockwave stunning it… ...and allowing Sonic to push it off a cliff with a single tap of his foot. Machines of all kinds flew through the air. Blue flashes outshined flashes of spent ammo, gunfire, and missile launches. Explosions lit up the ground as the one-kid army tore through the tech. He sidestepped another robot’s machine gun, leaping on and springing off while it continued to fire. He rocketed back down, his stomp obliterating the droid. Using his super-speed to grab two missiles before they exploded, he threw them right at more robots. Several explosions later, smoke rose into the sky. Soon, all that remained of the robotic horde was slag and scrap metal. Sonic stood alone, looking around at his victory. “Best. Dream. Ever!” he called, striking a pose. KRABOOOM! The sky turned dark, clouds blocked the sun, and flowers wilted away. Darkness filled everything, a large mist obscuring the village. With a gasp, Sonic dashed through the mist… ...and emerged to find nothing. No village, no people, no animals. Everything was gone. Thunder flashed overhead, and purple lightning struck the island. Rocky chunks fell, trees were torn from their roots, and waves rocked the shore. “YOUR QUEST HAS FAILED.” The voice racked Sonic’s mind, emanating from the clouds above. He turned to the skies in horror. He tried to run away, but strong winds prevented him from doing so. Darkness swallowed him. He found himself in a black void, faceless things staring at him. “Why, Sonic?” “You promised you’d fix things.” “You failed me!” “You were our only hope.” “There are no miracles left.” “Now you really are alone.” Sonic yelled out in panic, clamping his ears shut to drown out the voices. But among the rest, one broke through. “YOU WEREN’T FAST ENOUGH. YOUR MAGIC, ALONG WITH THE WORLD’S, ARE NOW MINE. YOU… WILL BE FORGOTTEN.” “No! No! NOOOOOOO!” He fell, darkness taking over. The last thing he saw were two bright purple eyes snapping open, followed by sinister laughter. He woke up screaming, drenched in sweat. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, even as the nightmare hung in his mind. The thought of failure. The thought of being truly alone. Like he was the very last person in the world. “No, no, no, no, no,” Sonic muttered, clutching his head. “No, you haven’t failed. There’s still time. You always still have time, you’re the fastest kid alive. You can find the gems. You can save everyone. You can-” He spun his head around to see Needlemouse staring at him. “Uh, I mean... worst dream! Worst dream ever!” Sonic backtracked, trying to keep his cool in front of his pet hedgehog. “I was fighting this huge wave of robots and I just woke up! So lame! I wish I could just get right back to-” He stopped suddenly, even taking the hedgehog by surprise. Silence fell over his cave and his hammock bed stopped swinging. Was it just Sonic’s imagination, or did he just hear… A faint clanking sound and a hovering noise came from the distance. Followed by lots more like it. His heartbeat began to pick up speed. “Oh, no…” he sped out of bed and out of the cave, racing into the forest and behind a rock. When he looked out at the woods… a terrified gasp escaped his throat. Robots prowled the forest. Drones loomed in the air, ignoring any animals that fled from them. They scanned the ground and the area, searching for something. Sonic knew all too well what that something was. “Okay, okay, everything is fine,” he whispered to himself. “So, you played some soccer, got a little upset, lightning shot out of your butt, and now they’re coming for you!” He zipped back to his cave in a flash. “Alright, alright, Canterlot City isn’t safe anymore. This is a Code Gold. A Code Gold, not a drill. I never thought there would be a Code Gold this soon!” He knocked himself on the head. “Stop it, Sonic! Now’s not the time for panicking! You can’t keep looking for the gems here! You gotta go somewhere else. But where? Where, where, where, where, where?” He snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s it! That Ponyville place looks good to lay low!” Sonic looked around his cave. “I’ve gotta take my stuff! Okay, essential items only,” He set to work, rushing around the cave, grabbing a red backpack and collecting whatever he could. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair gel, nightlight, funny hat, music tapes, cell phone, headphones, this half-eaten cantaloupe, oh, and my scented candle… my entire comic collection… bean bag chair, can a bean bag chair fit in a backpack? No, no, no! Of course not, that’s stupid! My shoes? Ah, no! They’re all torn up! Oh, just like this pair! I gotta get new ones soon… Okay, what else?” He sped over to his hedgehog and picked him up. “Needlemouse! I can’t just leave you here to starve, buddy! I gotta take you along!” He looked over to the trophy stands… and gasped. “The gem! Yes, the gem! I can’t let them find it! I still have six more to go, I don’t wanna start all over!” Placing Needlemouse in the backpack’s side pocket and the gem in his jean pocket, he looked around for anything else. His eyes rested on a brown pouch, causing him to gasp. “The rings!” he shouted, running over and snatching the pouch. “The rings! Yes, of course!” he sped back to the backpack, tucking the last of the stuff inside and slinging it over his back. Sonic opened up the ring bag, taking one out. “Okay, here we go. Ring time. Ponyville, here I come.” The whole cave trembled, dust falling from the ceiling. The hovering noise intensified and the ground shook under mechanical footsteps. Sonic froze up in fear. “Oh, no! They’re right outside! I gotta go somewhere else!” Sonic put the ring back in the bag, closed it up and jogged over to the cave’s entrance. Before he could make it out, he stopped and took one last look at his home. The boy gave a deep sigh. “Goodbye, cave.” He turned, walking away from it all. Author's Note Dr. Robotnik has entered the stage! And just like the movie, he sees himself as superior while looking down on everyone else as inferior. Classic evil scientist mindset. We also see that he somehow knows Sonic in the past. Why he does will be revealed later on. Right now, Sonic's attempt to skip town will finally bring him and the HuMane 7 together in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 6) CHAPTER FIVE“Fluttershy, nope. AJ, nada. Rarity, zilch. Sunset, empty. Pinkie Pie, zero luck.” Rainbow sighed. “And me… no medal. We’re getting nowhere on this thing.” With an exasperated groan, she buried her face in her hands… and peeked out. “Wait a sec… Twilight! Maybe she’s got-” Her phone buzzed like a bee, breaking her thoughts. Her hand grabbed it instinctively and she glanced at the caller ID. Applejack? What does she want now? This better be something good… She pressed “answer”, holding the phone to her ear. “Hey, AJ. Sup?” “Sorry to bother you, Dash, but I’ve got a situation. I think I’ve got critters again.” Rainbow groaned. “Are the little trash pandas back?” “Those masked varmints? Maybe. I heard a huge ruckus, so there’s probably more than one. You’d best come over and help clear him out.” The athlete smirked. “I call dibs on the tranq gun.” “What?” AJ spoke up. “No, no, no! You’re not using that thing! Fluttershy hates that idea and you know it! Besides, it’s for bears!” “Well, now I know it works. And besides, Fluttershy doesn’t know what we’re doing, and she never will.” Rainbow heard the cowgirl groan on the other end. “Fine. Just get over here as quickly as you can, please?” “Ha! Quick is my middle name!” she chuckled, her thumb moving to hang up. “Uh, that doesn’t roll off the-” Rainbow ended the call, taking off from the house without a moment to waste. But, unbeknownst to her, her phone still had a notification: a text from Twilight. With a cringe on his face, Sonic lifted his foot from the smashed flower pot. He took a deep breath and dropped to the floor of the barn, making sure his backpack was still with him. “Okay, I’m in,” he whispered, shaking some dirt off his shoe. “With minimal damage to Applejack’s property.” He reached into his bag, taking out a gold magic ring that twinkled in the sunlight from the barn’s window. “Here we go, things didn’t work out on Canterlot, but that’s okay. You’re going to a safe place. A place that isn’t as big or lively as Canterlot, but you can lay low… oh, that sounds awful! I can’t do this!” He took out the blue Gem of Miracles, clutching it tightly. “No, you have to. You have to do this. Maybe the Rainbooms are still known over there. But there’s no other option!” He could feel his spine tingling in anxiety. He held out the ring, took another deep breath, and… “Alright, you little miscreants! I know how to use this! Paws in the a-” Rainbow Dash kicked open the doors of the barn as if she was an action movie hero, tranquilizer at the ready. That line didn’t sound as good as she hoped, but she could work on it. The girl looked around the barn, magenta eyes peeled for raccoons. But what she didn’t expect to see was a kid. A boy with emerald green eyes and blue hair fashioned into a spike ball shape. Two red backpack straps could be seen over his shoulders, and a small brown pouch was by his left thigh. A cobalt t-shirt with a light blue lightning bolt and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees were his standard attire and an old pair of taped up running shoes were on his feet. A wristwatch was on his right arm. In one white fingerless glove was a gold ring. In the other… was a glowing blue diamond. And his face was in a frozen state of shock like he had been caught breaking curfew. His mouth was slightly hung low in a state of surprise… and the boy turned it into a sheepish grin with a nervous giggle. “Wh-what’s up?” Rainbow’s only reply was… “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Amid their little scream-off, her finger pulled the trigger. The small dart shot from the barrel and lodged itself right into the boy’s side. The kid jolted back. “Ow!” Rainbow didn’t move, her chest was slowly rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. The boy’s eyes started to get heavy, his body gently swaying. “Mane...hat...ten…?” Rainbow glanced down to her shirt. Sure enough, there was the name and the city clear as day. But why would he want to know about- The ring from the boy’s hand dropped to the floor of the barn rolling towards Rainbow on its side. It fell onto its side… and expanded in size. Inside were the buildings and roads of the metropolitan city. “Huh?” Rainbow gasped, her eyes trained on the ring. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing! Was this some new kind of magic? The boy staggered towards the ring like a zombie. His eyes drooped until they were nearly closed… and he collapsed with a moan. The diamond fell out of his grip, its glow dimming away. Rainbow watched in shock as the gem fell through the ring… and onto the top of a skyscraper. The tranquilizer gun dropped to the floor as her mouth hung open in surprise. The boy crawled toward the ring, but it slowly began to shrink down. “N… no…” The boy slumped into unconsciousness, his outstretched arm falling limp. The ring flashed with a dinging sound, fading into nonexistence. Rainbow Dash found herself alone, staring down at the teen with wide eyes. “What?” “Rainbow Dash!” Applejack’s annoyed voice cut in. “You told me you were only gonna use the tranquilizer to scare ‘em off! Not shoot ‘em like real bandits! And WHAT was with all the-” The farm girl stopped in her tracks, her eyes going as wide as Rainbow’s. In front of both girls, the passed-out body of the boy sprawled out before them. AJ took off her hat. “Who in tarnation is that?!” “We…” Rainbow managed to speak. “We gotta get him inside.” “He had this diamond with him! And he had this ring that I thought was a ring until it opened up to Manehatten and the diamond fell through and then he passed-” AJ clamped a hand over the jock’s mouth. “Whoa there! We just need to stay calm! Especially me, since I’ve never had any trespassers before. You said he had some kinda backpack with him?” “Yeah?” “Maybe he’s from out of town or something. You should search it.” “But what about the rings?” “If they can be used for travel, we’ve gotta keep ‘em safe. You take a look through the backpack, and I’ll keep an eye on this Flash Sentry wannabe.” “O… okay. You sure your lasso can hold him?” “No one’s ever gotten out.” Nodding in reply, Rainbow headed into the house’s living room. Applejack stayed behind in the kitchen, arms crossed and eyes never leaving from the tied-up boy in the chair. She wanted answers from this guy when he came to. Like why he had tried breaking into her family’s barn. “Whoa, cool! A jacket! Hmm… All-Stars number ninety-one. Nah, never heard of ‘em. Huh? Hey what’s… oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH!” AJ spun her head to the living room. “What? What is it?” “He has the entire Daring Do comic collection!” Rainbow’s ecstatic voice shrieked. “All two hundred issues! And collector’s editions, too?! How did he get these?!” Applejack just rolled her eyes, turning back to the boy as Rainbow continued her search. “Hey, what… is this a hedgehog? Why would he keep a hedgehog in a backpack? Fluttershy’s not gonna like that… and what’s with this weird hat?” “Uhh…” Applejack stood at attention. The boy’s light groan was enough to give her a sign that he was coming to. “Dash!” she called. “He’s waking up!” “Coming!” A moment later, the athlete rushed into the room. Both of them turned to the kid, who seemed to be mumbling something. “Waking up? No, I wasn’t sleeping, you were sleeping… grzt! Wha?” He shot awake, his green eyes flashing open. “Rainbow Dash! Applejack! I didn’t mean to- oh, come on! Tied to a chair? What is this, a crime scene?” “Uh, how does he know our names?” Applejack asked with a nervous tone. “Well…” Rainbow responded, running a hand through her multi-colored hair. “We have saved the day from magical catastrophes on several occasions.” “Fair enough,” the cowgirl responded. She turned back to the boy, placing her hands on her hips with a stern expression. “Alright, you little blue scamp, what’s the deal with you breaking and entering into my family’s barn? Granny Smith ain’t gonna be too happy about that!” “Look, I’m sorry about that,” the teen answered, sounding a little drowsy. Apparently, the tranquilizer’s effects hadn’t worn off a hundred percent yet. “I needed somewhere safe. I just needed to get away from… from… wait wait wait, where are my rings? Why am I still in Canterlot? And where- oh, NO! The gem! I lost the gem!” “Hold your horses,” AJ interrupted. Rainbow, on the other hand, was in deep thought. “I got your little sack of handwear right here.” “But- but the gem! I needed that gem!” “Wait, you mean that glowing diamond?” Rainbow asked. “You used one of those rings, that I can now assume are magic, to open up a portal to Manehatten and the diamond fell through.” “Manehat- no, no, no! That wasn’t where I was supposed to go! And- ugh! It’s there! The gem is there! After all this time of searching, now I’m back to square one! Thank you so… wait a second, wait a second, did you say it was glowing?” “Uh, yeah. Why?” The boy just looked down. “It’s never glowed before…” A loud rumbling sound came from just outside the house. The girls looked out the window, moving closer for a better look. And just by the fence to the property was a large black truck. “Expecting someone, AJ?” Rainbow asked. “Weird time, if you ask me.” “I… I didn’t call for anyone, Rainbow Dash…” AJ replied. “Hey, wait a minute… that looks like the same truck-” “AH!” The curtain flew shut, prompting both surprised girls to turn… and see the boy right next to them. “What… how… I don’t… how in tarnation did you get out?!” the farmgirl snapped angrily. “They’re coming for me!” “Who is coming for you? What’s that got to do with us?” Rainbow asked anxiously. “I don’t have time to explain, but you have to help me!” the boy shouted. “No, we don’t!” Applejack protested while Rainbow said “Why?” at that same exact moment. “Well, my legs, which normally would be classified as lethal weapons, feel like spaghetti,” the boy summarized. “I need your help. Please. It’s life or death.” The girls sat in silence, looking at both each other, the boy, and the truck outside before concluding. “Alright, fine,” AJ said. “But one more time, how the heck did you get out from my lasso?” “What?” the boy asked. “You’ve never heard of a skill called untying a knot?” The cowgirl raised a brow. “In five seconds?” The boy just shrugged. “I’m just someone who likes to get things done quickly. Now can you girls hurry up and help me already?!” “Okay, okay, come with us,” Rainbow quieted him. She moved down the hall, AJ right behind her. The boy took a step… and fell flat on his face. “Uh, a little help?” Rainbow cracked open the door and peeked out. Some weird guy in black was investigating a footprint on the ground. A red scanning ray emitted from his hand, which soon vanished and allowed him to fiddle with controls on the glove. Rainbow looked back into the house. “Come on, AJ…” Upstairs, AJ hustled the boy into her house’s attic. “Stay here and be quiet as a tumbleweed,” she ushered. “Good plan. Great plan. We’re already working so well together. Practically finishing each other’s senten-” “AHEM!” The boy stopped. “Sorry.” Applejack descended the ladder, closing it shut behind her. She headed down to the front door, where Rainbow was waiting. With the athlete right behind her, she pushed open the door. “Just keep calm.” Rainbow nodded. AJ cleared her throat, eyes focused on the man. “Howdy there! Can we help you?” The man looked up and stood, walking towards the house’s front porch. “Good morning, my rural chums!” he greeted back. “I’m… from the power company investigating the blackout. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a few readings inside your humble abode.” “No kidding!” Rainbow spoke. “You’re from the power company? You must know my buddy, Silver. We used to play soccer in freshman year, and he just took an internship there.” “Silver Zoom,” the man replied. “He’s a good man.” “Well, come on in,” AJ gestured, the man eagerly climbing the steps. However, he was stopped by AJ blocking the way. “Take all the readings you need, but… the power company usually takes their readings from outside houses in this city. That way, they can check, uh...” Seeing her friend was faltering, Rainbow stepped in. “Also, Silver works for the gas company. And he was one of the offensive players who did a terrifyingly good job at it, speaking from experience, so you wanna tell us why you think we’re dumb enough to just let you walk inside Applejack’s house?” The man put one hand behind his back, and the girls heard beeping noises. Soon, a faint buzzing noise cut through the air. They looked up to see small drones with rotors on them fly through the air and into every window and opening of the house. Unbeknownst to the girls, two of them slipped into the attic. “Well, young ladies…” the man replied, taking some steps back. “You may have noticed this city has been experiencing a power outage.” “Yep, no lights,” Rainbow coolly replied. “Picked up on that.” “Twenty minutes ago, I tracked an energy pulse with a similar signature to the one that caused that disruption.” Rainbow and AJ turned to each in disbelief. Could this mean that the kid they found was the one responsible? AJ cleared her head. “Uh, listen, Mister…” “Doctor. Doctor Robotnik.” “Well, Doctor Robot-skis…” AJ continued. “I’m sure what you’re here for is very serious, but it’s got nothing to do with us.” “Yeah, you can ask anyone in Canterlot,” Rainbow added. “Everyone knows us.” “I bet they do,” Robotnik answered, climbing back onto the porch. “I’m sure and the others in your little group are very popular in the whole city. You may have pulled off some incredible stuff, but lemme tell you: I have surpassed everything you’re ever going to do!” AJ cocked a brow at the man’s raised tone. Was he trying to threaten them now? “When I was a toddler, I was spitting out formulas while you were still spitting up formula,” he continued, staring both of them in the eye. Rainbow looked almost insulted. “I was breastfed, actually.” “Nice. Rub that in my orphan face.” Touchy subject. AJ noted. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack,” the man said. “Are you familiar with what happens when a citizen attempts to aid an enemy of this country?” “Don’t tell me,” Rainbow stopped, holding up a hand. “Curtains?” “And if I’m the one that catches you… it’ll be even worse.” The girls were confused. “What could be worse than ending up six feet under?” AJ questioned. The man only turned to her with a sadistic smile. “Me.” A scanning ray swept across the attic, moving over boxes and family heirlooms. From behind one, Sonic laid motionless. “Oh… please don’t let that be an x-ray,” he whispered, clutching his stomach. “I had quite an embarrassing lunch.” The drone and its red beam were getting closer to his position. As quietly as he could, Sonic snuck to the other side of the box. Maybe he could sneak around it and get out of the attic. He peeked out… and gasped, ducking back into cover. Another drone was now coming from the other side. He was trapped. If those things did have x-rays, they’d see right through the tall crate shielding Sonic. His eyes darted from left to right to left again, taking in the sight of the scanning beams inching closer and closer… He could hear the shrill buzzing of their rotors like a swarm of angry wasps. It was almost deafening. “Don’t freak out,” he murmured, clutching his head with both hands and tucking himself inward. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” The beams were at the edge of the box. The buzzing was seeping into his ears. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” They inched closer to his position. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” The scans were barely touching him. “I’M FREAKING OUT!” He jumped from cover in a blue spinning ball of light, sailing over the drones and smashing the cover of the attic door. He rolled down the stairs and into the hallway… “Why! Don’t! You! Have! Your! Stair! Case! Carpeted!” CLANG! Sonic collapsed on his back, stunned from the impact. Weakly opening his eyes, he blinked away the drowsiness. His breath left his throat when he saw what he had crashed into: a table with utensils and pots underneath. “Oh no…” “...compared to what I-” A crashing noise from inside the house drew the attention of all three. Applejack had a ready response. “Sorry about that, I’ve been having a little critter problem as of late.” “Then you won’t mind me getting rid of them for you!” Robotnik replied, making his way past the startled farmgirl. With panic on both her and Rainbow’s faces, they ran after him. “Uh, you know what? That’s not really necessary!” AJ called. “I’ve been taught to handle little varmints ever since I was five! I can-” They both entered the kitchen… to see Robotnik staring at a raccoon on the table munching through a discarded cereal box. For once in her life, Applejack had never been so happy to see an animal in her house. She let out a quiet sigh, and Rainbow gave her a thumbs-up. “Here’s the thing…” Robotnik sneered. “I’m never wrong.” “Well, first time for everything,” Rainbow responded as calmly as she could. “Right?” While AJ shooed the critter out the back door, Robotnik turned to walk out of the house. Rainbow couldn’t help but smile when he wasn’t looking. The athlete turned to the attic door just up the stairs and down the hall… and saw that it was open. Her smile slightly dropped. She looked back to Robotnik… and her smile fell completely when she noticed him down on one knee, picking something up from the ground and smirking to himself. AJ returned to Rainbow’s side, also catching a glimpse of what the man was doing. The scientist turned to them… holding a tiny sprig of blue hair that buzzed with an electric current. “Look at that…” he boasted. “I was right. Note the lack of surprise. Should we try this again?” Before the girls could reply, the scientist whistled to the tune of “Ride of the Valkyries”. A hovering sound echoed through the house… and a white oval-shaped drone flew into view. Rainbow swallowed nervously while AJ tried to stand her ground. The sides of the drone slightly opened, revealing two machine gun mounts. “I’m going to give you five seconds to tell me where he is,” Robotnik spoke. “Five.” “I, uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rainbow replied. I could use my super speed to dodge when it shoots, but if it goes for AJ first… oh, what I wouldn’t give to have Rarity here! “Four.” “Now, listen here! I come from tough stock!” Applejack told him sternly. “And if Granny and Mac learn about this…” “How can you threaten somebody who never existed? Three.” The suspense was killing Rainbow. Her eyes never peeled away from the drone, and she could feel sweat starting to run down her face. “COME ON! Rack your brains!” Robotnik shouted. “You might come up with some lame excuse to go on living in two!” The drone spun up its weapons. Rainbow instinctively snagged AJ’s wrist, her other hand slowly reaching for the geode around her neck. “ONE!” “WAIT!” The trio whirled to see the blue boy with hands in the air. “Don’t hurt them!” Robotnik’s eyes widened. “It IS you!” WHAM! Rainbow’s fist plowed across his face, knocking the man in black to the floor. In response, the drone extended four flaps: its attack mode. “Target identified. Engaging.” “Run for it!” Rainbow cried, grabbing the surprised boy by the hand and taking off. AJ chased after them with the drone in hot pursuit. The three rushed into the living room, the sound of firing guns and bullet holes appearing in the walls out of nowhere all they could comprehend. The trio dove under the couch, the drone continuing to fire. One bullet shattered a vase, a second broke a window, and another cracked a photo of the Mane Seven (to Rainbow’s horror). “This feels excessive!” the boy shouted over the bullet storm. “You THINK?!” Rainbow snapped back. AJ grabbed tightly onto her hat, yelling when a few bullets nearly hit her and smacked into the carpet instead. She took whatever cover she could… but the guns stopped. Rainbow peeked open an eye. The drone was just hovering there, its guns smoking. They had time to get out! “Kid, stay behind me,” Rainbow whispered… but no reply came. “Uh, kid? You still-” She turned behind her… and saw only Applejack peeking out from under her hat. The girls were wide-eyed. “Wh-where’d he go?” Applejack looked around the living room, gasping and pointing. Rainbow followed her gaze… and saw the kid climbing on top of a shelf behind the drone. Her heart began to race. What was he doing? He was gonna get himself killed! The boy’s eyes met her, and she frantically shook her head. The boy gave her a reassuring smile, his thumb pointing to his face. Before Rainbow could object any further… he jumped. “Hi-yah!” he called, grabbing onto the drone. It started to spin wildly, its guns firing off in every direction. “Don’t worry, I got it right where I want it!” A few bullets hit the window, shattering it and making glass rain down on the floor. Rainbow scooted back against the couch, a stray cushion bursting apart and letting feathers fly free. “Can you believe they’re gonna be delivering packages with these things?!” the boy shouted, riding the drone like a wild bull. He seemed to be struggling to stay on. Suddenly, AJ’s eyes lit up. “Stay here!” she called, running from cover. “Wait! APPLEJACK!” Rainbow called, only for three bullets to rip right through the couch. The drone managed to fire in her friend’s direction, but the cowgirl managed to disappear into the kitchen. The boy grunted and a few “whoa”s escaped his throat. Rainbow peeked out from the couch, a stray bullet whizzing past her face. The drone was in an all-out tumble, the kid temporarily losing his grip and grabbing the drone again. He tried to hold on tight, but Rainbow doubted he could last much longer. “This was a HORRIBLE plan! What was I thinking?!” That was a good question. But her primary concern was Applejack. Just what was taking her so long? “I’m! Gonna! PUKE!” The boy was ripped from the drone, tumbling to the ground. The machine turned its attention to Rainbow, who was frozen in fear… “Hey, rustbucket!” The drone spun around… and something smashed against its side. It crashed to the floor, where the object struck it again. Applejack rose back to her full height, tossing her frying pan aside. “Hustle! We gotta hightail it outta here!” Rainbow rushed to the backpack of the kid’s stuff, quickly packing everything up and putting the ring bag over her left shoulder. She took the hedgehog in her hands, slung the backpack over her right shoulder (grunting at its weight as she did so), and made a dash for the door. AJ picked up the groaning boy. “Oh, don’t tell me that’s all you got!” he called to the non-functional drone. “I’m just getting started! Lemme know if you wanna go round two with the blue!” “Come on! My truck!” AJ shouted, rushing over to the vehicle and fishing out the keys. Having received it a year earlier, the pickup looked similar to her grandmother’s own, complete with a dark green color and an apple symbol on the front. It had a backseat that allowed for four people inside and an attachable wooden barrier for transporting cargo. The latter was not needed right now, as it was against the side of the house’s garage. AJ placed the dizzy boy in the backseat, and Rainbow tossed the backpack in with him. With the ring bag and the hedgehog in hand, she hopped into the passenger seat while AJ started up the engine. In no time at all, she peeled the truck out onto the road… where a man from one of the black cars spotted them. He turned to the other agents. “Well, don’t just stand there! After them!” “Right away, Agent Stone!” someone replied, the cars roaring to life and screeching off in pursuit. Now alone, Stone rushed into the house to check on the doctor. “Doctor? Doctor!” Stone called, rushing through the ransacked living room and kitchen. Robotnik groaned from nearby, drawing Stone to his location. “Are you alright? Three teenagers just ran out of here, and I thought-” “That you should stop them?” Robotnik snapped. “Open up your flimsy little mouth, and say that you should’ve stopped them.” “The other agents are in pursuit now, Doctor,” Stone explained. “I decided to stay behind and check up on you.” he helped the genius up to his feet. “And you should’ve gone with them!” Robotnik shouted. “You know what’s the hardest thing about being the smartest person in the world?!” “Everyone else is stupid?" “YES! Way to go! You got that one!” Robotnik mockingly congratulated before calming himself down. “Soon, that thieving rat will give up what is rightfully mine. And when he does, nothing can stop me!” He placed his glasses on his face… which were twisted and bent. “Agent Stone?” “Doctor.” “Call Optical Illusions. Tell them I need new frames. They know what kind I like. Oh… and bring that hair sample.” “Yes, Doctor.” Applejack’s truck sped down the straight open road toward Canterlot City. Inside, everyone was trying to catch their breath after what had just happened. “Oh, man… that was crazy!” Rainbow breathed, clutching the hedgehog to her chest and tossing the ring bag into the backseat. The boy caught it without giving it a thought. “You call that crazy? I’ve seen crazier.” “You telling us you’ve seen some stuff?” AJ asked curiously. Rainbow, on the other hand, realized something. The athlete turned in her seat before the teen could reply. “Hey, I just remembered. You never told us your… your…” “Rainbow? What’s wrong?” AJ questioned, noticing the other girl’s voice go silent. “You cut yourself off back there.” “Applejack… we’ve got company!” “Huh?!” the cowgirl looked into her rearview mirror. Sure enough, several black cars were speeding towards them. From inside, she could see men and women with determined expressions on their faces. “Aw, fiddlesticks! I can’t lose them out here! And we can’t just lead them into the city!” “Don’t bother!” the boy shouted to them. “I’ll take care of this! The tranquilizer should’ve worn off by now!” “Wha- you?!” Rainbow gasped in disbelief. “But-” “Relax, Rainbow Flash!” the boy replied. “Just keep Needlemouse safe and I’ll be back in ten seconds flat!” He reached over for the door and swung it wide open. “HEY! W-whaddya think you’re doing?!” AJ shouted, now realizing she had forgotten to lock the doors before peeling out. “If you jump outta here-” “Just drive!” the boy snapped back. “I said I can handle this!” Before any of the girls could object, he jumped out of the truck… ...and ran off with a boom. A blue bolt of light blasted down the road, blowing the minds of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The cowgirl slammed on the brakes, and the truck screeched to a halt. Both girls were wide-eyed as they witnessed the following events. The boy ran down the road at high speed right for the cars. He bounded off the hood of the lead car to land on top of another. He grabbed onto the edge, swung right through a window and shattered it, kicking the driver out of the vehicle in the process. Landing back on the road as the car tumbled onto its side, he raced to another and gave it a strong kick. This car skidded off the road and into a ditch. The boy backflipped into the air, slamming down onto the hood of another car. The vehicle’s back end raised into the air, the force from the boy’s impact damaging the engine. He jumped and sped off, grabbing a stick from the side of the road. Running over to the last car, he jammed the wooden object right in the front left wheel. The vehicle flipped into the air, crashing down onto the lead car and sending them both flying. The boy burst forward, sliding right underneath the crash. In a blue flash, he zoomed back to the truck… ...and zipped back into his seat. The girls were stunned. Fire and smoke rose from the crash, and disoriented agents tried to clamber from their wrecked vehicles. The hedgehog in Rainbow’s arms just twitched its nose. “What did I tell ya, ladies?” the teenager said with crossed arms and a calm smile. “Ten. Seconds. Flat.” Applejack took off her hat. “Land sakes…” “That… was… AWESOME!” Rainbow screeched at the top of her lungs. “Possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen! You have super speed, too?! How did you do that?! Where’s your geode?! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!” “Whoa, whoa!” The boy interrupted, holding up two hands. “Easy there, Dashie!” Rainbow froze at the nickname, sitting down into her seat with a small blush and a clear of her throat. “Sorry, just… got waaay too excited there. I think I became Pinkie for a moment. A-anyway, back to what I said earlier… you never told us your name.” The boy gestured to himself with a thumb and a smirk. “I’m Sonic.” “Sonic… Sonic…” Rainbow repeated. “That’s a pretty cool name. And just how fast were you going back there?” “I just clocked it at two twenty-five. Speed sign from the opposite lane told me. I can go much faster than that, by the way.” “Ditto! Hey, I could’ve done that a whole lot better!” “What’s that? You think you could’ve done that faster than me?” the boy told her with a knowing smirk. “Duh! I’ve saved Pinkie from tripping over a dog chasing Fluttershy’s cat, stopped her cupcakes from hitting a biker, saved a kid’s ice cream from hitting the sidewalk, and stopped Twilight’s coffee from staining her shirt all in the span of a second!” “That sounds like a challenge…” “Maybe because it is a challenge!” “Oh, ho, ho! You’re on! A race fifteen miles from the city and back!” Rainbow paused, turning to see Applejack staring at her. "What? I can't say no to a friendly competition!" “Well, I can see you two are hitting it off,” AJ butted in. “And I couldn’t help but think… this blackout was your doing, wasn’t it?” Sonic froze. “Uh, heh heh! That’s a, uh, that’s a funny story…” “Wait a sec. Did you also spray paint on those speed limit signs?” Rainbow asked him. “I had my reasons…” “And that guy back at my house… Twilight texted us about a strange man in black at the soccer field, where she figured out that was the origin point of the wave.” “What were you doing at the soccer field?” Rainbow questioned aloud… before she realized what AJ had just said. “Wait, Twilight texted us?” She fished out her phone, noticing the said message that was sent earlier. Guys, this is urgent. I’m at school right now. It looks like the soccer field is ground zero for the blackout. I don’t know how it could’ve happened here, but that’s not the point. Spike and I saw a weird guy with a mustache in a black coat. He’s got robots and loyal people by his side. I’ve got a bad feeling about him. Meet me at my place as soon as you can. “Aw, man!” the athlete groaned. “She could’ve warned me ahead of time about that guy! Ugh, I really need to start checking my texts more often!” “Like that time at the mall wasn’t enough to convince you…” AJ said. Rainbow opened her mouth to retort… but the buzz of her phone caught her attention. RD! AJ! Where ARE you guys??!! “We gotta get to Twilight’s. Now.” "Ooh, it's him! That's the guy I kept telling you guys about!" Pinkie cried in excitement. “So… who exactly is this?” Twilight had a stern expression on her face as she said this. AJ’s truck was parked on the side of the street, and its three occupants had now met up with the rest of the Mane Seven. “And what took you so long, anyway?” “The name’s Sonic,” the boy answered her. “A little blue ball of super energy in an extremely handsome package.” He flashed a seemingly cool pose with a wink… before dropping it. “And I need your help.” “That weird man you texted us about was looking for him,” Rainbow explained. “AJ and I caught him in her barn, and we helped him escape. I think the guy’s name was… Robotnik or something like that.” “Hmm… Sonic sounds like a weird nickname,” Pinkie said. “Oh! Maybe it is a nickname! So, what’s your real name?” “Hey, come to think of it… she may have a point,” Rainbow agreed, turning to the boy in blue expectantly. To her confusion, he was frozen in place with a look of horror on his face. “Uh, that’s, um, not important right now,” he said quickly. “What is important is that I-” “Find a good place for your hedgehog?” Fluttershy guessed. “I can look after him if you want.” The boy looked caught off-guard. “Uh, that’s fine. Needlemouse is kinda okay with me.” Fluttershy became confused. “What kind of name is that?” “Long story short, that’s what I used to call hedgehogs as a kid,” he summarized. “Anyway, as I was saying, I need your help to find the Seven Gems of Miracles.” “Ooh!” Rarity piped up, intrigued at the concept of gems. “That sounds fascinating! But… what exactly are they?” Having expected this, Sonic pulled out a piece of paper and unfurled it. He held it out to the girls, who could see seven diamonds in a circle around a magical aura. “The Seven Gems of Miracles are legendary relics said to be scattered across the world,” he told them. “If someone gathers all seven of them, they can achieve immense power. And that power is just what I need to save my home from a terrible fate. Short version: think of the planet's strongest energy source, multiply it by a billion, and you get the idea.” “Relics with that kind of power…” Sunset realized. “You can’t be the only one looking for them.” “Right. Someone else could be on the hunt. I need to get all of them before they do, or else that power will be used for bad stuff. I’m talking really bad: doom-us-all level. But if used right, it could be enough to save everything I know. And right now, my rings aren’t much help.” “Rings? What good could they possibly do, besides make yourself look more stunning?” Rarity asked. “These aren't ordinary rings,” Sonic said, taking one out from his pouch. “Where I come from, they’re used by my people to get from one place to another instantly. Watch.” He tossed the ring in front of him… ...and it grew to the size of a small car. Inside it, the girls were treated to the sight of Canterlot High. “The rest is simple; I just jump through,” Sonic told them. “As for where I want to go, I just think of where the other end is gonna be. Unless it’s somewhere I’ve never seen, so, yeah. Nothing.” “Why don’t you just use those to get to where the gems are?” Sunset asked him. “See, that’s the problem and why I need your help!” Sonic groaned. “One of the gems in a city called Manehatten, and I have no idea where it is!” “It’s east.” The boy paused. “East?” “Yep,” Sunset approved, Applejack nodding in agreement. “Straight shot from here. You can’t miss it.” Sonic smiled at her, placing the ring back in his pouch and putting his hands on his hips. “Fine. That’s cool. I’m totally cool saying goodbye now.” And in a blue streak of light, he was gone. In the dust that followed, the girls’ faces were in complete shock… all except for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Oh, yeah…” the athlete said with remembrance. “He has super speed just like me. Forgot about that.” “But… I didn’t see a geode on him!” Twilight gasped. “How can he do that?” “How rude! He left without saying goodbye!” Rarity harrumphed. Applejack just stared at her with a raised brow. “Uh… he kinda did.” “So… I guess that’s it, then?” Sunset asked, Pinkie hanging her head in shame. “He’s back on his own again?” “Yeah, I guess so,” Rainbow answered. “He should be fine finding those gems all by him-” SHOOP! Before any of the girls could blink, Sonic was right in front of them again. He was dripping wet, had seaweed and a fish in his hair, and clothes sopping with water. And he had a look that said “you are dead wrong” on his face. “So, as I crashed into the cold, dark water of the Celestial Sea, I realized a few things,” he said, the girls still in surprise at his sudden, unexpected return. “A: I have no idea where I’m going. B: Saltwater stinks. C: I should still have one gem with me right now, but I don’t. Why? Because you shot me!” He pointed an accusing finger at Rainbow Dash, who looked slightly embarrassed while her friends looked at her in horror. “I-I know…” “YOU. SHOT. ME!” he repeated loudly in a dramatic tone that almost rivaled Rarity’s. Rainbow cringed. “Okay, okay! I heard you the first time! You don’t have to pile it on!” “You shot him?” Sunset hissed.”Why would you do that?” “I’d… rather not talk about that right now,” Rainbow answered. “Let’s just say I had a tranquilizer and we didn’t hit it off immediately.” Sonic looked mad, counting off on his fingers. “I’m wet. I’m cold. There’s a FISH ON MY HEAD! And clearly I’m not gonna be able to do this on my own!” He stared at the girls with a pleading look in his eyes. The fish flopped atop his head, prompting him to snatch it with an annoyed expression and throw it to the ground. The girls looked at each other, each of them wondering if they should do this. Well… it was the start of summer break, so what better way to kick it off than with a drive out of the city? One by one, each of them got an approving smile. “Alright,” Twilight said. “We’ll help you, Sonic.” “Really?!” the boy shouted in excitement, shaking the seaweed off himself so quickly his hair poofed up. Spotting this, Pinkie’s eyes grew wide and she struggled to hold back laughter. With a smile, Fluttershy brought a hand to her mouth. “You’re gonna help me?!” “I guess I gotta,” Rainbow told him. “After all, it’s a little bit my fault all of this is happening to you.” “Not a little bit,” Sonic reminded her harshly. “Entirely. It is entirely your fault.” “Fine. It’s entirely my fault. You game?” The boy smiled at her, shaking his hair back to its normal spiky state. “Yes. But… what about my stuff?” “Well…” Twilight spoke up, looking to Needlemouse in Fluttershy’s arms. “Your backpack could stay at my place for now. And besides, Spike has been wanting a playmate for some time now.” Upon hearing his name, the dog trotted to his human’s side… and froze at the sight of the spiky hedgehog. The other animal just stared at him. Author's Note Rainbow Dash and Applejack finally meet Sonic, but they also run afoul of Robotnik. Not long after, the rest of the HuMane 7 (properly) meet Sonic and vice-versa. Now, the heroes have to travel to Manehatten and retrieve the blue Gem of Miracle while also trying to get to know each other better, and avoid being hunted down by Robotnik and his goons. Which will be showcased in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 7) CHAPTER SIX“Road trip! WOOP WOOP!” Applejack’s pickup drove down the road, onward to Manehatten. Sonic called shotgun with AJ this time, while Twilight and Rainbow were in the backseat. Everyone else had piled into the back cab. Keeping her eyes on the road, the cowgirl spoke up to the boy in blue. “So, let me get this straight… you’ve been spying on us for the past few months?” “Dude, that’s creepy,” Rainbow added. As if to prove her point, Fluttershy sank down and hid her mouth with her hair. “I wouldn’t call it spying,” Sonic interjected. “We were all just hanging out, only I wasn’t invited and no one knew I was there.” “Well, if all you wanted to do was hang out with us…” Twilight asked. “Why couldn’t you have just met us earlier?” Sonic was silent for a moment. “Well… it’s not easy to talk about,” he softly replied. “I’ve been looking for the Gems of Miracles for a long time now, and the most important thing was that I couldn’t draw too much atten- OH MY GOSH STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW!” All three girls jolted in alert, with Applejack looking around wildly. “Huh?! What?! Who-?!” “The world’s largest rubber band ball?!” Sonic gasped, leaning his head out the window. Approaching the vehicle was a billboard of the said landmark. “We gotta see it!” The cowgirl had an expression of “are you kidding me?” on her face. “Hold on just a cotton-picking minute!” she shouted. “You said we needed to find those seven diamonds before anyone else! We don’t have time for some silly-” she turned to Sonic… only to see that he was gone! Everyone gasped in alarm and Rainbow clutched the back of the seat. “Where’d he go?!” ZIP! Before anyone could blink, he was back. “Eh, you’re right. It was lame,” Sonic calmly replied, now wearing a baseball hat of the rubber band ball and holding three rubber band balls in his hands. “Gift shop was cool, though! I got you girls a mousepad!” He held up the said object, which read “I LOVE RUBBER BANDS”. “Uh…” Rainbow was at a loss for words. “When are we gonna get there?” Applejack sighed. “We will get there when we ge-” She was interrupted by rapid smacking sounds. Everyone turned to Sonic, who now had his eyes closed, feet up on the dashboard, and was playing with a paddle ball really fast. “Why do I feel like this is gonna be a long trip?” Pinkie asked. After sunset, AJ pulled into a gas station and parked the truck. She, Rainbow, and Twilight both got out and Sonic tried to follow… until AJ stopped him. “You stay here.” “Huh? Why?” Twilight gestured to a phone booth. “I’m gonna go call my brother; see if he knows anything.” “You’re gonna call Shining? In that glass thing?” Sonic said in disbelief. “What is that, a teleportation box?” The young scientist rolled her eyes. “It’s a payphone, Sonic. Mostly used by drug dealers, fugitives from the law… so yeah.” “Pinkie? Shy? Sunset? Rarity?” Rainbow asked. “Can you keep an eye on him for us until we’re back?” “You can count on us.” “Certainly, darling.” “I suppose…” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” “Stick a cup- what the juice?!” Sonic spoke up in alarm. “What does that even mean?!” “It’s a Pinkie Promise!” the energetic girl told him. “I used to have a longer one about zipping my mouth closed, burying the key, and building a house on top of the hole! But my new one’s better!” “Do you really have to say it like that?” Sonic asked. “A cupcake in the eye would sting, right?” “Only if you’re lactose intolerant!” “Oookaaayyy…” “It’s fine, guys,” Sunset cut in. “You go, we’ll watch him.” Sonic turned to Rainbow desperately. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you? I’ve been cramped up in here for the whole trip! I gotta stretch my legs!” “Stay. Put. There.” Rainbow firmly instructed. Defeated, Sonic sank back into his seat with disappointment. “Ugh, fine.” Now that the matter was settled, AJ, Rainbow, and Twilight walked over to the payphone. Briefly pausing to adjust her glasses, Twilight looked around to make sure no one was watching… and slipped inside. Back in the truck, Sonic got bored fast (which came as no surprise to him). Ten seconds for the ordinary person felt like ten minutes to him. Yet another thing about being able to travel at high speeds. Grunting, he scooted over to the steering wheel and placed his hands on it. “Sonic in third place, Spitfire in pole position,” he muttered to himself. “The Blue Blur is making quite an impression at his debut. Can he pull this off?” He mimicked engine sounds, pretending to turn the wheel in various directions. “Sonic’s gaining on Spitfire, the two are neck-and-neck! Going to the outside, into the final turn, it looks too close to call! And it looks like the winner is-” His eyes caught something off to the side. “Huh?” Off in the distance, rock music blared from a building with the words “Piston Pit” in bright red neon. A huge crowd was gathered there, some of the people arm wrestling and others showing off awesome-looking vehicles. Two motorbikes drove up to the crowd. Bikers headbutted each other in greeting. The engine of one hot rod roared like a lion, spewing out flames from its tailpipe. Sonic gasped in awe… before ducking beneath the window. “Okay, okay, that is the coolest place on Earth…” he told himself. “But you have to stay in the car! Miss Twenty Percent Cooler herself said!” But he couldn’t help himself. Slowly, he peeked out the window. Near the bar, drivers revved their engines at a sound that to Sonic seemed like a jet engine. His heart was beating triple that of a normal human, and Sonic began to sweat. The adrenaline was getting to him; he hardly noticed he was hyperventilating until he had to wipe away the fogged-up glass. He pressed his face against the window. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. A huge monster truck pulled up, the people in back holding up their fists. The driver gunned the engine, the sound bellowing in Sonic’s ears. “Be strong! Be strong!” he whimpered, rocking back and forth in the seat. While a motorcycle spun around in the dirt, its driver balanced on top while a crowd cheered him on. Sonic’s eyes watched the vehicle go… and he snapped. That was the last straw. I gotta get in there! His first thoughts were about the other girls. They were keeping an eye on him, so he’d have to distract them. A simple “make-them-look-and-run” trick would do, for now, so he turned to the back… “...and that’s when I realized I had never misplaced my earring at all! It had just gotten stuck in my hair!” Rarity finished with a chuckle. Sunset crossed her arms with a smirk. “Wow. I feel so bad for Rainbow and Applejack right now.” “But, hey!” Pinkie cut in. “At least they found tons of stuff in the sand!” “True…” Fluttershy added. “Oh, did I tell you about the time we helped some baby turtles find their way to the ocean?” “Baby turtles?!” Pinkie cried in happiness, while Sunset looked interested in this. “Wait, you did what?” she asked, leaning closer. Rarity’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Yes, I remember that time all too well! Please, Fluttershy. Do continue!” “Well, it started when Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and I heard the sound of something crying while sunbathing…” Sonic smiled to himself. That oughta keep them busy. Now for a disguise… He looked around the truck. In the backseat, he saw a cyan hoodie with red, yellow, and green colors on the arms and sides. Rainbow wouldn’t mind if he borrowed this, right? Taking one last look to make sure none of the girls’ eyes were in his direction, he snatched the hoodie and put it on. Lastly, he grabbed some rainbow-colored sunglasses from the passenger seat mirror and snapped them open. Showtime. Twilight anxiously held the phone to her ear, tapping her foot. The noise of the other end of the phone picking up made her exhale in relief. “Canterlot Police.” “Shining? It’s me.” “Twily? I, uh, I’m so glad that you called.” Twilight paused. “Uh, you were expecting me?” “Some guys came in and asked some questions. Little creepy, if you ask me.” “Wait, wait. What kinda questions?” Twilight asked, her nervousness slowly returning. “And what guys?” “Questions about… some guy, I think. They didn’t give a name,” her brother answered. “But he’s supposed to have blue, spiky hair. At first, I thought they wanted something with Flash Sentry, but they say he’s not the guy they’re looking for.” Sonic. Twilight’s heart momentarily stopped. “Shining, listen to me,” she spoke. “Don’t tell them that we talked, okay?” There was silence from the other end. An awfully ominous silence. “Sh-Shining?” “Yeah, I-I think they already know…” “Twilight Sparkle, is it?” A chill ran down Twilight’s spine. She knew that voice. “Y-yes,” she squeaked. “Uh, who is this?” Even though she knew the answer, she had to at least play it cool. “My name is Doctor Robotnik. Is Rainbow Dash with you?” Twilight’s eyes darted outside. The said tomboy saw her face by this point, and she didn’t need to tell Twilight she knew something wasn’t right. “N-no.” “Well, the next time you see her, tell her the only other person who ever punched me in the face was the school bully,” She could almost feel him breathing in her ear as if he was right next to her instead of miles away. “He hit me in the cafeteria, causing a blunt force contusion to the soft tissue surrounding my orbital bone.” “So, a black eye?” she concluded. “Clever girl. He humiliated me in front of the entire school and you know what I did in response?” Twilight swallowed and cleared her throat. “You went to the principal’s office to report unacceptable behavior?” “No,” Robotnik replied coldly. “I examined the inefficiency of a world where brawn reigned over brain, and I used technology to resolve that. That boy ate his meals through a straw for a year, and I have never lost a fight again… until today.” Something inside Twilight grew unsettled. Whereas she used science and technology for the benefit of her friends and for others… Robotnik used it only for harm. For his own desires. This just hit a personal level. “Hooray for me, then. Yay,” she gave a slightly embarrassed giggle. “No, because you’re about to become the bully! With the straw!” Robotnik shouted into her ear, making her flinch. “I’m coming for you, Twilight Sparkle. And Rainbow Dash. And that kid. And when I catch you all, I’ll-” Twilight slammed the phone back into the receiver, realizing just now she had been sweating and breathing heavily. Wiping her forehead, she made her way outside just as Applejack returned with an armful of food. “Sorry I took so long, y’all. I… Twilight, what the hey’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Yeah, what happened there?” Rainbow asked urgently. “Your big bro okay?” “Robotnik,” Twilight gasped. “He’s onto us. If he catches up, I’m gonna be the bully with the straw.” “Uh, say what now?” “Forget it! We gotta get outta here!” The trio made their way back to the truck. Having just finished their next story, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset all noticed them. “Okay, this ain’t exactly the healthiest meal, but-” Applejack’s words were cut off when she looked into the truck… and found it empty. Twilight and Rainbow noticed this, too. Soon, everyone noticed that Sonic was nowhere to be seen. Twilight facepalmed. “Ugh! I told you guys to keep an eye on him!” “Does that kid seriously not know how to sit still?!” Rainbow groaned. “Wait, where’s my hoodie? And my shades?!” Sunset and Rarity were speechless. Fluttershy just giggled and sheepishly blushed. “Um… oopsie?” “AAAAAAAH!” Pinkie’s sudden screech made everyone jump. “I BROKE MY OWN PINKIE PROMISE! I WAS SUCH A DOOFUS! A DOLT! A MORON! A… I… I… I don’t feel too well…” And with a sigh, she collapsed into Rarity’s arms. “Heh… sorry,” Sunset chuckled nervously. Twilight closed her eyes and held up a hand to silence her. “Okay, yelling at you guys for being complete nincompoops isn’t gonna solve anything,” she told them. “We just need to find where he… went?” The music from the nearby building turned up, catching everyone’s attention. Twilight’s eyes locked on the roadside tavern… and she gulped. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no….” Everyone was dead silent as they took in the sight of the bar. Fluttershy whimpered, ducking under the cab. While everyone stared at the bar, Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “I’m going in.” “Uh, lemme go with you, Dash,” Applejack suggested, putting the food inside the truck. At the athlete’s confused face, she cleared her throat. “Big Mac has, uh, had a history with this place. He tried taking me with him.” “Okay. If you insist. Anyone else?” No answer came from those in the back… until Twilight hung her head with a sigh. “Fine. But just this once.” Applejack pushed open the doors. “Just stay calm and don’t stare at anything longer than you have to.” Twilight only nodded, holding on tightly to Rainbow’s wrist as the three made their way inside. The nerd felt overwhelmed at the sight of arcade machines, a mechanical bull, a counter menu with questionable names like “Dodge the Draft” and “Bottom of the Bucket”, and seemingly-less-than-friendly patrons… or maybe it was just her. “Wait… there,” Rainbow said, jerking free of Twilight’s grip. She fast-walked her way over to a figure in a hoodie and a cowboy hat with AJ by her side. Trembling, Twilight ran to catch up with them. Unamused, Applejack tapped the figure on the shoulder. The person turned, revealing a pair of rainbow-colored sunglasses on his face. “Howdy, partner!” Sonic greeted them with a tip of the hat. “I ain’t your partner right now. Come on, let’s skedaddle,” AJ told him, gesturing for the doors. Rainbow stepped forward. “And I want my things back!” “But there’s a cover band tonight!” Sonic protested. “You gotta see their beards!” “We’ll catch them some other time,” Rainbow replied in frustration. “Let’s go, get up!” “Please?” Twilight added nervously. “If we stay,” Sonic answered, crossing his fingers. “I Pinkie Promise I won’t say another word for the rest of the trip, starting… now!” “Uh, do Pinkie Promises work like that?” a stunned Rainbow said to Twilight, who shrugged. “Dunno. You’ll have to ask her.” “Welcome to the Piston Pit. What can I get you fellas?” A waitress spoke up, startling everyone. Rainbow turned to her hastily. “Uh, we’re not-” “Oh!” Sonic gasped, immediately breaking his promise. “I want nachos and buffalo wings- oh! And guac! Funny word, isn’t it? Guac, guac! Guaaac!” If someone asked Rainbow, she’d say he was poorly impersonating a duck. The waitress turned to Sonic… and frowned before turning back to the girls. “Hey, no kids allowed in here, ladies.” “Um, he’s eighteen like us, actually,” Rainbow fibbed instantly. “We’re gonna be starting our first year at Everfree University and he has a rare disease that stunts his growth.” Sonic, initially confused at this, placed a hand on his hip. “The face I was born with,” he added. “The confidence I picked up along the way.” “Make his a Mellow Yellow, please,” Applejack suggested. With a nod, the waitress walked away. Sighing, Rainbow Dash sat down across from Sonic. “You owe me one, bud.” Sonic hardly listened, as he was too busy being entertained. “I’ve never sat on a barstool before! So squishy, oh, look at this! It spins!” He spun around in his seat, making Rainbow roll her eyes and Twilight rub her arm subconsciously. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, ha, ha, ha, I feel sick.” He stopped spinning, the glasses flying off and landing in Applejack’s hand. She handed them back to Rainbow, who stuffed them up against her pocket. “You having fun, Sonic?” she said with false pride. “Big night for you? Gonna check this off the old bucket list?” “Good idea! In fact, I already have it on there!” “Wait, what?” Rainbow dropped her tone, stunned at the words. Sonic muttered to himself, patting himself all over. “Let’s see, where did I leave- no, not there. Um… aha! Here it is!” He smacked down a small piece of notebook paper and snatched up a nearby pencil. “Hang out at a bar, check!” In one swift motion, he drew a line through the words. Looking back up, he noticed the girls’ confused faces staring at him as if he had done something totally ridiculous. “What?” “You… actually have a bucket list?” Rainbow asked him. Sonic scoffed at her in shock. “Of course I have a bucket list! Who doesn’t?! You girls should totally get one! Just think of all the stuff you could do before kicking the bucket!” he picked up his list, gesturing to it and pointing at each phrase. “Look at this: learn parkour, eat a whole pizza, see a live race, find a magic treasure, make a prank call, run on a roller coaster track, guitar solo, learn a super cool dance, complete Daring Do comic collection, master the skateboard, I’ve practically done everything on this list! Well, almost everything.” Rainbow could see a few uncrossed things on the list. One of them had a circle around it, meaning it had to be an important one. But before Rainbow could get a good look at it, Sonic pulled it back to him. “Ladies, you have no idea what you’re missing out on here at the Piston Pit.” “Ya know… I kinda get why you’d do that,” AJ told him. “You had to leave your home to find seven magical crystals, so… why not have fun doing it?” “Exactly!” Sonic shouted in an exasperated manner before turning to Twilight and Rainbow. “She gets it, why don’t you two get it?!” Rainbow Dash paused, slowly taking in Sonic’s words. “Well…” Twilight spoke up, running a hand through her hair. “We have done some pretty amazing things before, like saving the day numerous times and starting a band.” “Not sure if ‘saving the day’ can go on a bucket list, but who am I to judge you?” Rainbow looked Sonic in the eye with a calm smile. “You know what? You’re right,” she explained. “Heh. I mean, look at me. I’m one of the most awesome people in all of Canterlot City. I’ve played in every single school sport, I’m the lead singer of the Sonic Rainbooms, I’ve used my super-speed to help people, and the first thing I do when I come in here is telling you to leave? What was I thinking?” Sonic smiled back at her. “That’s the Rainbow Dash I know.” “This place does look like the kind where you can get a lot of living done in a short period of time,” Twilight added, feeling better about the Pit already. “We could spare an hour.” “Whaaat?” Sonic gasped. “You’re all gonna bucket list with me?” “You know it,” Rainbow replied, holding out a fist. Hardly managing to contain his excitement, Sonic bumped it and adjusted his cowboy hat. “You won’t regret this!” he said excitedly, standing up from his seat. Twilight just gave him a nervous look. "I'm pretty sure I will." THUNK! While a country-style beat played from a jukebox, Rainbow lowered her outstretched arm from the dartboard where her dart had hit the bullseye. She turned to Sonic with a confident expression. “Top that, blue!” Sonic just rolled up the hoodie’s sleeves, picked up a dart… ...and fired off every single dart in the can at rapid speed. Like bullets, they embedded themselves into the wall. A nearby waitress with darts in her hat dropped her jaw in shock as beer sprayed from dart-punctured cans. “HA!” Rainbow shouted triumphantly. “You didn’t even hit the board! I win!” “Hey, ever hear something called thinking outside the dartboard?” Sonic replied, checking off “compete in a sport” off his list. On the dance floor, Sonic hopped around a dancing Applejack while twirling an imaginary lasso above his head. “Yippee-kai-yay!” Twilight tossed basketball after basketball into the hoop, nearly at the high score. Taking a deep breath, she mentally calculated her next shot… ...only for a bunch of basketballs to sail through the net. In shock, she dropped her own ball and turned to a knuckle-cracking Sonic. “New high score!” he called out. Whipping out his list, he drew a line through “do a slam dunk”. “Yeehaw!” AJ whooped, hopping off the mechanical bull and allowing Sonic a turn. He vaulted the fake beast, signaling to Rainbow. The girl slipped a quarter in and pressed “Shaken Not Steered”, which lit up in a green color. “Wait a second,” Sonic spoke over the music. “Is this bull missing a head or does it have two butts?” Rainbow faked a yawn, almost regretting doing the lowest difficulty. Suddenly, Twilight’s hand went in front of her face, a quarter in hand. “Ha, ha! This is easy!” Rainbow snickered at the girl in glasses. “Do it.” Twilight slipped the quarter in… and pressed “Deadly Desperado”, causing the panel to flash red and an alarm to go off. Suddenly, the bull went wild, making angry noises and moving every which way as Sonic struggled to stay on. “I’m a cowboy, baby!” he managed to say while the girls erupted into laughter. Applejack slapped her knee at the sight. But a huge crash made them stop and turn back to the bull… that was now bareback. Sonic zipped back on. “I’m okay!” As soon as he got the beast under control, he checked off “tame a wild animal”. Still giggling, Twilight took off her glasses to wipe at her eye. Back on the dance floor, Sonic was having the time of his life. In fact, he was having so much fun, he hardly noticed himself bumping into Rainbow, who bumped into Twilight, who bumped into Applejack… who crashed into some barrels of beer. While patrons turned to the scene, the cowgirl spit the liquid out and groaned. “Ah ha ha ha ha!” Sonic laughed sometime later while Applejack shook her hat of beer. Twilight and Rainbow handed her some napkins, and she took them without even looking. “That was hilarious!” “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” AJ groaned, dabbing at her face with a napkin. “I’m just glad you’re having a good time.” “I AM having a good time! This is the best night of my life!” Sonic answered happily. “What could go wrong?” The girls looked at him… but instead of answering him, their eyes went past him and they all froze. “You.” Sonic turned around… and saw three bulky guys standing over him. One of them, a bald guy with a beard, did not look happy. “Hello, good sir!” Sonic greeted. “Is there something I can assist you with?” “You’ve got something that belongs to me, you little punk.” “Wha- I beg your pardon?” Sonic answered, standing up to look the man in the eye. Even though he was bigger than Sonic, the boy wouldn’t let anything like that stop him. He took off the hat, pretending to examine it. “I’m sorry, lemme see if this hat has your name on it- OH, WAIT! It doesn’t!” He put it back on. “Oh, uh, hey, you know what?” Twilight butted in. “We were just leaving, weren’t we, buddy?” Rainbow, on the other hand, had a look that just dared the man to do something stupid. “No, no, no, it’s okay,” Sonic replied. “I know exactly how to deal with guys like these.” “No, we’re leav-” Twilight began, but sighed in defeat when Sonic picked up a bottle and cleared his throat. This is not gonna end well. “Pop quiz, hotshot,” Sonic boasted in a mean-sounding tone. “You just picked a fight with a poorly disguised, adrenaline-loving, carefree teenager who’s seen way too many action movies. What do you do? What. Do you. Do?” He bonked the bottle on the man’s head… but nothing happened. “Huh? Oh, uh, hold on. Didn’t get that right. Lemme try again.” He bonked it again. “Dink. Dink, dink.” He began to speed up and hit it faster, making Twilight gulp. “Break, please! Break, please! Break this bottle, please! Pleasepleaseplease!” “Uh, Sonic?” Rainbow said, walking up behind the boy. She had to stop this before it got any- “Wuh-oh!” Sonic suddenly ducked… and the fist meant for him smacked Rainbow across the face, knocking her into another patron. That patron made another person drop something that broke on the ground. Furious, that patron grabbed the one Rainbow had been knocked into and knocked him out cold. Soon, the whole Piston Pit turned into a free-for-all. Rainbow hissed, touching her stinging cheek. “Oh, you wanna do this the hard way?!” she called, standing back up to the man and punching an open palm. “Let’s do this the hard way!” With a yell, she charged and tackled him to the ground. Twilight yelped, cowering behind AJ for cover as the cowgirl bolted to her feet. AJ put her hands up like a boxer, punched a man aside and dodged a blow aimed for her head. She nailed him in the gut, but someone else smashed a stool over him before she could do anything else. “Twilight, stay close!” Applejack called, grabbing her hat and slapping it on her head. She turned to Sonic. “Now look what you’ve done!” “Thanks! It’s awesome, right?” Sonic said, putting up his own dukes. “Alright, who’s next? Who wants some? Who do I get to beat up?” While anxiously searching for someone to fight, he failed to notice the other two goons quickly overpowering Applejack. The farmgirl was nearly beaten into submission while Twilight desperately held her hands up in surrender. She couldn’t risk using her telekinesis on them. “Hey, has anybody seen my waitress?” Sonic called out to the crowd, oblivious to the girls’ predicament. “Still waiting on those buffalo wings! And guac!” Rainbow landed hard on the floor, a few bruises on her face. Sonic looked to where she had come from… and saw the bald guy wipe some chair bits off his shoulder. He turned to Sonic with anger in his eyes. “Why, you-!” Sonic shouted, dashing up to him, quickly landing some pummels on his face, and landing gracefully. “Thank you! Thank you! You’re all too kind!” “I’m gonna squash you good, you bug!” Sonic turned… and his face fell. The man was hardly fazed by Sonic’s attack. With a steaming face, he charged for Sonic like a bull, held out his hands to grab the boy… and stopped. “Really?” Sonic asked the motionless man. “Ugh. Cheap move.” His eyes scanned the bar, which was now completely frozen. Just before the man could touch him, Sonic had increased his awareness a hundredfold, his body now moving so fast it was reducing everything around him to a super-slow crawl. But just behind the man, he heard Rainbow groan and clamber to her feet. Sonic slid underneath the man, leaving his hoodie and hat behind, and ran to the girl’s side. “Alright, you jerk! That’s it! Nobody messes with Rainbow Da-” she paused, taking in the sight of the paused scene around her. “What the…?” “Wow. This is new.” “Sonic? I… how… what just happened?” “Basically, you should be frozen because I went so fast I slowed time to a snail’s pace,” Sonic explained. “Whoa… you can do that, too?” Rainbow asked with awe. “Oh, that is so cool! I only did that once, you know!” “Maybe because you have super speed too, you aren’t affected,” Sonic guessed. “Great. The more, the merrier.” “So… now, what?” the athlete questioned. “Must’ve done this for a reason. And please don’t say leaving.” “Leaving? Nah, I got something in mind.” “Like…?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Oh… I should probably help them out.” she pointed to a struggling Applejack and a cowering Twilight about to be punched in the face. “You help AJ. I got everyone else.” “How are you gonna do that?” Sonic gave her a smile. “Lemme show you how it’s done.” And he took off with Rainbow hot on his heels. Sonic slowly ran through the bar with a blue streak trailing behind him, passing brawling patrons and smashed chairs. He smirked coyly at the sight of a broken bottle, ducking between the legs of another patron. Rainbow zipped up to a startled waitress with a rainbow streak, grabbing her tray and smashing it against a patron’s face. She slid along the floor, snatching a pool cue and running up to another patron about to body slam someone else. Swinging the pool cue like a baseball bat, she broke it across his back. Sonic slid to another patron, taking a quick selfie with his phone. Breaking into another slow run, he saw Rainbow remove a guy’s belt and tie his hands together with it. Spotting Sonic, she flashed him a thumbs-up. Sonic returned the gesture… ...and got socked by a flying cowboy boot. Rainbow laughed at his face, to which the boy in blue just scowled at her. Just then, the two approached AJ and Twilight. Rainbow grabbed one of the attackers’ fists, redirecting it into the other one’s face. Ducking underneath and grabbing AJ, she pushed her over to the counter. Sonic jumped on top of patrons until he reached Twilight’s attackers. Pulling the first one’s hat over his head, he bounced off the man’s belly and reached the second one’s pants. The boy grabbed his underwear, stretching it all the way to an eagle ornament. He jumped off onto the wall, pushing himself off and into Twilight. While he pushed Twilight up to the bar, Rainbow picked up a bottle, emptied it of its contents by moving it away from the liquid, and smashed it across the face of a person who just happened to be facing her. Sonic landed on the counter, breaking up glass beneath his shoes and kicking a drink in AJ and Twilight’s direction. He ran along the counter toward another waitress who had a patron shoved into her. Curious, Sonic took one of the hot dogs with chili on it, took a bite… and his face lit up. He scarfed down the rest of the chili dogs and took off with sparklers, ketchup, and mustard in his hands. Rainbow casually strolled through the bar, putting her finger in a flying container of dipping sauce and into her mouth. She calmly pushed away a chair leg, climbed over a fallen patron, and took a buffalo wing. She bit into it, kicking a barrel someone was standing on from underneath him. She tossed the buffalo wing away with pride… and stopped in her tracks. Sonic was on top of three more patrons. He was doing a little dance with sparklers on one of them and spraying both ketchup and mustard on the other two’s heads. He was zipping between positions, making it look like there were three of him. Once he was finished, he drew a little face on the first patron and stuck the sparklers in his ears. Next, a blue whirlwind zoomed around two patrons, one of whom was about to smash a barrel over the other. When the typhoon died down, Sonic tossed a roll of toilet paper onto the wrapped-up patrons. Showoff. Rainbow Dash thought. She ran off in a multicolored blur, her sneakers slapping the wooden floor. Sliding to a stop in front of a stool, she grabbed it and shoved it seat-first into a patron’s gut. She jogged across the bar, looking for whatever fun she could have next… until she felt something brush against her ankle. Rainbow stopped, looking down to her feet to see a barter line zipping past her. Sonic carried it alongside him as he ran, trailing it underneath the legs of every patron Rainbow didn’t get. He ran up onto the wall and on the ceiling, attaching the line to the ceiling fan and swinging off. Lastly, while Rainbow ran alongside him, he plucked a bear head off the wall and jumped on the patrons like platforms. He plopped the bear head onto the head of the bald guy who was charging for him. Now in front of the man again, Sonic got his hoodie and hat back on. Rainbow joined him just as he retrieved a napkin from the counter and handed it to her. Taking the napkin from Sonic, Rainbow stood ready… ...and Sonic snapped his fingers. The bar sprung back to life. The people Rainbow had messed with collapsed while the ceiling fan spun, taking the barter line with it. The patrons yelled out, the line taking them out from underneath. One of Twilight’s attackers punched his accomplice in the face… and the eagle ornament broke off, smacking him right in the rear end. He screamed. “Ole!” Rainbow cried, the bald man charging past her and flying straight out the window. Glass flew everywhere and he tumbled to the ground. Twilight yelped and AJ jolted to action… only to find themselves at the counter. The young genius opened one eye and AJ slowly lowered her guard with heavy breaths. Both girls stood confused as everyone in the bar lay hurt, knocked down, or unconscious. Several of them groaned. One poor soul wrapped in toilet paper staggered toward them like the mummy he resembled, mumbling something incomprehensible. He tripped over a fallen patron and collapsed. Before anyone could question what had happened… a blue and rainbow blur flashed in front of them. “Should we get out of here?” Sonic suggested, Rainbow Dash doing a little stretch. “Uh… sure.” AJ replied, still hopelessly baffled. The two speedsters turned to each other and high-fived. Sunset Shimmer sighed. “Where are those guys? They shouldn’t have been long.” Before anyone could answer, someone with a bear head crashed through the window of the tavern, alerting everyone outside. “My goodness!” Rarity gasped as the crowd murmured. “Whatever happened to him?” Suddenly, the doors to the Piston Pit burst open. AJ and Twilight were sprinting towards the truck, Sonic and Rainbow Dash close behind them. Sunset couldn’t tell from here, but it looked like the two of them were… celebrating? “That was amazing!” Sonic shouted, tossing away his hat while Rainbow whooped in delight and jumped over the fallen man. He zipped around the athlete, ending up running backward. “Oh, wait a second! Did we even pay our tip? IT DOESN’T MATTER!” Applejack quickly unlocked the truck, scrambled into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. Twilight practically dove through the open window of her seat and tumbled inside. “Ow…” “Twilight!” Sunset gasped. “What-” “Watch this, watch this, I always wanted to do this!” Sonic zipped up to the truck, slid across the hood like a cool dude, and vaulted inside. “WOO!” Rainbow jumped onto the roof of the truck, grabbing the underside and swinging into her own seat. “AW, YEAH! SO AWESOME!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what-” Sunset was cut off by the truck lurching into reverse, nearly smacking her against the window. Everyone else was thrown onto the back cab, causing the unconscious Pinkie to stir. “Get ‘em!” someone shouted from the crowd. From the truck, Rainbow waved while Sonic gave a two-fingered salute. “See ya, suckers!” “Buh-bye, bozos!” “I can’t say for sure, but I think they liked me! Way more than those guys at Mirage Saloon!” “Oh, they LOVED you, dude!” “WOOHOO!” AJ”s truck roared onto the road and took off at full-throttle, leaving the rest of the angry bar patrons in the dust. Sonic and Rainbow whooped triumphantly again, this time with Twilight and AJ joining in with a “Yeehaw!” from the driver. “YEAH! HAHA! Ooh, ouch.” Rainbow touched herself on the cheek. “He... he got you pretty good back there!” Sonic laughed, turning around to face her. “It’s alright. I’ve been hit harder,” Rainbow reassured him. “Did you see how much toilet paper I used?! The next person that goes into that bathroom will have NOTHING to wipe with!” “Ha, ha, ha! Best! Night! EVER! Huh? Aw, man! That jerk scratched my shades!” "Ah, forget about that! You can just get new ones, right?" “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sunset shouted, finally drawing the attention of everyone inside. “Slow down for a second!” “Slow down? Slow down?” Rainbow repeated in disbelief. “Do you even know who you’re talking to?” Sonic backed up. “What happened there?” Fluttershy asked. “Why were those people mad at you?” “And for goodness’s sake,” Rarity added in frustration. “What kind of ruckus did you hooligans get yourselves into?!” Before a reply could be given, Pinkie Pie groaned and rubbed her head. “I had the worst nightmare ever…” she said. “I dreamed that I made a Pinkie Promise… and I broke it!” Twilight, AJ, Rainbow, and Sonic all shared a knowing smile. On his bucket list, Sonic crossed out “start a bar fight” while Rainbow watched him. “I have got to get my own bucket list.” “The floors were sticky! The crowd was rough! And the odds were against us! But there was no stopping Danger Dash and the Blue Blur!” “Well…” Sunset told them. “I’m glad to see you two are getting along just fine. But I still can’t believe that guy had the nerve to punch you in the face.” When AJ had pulled into a hotel, Twilight requested two rooms of four. In one of them, AJ was recapping the events at the bar with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. In the other, Sonic, Rainbow, Sunset, and Twilight were all settling down to sleep. Twilight handed Rainbow a towel, and the jock pressed it against her face. After Twilight handed another towel to Sonic, he wasn’t sure what to do with it… until he looked to Rainbow. The boy pressed it to his own cheek. Rainbow caught notice, although she didn’t give it much thought. “Mm.” “Mm,” Sonic repeated. “Mm.” “Mm.” “Mm.” “Mm.” “Okay.” “So, what are we gonna do now?!” His own excitement burst to the top like Pinkie. “I…” Sunset answered for Rainbow. “...am going to pass out watching TV. You should, too.” “The night’s still young, Shimmy!” Sonic answered in an annoyed tone. “And I wanna soak up every minute of it!” Sunset paused. “Did you just call me ‘Shimmy’?” “Anything you can find to do in this room, although I doubt there’ll be much,” Twilight told him. “You knock yourself out.” Sonic looked around the room like a kid unsure of what to get in a toy store. Then, he started to do whatever he could in the hotel room in blurry afterimages of himself. He manually channel-changed the TV, pillow-fought with himself, balanced on a light fixture with a lampshade on his head, dug through some napkins, spun around on a painting, stomped on the toilet, messed with the cabinets, knocked over a lamp, toilet-papered the room, and raced into the bathroom… all in five seconds. All the while, Twilight, Rainbow and Sunset all looked around in a frenzy in a desperate effort to keep track of him. A flushing sound was heard, and Sonic zipped back onto the bed he shared with Rainbow wrapped in towels. “Good times.” Rainbow laid down next to him while Twilight and Sunset crawled into bed. Sonic took off the towel around his head and set it aside. “Hey, so… never thought to ask this earlier, but… where exactly did you come from?” “And how can you use magic without a geode?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, now seems like a reasonable time for an explanation,” Sonic agreed, reaching into his bag of rings. He held one out in front of him… and Rainbow’s hand clamped down on his arm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! You said you were gonna explain things, not take off on us!” “Hold your horses!” Sonic told her. “There’s another neat trick the rings can do!” He took another ring out of the bag, slipping this one onto his finger. He held up the first ring to his eye and concentrated. “Ring: Reveal.” The golden decoration flashed with a dinging sound, and Sonic tossed it between the beds. It erupted in size, revealing a beautiful tropical island on the other side. All three girls were awestruck as they got a closer view of the island as if they were seeing it from a flying bird’s eye. Shortly, it stopped near a grassy path near a land bridge. “This is the island where I’m from,” Sonic began while the girls saw a blue streak inside the ring racing down the green path. After climbing a slope, the streak looped around and zoomed over the land bridge, making it crumble in his wake. “It had everything: sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls, public access to loop-de-loops...” As he spoke, the blur sped through a mentioned loop. Sunset, Twilight, and Rainbow could hear childlike laughter coming from it. “And I never had to catch a school bus because I could run across the entire island in less than two minutes.” Rainbow opened her mouth to ask a question… “Also, there was no school.” That settled it, then. She turned her eyes back to the screen. Everyone got a better look at the blur after it shot off a natural ramp and landed on the other side: a younger Sonic as a kid. “I know, pretty sweet island, right? South Island is a beautiful place to be, I can say that much. Possibly in the entire Mobius Archipelago!” The kid Sonic bounded off rock walls and raced down another grassy hill, rounding a bend into a village. He raced past buildings while villagers had to step aside. The blue streak traveled up bridges, across alleys, onto rooftops… and finally, through the front door of one house. Inside, the streak raced around a woman in a circle, slowing down right in front of her. An owl on top of its perch flew to the woman’s shoulder, who opened her eyes to look at the young Sonic. “That’s Longclaw,” Sonic told the girls as his younger self presented a sunflower to her. “She took care of me. She’s descended from one of the village’s founders, making her a really important person on South Island. And she’s also a really nice woman.” He held up his ring finger… and the footage in the other ring stopped. “So, I know what you’re thinking,” he said, directed specifically to Twilight. “You still want to know how I got my powers, right? Well then, let’s back up.” He pointed to his left, mimicking some rewinding noises while the footage flew by in reverse. Pretty soon, it showed a dark cave with water surrounding a rocky path. A stalactite shone with a bright blue color… and a figure appeared at the entrance. “I was just an ordinary kid longing for something greater,” Sonic explained as his younger self stepped onto the scene. Unlike what the girls had seen earlier, his hair was dark brown and his green eyes scanned the cave in amazement. “Ever since I could remember, I would explore South Island for something awesome. Mostly, I never found anything good… but that day, when I was five, I discovered something epic.” Sonic’s younger self gasped when he saw the blue glow on the stalactite. He ran up to it, eager to see what it was. The glowing object soon came into view: a bright blue crystal that Twilight recognized. “A geode… just like our own.” “Maybe it was,” Sonic said. “But it did something yours probably didn’t.” In the ring, the younger Sonic reached out to touch the crystal… and grabbed it. The crystal suddenly flashed, spreading blue lightning throughout the child’s body. The boy let go of the crystal, which began to dissolve into mist. The mist flew into the air… and into the boy’s body, now giving off a blue glow, who passed out and collapsed as the last bits of lightning sparkled all across him. “It fused with you… amazing,” Twilight realized. “That’s why I didn’t see one on you.” Soon, the boy came to, rubbing his head and getting a static shock. He turned to see his reflection in the water… and saw that his hair was now a bright blue color. “Wow. I always thought that was dye.” Rainbow commented. “Like mine.” The boy scrambled to his feet, still looking at himself in awe. “I… I gotta tell the others!” He moved to run… and sped off in a blue streak. WHAM! He ran straight into a rock wall, which made everyone but Sonic flinch. Rainbow was reminded of the time she had first got her own super speed… and had experienced a similar feeling. The boy fell to the ground in a daze. “Ow… what the…” The boy held out a hand, now seeing it spark with blue lightning. But beyond the hand… were chunks of rock from the impact falling towards him! “AAH!” the kid screamed, shielding his face with his hands. Then, just before the boulders could crush him… they slowed to a stop until they were right above him. The kid cracked open an eye… and scooted away from them in panic before realizing they weren’t moving. “Huh?” he climbed to his feet, now seeing everything around him had stopped. A nearby butterfly was frozen mid-flight. He waved his hand in front of it, but it didn’t respond. “Whoa… this is crazy… what happened to me?” “Listen, I don’t exactly know what that crystal was for sure and how it worked…” Sonic told the girls. “But I learned that it was straight up awesome sauce! It made me do things I could never, ever do! The super-speed? That was just the tip of the iceberg! It enhanced my awareness to make everything slow down!” The young Sonic turned to a hill, took a deep breath… and began to run slowly until a blue streak trailed behind him. He ran steadily downhill, starting to get the hang of the speed. However, his joy was abruptly cut off when he tripped on a rock. He yelled out, tumbling down in a ball-like shape… until he became enveloped in a bright sapphire ball of lightning and energy. VREEEEE! The spinning blue sphere smashed through a boulder, reducing it to dust and pebbles as time resumed to normal. The blue light faded, making the young Sonic tumble and land face first on the ground. Dazed and woozy, he rose to his feet and turned around. His eyes widened and all breath left his throat when he saw what he had done. “It made me extremely flexible, making me able to curl into a ball and knock over targets like bowling pins! For most people, that would be impossible to do; their spines just wouldn’t take it!” “No. Freaking. WAY!” the young Sonic shouted in excitement. Eager to see what else he could do, he blasted off down the path. As he raced and zoomed across the island, the girls continued to watch. “The crystal made me super agile. I was pulling off all kinds of parkour tricks in no time! Green Hill became my first personal racetrack! The loops and corkscrews? All. Mine. Pretty soon, I charted all of what South Island had to offer, and if that wasn’t enough, the entire archipelago nearby was waiting! Both Westside and the floating Angel Island soon had a blue streak racing through it!” The young Sonic blasted down a straight road, now moving so fast that a vapor cone formed around him. Awed at this, the kid pushed himself further… and further… and further until… He blasted past the barrier, a blue shockwave traveling out behind him. Trees were nearly torn from their roots and a loud thunder-like sound rocked the island. “And once I managed to break the sound barrier and perform my very first sonic boom, I decided it was time to reinvent myself completely. I ditched my birth name and gave myself a new one dedicated to my newfound awesome, way-past-cool power: Sonic!” Sonic paused the feed again, this time pointing to the right to make it fast-forward. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. Turns out that speed wasn’t just for show. One day, the island’s animals and several people began to mysteriously vanish! And I was the one to boldly step up and find out what the heck was going on!” A blue streak sped through the area known as Green Hill of South Island, eyes peeled for anything suspicious. But, a minute into his run, he saw something. “Gyah!” he braked to a halt in front of a huge, robotic ladybug. “What’s that?” The machine swiped at him with a pincer, to which he jumped over to avoid. “Besides unfriendly.” More of them sped up to him, surrounding him from all sides. “And numerous… uh, hey, guys! Wait…” One of the robots moved towards him, only for the thinking kid to block it with his foot. “Or is it girls? Do robots get genders? You know what? I’ll just call you…” In five seconds, he smashed and trashed the bots to scrap with wild spin attacks. “Motobugs!” he finished with a snap of his fingers, staging at the wreckage of one of them. “Which seems… oddly appropriate.” Something squeaked from inside. “Huh?” He moved aside parts of the wreck, revealing a blue bird that flew away. The animal chirped in thanks to the stunned boy. “Like… really appropriate,” Five-year-old Sonic said, now noticing other small animals emerging from other robot shells. “Guess this solves the mystery of what happened to all the animals, at least.” “Fluttershy is not gonna be happy about this,” Rainbow spoke up. “Someone was using these critters as power sources for robots. Now, I had to find out why. Fortunately, one of the robots was a little… cooperative.” Young Sonic spotted a mechanical chameleon on a nearby rock wall. In a flash, he darted up a tree, jumped off, and grabbed onto the robot. “Hey there!” he called, holding the bot down so it wouldn’t attack him. “So, who built you? And why did they think it was cool to stuff you full of critters?!” The robot rose into the air, taking the boy with him. “Alright, buddy! Mush! Take me to your leader!” More footage followed of Sonic throwing the robot into some kind of containment pod, fighting off someone with a wrecking ball, and making the pod self-destruct to free the villagers inside. “I learned that Starline, the man whose butt I kicked, claimed to be working for someone at a way higher level than both of us. Someone who deemed all organic life to be inefficient and dreamed for a world full of metal and machinery. Someone who cared for circuits and sensors more than he did for flesh and blood.” Twilight gasped, remembering what she had heard back at the soccer field. She had heard the man saying how much he loved machines, how they were flawless… “Robotnik!” “Yeah, but I didn’t know at the time. All that mattered to me was South Island’s safety and my kick-back-and-relax style. If he gets the Seven Gems of Miracles, he could make that dream a reality.” “So what inspired you to get them first?” Sunset asked. “Not Robuttnik, I’ll say that,” Sonic said, once again fast-forwarding the footage. “Something darker. Something that struck South Island recently, when I turned thirteen around eleven months ago.” A dark cloud formed over the village, blocking out the sunlight and scaring the villagers. “We hardly used magic all the time, but it was still a part of us. I can tell you this: that storm or whatever it was wanted our magic. And it tore the whole village apart to get it.” Purple lightning struck villagers, draining them of magic and making them collapse. After a magic ring emerged from a lake, high winds sucked up all the water. People and animals scrambled for safety while more lightning decimated villagers. In the midst of it all, Sonic fought back against the wind. He scowled, blasting into the village and leaping up at the dark clouds. He got ready to spin up… and two purple eyes opened in the darkness. Sonic froze in fear, unable to do anything… until a large, murky hand appeared from the dark and swatted him aside. Sonic crashed through a tree, splintering it to bits and making it collapse. “I couldn’t fight it. But now I knew that something was in that storm, and it wouldn’t leave until it drained South Island of all magic, as it must have done for everywhere else it traveled. So now, all everyone could do was hide… and hope for a miracle.” Inside a cave, survivors huddled together while Sonic looked after an injured Longclaw. Her owl never turned its eyes away from its master. “Longclaw was badly injured, and all my other friends had no idea what to do. Longclaw begged me to find the gems, no matter where they hid. Should I find them all, I can use them to wish away that thing. Even now… I still have nightmares in which I fail.” Sonic opened a ring portal, took one last look at the South Island villagers… and jumped through. The ring closed, leaving everyone else alone and worried. The rings shrunk and flew back to Sonic’s hand. Taking off the ring on his finger, he placed both of them back in the bag. “They’re all counting on me to save them. To fix everything.” The girls were silent. Rainbow could still see the dark eyes. “And if I fail…” Sonic whispered. “Then it’s all over. I won’t have a home to go back to.” “Sonic…” Twilight whispered as Rainbow got up from the bed. “You’re not alone this time.” “Yeah…” the boy muttered to himself. “Not alone… that would’ve been nice earlier.” “You should get some sleep,” Rainbow said, moving over to a lamp Sonic had knocked over. “You sleep,” Sonic said, pointing to Rainbow. “Don’t worry about me. I’m gonna stay up all night enjoying this place while I can. I live for adventure, after all!” “Sure, kiddo,” Rainbow said, turning off the light and heading back to bed. “As long as we’re on the road by-” Sonic was now asleep and out cold, snoring and muttering stuff to himself. Sunset smiled. “Whatever happened to staying up all night?” “C’mon, Sun,” Twilight said with a yawn, turning out the light and placing her glasses on the nearby stand. “Time for you to set.” While everyone else settled down, Rainbow started to tuck herself in… when something on the stand caught her eye. She waited until everyone was asleep before she made her move. Slowly, she reached over the snoring Sonic (who muttered “pop quiz, hotshot” as she did), taking a piece of paper from the stand. Rainbow reached for her geode, closing her eyes calmly… and making the geode light up. Now with a proper light source, she held the paper up to her face. “Sonic’s bucket list?” she whispered, her magenta eyes taking in the sight of crossed out words. Her eyes moved down the line of what he had and hadn’t done, smiling at the sight of those he did at the Piston Pit. But when she came to one uncrossed line, she noticed a circle around it: the same circled phrase she’d seen when he first presented it to her. And around that circle was one phrase written neatly. Make a real friend Something tugged at Rainbow’s heartstrings. She cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. This kid was forced from his home, forced to abandon all he knew… including whatever friends he made over there. He was… lost, to put it simply. All alone, wandering a strange, unfamiliar land in his quest. Alone without anyone to keep company. And on top of homesickness… it was eating him out. He had to start all over. He once knew what friendship could be… but now he had forgotten. What was that thing they said about speed? The only thing about being faster than light is that you only live in darkness? That was the best description she could come up with for this… even though she knew the teen could move faster than sound, not light. Rainbow Dash’s geode dimmed its glow, and she put the bucket list back on the stand. As she readjusted herself… she felt something wet roll down her cheek. Wait, was she crying? She was the best sports player in CHS, she didn’t cry for anything! Let alone a kid she barely even knew! Wait, no… she did know Sonic. She took that back. But… Why was she feeling this way for him? Sure, they loved adventure, they both had super speed, they were both loyal to their friends, and they both enjoyed living life at high speed… She paused. Those were exactly the reasons. She just wasn’t sure how to handle it. Did… did he feel the same way? No, she shouldn’t worry. Right now, she should get some sleep already. She let her head fall on the pillow, and, after taking one last look at the sleeping boy in blue… she smiled and closed her eyes. Author's Note So far, this road trip has been nothing but filled with fun action and shenanigans. Sonic has connected with the HuMane 7, particularly Rainbow Dash, and reveals more about his past, including how he got his superspeed, his first encounter with Robotnik, and why he's trying to find the six other Gems of Miracles. Things will certainly heat up when Robotnik catches up to them in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 8) CHAPTER SEVEN“So, THE Bulk Biceps himself says I’m taking too long, right? He asks me to hurry up with my order, so I turn to look him in the eye. Big guys like him don’t scare me! Anyways, he asks if there’s a problem. I say no. But little does he know in that split-second of time before I answered, BAM! Silly face with the marker used to put your names on the cups! Glasses, mustache, even a new nose! Ha! It took all my willpower to not crack up or smile in the slightest! He just said ‘There better not be.’. Lemme tell ya, I was snickering a little bit when I walked outta line. The girl at the counter even asked if they were prescription or if he was trying to look smart! Oh, that was hilarious!” Rainbow Dash threw her head back in laughter at Sonic’s story. “Why didn’t I think of that?! That would’ve been so awesome- ha, ha, ha!” Applejack couldn’t help but smile at that herself. Her jade eyes rested on the long stretch of highway road that went as far as the eye could see. According to Twilight when they got on, it would take them right to Manehatten. But as for good news, it wouldn’t be a boring trip with Sonic as entertainment. “Yes, that… that actually sounds pretty funny,” Fluttershy added. “At least you didn’t hurt him.” “Pft! As if he could hurt Bulk Biceps!” Sunset brushed off. “Anyway, you’ve certainly been through a lot, have you?” “You know it, Shim! Wouldn’t have it any other way!” “Wait, wait!” Twilight interrupted. “Everyone, quiet!” The truck fell silent, save for the rumbling engine and the faint voice of- “AJ, turn that up.” The cowgirl turned the knob on the radio, allowing the voice from the radio to flow into the cabin. It was a news station, and if it was any other day, someone would get bored quick and Rainbow would request some tunes. But today, everyone listened closely while Sonic, AJ, Rainbow, and Twilight leaned forward a little bit. “For those of you just joining us, a government investigation into the roadside tavern known as the Piston Pit has been underway since seven o’clock this morning.” “The Piston Pit?” Rarity piped up. “Isn’t that where you four had a little tussle last night?” “Only a few injuries were accounted for, and possible culprits are considered to be at large. Lead specialist Kintobor is leading the investigation and currently tracking down said culprits. He assures the public has nothing to worry about.” “Kintobor?” Applejack questioned, slightly turning the radio back down. “Hmm… call me crazy, but something about that name doesn’t feel right.” “You said it,” Sonic replied, hand brushing his chin in thought. “Kintobor, Kintobor, Kin… to… bor… oh, crud!” “Don’t tell me…” Rainbow cut in. “That’s Robotnik spelled backward, isn’t it?” “Absolutely. Guys, I think he’s onto us.” “Oh, no…” Twilight mumbled. “Relax!” AJ chuckled. “We’re miles away from that place! The only thing he’ll be onto is a long, empty road!” “Well…” Twilight rebutted, starting to count on her fingers. “Judging by the advanced technology at his disposal, he could be calculating the quickest route to Manehatten, determining the speed of this vehicle, and checking local weather conditions, he could be catching up to us right… now?” She quickly peeked out her window. To her relief, there was no truck or car behind them for miles. She exhaled lightly, adjusted her glasses, and got back into her seat. “Why would weather conditions be a factor?” Rainbow commented, a highway on-ramp shooting past the truck. “Is he too afraid he’ll get his drones wet? Maybe scratch up the truck’s paint job?” “Or perhaps hydroplaning?” Twilight suggested. Sonic just brushed her off. “You worry too much, Twi! If he sends some drones over here, I’ll just bash ‘em all like they’re RC planes!” “Uh… guys?” Fluttershy squeaked from the back. “The point is, this should be nothing to you girls! You’ve faced all kinds of crazy magic, so some guy with a bunch of robots at his disposal? Piece of cake!” “Cake sounds nice and all…” Pinkie whimpered. “But-” “All in all, I won’t be surprised if he catches us sooner or later. This truck can outrun that big lug of a trailer, right, AJ?” “I… I guess so,” the cowgirl replied. “Girls, we should-” Rarity piped up. “Personally, I think it’s enough that I'm dealing with one genius right now. Who’s actually pretty cool.” Sonic threw a wink in Twilight’s direction, who just sheepishly smiled and rubbed an arm. “I, um, I appreciate that, but Sunset’s just as smart as I am, FYI.” “And I appreciate that,” the red-orange haired girl called from the back in an alarmed tone. “But I really think we need to-” “Hold on, Sun. Lemme wrap this up. When that jerk comes, we’ll be ready for him. After all, your new best friend is a magnet for danger!” KRACK! “WHOA!” Sonic jolted up in his seat while everyone else shouted in alarm. Right between him and the startled Applejack was a huge metal harpoon that had dug clean into the dashboard! Sparks flickered in and out of sight, all four pairs of eyes tracing the line to its source. And right behind Applejack’s pickup truck was a large, black tank-like vehicle! Along with tearing up part of the backseat, the harpoon had shattered the back window. Everyone else in the back had their heads turned to the sudden arrival. “Uh, sorta just like that!” Sonic gasped out, staring at the harpoon that would’ve impaled him if he wasn’t careful enough. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you!” Pinkie yelled. Applejack sharply turned the wheel, sending the truck swerving into the left lane. The harpoon was wedged in tight, the line now nearly touching Rainbow Dash. Clenching her teeth, she swerved back into the right lane. The harpoon still didn’t budge, and everyone in the back had to try their best to not fall out of the truck. “I can’t get it loose! This thing’s stubborn as a mule!” “I got it!” Sonic called, unbuckling his seatbelt and grabbing into the harpoon with both hands. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulled as hard as he could. “Hnnngh! Hrrrgh! Come ooon!” He tried jiggling it to loosen it up. “Stupid… thing… won’t… budge! Nnngh!” “Uh, guys?” Rainbow questioned. “Is it just me… or are we starting to slow down?” Twilight looked back at the tank. “If I had to guess…” She hypothesized. “I think it’s...pulling us in!” “FLOOR IT, AJ!” Rainbow screamed. The cowgirl didn’t need to be told twice; she stomped down hard on the gas. The truck’s engine roared loudly, catching everyone in the back by surprise. All this did was wiggle the harpoon and produce some sparks from the busted radio. “Argh!” Applejack cried, once again steering sharply to the right. The harpoon still didn’t break free… but the truck shuddered violently, AJ realizing too late that she had hit a barrier on the side of the road. Everyone rocked in their seats from the impact. Everyone but Sonic. The boy was sent flying out the window with a surprised yell. He grabbed the passenger-side mirror just in time… but instead of hanging on along the truck, this redirected his momentum and sent him tumbling right onto the hood. “Ugh… close one.” “Sonic! You okay?!” “Don’t worry about me, Dashie! AJ! MOVE this piece of tin!” “Whaddya THINK I’m doin’?!” Sonic’s gaze redirected to the tank. If the harpoon couldn’t be wrenched free, he’d have to take out the tank. But… how? He’d never tangled with something this big before! Would he even dent it? “No,” he whispered to himself. “Don’t think, Sonic. Just go, go, go. You got this. You can do this. Just focus. Let the magic build.” The boy stared down the tank with a determined expression, slowly feeling the energy and magic billow up inside of him. His bodily functions began to kick into overdrive, azure lightning sparkled off of him, and his cheerful jade eyes turned into ferocious blue orbs. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Rainbow and Twilight both react to his change in appearance. The genius was wide-eyed and looked as if she was about to faint, while the tomboy had a hand over her open mouth. Sonic could almost see his own reflection in her magenta eyes… “Hold on, y’all!” AJ shouted, stomping down hard somewhere Sonic couldn’t see. Immediately, the car lurched from its sudden acceleration… and Sonic was flung from the truck like a boulder in a catapult. In the brief moment in which the boy was airborne, he could see the stunned and awestruck reactions of Pinkie Pie, Sunset, Rarity, and Fluttershy. The girls looked like they were seeing a new, unfamiliar magic they had no idea what to do about… and they were right. The harpoon was flying out from the car. AJ suddenly slamming on the brakes was enough to pop it from the dashboard. It was sailing back to the tank, which was now detecting Sonic. Sonic closed his eyes, calming himself for a maneuver he’d barely done for so long. He exhaled slowly, allowed time to resume its normal pace… and he curled up just before he could hit the road. The Equestria Girls could barely keep up with what was happening. Sonic sliding out onto the hood, his body becoming a living light show, AJ braking and launching him skyward… ...and now, the boy hit the highway in a blue spinning ball of light. It rolled away at breakneck speed, emitting a high-pitched whirring noise as it raced right for the tank. In all but a few seconds, the sapphire sphere smashed against the tank’s front wheel with a loud shattering crash. The massive vehicle was flung into the air, surrounded by sapphire lightning. Smoke and flames flew from where it was hit, metallic debris clattering to the ground. The tank suddenly slammed into the asphalt, digging it up as the metal screeched in agony. Toppled onto its side, the machine came to a complete stop. “Go back! GO BACK!” Sunset yelled, slapping the top of the cabin with one palm. The screeching of tires and sudden turn of the vehicle suggested her reply went answered. Applejack sped back to the smoking wreckage of the tank, coming to a stop just in front of it. “Sonic?” Rainbow called. “Sonic!” Twilight took her glasses off in amazement while Pinkie had her jaw wide open. “I-I don’t see him!” Fluttershy squeaked. “What was he thinking?!” Rarity yelled. “He could’ve gotten hurt!” “Wait, there!” Sunset shouted, pointing to something in the smoke. Everyone focused their eyes on the cloud… and made out a figure stumbling through. That figure was none other than Sonic, groaning and clutching his head. “Guess I had a bonus life…” he slumped against the wrecked tank, holding himself with one hand. His eyes perked open, realizing he was touching something. When he looked up and identified what the surface was… all grogginess was replaced by sudden happiness. “Ah, ha, ha, ha! Oh, yeah, baby!” he cheered, breaking into a victory dance. “Sonic: one, a big tank: zero! I’m sorry, did we get that on camera?!” “Aww…” Pinkie moaned. “Now I wish I did.” “Did… did we know he could do that?” Fluttershy asked. Rarity just shook her head while Applejack cracked a smile at the boy’s moves. “How are you not dead?!” “I have no idea!” Sonic called back, swaying from side to side. “Do you see me dancing?” “Yeah, yeah, we see you dancing, kid,” Rainbow replied with a smirk of her own. Sonic turned back to the tank with a challenging gesture. “Is that all you got?!” “Is that all you got?!” Robotnik just smirked at the boy’s confidence. “No…” he answered, going through a holographic selection. “But thank you for asking.” Twilight noticed something strange happening to the tank. Its interior was shifting around… and its main optic sensor was shrinking. And judging from Sonic’s reaction, that meant nothing good. “Uh oh!” “Sonic!” Applejack called. “I think it’s time for you to get back in the truck!” “You go!” he answered, pointing down the highway. “I’ll catch up!” AJ stepped on the gas, steering the truck back onto the road and driving off. A few seconds later, a bolt of blue light flashed to the side of the vehicle. Sonic pried open the door, swung his way inside, and shut the door behind him. Everyone turned back to the wrecked vehicle… ...and witnessed a smaller robotic vehicle pop out, hitting the ground rolling. “I think that tank just had a baby,” Sonic commented. This earned some uneasy expressions from Sunset and Twilight. The smaller vehicle’s engine whined like a race car’s as it chased after AJ’s truck. “Well, at least this doesn’t have a harpoon, right?” “INCOMING!” Sonic screamed, prompting AJ to instinctively swerve to the left lane. But this time, no harpoon sailed past. Instead, a small disc slid down the asphalt. Twilight gulped when she saw it. “Wh-what is that? A bomb? Is… is he trying to blow us up?!” The disc attached itself to another car up ahead… and the vehicle surged with electric currents. The tires squealed as the car skidded off-road. While everyone else watched the spinout, Twilight just sighed in relief. “Whew… EMP mine. Better… but still bad.” Something moved past the young genius and into the back cab. Twilight and Rainbow turned to see Sonic’s face among the ones in the back. “Hey, where ya going?” AJ called quizzically. “Just drive the car!” Sonic shouted back, making his way to the edge of the truck. “I’ll take care of this! And if I don’t make it, just ditch me!” He hopped onto the edge, clinging to the truck with one hand. “You’re getting good at that.” More mines launched from the robot, speeding towards the truck. Ignoring the looks of the other four girls in the cab, the boy jumped from the truck and onto the road. Down the highway he ran, catching one of the mines in a dive. He threw it at another mine, landing on two more and riding them. He snatched up one more mine from the road, then jumped high and flipped around in the air… ...successfully landing on the vehicle. Sonic bent over, staring it in the optic from upside-down. “Hey, everyone! Welcome back to my live stream!” he shouted. “Today, we’re destroying robots! Step one…” He slapped the mine over the robot’s optical sensor, short-circuiting the entire vehicle. He jumped off and sped back to the truck, leaving the robot to flip, crash, and burn off to the side of the road. “Yes, we did it!” A third, smaller robot with one wheel raced out from the wreckage. “We did not do it.” “Who is this guy?” Rainbow asked in an annoyed tone. “And why does he want to get you so badly?” Sonic shrugged and swung into the backseat. “Guess I have that certain effect on people.” “Alright, that does it!” AJ shouted. “Someone else take the wheel!” Sonic sprouted to attention. “Oh, oh! Me, me, me! I’ll drive!” “Wha- you?!” Twilight gasped. “You’re thirteen, for Pete’s sake!” Rainbow gawked in disbelief. “True, but I’ve done some racing video games with a steering wheel controller! I know what I’m doing!” “That’s not the same-” Twilight objected. “Any day now, guys!” AJ called, impatient. Sonic immediately bolted to the driver’s seat, getting himself comfortable while AJ climbed into the back. “Just keep it going straight! I put it in cruise control!” “Oh, ho, ho, ho! Let’s go, baby!” Sonic shouted gleefully. He nearly had to resist the urge to floor it. Applejack pushed open Twilight’s door, a sledgehammer in hand. The robot was approaching fast, extending two tire-shredding spikes on its wheels. AJ held the hammer steady, preparing to bash the machine in. The car veered to the right, and she had to fight to keep herself steady. So much for keeping the car straight. “Gah! Where’d you learn how to drive?!” While Rainbow and Twilight shared a nervous look, everyone else in the back was trying to keep themselves in the cab. “Here! In this truck!” Sonic answered from out of view. “It’s happening as we speak!” Now, Applejack was starting to have second thoughts. The truck swerved from side to side, making her swings with the hammer harder to land. The robot matched pace with the truck, unwilling to lose its target. AJ gritted her teeth as if she was dealing with a stubborn animal instead of a machine. “I can’t reach it! Bring it in closer!” “What?” “Bring it in closer! Hit the brakes!” “Oh! You mean this one?” The truck’s engine roared loudly, and AJ slightly tipped. Twilight reached out to catch her, and the two shared a grateful look. Rainbow Dash just cringed and facepalmed. “The other brakes!” she cried. Now, the truck suddenly jolted back, nearly throwing everyone forward. Sunset almost went headfirst through the window while everyone else in the back toppled over. The robot, having unpredicted the move, rammed into the open door. Applejack grinned to herself… and swung the hammer upward. A satisfying smack rang in her ears, and the robot lost balance, smashing into the road. “Yee-haw!” Everyone cheered, save for the woozy Rainbow and stunned Sunset. AJ got back in the driver’s seat, although Sonic looked a little disappointed that he was no longer behind the wheel. “Over already?” he commented. “You think a mega genius like him would have more in store.” “OOOH!” Robotnik howled in frustration. “GIVE ME A BIG, FAT, BREAK!” Unbeknownst to Sonic, he would be proven right. Robotnik wasn’t finished with them yet… and his last toy was inbound right for them. The boy in blue stared down the road in boredom. If he was still driving, they’d have gotten there much faster. Something just outside his window caught his eye. After a quick look in the back, he noticed Pinkie, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rarity had also taken notice. He looked out his window… ...and saw a tiny helicopter-like drone. “Aww, this one is cute!” he said to the others. “Let’s keep him!” “Yeah!” Pinkie cheered. “Can we, can we, pleeeease?” “I don’t know,” Twilight replied. “As much as I prefer robot pets myself, I wouldn’t want Spike to get a little-” BZZZZZZZZ! His face dropped, Sonic turned to look out the window again. This time, he saw the drone cutting a laser right through the door! “AH!” Everyone yelled out. There wasn’t much any of them could do against this. “Oh, come on!” Rainbow cried. “How can something so adorable be so terrible?!” Sonic asked in a panic. “Not cute anymore! NOT CUTE ANYMORE!” Pinkie screamed. Applejack desperately tried to shoo the drone away like a fly, but the machine persisted. It continued along the truck, its laser piercing through the workings of the top half. Fluttershy backed away from it nervously, and its spinning rotors prevented Sunset from grabbing it. Even Rarity’s diamond barrier, placed with hopes of barring its path, was useless as the laser cut right through it. “Uh, AJ?” Sonic gulped. “What?!” “You’ve got car insurance, right?” Rainbow spun around to face the back. “Everyone, get down!” The other four girls dropped just as the drone reached its starting point. The top part of the car flew off, leaving the truck as a convertible. “AAAAAAAH!” Everyone screamed as the top part of the truck hit the road. Its target now exposed, the drone flew towards a very annoyed Sonic. The boy snatched it from the air. “Buzz off!” he snapped, breaking the drone in half. “Ha! And that takes care of-” Now, he heard a different sound. A short beeping noise. Curious, he opened his hand… and saw the white chassis of the drone attached to his glove. “That doesn’t sound good.” Twilight’s eyes went wide. “No, beeping is bad! Beeping is REALLY bad!” Sonic flew into a panicked state with a gasp of realization. He furiously shook his arm, but the beeping continued. “Get rid of it!” Rainbow yelled. “I’m trying!” Sonic grunted. “Maybe if you took the glove off…” Fluttershy suggested. Instead, Sonic continued to shake his arm, Fluttershy’s words failing to reach his ears. He tried throwing it into the open air, but the bomb remained glued to his glove. “Throw it out the wind-” AJ began before stopping herself. “Throw it ANYWHERE!” “I-I can’t get it off!” “AJ, pull over!” Twilight shouted. Not willing to argue with her here, the cowgirl did so. The surface beneath the tires turned from slick asphalt into rough, coarse dirt. And before it even came to a stop, Sonic bolted out. Everyone scrambled out, a rag in Twilight’s hands. Sonic was zipping all over the place, trying various methods to remove the bomb: pulling it off, banging it against a rock, even prying it off with his teeth. Until finally, the bomb was no longer on his hand. “Did I get it?” “Nope!” Twilight called, rushing over. Sonic looked up, now hearing the beeping coming from his forehead. He yelped, wiping at his face. “Hold still!” Twilight ushered, taking the bomb in the rag, popping it off his head, and throwing it as hard as she could into the trees. “Nice!” Rainbow shouted. “It’s going, it’s going…” Sonic said… before his eyes dangled to Twilight’s arm. “It’s still here.” “Huh? AAAAH!” Twilight screamed, shaking her own arm to remove the bomb, which had now transferred to her own hand. Sonic zipped up, snatched the bomb, then grabbed a stick. Running over to a rock, he pried it loose and onto the small boulder. “Ha, ha! Nailed it!” he whooped, holding up a hand for a high-five… BOOM! Her ears were ringing. She couldn’t see a thing. And most importantly, everything ached. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing as if she’d run a full marathon with no super speed. Another sound. This one a series of coughs. Rainbow Dash cracked open an eye… and saw blurs of unfocused sight. Her sight adjusted momentarily, making out the sight of a hunched-over figure coughing into an arm. Other figures lying on the ground were stirring. A figure with a hat rose to a sitting position, another picked up some glasses, and another ruffled its hair. “Is… is everyone okay?” “Sun…” Rainbow croaked, the voice triggering something familiar. “Barely…” “Ouch…” came a calm, quiet voice. “Oooh… I don’t think… I can move…” groaned the figure with the glasses. The standing figure limped over and held out a hand. “Come on, Twi. On your feet.” The other figure took it and the former grunted in the effort. Rainbow planted her arms into the ground, moaning as she lifted herself off the ground. She felt sore all over like she had worked out too long. The minute she stood on wobbly legs, she groaned and clutched her forehead. The last thing she remembered was… some quick thinking? No, ticking. Yeah, that was it. Sonic was there, totally freaking out. He managed to get it away, but then… Wait, where was he? Now Rainbow was the one who coughed, batting at the smoke with one arm. It faded away into nothing, giving her a good look at her battered and bruised friends. Applejack adjusted her shoulder, Rarity brushed some twigs and dirt off of her sleeve, Fluttershy looked at her dress in shame, and Pinkie looked like she had fallen victim to a burned recipe with soot on her face. She shook her head in a comical fashion, instantly ridding herself of it. Sunset was helping Twilight stand, the egghead adjusting her specs. But… Rainbow noticed something… no, someone was missing. And that someone was lying on the ground a short distance away. Rainbow’s eyes flashed open. “Sonic!” She rushed over to the unmoving boy, sliding to a stop and taking the back of his head in one arm. “Sonic? Come on, Sonic, wake up!” Everyone else gathered around, each of them with worried looks. “Dude, you are not quitting on me now!” Rainbow determinedly shouted, smacking the boy across the face with a palm. Aside from a jerk to the side… the boy still didn’t stir. “Oh, dear…” Fluttershy whispered. “Do you think he’s…” “He turned himself into a spinning blue ball, smashed into a heavy tank thing… and made it!” Applejack countered. “Need I say more?” “Check his pulse!” Twilight blurted. Rainbow complied, pressing two fingers to the boy’s neck. The results came fast… and her face distorted in part-uncertainty and part-nervousness. “Uh…” “What is it?” “His pulse is… is really, really fast,” Rainbow commented. “Is… is that normal? It’s normal for him, right? Please tell me it’s normal.” “Coming from a kid who can go supersonic in no time at all?” AJ spoke. “Yeah, I reckon it’s normal.” “Phew,” said Fluttershy. “So now what do we do?” Pinkie asked. “We keep going,” answered Sunset. “To Fillydelphia. Sure, the truck’s busted- sorry for your loss, AJ- but it still runs. Let’s get him in and hit the road.” Everyone turned back to the truck. Rainbow scooped up the unconscious Sonic, carrying him back to the vehicle. As she did so… she looked at the boy’s face with a worried expression. Hang in there, bud. We’ll have you up and running in no time… pun intended Author's Note Bet the Fast and Furious franchise has got nothing on what just occurred with our heroes. Not to mention that the HuMane 7 got a front-row seat to seeing Sonic in action. The next chapter will have the ragtag group of teens finally arrive at Manehatten and find the blue Gem of Miracles, but Robotnik will have one last surprise for them! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 9) CHAPTER EIGHTBlack. Black everywhere in each direction. And silence. It was awfully quiet. Not a sound. Was this all there was? Was that it? He could barely think straight. If he was conscious enough, he’d grow to hate it this fast. Wait, why did he even say that? He did everything fast. Fast like the blood and magic flowing inside him. Fast like the life and breath quickly returning to him… Life. “GOTTA GO FAST!” Everything slammed into overdrive. A blue whirlwind rushed through and around the surrounding area, knocking several objects he didn’t really stop to identify from their perches. It was only five seconds before he came to a complete stop, but to him it felt like a full minute. He felt like he had just taken a huge breath of air after nearly drowning in a big ocean. He felt relieved. He felt great. He felt alive. “Where am I? What year is it? Did Crystal Prep get their butts kicked again?” “Whoa, whoa, hey! Easy, Sonic! Easy! You’re okay!” stammered Twilight. Sunset was looking at the boy in awe. “Wow, not even awake for a minute and he’s already back on his feet.” “And even though no game’s coming up anytime soon,” added Rainbow. “Yeah, I can guarantee the outcome.” Sonic noticed his surroundings. He was standing with the girls in the living room of a house, with the couch just behind him. Strangely, it didn’t look like any house he was familiar with. “Okay, seriously, where am I?” he asked, sitting down on the couch. “We’re just about at Manehattan,” answered Applejack. “Just making a quick stop at my family’s old house outside city limits. The truck’s totally… uh, totalled and you can thank Fluttershy for fixing you up.” The pink-haired girl was holding a first-aid kit in her hands. “I prefer to help out animals, but you’re welcome,” she said in a quiet voice. “No prob,” replied the blue-haired boy. He looked out at his new friends, each of them relieved to see him okay. Six smiling faces out of seven. “Uh, has anyone seen Pinkie?” “She went upstairs for some reason,” answered Rarity. “Never really questioned why…” “Oh, goody! You’re up!” shouted Pinkie, popping up behind and surprising both Rarity and Fluttershy. “I’ve got something for you! Ta-da!” From behind her back, she presented a pair of red white-laced shoes with white soles and straps. A tiny yellow stripe ran from the opening of the shoe to the laces. And inside the shoes were a pair of white socks. “I found them in a closet. Hope they don’t hurt your feet anymore!” Sonic glanced to the leg of a nearby coffee table. There, his old beaten-down shoes and socks rested with the holes in plain view. One of the holes had gotten larger than when Sonic last checked it, and there was a new one even he wasn’t aware of. He turned his head back to the red shoes in Pinkie’s hands… and slowly took them into his own. Even for someone as happy as she constantly is, Pinkie’s smile faded when she saw that Sonic’s had done the same. “What’s wrong?” “It… it’s just… no one’s ever given me a gift before,” Sonic replied. His mind told him those words would have the girls scrambling to find words of their own to cheer him up. “I’ve gotta check that off my bucket list.” That earned him some relieved faces from the girls. He slipped the new footwear on, tied the laces in a blur, and stood up from the couch. He slowly ran in place, seeing how they worked out. He finished off with a quick spin, admiring them. “Alright, looking good!” “Okay, great. Awesome,” said Rainbow Dash. “So, now that that’s outta the way… what now?” “The city’s not that far from here,” Twilight answered. “Let’s get what we need and then head out.” The girl in glasses headed off for the kitchen with the others following her. Sonic soon found himself alone in the living room, watching the girls as they vanished from view. Before long, his eyes darted up and he sped away. He came to a stop atop the house’s roof, leaning against the bricked chimney. Off in the distance, buildings reached into the sky. One of them stood out among the rest: one with a horse head sculpture at the top. The sky was bright cloudless blue with the sun like a big ball of light shining down on his face. It reminded Sonic of the many days he spent lying against the trunk of a tree or on the sandy beaches when he wasn’t running around. Even he liked enjoying the quiet moment and the calm before storm. In fact, the sun and the sky were the two things he liked about the world. One was bright and attention-drawing and the other was big, blue, and vast. But there was another thing that he was reminded of. He reached into his pocket and took out a small worn photo. He smiled when he saw his own smirking face in the picture… among three other faces. A grinning boy with yellow-dyed hair and a bright orange vest was locking an arm with Sonic, holding two gloved fingers up with the other. A pink-haired girl in a similarly-colored outfit held a hammer over her shoulder with a courageous expression. And a big boy in red locked a muscular sports-taped arm around Sonic’s neck, his face in the middle of laughing. “Hey, guys,” Sonic heard himself saying. “Just wanted to check in after a while. I’ve… got a lot to explain, probably. I’ve made some new friends, fought off killer robots built by someone with an old-timey mustache… and I'm about to get my lost gem back and work on saving you all. Just… just wish I had the old crew here with me. Anyways, just dropped by to say hi. I gotta go now… see you guys later.” He tucked the photo away, staring out at the horizon with crossed arms. The sound of a starting engine drew his attention, making him glance down to the street. A bright red SUV moved out onto the road, Sunset Shimmer behind the wheel. The fiery-haired girl glanced up to Sonic on the roof, gesturing her head to the city. The boy nodded back, jumping to the grassy yard below. He watched the car drive off and tapped his shoe on the pavement. He tightened his glove and stretched out a little… and took off at a fast jog to keep pace with the moving vehicle. But just after he left, a white egg-shaped drone observed their departure and flew off… Sonic whistled impressively. “Fancy tourist destination they got here.” “For good reason!” Rarity backed up to everyone walking down the city’s sidewalk. “Manehattan is home to a very large fashion-driven community and theatrical works! It’s sure to draw the eyes of anyone who visits!” “We should stop by again sometime!” added Twilight. “You know, when we’re not on a diamond hunt.” “Speaking of…” Sonic paced ahead of the others. “There! That’s where I saw it land before I passed out.” He pointed to the large horse-headed building that towered over all the others. “Wow, look at that thing.” “The Crystaller Building?” Sunset spoke up. “That… makes sense. It is the most well-known building in the whole ci-” ZOOM! “Aaaand he’s gone. Typical.” Rainbow watched a blue streak spiral up the building and stop at a flat platform below the front of the head. “Uh… should he be doing that? Twilight, you said something about this place being… magically rare?” “That’s right. There aren’t many signs of magic here,” replied the nerd. “But I think I read something about this area once being abundant in magic before-” ZIP! Sonic reappeared in front of the group with a stern face. “Wellll?” “Okay, okay!” scoffed Rainbow. “Just wait for us!” “Sure, if you wanna take it the nice and slow way…” A blue and rainbow flash stopped at the building’s roof. Behind them, Twilight rose into the air surrounded by an amethyst aura… with the rest of her friends in a similar field. She gently touched down, releasing the magical energy and earning relieved sighs from everyone but Rainbow and Sonic. “So… what exactly are we looking for?” asked the athlete, magenta eyes darting around the rooftop. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary… save for a blue diamond lying on the roof. Sonic zipped up to it, snatched it in his hand, and raced back. He held the gem triumphantly, sunlight glinting off its sapphire edges. “This!” “It’s… it’s beautiful,” gasped Rarity. “Shiny!” added Pinkie. Twilight and Rainbow approached Sonic, their eyes on the gem. “That’s it? We did it?” asked Twilight. The blue boy nodded at her. “Yeah... but also no. Six more to-” He held up five fingers on one hand and one on the hand he held the gem in… but cut himself off. “Whoa…” “You can say that again,” whispered a stunned Rainbow. The blue jewel was giving off a bright glow, radiating a sapphire color. “Whoa, look at this!” Sonic spoke hurriedly, showing the jewel to Twilight. “It’s never glowed be-” The glow suddenly stopped. The jewel regained its normal appearance. “Huh?” Sonic stared at the gem curiously, shaking it like a snowglobe and tapping it with one knuckle. “What’s going on?” “Here, lemme see that,” said Rainbow, moving the gem back to her for a better look. But just when she did, the gem lit up again, surprising the trio. Sonic’s expression changed from shock… to curiosity. “Hmm…” He held the gem in front of Twilight. The glow faded. He turned it back to Rainbow. The glow returned. Back and forth he went, examining the gem’s reaction to each of the girls. After a few more passes, he held it close to himself. “It’s reacting to you, Dashie,” he realized, looking at the blue jewel. “Why’s it reacting to you?” “Don’t tell me… because of how awesome I am?” she pointed to herself with a thumb. Sonic just smiled at her. “Yeah, probably…” “Aw, you guys are so cute!” “What?! No!” the two speedsters shouted in unison at a grinning Pinkie. “Nuh-uh! Absolutely not! No way, Pinkie!” Rainbow stammered, waving her hands in denial. “We’re not ‘cute’!” “What we are,” added Sonic with a raised finger. “...are a couple of loose cannons just living by our own rules at our own speed.” “Exactly! What he said!” “And do those rules include expressing heartfelt emotions?” asked Pinkie with another smile. Fluttershy stifled a laugh while Rainbow and Sonic turned stiff and their faces slowly turned pink. “N-no!” “Probably not! But, uh, kinda? Maybe? Just a teeny tiny smidge?” “But definitely not!” “Okay! If you say so!” Pinkie finished. “Wait,” realized Twilight. “If it glowed in Rainbow’s presence… would it be the same for the other six gems?” Sonic raised an interested brow. “Seven Gems of Miracles… seven of you girls… oh. Oh! Oh, yeah! That could work! Why didn’t I see it before?! Your magic combined with the gems’ power-” “We’ll have to see for ourselves what’ll happen!” Applejack finished. “Why don’t we head back home and look for the rest of them?” “Good plan!” Sonic nodded, taking a ring from his pouch. “I could use some time at my home-away-from-home!” With a smile, he tucked the gem under his arm and threw the ring. His ears were treated to that familiar ringing sound as the ring flew through the air… ...and the sound of the ring plinking off something. And that something was a floating white drone! “AH!” cried the girls. Sonic stumbled back, noticing more drones hover into position from above. Bipedal robots rocketed up into view, their claw-like feet digging into the roof. Arm-mounted guns took aim and shoulder missile launchers opened up. “Okay, did someone leave their ‘find-my-phone’ on?” “This… this looks bad,” muttered Sunset. “Really, really bad.” “I think I’m gonna freak out,” whispered Fluttershy, hiding her mouth with her hair. “Those… those robots!” gasped Twilight as Rainbow raised her fists. “They look like the same ones I saw at the soccer field!” “Twi… tell me you saw that at the field as well?” asked Sonic, tucking the gem into his pocket. “Saw what?” Her answer came in the form of an approaching white hovercraft with rings on the wings. Red light emitted from the rings and rear thrusters while the vehicle hummed as it came to a floating stop. The cockpit canopy retracted… revealing a man in a red suit and goggles. “Welcome to Manehattan, boy and girls. Enjoying your little sightseeing trip?” “Robotnik!” gasped Twilight. Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “Aw, great. Aka the guy who keeps trying to kill us. Unsuccessfully!” She spoke the last word loudly to the doctor. “Nice of you to swing by on your way to the science fair!” “Ugh!” gagged Rarity. “And what is that horrid thing you are wearing?!” Robotnik looked over himself before turning an eye back to the teens. “It’s a flight suit! Designed to modulate my body temperature and reduce drag!” “And yet you still are one!” Sonic shot back with hands cupped over his mouth, earning him a high-five from Rainbow. “Nice!” she whispered to him. “Ah, the young,” replied Robotnik. “So cocky. So arrogant. So confident in themselves. And so susceptible to getting blown to bits for being so irritatingly annoying.” “Hey! Watch your mouth!” Rainbow snapped. “Unless you want a little more of what I gave you earlier!” She noticed Twilight’s confused expression. “I punched him in the face.” “Oh, you punched him right in the face! It was awesome!” Sonic laughed. “The time for talking is over!” bellowed the doctor, making Pinkie and Fluttershy jump. “It’s time to push buttons…” “Your flying eggs are pretty impressive, Mister Eggman,” quipped Sonic. “But let’s face it: you’ll never catch me! Your walking toolboxes didn’t catch me at the base when I snagged the precious diamond, you didn’t catch me at AJ’s, and you didn’t catch me on the highway with all your fancy tech! Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” “Um… egg man?” asked a confused Rarity. Sonic chuckled, turning to the fashionista. “Get it? Because the drones look like flying eggs?” Pinkie looked at one of the drones, her face soon lighting up in realization. But while she just started giggling, Rarity just shrugged. “What, I can’t make a joke in the middle of the craziest thing ever?” Sonic told her. “That’s how I cope!” “You know what I say about confidence, my little blue thief?” Robotnik asked, turning the boy’s attention back to him. “It’s a fool's substitute for intelligence.” He reached down to the vehicle’s control panel, flipping something Sonic couldn’t clearly see. The drones opened up, revealing their guns and missiles pointed right at the group. Rainbow looked worried, staring one drone right in the optic while keeping her fists raised. Pinkie grabbed a sugar packet from her hair, looking at what robot to chuck it at. Rarity summoned a diamond shield between her hands and Twilight lit up her palms with purple magic. Sunset just brushed her hair back. “Uh… guys? I know you’ve got the super speed, telekinesis, strength, sprinkles, and shields, but Fluttershy and I are-” “Totally defenseless? Probably gonna get blown up?” “I would not like that, thank you,” replied Fluttershy. Sunset just shrugged. “Pretty much. Our magic’s not for fighting.” Sonic shot Rainbow a knowing look. “Hey, Dash?” he whispered. “Remember the Pit?” The athlete’s magenta eyes went wide with remembrance. “Oooh. Yeah…” “Don’t worry, Sun,” said Sonic, locking eyes with Rainbow. “We know exactly what to do.” SHOOM! Colors streaked across the roof, circling around Sunset and Fluttershy. Rainbow snatched the kind girl in her arms and rushed down the side of the building… while a strong kick from Sonic sent Sunset tumbling off the side. “Get ‘em down!” he called to the racing Rainbow. “SUNSET!” Twilight yelled. “What on Earth did you do THAT for?!” shrieked Rarity. “I was not expecting that…” breathed a stunned Robotnik. “...but I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn’t count.” Missiles flew from their sockets. Bullets screamed for rattling guns. Rarity held her shield to block the projectiles sent her way, Pinkie ducked and tossed the sugar packet, and Twilight used her magic to redirect the missiles. But everything slowed to a halt before a single missile or bullet could hit anyone’s skin. And from the stillness, Sonic held his wrist up to his face. “Look at this!” he said happily. “I took nine million steps today!” No one laughed at his joke. No one even could. And since no one could do anything at all, it was the perfect time to get them to safety. Sonic took Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie one after the other, positioning them by the edge of the roof. Rainbow raced by, snagging Twilight first and running back down the tall building. The blue boy turned his attention back to the missile and bullet-filled air, brushing some aside nonchalantly. He took two missiles from the air, he banged them against immobile bullets as if playing a xylophone, knocking another missile away at the end. Next, he ran to the robots as Rainbow grabbed Rarity and rushed off with her. He kicked one in the midsection, sending it on a course for the ground. He positioned mechanical arms to shoot at other robots… or to shoot themselves in the face. He repositioned missiles and bullets to hit the robots and drones, making sure every standing machine would be down for the count. Next, he grabbed two missiles from the air after jumping off a robot’s head, jamming them into a drone and causing a small, barely-audible explosion. He repeated this process with other drones, taking a missile from the air and driving it through the metal. He jumped onto a drone hovering off the roof, bending a wing and ripping off another drone’s wing. He slid down onto the side of the roof with arms raised victoriously, making another drone go up in flames and smoke. Sonic was having too much fun. He ran past some more drones, batting them aside. As he did so, he noticed Rainbow positioning Pinkie near the others… who were still floating in the air. She started to take Fluttershy in her arms, moving to run down to the ground with her. Sonic smiled at her, turning two drones towards each other as more bullets emerged from their guns. He chuckled, mimicking finger guns and pretending to shoot at them. “Pew pew pew pew! Pew pew pew pew p-” He stopped. Something didn’t look right. Something was… moving. Beyond the drones and robots. Something… that was flying fast and right towards him! His green eyes went wide with terror. Stopping in her tracks at the sound of whirring engines, Rainbow saw it, too. “SONIC!” The hovercraft blasted out a beam of red energy. In a panic, Sonic turned to run… but too late. The beam struck the surface beneath him, sending him in freefall. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Author's Note Isn't that nice? Pinkie has given Sonic his trademark sneakers and the friendship between him and the Equestria Girls grows. Sadly, Robotnik had to come in and ruin things for them, like villains do. In the next chapter, it'll be a wild chase across Canterlot, USA (I'm not sure if it's in Canada or not) as Sonic finally meets his match! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 10) CHAPTER NINE“Uuugh…” Sonic blinked woozily. Rings were floating around him like he was seeing stars. His ears were ringing with some kind of high-pitched sound. Like screaming. Wait a second… that WAS screaming! He jolted to full awareness, suddenly remembering where he was. Rushing down to the streets of Manehattan after getting blasted off the side of the Crystaller Building. And falling fast, just like the Mane Seven. His brain rushed to find a solution. And he didn’t have to look far. A ring. There, just waiting to be picked up. He stretched out his hand, wiggling his fingers desperately… but the ring barely moved. “Come on!” he gasped. “Come on! Come on!” He swam in the air frantically, the screams becoming a blaring alarm in his brain. “Come on! Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!” His outstretched finger snagged the ring. “Yes!” Narrowing his eyes, he broke into full throttle. He ran down the building with a blue streak trailing behind him, pushing himself closer and closer to the falling girls. His mind raced to find a soft, cozy spot to land… And with a shout of effort, he threw the ring past the girls. It flashed open, they fell through, and the ring shut… to reveal the ground racing towards him! “WhoawhoawhoawhoawhoaWHOA!” He dug his feet into the side of the building, but his attempts to slow himself down did nothing as gravity took its hold on the boy. A second later, he smacked his chin on the branch of a tree. Followed by another branch. And another. And then the hard, cold surface of the pavement. His body stung with pain. A groan escaped the blue boy’s throat as he began to push himself up. He cracked open an upward-glancing eye… and yelped, covering his head with both hands. Drones and robots smashed onto the cement with loud slams, crashes, and thunks. Sonic’s rings clattered to the ground with a chiming musical tone. The bag holding them landed with an empty splat and deflated like a balloon. When no more sounds could be heard, the boy slowly reopened an eye… One moment, Rainbow Dash was falling through the air with the pavement just seconds from smashing her friends… and also seconds from her activating her geode to sprout her wings and carry everyone to safety with Twilight’s help. And the next, her body rattled from the contact of a different source: something soft and stringy. Needless to say, she felt extremely dizzy. “Ugh… what the…” she moved an arm over her body, noticing some straw sticking to it. “Hay?” “Wh...where are we?” groaned Sunset. “AJ? Is this… your barn?” “Sure looks like it,” replied the country girl, readjusting her hat. “How exactly did we get here? My mind’s a little fuzzy from that landing.” “I remember falling…” replied Twilight. “And then a gold flash among blue… Sonic?” Rarity fell back with a happy sigh. “Saved by jewelry… I cannot think of anything happier than that!” Pinkie and Fluttershy rose, the former shaking her head of straw. “I can think of some things!” Rainbow opened her mouth to speak while her friends traded words… but stopped. Something was digging into her thigh. She shifted her weight, reached under the seat of her pants, and felt something round. She held it into view: a ring. Sunlight glinted off it, giving it a golden glow. Her instincts told her to keep it. It may come in handy. But her thoughts also turned to the blue boy. She thought back to that daring rescue and Sonic’s face as he threw the ring. Sonic… I hope you’re okay. Sonic shook his head with a gasp. That fall certainly wasn’t one of his best moments. But all he cared about right now was that his friends were safe back in Canterlot City. “Can I give you one genius piece of advice?” Sonic turned. The hovercraft loomed above the streets, Robotnik staring at him from the cockpit. “Don’t run. It’ll only hurt more if you do. And it’s bad for your joints, they proved it! Now, if you don’t mind…” A blue glint caught Sonic’s eye. The gem! Before Robotnik could move to retrieve it, Sonic zipped up and snatched the jewel. “Ah, ah! No touchie!” “Clever little boy, aren’t you?” the doc sneered. “Give back that which rightfully belongs to me, and I’ll leave you and that band of girls alone. Neither of you will ever hear from me again.” That did sound tempting enough for Sonic… but he’d just met a guy who came jam-packed with thrills! And that was good enough for him. “This is what you want, huh?” He said, displaying the gem like a trophy for sticking it in his pocket. “Well, come and get it, Eggy!” He zipped around in afterimages, picking up his dropped rings and his bag… and blasted off down the street. Robotnik lowered his goggles and closed his craft’s canopy. “The hard way it is…” A blue blur blazed a trail through the streets of Manehattan, swerving around cars and trucks, making sharp turns through intersections, and even running up buildings. The only thing that would make the kid enjoy this more: no explosions popping up on both sides of him. Chunks of pavement flew past with one smacking him in the face. Grunting, Sonic raced up the side of a skyscraper and noticed Robotnik pulling up. More red blasts fired from his craft, smacking into the glass and raining down shards. Sonic broke right and jumped right off the corner, landing in a spin maneuver on the street. Robotnik followed him through intersections and stayed on the boy’s heels, much to Sonic’s disbelief. Stray laser blasts failed to hit Sonic directly, destroying various objects throughout the city. Passersby darted for cover and out of the way when the blue and red streaks sped by. One blast blew up a fire hydrant, nearly dousing Sonic with a spray of water. One struck a trash can and blew debris out onto the street. Sonic had to wipe a wrapper out of his face with a disgusted expression. And one more blast overturned a car that tipped over… and about to smash Sonic. “WHOA!” he yelled, sliding underneath just before the roof could slam onto the road. He made another sharp right turn, two more energy blasts blowing parts of the block to bits. “Okay… time for an appointment!” He ran off the road and up another building. But this time, he jumped right off and landed on the moving hovercraft’s cockpit, surprising the doctor inside. “Time out, Robuttnik!” he called. “How are you doing this? No one’s ever caught up to me before… uh, save for Rainbow Dash!” “Oh, this prototype was nothing special,” scoffed the doctor. “All it needed was a little special ingredient.” Robotnik gestured to a glass case… where a tuft of blue hair sparkling with electricity rested inside. Sonic gasped. “Is that- AAAH!” Robotnik pulled on the brakes, bringing the craft to a sudden halt and flinging the boy to the streets below. He bounced off three times but skidded to a halt on his feet. He’s using my own strength against me! He’s powering that thing with my special magic to keep pace with me! So, that’s how he wants to play, huh? “Alright, Eggman!” called Sonic with wide arms. “You wanna get fast? Let’s get fast!” He took off again in a blue streak. A quick glance over his shoulder gave him all he needed: the craft was still in hot pursuit. Sonic took out a ring from his pouch after jumping over an oncoming car. “Let’s see you chase me through this!” The Mane Seven rounded a corner, looking down one of Canterlot City’s streets. Rainbow Dash checked her pocket, making sure the ring within was safe and secure. “Oh…” she heard Fluttershy moan. “I do hope that Sonic’s okay and that he’s not blasted to bits.” While Rainbow’s mind had those same thoughts, her mouth replied with something totally different. “Pfft! He’ll be fine! I know it! A guy with a fancy jet-thingie and some weird mustache is a piece of cake for him, right?” “But we can’t just wait around and hope he’ll come back!” Twilight interjected. “We gotta do something!” “I dunno about that,” Sunset told her. “Sonic sent us here for our own safety. To avoid us getting hurt.” “And that means he truly cares about us just like a real friend would!” Pinkie added cheerily. “He’d want us to stay out of the way, and that’s what I’m gonna do!” “Yeah…” came Twilight’s nervous voice. “Because he thinks he can fight that crazy guy all by himself. And from my experience… doing something all on your own doesn’t get you very far.” “He thinks he can handle this,” Sunset slowly realized. “He’s been all alone for so long, he’s become reliant on just himself. I think he’s become too confident on his own abilities to see the bigger picture.” “Thank you! Thank you!” came another voice. “The Great and Powerful Trixie acknowledges your appreciation!” The girls looked to the sidewalk on the left. There, the self-proclaimed illusionist was in the middle of a street performance with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle as her current audience. “Now, prepare your eyes as the Great and Powerful Trixie summons a gateway to beyond!” Tossing her star-tipped wand aside, Trixie closed her eyes, placed her hands over her head, and slowly drew them downwards in a congratulatory manner. Peeping open an eye, she noticed the trio’s faces were now full of astonishment. She giggled. “Please, hold your applause until the end of the-” “COMING THROUGH!” “Huh? AH!” A blue streak shot past Trixie and the other girls, blasting off down the street and around a corner. Trixie looked behind her, earning a closeup of a golden portal that had materialized from thin air… and a rapidly-approaching aircraft nearing it! “YEEP!” She dove to the side while the other girls scampered close to a nearby building. The aircraft shot past, veering after the sapphire streak. “That…” breathed Scootaloo. “... was… AWESOME! Coolest trick ever!” “I didn’t even know you had it in ya!” added Apple Bloom. “Truly astounding!” cheered Sweetie Belle. Albeit stunned, Trixie quickly stood up and brushed herself off. “Um, ahem! Yes! All is as the Great and Powerful Trixie planned!” “Well, she surely didn’t plan for that,” commented Sunset quietly. “Twilight, what now?” “I don’t know that we can do much, but…” the genius girl took a deep breath, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Maybe if I follow from the air and lock onto his craft, I can hack into it? That is if his firewalls aren’t too strong. Or maybe we can set up a trap? Or-” SHOOM! Twilight whirled behind her… and saw a colored comet vanish around a corner. “Rainbow?!” KA-BLAM! KA-BLAM! Sonic bounced off a car, the vehicle going up in flames behind him. Above him, the craft rolled and continued to fire off energy blasts that sent residents of Canterlot City screaming and running for their lives. Sonic skidded into a sharp left turn, glancing over his shoulder. The hovercraft kept on him like a hawk. “Come on, come on!” he veered around a right corner with two more shots hitting the street as he came out of the turn. He weaved and zigzagged around swerving cars, a blue trail of light behind him. “Whoa!” he heard Robotnik cry over a loudspeaker. “That was an illegal left, by the way!” “Says the guy who keeps blowing up cars! Ppppth!” Sonic playfully stuck out his tongue and made a face. He turned his head back around… but caught a stream of color a block away. He passed through another intersection, and through screeching and honking cars, he saw it again. His heart sank when he remembered who could do such a thing. “No, no, no, no, no!” He made another right turn, away from the colored blur. Robotnik banked after him. But to his horror, the rainbow streak turned after him and closed in on the hovercraft. Sonic gritted his teeth, racing past another car that got hurtled into the air from another close blast. He turned to look over his shoulder. “RAINBOW!” he screamed. “GET OUT OF- AH!” Another laser blast cut off his words, forcing him to steer away. Several more blasts hit the road in front of him, making him jump on top of a building’s balcony. Another explosion went off behind him, making chunks of debris fly past his eyes. Robotnik adjusted his aim, blowing up the rest of the balcony ahead. Sonic jumped up to the building’s rooftop, glancing across the street. Rainbow Dash sprinted upwards from her wall-run and vaulted onto the roof opposite of him, making eye contact with the boy. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” “Saving your blue butt, that’s what!” “No! Get outta here! It’s not sa-” BLAM! Another shot from Robotnik blew off the approaching corner Sonic was nearing, knocking him to the alley below and bouncing off a dumpster. He hit the ground with a groan, quickly scrambling back to his feet with ragged breaths and taking off again. He climbed up a fence and turned right when the alley gave way to another street. No sooner than he did, Robotnik flew off after him. Laser blast after laser blast rocked the road, sending Sonic swerving from left to right to left again. Deciding to take the high ground, he steeled himself and ran right up a building’s side, rolling onto the roof. He raced for the end, readying a long jump across. Robotnik’s aircraft hovered into view, barring his path. Sonic’s eyes widened when he saw the grinning mad scientist within, charging up another laser. Grunting, Sonic jumped off the roof with an acrobatic pose just as the explosion came (another stray shot barely missing his raised leg), sliding down the opposite building’s side and flipping down onto the road. Robotnik swiftly turned the craft and accelerated, once again keeping pace with the blue boy. Sonic ran up to a bus carrying an advertisement of the Equestria Land amusement park on its side, briefly looked behind himself, and gasped. He dropped down and slid underneath the vehicle when another explosion rocked it. The aircraft zoomed overhead… followed by Rainbow Dash leaping over the bus and giving chase. She quickly came and approached Sonic’s right just as he jumped over a speeding car. “Mind if I join in on the fun?” “Dash, I’m serious!” Sonic yelled, weaving past another car. “I won’t let this madman blow you to smithereens!” “Well, neither can I!” came the athlete’s reply as she sprang off a pickup truck that quickly got blown off the road. “You can’t take this guy alone, Sonic!” “Rainbow Dash, I’ve said it before and I will say it again!” snapped Sonic. “I’ve! Got! This! Now get out of here before both of us get-” BLAM! An explosion went off right between the two runners, separating them. Through the smoke, Sonic sharply turned left onto another street, away from Rainbow Dash as she dug her heels into the asphalt. “Oh, come on!” cried Sonic. “Seriously, Eggman! We were having a moment back there!” The doctor’s reply came from both the craft’s blaster and speakers. “You can run, boy! But you can’t hide!” Figures he can’t hear me over his trigger finger. Sonic thought to himself. But as long as I’m still here, Rainbow’s gonna try and keep getting herself killed! I can’t let her risk her life like that! He pulled out another ring, visualizing his next destination. Blocks away, Rainbow Dash came to a full stop at the sidewalk, hands flying to her knees and chest heaving. A golden flash from the corner of her vision made her head shoot upwards with another gasp… where a blue blur and a red streak raced through. The ring closed up before she could even move her legs again. “Ugh…” she groaned, smacking the side of the nearby building with her arm. “Why do boys have to be so stubborn?” Popping out at the Equestria Land roller coaster, Sonic blasted off down the track while Robotnik gunned his hovercraft full-throttle. Park visitors paused at the spectacle while the ride stopped preparations. Running along on the rainbow-colored tracks, Sonic couldn’t help but smile like a little kid. “Here we go! Room to open it up!” He blasted forward at near-supersonic speed, surging up the ascent and diving down the drop just as fast. Robotnik grunted, steering his craft into a roll. Sonic winded down a tight turn and laughed joyously, blazing through the first loop and immediately into the next. Robotnik weaved through them like a slalom course. “I’d enjoy this even more if I wasn’t running for my life!” cheered Sonic, going down another tight turn and descending down the tracks. Robotnik temporarily lost track of Sonic when the blue blur raced through the turns and screamed down the rainbow-colored rails. “Woohoo! I need to check this off my bucket list!” Sonic shouted, realizing his current position. “Can we go again, doc? I really wanna gooooOOOOOH, NO!” He looked right ahead of himself, realizing he was going to crash right into the back of the roller coaster cars with panicking people inside. “This is bad, this is bad, this is really, really, bad!” He grabbed another ring and threw it hard, running from the tracks to the warm, sunlit sands of the beach. And just as he arrived, laser blasts kicked up sand in his face and nearly dropped his speed dangerously low. Beachgoers immediately spotted them and kept their distance in fear. “Phagh! Blech! Ptooie!” Sonic gagged, boosting ahead of the laser blasts. “Maybe the beach wasn’t such a good idea!” Another blast sent him slightly skidding to the left. Reaching open sands, Sonic floored it and ran full-speed. “Sonic in pole position! Robotnik is hot on his tail and determined to take the rookie outta the race! But Sonic is equally determined to hold onto this lead and bring home the gold! Will he-” Several more laser blasts kicked up sand ahead of him, making Sonic run right through and cough. He wiped at his face furiously and shot a look at his pursuer. “Critics these days!” He raced past a lifeguard perch, its sole inhabitant diving to the sand before a stray blast obliterated the structure into splinters and burnt wood. Sonic dug his feet into the sand, drifting and sliding to a stop as the hovercraft flew over his head. At his feet, Sonic noticed sand swirling up before him: something that reminded him of a trick he saw in a broadcasted race involving dust kicked up by a drifting car. He felt a smirk form on his face. “If you can’t beat ‘em… blind ‘em!” He rushed up to the hovercraft’s position and wildly raced around in a circle. His momentum, velocity, and constant movement stirred up enough sand to form a storm of earth and dust. Sonic continued to literally run circles around his enemy, conjuring a sandy tornado that rocked the hovercraft. “Lost… visual… contact!” grunted the doctor from within. Sand pelted against the windshield and obstructed his view. Chuckling mischievously, Sonic dashed off from the swirling dust storm and raced off into a tree-dotted forest. He rushed past trees, logs, bewildered animals, and all kinds of foliage with a winning smile on his face. That smile dropped when he picked up the sound of engines. “What the juice?!” Robotnik’s hovercraft zoomed atop the trees, immediately firing down on the forest to flush Sonic out. Grass and dirt went flying and trees toppled. “Whoa! Ah!” Sonic slid underneath collapsing trees, spun through logs, and vaulted over stumps. He broke from the treeline, boosting towards the hills outside of the city. “I can’t lose him!” he cried with a hint of panic. He bobbed up and down hills, circling around the base of one in a failed attempt to ditch the doctor, and running across a river… but Robotnik stayed hot on his tail. Sonic raced up the side of a larger hill, taking out another ring desperately. “Please work, please work, please work!” He threw the ring. It grew and opened up, revealing Main Street of Canterlot City. He clenched his fists and ran as fast as he could towards it, watching the ring get closer and closer… KA-BLAM! The ground beneath him burst and he flew right through the ring with a scream. “I had him! I had him, but I lost him!” “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Dash,” Applejack said, patting the frustrated girl on the shoulder as they walked onto Main Street. “At least you did your best.” Twilight took notice of the activity on the street. She recognized some of the faces there: Flash Sentry and Sandalwood having a chat, DJ Pon-3 strolling to some tunes, Micro Chips fiddling with his phone, and even Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had just exited a café. “We know Sonic can hold his own,” she added. “But what if that craft is too much for even him to handle?” “You worry too much!” Pinkie cut in with a grin. “Why, I bet that any second now, Sonic’s gonna show up and he’s gonna be just-” The air blinked with a gold flash, summoning a big ring right above the street. And right as the girls turned to look… Sonic came crashing through. He bounced onto the pavement below and slid to a stop while chunks of earth landed beside him, drawing the attention of everyone else on the sidewalks. Cars came to a halt and alarmed voices rang out. All eyes turned to the strange boy who had just fallen right in the middle of the road. Sonic’s bag was opened up, rings everywhere. And the blue Gem of Miracles clattered out of his pocket. “Oh, no…” whispered Sunset. Now, a sudden scream made the girls look back to the ring. From the other side, the white hovercraft inched its way through and into the city, sending the people scurrying away. At Twilight’s gesture, the Mane Seven took cover behind a building corner. “I don’t like this…” peeped Fluttershy. “Ha ha ha!” boomed Robotnik, opening up his cockpit and grinning at the struggling-to-rise boy. “I’ll admit it, you gave me quite the run for my money, boy. But, in the end, the greatest mind in the world triumphs over a stupid little kid. Now… hand over the gem.” Sonic grunted, slightly turning his beaten-up face to glare at the doctor. “I’ll… I’ll never give it to you. You’ve got... more important things to do… like testing reflexes.” “Even on the verge of death, you still run that ignorant mouth of yours,” replied the doctor. “You know, I’ve been thinking… I’ll be snagging a greater prize from the claw machine today. Even though I’ve set my sights on the Seven Gems of Miracles, I’ve been studying magic for a while now, particularly to boost my machines to the point where they can reach their full potential. Only a few known individuals have the ability to wield magic, but you?” The doctor chuckled. “Oh, you are just… extraordinary! From what I know, the local magic-wielders here conjure their power from necklaces made from mystical geodes. But your magic is different. Natural, without the use of any artifact. You were born with it, weren’t you? So, your magic must be stronger than theirs. Way stronger, with unlimited potential just waiting to be unlocked!” “What are we going to do?” stammered Pinkie. “I don’t like being on the sidelines as much as you do!” “I think I’ve got an idea,” Rainbow realized. “I just remembered. When we fell into AJ’s barn… a little extra came back.” She reached into her pocket… and took out the ring. At the sight of it, Twilight’s eyes widened. “This better be a good plan, Dash.” “Trust me, it’s an awesome plan. Sun, care to tag along?” “You know it. What do we need to do?” “As any scientist would be, I am eager to learn more about your powers. Just as a simple lock of your hair is enough to power this experimental vehicle, it just makes me anxious to know what your magic can do for the rest of my machines! It’ll be fun to take you back to the lab for some little invasive and exploratory procedures. And with both the power of the Seven Gems and your own unique magic… oh, I feel all giddy inside just thinking about it!” boasted Robotnik. “You’re basically about to get taken apart piece by piece so I can finally see what makes you tick. So! Any last words?” Sonic quietly moaned. “Guac… I like that word.” The boy’s head fell back with an exhale. His eyes shut themselves closed and his body went limp. Robotnik smirked, donning his goggles again. “I don’t have to tell you how many scientific breakthroughs have been made possible by live specimen testing. You’re being very selfish, do you know that?” “Hey! Going my way?” Robotnik spun to his left. “What the-” Rainbow Dash plowed a fist across his face, knocking the scientist’s goggles from his eyes. Opposite, Sunset Shimmer hopped into the cockpit and grabbed his arm. Her eyes immediately enveloped in a white glow. With her friend holding the mad genius in place, RD moved into the cockpit and drew back another fist. Robotnik lashed a leg out, knocking the athlete smack in the chin. He followed up with a punch of his own, shrugging his other arm off of Sunset. The other girl’s eyes reverted to normal and she momentarily paused. A stern look appeared on her face, prompting her to assist her friend. The hovercraft shifted around as a result of the scuffle between the trio. Robotnik elbowed Sunset in the face and snagged RD’s shirt. “Who the heck do you think you are?!” Rainbow shrugged free, delivering a solid hook on the scientist’s face with a yell. Grabbing his shoulders, she threw him to the hovercraft’s hull. “The name’s Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash, Egghead!” came her triumphant answer. “If that big brain can think of something, think of getting outta my ci-” Robotnik furiously socked her in the gut, knocking the breath out of her. The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, she and Sunset were sent flying out of the hovercraft as it violently shifted again, dumping them onto the ground. She groaned, glancing to Sunset to see if she was alright. “Autopilot, adjust,” ordered Robotnik. The other five girls ran up to the doctor, Twilight bending down to check on Rainbow and Sunset. “You two okay?” “Yeah, we’re good,” panted Sunset. Rainbow simply nodded, wiping at her mouth with a fist. “Why?” called a dumbstruck Robotnik. “Why would you risk your lives for this… this stupid, idiotic, selfish child? You’d really throw them all away just for him? You see, that’s why I don’t have friends. The next thing you know, you’re somebody’s best man, they wanna have the wedding outta town, like no one has anything better to do!” Sunset’s face fell at the part where the doctor revealed himself to be friendless. And given what she just saw… it made enough sense to hurt. “Anyway, where were we?” Robotnik continued. “Oh, yes… you were about to die.” “HEY!” Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. There, in the daylit street, stood everyone who had previously fled the scene. At the front of the crowd, Flash Sentry crosses his arms. “Those’re our friends you’re messing with. And here, that’s something we take very, very, seriously.” “You mess with one citizen of Canterlot City, you mess with them all!” added Scootaloo. “And this is how the new guy is welcomed?!” Bulk Biceps finished. “I don’t think so!” “We’re not afraid of you! Get out of this city!” “Big mistake, buddy!” “I detect a ninety-eight point seven percent chance that your posterior will be rightfully booted!” Robotnik scoffed at the assembled crowd. “Friends, friends, friends! What is it with this town, anyway? Is that really all you care about? What part of friendship is special to you? And why would the seven of you be willing to die for a kid you don’t even know?!” “Rainbow…” whispered Twilight. The athlete looked to her, then to where she was staring at… and dropped a smile she didn’t even know she was holding. Her heart sank and her blood ran cold. Behind the girls… laid the unmoving body of the wise-cracking, supersonic teen everyone called their friend. “Sonic…” Rainbow Dash’s voice was quieter than even Fluttershy’s standard tone of voice. She struggled to even say it from horror… and she felt her eyes grow wet. Author's Note The chase brings Sonic and Robotnik to familiar places in Canterlot, USA before taking them back to Canterlot City, where the Equestria Girls, and eventually the entire town, try to stand up for their new friend, which the mad doctor doesn't take too seriously. Has Sonic died? You'll find out in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. P.S. Still Crazy's inclusion was based off of this: 11) CHAPTER TENThe boy didn’t move a muscle. Parts of his shirt and jeans had small rips in them, visible patches of skin had bruises on them, and his whole body was covered in dirt and sand. He didn’t even make a sound as the girls looked over his form. “I don’t mean to be indelicate here,” said Robotnik. “But someone should get some ice; keep the body fresh.” No one else made a move. No one, not even from the distant crowd, took their eyes off the kid lying in the street. Rainbow Dash felt Twilight’s hand rest on her shoulder. Applejack slowly took her hat off and held it close to her chest. A whimpering Pinkie hugged a silent Sunset. Rarity had both hands drawn to her mouth. And Fluttershy looked like she was about to look away at any second. Another brief moment of silence passed before the doctor took an annoyed breath. “Come on, he’s just a silly little kid,” he groaned in disbelief. “He wasn’t even meant to be here, in this city! Just… why? Why would you throw everything out the window and put yourselves in harm’s way… for a kid you don’t even know?!” Each of the Mane Seven locked eyes with each other. Unspoken words traveled between them: words that shared the same purpose. Twilight’s eyes narrowed… and with an adjustment of her glasses, she stood and turned to face the doctor. “You’re wrong,” she said defiantly. “We know everything about this kid. A kid who was driven by his reasons to come here for the sake of his home. A kid who’s not afraid to express himself… and a kid who wouldn’t have gotten this far if it wasn’t for us.” “At first glance…” Applejack joined in. “The little rascal is stubborn like a mule. But it’s that same stubbornness that gets him through everything he’s caught up in. The little smooth-talking, wisecracking fella can improvise his way outta anything… and I do mean anything.” “But below that radical-like behavior,” continued Rarity. “...is a free soul. Someone who wishes to do whatever his mind can set on. Someone who won’t allow anyone to push him around like he’s a helpless child who’s reliant on only others. I can tell you this: the only person he is reliant on is himself. And it’s that self-confidence that keeps him running. Er, in a spiritual sense.” “Which is something you, for all your brainpower, know nothing about,” declared Sunset. “During our little struggle back there, I tapped into your memories. I saw how you were out on your own and what caused you to despise family. Your dedication to technology led you to appreciate nuts and bolts more than hearts and souls. Y’know, from one smart mind from another, it’s easy to think your intelligence leads you to believe that everyone else is as dumb as a rock. But add a little experience and moments to remember by into the mix… and you’ll see everyone in a different light.” “We didn’t know what to think of him when we first met him,” added Fluttershy with a hint of determination in her usually-quiet voice. “But once we spent time with him, he turned out to be kind and selfless: the complete opposite of what you are. He’s open-hearted, you seal yourself away. He relies on people, you rely on scary robots. And from what I think, I think you hate him because he’s all the youth and joy you’ve never had in your life. And I’ll never forget him in a hundred years, just like the rest of my friends!” “And you say he’s the one being selfish?!” cried a distraught Pinkie. “Please! I’d like to bet you hardly have any friends at all! You’re surrounded by heartless machines all the time, and you’ve become just as heartless as them!” Rainbow Dash looked to her feet, where a blue glow called to her. She bent over, picking up the Gem of Miracles and watching it shine in her hand. She caught her own reflection in it… a reflection she imagined to be that of her new fellow speedster. “When I first met that boy in my friend’s barn,” she began in a sad tone. “Somehow, I knew he was different. But I see now that in the last few days… he’s kinda like me in a lot of ways. And not just in terms of magical abilities. We had common interests, enjoyed the same things, even had tons of fun together. But just like me, he also… yearns for friendship. He’d been alone for years. He was scared, even. He was so desperate for a friend, he’d do anything it takes to keep them safe. And today, that’s what he did.” Rainbow Dash lowered the jewel, turning her magenta eyes to Robotnik with a stoic and fierce expression. “That kid knows more about being human than you ever did, or ever will,” she spoke loudly. “Canterlot City is his home, just as the one he came from! His name was Sonic, he was the most awesome, way-past-cool guy I ever met, and he! Was our! Friend! My friend!” KRABOOOOOM! A sound like thunder rocked the street, lighting up everything in sight in a bright blue light. The girls whirled around to where the boy rested… only to find a bright light in his place. Arcs of sapphire electricity trickled across the surface of the road. Large bolts came down from the sky as if from the clouds themselves. Rainbow Dash threw a hand in front of her face, tucking the glowing jewel in her pocket. The rest of the girls locked their eyes on the blue light before them, watching the lightning spray out in all directions. Rainbow felt her own eyes grow wide in amazement and wonder. A spinning blue ball launched into the air, whirling quicker than the fastest soccer ball Rainbow could remember kicking. It resembled a sapphire meteorite ablaze with white light, falling right back down to the road below… and connecting with another boom. A small blue pulse flew out from the impact, and a figure with blue hair alight with lightning stood in a triumphant landing pose with one hand touching the ground and the other in a balled fist enveloped in electricity. Slowly, the figure rose up to a standing position. Blue lightning flickered off his freshly-healed body, erasing any traces of injury. Lightning ran up his legs and sprawled from his fists as if he was wielding two whips of electricity. He raised his head, flashing open eyes that sparkled with a bright blue instead of an emerald green. And one of those eyes - upon glancing at Rainbow Dash - winked with a coy smirk. The athlete couldn’t help but smile in relief. But the moment had to wait, as the boy gestured to behind her with just his eyes. Rainbow Dash picked up the memo instantly. “Oh. Right. He’s all yours, blue!” she cheered enthusiastically. “Give him what for, sugarcube!” called Applejack. The girls ran from the road to the sidewalk, joining the amazed crowd. “Get back! Everyone, get back!” Twilight announced, waving for the people to do so. Rainbow Dash let out an excited laugh as she turned behind her. “Oh, this is gonna be SO awesome!” With them out of harm's way, Sonic turned to the stunned scientist in his experimental hovercraft. “I think you have something that belongs to me.” He clenched his fist with bared teeth… and lightning shot out from it, striking the hovercraft in a fraction of a second. It struck the front of the cockpit and both hover rings, sending an alarm blaring in Robotnik’s ears. The scientist struggled to maintain control of the ship, his eyes catching a glimpse of the hair’s case cracking. Sonic grunted, drawing his fist backward. The hovercraft moaned in pain when the lightning retracted, drawing it all back to the turbo-charged teen. The boy breathed in, feeling fully refreshed. But Robotnik was glancing at a screen flashing a warning. “Energy levels dropping?!” he gasped. “What did you just do?!” “You’re wrong about this stuff being natural, doc,” began Sonic. “When I was just a little kid, a magical geode transferred its energy into my body, making me who I am now. And ever since, I’ve been using it to run. Run from both people who’d want it for themselves and run from whatever I feared. But not this time.” “What are you talking about? What is that?!” “This is my power, a gift rightfully bestowed upon me,” answered Sonic boldly. “And I’m not using it to run away anymore! I’m using it to protect. My. Friends!” From the crowd, Twilight gasped. “He… he conquered his fear of loneliness! Our words gave him new magic! The magic of-” “Yeahyeahyeah! Zip it!” Rainbow interrupted with a raised finger. “Here comes the good part!” She smiled like a fangirl. Robotnik coldly lowered his goggles across his face and pressed something on his control panel. His cockpit closed up and his craft rose into the air with a high-pitched whine. The vehicle opened up hidden panels, revealing a massive payload of heat-seeking missiles. Lasers lit up and darted along the ground, pointing themselves at several different positions on Sonic’s unfazed body. The boy in blue lowered himself to the ground, placing his knuckles on the road and placing his left foot behind his right. He looked right at the craft with burning blue eyes dotted with an electric surge, waiting for just the right moment. The missiles flew right for Sonic like a flock of pigeons going for a dropped piece of bread. The boy narrowed his eyes… and took off in a blue flash. He dodged and zipped past missiles at breathtaking velocity, which missed by meters. They couldn’t recalibrate their courses quick enough, resulting in them exploding against the surface of the road and buildings alike. Balling up, the boy knocked some away and slid under another. He sprang back up, jumping to the side of a building and leaping right off. His spinning body connected with the craft in a metal-crunching slam, leaving a dent behind when he ricocheted away. Landing on a car, Sonic jumped off the vehicle to land another hit on Robotnik’s craft. After another successful strike, he swung off a lamppost and landed a third blow. Again and again, Sonic slammed himself into Robotnik’s hovercraft, cracking the glass and making the mad genius flinch with each hit. To the adrenaline-fueled awe of Rainbow Dash, Sonic moved so fast he appeared to be hitting Robotnik from everywhere at once, even from the nearby intersection. “This is so INTENSE!” Sonic bounced upward after another strike dented the aircraft’s nose, landing right on top of the cockpit and startling the scientist inside. From inside the cockpit, Robotnik sneered at Sonic. “Now you’ve done it!” he screamed. “Looks like you bit off more than you can chew, huh, doc?” “Shut up! Just shut up, you stupid, blasted, fidgety, horrid little runt! I will have that gem, even if I have to blow you off the map! Do you hear me?! I will permanently erase you from this city!” “Well, guess what, Eggman!” Sonic shot back. “I’m not leaving Canterlot City!” He jumped off in a backflip. “YOU are!” Instead of moving for a final blow, he turned his eyes to the crowd. Particularly, to one rainbow-haired girl who froze up in shock. “Wh-wha?” “Go on! Be my guest!” Sonic said, gesturing to his discarded ring bag. Realizing what he was referring to, all of the air in Rainbow’s lungs rushed out. “Really?” Sonic just smiled. “Really.” “Oh, wow!” Rainbow snatched up the bag, took out a ring and ran down the sidewalk. “Okay… be cool. Be cool. Focus.” She took a deep breath, calmed herself… and in a movement similar to a baseball pitcher, she threw the ring with all her might behind Robotnik’s craft. The golden decoration expanded in size, the sound it made reverberating Rainbow’s ears. Sonic smiled again… and ran off in the other direction. Ten blocks away, he looped back around and shot right for a steaming-mad Robotnik. “NO!” he screamed, pushing the badly-damaged craft to its limit. “I WILL NOT LOSE TO A BOY!” The blue streak raced through the roads of Canterlot City, moving fast enough to generate a blue pulse that burst outward in a sonic boom. The wave washed over everything and everyone, nearly blowing the crowd off their feet. As Sonic and Robotnik’s craft drew closer and closer to each other… a high-pitched whine came from the boy’s curled-up form. VREEEEEEEE! Sonic vanished inside a spinning ball of blue, ramming full-force into the hovercraft. The vehicle bent out of shape, the glass in the cockpit shattered, and the two hover rings shorted out and got blown off the main chassis. And Robotnik screamed, a sound that echoed as what remained of his hovercraft flew through the ring and into the sky above a tree-filled jungle. The ring shrank and closed up, leaving only a dinging sound behind when it winked out of existence. Sonic backflipped through the air, leaving a trail of lightning behind. He touched down gracefully in a manner resembling the finish to an acrobat’s routine. He stood up straight, his hair dimmed away and the lightning surrounding his body vanished. His bright blue eyes swapped back to their normal green shade, resulting in the living battery his magic transformed him into powering down. “Wow!” he chuckled, wiping at his shoulder. “That was cathartic! Woo… spending too much time around a genius will boost your vocab, huh?” The crowd burst into applause; something that took Sonic completely by surprise. The Mane Seven ran up to him, giving the boy their own congratulations. Pinkie tackled him into a huge hug, Rainbow ruffled up his hair, Sunset and Twilight patted him on the back, Applejack crossed her arms with a smile, and Rarity and Fluttershy held back with smiles of their own. “It’s official, blue,” Rainbow told him while he gently pushed Pinkie away. “You and I? We’re going places.” “Totally!” “Oh, hey. Got something that belongs to you.” “Thank you very much.” Rainbow moved to place the ring pouch in Sonic’s open palm… only for Sunset to grab the athlete’s wrist and turn to the boy with a look. “No more pushing people off of buildings, got it?” Sonic shrugged. “You know I can’t promise that.” The girls laughed while Rainbow returned the ring pouch. A smile crept across her face and she held up a hand. And at the sight of it, Sonic’s face lit up and he gasped. Laughing in joy and excitement, he ran around in circles and jumped, giving the multi colored-haired girl a high-five. When he landed… he stared at his palm, thinking back to the soccer field when he was all alone. He looked back to the girls, comparing that time to now. He had to admit… now was better. “Thank you…” he said happily. “All of you.” “Heh. Like I said… we got this.” “Yeah… we do.” “Hey, Dash?” Twilight asked while the crowd behind them began to disperse and move away from the street. “Where… did you send him to?” Rainbow just stretched her fingers. “Oh, just a faraway lush jungle that he won’t be finding his way out of for a while. No biggie.” “This calls for a celebration party!” cheered Pinkie. “Yeah, I think that’s the last we’ll see of that guy for a little while,” added Sunset. “Now, who’s up for some… some…” “What is it?” Twilight asked, looking to what made Sunset pause. Soon, her own face lit up in awe. Curious, Sonic turned behind him. And there, lying in the middle of the road, were six glowing gemstones. Each of them emitted a different light: red, green, white, yellow, violet, and turquoise. Sonic gasped in surprise. “The… the Seven Gems of Miracles? Eggman had them all this time?!” “They must have fallen from his craft!” Twilight realized. “Was he using them as a power source like your magic? Or was he just collecting them?” “Maybe that’s why he wanted this one so badly,” noted Rainbow, taking out the shining blue jewel from her pocket. “He needed the last piece of the puzzle.” Sonic scooped up the other six gems in his arms, looking at them proudly. “Nabbing them all in one go… what better way is there to end a hunt than that?” While he held the shining jewels, Sonic felt something… odd inside him. Something warm. Something satisfying. Something great. Something amazing, even. “Alright… that just leaves one more thing for me to do,” the blue boy said. “I need to use these to fix my home… but the question is, how?” Before someone could offer an idea, Sonic noticed the light on the road starting to dim. Looking up, he saw the sky grow dark with black clouds. Ominous, familiar, black clouds. “Um, looks like that party will have to wait, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash spoke up. The rest of the girls had their eyes to the sky in both fear and confusion. Sonic never kept his own eyes off them, catching glimpses of flashing bolts of purple lightning. “Oh, no…” he muttered, getting a sense of deja vu all over again. “It’s… it’s just like the village! And that must mean-” “At long, long last,” spoke a booming thunder-like voice from within the clouds. “We meet again… Sonic, is it?” Two bright purple eyes broke through the darkness. “I’ve been desperate to feed off your magic for so long, and that little boost you did back there was enough for me to home in. Ah… I see you have gathered some more for me.” “You won’t have them!” Sonic shouted, dropping the jewels and getting into a fighting pose. “I may not have stopped you on South Island, but I will stop you here… whoever you are!” “Foolish child. You can only beat the averages so long before they beat you. Robotnik was a cakewalk, whereas I am the force you cannot run from, no matter where you go. Your magic cannot save you… because all those who have eluded or confronted the Man of Shadows…” A figure cloaked in blackness floated down from the clouds, purple eyes gazing at the boy. Purple waves of dark magic radiated off his form. And violet lightning traced between his outstretched fingers. “...have been consumed.” “He’s… real?” gasped Twilight in horror. Confused, Sonic turned to look at her. “Wait, you know this guy?” “Only in legends,” Twilight answered. “His name’s Stygian. He’s descended from a great band of heroes that began to fade away into myth. Throughout his life, he was friendless, alone, and mocked everywhere he went. Any statement he made about his identity was shot down, and over time he grew overwhelmed with emotions like anger, hate, and despair. According to what I’ve heard, he discovered a crystal holding great magic, kind of what happened to you. But this crystal held terrible dark magic that transformed him, turning him into what he is now.” “It appears my reputation holds firm, Miss Sparkle,” the figure spoke. “And yes, there is some truth to those myths. I enacted my vengeance on all who wronged me, draining them of their magic. But when I did so, I grew amazed and powerful. And so I went on, sustenance sustaining me for years. As for what you hold within you, Sonic… it could withstand me for at least a thousand more.” “Forget it, Mister Black!” snapped the blue boy. “As long as I have the Seven Gems of Miracles with me, your little blight is done for!” “Seven Gems of Miracles?” the Man of Shadows repeated with an amused chuckle. “What a foolish name given by your people! I assure you, Sonic… they are not the tools you wish them to be.” “Yeah, right! Once I kick your dark and ugly butt, I’m gonna wish everything away!” “Oh, my naive boy…” laughed Stygian. “You don’t know, do you? The gems were never intended to grant wishes with the power they wield. If one were to successfully unlock them… they’d be doomed to destruction by a greater force even they couldn’t endure. What’s believed to be healed only results in getting furtherly harmed. What is thought to bring life only brings death. The first users of these jewels found out the hard way. They feared the seven gemstones… and gave them a different name. Now… surrender the Chaos Emeralds.” Author's Note With the HuMane 7's encouraging words, Sonic unlocks his true potential and finally defeats his archenemy AND finds the other Gems of Miracles in one fell swoop. But it looks like Robotnik/Eggman was only the starter boss. Now, we're on the final boss: Stygian, the Man of Shadows! Let's see how Sonic and the HuMane 7 will deal with him in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 12) CHAPTER ELEVEN“What?!” the boy gasped. “Chaos… no, you’ve gotta be lying! The Gems can’t be used solely for bad stuff!” “In all their years, the Chaos Emeralds have only been combined once,” continued Stygian. “By a small tribe native to your home of South Island. But whatever intentions they had for the jewels was for naught. Once the power of the Emeralds was unlocked, it was so tremendous and great that it decimated the tribe from hundreds to a handful. The survivors grew terrified of the gems, giving them their true name, throwing away the curtain that promised fortune, reformation, and cleanse. The leftovers of the tribe were forever scarred, fearful of power and magic that appeared to be disastrous from that point on.” Rainbow turned to the boy with a worried expression. “Sonic, don’t listen to him…” Sonic clenched his teeth, balling up a fist. “Don’t you pull this stunt on me! If you really expect me to think that I’ve been looking for disaster gems this whole time instead of solution gems, then you’re terribly mistaken!” “Poor boy… in gathering all seven Chaos Emeralds, you’re dooming your homeland further instead of purifying it. Do you not understand that, even as I tell you the unseen truth?” “NO! And I don’t want to!” Sonic dashed forward in a blue flash, curling up into a whirring blue ball of lightning and energy. He homed in right at the observing Stygian, whose only course of action was a raise of his hand. Sonic connected right into a purple magical shield, blocking him from hitting Stygian directly. Stygian thrusted his palm forward, knocking Sonic back. The blue boy skidded against the asphalt hard enough to crack some of it up. He slid to a stop before the shocked Mane Seven, groaning in pain and disbelief. “No way…!” “It is no use, my child. You’ve been running after the wrong solution this whole time. The Chaos Emeralds won’t help you… they’ve never helped anyone.” “Rrgh!” Sonic jumped back up, rushing for Stygian again. The man surrounded by shadows lifted a corner of his lips in amusement. The boy somersaulted into the air, swinging a leg at the man’s head. Without even moving his hands from his back, Stygian weaved and leaned away from each punch, kick, and spinning strike sent his way. At each blow he failed to land, Sonic grew more and more frustrated. If the only thing his people could rely on was really going to make things worse… no. He wouldn’t buy it. This guy was just messing with him. Stygian continued to evade as if it was the easiest thing to do. “Your efforts…” Sonic concentrated his magic, charging up a fist with blue lightning and thrusting it forward. “Rrraaaah!” Stygian casually grabbed his wrist, intercepting the electric fist just before it could hit him in the face. Sonic’s expression dropped into shock, a gasp of surprise escaping his mouth. “...are futile.” “AAAAAAAAAH!” Sonic screamed out when Stygian’s grip on him turned into the most burning and stinging sensation he’d ever endured. He could barely think straight through all the pain. He felt his strength and energy dropping by the second… did the girls just cry out his name? When he glanced back at Stygian, Sonic saw the man’s other arm encased in violet electricity. The malevolent eyes gazed upon it in wonder while Sonic fought for breath. A smile crossed his face… and his eyes glanced to the sound of a third voice. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM, YOU JERK!” Rainbow Dash cried, running full-speed towards Stygian. She drew her own fist back, ready to plow it right through his head. Without even glancing directly at her, Stygian raised a hand. Rainbow Dash froze in place, struggling against an invisible force holding her back. Stygian made a finger-flicking motion, flinging away the athlete like a bug. “Astounding… this is what the crystal granted you? No wonder Robotnik wished to wield it for himself.” He spoke in awe as if Rainbow’s failed intervention never occurred. He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of purple electricity coursing through. KRAPOW! A single electric-imbued punch from Stygian hit Sonic with his own magic, sending him sailing right back to the girls. Twilight and Sunset caught the exhausted boy in their arms, steadying him. Twilight focused on her own magic, firing an amethyst bolt of light in his direction. Stygian batted the projectile away, leaving it to explode in the sky as a bright purple firework. Sunset gulped while the others grew nervous. “This doesn’t bode well…” “You are a stubborn one, Sonic,” gestured Stygian. “But this mere sample of your magic is just a taste of things to come. Stand down, or risk being drained entirely.” “You’d… do that… anyway…” croaked a weary Sonic. “Clever, also. But honestly, there is no point. Once I’m finished with you, these seven shall be next in line. Face it, boy… the jewels before you are worthless. You cannot hope to wield them and expect fantastic results. And even without them, all eight of you are powerless against the magic-feeding Man of Shadows. Your fates are all but sealed.” Sonic opened his mouth to retort with Rainbow and Twilight standing firm by his side. But something else caught the trio’s attention. Seven shining lights of color… from seven gathered jewels. The Gems of Miracles… Sonic realized. I mean, Chaos Emeralds… whatever they are! Stygian said their sole purpose is… well, chaos. But I don’t believe it. Because I think… I think I’m feeling something from them. “Twilight…” whispered Rainbow. “Why am I getting a warm feeling right now?” The other girl didn’t reply, as she and the others kept their transfixed eyes on the glowing rainbow gems. Looks like I’m not the only one, then. Sonic slowly reached out, taking the blue jewel in his hand. The instant he touched it, he could feel something… strong. Powerful. Extraordinary. It didn’t feel evil or destructive in any way. Sonic noticed something else, too. He wasn’t feeling hatred or anger, and yet the gem wasn’t responding with equal force. That’s it! I understand now! “You’re wrong, Stygian!” Sonic shouted, rising to his feet with all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand. “I’m feeling something from these gems, and it doesn’t have anything to do with destruction and chaos! Instead, I feel incredible! The magic you took from me doesn’t matter anymore, because I feel totally fresh and renewed! And you know what? I think I know what happened to the guys who found these last time!” “Oh?” “The tribesmen unlocked the gems’ potential through hate, rage, and anger! That’s what did them all in! But now, I see the real way to harness them: through my friends!” The Mane Seven walked up to Sonic, each of them looking at him with smiles on their face. Sonic looked to each of them in turn, smiling back. “Our hearts together form awesome power,” he continued. “Sure, negative emotions can bring about something huge and catastrophic. But our positive feelings towards each other can create something even greater! Through kindness…” The turquoise Chaos Emerald floated away from his arm, moving up to an intrigued Fluttershy. “Generosity…” The white Chaos Emerald moved closer to Rarity, who observed the gem spectacularly. “Laughter…” The red Chaos Emerald hovered to Pinkie Pie. “Oooh, shiny!” she giggled. “Honesty…” The green Chaos Emerald floated to an awaiting Applejack. “Forgiveness…” The yellow Chaos Emerald floated until it hovered over the outstretched palm of Sunset Shimmer. “Loyalty…” The blue Chaos Emerald moved directly over Rainbow Dash’s heart. “And the magic that keeps it all together!” The violet Chaos Emerald positioned itself close to Twilight Sparkle, earning it another smile. Sonic turned to face everyone with crossed arms, barely noticing that their geode necklaces were also aglow. “And that is the true potential of the ‘Chaos’ Emeralds! Through the magic of friendship!” In a simultaneous move, the gems streaked right into the chests of the girls. The air erupted in a bright flash of light, forcing Sonic to shield his eyes. And inside the light, a remarkable transformation to behold went underway. The girls’ hair grew longer, horse-like ears sprouted, wings unfolded on three figures, horns jutted out from three more… and colored flashes shone forth on their chests. Violet. Yellow. Blue. Turquoise. Red. Green. White. The light faded. Sonic lowered his arm and cracked open an eye. “Whoa…” The Mane Seven stood in their Friendship Power forms- unlocked after a confrontation with someone named Wallflower, if Sonic was correct- but with one major difference. Their respective Chaos Emerald had fused with each of the girls, sticking out as a colored hexagonal shape on their torsos. They looked down at themselves in awe and amazement. “You. Guys. Look. AWESOME!” Sonic cheered. “I feel… incredible!” gasped Sunset. “Is that what the gem’s doing?” “Whee!” cried Pinkie. “I feel like I could fly around the whole world five- no, ten times!” “I feel like running around it a HUNDRED times!” emphasized Rainbow. “And never get tired!” “There’s something else…” Twilight spoke up, seeing her two hands beginning to glow with violet magic. “Like there’s something I need to do.” “I feel it, too,” answered Applejack. “I can’t think of anything else!” added Rarity. “Um, what are we supposed to do with it, exactly?” muttered Fluttershy. “I think I know…” replied Twilight. “Everyone, follow my lead.” She drew her arms back, eyes focusing on Sonic. The boy’s face fell. “Uh, are you sure that’s a good id-” Twilight unleashed the magic, a purple stream of shining energy striking Sonic in the chest. The boy cringed at first… until he opened his eyes and felt something amazing growing inside him. “No, no! I take it back!” he called. “Great idea! Come on, hit me!” One by one, the rest of the girls directed their own colored streams that struck Sonic right in the heart. The blue boy closed his eyes, letting the magic within him build up and grow to its limit. The Mane Seven ceased, allowing the last of their magic transfer seep into Sonic. “Whoa, what’s happening to him?!” Rainbow gasped. Sonic’s whole body began to glow with light until it was fully enveloped. His blue hair stood straight up and changed color into something bright. From inside the light, his eyes shot open… to reveal blazing red irises. BAWOOOM! A glimmering golden explosion rocked the Equestria Girls’ visions, making them cry out in surprise. The light faded, revealing a shining golden aura around Sonic… a changed Sonic. His hair had turned from blue to gold, pointing straight upwards instead of its standard spike-ball shape. His green eyes had turned red and his clothes had also changed color to white and yellow. Only his shoes remained unchanged. “Oh, wow!” he laughed to himself. “This… this is incredible! I feel amazing! I feel so! Pumped! Up!” Rainbow let out an amused laugh of her own. “So, since you’re basically saying you’re even better than before… I suppose this means you’ve gone from going sonic to supersonic!” The transformed Sonic paused at his friend’s words, contemplating on them with a shimmering golden aura around him. Rainbow caught his gaze. “What?” “Super Sonic… I LOVE it!” he flashed Rainbow a thumbs-up. The girl just smiled back at him. “That’s it?” spoke an unamused Stygian. “This is the so-called true power of the Chaos Emeralds? A simple change of clothing and color? Hmph. No matter. You will at least provide a great source of entertainment before I drain you all.” “I’ll have you know there’s more to it than that!” answered Super Sonic, turning to face the blackened man. “Alright, Stygian! Prepare to get your black butt kicked, Super Sonic style!” In a golden flash of light, he took off running at rocket speed. The Mane Seven followed up, drawing ever closer to the Man of Shadows. Stygian drew apart his arms, conjuring purple lightning between his hands. With a cry of rage, he directed it towards the eight heroes. Super Sonic weaved between the streams- some of them flying past his face at slow motion- and closed the distance, landing a solid kick at Stygian’s face. “HA!” he shouted, making the Man of Shadows stumble back. “How do ya like that?!” “Grr! I like it just fine!” he blasted another arc at Super Sonic, who jumped high into the air. His friends moved in to attack in his place… while he remained airborne. “Whoa! I can fly? Way past cool!” Super Sonic broke into a dive, curling up into a spinning gold ball. On the street below, Rainbow Dash threw a swinging kick at Stygian. “Hi-yah!” she nailed him across the head, following up with a one-two and a knee to the gut. Stygian snagged her leg, throwing her to the ground and lobbing a purple fireball at the athlete. A rainbow blur sped away, and the fireball hit nothing but the road. Super Sonic dove past, Stygian barely avoiding the gold streak. Applejack plowed a fist across Stygian’s exposed torso, following with an uppercut to the chin. “Left yourself open!” Annoyed, Stygian blasted the farmgirl away with another lightning blast, to which she shrugged off. He sent another fireball her way… to which Rarity jumped into its path and blocked it with a diamond shield. Again, Stygian turned his attention to the sky, conjuring another lightning storm at Super Sonic and Fluttershy. The kind-hearted girl yelped and flew away… but a bolt struck Super Sonic in the chest, sending him reeling. The supercharged boy clutched his chest, expecting pain… but he felt nothing instead. “Whoa again!” he gasped. “Not even a scratch? Oh, I love this look!” He flew through the dark-clouded air again, dodging more lightning bolts sent his way. “You know, you’d be more dark and powerful if you could actually hit me!” Magical sprinkles burst in Stygian’s face, blinding him and forcing an annoyed shout from his mouth. A giggling Pinkie Pie floated past… but not fast enough. Stygian snagged her by the hair, throwing her toward a building. Thinking fast, Twilight telekinetically grabbed her and placed her on the ground. Sunset ran in from behind to land a hit, but Stygian was ready for her. Using his own telekinesis, the Man of Shadows pinned her in place and flung her aside with an enraged cry. He turned back in front of himself… and his purple eyes widened at the sight of two gold and rainbow streaks. Super Sonic and Rainbow Dash tag-teamed Stygian, swinging wildly at their enemy. The two of them slowed time to land their final blow… but Stygian grabbed each of their legs, resulting in shocked expressions from each of them. “GRAAAH!” Stygian threw them both into buildings, shattering windows. Super Sonic shook his head in a dazed manner while Rainbow struggled to get up. “Sucker packs a wallop! But… how can he be faster than the two of us?” Stygian slammed with the ground hard with two fists, creating a small quake that sent pieces of asphalt and cars into the air. Applejack punched away the debris, only for a car to slam right into her and knock her to the ground. Twilight held up several pieces aimed for her… leaving her wide open for Stygian, who dashed in the form of a black mist and punched her with a magic-imbued fist. Stygian threw purple fire from his hands, burning away Pinkie’s thrown sprinkles and forcing her to back off. A strong kick sent Sunset into the air, where he jumped after her, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her to the road with a roar. Stygian landed, fuming as he searched for his next target. His hate-filled eyes turned to a frozen Fluttershy, who caught his gaze and whimpered. With another scream, he blasted more lightning at her. Fluttershy ducked for cover, the lightning hitting Rarity’s shield instead. The Man of Shadows intensified his power with a snarl. Rarity squeezed her eyes shut and strained under the sudden pressure. Cracks appeared from the relentless bolts… and the shield shattered, leaving Rarity prone for electrocution and blowing her back up. Super Sonic darted back into the fray, smashing Stygian with some more rapid Spin Dashes. Stygian gave a high kick, popping Sonic into the air. The boy righted himself, but failed to block a strong punch that sent him crashing to the road. He hopped back and trained his eyes on his opponent. The Mane Seven gathered around him… each of them looking weary and bruised, yet not hopeless. “It’s eight on one!” Sonic cried in disbelief. “How is this not working?!” “THE DARKNESS WILL NOT BE STOPPED!” screamed Stygian. “YOU WILL ALL BE MINE!” More streaks of angry violet lightning zipped towards the group. Eyes quickly going wide, Sonic squeezed them shut and threw up his arms… Again, he felt nothing. But not just from the invulnerability. This time, he didn’t feel the electricity at all. He opened his eyes, terribly confused at what the heck was happening. “Huh?” Aside from the aura surrounding him, Super Sonic took in the sight of a circular yellow shield with diamond patterns protecting him from the lightning as long as he kept his arms crossed in a blocking pose. Behind him, the Equestria Girls floated overhead with equally shocked expressions. “What in the hey is going on here?” asked a baffled Applejack. “Those diamonds!” gasped Rarity. “That’s my magic!” “I think when we triggered his change with the Emeralds,” replied Sunset. “We gave him a little something extra. Our magic must’ve gotten into the mix!” “You mean he has our powers now?” Rainbow repeated. “Pretty much!” Super Sonic turned to the struggling Stygian with a confident smirk. “Aw, sweet!” He spread his arms out, the shield bursting apart and stunning the Man of Shadows. “Thanks, ladies!” He blasted towards Stygian, who met him with crackling hands. Super Sonic zipped around and landed a flurry of blows on the Man of Shadows. Stygian lashed out with more lightning, but Super Sonic dodged so fast he appeared to have teleported away. “Cool, right?!” He landed a solid spinning kick to the back of Stygian’s head, sending him reeling. “Hey, temper temper!” “SILENCE!” roared Stygian, unleashing a rapid volley of fireballs at Super Sonic. Instead of evading them, Super Sonic flew right in front of their path and extended his arms. The projectiles froze, surrounded by a golden aura. “Nope!” Super Sonic flung his arms to the sides, redirecting the fireballs to the ground below. “Impressive!” commented Twilight. Super Sonic blasted for Stygian again, weaving right past him instead of slamming into him. “What?!” gasped an off-guard Stygian. “Hey, blackie! Present for ya!” Super Sonic tossed out some golden sparkles, which blew in bright flashes right in Stygian’s face. “AGH!” “Wow! My sprinkles!” gasped Pinkie. “Although they’re not really sprinkles right now…” Grabbing a car without even touching it, Stygian hurled it out at Super Sonic with a cry. Super Sonic drew back a fist, uppercutting the car and punching it back at the Man of Shadows. The vehicle slammed into his body and forced him to the ground. “That’s showing him! Woo!” cheered Applejack. “I… will not… be defeated…!” grunted the Man of Shadows. “Doesn’t look that way to me,” Super Sonic noted. Another lightning strike was desperately unleashed in his direction, utter frustration on Stygian’s face. “Do not TEST MY PATIENCE, YOU-!” Super Sonic was gone when the attack dissipated. Confused, Stygian looked around wildly in a desperate search. While he found nothing, a finger tapped on his shoulder twice. “What’s up?” Super Sonic delivered a strong uppercut, following with a flip kick that knocked Stygian into the air. Grabbing him by the arm, Super Sonic took off skyward in a gold streak. Breaking free when high enough, Stygian blasted Super Sonic away with a fireball that met his shield. “Alright, this is getting old. How about giving you something I’ve saved just for last?” “I’m not through with you yet, child! Your magic will be mine, and it shall sustain me for-” “Okay, okay! Sheesh, you bad guys never know when to shut up.” “YOU DARE-” “Case in point.” Super Sonic balled up, spinning rapidly in place. As his golden form whirred like a turbocharged engine, he became flooded with all the colors of the rainbow until he resembled a swirling whirlpool of paint. “Oh, so awesome!” whispered Rainbow Dash. Stygian threw up a shield of his own, but Super Sonic plowed through with a rainbow streak. In seconds, they crashed down onto the street in a cloud of dust. While the girls watched on, a golden figure floated out and joined them. “Okay, we’re done here. Care to surrender?” Stygian coughed through the dissipating smoke. “I… I can’t… I will not lose… to… to children…” Super Sonic shrugged with a sigh. “Shoulda known better.” He glanced over his shoulder to the girls. “Welp, looks like he’s finished.” “NEVER!” screamed Stygian, throwing out another lightning bolt. Effortlessly, Super Sonic raised a hand to absorb it in a smaller version of his shield. “Like I said, finished. Now, mind if I join in on your usual?” Twilight nodded. “By all means.” She closed her eyes, linking hands with her friends as they did the same. All eight of them floated into the air, Super Sonic clenching his fists to trigger a flash of his golden aura. Magic streams floated from the Equestria Girls to Super Sonic, who initiated another supercharged Spin Dash. He shot off in a brilliant bolt of light, surrounded by rainbow colors. “NOOOOOOOOO!” BOOOOM! Super Sonic collided with the weakened Stygian, erupting in a sonic rainboom that traveled beyond Canterlot City’s borders. A magnificent glow flooded the city for five seconds, parting the black clouds above. The light of a blue sky revealed itself and the rays of the sun shone through. Down below, Super Sonic and the Equestria Girls floated close to street level, staring at the small crater before them. All eight of them watched the dust rise and listened to everything around them settle down. Super Sonic turned to the sky. The only clouds up there now were fluffy and white… just as they should be. “It’s quiet…” “Hey,” he turned to see Twilight smiling at him. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us.” “Nah,” Super Sonic responded. “Thank you girls for everything you’ve done for me. Without all of you, I’d probably be still stuck with one Emerald.” Rainbow chuckled. “Hey, it’s what we do. But a question… I know I’m not really into gems, but why call them emeralds when they’re not all green?” Super Sonic just shrugged. “Take it up with him. Also, have I mentioned you guys look amazing like that?” The athlete smiled warmly at him. “Not looking too bad yourself, blue dude… wait, or should it be gold dude? Uh, I’ll work on that.” Everyone else laughed at her words… until Super Sonic’s body brightly flashed. The light came and went, revealing Sonic back in his normal blue self. The girls quickly followed with colored flashes of their own, reverting to their everyday appearances with the Chaos Emeralds at their feet. The seven jewels glowed with color, rising into the air and spinning in a circle. The gems whirled in a colorful wheel, ascending higher and higher into the sky. Another bright flash filled everyone’s vision… and seven streaks of light flew away in separate directions, scattering the gems once again. Sonic sighed happily. “Y’know… they really are seven gems of miracles.” “Ungh…” “Hm?” Sonic turned to the small crater in the middle of the road. Inside it, something was slightly moving. Something human. Everyone made their way over to the rim, peering down and catching a glimpse of whoever was inside. “What… where… where am I? I remember… nothing?” “Hey!” called Sonic. “You okay? Nothing broken and all that?” The dust settled. The figure inside rose to his feet and turned, a confused expression on his face. He wore a grey shirt and brown pants, had azure eyes and dark cerulean eyes. Eyes that stared at the eight teenagers in uncertainty and bafflement alike. “Um… I am fine?” “Stygian is… back to normal,” Twilight realized. “We must’ve purged the darkness from him!” “Stygian?” repeated the man, confusion on his face. “Stygian… yes. That’s my name. It’s… coming back. The… the misery. The pain. And the darkness… then black.” “Yeah, you did some pretty messed up stuff,” Rainbow said. “Consuming magic for eternal life, or something like that.” “How… how long was I cursed?” “Years,” answered Sunset. “You traveled to many places and sucked the magic from a lot of people.” “And you have us to thank for putting an end to it!” Sonic finished. “You’re welcome, by the way.” Stygian blinked. “I’m sorry… but, who are you?” The boy in blue paused, soaking in those words. The Mane Seven turned to him with smiles on their faces. Smiling back at his new friends, Sonic looked back to Stygian… and pointed at himself with a thumb. “The name’s Sonic!” he boldly stated. “And I’m just a kid that loves adventure!” “Is that true?” “Whatcha see is whatcha get, pal!” “I see… I, um, I am sorry for the trouble I have caused for you.” “Nah!” Sonic dismissed, waving his hand. “Don’t worry about it! It was that Man of Shadows guy, not you!” “Still… there is the matter of returning to my home village.” “I got just the thing for that.” Sonic reached into his pouch and offered a golden ring to Stygian, who looked at the decoration in confusion. “A ring?” “A magic ring,” the boy corrected. “Just think of where you want the other end to appear, then throw it. The rest takes care of itself.” “All right…” Stygian took the ring, turned around and tossed it in front of him. Instantly, the ring expanded and revealed a humble village in the countryside. He looked back to Sonic and the girls with a grateful smile. “Thank you. All of you.” He stepped through the ring, leaving it to vanish with a dinging sound behind him. Now alone, the group sighed in relief. “It’s really over,” Sunset whispered. “Celebration party time?” Pinkie pleaded. “I do believe that is in order, darling,” Rarity answered. “YES!” “After that wild ride,” Sunset added. “I could use a moment to unwind.” “Okay, everyone!” Twilight spoke up. “Time to head home!” Everyone cheered in celebration and started to move out with Twilight… everyone but one. Rainbow noticed the state of the group, pausing in her tracks with curious eyes. The multi-color haired girl turned behind her… ...and saw Sonic with a stricken, heartbroken look on his face. Rainbow immediately ran up to him, crouching down on one knee and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Sonic?” she whispered. “What’s wrong?” The boy just lowered his head. “Home…” Rainbow heard a gasp leave her throat. Her own heart snapped at his only spoken word. Everything came back to her in an instant. Sonic may have been in Canterlot City for a while… but he wasn’t raised here. “You… you should get going, shouldn’t you?” “Mm,” came the kid’s reply. He dipped a hand into his pouch and held a ring between two fingers. His eyes were full of hesitation as he stared at it. Rainbow gathered herself. “But you don’t want to…” “No. But if I stay here, more crazy, possibly power-hungry bad guys are gonna show up and threaten this city,” Sonic whispered, turning his eyes to Rainbow. “I can’t just endanger you like that.” “It’s okay, Sonic… me and the girls can handle ourselves just fine both with and without you,” Rainbow told him in a calming tone. “You have your own friends on South Island who’ve been missing you, right?” “Y-yeah…” “Hey… you can come back any time.” Rainbow said soothingly. “Okay?” Sonic looked to her with green eyes resembling grassy fields. “Okay… I’ll be sure to.” He moved closer to Rainbow… ...and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “Thanks, Dashie.” The athlete returned the hug with a warm smile. “No prob, BFFF.” The boy drew back in confusion. “Uh…” “Best Fast Friend Forever,” Dash clarified. “I thought of it just after you sent Robotnik… uh, or Eggman, whatever, packing. Catchy, don’t ya think?” Sonic giggled. “Yeah, totally.” He paused, looking at the ring in his hand once again. He inhaled deeply, releasing it in a breath of readiness. He locked eyes with Rainbow, who nodded warmly at him… before her eyes lit up in remembrance. “Here,” she said, handing the boy a piece of paper. “This fell out when we were laying the smackdown on Stygian.” Sonic took it from her. “My bucket list,” he whispered, placing it in his pocket. “Thanks for that, Colors.” “Nah,” Rainbow replied with a shake of her head. “I’ve got you to thank, kiddo. This was pretty much the craziest adventure I’ve ever been on. And considering everything else I’ve done, that’s saying something.” Sonic smirked. “It sure is.” The boy in blue turned around, facing the open road that stretched down ahead of him. Raising one leg and drawing his arms back, Sonic tossed the ring like a baseball player, sending it flying through the air with a golden trail… ...and when it grew in size, Rainbow was treated to the sight of a grassy path with wooden fences on both sides of it. Sunflowers, totem poles, cliffsides, and a beautiful waterfall awaited on the other end of the ring. The grassy path sloped downwards, leading into a loop carved from checkerboard-style ground. And the sky was clear; a bright blue matching the color of the boy’s hair instead of the dark, angry clouds that she remembered looming overhead. Rays of the sun beamed down onto the surface of the nearby ocean. The teen approached the ring, adjusting the straps of his bag. He came to a stop in front of the swirling golden gateway… and turned to Rainbow. “One more thing, Dash…” “Yeah?” The boy was quiet for a moment, casting his eyes to the ground. He bit his lip before his mind came to a conclusion… “Skyler.” Rainbow raised a brow. “What?” The boy smiled at her sudden confusion. “Skyler,” he repeated. “That’s my name.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t find the words to reply to that. “Before I found the crystal and got my magic. You, uh, you said you wanted to know earlier, so there you have it.” “That’s… that’s a pretty good name.” “Just…” Sonic held up a hand. “Don’t tell this to any of the girls, okay? Speedster’s word?” Rainbow chuckled, placing her own hand over her heart. “Speedster’s word.” “Cool.” Sonic turned back to the ring, hopping through onto the grassy path. Immediately, a blue bird flew past his face. The boy in blue turned back to Canterlot City… and back to the rainbow-haired girl. The athlete was waving at him, a smile on her face. “So long, Sonic!” Sonic gave a warm smile of his own, taking one last look at Rainbow Dash… and gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll be seeing ya!” The ring shrank and vanished with a ding, cutting off the bridge between city and island. Now alone, Sonic listened to the sounds of his old home. The sounds of the rushing waterfall… the sound of chirping birds… and the sound of the ocean. He turned to the blue, nearly-cloudless sky. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the Man of Shadows arrived and plunged South Island into darkness, and with his defeat the clouds had dissipated. And now, the only thing noticeable in the sky was a rainbow. A rainbow shining with all of its colors to behold. Sonic thought back to the fellow speedster in Canterlot and sighed happily. “One more thing to check off the list,” he muttered, reaching into his pocket and unfurling the small piece of paper. He looked down his bucket list, searching for a particular entry… He stopped when he found what he was looking for. The words “Make a new friend” with a circle around it was already crossed out. Crossed out not in black… but in a multicolored line from red to violet. In rainbow colors. Sonic’s heartstrings nearly tugged at that moment and he let out a gasp of disbelief. The longer he looked at that line, the more warm he felt inside. After a moment of silence, he tucked the list back into his pocket… and looked to the sky. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” He turned to the path before him, took a runner’s stance… and blasted off into the loop in a blue streak, leaving blades of grass flying behind him. And in Canterlot City, Rainbow Dash stared at where the ring rested, moving to the sidewalk. She slowly walked down the street, turning her eyes to the sky. It was blue, with barely any clouds in sight. And the color reminded her of her new friend. She barely noticed she was starting to pick up speed. When she did, she just narrowed her eyes and picked up the pace. Faster and faster she ran, seeing whole blocks speed past her sight. She boldly smiled… as her eyes shifted from their normal magenta to a whirlpool of color. Rainbow Dash blasted off with a shout, leaving a trail of her namesake behind as she raced for home… Author's Note It might've been a rough start, but with the power of the Gems of Miracles (now known as the Chaos Emeralds) and the Magic of Friendship combined, Sonic and the HuMane 7 have triumphed over the Man of Shadows, purged the darkness from his being, and freed the Mobius Archipelago from evil! That's a big win for them! Sadly, now that his mission is completed, Sonic has to say goodbye to his new friends, but not before he reveals his true name to them. Plus, he did promise he'll visit them whenever he can. All will be concluded in the FINAL CHAPTER! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 1) PROLOGUE: OUT OF THE BLUE 1) PROLOGUE: OUT OF THE BLUE An orange tint began to brighten the cloudy early morning sky. Beneath it, a tall, looming figure of a factory rose over the landscape. A figure that was so vast and dense that it made any smaller building seem quaint and insignificant… ...until an explosion went off near one of the towers. Clouds of red and orange flames puffed into existence as alarms went off. Spotlights snapped awake and shined their light on the ground for any sign of an intruder. A blue streak zoomed into view, pursued by several egg-shaped drones. Rounding a large bend, the sapphire streak sped up the side of a search tower. Missiles flew from their sockets, exploding against the structure and obliterating the spotlight. Evading them, the streak bounced off and raced away as it touched the ground. The drones flew after it, now unleashing hails of bullets. Their shots failed to hit their mark, the streak darting left and right to avoid them. It made a sharp right, and only three drones gave chase. The rest couldn’t turn quick enough, smashing against a wall and exploding into pieces. The blur bounded off storage crates that erupted into flame when missiles hit them. Underneath the sky blue color of the blur, a dark-blue flash of light shone underneath. “Gotta get outta here!” Mechanical warriors barred the streak’s way, weapons aimed and charging up. More drones sped onto the scene, ready to engage. The robots’ guns burst into a storm of bullets, the projectiles screaming right for the streak. A gold ring flew from the streak, shining in the early morning sun. The robots barely noticed it, believing the circular decoration to be useless… They were proven wrong as the ring suddenly grew in size, becoming a portal to parts unknown. The blue streak raced through the ring, the drones set to give chase. The ring suddenly closed off, sending the drones crashing into the bipedal robots. Several of them crashed to the ground with metallic smashes, yet two remained standing. “EG-NS2017 to Control,” one of the robots whirred. “Target has escaped perimeter. Repeat: target has fled using unknown rift in space.” In the main control tower, a response came as a figure pressed down on a button. “This is unfortunate. Whoever… or whatever that was managed to escape with the gem. Contact the doctor and Agent Stone in the city. Inform him of this setback. He and his agents will be on the lookout for him whenever he appears.” “Affirmative, Agent Snively.” The transmission cut and the man stared out at where the ring portal closed. “Now, you speedy little thing… where did you go?” Miles away from the facility, on a single stretch of early morning sun-lit road, only a few cars drove along. Something flashed in the air just above the road, and a golden circle opened. A blue blur shot out from the rift, speeding down the road and racing past a sign as the ring closed behind him. The dust kicked up by the blur settled, revealing the words on the sign while the streak sped towards towering buildings. WELCOME TO CANTERLOT CITY (The My Little Pony: Equestria Girls logo spins into view, the purple colors slowly turning blue and sparkling with lightning. A blue streak races underneath it, revealing the words “True Blue”. A ring portal flashes into existence, the logo being sucked in.) Author's Note The adventure begins. What's going to happen next? Trust me, you'll find out soon! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Once again, thank you DareDreamer for letting me adopt this story so I can show it to everyone who hasn't read it yet! Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 3) CHAPTER TWO“Thanks for the news, Shining… okay, she’s just about done here, so… got it. Bye.” Twilight Sparkle hung up and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She looked back at the skatepark, where a helmeted figure on a multi-colored board raced all over. Other skaters watched in awe at the cool tricks the figure performed. When the routine was finished, the figure sped back up a ramp… ...and touched down next to Twilight. Reaching up to its helmet, the figure removed it to reveal flowing hair of multiple colors. She shook it loose, kicking her board into her arm. “Woo!” she cheered, punching the air. “Did you SEE that awesome grinding, Twi?! And that three-sixty hardflip? Oh! Don’t forget that five-forty nose grab!” Twilight just smirked and rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash, ladies and gentlemen. Competitive. Athletic. And all out self-respecting. She just wouldn’t be herself without it. “You did pretty good out there.” “Pretty good? Pretty good?!” the jock shot back in disbelief. “You’ve just bared witness to the most amazing skateboarding ever, and all you can say is ‘pretty good’?!” “Okay, okay!” Twilight chuckled. “You were amazing, Dash. By the way, my brother has a message for you.” “Heh. Lay it on me,” Rainbow said with crossed arms. “He says to knock off going past the speed traps on your morning runs. According to Officer Soarin, you clocked three hundred miles per hour on the road leading into the city.” Rainbow’s magenta eyes shot open. “Three hun- wait, wait, wait. Hold on a minute, Twilight. I didn’t go anywhere near any speed traps today. In fact, I skipped my morning run today to help out with AJ!” “You… didn’t?” Twilight asked, confusion seeping in. “Nuh-uh! And no way would I run out of the city unless something was up! Wasn’t that just another car or something?” “Uh, Soarin didn’t report seeing many vehicles on his shift,” Twilight reported. “Not even when his radar went off. I… I think it was broken or something.” “Could be. He should probably get it fixed.” “But he swore he saw something on that road.” Rainbow cut her off. “Hey, boredom will do that to you. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” SHOOM! In a rainbow-like blur, she was off and away, leaving Twilight in the dust. The girl was left alone with her thoughts, a thinking expression on her face. If Soarin really did see something out there, how could it move that fast? Unless magic is at work here, something doesn’t add up… Sunset Shimmer sighed as she fished out her keys. She’d been helping out Fluttershy at the animal shelter, and Pinkie wouldn’t stop jabbering about some “weird guy” she’d seen hanging out in the city. According to the cheerful girl, the person in question barely made any social contact with anyone. It was like he was invisible… because he wanted to be. Sunset had a sense of deja vu. This better not be like Wallflower again… “You don’t think your prolonged isolation is making you a bit crazy, perhaps?” a nasal voice said. Sunset froze just before her key could touch the door to her apartment. She turned down the hallway, where the voice continued through another door. “Crazy? Me? No way, doc. You got me all wrong.” another voice said, clearly the same one she just heard… but normal. Crazy? Doc? That room wasn’t a psychiatrist’s office, as far as she could tell. And that door was locked, right? So how did he (whoever he was) manage to get in there? “And despite all these so-called friends of yours deep down…” the voice from earlier said, slowly reducing to a normal yet saddened tone. “...you are still rather lonely?” Lonely? Was… was he the guy Pinkie was talking about? “Perhaps… you’re afraid you’ll be alone forever.” The words hung in Sunset’s mind. Alone forever… She shook her head, hearing the doorknob turn. She unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside, not wanting to make it awkward for the person heading out. Author's Note We get to see what the HuMane 7 are up to, and Sunset eavesdropping on Sonic sets up the eventual meeting with the titular Equestria Girls and True Blue. See you all in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. 13) EPILOGUE: LIFE IN THE FAST LANEA golden ring flashed open atop a building. Through it, a tranquil forest could be seen. And from the ring, four figures jumped through and landed on the building’s roof. At the front of the pack, Sonic rose up. “Fellas… welcome to Canterlot City!” “Wow!” gawked a kid with blonde white-tipped hair and a yellow-orange jacket. A yellow backpack was slung on his back, he wore orange-tinted goggles that rested in his hair, white fingerless gloves, white-red shoes, and a name tag reading “Prower” rested on the left side of his jacket. “This looks amazing!” His blue eyes shone in wonder. “Not too shabby, blue,” commented a taller and broader violet-eyed boy in red. His crimson-dyed hair was tied into dreadlocks and he wore leather pants, a jacket, and spiked gloves wrapped in sports tape. “Looks like you had quite the adventure staying here.” “So this is where you fought the Man of Shadows and saved South Island,” said a girl with pink-dyed hair. A hammer was slung over her back and she wore a maroon-pink outfit with gold rings on her wrists. “And it’s a good thing you did, too. Never again will he do to another place what he did to ours.” “And there’s an upside to all this,” Sonic explained. “In between searching for the Gems of Miracles - er, Chaos Emeralds, whatever - and beating the blackness out of Stygian… I made some new friends here.” “Whoa, really?” asked the boy in red. “You gonna introduce us?” “That sounds like a great idea!” answered the kid in yellow. “After all, any friend of yours is a friend of mine!” “Glad we’re all on the same page! Try to keep up, guys!” Sonic jumped down to the street below and took off in a blue streak. The girl pulled out her hammer and twirled it, her green eyes going to a streetlight. She jumped to it and latched her hammer onto it, swinging off with the grace of a ballerina. The boy in red took a running start and jumped to the building just next to the one he was standing on. The spikes on his gloves stuck into the wall, giving him the grip he needed. With a grunt, he started to climb. The boy in yellow was all that was left, smiling as he watched his friends. He lifted a hand to his backpack and pressed a hidden button on the right strap. Something within the pack whirred… and the contraption opened up. Twin orange helicopter-like rotors unfolded and stood at attention. Two rocket turbines painted yellow with white rims positioned themselves and fired up, engines hot with thrust power. The boy adjusted his goggles over his eyes, grabbed two joysticks that popped up at his sides… and jumped off the roof. The rotors spun wildly until he reached a safe altitude. The rockets kicked in and sent the boy off across the sky at high speed. Soon enough, he was flying right overhead the blue streak. The boy in red and the girl jumped, balanced, climbed, and acrobatically swung after them into one of the city’s neighborhoods. Like it always did when it had a magical crisis, the city moved on as if nothing strange had happened at all. This didn’t surprise Rainbow in the slightest. Well, it wouldn’t have even if she wasn’t feeling the way she was. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone (at least, for now), but she missed Sonic. The person she had so much in common with. Not just the super speed, but the longing for adventure. The inability to sit still. The self-admiration. That boy was like a brother from another mother. And maybe even more… Everyone else never forgot him, because why wouldn’t they? After all, they had helped him get over his fear of loneliness and reminded him that, even though he had left his old friends, he had gained some new ones that he could always count on. At least he made his home safe enough to return. Maybe even if Rainbow wanted to, she’d visit it herself. He was probably reconciling with his old buddies, racing around the island just like he did as a kid- A small sound and a quick flash disrupted her thoughts. She sat up in her seat with a curious expression. Was that just a trick of the wind, or was it… Ding-dong. With the sound of the doorbell ringing through the house, she stood and moved towards the front door. From the other side, Rainbow could hear faint, murmuring voices unfamiliar to her… save for one. Grasping the knob and turning it, she pulled the door open. “Hey, Dashie! Long time no see!” Her magenta eyes widened at the sight of the boy in blue before her. “Sonic?! I- wow, what… what are you doing here? I thought-” “Uh-huh. Island saved, bad guys beaten, all is good in the world. But I thought it would be cool to stop by and introduce you to some pals of mine.” He pointed behind him with a thumb, allowing Rainbow to look at three other people on the porch. All of them were looking at Rainbow with calming smiles. One of them, a tall boy in red, whistled in an impressed tone. “She does look like quite the runner, blue.” A kid in yellow and orange clothing stepped forth, holding out a hand. “Nice to finally meet you,” he said. “Sonic’s told us all about you and your friends, so he decided to give us a little tour of this city before we meet everyone else.” “Is it true that one of the restaurants has a never-ending pasta bowl?” asked a pink-haired girl with a hammer. At her words, Rainbow just chuckled and turned to the kid, shaking his hand and eying the nametag on his jacket. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too… uh, Prower.” “Miles Prower,” the kid replied. “But please, call me Tails.” Rainbow rose a brow. “Tails? Why that?” The kid didn’t answer her verbally. Instead, he turned around to give Rainbow a view of the yellow backpack he was carrying. He pressed something on one of the straps, and before Rainbow’s eyes the accessory unfolded and transformed into a flying contraption of helicopter-like rotors and two thrust engines. “Whoa!” Rainbow chuckled. “Okay, that is awesome! Do you use that thing to fly or something?” “To keep pace with me when we were kids, yeah,” Sonic answered, ruffling Miles’ hair and earning a giggle from the younger kid. “The two engines look like two foxtails, and the nickname I gave him just stuck.” “And he built that by himself?” Tails turned back around and nodded, disengaging the contraption. “Along with lots of others! Not bad for a twelve-year-old, huh?” “Yeah, not bad!” Rainbow flashed a thumbs-up in approval. The boy in red stepped forward with crossed arms. “Name’s Kyle, but I like to go by Knuckles! And if anyone wants to mess with my buddies, they’re gonna have to go through me first!” Sonic gave him a cheeky smirk and leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Unless they pull another dupe move on you.” The boy spun on Sonic with an annoyed expression. “Hey! I thought you agreed to not bring that up!” Sonic just laughed. “Force of habit, rad red. Get used to it.” Rainbow smiled before turning to the girl. “And you are-?” “Amy Rose,” she replied charmingly. “The best hammer swinger on South Island. A pleasure.” “The pleasure is mine,” Rainbow replied. “So, I take it all of you know what blue had been up to here, yeah?” “Yeah, what was the deal with that science guy?” Knuckles asked. “What was his name? Robot Nick or something?” “Robotnik, apparently,” Tails answered, gluing his eyes to a small handheld device. “And no matter how many times I search for evidence of him, I get nothing. It’s like he digitally wiped himself from existence or something. Totally strange.” “That’s your typical shady mad genius for you,” Rainbow chuckled… before her eyes lit up. “Oh! I just remembered! The girls helped me put something together in case you decided to come back!” Sonic looked interested at her words. “Oh, yeah? What would that be?” Rainbow gestured for them to enter. “I’ll show ya.” She led the group upstairs until they reached the door to the attic. She pulled it down and prepped the ladder, standing back once she was finished. “After you.” Sonic climbed up the ladder and peeked inside the attic. Rainbow watched the curious faces of his friends while she just gave a knowing look at them. From above, a gasp of surprise left Sonic’s throat. “Oh… my… are you kidding me?” Tails was the first to speak up at his friend’s quieted tone. “Uh, Sonic? Is everything okay up there?” Sonic disappeared into the attic. “I can’t believe it… R-Rainbow, how did you…?” Anxious as to what the boy in blue was seeing, everyone else climbed up the ladder one at a time. Rainbow was the last to ascend, taking in the sound of the group’s delighted gasps and whispers. “Oh, wow…” Knuckles gasped. “This is incredible,” Tails whispered. “How did you get all of this?” Amy asked. Rainbow stayed quiet as she stepped into the room and placed her hands on her hips. The attic of her house was no longer a dusty, dark space filled with boxes and collectibles. Now, it was a thriving bedroom. A round skylight hung from the ceiling wall. Racing posters and a desk of pictures and trophies stood at the far end of the room. Road signs littered the walls, with speed signs spray-painted to add a little more velocity behind them. Among them, a license plate read “G0T2G0F45T”. It was positioned over a race-car style bed near a window, parallel to a small TV hooked up to a video game system. A pile of comic books and a pair of headphones rested in a corner, lying near a beanbag chair, a pair of nunchucks, and a tire swing. A stereo rested near the bed, complete with a box of music tapes. Lastly, a living area for a small pet- complete with a food and water dish and a running wheel- stood near the back closet. “I… it’s all here,” Sonic breathed. Even his old hammock was restrung in case a guest came over. To add a little flair to the scene, strung-up lights shined with blue, red, and yellow colors. Looking proud at her work, Rainbow walked up to Sonic. “Twilight found your old cave two weeks ago. It took us several days to relocate all we found in there… to here. So, what do you think?” He gave no answer, although she saw tears welling up in his eyes. His mouth widened in the biggest smile she had seen on him… and then he laughed joyously. “Look at this!” he shouted, shooting through the skylight and landing on the beanbag chair. He zipped all around the room in sheer excitement. “Are you kidding?! And the beanbag?! No way!” He played with both his paddle and his pair of nunchucks before trying on his ridiculously-huge hat. “How did you even get this?! Oh, this is so cool! Ha ha ha! I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!” He belly-flopped onto his new bed with a celebratory whoop and spread himself out. Everyone else gathered around him while Rainbow knelt beside him. “Welcome to your new home-away-from-home, Sonic.” “Thank you…” Sonic whispered happily. “Thank you so much.” Rainbow smiled again. “You’re welcome. The city’s been pretty lively since I last saw you, though.” “In what way?” “I've heard that three guys are moving a detective business downtown soon. Fluttershy met a little girl at the animal shelter that wanted to adopt a rabbit, and Sunset saw someone coming to town on a black-and-red motorbike. Plus, a gang of daredevils calling themselves the Rogues are gonna be hitting the local skate park and I wanna see what they’re made of.” “I guess we came just in time for the party, then,” Knuckles replied. “So, when are we gonna meet the rest of your friends?” “Soon. Soon enough,” Rainbow answered. “But first, I figured you might wanna stay for a while.” Sonic sighed happily as he stared up through the skylight. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day…” Elsewhere As the cries and hoots of animals echoed through a vast jungle, a hand set down a sharp stone. The figure it belonged to turned to a small pool of water, gazing at his reflection: a bald head with a wild long mustache. Nothing but a pair of goggles laid atop the bare skin of his forehead. “My grasp on sanity remains… absolute,” spoke Doctor Eggman, his voice notably deeper than his last encounter with Sonic. “Even after days and weeks of solitude in this harsh, unforgiving environment. Isn’t that right, Agent Stone?” His attention turned to a small rock that looked similarly to a face. It gave no reply, but Eggman picked it up and heaved it into his arms. “Why don’t you get a headstart…” With a grunt, Eggman chucked the rock further into the foliage and heard it hit the ground rolling. “...and do some rock-connaissance!” Immediately after those words, he burst out into heavy laughter. “HAHAHAHA! ROCK-CONNAISSANCE!” he bellowed to the nearby plants. “COME ON, that’s hilarious!” He jerked his head towards a large mushroom, giving it a good thwack that made the fungus vibrate. “What’s the matter with you? I thought you were supposed to be a fun guy! HA! Fun guy! Is that gold or what?!” Eggman picked up a small component from a bag he stitched together: a satchel that held the remaining parts of his demolished aircraft. “Doctor’s Log,” he spoke into it. “It’s been eighty-seven days since my arrival into this jungle. Limited resources are at my disposal, as are limited supplies… and a method of vacating this untamed ecosystem. Heh. A lesser man would die here… but me?” He took something else out from the bag and held it in front of his twisted, grinning face. It was a glass container holding a long blue strand of hair that crackled with energy. “I’ll be home in time to steal Christmas. End of entry.” He tucked the hair away and turned in a mechanical fashion, hiking off into the jungle with robotic movements. He mimicked mechanical buzzes and clanks as he did so, reaching down to pick up the rock he had thrown earlier. With a loud grunt, he threw the rock further into the forest and bellowed out into the wild. “ROCK-CONNAISSANCE! HAHAHAHA! Come on, cheer up!” In the woods outside Canterlot City, a short tree stump started to hum with an eerie rhythm. From the ground beneath, something broke through the base of the stump: a crimson light. And if one could investigate the stump and look closer at the source of the ominous pulsing, they’d find an odd gem sticking out of the ground. Budged near the base of the stump and shining with energy. A crimson gemstone lodged into the ground, its surface flickering and constantly changing. A magenta ruby icosahedron in shape. A ruby that gave off an eerie tone and appeared to distort the very air around it, coating it in a crimson hue as its hums continued to emanate. Silently it sat, waiting to be found by an unlucky soul… Author's Note CAST: Walker Scobell - Sonic Tara Strong - Twilight Sparkle, additional voices Ashleigh Ball - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, additional voices Andrea Libman - Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, additional voices Tabitha St. Germain - Rarity, additional voices Rebecca Shoichet - Sunset Shimmer, additional voices Cathy Weseluck - Spike, additional voices Lee Majdoub - Agent Stone Donna J. Fulks - Longclaw Iain Armitage - Miles "Tails" Prower John Boyega - Knuckles Alexandra Daddario - Amy Rose and Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Dr. Eggman Bill Newton - Styigian/The Man of Shadows, additional voices Benjamin L. Valic - Sonic (young) Andrew Francis - Shining Armor, additional voices Matt Hill - Soarin, additional voices Michelle Creber - Applebloom Claire Corlett - Sweetie Belle Madeleine Peters - Scootaloo Kathleen Barr - Trixie Lulamoon, additional voices Vincent Tong - Flash Sentry, additional voices Kelly Metzger - Spitfire, additional voices Nicole Oliver - Additional Voices Shannon Chan-Kent - Roadhouse Waitress, additional voices Garry Chalk - Roadhouse Thug, additional voices Eric Bauza - News Reporter, additional voices Thank you for joining me on this awesome adventure, everybody! And thank you DareDreamer for making this fantastic story, too! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
2) CHAPTER ONESeveral weeks later A single patrol car rested on the outskirts of the city, its occupant holding up his slumping head with one hand. The other hand gripped a radar gun, which he constantly had to keep upright when it drooped down. “Come on, one car,” he groaned. “One car, that’s all I ask.” Nothing came his way. Wanting to keep himself occupied, the person pretended cars were coming his way, moving the radar gun in certain directions. “Vrroom. Sshhooom. Brrrr-ah!” He moved the gun a little too fast, the tool smacking him against the cheek. “That… that’s gonna leave a bruise,” he moaned. His radio buzzed, drawing his attention to it. “Soarin, come in. Soarin, do you read me? Are you there?” Soarin sighed, picking up the radio and pressing the transmitter. “I’m here at the speed trap, Shining…” he spoke. “...and I am very, very bored. Bored to the extreme. Bored times ten thousand. Did I mention I’m bored?” “Well, since you’re not busy at the moment, I’ve got something you might be-” “Shining, hold that,” Soarin said, noticing movement right outside. “I think I got something.” Not bothering to wait for his response, he grabbed his radar gun and aimed it down the road. He adjusted the sights until the moving thing caught his attention. A hedgehog. With blue spiky quills. Beep. The radar gun displayed the small creature’s speed… as one mile an hour. Soarin couldn’t help but feel disappointed at the result… but chose to make the best of it. “Hey, buddy!” he called, leaning out the patrol car’s window. “Where’s the fire? Kids are living around here!” The little animal did not respond in the slightest, leaving Soarin to chuckle at his own joke. “Thought it was kinda funny. Sorry.” Setting his radar gun on the dashboard, he reached for his radio to see what Shining Armor had for him… WHOOSH! Beep. Soarin glanced at the radar gun… which read 296 mph. He blinked in confusion, believing it to be a malfunction. Until Soarin remembered one person who could go that fast. Sighing, he leaned his head out the window again. “HEY, RAINBOW!” he called, even though he knew the athlete couldn’t hear him. “PICK SOMEWHERE ELSE FOR YOUR MORNING RUN, WILL YOU?!” Settling back down into his seat, he sighed and tried to pick up the radio again… ZOOM! Beep. This time, the radar gun read 300 mph. And judging by the dust, Rainbow had spun on her heel and was now sprinting full-speed in the other direction. Soarin groaned. Now, where was she headed off to? “Come on, Dash. I don’t have time for this…” he mumbled. “Heh heh heh!” A small chuckle came from right behind his car: a voice that for sure wasn’t Canterlot High’s resident jock. Soarin whirled his head to look… but by the time he did, no one was there. “Hello?” he said, concerned. “Someone out there?” “Soarin, you there? You haven’t dozed off or anything, have you?” Instinctively, he snatched up the radio. “Uh, yeah! I’m here! Whaddya need?” “I need you down on Main Street. I’ll explain on the way.” “Roger that!” Soarin gunned the engine, guiding his patrol car out onto the road. He drove off into the city, barely noticing the car in the opposite lane. The car heading right for the blue hedgehog. The creature was oblivious to the imminent danger, about to munch on some discarded berries. Its tiny ears picked up the sound of the approaching engine… and it turned its head to look. A blue blur snatched the critter from the asphalt just before the front tire could squash him. The creature blinked in confusion, wondering what in the world had just happened. “Whoa, buddy! Almost got yourself killed out there! What are you, some kind of adrenaline junkie?” The hedgehog looked up when it felt a finger tap it on the head. A human boy in the start of his teenage years had the critter in the palms of his white fingerless gloves. His emerald green eyes stared at the animal in compassion and his blue hair was in a spiked ball-like state. For attire, he wore a blue t-shirt with a lightning bolt and red and white outlines on it, a pair of skin-tight jeans with holes in the knees, and a pair of battered, taped-up running shoes. A wristwatch rested on his right arm. “You’re lucky I was here to stop you from becoming roadkill!” the boy exclaimed. “You’re welcome… hey, you actually look kinda cute. I think I’ll keep you as my little pet. But first, you need a name. Hmm…” he tapped his left foot in thought. “Aha! How about Needlemouse? That’s what I used to call hedgehogs when I was little!” he decided. “By the way, the name’s Sonic! Hey, how about as a token of appreciation, I can show you my place! Hold on tight now!” Seconds later, both boy and hedgehog were blazing down the road at high speeds. Sonic whooped delightfully as he ran, Needlemouse’s quills blowing in the wind. “Whoo-hoo-hoo! Have you ever felt so alive, buddy?! And I do this all the time!” He spread out his arms, keeping a hold of the hedgehog. “This is great! You’re doing amazing!” He turned to his new pet… only to see that he was gone. “Oh, geez!” He ran back along the highway in a blink, returning seconds later with the little critter. “Whew! Good recovery!” Resembling a bolt of blue light, the boy zoomed along the road, cheering along the way. At a certain point in the road, he zipped into the forest. Speeding past trees and hopping over rocks, he dove into a small gap between two stones… ...and landed in a beanbag chair while spinning as a ball of blue light. Bouncing off it like a trampoline, he touched down feet first and set the hedgehog down on a desk of racing decorations. “Ah! Crashpad, sweet crashpad!” he sighed, oblivious to the quivering animal nearby. “So make yourself at home, little guy. Get yourself settled in and all that.” He placed some berries in front of the creature, turning to a bunch of tapes. Some of them had words that read “Supersonic Jams”, “Way Past Cool Mix”, and “Rainbow Rocks”. He picked up the latter cassette, decorated with rainbow colors on the corners. “As for me, I am gonna live my best life!” Sonic declared, holding up the tape. “My most favorite person in the whole world made this tape for me. And it’s one of my favorites!” Needlemouse just blinked, and the boy’s smile temporarily vanished. “Okay, so she didn’t write it for me, but that’s not the point! The point is, it fits us both perfectly!” Setting the cassette into a 90s-style radio and making sure only the first song would play, he pressed the button. The second he did, rock music began to blare from the speakers. “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Awesome as I wanna be!” Sonic zipped off and grabbed a hairbrush, lip-syncing to the first line as if it was a microphone. Speeding to a blue and red guitar, he pulled off some killer moves on it. Running to a corner, he spun around while doing a small breakdance. Finally, he ran to a jump rope and moved so fast it looked like there were three of him playing with it. “First you see me ridin’ on a sonic boom Got my guitar shreddin’ up my latest tune There is nothing you can do to beat me I’m so good that you can’t defeat me” The instant the chorus kicked in, Sonic sped to a tire swing with the guitar in hand. Swinging around the cave, he rocked out and tried to match the tune. “Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be! Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be!” Sonic leaped off the tire swing in a backflipping motion, landing on the beanbag chair and setting the guitar down while the song continued to play. Picking up a Daring Do comic book from a nearby pile, he opened it and started to page through. But deciding this wasn’t good enough for him, he sped-read the issue along with all the rest so that the pile was now on the other side of the beanbag chair. The second verse of the song kicked in at the moment he finished reading his collection, he sped to a treadmill and slowed to a jog. Keeping his breathing steady, he checked his wrist pulse. “Step aside now, you’re just gettin’ in my way I got sick chops you could never hope to play” “Waaah!” Sonic cried, wearing a headband and holding up two pairs of nunchucks. He twirled them around in a fast and impressive fashion… until one of them hit him on the head, toppling him. "Ow!" he muttered. “When it comes to makin’ music, I’m the ruler You wish you could be twenty percent cooler!” Now at a ping-pong table that he fashioned out of cans and a highway sign, he twirled a paddle in his hand. Zipping to the other end, he made a “come at me” gesture. Picking up the ball, he played a one-on-one game with himself, speeding to both ends of the table to hit the ball. “Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be! Yeah, I’m awesome! Take caution! Watch out for me, I’m awesome as I wanna be!” On the last line, Sonic dove for the ball… but his paddle hit a brown pouch instead, spilling out a piece of paper and gold rings. “Oh, no!” he gasped, the song dying down and the cassette popping out. The paddle falling from his hand, he rushed over and scooped the rings back in. Sonic took the piece of paper in his hand, unraveling it to reveal several diamond-shaped gems. They formed a circle around a glowing, powerful-looking aura, and five words stood out at the top of the paper. The Seven Gems of Miracles Sonic glanced off to a trophy case, where only one thing lay: a blue diamond that sparkled when sunlight reached it. The other six spots were barren and empty. At the sight of this, Sonic groaned sadly. “All this time of searching… and I’ve only found one. Ugh… okay. So I’m not the world’s best treasure hunter. But it’s the only way to save them.” Picking up a ring, he tossed it in front of him. The ring flashed and expanded, revealing a window to a beautiful coastal island. Forests, mountains, architecture consisting of loop-de-loops, corkscrews, and others… and a village along the south end. The only thing that stood out was a bunch of dark, ominous clouds looming above the island. Purple lightning flashed in the blackness, making the boy feel slightly nervous. “Don’t worry, guys… I’ll fix this.” He held out his right hand, causing the magic ring to shrink and fly back to him. Catching it, he stuffed it back in the pouch. He stared at the ground, wondering about what to do next… The blue streak died down on top of a hill, giving the energetic teen a good look at all of Canterlot City. A pair of black and blue headphones were pumping an upbeat tempo into his head, and he glanced at his wristwatch. Three ’o Clock. And considering what today was… He sped down the hill and into the city. A sapphire streak raced through the streets, too quick for the citizens to notice him. Those who did notice brushed it off, believing it to be the wind. The streak raced towards Canterlot High School, traveling up the side and stopping on the roof. Like the cool guy he claimed to be, Sonic leaned against the dome with one hand. A bell finished ringing throughout the building, leaving the blue boy to witness a wide array of students leaving the school. While he did pick up some of their conversations… only a certain group stood out to him. Seven girls caught his eye, and they needed no introduction. They were a musical group of friends called “the Rainbooms”, but Sonic had another name for them: the Mane Seven, giving the city’s horse-related architecture. Let’s see… There was Twilight Sparkle, the brains of the group and harnesser of telekinesis. Sonic knew one other kid from home that would’ve taken a liking to her. Applejack was the one in the cowgirl style. A real down-to-earth person that just happened to be insanely strong. But at least she wasn’t duped easily like someone else Sonic knew… Pinkie Pie was the cheerful one, and she threw the best parties Sonic had ever seen. Now, if only he could find a way into one of those things. Oh, and those exploding sprinkles of hers? An odd choice for magical power, but whatever works. Fluttershy had a heart for things great and small, something Sonic admired about her. She was the quiet one of the group, but sometimes she wasn’t afraid to speak up. Sunset Shimmer had a great choice in style, Sonic could say that much. But he couldn’t help but think the whole “seeing memories from a touch” thing was kinda creepy. Rarity was a true fashionista and conjurer of diamond shields. Maybe if Sonic got the chance, she could design something cool for him. Or… was coolness not something she worked well with? And finally, Rainbow Dash, his favorite of the seven and his idol. The reasons? She was the most awesome guitarist he ever saw, played in every single sport in the school, she had a craving for adventure, and she was insanely fast. Not as fast as him, per se, but it was fun to have a challenge. In other words, she was exactly like him on so many levels. And now that it was officially summer break, they’d be spending more time together just kicking back and relaxing. Sonic occasionally joined in secretly, wanting to have as much fun as possible. He suddenly had a thought. Seven gems, seven girls… could there be a connection? He shook his head, dismissing that question and getting back on track. Canterlot City was his home-away-from-home, but despite blending in among the crowd… he could never do stuff his way. If he drew too much attention to himself, others after the gems would discover him in the city, arrive to look for the gems… and endanger people. In other words, Sonic was in isolation while in public. And isolation led to loneliness. Perhaps… the boy would be alone all his life. Never having a true friend. Never knowing what friendship was. As if to explain his fear, all of the students had now left the school. Cars were driving away from both the building… and from him. Sonic sighed. It didn’t matter. He couldn’t forget about the Gems of Miracles and that he had to find the other six before anyone else could. His home depended on it. Sonic ended up staying on the school roof for a while. Rising to his feet and walking to the edge, he casually jumped down and rolled to a stop. He took one look at the horse statue in front of the building… and took off at a high sprint without a word. One day, he might find a friend. Maybe more than one... Author's Note Poor Sonic. Having to hide his existence to prevent sinister forces from discovering him is really lonely. Hopefully seven certain girls can help him rediscover the magic that is Friendship. On to the next chapter, which will focus on the seven other main characters of this story! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
4) CHAPTER THREELater, out on the streets of the city The boy adjusted his headphones to make sure they wouldn’t fly off. Most of the ones he bought always had that problem, throwing off his groove while he rushed to save them from smashing into the ground. He took his cell phone out of his pocket, scrolling through a collection of songs. None of them seemed to match his style. All except for one. Smiling, he tapped it and secured the phone in his jeans pocket. He double-checked it to make sure it was tightly packed. Then the beat began. “I have so much more to say But I live in slow-motion From moment to moment, hey” Sonic lightly bounced up and down, stretching out his arms and legs. He always needed a good warm-up. “Holding back from day to day The clock’s ticking slowly But time cannot hold me down” The boy let out a deep breath, cracking both his neck and knuckles. He tapped one shoe on the ground and placed both feet apart. He drew one arm back. “Find myself in the rhythm of my feet Feel it in my heartbeat The time is now and I won’t hold back, hold back” The second the chorus hit, he took off at high speed. All of Canterlot City raced by in a blur: cars, shops, street lights, all of it. “Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin!’ Watch me, yeah-yeah, I’m runnin!’” Noticing an approaching truck at an intersection, Sonic bounced off the road and on top of the trailer. Parkouring off with a sapphire streak trailing behind him, he blasted back down the road and past parked cars. For moving vehicles, he weaved around and jumped over them. “I let go in this moment All roads open Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’! I was born to break free!” Sonic twirled up a street light, swinging off it and landing on top. Now at a good vantage point, he sighed in a relaxing manner. “I choose my path, I choose my dreams My spirit’s a fighter, a passion igniter, yeah” Sonic threw some quick jabs and a hook, feeling pumped up from the song. “All I need’s inside of me A light shining brighter A spark to a fire now” The teen hopped off the street light, touching down on the road below. He got into a runner’s stance and closed his eyes. As he concentrated, blue electricity flickered on his feet and up his legs, flowing to the rest of his body. “Find myself in the rhythm of my feet Feel it in my heartbeat The time is now and I won’t hold back, hold back (Whoa-oh-oh-oh)” He opened his eyes with a smirk. Instead of their normal green shade, they were now a bright blue. The words of his idol filled his ears… and he blasted off at sonic speed. “Gonna break free, yeah, I’m runnin’! (yeah-ah) Watch me, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’! (I’m runnin’, runnin’, whoa!)” He blasted down the streets, making a sharp right at Sugarcube Corner. He raced past diners, the music center, and everything else he didn’t bother to look at. He also didn’t bother to see the citizens’ dumbstruck expressions when they saw the blue blur rush past. Blown off their feet? Their loss. Distracted and not watching what they were doing? Meh. Sonic didn’t care about anything. Anything but freedom, that is. Spiraling up and down skyscrapers, bouncing off walls when he was going too fast to make a turn, and circling entire blocks like loops. “I let go in this moment All roads open Gonna break free, yeah-ah, I’m runnin’!” Making another turn at a long stretch of road leading to Canterlot High, he blasted right down it with a big whoop. Behind him, a blue pulse wave flew out from his body. “I was born to break free!” At Canterlot High, a group of kids was in the middle of a soccer match for fun, one of them being slightly taller than the rest. Sonic zipped behind a tree… and his eyes lit up at the sight. “Whoa… the playoffs!” Looking to the bleachers, he recognized the shapes of Rainbow’s six friends cheering her on. Sprinting right to the fence, he peeked out at the field. The score was tied, and Rainbow was leading her team valiantly. She stole the ball from one of the opposing players, making a break for the goal. “Come on, Dash!” he heard Pinkie shout out. “Give ‘em a one-way ticket on the express train to ‘You’re Going Down’!” The athlete narrowed her eyes, giving the ball a strong kick. The orb shot forward, bypassing the goalie’s defense and smacking the net. Then, Sonic’s world was drowned out with the sound of excited cheers. All he could focus on was the sight of Rainbow high-fiving the kids on her team, ruffling the hair of a purple-haired girl. She seemed to be happier than all the rest, as Sonic noticed. And the rest of the Mane 7 came down to congratulate her. Oh, she is so awesome… Several congratulations and high-fives later, the girls departed the field to do who-knows-what. The sun began to set, giving the sky an orange hue. Sonic waited until they were gone before he vaulted the fence flawlessly. The teen walked onto the field, eyeing every inch of it in awe. Personally, he hardly saw himself as the athletic type… but soccer could be his thing, right? He noticed the ball, goalie gear, and a referee cap just off to the side. At the sight of them, a smirk came across his face. Yeah. Soccer could be his thing… “This is it, ladies and gentlemen! The play of the game!” the boy announced to an invisible audience, juggling the ball between his feet. “Thirty seconds on the clock, tie score, and the crowd is on the edge of their seats!” He sped to the goal, decked out in protective gear. “It all comes down to this, folks! Will Sonic bring home the trophy for the Wondercolts, or will he taste the dust?” He zipped back to the ball at center field, taking a deep breath. “Okay, focus, Sonic,” he told himself. “If you make this goal, you’ll be the most beloved kid in Canterlot City.” Then he was wearing the referee cap at the edge of the field. “Alright, ladies! Let’s pick up the pace here! And none of you bozos want to help washing out those grass stains, right?!” He sped back to the ball, looking to his right. “Break left. Got it. Those guys are pushovers.” Referee Sonic took a deep breath… and blew into his whistle. Captain Sonic dashed off with the ball in tow, sprinting down the field and weaving past the imaginary members of the other team. He kicked the ball to the left, where Teammate Sonic caught it. “Come on, Blundercolts!” Goalie Sonic taunted. “This game is ours!” Teammate Sonic dashed down the field, noticing something out of the corner of his eye. “Over here! I’m open!” Captain Sonic called, waving his arms wildly. Gritting his teeth, Teammate Sonic kicked the ball right for him. Captain Sonic kept the ball in his grip… and shot for the goal with a mighty kick. Goalie Sonic dove to the left to intercept the ball… but the ball flew past him and, as Goalie Sonic hit the ground with an “oomph”, smacked against the net. “Gooooaaaal!” cried Referee Sonic. “Oh, YES! Yes, yes, yes! We did it!” Captain Sonic cheered, punching the air and jumping in victory. Triumphantly, he held his hand up for a high-five. “Did you guys see that?! We did it! I did it! I…” But nobody was there. No Referee Sonic, no Teammate Sonic, and no Goalie Sonic. And no one in the bleachers. “Guys?” Sonic called out, his voice slowly dropping to a whisper. “Ref? Ladies and gents? A-Anyone…?” All he heard was the sound of chirping crickets as the light of the sun vanished. Sonic lowered his hand, staring at it with his eyes growing moist. The reality sank in and his heart did the same, forcing him to admit a terrible truth: one he had tried to deny or keep hidden. “I… I really am alone.” he muttered silently, slowly starting to walk. “All alone, forever.” Without even thinking, he started to speed up. He ran across the edge of the field, a blue trail coming to life behind him. Dust kicked up in his wake. He rounded all four corners in no time, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. The boy ran faster and faster, more than he had ever traveled before. Everything became a blur to him, and he would’ve felt sick if it wasn’t for his magic. But the only emotion he felt was sadness. His heart throbbed and burned as his sadness grew larger and larger. Larger to the point where it was no longer sadness. His body was overwhelmed with anger and frustration. His hair lit up a light blue color, his eyes turning from their emerald green shade to a sapphire hue. Blue lightning flickered off him while his legs became a blur. The ground beneath him was weakening. The grass was giving out, and Sonic was digging into the dirt as he ran around the field over and over. The only sounds he heard now were his own panicked breaths and a low whine that increased in pitch. His mind was rattled with his own thoughts. Tears flowed free, breaking off and getting lost in the winds he conducted. I really am alone Prolonged isolation So-called friends Lonely Haven’t met yet I don’t exist His nerves tingled, his breaths quickened, and his arms moved faster than they ever could before. He wanted to run. He wanted to get away. I’m invisible I don’t fit in I’m a shadow I’ll never know friendship A blank page I’m nothing Unknown Nameless, faceless You’re afraid you’ll be alone forever All alone Alone Forever ALL ALONE FOREVER “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” CRACK-A-BOOOOOM! Sonic snapped back to reality. He dug his heels into the ground, feeling the ground of the soccer field rip apart as he braked. He placed his palms on his knees, all of the energy inside him fading away. Then he looked around him… ...and saw that everything was dark. And not from the night or the moon. Both goals had been knocked over. Lampposts had popped and exploded, blue electricity tingling and sparks flying from them. Cars had screeched to a halt, and Sonic could hear both the shouts of people and a blue wave with a loud boom traveling away from him. A sonic boom. Oops. “I…” he cracked, struggling to find his voice. “I’m sure no one noticed that giant blue explosion, right?” Wrong. “What the hey just happened?!” “This is an utter disaster!” “I’ve never seen anything like this!” “What in tarnation is going on here?!” “Stupid party poopers!” “I don’t think I’ve ever been more scared!” “Everyone, everyone, EVERYONE!” Twilight called out, silencing the group. “Relax! Please settle down! I don’t think this is anything serious!” “We’re in the dark here, Twi!” Sunset reminded her. “One minute, this sleepover at your place was going smooth, the next? Boom! Major blackout!” “You’re the smart one,” Applejack spoke up. “You don’t think this is some kind of power plant malfunction or something?” “Er, not that I know of,” Twilight replied, adjusting her glasses in thought. “EMPs aren’t that strong, and no meteors, solar flares, and comets were reported for tonight.” “Well,” Rarity stated. “It certainly sounds like you’re good at figuring out what it was not.” “It’s called ‘narrowing it down’!” Twilight countered. “Anyway, we need to find out exactly what this blackout was, whether magic or not. So, who’s with me?” Rainbow Dash sprung to her feet eagerly. “We’re in this together! You know that!” “Good. Then let’s go!” A whimper came from beneath the bedsheets, prompting everyone to turn to a shaking lump. “Is it over?” a panicked voice squeaked. “Can I come out now?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Yes, Spike. Now come on. I’m taking you for a late-night walk.” A small purple dog poked its head from under the blanket, its eyes wide with interest. “A walk? Oh, boy!” he pounced from the bed and dashed off. Everyone else followed Twilight downstairs… except for one pink-haired girl lost in thought. “Think, Pinkie…” she muttered. “What was the first thing she said to do?” She tried to think back… and her eyes lit up. “Aha! That’s it!” she chirped with a snap of her fingers. “Relax!” She jumped onto the bed and laid down with hands behind her head. “Ahh…” Without the glow from lampposts, the streets were darker than usual. The only light sources in sight were those from two cell phones. “So, whaddya think it is this time, Sun?” Rainbow asked with a challenging smirk. “Manipulator of lightning? Bringer of darkness? Hater of lightbulbs? Or… maybe one of Trixie’s acts gone horribly wrong?” “Keep guessing, Dash,” the voice of her friend said with a hint of boredom. Rainbow shone her flashlight across the street, catching glimpses of cars, houses, and lampposts with burst bulbs. “Wait… Rainbow, look at this!” Sunset called, her tone now full of alarm. The athlete ran back instantly, catching up to her friend and looking to where her phone’s light was shining. It was a speed limit sign… but something wasn’t right about it. “Two twenty-five?” Rainbow read aloud, her eyes on the added spray-painted number in front of the 25. “Is this a street or a racetrack? But, on the other hand… he’s got an artistic talent.” Below the number were two small lightning bolts. Sunset raised a brow. “This wasn’t like this the last time I saw it,” she whispered, shrugging her shoulders moments later. “Meh. Probably just the work of some punk. Not important.” “You sure?” Rainbow asked, staring at the sign. “This kinda looks pretty cool… huh?” She turned to Sunset’s position, only to find it was empty. “Hey, wait up!” She called, running after her. On the outskirts of the city, one drone beeped in alarm. Its sensors focused on Canterlot City, a single red optic staring out at the metropolis. Auditory sensors picked up panicked and confused chatter, and its primary CPU caught traces of a major energy wave. Whether magic or something else, the machine cared little. “Unknown power surge detected. Locating point of origin.” a mechanical voice said, sensors scanning the city. “Objective: inform Doctor Robotnik. Objective: locate source.” It flew away from Canterlot City, programming driving it to complete its mission. Author's Note And things started out so fun. Until Sonic's fears of being alone forever inadvertently triggered a massive blackout, which has caught the attention of not just the HuMane 7, but also a certain evil scientist. Next up, we get to meet our story's bombastic big bad! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
5) CHAPTER FOURIt was all everyone would talk about now. Twilight hadn’t gotten any luck in her own search, even with her dog’s help. The following morning, that blackout was all over the news. Repairs and recoveries were still in progress. But if you were someone with an intellect as good as Twilight’s… some things need a second look. So that’s what she did. As soon as she was able, she and Spike set out to look for the origin of the blackout again. And this time, Twilight was more than prepared. She took her pendant-shaped device and held it out in front of her. The sight of it brought… less-than-pleasant memories of the Friendship Games. Shuddering slightly, she let it dangle from her neck and kept walking. Last time she used it, it had been to absorb magic. This had led to draining the others of their own magic and turning her into a winged demon when all of it was unleashed at once. But rather than destroying it… Twilight decided it could serve a better use. The device flashed for a split-second, causing her to stop in her tracks. Spike poked his head out of Twilight’s backpack, his canine eyes locked on the object. “Are you sure that’ll work?” Twilight sighed. “It’s got to. I didn’t reconfigure it into a magic detector for nothing.” She kept moving, making sure to check the device as often as possible. Pulses would come into view whenever she drew close to a magical source… or, in Twilight’s case, the origin of that wave that knocked out the city’s power. Soon, the pulses began to come in a bit faster. Intrigued, Twilight kept moving as if she was following a compass needle. She kept her eyes on the device, watching it as the pulses came quicker and quicker… until it was like a racing heartbeat. Twilight looked ahead of herself… and her eyes raised in confusion. “Canterlot High?” she muttered in disbelief. “The… the source of the wave is here?” Why am I not surprised? Her mind told her, seeing as how she once investigated magical properties coming from that specific location. “Well, Spike…” Twilight said, letting the device dangle from her necklace. “We’re about to yank the tarp off this myster-huh?” The sound of a rumbling engine cut through the air, prompting the young genius to turn and look. And what she saw nearly made her jaw drop. A black 18-wheeler rumbled down the road, turning at the school’s parking lot. Several black cars followed it through like a funeral convoy. Her heart itching to know what was up, Twilight sprinted over to the building. By the time she did, she was almost out of breath. Voices filled the air… over by the soccer field. Running over to that corner of the building, Twilight turned to Spike. “Stay in there and be quiet,” she whispered. “Don’t need to tell me twice.” The device on her necklace was going crazy before she turned it off. The soccer field had to be the spot! But, as Twilight soon found out, she might have been too late. Police cruisers and S.W.A.T. vans from the Canterlot City Police Department were parked right on the field. Research tents were placed onto the grass. Even the Magic Crisis Force, an organization dedicated to researching magical anomalies and protecting Canterlot City from dangerous magic, was here! Twilight could see officers, armed men, and people in hazmat suits investigating: trying to dig up clues Twilight would have wanted. The field itself was a sight Rainbow Dash would be horrified at: burnt-out lights, trampled grass, goalposts toppled over, and a deep-dug line all across the border. The young genius’s depression was soon replaced with suspicion when she heard the rumbling sound again. The 18-wheeler barreled through the fence, crushing it under its tires like a tank. The cars spread out and slowed to a halt. And all along the field, all personnel stopped and turned to the newcomers. One of them, a gold-haired woman with aviator shades, reached up to her face and removed the glasses. Her orange eyes were narrowed in confusion. “What the…?” The truck hissed when it came to a complete stop, and Twilight caught a red whirring eye-like light just above the window. The crimson orb seemed to stare into Twilight’s very being, causing goosebumps to prickle all over her skin. That, and the fact that she now realized the vehicle was automated. Which meant no driver. What kind of technology was this? A part of the truck’s trailer separated itself and lowered down to the ground. The interior reconfigured itself to form a staircase… from which a mustached man descended. From her hiding place, Twilight gulped nervously. She heard a small whimper from her backpack and turned her head, shooting her dog a look. “Sorry!” Spike whispered. “It’s just that that guy looks a little creepy!” Twilight took a deep breath. “On that, we can agree.” The man, dressed in dark shades and a black coat, approached the gold-haired woman while several men and women followed from their cars. They, too, were all dressed in black and had neckties. This was a sign that didn’t bode well. Several men held their weapons steady, but a signal from the woman made them stand down and back away. The mustached man took off his shades. “Are you in charge here?” “Yes, I a-” “NOPE!” the man abruptly cut her off. The woman shuddered from the intrusion but kept her cool. “My-” “Wrong!” “Name-” “I’m in charge!” “Is Sergeant-” She raised her voice. “ME!” “Spitfi-” “I’m in charge…” the man dropped to a whisper, and Twilight could’ve sworn she heard the woman huff in frustration. One of the other men walked up, holding some kind of… what was that? A tablet? Twilight could barely make out what was on it… a QR code, maybe? “You’ve never seen anything like this before,” the man explained. “It says I’m the top banana in a world full of hungry little monkeys. Allow me to clarify.” The man turned his head and hand with a robotic movement, mimicking buzzing sounds as he did so. “In a sequentially-ranked hierarchy based on level of critical importance, the disparity between us is too vast to quantify. Agent Stone?” “The doctor thinks you’re basic,” the other man replied. Twilight rolled her eyes. She knew what that meant. “On whose authority are you here?” the woman asked sharply. “And who are you, anyway?” “I’m initiating a sweep sequence,” the man said, outright ignoring her and irritating her further. “Ten miles in every direction should suffice.” He fiddled with his glove (which Twilight now understood to be a controller), causing the top and sides of his truck to open up. While Twilight caught the sight of white oval drones emerging from the top, racks flung out from the sides of the vehicle… to reveal bipedal robots. She shrank back at the sight of them. These weren’t ordinary machines… but machines built for combat. Machine guns on each arm. Inactive missile launchers on the shoulders. And claw-like feet to ensure grip on the terrain. She shuddered at the thought of them marching into the city. “Is she still looking at me funny?” the mustached man said, breaking Twilight’s thoughts. “Yes, she is.” “Tell her to stop or I’ll pull up her search history.” “If you don’t stop looking at the doctor, he’ll take a closer look at your-” “I’m. Not. Deaf,” the woman spat furiously. “And tell her her men report to me now, blah blah blah, blah blah blah, blah blah blah.” The man droned, making some wacky arm gestures as he did. “Excuse me,” the woman said coldly. “I don’t think you realize who-” “I’m sorry, Sergeant,” the man turned around with arms spread. “What was your name?” Twilight heard the woman sigh in relief. “Spitfi-” “NOBODY CARES!” the man blurted out. The woman cringed in anger. “Nobody cares…” he repeated mockingly, slowly walking back up to her. “Listen, Sergeant Nobody-Cares. Do you know why nobody cares who you are? Because nobody cares about your feeble accomplishments.” Feeble? After being on the school’s soccer team until she graduated, Spitfire was one of the top members of the force since she decided to enter! Who was this guy to make fun of her? “And nobody cares how proud your mommy is that you’re now reading at a third-grade level,” he tauntingly continued. “Have you finished Charlotte’s Web yet? Spoiler alert: she dies in the end. But she leaves a big creepy egg sac!” The oval-looking drones hovered over the man, who chuckled and spread his arms wide. The racks on the trucks let go, dropping the walking robots onto the field. Their systems came online, their heads pointing straight and their forms standing tall. “Aw, my babies. Look what came out of my egg sac,” the man boasted. All eyes turned to the robots, Twilight’s included. The man stood proud, placing one hand on Spitfire’s shoulder and gesturing to the drones. “You know what I love about machines?” he asked, looking at the drones like a proud father. “They do what they’re told. They follow their programming. They don’t need time off to get drunk and put the boat in the water.” Spitfire frowned at him as he pointed right at her face. “And you do what you’re told. Stand over there on the edge of your personal abyss… and let my machines do your job.” Spitfire didn’t reply. Instead, she turned and moved away without breaking eye contact. The other police and MCF personnel soon followed her lead. “Can you feel it, Stone?!” the man called out in a tone Twilight guessed to be ecstatic. “I can feel it, Doctor.” “It’s evolution, Stone… it’s EVOLUTION!” The drones rose into the air and flew off into the forest in multiple directions. The ground robots began to walk towards the trees, weapons primed and ready. “Twilight, I know I’m no expert…” Spike whispered in the girl’s ear. “But this looks bad. Really, really bad.” “We gotta tell the others,” Twilight told him. Taking a quick look around to make sure no one spotted her, she ran from her hiding place and towards the statue in front of the school. A swarm of drones buzzed over her as she reached it. And frantically, she pulled out her phone and started a group text. The drones scattered into the forest, the sound of their engines startling wildlife. Deer turned their heads at the flying machines while birds, squirrels, rabbits, and other small critters bolted for safety. One drone descended to the forest floor, its main optic scanning the ground. Nothing seemed unusual. Just dirt, twigs, leaves, and rocks… ...and a footprint on a rock. “Logging anomaly…” the drone beeped, hovering closer to the footprint. A red beam emitted from its optic, tracing over the sneaker print. “Initializing spectral analysis… initializing mineral composition… transmitting…” Back at the 18-wheeler truck, the man saw the footprint on his main monitor. His assistant entered the vehicle, standing at attention. “Agent Stone.” “Doctor.” “Do you see anything useful in this image?” Stone squinted at the shoeprint. “Nothing at all, Doctor.” “Of course you don’t,” the mustached man replied. “Your eyes weren’t expertly trained to spot tracks from the Native American Shadow Wolves.” His fingers flew across another monitor with elegance. The image of a human foot appeared within the shoe print, followed by the words “DNA SCAN IN PROGRESS”. Within seconds, more words appeared. MATCH FOUND. ACCESSING LOCAL SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS Images and short video clips blinked into existence on the monitor. Each of them showed different locations throughout Canterlot City. At first glance, there were either crowds or an amount of several people in each one. “This is fascinating, Doctor,” Stone told him. “But I don’t see what you can gain from this.” “Computer,” the man spoke up. “Locate matching DNA signature in these surveillance cameras and the city’s residents.” SEARCHING… Several figures in the photos and videos lit up in a red silhouette, but the resident match showed different results. ERROR. NO MATCH FOUND IN CANTERLOT CITY DATABASE. “Increase magnification on the cameras.” Each of the footages zoomed in on one figure. A teenage boy with green eyes and a blue hoodie in public areas. In other locations like city streets, he was shown with spiky blue hair. He interacted with no one, politely declining any offers thrown his way. “That narrows it down significantly, Doctor,” Stone noted. “But… he’s not a resident of Canterlot?” “No name, no identification, nothing,” the man replied. “On the plus side… I know this guy.” “You do, Doctor?” The man typed in something else, bringing up another image. But unlike the others, this one was not from Canterlot City. Instead, the image was taken at an outpost near the outskirts of the city. And that image showed that same boy with a blue diamond tucked under his arm, his face one of determination. “This kid is a thief,” the man stated. “Whoever he is, he stole the blue Gem of Miracles from my outpost. No doubt he’s after the other six. The robots and my agent there reported that he was using magic unlike anything we’ve ever seen. And that magic is, without a doubt, the cause of this blackout. And that means one thing. That guy… is here. We just need to find him and retake what’s mine.” The man turned to Stone. “Divert all search units to the site of the footprint.” “Yes, Doctor,” Stone replied, making his way out of the truck while the man turned back to the shoe print. “That’s one small step for man… one giant leap for me.” The tranquil island village was a peaceful place. Arguments were rare, and harm never came to its people. Until today. A sunflower was crushed beneath a metallic foot. Hundreds of killer robots marched onto the village. Their mission: raze it to the ground. They came in all forms. Mechanical ladybugs on wheels. Flying bionic bees. Cloaking chameleon robots. And among them were deadly combat machines with guns spinning up and missiles ready to fire. The citizens quaked and shivered in fear. They had nothing to defend themselves with. All hope was lost. Animals ran away in panic, lest they were abducted for the soulless machines’ power sources. The village was bound to be burned until nothing remained of it… but not if one brave kid had anything to say about it. A sneaker-clad foot bounced off a rock, and a blue bolt touched down right in front of the mechanical menaces. Sonic rose to his feet, staring down the robots. They did not relent, so neither did he. At the sight of their savior, the people cheered. Knowing what was about to follow, they retreated into their homes. Weapon pods opened up. Guns aimed right at him. Missiles locked on target. Targeting sensors kicked in… ...and the air was flooded with the sound of gunfire. Missiles and rockets flew, flying towards the boy. Unwilling to back down from anything, the blue boy took off at high speed. In a blur, he created a mountain of scrap metal. He kicked away rolling robots, slam-dunked hovering horrors, and spun into combat machines like a pinball in a pinball machine. He broke through chassis after chassis, scrapping each one. He whirled around a large robot in a blue tornado, confusing its systems. Missiles flew for Sonic and he jumped out of the way, making them hit the larger robot and blowing it up in a cloud of fire. War droids fired their machine guns, but Sonic pounced away. The bullets dug into other units, one of them going haywire and causing a serious case of friendly fire. Sonic slammed into each one in his ball form, a blue aura surrounding him. He blasted through another wave in half a second, nuts and bolts clattering to the ground. He stomped down near another robot, the resulting shockwave stunning it… ...and allowing Sonic to push it off a cliff with a single tap of his foot. Machines of all kinds flew through the air. Blue flashes outshined flashes of spent ammo, gunfire, and missile launches. Explosions lit up the ground as the one-kid army tore through the tech. He sidestepped another robot’s machine gun, leaping on and springing off while it continued to fire. He rocketed back down, his stomp obliterating the droid. Using his super-speed to grab two missiles before they exploded, he threw them right at more robots. Several explosions later, smoke rose into the sky. Soon, all that remained of the robotic horde was slag and scrap metal. Sonic stood alone, looking around at his victory. “Best. Dream. Ever!” he called, striking a pose. KRABOOOM! The sky turned dark, clouds blocked the sun, and flowers wilted away. Darkness filled everything, a large mist obscuring the village. With a gasp, Sonic dashed through the mist… ...and emerged to find nothing. No village, no people, no animals. Everything was gone. Thunder flashed overhead, and purple lightning struck the island. Rocky chunks fell, trees were torn from their roots, and waves rocked the shore. “YOUR QUEST HAS FAILED.” The voice racked Sonic’s mind, emanating from the clouds above. He turned to the skies in horror. He tried to run away, but strong winds prevented him from doing so. Darkness swallowed him. He found himself in a black void, faceless things staring at him. “Why, Sonic?” “You promised you’d fix things.” “You failed me!” “You were our only hope.” “There are no miracles left.” “Now you really are alone.” Sonic yelled out in panic, clamping his ears shut to drown out the voices. But among the rest, one broke through. “YOU WEREN’T FAST ENOUGH. YOUR MAGIC, ALONG WITH THE WORLD’S, ARE NOW MINE. YOU… WILL BE FORGOTTEN.” “No! No! NOOOOOOO!” He fell, darkness taking over. The last thing he saw were two bright purple eyes snapping open, followed by sinister laughter. He woke up screaming, drenched in sweat. He wasn’t sure how long he sat there, even as the nightmare hung in his mind. The thought of failure. The thought of being truly alone. Like he was the very last person in the world. “No, no, no, no, no,” Sonic muttered, clutching his head. “No, you haven’t failed. There’s still time. You always still have time, you’re the fastest kid alive. You can find the gems. You can save everyone. You can-” He spun his head around to see Needlemouse staring at him. “Uh, I mean... worst dream! Worst dream ever!” Sonic backtracked, trying to keep his cool in front of his pet hedgehog. “I was fighting this huge wave of robots and I just woke up! So lame! I wish I could just get right back to-” He stopped suddenly, even taking the hedgehog by surprise. Silence fell over his cave and his hammock bed stopped swinging. Was it just Sonic’s imagination, or did he just hear… A faint clanking sound and a hovering noise came from the distance. Followed by lots more like it. His heartbeat began to pick up speed. “Oh, no…” he sped out of bed and out of the cave, racing into the forest and behind a rock. When he looked out at the woods… a terrified gasp escaped his throat. Robots prowled the forest. Drones loomed in the air, ignoring any animals that fled from them. They scanned the ground and the area, searching for something. Sonic knew all too well what that something was. “Okay, okay, everything is fine,” he whispered to himself. “So, you played some soccer, got a little upset, lightning shot out of your butt, and now they’re coming for you!” He zipped back to his cave in a flash. “Alright, alright, Canterlot City isn’t safe anymore. This is a Code Gold. A Code Gold, not a drill. I never thought there would be a Code Gold this soon!” He knocked himself on the head. “Stop it, Sonic! Now’s not the time for panicking! You can’t keep looking for the gems here! You gotta go somewhere else. But where? Where, where, where, where, where?” He snapped his fingers. “Yes! That’s it! That Ponyville place looks good to lay low!” Sonic looked around his cave. “I’ve gotta take my stuff! Okay, essential items only,” He set to work, rushing around the cave, grabbing a red backpack and collecting whatever he could. “Toothbrush, toothpaste, hair gel, nightlight, funny hat, music tapes, cell phone, headphones, this half-eaten cantaloupe, oh, and my scented candle… my entire comic collection… bean bag chair, can a bean bag chair fit in a backpack? No, no, no! Of course not, that’s stupid! My shoes? Ah, no! They’re all torn up! Oh, just like this pair! I gotta get new ones soon… Okay, what else?” He sped over to his hedgehog and picked him up. “Needlemouse! I can’t just leave you here to starve, buddy! I gotta take you along!” He looked over to the trophy stands… and gasped. “The gem! Yes, the gem! I can’t let them find it! I still have six more to go, I don’t wanna start all over!” Placing Needlemouse in the backpack’s side pocket and the gem in his jean pocket, he looked around for anything else. His eyes rested on a brown pouch, causing him to gasp. “The rings!” he shouted, running over and snatching the pouch. “The rings! Yes, of course!” he sped back to the backpack, tucking the last of the stuff inside and slinging it over his back. Sonic opened up the ring bag, taking one out. “Okay, here we go. Ring time. Ponyville, here I come.” The whole cave trembled, dust falling from the ceiling. The hovering noise intensified and the ground shook under mechanical footsteps. Sonic froze up in fear. “Oh, no! They’re right outside! I gotta go somewhere else!” Sonic put the ring back in the bag, closed it up and jogged over to the cave’s entrance. Before he could make it out, he stopped and took one last look at his home. The boy gave a deep sigh. “Goodbye, cave.” He turned, walking away from it all. Author's Note Dr. Robotnik has entered the stage! And just like the movie, he sees himself as superior while looking down on everyone else as inferior. Classic evil scientist mindset. We also see that he somehow knows Sonic in the past. Why he does will be revealed later on. Right now, Sonic's attempt to skip town will finally bring him and the HuMane 7 together in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
6) CHAPTER FIVE“Fluttershy, nope. AJ, nada. Rarity, zilch. Sunset, empty. Pinkie Pie, zero luck.” Rainbow sighed. “And me… no medal. We’re getting nowhere on this thing.” With an exasperated groan, she buried her face in her hands… and peeked out. “Wait a sec… Twilight! Maybe she’s got-” Her phone buzzed like a bee, breaking her thoughts. Her hand grabbed it instinctively and she glanced at the caller ID. Applejack? What does she want now? This better be something good… She pressed “answer”, holding the phone to her ear. “Hey, AJ. Sup?” “Sorry to bother you, Dash, but I’ve got a situation. I think I’ve got critters again.” Rainbow groaned. “Are the little trash pandas back?” “Those masked varmints? Maybe. I heard a huge ruckus, so there’s probably more than one. You’d best come over and help clear him out.” The athlete smirked. “I call dibs on the tranq gun.” “What?” AJ spoke up. “No, no, no! You’re not using that thing! Fluttershy hates that idea and you know it! Besides, it’s for bears!” “Well, now I know it works. And besides, Fluttershy doesn’t know what we’re doing, and she never will.” Rainbow heard the cowgirl groan on the other end. “Fine. Just get over here as quickly as you can, please?” “Ha! Quick is my middle name!” she chuckled, her thumb moving to hang up. “Uh, that doesn’t roll off the-” Rainbow ended the call, taking off from the house without a moment to waste. But, unbeknownst to her, her phone still had a notification: a text from Twilight. With a cringe on his face, Sonic lifted his foot from the smashed flower pot. He took a deep breath and dropped to the floor of the barn, making sure his backpack was still with him. “Okay, I’m in,” he whispered, shaking some dirt off his shoe. “With minimal damage to Applejack’s property.” He reached into his bag, taking out a gold magic ring that twinkled in the sunlight from the barn’s window. “Here we go, things didn’t work out on Canterlot, but that’s okay. You’re going to a safe place. A place that isn’t as big or lively as Canterlot, but you can lay low… oh, that sounds awful! I can’t do this!” He took out the blue Gem of Miracles, clutching it tightly. “No, you have to. You have to do this. Maybe the Rainbooms are still known over there. But there’s no other option!” He could feel his spine tingling in anxiety. He held out the ring, took another deep breath, and… “Alright, you little miscreants! I know how to use this! Paws in the a-” Rainbow Dash kicked open the doors of the barn as if she was an action movie hero, tranquilizer at the ready. That line didn’t sound as good as she hoped, but she could work on it. The girl looked around the barn, magenta eyes peeled for raccoons. But what she didn’t expect to see was a kid. A boy with emerald green eyes and blue hair fashioned into a spike ball shape. Two red backpack straps could be seen over his shoulders, and a small brown pouch was by his left thigh. A cobalt t-shirt with a light blue lightning bolt and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees were his standard attire and an old pair of taped up running shoes were on his feet. A wristwatch was on his right arm. In one white fingerless glove was a gold ring. In the other… was a glowing blue diamond. And his face was in a frozen state of shock like he had been caught breaking curfew. His mouth was slightly hung low in a state of surprise… and the boy turned it into a sheepish grin with a nervous giggle. “Wh-what’s up?” Rainbow’s only reply was… “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” “AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Amid their little scream-off, her finger pulled the trigger. The small dart shot from the barrel and lodged itself right into the boy’s side. The kid jolted back. “Ow!” Rainbow didn’t move, her chest was slowly rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. The boy’s eyes started to get heavy, his body gently swaying. “Mane...hat...ten…?” Rainbow glanced down to her shirt. Sure enough, there was the name and the city clear as day. But why would he want to know about- The ring from the boy’s hand dropped to the floor of the barn rolling towards Rainbow on its side. It fell onto its side… and expanded in size. Inside were the buildings and roads of the metropolitan city. “Huh?” Rainbow gasped, her eyes trained on the ring. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing! Was this some new kind of magic? The boy staggered towards the ring like a zombie. His eyes drooped until they were nearly closed… and he collapsed with a moan. The diamond fell out of his grip, its glow dimming away. Rainbow watched in shock as the gem fell through the ring… and onto the top of a skyscraper. The tranquilizer gun dropped to the floor as her mouth hung open in surprise. The boy crawled toward the ring, but it slowly began to shrink down. “N… no…” The boy slumped into unconsciousness, his outstretched arm falling limp. The ring flashed with a dinging sound, fading into nonexistence. Rainbow Dash found herself alone, staring down at the teen with wide eyes. “What?” “Rainbow Dash!” Applejack’s annoyed voice cut in. “You told me you were only gonna use the tranquilizer to scare ‘em off! Not shoot ‘em like real bandits! And WHAT was with all the-” The farm girl stopped in her tracks, her eyes going as wide as Rainbow’s. In front of both girls, the passed-out body of the boy sprawled out before them. AJ took off her hat. “Who in tarnation is that?!” “We…” Rainbow managed to speak. “We gotta get him inside.” “He had this diamond with him! And he had this ring that I thought was a ring until it opened up to Manehatten and the diamond fell through and then he passed-” AJ clamped a hand over the jock’s mouth. “Whoa there! We just need to stay calm! Especially me, since I’ve never had any trespassers before. You said he had some kinda backpack with him?” “Yeah?” “Maybe he’s from out of town or something. You should search it.” “But what about the rings?” “If they can be used for travel, we’ve gotta keep ‘em safe. You take a look through the backpack, and I’ll keep an eye on this Flash Sentry wannabe.” “O… okay. You sure your lasso can hold him?” “No one’s ever gotten out.” Nodding in reply, Rainbow headed into the house’s living room. Applejack stayed behind in the kitchen, arms crossed and eyes never leaving from the tied-up boy in the chair. She wanted answers from this guy when he came to. Like why he had tried breaking into her family’s barn. “Whoa, cool! A jacket! Hmm… All-Stars number ninety-one. Nah, never heard of ‘em. Huh? Hey what’s… oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, OH MY GOSH!” AJ spun her head to the living room. “What? What is it?” “He has the entire Daring Do comic collection!” Rainbow’s ecstatic voice shrieked. “All two hundred issues! And collector’s editions, too?! How did he get these?!” Applejack just rolled her eyes, turning back to the boy as Rainbow continued her search. “Hey, what… is this a hedgehog? Why would he keep a hedgehog in a backpack? Fluttershy’s not gonna like that… and what’s with this weird hat?” “Uhh…” Applejack stood at attention. The boy’s light groan was enough to give her a sign that he was coming to. “Dash!” she called. “He’s waking up!” “Coming!” A moment later, the athlete rushed into the room. Both of them turned to the kid, who seemed to be mumbling something. “Waking up? No, I wasn’t sleeping, you were sleeping… grzt! Wha?” He shot awake, his green eyes flashing open. “Rainbow Dash! Applejack! I didn’t mean to- oh, come on! Tied to a chair? What is this, a crime scene?” “Uh, how does he know our names?” Applejack asked with a nervous tone. “Well…” Rainbow responded, running a hand through her multi-colored hair. “We have saved the day from magical catastrophes on several occasions.” “Fair enough,” the cowgirl responded. She turned back to the boy, placing her hands on her hips with a stern expression. “Alright, you little blue scamp, what’s the deal with you breaking and entering into my family’s barn? Granny Smith ain’t gonna be too happy about that!” “Look, I’m sorry about that,” the teen answered, sounding a little drowsy. Apparently, the tranquilizer’s effects hadn’t worn off a hundred percent yet. “I needed somewhere safe. I just needed to get away from… from… wait wait wait, where are my rings? Why am I still in Canterlot? And where- oh, NO! The gem! I lost the gem!” “Hold your horses,” AJ interrupted. Rainbow, on the other hand, was in deep thought. “I got your little sack of handwear right here.” “But- but the gem! I needed that gem!” “Wait, you mean that glowing diamond?” Rainbow asked. “You used one of those rings, that I can now assume are magic, to open up a portal to Manehatten and the diamond fell through.” “Manehat- no, no, no! That wasn’t where I was supposed to go! And- ugh! It’s there! The gem is there! After all this time of searching, now I’m back to square one! Thank you so… wait a second, wait a second, did you say it was glowing?” “Uh, yeah. Why?” The boy just looked down. “It’s never glowed before…” A loud rumbling sound came from just outside the house. The girls looked out the window, moving closer for a better look. And just by the fence to the property was a large black truck. “Expecting someone, AJ?” Rainbow asked. “Weird time, if you ask me.” “I… I didn’t call for anyone, Rainbow Dash…” AJ replied. “Hey, wait a minute… that looks like the same truck-” “AH!” The curtain flew shut, prompting both surprised girls to turn… and see the boy right next to them. “What… how… I don’t… how in tarnation did you get out?!” the farmgirl snapped angrily. “They’re coming for me!” “Who is coming for you? What’s that got to do with us?” Rainbow asked anxiously. “I don’t have time to explain, but you have to help me!” the boy shouted. “No, we don’t!” Applejack protested while Rainbow said “Why?” at that same exact moment. “Well, my legs, which normally would be classified as lethal weapons, feel like spaghetti,” the boy summarized. “I need your help. Please. It’s life or death.” The girls sat in silence, looking at both each other, the boy, and the truck outside before concluding. “Alright, fine,” AJ said. “But one more time, how the heck did you get out from my lasso?” “What?” the boy asked. “You’ve never heard of a skill called untying a knot?” The cowgirl raised a brow. “In five seconds?” The boy just shrugged. “I’m just someone who likes to get things done quickly. Now can you girls hurry up and help me already?!” “Okay, okay, come with us,” Rainbow quieted him. She moved down the hall, AJ right behind her. The boy took a step… and fell flat on his face. “Uh, a little help?” Rainbow cracked open the door and peeked out. Some weird guy in black was investigating a footprint on the ground. A red scanning ray emitted from his hand, which soon vanished and allowed him to fiddle with controls on the glove. Rainbow looked back into the house. “Come on, AJ…” Upstairs, AJ hustled the boy into her house’s attic. “Stay here and be quiet as a tumbleweed,” she ushered. “Good plan. Great plan. We’re already working so well together. Practically finishing each other’s senten-” “AHEM!” The boy stopped. “Sorry.” Applejack descended the ladder, closing it shut behind her. She headed down to the front door, where Rainbow was waiting. With the athlete right behind her, she pushed open the door. “Just keep calm.” Rainbow nodded. AJ cleared her throat, eyes focused on the man. “Howdy there! Can we help you?” The man looked up and stood, walking towards the house’s front porch. “Good morning, my rural chums!” he greeted back. “I’m… from the power company investigating the blackout. If you don’t mind, I’d like to take a few readings inside your humble abode.” “No kidding!” Rainbow spoke. “You’re from the power company? You must know my buddy, Silver. We used to play soccer in freshman year, and he just took an internship there.” “Silver Zoom,” the man replied. “He’s a good man.” “Well, come on in,” AJ gestured, the man eagerly climbing the steps. However, he was stopped by AJ blocking the way. “Take all the readings you need, but… the power company usually takes their readings from outside houses in this city. That way, they can check, uh...” Seeing her friend was faltering, Rainbow stepped in. “Also, Silver works for the gas company. And he was one of the offensive players who did a terrifyingly good job at it, speaking from experience, so you wanna tell us why you think we’re dumb enough to just let you walk inside Applejack’s house?” The man put one hand behind his back, and the girls heard beeping noises. Soon, a faint buzzing noise cut through the air. They looked up to see small drones with rotors on them fly through the air and into every window and opening of the house. Unbeknownst to the girls, two of them slipped into the attic. “Well, young ladies…” the man replied, taking some steps back. “You may have noticed this city has been experiencing a power outage.” “Yep, no lights,” Rainbow coolly replied. “Picked up on that.” “Twenty minutes ago, I tracked an energy pulse with a similar signature to the one that caused that disruption.” Rainbow and AJ turned to each in disbelief. Could this mean that the kid they found was the one responsible? AJ cleared her head. “Uh, listen, Mister…” “Doctor. Doctor Robotnik.” “Well, Doctor Robot-skis…” AJ continued. “I’m sure what you’re here for is very serious, but it’s got nothing to do with us.” “Yeah, you can ask anyone in Canterlot,” Rainbow added. “Everyone knows us.” “I bet they do,” Robotnik answered, climbing back onto the porch. “I’m sure and the others in your little group are very popular in the whole city. You may have pulled off some incredible stuff, but lemme tell you: I have surpassed everything you’re ever going to do!” AJ cocked a brow at the man’s raised tone. Was he trying to threaten them now? “When I was a toddler, I was spitting out formulas while you were still spitting up formula,” he continued, staring both of them in the eye. Rainbow looked almost insulted. “I was breastfed, actually.” “Nice. Rub that in my orphan face.” Touchy subject. AJ noted. “Rainbow Dash and Applejack,” the man said. “Are you familiar with what happens when a citizen attempts to aid an enemy of this country?” “Don’t tell me,” Rainbow stopped, holding up a hand. “Curtains?” “And if I’m the one that catches you… it’ll be even worse.” The girls were confused. “What could be worse than ending up six feet under?” AJ questioned. The man only turned to her with a sadistic smile. “Me.” A scanning ray swept across the attic, moving over boxes and family heirlooms. From behind one, Sonic laid motionless. “Oh… please don’t let that be an x-ray,” he whispered, clutching his stomach. “I had quite an embarrassing lunch.” The drone and its red beam were getting closer to his position. As quietly as he could, Sonic snuck to the other side of the box. Maybe he could sneak around it and get out of the attic. He peeked out… and gasped, ducking back into cover. Another drone was now coming from the other side. He was trapped. If those things did have x-rays, they’d see right through the tall crate shielding Sonic. His eyes darted from left to right to left again, taking in the sight of the scanning beams inching closer and closer… He could hear the shrill buzzing of their rotors like a swarm of angry wasps. It was almost deafening. “Don’t freak out,” he murmured, clutching his head with both hands and tucking himself inward. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” The beams were at the edge of the box. The buzzing was seeping into his ears. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” They inched closer to his position. “Don’t freak out, don’t freak out…” The scans were barely touching him. “I’M FREAKING OUT!” He jumped from cover in a blue spinning ball of light, sailing over the drones and smashing the cover of the attic door. He rolled down the stairs and into the hallway… “Why! Don’t! You! Have! Your! Stair! Case! Carpeted!” CLANG! Sonic collapsed on his back, stunned from the impact. Weakly opening his eyes, he blinked away the drowsiness. His breath left his throat when he saw what he had crashed into: a table with utensils and pots underneath. “Oh no…” “...compared to what I-” A crashing noise from inside the house drew the attention of all three. Applejack had a ready response. “Sorry about that, I’ve been having a little critter problem as of late.” “Then you won’t mind me getting rid of them for you!” Robotnik replied, making his way past the startled farmgirl. With panic on both her and Rainbow’s faces, they ran after him. “Uh, you know what? That’s not really necessary!” AJ called. “I’ve been taught to handle little varmints ever since I was five! I can-” They both entered the kitchen… to see Robotnik staring at a raccoon on the table munching through a discarded cereal box. For once in her life, Applejack had never been so happy to see an animal in her house. She let out a quiet sigh, and Rainbow gave her a thumbs-up. “Here’s the thing…” Robotnik sneered. “I’m never wrong.” “Well, first time for everything,” Rainbow responded as calmly as she could. “Right?” While AJ shooed the critter out the back door, Robotnik turned to walk out of the house. Rainbow couldn’t help but smile when he wasn’t looking. The athlete turned to the attic door just up the stairs and down the hall… and saw that it was open. Her smile slightly dropped. She looked back to Robotnik… and her smile fell completely when she noticed him down on one knee, picking something up from the ground and smirking to himself. AJ returned to Rainbow’s side, also catching a glimpse of what the man was doing. The scientist turned to them… holding a tiny sprig of blue hair that buzzed with an electric current. “Look at that…” he boasted. “I was right. Note the lack of surprise. Should we try this again?” Before the girls could reply, the scientist whistled to the tune of “Ride of the Valkyries”. A hovering sound echoed through the house… and a white oval-shaped drone flew into view. Rainbow swallowed nervously while AJ tried to stand her ground. The sides of the drone slightly opened, revealing two machine gun mounts. “I’m going to give you five seconds to tell me where he is,” Robotnik spoke. “Five.” “I, uh, I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rainbow replied. I could use my super speed to dodge when it shoots, but if it goes for AJ first… oh, what I wouldn’t give to have Rarity here! “Four.” “Now, listen here! I come from tough stock!” Applejack told him sternly. “And if Granny and Mac learn about this…” “How can you threaten somebody who never existed? Three.” The suspense was killing Rainbow. Her eyes never peeled away from the drone, and she could feel sweat starting to run down her face. “COME ON! Rack your brains!” Robotnik shouted. “You might come up with some lame excuse to go on living in two!” The drone spun up its weapons. Rainbow instinctively snagged AJ’s wrist, her other hand slowly reaching for the geode around her neck. “ONE!” “WAIT!” The trio whirled to see the blue boy with hands in the air. “Don’t hurt them!” Robotnik’s eyes widened. “It IS you!” WHAM! Rainbow’s fist plowed across his face, knocking the man in black to the floor. In response, the drone extended four flaps: its attack mode. “Target identified. Engaging.” “Run for it!” Rainbow cried, grabbing the surprised boy by the hand and taking off. AJ chased after them with the drone in hot pursuit. The three rushed into the living room, the sound of firing guns and bullet holes appearing in the walls out of nowhere all they could comprehend. The trio dove under the couch, the drone continuing to fire. One bullet shattered a vase, a second broke a window, and another cracked a photo of the Mane Seven (to Rainbow’s horror). “This feels excessive!” the boy shouted over the bullet storm. “You THINK?!” Rainbow snapped back. AJ grabbed tightly onto her hat, yelling when a few bullets nearly hit her and smacked into the carpet instead. She took whatever cover she could… but the guns stopped. Rainbow peeked open an eye. The drone was just hovering there, its guns smoking. They had time to get out! “Kid, stay behind me,” Rainbow whispered… but no reply came. “Uh, kid? You still-” She turned behind her… and saw only Applejack peeking out from under her hat. The girls were wide-eyed. “Wh-where’d he go?” Applejack looked around the living room, gasping and pointing. Rainbow followed her gaze… and saw the kid climbing on top of a shelf behind the drone. Her heart began to race. What was he doing? He was gonna get himself killed! The boy’s eyes met her, and she frantically shook her head. The boy gave her a reassuring smile, his thumb pointing to his face. Before Rainbow could object any further… he jumped. “Hi-yah!” he called, grabbing onto the drone. It started to spin wildly, its guns firing off in every direction. “Don’t worry, I got it right where I want it!” A few bullets hit the window, shattering it and making glass rain down on the floor. Rainbow scooted back against the couch, a stray cushion bursting apart and letting feathers fly free. “Can you believe they’re gonna be delivering packages with these things?!” the boy shouted, riding the drone like a wild bull. He seemed to be struggling to stay on. Suddenly, AJ’s eyes lit up. “Stay here!” she called, running from cover. “Wait! APPLEJACK!” Rainbow called, only for three bullets to rip right through the couch. The drone managed to fire in her friend’s direction, but the cowgirl managed to disappear into the kitchen. The boy grunted and a few “whoa”s escaped his throat. Rainbow peeked out from the couch, a stray bullet whizzing past her face. The drone was in an all-out tumble, the kid temporarily losing his grip and grabbing the drone again. He tried to hold on tight, but Rainbow doubted he could last much longer. “This was a HORRIBLE plan! What was I thinking?!” That was a good question. But her primary concern was Applejack. Just what was taking her so long? “I’m! Gonna! PUKE!” The boy was ripped from the drone, tumbling to the ground. The machine turned its attention to Rainbow, who was frozen in fear… “Hey, rustbucket!” The drone spun around… and something smashed against its side. It crashed to the floor, where the object struck it again. Applejack rose back to her full height, tossing her frying pan aside. “Hustle! We gotta hightail it outta here!” Rainbow rushed to the backpack of the kid’s stuff, quickly packing everything up and putting the ring bag over her left shoulder. She took the hedgehog in her hands, slung the backpack over her right shoulder (grunting at its weight as she did so), and made a dash for the door. AJ picked up the groaning boy. “Oh, don’t tell me that’s all you got!” he called to the non-functional drone. “I’m just getting started! Lemme know if you wanna go round two with the blue!” “Come on! My truck!” AJ shouted, rushing over to the vehicle and fishing out the keys. Having received it a year earlier, the pickup looked similar to her grandmother’s own, complete with a dark green color and an apple symbol on the front. It had a backseat that allowed for four people inside and an attachable wooden barrier for transporting cargo. The latter was not needed right now, as it was against the side of the house’s garage. AJ placed the dizzy boy in the backseat, and Rainbow tossed the backpack in with him. With the ring bag and the hedgehog in hand, she hopped into the passenger seat while AJ started up the engine. In no time at all, she peeled the truck out onto the road… where a man from one of the black cars spotted them. He turned to the other agents. “Well, don’t just stand there! After them!” “Right away, Agent Stone!” someone replied, the cars roaring to life and screeching off in pursuit. Now alone, Stone rushed into the house to check on the doctor. “Doctor? Doctor!” Stone called, rushing through the ransacked living room and kitchen. Robotnik groaned from nearby, drawing Stone to his location. “Are you alright? Three teenagers just ran out of here, and I thought-” “That you should stop them?” Robotnik snapped. “Open up your flimsy little mouth, and say that you should’ve stopped them.” “The other agents are in pursuit now, Doctor,” Stone explained. “I decided to stay behind and check up on you.” he helped the genius up to his feet. “And you should’ve gone with them!” Robotnik shouted. “You know what’s the hardest thing about being the smartest person in the world?!” “Everyone else is stupid?" “YES! Way to go! You got that one!” Robotnik mockingly congratulated before calming himself down. “Soon, that thieving rat will give up what is rightfully mine. And when he does, nothing can stop me!” He placed his glasses on his face… which were twisted and bent. “Agent Stone?” “Doctor.” “Call Optical Illusions. Tell them I need new frames. They know what kind I like. Oh… and bring that hair sample.” “Yes, Doctor.” Applejack’s truck sped down the straight open road toward Canterlot City. Inside, everyone was trying to catch their breath after what had just happened. “Oh, man… that was crazy!” Rainbow breathed, clutching the hedgehog to her chest and tossing the ring bag into the backseat. The boy caught it without giving it a thought. “You call that crazy? I’ve seen crazier.” “You telling us you’ve seen some stuff?” AJ asked curiously. Rainbow, on the other hand, realized something. The athlete turned in her seat before the teen could reply. “Hey, I just remembered. You never told us your… your…” “Rainbow? What’s wrong?” AJ questioned, noticing the other girl’s voice go silent. “You cut yourself off back there.” “Applejack… we’ve got company!” “Huh?!” the cowgirl looked into her rearview mirror. Sure enough, several black cars were speeding towards them. From inside, she could see men and women with determined expressions on their faces. “Aw, fiddlesticks! I can’t lose them out here! And we can’t just lead them into the city!” “Don’t bother!” the boy shouted to them. “I’ll take care of this! The tranquilizer should’ve worn off by now!” “Wha- you?!” Rainbow gasped in disbelief. “But-” “Relax, Rainbow Flash!” the boy replied. “Just keep Needlemouse safe and I’ll be back in ten seconds flat!” He reached over for the door and swung it wide open. “HEY! W-whaddya think you’re doing?!” AJ shouted, now realizing she had forgotten to lock the doors before peeling out. “If you jump outta here-” “Just drive!” the boy snapped back. “I said I can handle this!” Before any of the girls could object, he jumped out of the truck… ...and ran off with a boom. A blue bolt of light blasted down the road, blowing the minds of both Rainbow Dash and Applejack. The cowgirl slammed on the brakes, and the truck screeched to a halt. Both girls were wide-eyed as they witnessed the following events. The boy ran down the road at high speed right for the cars. He bounded off the hood of the lead car to land on top of another. He grabbed onto the edge, swung right through a window and shattered it, kicking the driver out of the vehicle in the process. Landing back on the road as the car tumbled onto its side, he raced to another and gave it a strong kick. This car skidded off the road and into a ditch. The boy backflipped into the air, slamming down onto the hood of another car. The vehicle’s back end raised into the air, the force from the boy’s impact damaging the engine. He jumped and sped off, grabbing a stick from the side of the road. Running over to the last car, he jammed the wooden object right in the front left wheel. The vehicle flipped into the air, crashing down onto the lead car and sending them both flying. The boy burst forward, sliding right underneath the crash. In a blue flash, he zoomed back to the truck… ...and zipped back into his seat. The girls were stunned. Fire and smoke rose from the crash, and disoriented agents tried to clamber from their wrecked vehicles. The hedgehog in Rainbow’s arms just twitched its nose. “What did I tell ya, ladies?” the teenager said with crossed arms and a calm smile. “Ten. Seconds. Flat.” Applejack took off her hat. “Land sakes…” “That… was… AWESOME!” Rainbow screeched at the top of her lungs. “Possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen! You have super speed, too?! How did you do that?! Where’s your geode?! Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?!” “Whoa, whoa!” The boy interrupted, holding up two hands. “Easy there, Dashie!” Rainbow froze at the nickname, sitting down into her seat with a small blush and a clear of her throat. “Sorry, just… got waaay too excited there. I think I became Pinkie for a moment. A-anyway, back to what I said earlier… you never told us your name.” The boy gestured to himself with a thumb and a smirk. “I’m Sonic.” “Sonic… Sonic…” Rainbow repeated. “That’s a pretty cool name. And just how fast were you going back there?” “I just clocked it at two twenty-five. Speed sign from the opposite lane told me. I can go much faster than that, by the way.” “Ditto! Hey, I could’ve done that a whole lot better!” “What’s that? You think you could’ve done that faster than me?” the boy told her with a knowing smirk. “Duh! I’ve saved Pinkie from tripping over a dog chasing Fluttershy’s cat, stopped her cupcakes from hitting a biker, saved a kid’s ice cream from hitting the sidewalk, and stopped Twilight’s coffee from staining her shirt all in the span of a second!” “That sounds like a challenge…” “Maybe because it is a challenge!” “Oh, ho, ho! You’re on! A race fifteen miles from the city and back!” Rainbow paused, turning to see Applejack staring at her. "What? I can't say no to a friendly competition!" “Well, I can see you two are hitting it off,” AJ butted in. “And I couldn’t help but think… this blackout was your doing, wasn’t it?” Sonic froze. “Uh, heh heh! That’s a, uh, that’s a funny story…” “Wait a sec. Did you also spray paint on those speed limit signs?” Rainbow asked him. “I had my reasons…” “And that guy back at my house… Twilight texted us about a strange man in black at the soccer field, where she figured out that was the origin point of the wave.” “What were you doing at the soccer field?” Rainbow questioned aloud… before she realized what AJ had just said. “Wait, Twilight texted us?” She fished out her phone, noticing the said message that was sent earlier. Guys, this is urgent. I’m at school right now. It looks like the soccer field is ground zero for the blackout. I don’t know how it could’ve happened here, but that’s not the point. Spike and I saw a weird guy with a mustache in a black coat. He’s got robots and loyal people by his side. I’ve got a bad feeling about him. Meet me at my place as soon as you can. “Aw, man!” the athlete groaned. “She could’ve warned me ahead of time about that guy! Ugh, I really need to start checking my texts more often!” “Like that time at the mall wasn’t enough to convince you…” AJ said. Rainbow opened her mouth to retort… but the buzz of her phone caught her attention. RD! AJ! Where ARE you guys??!! “We gotta get to Twilight’s. Now.” "Ooh, it's him! That's the guy I kept telling you guys about!" Pinkie cried in excitement. “So… who exactly is this?” Twilight had a stern expression on her face as she said this. AJ’s truck was parked on the side of the street, and its three occupants had now met up with the rest of the Mane Seven. “And what took you so long, anyway?” “The name’s Sonic,” the boy answered her. “A little blue ball of super energy in an extremely handsome package.” He flashed a seemingly cool pose with a wink… before dropping it. “And I need your help.” “That weird man you texted us about was looking for him,” Rainbow explained. “AJ and I caught him in her barn, and we helped him escape. I think the guy’s name was… Robotnik or something like that.” “Hmm… Sonic sounds like a weird nickname,” Pinkie said. “Oh! Maybe it is a nickname! So, what’s your real name?” “Hey, come to think of it… she may have a point,” Rainbow agreed, turning to the boy in blue expectantly. To her confusion, he was frozen in place with a look of horror on his face. “Uh, that’s, um, not important right now,” he said quickly. “What is important is that I-” “Find a good place for your hedgehog?” Fluttershy guessed. “I can look after him if you want.” The boy looked caught off-guard. “Uh, that’s fine. Needlemouse is kinda okay with me.” Fluttershy became confused. “What kind of name is that?” “Long story short, that’s what I used to call hedgehogs as a kid,” he summarized. “Anyway, as I was saying, I need your help to find the Seven Gems of Miracles.” “Ooh!” Rarity piped up, intrigued at the concept of gems. “That sounds fascinating! But… what exactly are they?” Having expected this, Sonic pulled out a piece of paper and unfurled it. He held it out to the girls, who could see seven diamonds in a circle around a magical aura. “The Seven Gems of Miracles are legendary relics said to be scattered across the world,” he told them. “If someone gathers all seven of them, they can achieve immense power. And that power is just what I need to save my home from a terrible fate. Short version: think of the planet's strongest energy source, multiply it by a billion, and you get the idea.” “Relics with that kind of power…” Sunset realized. “You can’t be the only one looking for them.” “Right. Someone else could be on the hunt. I need to get all of them before they do, or else that power will be used for bad stuff. I’m talking really bad: doom-us-all level. But if used right, it could be enough to save everything I know. And right now, my rings aren’t much help.” “Rings? What good could they possibly do, besides make yourself look more stunning?” Rarity asked. “These aren't ordinary rings,” Sonic said, taking one out from his pouch. “Where I come from, they’re used by my people to get from one place to another instantly. Watch.” He tossed the ring in front of him… ...and it grew to the size of a small car. Inside it, the girls were treated to the sight of Canterlot High. “The rest is simple; I just jump through,” Sonic told them. “As for where I want to go, I just think of where the other end is gonna be. Unless it’s somewhere I’ve never seen, so, yeah. Nothing.” “Why don’t you just use those to get to where the gems are?” Sunset asked him. “See, that’s the problem and why I need your help!” Sonic groaned. “One of the gems in a city called Manehatten, and I have no idea where it is!” “It’s east.” The boy paused. “East?” “Yep,” Sunset approved, Applejack nodding in agreement. “Straight shot from here. You can’t miss it.” Sonic smiled at her, placing the ring back in his pouch and putting his hands on his hips. “Fine. That’s cool. I’m totally cool saying goodbye now.” And in a blue streak of light, he was gone. In the dust that followed, the girls’ faces were in complete shock… all except for Rainbow Dash and Applejack. “Oh, yeah…” the athlete said with remembrance. “He has super speed just like me. Forgot about that.” “But… I didn’t see a geode on him!” Twilight gasped. “How can he do that?” “How rude! He left without saying goodbye!” Rarity harrumphed. Applejack just stared at her with a raised brow. “Uh… he kinda did.” “So… I guess that’s it, then?” Sunset asked, Pinkie hanging her head in shame. “He’s back on his own again?” “Yeah, I guess so,” Rainbow answered. “He should be fine finding those gems all by him-” SHOOP! Before any of the girls could blink, Sonic was right in front of them again. He was dripping wet, had seaweed and a fish in his hair, and clothes sopping with water. And he had a look that said “you are dead wrong” on his face. “So, as I crashed into the cold, dark water of the Celestial Sea, I realized a few things,” he said, the girls still in surprise at his sudden, unexpected return. “A: I have no idea where I’m going. B: Saltwater stinks. C: I should still have one gem with me right now, but I don’t. Why? Because you shot me!” He pointed an accusing finger at Rainbow Dash, who looked slightly embarrassed while her friends looked at her in horror. “I-I know…” “YOU. SHOT. ME!” he repeated loudly in a dramatic tone that almost rivaled Rarity’s. Rainbow cringed. “Okay, okay! I heard you the first time! You don’t have to pile it on!” “You shot him?” Sunset hissed.”Why would you do that?” “I’d… rather not talk about that right now,” Rainbow answered. “Let’s just say I had a tranquilizer and we didn’t hit it off immediately.” Sonic looked mad, counting off on his fingers. “I’m wet. I’m cold. There’s a FISH ON MY HEAD! And clearly I’m not gonna be able to do this on my own!” He stared at the girls with a pleading look in his eyes. The fish flopped atop his head, prompting him to snatch it with an annoyed expression and throw it to the ground. The girls looked at each other, each of them wondering if they should do this. Well… it was the start of summer break, so what better way to kick it off than with a drive out of the city? One by one, each of them got an approving smile. “Alright,” Twilight said. “We’ll help you, Sonic.” “Really?!” the boy shouted in excitement, shaking the seaweed off himself so quickly his hair poofed up. Spotting this, Pinkie’s eyes grew wide and she struggled to hold back laughter. With a smile, Fluttershy brought a hand to her mouth. “You’re gonna help me?!” “I guess I gotta,” Rainbow told him. “After all, it’s a little bit my fault all of this is happening to you.” “Not a little bit,” Sonic reminded her harshly. “Entirely. It is entirely your fault.” “Fine. It’s entirely my fault. You game?” The boy smiled at her, shaking his hair back to its normal spiky state. “Yes. But… what about my stuff?” “Well…” Twilight spoke up, looking to Needlemouse in Fluttershy’s arms. “Your backpack could stay at my place for now. And besides, Spike has been wanting a playmate for some time now.” Upon hearing his name, the dog trotted to his human’s side… and froze at the sight of the spiky hedgehog. The other animal just stared at him. Author's Note Rainbow Dash and Applejack finally meet Sonic, but they also run afoul of Robotnik. Not long after, the rest of the HuMane 7 (properly) meet Sonic and vice-versa. Now, the heroes have to travel to Manehatten and retrieve the blue Gem of Miracle while also trying to get to know each other better, and avoid being hunted down by Robotnik and his goons. Which will be showcased in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
7) CHAPTER SIX“Road trip! WOOP WOOP!” Applejack’s pickup drove down the road, onward to Manehatten. Sonic called shotgun with AJ this time, while Twilight and Rainbow were in the backseat. Everyone else had piled into the back cab. Keeping her eyes on the road, the cowgirl spoke up to the boy in blue. “So, let me get this straight… you’ve been spying on us for the past few months?” “Dude, that’s creepy,” Rainbow added. As if to prove her point, Fluttershy sank down and hid her mouth with her hair. “I wouldn’t call it spying,” Sonic interjected. “We were all just hanging out, only I wasn’t invited and no one knew I was there.” “Well, if all you wanted to do was hang out with us…” Twilight asked. “Why couldn’t you have just met us earlier?” Sonic was silent for a moment. “Well… it’s not easy to talk about,” he softly replied. “I’ve been looking for the Gems of Miracles for a long time now, and the most important thing was that I couldn’t draw too much atten- OH MY GOSH STOP THE CAR RIGHT NOW!” All three girls jolted in alert, with Applejack looking around wildly. “Huh?! What?! Who-?!” “The world’s largest rubber band ball?!” Sonic gasped, leaning his head out the window. Approaching the vehicle was a billboard of the said landmark. “We gotta see it!” The cowgirl had an expression of “are you kidding me?” on her face. “Hold on just a cotton-picking minute!” she shouted. “You said we needed to find those seven diamonds before anyone else! We don’t have time for some silly-” she turned to Sonic… only to see that he was gone! Everyone gasped in alarm and Rainbow clutched the back of the seat. “Where’d he go?!” ZIP! Before anyone could blink, he was back. “Eh, you’re right. It was lame,” Sonic calmly replied, now wearing a baseball hat of the rubber band ball and holding three rubber band balls in his hands. “Gift shop was cool, though! I got you girls a mousepad!” He held up the said object, which read “I LOVE RUBBER BANDS”. “Uh…” Rainbow was at a loss for words. “When are we gonna get there?” Applejack sighed. “We will get there when we ge-” She was interrupted by rapid smacking sounds. Everyone turned to Sonic, who now had his eyes closed, feet up on the dashboard, and was playing with a paddle ball really fast. “Why do I feel like this is gonna be a long trip?” Pinkie asked. After sunset, AJ pulled into a gas station and parked the truck. She, Rainbow, and Twilight both got out and Sonic tried to follow… until AJ stopped him. “You stay here.” “Huh? Why?” Twilight gestured to a phone booth. “I’m gonna go call my brother; see if he knows anything.” “You’re gonna call Shining? In that glass thing?” Sonic said in disbelief. “What is that, a teleportation box?” The young scientist rolled her eyes. “It’s a payphone, Sonic. Mostly used by drug dealers, fugitives from the law… so yeah.” “Pinkie? Shy? Sunset? Rarity?” Rainbow asked. “Can you keep an eye on him for us until we’re back?” “You can count on us.” “Certainly, darling.” “I suppose…” “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!” “Stick a cup- what the juice?!” Sonic spoke up in alarm. “What does that even mean?!” “It’s a Pinkie Promise!” the energetic girl told him. “I used to have a longer one about zipping my mouth closed, burying the key, and building a house on top of the hole! But my new one’s better!” “Do you really have to say it like that?” Sonic asked. “A cupcake in the eye would sting, right?” “Only if you’re lactose intolerant!” “Oookaaayyy…” “It’s fine, guys,” Sunset cut in. “You go, we’ll watch him.” Sonic turned to Rainbow desperately. “You sure you don’t want me to come with you? I’ve been cramped up in here for the whole trip! I gotta stretch my legs!” “Stay. Put. There.” Rainbow firmly instructed. Defeated, Sonic sank back into his seat with disappointment. “Ugh, fine.” Now that the matter was settled, AJ, Rainbow, and Twilight walked over to the payphone. Briefly pausing to adjust her glasses, Twilight looked around to make sure no one was watching… and slipped inside. Back in the truck, Sonic got bored fast (which came as no surprise to him). Ten seconds for the ordinary person felt like ten minutes to him. Yet another thing about being able to travel at high speeds. Grunting, he scooted over to the steering wheel and placed his hands on it. “Sonic in third place, Spitfire in pole position,” he muttered to himself. “The Blue Blur is making quite an impression at his debut. Can he pull this off?” He mimicked engine sounds, pretending to turn the wheel in various directions. “Sonic’s gaining on Spitfire, the two are neck-and-neck! Going to the outside, into the final turn, it looks too close to call! And it looks like the winner is-” His eyes caught something off to the side. “Huh?” Off in the distance, rock music blared from a building with the words “Piston Pit” in bright red neon. A huge crowd was gathered there, some of the people arm wrestling and others showing off awesome-looking vehicles. Two motorbikes drove up to the crowd. Bikers headbutted each other in greeting. The engine of one hot rod roared like a lion, spewing out flames from its tailpipe. Sonic gasped in awe… before ducking beneath the window. “Okay, okay, that is the coolest place on Earth…” he told himself. “But you have to stay in the car! Miss Twenty Percent Cooler herself said!” But he couldn’t help himself. Slowly, he peeked out the window. Near the bar, drivers revved their engines at a sound that to Sonic seemed like a jet engine. His heart was beating triple that of a normal human, and Sonic began to sweat. The adrenaline was getting to him; he hardly noticed he was hyperventilating until he had to wipe away the fogged-up glass. He pressed his face against the window. He didn’t know how much longer he could hold out. A huge monster truck pulled up, the people in back holding up their fists. The driver gunned the engine, the sound bellowing in Sonic’s ears. “Be strong! Be strong!” he whimpered, rocking back and forth in the seat. While a motorcycle spun around in the dirt, its driver balanced on top while a crowd cheered him on. Sonic’s eyes watched the vehicle go… and he snapped. That was the last straw. I gotta get in there! His first thoughts were about the other girls. They were keeping an eye on him, so he’d have to distract them. A simple “make-them-look-and-run” trick would do, for now, so he turned to the back… “...and that’s when I realized I had never misplaced my earring at all! It had just gotten stuck in my hair!” Rarity finished with a chuckle. Sunset crossed her arms with a smirk. “Wow. I feel so bad for Rainbow and Applejack right now.” “But, hey!” Pinkie cut in. “At least they found tons of stuff in the sand!” “True…” Fluttershy added. “Oh, did I tell you about the time we helped some baby turtles find their way to the ocean?” “Baby turtles?!” Pinkie cried in happiness, while Sunset looked interested in this. “Wait, you did what?” she asked, leaning closer. Rarity’s eyes went wide. “Oh! Yes, I remember that time all too well! Please, Fluttershy. Do continue!” “Well, it started when Rainbow, Applejack, Rarity, and I heard the sound of something crying while sunbathing…” Sonic smiled to himself. That oughta keep them busy. Now for a disguise… He looked around the truck. In the backseat, he saw a cyan hoodie with red, yellow, and green colors on the arms and sides. Rainbow wouldn’t mind if he borrowed this, right? Taking one last look to make sure none of the girls’ eyes were in his direction, he snatched the hoodie and put it on. Lastly, he grabbed some rainbow-colored sunglasses from the passenger seat mirror and snapped them open. Showtime. Twilight anxiously held the phone to her ear, tapping her foot. The noise of the other end of the phone picking up made her exhale in relief. “Canterlot Police.” “Shining? It’s me.” “Twily? I, uh, I’m so glad that you called.” Twilight paused. “Uh, you were expecting me?” “Some guys came in and asked some questions. Little creepy, if you ask me.” “Wait, wait. What kinda questions?” Twilight asked, her nervousness slowly returning. “And what guys?” “Questions about… some guy, I think. They didn’t give a name,” her brother answered. “But he’s supposed to have blue, spiky hair. At first, I thought they wanted something with Flash Sentry, but they say he’s not the guy they’re looking for.” Sonic. Twilight’s heart momentarily stopped. “Shining, listen to me,” she spoke. “Don’t tell them that we talked, okay?” There was silence from the other end. An awfully ominous silence. “Sh-Shining?” “Yeah, I-I think they already know…” “Twilight Sparkle, is it?” A chill ran down Twilight’s spine. She knew that voice. “Y-yes,” she squeaked. “Uh, who is this?” Even though she knew the answer, she had to at least play it cool. “My name is Doctor Robotnik. Is Rainbow Dash with you?” Twilight’s eyes darted outside. The said tomboy saw her face by this point, and she didn’t need to tell Twilight she knew something wasn’t right. “N-no.” “Well, the next time you see her, tell her the only other person who ever punched me in the face was the school bully,” She could almost feel him breathing in her ear as if he was right next to her instead of miles away. “He hit me in the cafeteria, causing a blunt force contusion to the soft tissue surrounding my orbital bone.” “So, a black eye?” she concluded. “Clever girl. He humiliated me in front of the entire school and you know what I did in response?” Twilight swallowed and cleared her throat. “You went to the principal’s office to report unacceptable behavior?” “No,” Robotnik replied coldly. “I examined the inefficiency of a world where brawn reigned over brain, and I used technology to resolve that. That boy ate his meals through a straw for a year, and I have never lost a fight again… until today.” Something inside Twilight grew unsettled. Whereas she used science and technology for the benefit of her friends and for others… Robotnik used it only for harm. For his own desires. This just hit a personal level. “Hooray for me, then. Yay,” she gave a slightly embarrassed giggle. “No, because you’re about to become the bully! With the straw!” Robotnik shouted into her ear, making her flinch. “I’m coming for you, Twilight Sparkle. And Rainbow Dash. And that kid. And when I catch you all, I’ll-” Twilight slammed the phone back into the receiver, realizing just now she had been sweating and breathing heavily. Wiping her forehead, she made her way outside just as Applejack returned with an armful of food. “Sorry I took so long, y’all. I… Twilight, what the hey’s up with you? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” “Yeah, what happened there?” Rainbow asked urgently. “Your big bro okay?” “Robotnik,” Twilight gasped. “He’s onto us. If he catches up, I’m gonna be the bully with the straw.” “Uh, say what now?” “Forget it! We gotta get outta here!” The trio made their way back to the truck. Having just finished their next story, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset all noticed them. “Okay, this ain’t exactly the healthiest meal, but-” Applejack’s words were cut off when she looked into the truck… and found it empty. Twilight and Rainbow noticed this, too. Soon, everyone noticed that Sonic was nowhere to be seen. Twilight facepalmed. “Ugh! I told you guys to keep an eye on him!” “Does that kid seriously not know how to sit still?!” Rainbow groaned. “Wait, where’s my hoodie? And my shades?!” Sunset and Rarity were speechless. Fluttershy just giggled and sheepishly blushed. “Um… oopsie?” “AAAAAAAH!” Pinkie’s sudden screech made everyone jump. “I BROKE MY OWN PINKIE PROMISE! I WAS SUCH A DOOFUS! A DOLT! A MORON! A… I… I… I don’t feel too well…” And with a sigh, she collapsed into Rarity’s arms. “Heh… sorry,” Sunset chuckled nervously. Twilight closed her eyes and held up a hand to silence her. “Okay, yelling at you guys for being complete nincompoops isn’t gonna solve anything,” she told them. “We just need to find where he… went?” The music from the nearby building turned up, catching everyone’s attention. Twilight’s eyes locked on the roadside tavern… and she gulped. “Oh, no, no, no, no, no….” Everyone was dead silent as they took in the sight of the bar. Fluttershy whimpered, ducking under the cab. While everyone stared at the bar, Rainbow narrowed her eyes. “I’m going in.” “Uh, lemme go with you, Dash,” Applejack suggested, putting the food inside the truck. At the athlete’s confused face, she cleared her throat. “Big Mac has, uh, had a history with this place. He tried taking me with him.” “Okay. If you insist. Anyone else?” No answer came from those in the back… until Twilight hung her head with a sigh. “Fine. But just this once.” Applejack pushed open the doors. “Just stay calm and don’t stare at anything longer than you have to.” Twilight only nodded, holding on tightly to Rainbow’s wrist as the three made their way inside. The nerd felt overwhelmed at the sight of arcade machines, a mechanical bull, a counter menu with questionable names like “Dodge the Draft” and “Bottom of the Bucket”, and seemingly-less-than-friendly patrons… or maybe it was just her. “Wait… there,” Rainbow said, jerking free of Twilight’s grip. She fast-walked her way over to a figure in a hoodie and a cowboy hat with AJ by her side. Trembling, Twilight ran to catch up with them. Unamused, Applejack tapped the figure on the shoulder. The person turned, revealing a pair of rainbow-colored sunglasses on his face. “Howdy, partner!” Sonic greeted them with a tip of the hat. “I ain’t your partner right now. Come on, let’s skedaddle,” AJ told him, gesturing for the doors. Rainbow stepped forward. “And I want my things back!” “But there’s a cover band tonight!” Sonic protested. “You gotta see their beards!” “We’ll catch them some other time,” Rainbow replied in frustration. “Let’s go, get up!” “Please?” Twilight added nervously. “If we stay,” Sonic answered, crossing his fingers. “I Pinkie Promise I won’t say another word for the rest of the trip, starting… now!” “Uh, do Pinkie Promises work like that?” a stunned Rainbow said to Twilight, who shrugged. “Dunno. You’ll have to ask her.” “Welcome to the Piston Pit. What can I get you fellas?” A waitress spoke up, startling everyone. Rainbow turned to her hastily. “Uh, we’re not-” “Oh!” Sonic gasped, immediately breaking his promise. “I want nachos and buffalo wings- oh! And guac! Funny word, isn’t it? Guac, guac! Guaaac!” If someone asked Rainbow, she’d say he was poorly impersonating a duck. The waitress turned to Sonic… and frowned before turning back to the girls. “Hey, no kids allowed in here, ladies.” “Um, he’s eighteen like us, actually,” Rainbow fibbed instantly. “We’re gonna be starting our first year at Everfree University and he has a rare disease that stunts his growth.” Sonic, initially confused at this, placed a hand on his hip. “The face I was born with,” he added. “The confidence I picked up along the way.” “Make his a Mellow Yellow, please,” Applejack suggested. With a nod, the waitress walked away. Sighing, Rainbow Dash sat down across from Sonic. “You owe me one, bud.” Sonic hardly listened, as he was too busy being entertained. “I’ve never sat on a barstool before! So squishy, oh, look at this! It spins!” He spun around in his seat, making Rainbow roll her eyes and Twilight rub her arm subconsciously. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa, ha, ha, ha, I feel sick.” He stopped spinning, the glasses flying off and landing in Applejack’s hand. She handed them back to Rainbow, who stuffed them up against her pocket. “You having fun, Sonic?” she said with false pride. “Big night for you? Gonna check this off the old bucket list?” “Good idea! In fact, I already have it on there!” “Wait, what?” Rainbow dropped her tone, stunned at the words. Sonic muttered to himself, patting himself all over. “Let’s see, where did I leave- no, not there. Um… aha! Here it is!” He smacked down a small piece of notebook paper and snatched up a nearby pencil. “Hang out at a bar, check!” In one swift motion, he drew a line through the words. Looking back up, he noticed the girls’ confused faces staring at him as if he had done something totally ridiculous. “What?” “You… actually have a bucket list?” Rainbow asked him. Sonic scoffed at her in shock. “Of course I have a bucket list! Who doesn’t?! You girls should totally get one! Just think of all the stuff you could do before kicking the bucket!” he picked up his list, gesturing to it and pointing at each phrase. “Look at this: learn parkour, eat a whole pizza, see a live race, find a magic treasure, make a prank call, run on a roller coaster track, guitar solo, learn a super cool dance, complete Daring Do comic collection, master the skateboard, I’ve practically done everything on this list! Well, almost everything.” Rainbow could see a few uncrossed things on the list. One of them had a circle around it, meaning it had to be an important one. But before Rainbow could get a good look at it, Sonic pulled it back to him. “Ladies, you have no idea what you’re missing out on here at the Piston Pit.” “Ya know… I kinda get why you’d do that,” AJ told him. “You had to leave your home to find seven magical crystals, so… why not have fun doing it?” “Exactly!” Sonic shouted in an exasperated manner before turning to Twilight and Rainbow. “She gets it, why don’t you two get it?!” Rainbow Dash paused, slowly taking in Sonic’s words. “Well…” Twilight spoke up, running a hand through her hair. “We have done some pretty amazing things before, like saving the day numerous times and starting a band.” “Not sure if ‘saving the day’ can go on a bucket list, but who am I to judge you?” Rainbow looked Sonic in the eye with a calm smile. “You know what? You’re right,” she explained. “Heh. I mean, look at me. I’m one of the most awesome people in all of Canterlot City. I’ve played in every single school sport, I’m the lead singer of the Sonic Rainbooms, I’ve used my super-speed to help people, and the first thing I do when I come in here is telling you to leave? What was I thinking?” Sonic smiled back at her. “That’s the Rainbow Dash I know.” “This place does look like the kind where you can get a lot of living done in a short period of time,” Twilight added, feeling better about the Pit already. “We could spare an hour.” “Whaaat?” Sonic gasped. “You’re all gonna bucket list with me?” “You know it,” Rainbow replied, holding out a fist. Hardly managing to contain his excitement, Sonic bumped it and adjusted his cowboy hat. “You won’t regret this!” he said excitedly, standing up from his seat. Twilight just gave him a nervous look. "I'm pretty sure I will." THUNK! While a country-style beat played from a jukebox, Rainbow lowered her outstretched arm from the dartboard where her dart had hit the bullseye. She turned to Sonic with a confident expression. “Top that, blue!” Sonic just rolled up the hoodie’s sleeves, picked up a dart… ...and fired off every single dart in the can at rapid speed. Like bullets, they embedded themselves into the wall. A nearby waitress with darts in her hat dropped her jaw in shock as beer sprayed from dart-punctured cans. “HA!” Rainbow shouted triumphantly. “You didn’t even hit the board! I win!” “Hey, ever hear something called thinking outside the dartboard?” Sonic replied, checking off “compete in a sport” off his list. On the dance floor, Sonic hopped around a dancing Applejack while twirling an imaginary lasso above his head. “Yippee-kai-yay!” Twilight tossed basketball after basketball into the hoop, nearly at the high score. Taking a deep breath, she mentally calculated her next shot… ...only for a bunch of basketballs to sail through the net. In shock, she dropped her own ball and turned to a knuckle-cracking Sonic. “New high score!” he called out. Whipping out his list, he drew a line through “do a slam dunk”. “Yeehaw!” AJ whooped, hopping off the mechanical bull and allowing Sonic a turn. He vaulted the fake beast, signaling to Rainbow. The girl slipped a quarter in and pressed “Shaken Not Steered”, which lit up in a green color. “Wait a second,” Sonic spoke over the music. “Is this bull missing a head or does it have two butts?” Rainbow faked a yawn, almost regretting doing the lowest difficulty. Suddenly, Twilight’s hand went in front of her face, a quarter in hand. “Ha, ha! This is easy!” Rainbow snickered at the girl in glasses. “Do it.” Twilight slipped the quarter in… and pressed “Deadly Desperado”, causing the panel to flash red and an alarm to go off. Suddenly, the bull went wild, making angry noises and moving every which way as Sonic struggled to stay on. “I’m a cowboy, baby!” he managed to say while the girls erupted into laughter. Applejack slapped her knee at the sight. But a huge crash made them stop and turn back to the bull… that was now bareback. Sonic zipped back on. “I’m okay!” As soon as he got the beast under control, he checked off “tame a wild animal”. Still giggling, Twilight took off her glasses to wipe at her eye. Back on the dance floor, Sonic was having the time of his life. In fact, he was having so much fun, he hardly noticed himself bumping into Rainbow, who bumped into Twilight, who bumped into Applejack… who crashed into some barrels of beer. While patrons turned to the scene, the cowgirl spit the liquid out and groaned. “Ah ha ha ha ha!” Sonic laughed sometime later while Applejack shook her hat of beer. Twilight and Rainbow handed her some napkins, and she took them without even looking. “That was hilarious!” “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” AJ groaned, dabbing at her face with a napkin. “I’m just glad you’re having a good time.” “I AM having a good time! This is the best night of my life!” Sonic answered happily. “What could go wrong?” The girls looked at him… but instead of answering him, their eyes went past him and they all froze. “You.” Sonic turned around… and saw three bulky guys standing over him. One of them, a bald guy with a beard, did not look happy. “Hello, good sir!” Sonic greeted. “Is there something I can assist you with?” “You’ve got something that belongs to me, you little punk.” “Wha- I beg your pardon?” Sonic answered, standing up to look the man in the eye. Even though he was bigger than Sonic, the boy wouldn’t let anything like that stop him. He took off the hat, pretending to examine it. “I’m sorry, lemme see if this hat has your name on it- OH, WAIT! It doesn’t!” He put it back on. “Oh, uh, hey, you know what?” Twilight butted in. “We were just leaving, weren’t we, buddy?” Rainbow, on the other hand, had a look that just dared the man to do something stupid. “No, no, no, it’s okay,” Sonic replied. “I know exactly how to deal with guys like these.” “No, we’re leav-” Twilight began, but sighed in defeat when Sonic picked up a bottle and cleared his throat. This is not gonna end well. “Pop quiz, hotshot,” Sonic boasted in a mean-sounding tone. “You just picked a fight with a poorly disguised, adrenaline-loving, carefree teenager who’s seen way too many action movies. What do you do? What. Do you. Do?” He bonked the bottle on the man’s head… but nothing happened. “Huh? Oh, uh, hold on. Didn’t get that right. Lemme try again.” He bonked it again. “Dink. Dink, dink.” He began to speed up and hit it faster, making Twilight gulp. “Break, please! Break, please! Break this bottle, please! Pleasepleaseplease!” “Uh, Sonic?” Rainbow said, walking up behind the boy. She had to stop this before it got any- “Wuh-oh!” Sonic suddenly ducked… and the fist meant for him smacked Rainbow across the face, knocking her into another patron. That patron made another person drop something that broke on the ground. Furious, that patron grabbed the one Rainbow had been knocked into and knocked him out cold. Soon, the whole Piston Pit turned into a free-for-all. Rainbow hissed, touching her stinging cheek. “Oh, you wanna do this the hard way?!” she called, standing back up to the man and punching an open palm. “Let’s do this the hard way!” With a yell, she charged and tackled him to the ground. Twilight yelped, cowering behind AJ for cover as the cowgirl bolted to her feet. AJ put her hands up like a boxer, punched a man aside and dodged a blow aimed for her head. She nailed him in the gut, but someone else smashed a stool over him before she could do anything else. “Twilight, stay close!” Applejack called, grabbing her hat and slapping it on her head. She turned to Sonic. “Now look what you’ve done!” “Thanks! It’s awesome, right?” Sonic said, putting up his own dukes. “Alright, who’s next? Who wants some? Who do I get to beat up?” While anxiously searching for someone to fight, he failed to notice the other two goons quickly overpowering Applejack. The farmgirl was nearly beaten into submission while Twilight desperately held her hands up in surrender. She couldn’t risk using her telekinesis on them. “Hey, has anybody seen my waitress?” Sonic called out to the crowd, oblivious to the girls’ predicament. “Still waiting on those buffalo wings! And guac!” Rainbow landed hard on the floor, a few bruises on her face. Sonic looked to where she had come from… and saw the bald guy wipe some chair bits off his shoulder. He turned to Sonic with anger in his eyes. “Why, you-!” Sonic shouted, dashing up to him, quickly landing some pummels on his face, and landing gracefully. “Thank you! Thank you! You’re all too kind!” “I’m gonna squash you good, you bug!” Sonic turned… and his face fell. The man was hardly fazed by Sonic’s attack. With a steaming face, he charged for Sonic like a bull, held out his hands to grab the boy… and stopped. “Really?” Sonic asked the motionless man. “Ugh. Cheap move.” His eyes scanned the bar, which was now completely frozen. Just before the man could touch him, Sonic had increased his awareness a hundredfold, his body now moving so fast it was reducing everything around him to a super-slow crawl. But just behind the man, he heard Rainbow groan and clamber to her feet. Sonic slid underneath the man, leaving his hoodie and hat behind, and ran to the girl’s side. “Alright, you jerk! That’s it! Nobody messes with Rainbow Da-” she paused, taking in the sight of the paused scene around her. “What the…?” “Wow. This is new.” “Sonic? I… how… what just happened?” “Basically, you should be frozen because I went so fast I slowed time to a snail’s pace,” Sonic explained. “Whoa… you can do that, too?” Rainbow asked with awe. “Oh, that is so cool! I only did that once, you know!” “Maybe because you have super speed too, you aren’t affected,” Sonic guessed. “Great. The more, the merrier.” “So… now, what?” the athlete questioned. “Must’ve done this for a reason. And please don’t say leaving.” “Leaving? Nah, I got something in mind.” “Like…?” She placed her hands on her hips. “Oh… I should probably help them out.” she pointed to a struggling Applejack and a cowering Twilight about to be punched in the face. “You help AJ. I got everyone else.” “How are you gonna do that?” Sonic gave her a smile. “Lemme show you how it’s done.” And he took off with Rainbow hot on his heels. Sonic slowly ran through the bar with a blue streak trailing behind him, passing brawling patrons and smashed chairs. He smirked coyly at the sight of a broken bottle, ducking between the legs of another patron. Rainbow zipped up to a startled waitress with a rainbow streak, grabbing her tray and smashing it against a patron’s face. She slid along the floor, snatching a pool cue and running up to another patron about to body slam someone else. Swinging the pool cue like a baseball bat, she broke it across his back. Sonic slid to another patron, taking a quick selfie with his phone. Breaking into another slow run, he saw Rainbow remove a guy’s belt and tie his hands together with it. Spotting Sonic, she flashed him a thumbs-up. Sonic returned the gesture… ...and got socked by a flying cowboy boot. Rainbow laughed at his face, to which the boy in blue just scowled at her. Just then, the two approached AJ and Twilight. Rainbow grabbed one of the attackers’ fists, redirecting it into the other one’s face. Ducking underneath and grabbing AJ, she pushed her over to the counter. Sonic jumped on top of patrons until he reached Twilight’s attackers. Pulling the first one’s hat over his head, he bounced off the man’s belly and reached the second one’s pants. The boy grabbed his underwear, stretching it all the way to an eagle ornament. He jumped off onto the wall, pushing himself off and into Twilight. While he pushed Twilight up to the bar, Rainbow picked up a bottle, emptied it of its contents by moving it away from the liquid, and smashed it across the face of a person who just happened to be facing her. Sonic landed on the counter, breaking up glass beneath his shoes and kicking a drink in AJ and Twilight’s direction. He ran along the counter toward another waitress who had a patron shoved into her. Curious, Sonic took one of the hot dogs with chili on it, took a bite… and his face lit up. He scarfed down the rest of the chili dogs and took off with sparklers, ketchup, and mustard in his hands. Rainbow casually strolled through the bar, putting her finger in a flying container of dipping sauce and into her mouth. She calmly pushed away a chair leg, climbed over a fallen patron, and took a buffalo wing. She bit into it, kicking a barrel someone was standing on from underneath him. She tossed the buffalo wing away with pride… and stopped in her tracks. Sonic was on top of three more patrons. He was doing a little dance with sparklers on one of them and spraying both ketchup and mustard on the other two’s heads. He was zipping between positions, making it look like there were three of him. Once he was finished, he drew a little face on the first patron and stuck the sparklers in his ears. Next, a blue whirlwind zoomed around two patrons, one of whom was about to smash a barrel over the other. When the typhoon died down, Sonic tossed a roll of toilet paper onto the wrapped-up patrons. Showoff. Rainbow Dash thought. She ran off in a multicolored blur, her sneakers slapping the wooden floor. Sliding to a stop in front of a stool, she grabbed it and shoved it seat-first into a patron’s gut. She jogged across the bar, looking for whatever fun she could have next… until she felt something brush against her ankle. Rainbow stopped, looking down to her feet to see a barter line zipping past her. Sonic carried it alongside him as he ran, trailing it underneath the legs of every patron Rainbow didn’t get. He ran up onto the wall and on the ceiling, attaching the line to the ceiling fan and swinging off. Lastly, while Rainbow ran alongside him, he plucked a bear head off the wall and jumped on the patrons like platforms. He plopped the bear head onto the head of the bald guy who was charging for him. Now in front of the man again, Sonic got his hoodie and hat back on. Rainbow joined him just as he retrieved a napkin from the counter and handed it to her. Taking the napkin from Sonic, Rainbow stood ready… ...and Sonic snapped his fingers. The bar sprung back to life. The people Rainbow had messed with collapsed while the ceiling fan spun, taking the barter line with it. The patrons yelled out, the line taking them out from underneath. One of Twilight’s attackers punched his accomplice in the face… and the eagle ornament broke off, smacking him right in the rear end. He screamed. “Ole!” Rainbow cried, the bald man charging past her and flying straight out the window. Glass flew everywhere and he tumbled to the ground. Twilight yelped and AJ jolted to action… only to find themselves at the counter. The young genius opened one eye and AJ slowly lowered her guard with heavy breaths. Both girls stood confused as everyone in the bar lay hurt, knocked down, or unconscious. Several of them groaned. One poor soul wrapped in toilet paper staggered toward them like the mummy he resembled, mumbling something incomprehensible. He tripped over a fallen patron and collapsed. Before anyone could question what had happened… a blue and rainbow blur flashed in front of them. “Should we get out of here?” Sonic suggested, Rainbow Dash doing a little stretch. “Uh… sure.” AJ replied, still hopelessly baffled. The two speedsters turned to each other and high-fived. Sunset Shimmer sighed. “Where are those guys? They shouldn’t have been long.” Before anyone could answer, someone with a bear head crashed through the window of the tavern, alerting everyone outside. “My goodness!” Rarity gasped as the crowd murmured. “Whatever happened to him?” Suddenly, the doors to the Piston Pit burst open. AJ and Twilight were sprinting towards the truck, Sonic and Rainbow Dash close behind them. Sunset couldn’t tell from here, but it looked like the two of them were… celebrating? “That was amazing!” Sonic shouted, tossing away his hat while Rainbow whooped in delight and jumped over the fallen man. He zipped around the athlete, ending up running backward. “Oh, wait a second! Did we even pay our tip? IT DOESN’T MATTER!” Applejack quickly unlocked the truck, scrambled into the driver’s seat, and started the engine. Twilight practically dove through the open window of her seat and tumbled inside. “Ow…” “Twilight!” Sunset gasped. “What-” “Watch this, watch this, I always wanted to do this!” Sonic zipped up to the truck, slid across the hood like a cool dude, and vaulted inside. “WOO!” Rainbow jumped onto the roof of the truck, grabbing the underside and swinging into her own seat. “AW, YEAH! SO AWESOME!” “Whoa, whoa, whoa, what-” Sunset was cut off by the truck lurching into reverse, nearly smacking her against the window. Everyone else was thrown onto the back cab, causing the unconscious Pinkie to stir. “Get ‘em!” someone shouted from the crowd. From the truck, Rainbow waved while Sonic gave a two-fingered salute. “See ya, suckers!” “Buh-bye, bozos!” “I can’t say for sure, but I think they liked me! Way more than those guys at Mirage Saloon!” “Oh, they LOVED you, dude!” “WOOHOO!” AJ”s truck roared onto the road and took off at full-throttle, leaving the rest of the angry bar patrons in the dust. Sonic and Rainbow whooped triumphantly again, this time with Twilight and AJ joining in with a “Yeehaw!” from the driver. “YEAH! HAHA! Ooh, ouch.” Rainbow touched herself on the cheek. “He... he got you pretty good back there!” Sonic laughed, turning around to face her. “It’s alright. I’ve been hit harder,” Rainbow reassured him. “Did you see how much toilet paper I used?! The next person that goes into that bathroom will have NOTHING to wipe with!” “Ha, ha, ha! Best! Night! EVER! Huh? Aw, man! That jerk scratched my shades!” "Ah, forget about that! You can just get new ones, right?" “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Sunset shouted, finally drawing the attention of everyone inside. “Slow down for a second!” “Slow down? Slow down?” Rainbow repeated in disbelief. “Do you even know who you’re talking to?” Sonic backed up. “What happened there?” Fluttershy asked. “Why were those people mad at you?” “And for goodness’s sake,” Rarity added in frustration. “What kind of ruckus did you hooligans get yourselves into?!” Before a reply could be given, Pinkie Pie groaned and rubbed her head. “I had the worst nightmare ever…” she said. “I dreamed that I made a Pinkie Promise… and I broke it!” Twilight, AJ, Rainbow, and Sonic all shared a knowing smile. On his bucket list, Sonic crossed out “start a bar fight” while Rainbow watched him. “I have got to get my own bucket list.” “The floors were sticky! The crowd was rough! And the odds were against us! But there was no stopping Danger Dash and the Blue Blur!” “Well…” Sunset told them. “I’m glad to see you two are getting along just fine. But I still can’t believe that guy had the nerve to punch you in the face.” When AJ had pulled into a hotel, Twilight requested two rooms of four. In one of them, AJ was recapping the events at the bar with Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity. In the other, Sonic, Rainbow, Sunset, and Twilight were all settling down to sleep. Twilight handed Rainbow a towel, and the jock pressed it against her face. After Twilight handed another towel to Sonic, he wasn’t sure what to do with it… until he looked to Rainbow. The boy pressed it to his own cheek. Rainbow caught notice, although she didn’t give it much thought. “Mm.” “Mm,” Sonic repeated. “Mm.” “Mm.” “Mm.” “Mm.” “Okay.” “So, what are we gonna do now?!” His own excitement burst to the top like Pinkie. “I…” Sunset answered for Rainbow. “...am going to pass out watching TV. You should, too.” “The night’s still young, Shimmy!” Sonic answered in an annoyed tone. “And I wanna soak up every minute of it!” Sunset paused. “Did you just call me ‘Shimmy’?” “Anything you can find to do in this room, although I doubt there’ll be much,” Twilight told him. “You knock yourself out.” Sonic looked around the room like a kid unsure of what to get in a toy store. Then, he started to do whatever he could in the hotel room in blurry afterimages of himself. He manually channel-changed the TV, pillow-fought with himself, balanced on a light fixture with a lampshade on his head, dug through some napkins, spun around on a painting, stomped on the toilet, messed with the cabinets, knocked over a lamp, toilet-papered the room, and raced into the bathroom… all in five seconds. All the while, Twilight, Rainbow and Sunset all looked around in a frenzy in a desperate effort to keep track of him. A flushing sound was heard, and Sonic zipped back onto the bed he shared with Rainbow wrapped in towels. “Good times.” Rainbow laid down next to him while Twilight and Sunset crawled into bed. Sonic took off the towel around his head and set it aside. “Hey, so… never thought to ask this earlier, but… where exactly did you come from?” “And how can you use magic without a geode?” Twilight asked. “Yeah, now seems like a reasonable time for an explanation,” Sonic agreed, reaching into his bag of rings. He held one out in front of him… and Rainbow’s hand clamped down on his arm. “Whoa, whoa, whoa! You said you were gonna explain things, not take off on us!” “Hold your horses!” Sonic told her. “There’s another neat trick the rings can do!” He took another ring out of the bag, slipping this one onto his finger. He held up the first ring to his eye and concentrated. “Ring: Reveal.” The golden decoration flashed with a dinging sound, and Sonic tossed it between the beds. It erupted in size, revealing a beautiful tropical island on the other side. All three girls were awestruck as they got a closer view of the island as if they were seeing it from a flying bird’s eye. Shortly, it stopped near a grassy path near a land bridge. “This is the island where I’m from,” Sonic began while the girls saw a blue streak inside the ring racing down the green path. After climbing a slope, the streak looped around and zoomed over the land bridge, making it crumble in his wake. “It had everything: sandy beaches, cascading waterfalls, public access to loop-de-loops...” As he spoke, the blur sped through a mentioned loop. Sunset, Twilight, and Rainbow could hear childlike laughter coming from it. “And I never had to catch a school bus because I could run across the entire island in less than two minutes.” Rainbow opened her mouth to ask a question… “Also, there was no school.” That settled it, then. She turned her eyes back to the screen. Everyone got a better look at the blur after it shot off a natural ramp and landed on the other side: a younger Sonic as a kid. “I know, pretty sweet island, right? South Island is a beautiful place to be, I can say that much. Possibly in the entire Mobius Archipelago!” The kid Sonic bounded off rock walls and raced down another grassy hill, rounding a bend into a village. He raced past buildings while villagers had to step aside. The blue streak traveled up bridges, across alleys, onto rooftops… and finally, through the front door of one house. Inside, the streak raced around a woman in a circle, slowing down right in front of her. An owl on top of its perch flew to the woman’s shoulder, who opened her eyes to look at the young Sonic. “That’s Longclaw,” Sonic told the girls as his younger self presented a sunflower to her. “She took care of me. She’s descended from one of the village’s founders, making her a really important person on South Island. And she’s also a really nice woman.” He held up his ring finger… and the footage in the other ring stopped. “So, I know what you’re thinking,” he said, directed specifically to Twilight. “You still want to know how I got my powers, right? Well then, let’s back up.” He pointed to his left, mimicking some rewinding noises while the footage flew by in reverse. Pretty soon, it showed a dark cave with water surrounding a rocky path. A stalactite shone with a bright blue color… and a figure appeared at the entrance. “I was just an ordinary kid longing for something greater,” Sonic explained as his younger self stepped onto the scene. Unlike what the girls had seen earlier, his hair was dark brown and his green eyes scanned the cave in amazement. “Ever since I could remember, I would explore South Island for something awesome. Mostly, I never found anything good… but that day, when I was five, I discovered something epic.” Sonic’s younger self gasped when he saw the blue glow on the stalactite. He ran up to it, eager to see what it was. The glowing object soon came into view: a bright blue crystal that Twilight recognized. “A geode… just like our own.” “Maybe it was,” Sonic said. “But it did something yours probably didn’t.” In the ring, the younger Sonic reached out to touch the crystal… and grabbed it. The crystal suddenly flashed, spreading blue lightning throughout the child’s body. The boy let go of the crystal, which began to dissolve into mist. The mist flew into the air… and into the boy’s body, now giving off a blue glow, who passed out and collapsed as the last bits of lightning sparkled all across him. “It fused with you… amazing,” Twilight realized. “That’s why I didn’t see one on you.” Soon, the boy came to, rubbing his head and getting a static shock. He turned to see his reflection in the water… and saw that his hair was now a bright blue color. “Wow. I always thought that was dye.” Rainbow commented. “Like mine.” The boy scrambled to his feet, still looking at himself in awe. “I… I gotta tell the others!” He moved to run… and sped off in a blue streak. WHAM! He ran straight into a rock wall, which made everyone but Sonic flinch. Rainbow was reminded of the time she had first got her own super speed… and had experienced a similar feeling. The boy fell to the ground in a daze. “Ow… what the…” The boy held out a hand, now seeing it spark with blue lightning. But beyond the hand… were chunks of rock from the impact falling towards him! “AAH!” the kid screamed, shielding his face with his hands. Then, just before the boulders could crush him… they slowed to a stop until they were right above him. The kid cracked open an eye… and scooted away from them in panic before realizing they weren’t moving. “Huh?” he climbed to his feet, now seeing everything around him had stopped. A nearby butterfly was frozen mid-flight. He waved his hand in front of it, but it didn’t respond. “Whoa… this is crazy… what happened to me?” “Listen, I don’t exactly know what that crystal was for sure and how it worked…” Sonic told the girls. “But I learned that it was straight up awesome sauce! It made me do things I could never, ever do! The super-speed? That was just the tip of the iceberg! It enhanced my awareness to make everything slow down!” The young Sonic turned to a hill, took a deep breath… and began to run slowly until a blue streak trailed behind him. He ran steadily downhill, starting to get the hang of the speed. However, his joy was abruptly cut off when he tripped on a rock. He yelled out, tumbling down in a ball-like shape… until he became enveloped in a bright sapphire ball of lightning and energy. VREEEEE! The spinning blue sphere smashed through a boulder, reducing it to dust and pebbles as time resumed to normal. The blue light faded, making the young Sonic tumble and land face first on the ground. Dazed and woozy, he rose to his feet and turned around. His eyes widened and all breath left his throat when he saw what he had done. “It made me extremely flexible, making me able to curl into a ball and knock over targets like bowling pins! For most people, that would be impossible to do; their spines just wouldn’t take it!” “No. Freaking. WAY!” the young Sonic shouted in excitement. Eager to see what else he could do, he blasted off down the path. As he raced and zoomed across the island, the girls continued to watch. “The crystal made me super agile. I was pulling off all kinds of parkour tricks in no time! Green Hill became my first personal racetrack! The loops and corkscrews? All. Mine. Pretty soon, I charted all of what South Island had to offer, and if that wasn’t enough, the entire archipelago nearby was waiting! Both Westside and the floating Angel Island soon had a blue streak racing through it!” The young Sonic blasted down a straight road, now moving so fast that a vapor cone formed around him. Awed at this, the kid pushed himself further… and further… and further until… He blasted past the barrier, a blue shockwave traveling out behind him. Trees were nearly torn from their roots and a loud thunder-like sound rocked the island. “And once I managed to break the sound barrier and perform my very first sonic boom, I decided it was time to reinvent myself completely. I ditched my birth name and gave myself a new one dedicated to my newfound awesome, way-past-cool power: Sonic!” Sonic paused the feed again, this time pointing to the right to make it fast-forward. “But I’m getting ahead of myself. Turns out that speed wasn’t just for show. One day, the island’s animals and several people began to mysteriously vanish! And I was the one to boldly step up and find out what the heck was going on!” A blue streak sped through the area known as Green Hill of South Island, eyes peeled for anything suspicious. But, a minute into his run, he saw something. “Gyah!” he braked to a halt in front of a huge, robotic ladybug. “What’s that?” The machine swiped at him with a pincer, to which he jumped over to avoid. “Besides unfriendly.” More of them sped up to him, surrounding him from all sides. “And numerous… uh, hey, guys! Wait…” One of the robots moved towards him, only for the thinking kid to block it with his foot. “Or is it girls? Do robots get genders? You know what? I’ll just call you…” In five seconds, he smashed and trashed the bots to scrap with wild spin attacks. “Motobugs!” he finished with a snap of his fingers, staging at the wreckage of one of them. “Which seems… oddly appropriate.” Something squeaked from inside. “Huh?” He moved aside parts of the wreck, revealing a blue bird that flew away. The animal chirped in thanks to the stunned boy. “Like… really appropriate,” Five-year-old Sonic said, now noticing other small animals emerging from other robot shells. “Guess this solves the mystery of what happened to all the animals, at least.” “Fluttershy is not gonna be happy about this,” Rainbow spoke up. “Someone was using these critters as power sources for robots. Now, I had to find out why. Fortunately, one of the robots was a little… cooperative.” Young Sonic spotted a mechanical chameleon on a nearby rock wall. In a flash, he darted up a tree, jumped off, and grabbed onto the robot. “Hey there!” he called, holding the bot down so it wouldn’t attack him. “So, who built you? And why did they think it was cool to stuff you full of critters?!” The robot rose into the air, taking the boy with him. “Alright, buddy! Mush! Take me to your leader!” More footage followed of Sonic throwing the robot into some kind of containment pod, fighting off someone with a wrecking ball, and making the pod self-destruct to free the villagers inside. “I learned that Starline, the man whose butt I kicked, claimed to be working for someone at a way higher level than both of us. Someone who deemed all organic life to be inefficient and dreamed for a world full of metal and machinery. Someone who cared for circuits and sensors more than he did for flesh and blood.” Twilight gasped, remembering what she had heard back at the soccer field. She had heard the man saying how much he loved machines, how they were flawless… “Robotnik!” “Yeah, but I didn’t know at the time. All that mattered to me was South Island’s safety and my kick-back-and-relax style. If he gets the Seven Gems of Miracles, he could make that dream a reality.” “So what inspired you to get them first?” Sunset asked. “Not Robuttnik, I’ll say that,” Sonic said, once again fast-forwarding the footage. “Something darker. Something that struck South Island recently, when I turned thirteen around eleven months ago.” A dark cloud formed over the village, blocking out the sunlight and scaring the villagers. “We hardly used magic all the time, but it was still a part of us. I can tell you this: that storm or whatever it was wanted our magic. And it tore the whole village apart to get it.” Purple lightning struck villagers, draining them of magic and making them collapse. After a magic ring emerged from a lake, high winds sucked up all the water. People and animals scrambled for safety while more lightning decimated villagers. In the midst of it all, Sonic fought back against the wind. He scowled, blasting into the village and leaping up at the dark clouds. He got ready to spin up… and two purple eyes opened in the darkness. Sonic froze in fear, unable to do anything… until a large, murky hand appeared from the dark and swatted him aside. Sonic crashed through a tree, splintering it to bits and making it collapse. “I couldn’t fight it. But now I knew that something was in that storm, and it wouldn’t leave until it drained South Island of all magic, as it must have done for everywhere else it traveled. So now, all everyone could do was hide… and hope for a miracle.” Inside a cave, survivors huddled together while Sonic looked after an injured Longclaw. Her owl never turned its eyes away from its master. “Longclaw was badly injured, and all my other friends had no idea what to do. Longclaw begged me to find the gems, no matter where they hid. Should I find them all, I can use them to wish away that thing. Even now… I still have nightmares in which I fail.” Sonic opened a ring portal, took one last look at the South Island villagers… and jumped through. The ring closed, leaving everyone else alone and worried. The rings shrunk and flew back to Sonic’s hand. Taking off the ring on his finger, he placed both of them back in the bag. “They’re all counting on me to save them. To fix everything.” The girls were silent. Rainbow could still see the dark eyes. “And if I fail…” Sonic whispered. “Then it’s all over. I won’t have a home to go back to.” “Sonic…” Twilight whispered as Rainbow got up from the bed. “You’re not alone this time.” “Yeah…” the boy muttered to himself. “Not alone… that would’ve been nice earlier.” “You should get some sleep,” Rainbow said, moving over to a lamp Sonic had knocked over. “You sleep,” Sonic said, pointing to Rainbow. “Don’t worry about me. I’m gonna stay up all night enjoying this place while I can. I live for adventure, after all!” “Sure, kiddo,” Rainbow said, turning off the light and heading back to bed. “As long as we’re on the road by-” Sonic was now asleep and out cold, snoring and muttering stuff to himself. Sunset smiled. “Whatever happened to staying up all night?” “C’mon, Sun,” Twilight said with a yawn, turning out the light and placing her glasses on the nearby stand. “Time for you to set.” While everyone else settled down, Rainbow started to tuck herself in… when something on the stand caught her eye. She waited until everyone was asleep before she made her move. Slowly, she reached over the snoring Sonic (who muttered “pop quiz, hotshot” as she did), taking a piece of paper from the stand. Rainbow reached for her geode, closing her eyes calmly… and making the geode light up. Now with a proper light source, she held the paper up to her face. “Sonic’s bucket list?” she whispered, her magenta eyes taking in the sight of crossed out words. Her eyes moved down the line of what he had and hadn’t done, smiling at the sight of those he did at the Piston Pit. But when she came to one uncrossed line, she noticed a circle around it: the same circled phrase she’d seen when he first presented it to her. And around that circle was one phrase written neatly. Make a real friend Something tugged at Rainbow’s heartstrings. She cursed herself for not seeing it earlier. This kid was forced from his home, forced to abandon all he knew… including whatever friends he made over there. He was… lost, to put it simply. All alone, wandering a strange, unfamiliar land in his quest. Alone without anyone to keep company. And on top of homesickness… it was eating him out. He had to start all over. He once knew what friendship could be… but now he had forgotten. What was that thing they said about speed? The only thing about being faster than light is that you only live in darkness? That was the best description she could come up with for this… even though she knew the teen could move faster than sound, not light. Rainbow Dash’s geode dimmed its glow, and she put the bucket list back on the stand. As she readjusted herself… she felt something wet roll down her cheek. Wait, was she crying? She was the best sports player in CHS, she didn’t cry for anything! Let alone a kid she barely even knew! Wait, no… she did know Sonic. She took that back. But… Why was she feeling this way for him? Sure, they loved adventure, they both had super speed, they were both loyal to their friends, and they both enjoyed living life at high speed… She paused. Those were exactly the reasons. She just wasn’t sure how to handle it. Did… did he feel the same way? No, she shouldn’t worry. Right now, she should get some sleep already. She let her head fall on the pillow, and, after taking one last look at the sleeping boy in blue… she smiled and closed her eyes. Author's Note So far, this road trip has been nothing but filled with fun action and shenanigans. Sonic has connected with the HuMane 7, particularly Rainbow Dash, and reveals more about his past, including how he got his superspeed, his first encounter with Robotnik, and why he's trying to find the six other Gems of Miracles. Things will certainly heat up when Robotnik catches up to them in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
8) CHAPTER SEVEN“So, THE Bulk Biceps himself says I’m taking too long, right? He asks me to hurry up with my order, so I turn to look him in the eye. Big guys like him don’t scare me! Anyways, he asks if there’s a problem. I say no. But little does he know in that split-second of time before I answered, BAM! Silly face with the marker used to put your names on the cups! Glasses, mustache, even a new nose! Ha! It took all my willpower to not crack up or smile in the slightest! He just said ‘There better not be.’. Lemme tell ya, I was snickering a little bit when I walked outta line. The girl at the counter even asked if they were prescription or if he was trying to look smart! Oh, that was hilarious!” Rainbow Dash threw her head back in laughter at Sonic’s story. “Why didn’t I think of that?! That would’ve been so awesome- ha, ha, ha!” Applejack couldn’t help but smile at that herself. Her jade eyes rested on the long stretch of highway road that went as far as the eye could see. According to Twilight when they got on, it would take them right to Manehatten. But as for good news, it wouldn’t be a boring trip with Sonic as entertainment. “Yes, that… that actually sounds pretty funny,” Fluttershy added. “At least you didn’t hurt him.” “Pft! As if he could hurt Bulk Biceps!” Sunset brushed off. “Anyway, you’ve certainly been through a lot, have you?” “You know it, Shim! Wouldn’t have it any other way!” “Wait, wait!” Twilight interrupted. “Everyone, quiet!” The truck fell silent, save for the rumbling engine and the faint voice of- “AJ, turn that up.” The cowgirl turned the knob on the radio, allowing the voice from the radio to flow into the cabin. It was a news station, and if it was any other day, someone would get bored quick and Rainbow would request some tunes. But today, everyone listened closely while Sonic, AJ, Rainbow, and Twilight leaned forward a little bit. “For those of you just joining us, a government investigation into the roadside tavern known as the Piston Pit has been underway since seven o’clock this morning.” “The Piston Pit?” Rarity piped up. “Isn’t that where you four had a little tussle last night?” “Only a few injuries were accounted for, and possible culprits are considered to be at large. Lead specialist Kintobor is leading the investigation and currently tracking down said culprits. He assures the public has nothing to worry about.” “Kintobor?” Applejack questioned, slightly turning the radio back down. “Hmm… call me crazy, but something about that name doesn’t feel right.” “You said it,” Sonic replied, hand brushing his chin in thought. “Kintobor, Kintobor, Kin… to… bor… oh, crud!” “Don’t tell me…” Rainbow cut in. “That’s Robotnik spelled backward, isn’t it?” “Absolutely. Guys, I think he’s onto us.” “Oh, no…” Twilight mumbled. “Relax!” AJ chuckled. “We’re miles away from that place! The only thing he’ll be onto is a long, empty road!” “Well…” Twilight rebutted, starting to count on her fingers. “Judging by the advanced technology at his disposal, he could be calculating the quickest route to Manehatten, determining the speed of this vehicle, and checking local weather conditions, he could be catching up to us right… now?” She quickly peeked out her window. To her relief, there was no truck or car behind them for miles. She exhaled lightly, adjusted her glasses, and got back into her seat. “Why would weather conditions be a factor?” Rainbow commented, a highway on-ramp shooting past the truck. “Is he too afraid he’ll get his drones wet? Maybe scratch up the truck’s paint job?” “Or perhaps hydroplaning?” Twilight suggested. Sonic just brushed her off. “You worry too much, Twi! If he sends some drones over here, I’ll just bash ‘em all like they’re RC planes!” “Uh… guys?” Fluttershy squeaked from the back. “The point is, this should be nothing to you girls! You’ve faced all kinds of crazy magic, so some guy with a bunch of robots at his disposal? Piece of cake!” “Cake sounds nice and all…” Pinkie whimpered. “But-” “All in all, I won’t be surprised if he catches us sooner or later. This truck can outrun that big lug of a trailer, right, AJ?” “I… I guess so,” the cowgirl replied. “Girls, we should-” Rarity piped up. “Personally, I think it’s enough that I'm dealing with one genius right now. Who’s actually pretty cool.” Sonic threw a wink in Twilight’s direction, who just sheepishly smiled and rubbed an arm. “I, um, I appreciate that, but Sunset’s just as smart as I am, FYI.” “And I appreciate that,” the red-orange haired girl called from the back in an alarmed tone. “But I really think we need to-” “Hold on, Sun. Lemme wrap this up. When that jerk comes, we’ll be ready for him. After all, your new best friend is a magnet for danger!” KRACK! “WHOA!” Sonic jolted up in his seat while everyone else shouted in alarm. Right between him and the startled Applejack was a huge metal harpoon that had dug clean into the dashboard! Sparks flickered in and out of sight, all four pairs of eyes tracing the line to its source. And right behind Applejack’s pickup truck was a large, black tank-like vehicle! Along with tearing up part of the backseat, the harpoon had shattered the back window. Everyone else in the back had their heads turned to the sudden arrival. “Uh, sorta just like that!” Sonic gasped out, staring at the harpoon that would’ve impaled him if he wasn’t careful enough. “Don’t say we didn’t warn you!” Pinkie yelled. Applejack sharply turned the wheel, sending the truck swerving into the left lane. The harpoon was wedged in tight, the line now nearly touching Rainbow Dash. Clenching her teeth, she swerved back into the right lane. The harpoon still didn’t budge, and everyone in the back had to try their best to not fall out of the truck. “I can’t get it loose! This thing’s stubborn as a mule!” “I got it!” Sonic called, unbuckling his seatbelt and grabbing into the harpoon with both hands. Squeezing his eyes shut, he pulled as hard as he could. “Hnnngh! Hrrrgh! Come ooon!” He tried jiggling it to loosen it up. “Stupid… thing… won’t… budge! Nnngh!” “Uh, guys?” Rainbow questioned. “Is it just me… or are we starting to slow down?” Twilight looked back at the tank. “If I had to guess…” She hypothesized. “I think it’s...pulling us in!” “FLOOR IT, AJ!” Rainbow screamed. The cowgirl didn’t need to be told twice; she stomped down hard on the gas. The truck’s engine roared loudly, catching everyone in the back by surprise. All this did was wiggle the harpoon and produce some sparks from the busted radio. “Argh!” Applejack cried, once again steering sharply to the right. The harpoon still didn’t break free… but the truck shuddered violently, AJ realizing too late that she had hit a barrier on the side of the road. Everyone rocked in their seats from the impact. Everyone but Sonic. The boy was sent flying out the window with a surprised yell. He grabbed the passenger-side mirror just in time… but instead of hanging on along the truck, this redirected his momentum and sent him tumbling right onto the hood. “Ugh… close one.” “Sonic! You okay?!” “Don’t worry about me, Dashie! AJ! MOVE this piece of tin!” “Whaddya THINK I’m doin’?!” Sonic’s gaze redirected to the tank. If the harpoon couldn’t be wrenched free, he’d have to take out the tank. But… how? He’d never tangled with something this big before! Would he even dent it? “No,” he whispered to himself. “Don’t think, Sonic. Just go, go, go. You got this. You can do this. Just focus. Let the magic build.” The boy stared down the tank with a determined expression, slowly feeling the energy and magic billow up inside of him. His bodily functions began to kick into overdrive, azure lightning sparkled off of him, and his cheerful jade eyes turned into ferocious blue orbs. From his peripheral vision, he noticed Rainbow and Twilight both react to his change in appearance. The genius was wide-eyed and looked as if she was about to faint, while the tomboy had a hand over her open mouth. Sonic could almost see his own reflection in her magenta eyes… “Hold on, y’all!” AJ shouted, stomping down hard somewhere Sonic couldn’t see. Immediately, the car lurched from its sudden acceleration… and Sonic was flung from the truck like a boulder in a catapult. In the brief moment in which the boy was airborne, he could see the stunned and awestruck reactions of Pinkie Pie, Sunset, Rarity, and Fluttershy. The girls looked like they were seeing a new, unfamiliar magic they had no idea what to do about… and they were right. The harpoon was flying out from the car. AJ suddenly slamming on the brakes was enough to pop it from the dashboard. It was sailing back to the tank, which was now detecting Sonic. Sonic closed his eyes, calming himself for a maneuver he’d barely done for so long. He exhaled slowly, allowed time to resume its normal pace… and he curled up just before he could hit the road. The Equestria Girls could barely keep up with what was happening. Sonic sliding out onto the hood, his body becoming a living light show, AJ braking and launching him skyward… ...and now, the boy hit the highway in a blue spinning ball of light. It rolled away at breakneck speed, emitting a high-pitched whirring noise as it raced right for the tank. In all but a few seconds, the sapphire sphere smashed against the tank’s front wheel with a loud shattering crash. The massive vehicle was flung into the air, surrounded by sapphire lightning. Smoke and flames flew from where it was hit, metallic debris clattering to the ground. The tank suddenly slammed into the asphalt, digging it up as the metal screeched in agony. Toppled onto its side, the machine came to a complete stop. “Go back! GO BACK!” Sunset yelled, slapping the top of the cabin with one palm. The screeching of tires and sudden turn of the vehicle suggested her reply went answered. Applejack sped back to the smoking wreckage of the tank, coming to a stop just in front of it. “Sonic?” Rainbow called. “Sonic!” Twilight took her glasses off in amazement while Pinkie had her jaw wide open. “I-I don’t see him!” Fluttershy squeaked. “What was he thinking?!” Rarity yelled. “He could’ve gotten hurt!” “Wait, there!” Sunset shouted, pointing to something in the smoke. Everyone focused their eyes on the cloud… and made out a figure stumbling through. That figure was none other than Sonic, groaning and clutching his head. “Guess I had a bonus life…” he slumped against the wrecked tank, holding himself with one hand. His eyes perked open, realizing he was touching something. When he looked up and identified what the surface was… all grogginess was replaced by sudden happiness. “Ah, ha, ha, ha! Oh, yeah, baby!” he cheered, breaking into a victory dance. “Sonic: one, a big tank: zero! I’m sorry, did we get that on camera?!” “Aww…” Pinkie moaned. “Now I wish I did.” “Did… did we know he could do that?” Fluttershy asked. Rarity just shook her head while Applejack cracked a smile at the boy’s moves. “How are you not dead?!” “I have no idea!” Sonic called back, swaying from side to side. “Do you see me dancing?” “Yeah, yeah, we see you dancing, kid,” Rainbow replied with a smirk of her own. Sonic turned back to the tank with a challenging gesture. “Is that all you got?!” “Is that all you got?!” Robotnik just smirked at the boy’s confidence. “No…” he answered, going through a holographic selection. “But thank you for asking.” Twilight noticed something strange happening to the tank. Its interior was shifting around… and its main optic sensor was shrinking. And judging from Sonic’s reaction, that meant nothing good. “Uh oh!” “Sonic!” Applejack called. “I think it’s time for you to get back in the truck!” “You go!” he answered, pointing down the highway. “I’ll catch up!” AJ stepped on the gas, steering the truck back onto the road and driving off. A few seconds later, a bolt of blue light flashed to the side of the vehicle. Sonic pried open the door, swung his way inside, and shut the door behind him. Everyone turned back to the wrecked vehicle… ...and witnessed a smaller robotic vehicle pop out, hitting the ground rolling. “I think that tank just had a baby,” Sonic commented. This earned some uneasy expressions from Sunset and Twilight. The smaller vehicle’s engine whined like a race car’s as it chased after AJ’s truck. “Well, at least this doesn’t have a harpoon, right?” “INCOMING!” Sonic screamed, prompting AJ to instinctively swerve to the left lane. But this time, no harpoon sailed past. Instead, a small disc slid down the asphalt. Twilight gulped when she saw it. “Wh-what is that? A bomb? Is… is he trying to blow us up?!” The disc attached itself to another car up ahead… and the vehicle surged with electric currents. The tires squealed as the car skidded off-road. While everyone else watched the spinout, Twilight just sighed in relief. “Whew… EMP mine. Better… but still bad.” Something moved past the young genius and into the back cab. Twilight and Rainbow turned to see Sonic’s face among the ones in the back. “Hey, where ya going?” AJ called quizzically. “Just drive the car!” Sonic shouted back, making his way to the edge of the truck. “I’ll take care of this! And if I don’t make it, just ditch me!” He hopped onto the edge, clinging to the truck with one hand. “You’re getting good at that.” More mines launched from the robot, speeding towards the truck. Ignoring the looks of the other four girls in the cab, the boy jumped from the truck and onto the road. Down the highway he ran, catching one of the mines in a dive. He threw it at another mine, landing on two more and riding them. He snatched up one more mine from the road, then jumped high and flipped around in the air… ...successfully landing on the vehicle. Sonic bent over, staring it in the optic from upside-down. “Hey, everyone! Welcome back to my live stream!” he shouted. “Today, we’re destroying robots! Step one…” He slapped the mine over the robot’s optical sensor, short-circuiting the entire vehicle. He jumped off and sped back to the truck, leaving the robot to flip, crash, and burn off to the side of the road. “Yes, we did it!” A third, smaller robot with one wheel raced out from the wreckage. “We did not do it.” “Who is this guy?” Rainbow asked in an annoyed tone. “And why does he want to get you so badly?” Sonic shrugged and swung into the backseat. “Guess I have that certain effect on people.” “Alright, that does it!” AJ shouted. “Someone else take the wheel!” Sonic sprouted to attention. “Oh, oh! Me, me, me! I’ll drive!” “Wha- you?!” Twilight gasped. “You’re thirteen, for Pete’s sake!” Rainbow gawked in disbelief. “True, but I’ve done some racing video games with a steering wheel controller! I know what I’m doing!” “That’s not the same-” Twilight objected. “Any day now, guys!” AJ called, impatient. Sonic immediately bolted to the driver’s seat, getting himself comfortable while AJ climbed into the back. “Just keep it going straight! I put it in cruise control!” “Oh, ho, ho, ho! Let’s go, baby!” Sonic shouted gleefully. He nearly had to resist the urge to floor it. Applejack pushed open Twilight’s door, a sledgehammer in hand. The robot was approaching fast, extending two tire-shredding spikes on its wheels. AJ held the hammer steady, preparing to bash the machine in. The car veered to the right, and she had to fight to keep herself steady. So much for keeping the car straight. “Gah! Where’d you learn how to drive?!” While Rainbow and Twilight shared a nervous look, everyone else in the back was trying to keep themselves in the cab. “Here! In this truck!” Sonic answered from out of view. “It’s happening as we speak!” Now, Applejack was starting to have second thoughts. The truck swerved from side to side, making her swings with the hammer harder to land. The robot matched pace with the truck, unwilling to lose its target. AJ gritted her teeth as if she was dealing with a stubborn animal instead of a machine. “I can’t reach it! Bring it in closer!” “What?” “Bring it in closer! Hit the brakes!” “Oh! You mean this one?” The truck’s engine roared loudly, and AJ slightly tipped. Twilight reached out to catch her, and the two shared a grateful look. Rainbow Dash just cringed and facepalmed. “The other brakes!” she cried. Now, the truck suddenly jolted back, nearly throwing everyone forward. Sunset almost went headfirst through the window while everyone else in the back toppled over. The robot, having unpredicted the move, rammed into the open door. Applejack grinned to herself… and swung the hammer upward. A satisfying smack rang in her ears, and the robot lost balance, smashing into the road. “Yee-haw!” Everyone cheered, save for the woozy Rainbow and stunned Sunset. AJ got back in the driver’s seat, although Sonic looked a little disappointed that he was no longer behind the wheel. “Over already?” he commented. “You think a mega genius like him would have more in store.” “OOOH!” Robotnik howled in frustration. “GIVE ME A BIG, FAT, BREAK!” Unbeknownst to Sonic, he would be proven right. Robotnik wasn’t finished with them yet… and his last toy was inbound right for them. The boy in blue stared down the road in boredom. If he was still driving, they’d have gotten there much faster. Something just outside his window caught his eye. After a quick look in the back, he noticed Pinkie, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rarity had also taken notice. He looked out his window… ...and saw a tiny helicopter-like drone. “Aww, this one is cute!” he said to the others. “Let’s keep him!” “Yeah!” Pinkie cheered. “Can we, can we, pleeeease?” “I don’t know,” Twilight replied. “As much as I prefer robot pets myself, I wouldn’t want Spike to get a little-” BZZZZZZZZ! His face dropped, Sonic turned to look out the window again. This time, he saw the drone cutting a laser right through the door! “AH!” Everyone yelled out. There wasn’t much any of them could do against this. “Oh, come on!” Rainbow cried. “How can something so adorable be so terrible?!” Sonic asked in a panic. “Not cute anymore! NOT CUTE ANYMORE!” Pinkie screamed. Applejack desperately tried to shoo the drone away like a fly, but the machine persisted. It continued along the truck, its laser piercing through the workings of the top half. Fluttershy backed away from it nervously, and its spinning rotors prevented Sunset from grabbing it. Even Rarity’s diamond barrier, placed with hopes of barring its path, was useless as the laser cut right through it. “Uh, AJ?” Sonic gulped. “What?!” “You’ve got car insurance, right?” Rainbow spun around to face the back. “Everyone, get down!” The other four girls dropped just as the drone reached its starting point. The top part of the car flew off, leaving the truck as a convertible. “AAAAAAAH!” Everyone screamed as the top part of the truck hit the road. Its target now exposed, the drone flew towards a very annoyed Sonic. The boy snatched it from the air. “Buzz off!” he snapped, breaking the drone in half. “Ha! And that takes care of-” Now, he heard a different sound. A short beeping noise. Curious, he opened his hand… and saw the white chassis of the drone attached to his glove. “That doesn’t sound good.” Twilight’s eyes went wide. “No, beeping is bad! Beeping is REALLY bad!” Sonic flew into a panicked state with a gasp of realization. He furiously shook his arm, but the beeping continued. “Get rid of it!” Rainbow yelled. “I’m trying!” Sonic grunted. “Maybe if you took the glove off…” Fluttershy suggested. Instead, Sonic continued to shake his arm, Fluttershy’s words failing to reach his ears. He tried throwing it into the open air, but the bomb remained glued to his glove. “Throw it out the wind-” AJ began before stopping herself. “Throw it ANYWHERE!” “I-I can’t get it off!” “AJ, pull over!” Twilight shouted. Not willing to argue with her here, the cowgirl did so. The surface beneath the tires turned from slick asphalt into rough, coarse dirt. And before it even came to a stop, Sonic bolted out. Everyone scrambled out, a rag in Twilight’s hands. Sonic was zipping all over the place, trying various methods to remove the bomb: pulling it off, banging it against a rock, even prying it off with his teeth. Until finally, the bomb was no longer on his hand. “Did I get it?” “Nope!” Twilight called, rushing over. Sonic looked up, now hearing the beeping coming from his forehead. He yelped, wiping at his face. “Hold still!” Twilight ushered, taking the bomb in the rag, popping it off his head, and throwing it as hard as she could into the trees. “Nice!” Rainbow shouted. “It’s going, it’s going…” Sonic said… before his eyes dangled to Twilight’s arm. “It’s still here.” “Huh? AAAAH!” Twilight screamed, shaking her own arm to remove the bomb, which had now transferred to her own hand. Sonic zipped up, snatched the bomb, then grabbed a stick. Running over to a rock, he pried it loose and onto the small boulder. “Ha, ha! Nailed it!” he whooped, holding up a hand for a high-five… BOOM! Her ears were ringing. She couldn’t see a thing. And most importantly, everything ached. The only sound she could hear was her own breathing as if she’d run a full marathon with no super speed. Another sound. This one a series of coughs. Rainbow Dash cracked open an eye… and saw blurs of unfocused sight. Her sight adjusted momentarily, making out the sight of a hunched-over figure coughing into an arm. Other figures lying on the ground were stirring. A figure with a hat rose to a sitting position, another picked up some glasses, and another ruffled its hair. “Is… is everyone okay?” “Sun…” Rainbow croaked, the voice triggering something familiar. “Barely…” “Ouch…” came a calm, quiet voice. “Oooh… I don’t think… I can move…” groaned the figure with the glasses. The standing figure limped over and held out a hand. “Come on, Twi. On your feet.” The other figure took it and the former grunted in the effort. Rainbow planted her arms into the ground, moaning as she lifted herself off the ground. She felt sore all over like she had worked out too long. The minute she stood on wobbly legs, she groaned and clutched her forehead. The last thing she remembered was… some quick thinking? No, ticking. Yeah, that was it. Sonic was there, totally freaking out. He managed to get it away, but then… Wait, where was he? Now Rainbow was the one who coughed, batting at the smoke with one arm. It faded away into nothing, giving her a good look at her battered and bruised friends. Applejack adjusted her shoulder, Rarity brushed some twigs and dirt off of her sleeve, Fluttershy looked at her dress in shame, and Pinkie looked like she had fallen victim to a burned recipe with soot on her face. She shook her head in a comical fashion, instantly ridding herself of it. Sunset was helping Twilight stand, the egghead adjusting her specs. But… Rainbow noticed something… no, someone was missing. And that someone was lying on the ground a short distance away. Rainbow’s eyes flashed open. “Sonic!” She rushed over to the unmoving boy, sliding to a stop and taking the back of his head in one arm. “Sonic? Come on, Sonic, wake up!” Everyone else gathered around, each of them with worried looks. “Dude, you are not quitting on me now!” Rainbow determinedly shouted, smacking the boy across the face with a palm. Aside from a jerk to the side… the boy still didn’t stir. “Oh, dear…” Fluttershy whispered. “Do you think he’s…” “He turned himself into a spinning blue ball, smashed into a heavy tank thing… and made it!” Applejack countered. “Need I say more?” “Check his pulse!” Twilight blurted. Rainbow complied, pressing two fingers to the boy’s neck. The results came fast… and her face distorted in part-uncertainty and part-nervousness. “Uh…” “What is it?” “His pulse is… is really, really fast,” Rainbow commented. “Is… is that normal? It’s normal for him, right? Please tell me it’s normal.” “Coming from a kid who can go supersonic in no time at all?” AJ spoke. “Yeah, I reckon it’s normal.” “Phew,” said Fluttershy. “So now what do we do?” Pinkie asked. “We keep going,” answered Sunset. “To Fillydelphia. Sure, the truck’s busted- sorry for your loss, AJ- but it still runs. Let’s get him in and hit the road.” Everyone turned back to the truck. Rainbow scooped up the unconscious Sonic, carrying him back to the vehicle. As she did so… she looked at the boy’s face with a worried expression. Hang in there, bud. We’ll have you up and running in no time… pun intended Author's Note Bet the Fast and Furious franchise has got nothing on what just occurred with our heroes. Not to mention that the HuMane 7 got a front-row seat to seeing Sonic in action. The next chapter will have the ragtag group of teens finally arrive at Manehatten and find the blue Gem of Miracles, but Robotnik will have one last surprise for them! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
9) CHAPTER EIGHTBlack. Black everywhere in each direction. And silence. It was awfully quiet. Not a sound. Was this all there was? Was that it? He could barely think straight. If he was conscious enough, he’d grow to hate it this fast. Wait, why did he even say that? He did everything fast. Fast like the blood and magic flowing inside him. Fast like the life and breath quickly returning to him… Life. “GOTTA GO FAST!” Everything slammed into overdrive. A blue whirlwind rushed through and around the surrounding area, knocking several objects he didn’t really stop to identify from their perches. It was only five seconds before he came to a complete stop, but to him it felt like a full minute. He felt like he had just taken a huge breath of air after nearly drowning in a big ocean. He felt relieved. He felt great. He felt alive. “Where am I? What year is it? Did Crystal Prep get their butts kicked again?” “Whoa, whoa, hey! Easy, Sonic! Easy! You’re okay!” stammered Twilight. Sunset was looking at the boy in awe. “Wow, not even awake for a minute and he’s already back on his feet.” “And even though no game’s coming up anytime soon,” added Rainbow. “Yeah, I can guarantee the outcome.” Sonic noticed his surroundings. He was standing with the girls in the living room of a house, with the couch just behind him. Strangely, it didn’t look like any house he was familiar with. “Okay, seriously, where am I?” he asked, sitting down on the couch. “We’re just about at Manehattan,” answered Applejack. “Just making a quick stop at my family’s old house outside city limits. The truck’s totally… uh, totalled and you can thank Fluttershy for fixing you up.” The pink-haired girl was holding a first-aid kit in her hands. “I prefer to help out animals, but you’re welcome,” she said in a quiet voice. “No prob,” replied the blue-haired boy. He looked out at his new friends, each of them relieved to see him okay. Six smiling faces out of seven. “Uh, has anyone seen Pinkie?” “She went upstairs for some reason,” answered Rarity. “Never really questioned why…” “Oh, goody! You’re up!” shouted Pinkie, popping up behind and surprising both Rarity and Fluttershy. “I’ve got something for you! Ta-da!” From behind her back, she presented a pair of red white-laced shoes with white soles and straps. A tiny yellow stripe ran from the opening of the shoe to the laces. And inside the shoes were a pair of white socks. “I found them in a closet. Hope they don’t hurt your feet anymore!” Sonic glanced to the leg of a nearby coffee table. There, his old beaten-down shoes and socks rested with the holes in plain view. One of the holes had gotten larger than when Sonic last checked it, and there was a new one even he wasn’t aware of. He turned his head back to the red shoes in Pinkie’s hands… and slowly took them into his own. Even for someone as happy as she constantly is, Pinkie’s smile faded when she saw that Sonic’s had done the same. “What’s wrong?” “It… it’s just… no one’s ever given me a gift before,” Sonic replied. His mind told him those words would have the girls scrambling to find words of their own to cheer him up. “I’ve gotta check that off my bucket list.” That earned him some relieved faces from the girls. He slipped the new footwear on, tied the laces in a blur, and stood up from the couch. He slowly ran in place, seeing how they worked out. He finished off with a quick spin, admiring them. “Alright, looking good!” “Okay, great. Awesome,” said Rainbow Dash. “So, now that that’s outta the way… what now?” “The city’s not that far from here,” Twilight answered. “Let’s get what we need and then head out.” The girl in glasses headed off for the kitchen with the others following her. Sonic soon found himself alone in the living room, watching the girls as they vanished from view. Before long, his eyes darted up and he sped away. He came to a stop atop the house’s roof, leaning against the bricked chimney. Off in the distance, buildings reached into the sky. One of them stood out among the rest: one with a horse head sculpture at the top. The sky was bright cloudless blue with the sun like a big ball of light shining down on his face. It reminded Sonic of the many days he spent lying against the trunk of a tree or on the sandy beaches when he wasn’t running around. Even he liked enjoying the quiet moment and the calm before storm. In fact, the sun and the sky were the two things he liked about the world. One was bright and attention-drawing and the other was big, blue, and vast. But there was another thing that he was reminded of. He reached into his pocket and took out a small worn photo. He smiled when he saw his own smirking face in the picture… among three other faces. A grinning boy with yellow-dyed hair and a bright orange vest was locking an arm with Sonic, holding two gloved fingers up with the other. A pink-haired girl in a similarly-colored outfit held a hammer over her shoulder with a courageous expression. And a big boy in red locked a muscular sports-taped arm around Sonic’s neck, his face in the middle of laughing. “Hey, guys,” Sonic heard himself saying. “Just wanted to check in after a while. I’ve… got a lot to explain, probably. I’ve made some new friends, fought off killer robots built by someone with an old-timey mustache… and I'm about to get my lost gem back and work on saving you all. Just… just wish I had the old crew here with me. Anyways, just dropped by to say hi. I gotta go now… see you guys later.” He tucked the photo away, staring out at the horizon with crossed arms. The sound of a starting engine drew his attention, making him glance down to the street. A bright red SUV moved out onto the road, Sunset Shimmer behind the wheel. The fiery-haired girl glanced up to Sonic on the roof, gesturing her head to the city. The boy nodded back, jumping to the grassy yard below. He watched the car drive off and tapped his shoe on the pavement. He tightened his glove and stretched out a little… and took off at a fast jog to keep pace with the moving vehicle. But just after he left, a white egg-shaped drone observed their departure and flew off… Sonic whistled impressively. “Fancy tourist destination they got here.” “For good reason!” Rarity backed up to everyone walking down the city’s sidewalk. “Manehattan is home to a very large fashion-driven community and theatrical works! It’s sure to draw the eyes of anyone who visits!” “We should stop by again sometime!” added Twilight. “You know, when we’re not on a diamond hunt.” “Speaking of…” Sonic paced ahead of the others. “There! That’s where I saw it land before I passed out.” He pointed to the large horse-headed building that towered over all the others. “Wow, look at that thing.” “The Crystaller Building?” Sunset spoke up. “That… makes sense. It is the most well-known building in the whole ci-” ZOOM! “Aaaand he’s gone. Typical.” Rainbow watched a blue streak spiral up the building and stop at a flat platform below the front of the head. “Uh… should he be doing that? Twilight, you said something about this place being… magically rare?” “That’s right. There aren’t many signs of magic here,” replied the nerd. “But I think I read something about this area once being abundant in magic before-” ZIP! Sonic reappeared in front of the group with a stern face. “Wellll?” “Okay, okay!” scoffed Rainbow. “Just wait for us!” “Sure, if you wanna take it the nice and slow way…” A blue and rainbow flash stopped at the building’s roof. Behind them, Twilight rose into the air surrounded by an amethyst aura… with the rest of her friends in a similar field. She gently touched down, releasing the magical energy and earning relieved sighs from everyone but Rainbow and Sonic. “So… what exactly are we looking for?” asked the athlete, magenta eyes darting around the rooftop. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary… save for a blue diamond lying on the roof. Sonic zipped up to it, snatched it in his hand, and raced back. He held the gem triumphantly, sunlight glinting off its sapphire edges. “This!” “It’s… it’s beautiful,” gasped Rarity. “Shiny!” added Pinkie. Twilight and Rainbow approached Sonic, their eyes on the gem. “That’s it? We did it?” asked Twilight. The blue boy nodded at her. “Yeah... but also no. Six more to-” He held up five fingers on one hand and one on the hand he held the gem in… but cut himself off. “Whoa…” “You can say that again,” whispered a stunned Rainbow. The blue jewel was giving off a bright glow, radiating a sapphire color. “Whoa, look at this!” Sonic spoke hurriedly, showing the jewel to Twilight. “It’s never glowed be-” The glow suddenly stopped. The jewel regained its normal appearance. “Huh?” Sonic stared at the gem curiously, shaking it like a snowglobe and tapping it with one knuckle. “What’s going on?” “Here, lemme see that,” said Rainbow, moving the gem back to her for a better look. But just when she did, the gem lit up again, surprising the trio. Sonic’s expression changed from shock… to curiosity. “Hmm…” He held the gem in front of Twilight. The glow faded. He turned it back to Rainbow. The glow returned. Back and forth he went, examining the gem’s reaction to each of the girls. After a few more passes, he held it close to himself. “It’s reacting to you, Dashie,” he realized, looking at the blue jewel. “Why’s it reacting to you?” “Don’t tell me… because of how awesome I am?” she pointed to herself with a thumb. Sonic just smiled at her. “Yeah, probably…” “Aw, you guys are so cute!” “What?! No!” the two speedsters shouted in unison at a grinning Pinkie. “Nuh-uh! Absolutely not! No way, Pinkie!” Rainbow stammered, waving her hands in denial. “We’re not ‘cute’!” “What we are,” added Sonic with a raised finger. “...are a couple of loose cannons just living by our own rules at our own speed.” “Exactly! What he said!” “And do those rules include expressing heartfelt emotions?” asked Pinkie with another smile. Fluttershy stifled a laugh while Rainbow and Sonic turned stiff and their faces slowly turned pink. “N-no!” “Probably not! But, uh, kinda? Maybe? Just a teeny tiny smidge?” “But definitely not!” “Okay! If you say so!” Pinkie finished. “Wait,” realized Twilight. “If it glowed in Rainbow’s presence… would it be the same for the other six gems?” Sonic raised an interested brow. “Seven Gems of Miracles… seven of you girls… oh. Oh! Oh, yeah! That could work! Why didn’t I see it before?! Your magic combined with the gems’ power-” “We’ll have to see for ourselves what’ll happen!” Applejack finished. “Why don’t we head back home and look for the rest of them?” “Good plan!” Sonic nodded, taking a ring from his pouch. “I could use some time at my home-away-from-home!” With a smile, he tucked the gem under his arm and threw the ring. His ears were treated to that familiar ringing sound as the ring flew through the air… ...and the sound of the ring plinking off something. And that something was a floating white drone! “AH!” cried the girls. Sonic stumbled back, noticing more drones hover into position from above. Bipedal robots rocketed up into view, their claw-like feet digging into the roof. Arm-mounted guns took aim and shoulder missile launchers opened up. “Okay, did someone leave their ‘find-my-phone’ on?” “This… this looks bad,” muttered Sunset. “Really, really bad.” “I think I’m gonna freak out,” whispered Fluttershy, hiding her mouth with her hair. “Those… those robots!” gasped Twilight as Rainbow raised her fists. “They look like the same ones I saw at the soccer field!” “Twi… tell me you saw that at the field as well?” asked Sonic, tucking the gem into his pocket. “Saw what?” Her answer came in the form of an approaching white hovercraft with rings on the wings. Red light emitted from the rings and rear thrusters while the vehicle hummed as it came to a floating stop. The cockpit canopy retracted… revealing a man in a red suit and goggles. “Welcome to Manehattan, boy and girls. Enjoying your little sightseeing trip?” “Robotnik!” gasped Twilight. Rainbow just rolled her eyes. “Aw, great. Aka the guy who keeps trying to kill us. Unsuccessfully!” She spoke the last word loudly to the doctor. “Nice of you to swing by on your way to the science fair!” “Ugh!” gagged Rarity. “And what is that horrid thing you are wearing?!” Robotnik looked over himself before turning an eye back to the teens. “It’s a flight suit! Designed to modulate my body temperature and reduce drag!” “And yet you still are one!” Sonic shot back with hands cupped over his mouth, earning him a high-five from Rainbow. “Nice!” she whispered to him. “Ah, the young,” replied Robotnik. “So cocky. So arrogant. So confident in themselves. And so susceptible to getting blown to bits for being so irritatingly annoying.” “Hey! Watch your mouth!” Rainbow snapped. “Unless you want a little more of what I gave you earlier!” She noticed Twilight’s confused expression. “I punched him in the face.” “Oh, you punched him right in the face! It was awesome!” Sonic laughed. “The time for talking is over!” bellowed the doctor, making Pinkie and Fluttershy jump. “It’s time to push buttons…” “Your flying eggs are pretty impressive, Mister Eggman,” quipped Sonic. “But let’s face it: you’ll never catch me! Your walking toolboxes didn’t catch me at the base when I snagged the precious diamond, you didn’t catch me at AJ’s, and you didn’t catch me on the highway with all your fancy tech! Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one?” “Um… egg man?” asked a confused Rarity. Sonic chuckled, turning to the fashionista. “Get it? Because the drones look like flying eggs?” Pinkie looked at one of the drones, her face soon lighting up in realization. But while she just started giggling, Rarity just shrugged. “What, I can’t make a joke in the middle of the craziest thing ever?” Sonic told her. “That’s how I cope!” “You know what I say about confidence, my little blue thief?” Robotnik asked, turning the boy’s attention back to him. “It’s a fool's substitute for intelligence.” He reached down to the vehicle’s control panel, flipping something Sonic couldn’t clearly see. The drones opened up, revealing their guns and missiles pointed right at the group. Rainbow looked worried, staring one drone right in the optic while keeping her fists raised. Pinkie grabbed a sugar packet from her hair, looking at what robot to chuck it at. Rarity summoned a diamond shield between her hands and Twilight lit up her palms with purple magic. Sunset just brushed her hair back. “Uh… guys? I know you’ve got the super speed, telekinesis, strength, sprinkles, and shields, but Fluttershy and I are-” “Totally defenseless? Probably gonna get blown up?” “I would not like that, thank you,” replied Fluttershy. Sunset just shrugged. “Pretty much. Our magic’s not for fighting.” Sonic shot Rainbow a knowing look. “Hey, Dash?” he whispered. “Remember the Pit?” The athlete’s magenta eyes went wide with remembrance. “Oooh. Yeah…” “Don’t worry, Sun,” said Sonic, locking eyes with Rainbow. “We know exactly what to do.” SHOOM! Colors streaked across the roof, circling around Sunset and Fluttershy. Rainbow snatched the kind girl in her arms and rushed down the side of the building… while a strong kick from Sonic sent Sunset tumbling off the side. “Get ‘em down!” he called to the racing Rainbow. “SUNSET!” Twilight yelled. “What on Earth did you do THAT for?!” shrieked Rarity. “I was not expecting that…” breathed a stunned Robotnik. “...but I was expecting not to expect something, so it doesn’t count.” Missiles flew from their sockets. Bullets screamed for rattling guns. Rarity held her shield to block the projectiles sent her way, Pinkie ducked and tossed the sugar packet, and Twilight used her magic to redirect the missiles. But everything slowed to a halt before a single missile or bullet could hit anyone’s skin. And from the stillness, Sonic held his wrist up to his face. “Look at this!” he said happily. “I took nine million steps today!” No one laughed at his joke. No one even could. And since no one could do anything at all, it was the perfect time to get them to safety. Sonic took Twilight, Rarity, and Pinkie one after the other, positioning them by the edge of the roof. Rainbow raced by, snagging Twilight first and running back down the tall building. The blue boy turned his attention back to the missile and bullet-filled air, brushing some aside nonchalantly. He took two missiles from the air, he banged them against immobile bullets as if playing a xylophone, knocking another missile away at the end. Next, he ran to the robots as Rainbow grabbed Rarity and rushed off with her. He kicked one in the midsection, sending it on a course for the ground. He positioned mechanical arms to shoot at other robots… or to shoot themselves in the face. He repositioned missiles and bullets to hit the robots and drones, making sure every standing machine would be down for the count. Next, he grabbed two missiles from the air after jumping off a robot’s head, jamming them into a drone and causing a small, barely-audible explosion. He repeated this process with other drones, taking a missile from the air and driving it through the metal. He jumped onto a drone hovering off the roof, bending a wing and ripping off another drone’s wing. He slid down onto the side of the roof with arms raised victoriously, making another drone go up in flames and smoke. Sonic was having too much fun. He ran past some more drones, batting them aside. As he did so, he noticed Rainbow positioning Pinkie near the others… who were still floating in the air. She started to take Fluttershy in her arms, moving to run down to the ground with her. Sonic smiled at her, turning two drones towards each other as more bullets emerged from their guns. He chuckled, mimicking finger guns and pretending to shoot at them. “Pew pew pew pew! Pew pew pew pew p-” He stopped. Something didn’t look right. Something was… moving. Beyond the drones and robots. Something… that was flying fast and right towards him! His green eyes went wide with terror. Stopping in her tracks at the sound of whirring engines, Rainbow saw it, too. “SONIC!” The hovercraft blasted out a beam of red energy. In a panic, Sonic turned to run… but too late. The beam struck the surface beneath him, sending him in freefall. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!” Author's Note Isn't that nice? Pinkie has given Sonic his trademark sneakers and the friendship between him and the Equestria Girls grows. Sadly, Robotnik had to come in and ruin things for them, like villains do. In the next chapter, it'll be a wild chase across Canterlot, USA (I'm not sure if it's in Canada or not) as Sonic finally meets his match! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
10) CHAPTER NINE“Uuugh…” Sonic blinked woozily. Rings were floating around him like he was seeing stars. His ears were ringing with some kind of high-pitched sound. Like screaming. Wait a second… that WAS screaming! He jolted to full awareness, suddenly remembering where he was. Rushing down to the streets of Manehattan after getting blasted off the side of the Crystaller Building. And falling fast, just like the Mane Seven. His brain rushed to find a solution. And he didn’t have to look far. A ring. There, just waiting to be picked up. He stretched out his hand, wiggling his fingers desperately… but the ring barely moved. “Come on!” he gasped. “Come on! Come on!” He swam in the air frantically, the screams becoming a blaring alarm in his brain. “Come on! Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!” His outstretched finger snagged the ring. “Yes!” Narrowing his eyes, he broke into full throttle. He ran down the building with a blue streak trailing behind him, pushing himself closer and closer to the falling girls. His mind raced to find a soft, cozy spot to land… And with a shout of effort, he threw the ring past the girls. It flashed open, they fell through, and the ring shut… to reveal the ground racing towards him! “WhoawhoawhoawhoawhoaWHOA!” He dug his feet into the side of the building, but his attempts to slow himself down did nothing as gravity took its hold on the boy. A second later, he smacked his chin on the branch of a tree. Followed by another branch. And another. And then the hard, cold surface of the pavement. His body stung with pain. A groan escaped the blue boy’s throat as he began to push himself up. He cracked open an upward-glancing eye… and yelped, covering his head with both hands. Drones and robots smashed onto the cement with loud slams, crashes, and thunks. Sonic’s rings clattered to the ground with a chiming musical tone. The bag holding them landed with an empty splat and deflated like a balloon. When no more sounds could be heard, the boy slowly reopened an eye… One moment, Rainbow Dash was falling through the air with the pavement just seconds from smashing her friends… and also seconds from her activating her geode to sprout her wings and carry everyone to safety with Twilight’s help. And the next, her body rattled from the contact of a different source: something soft and stringy. Needless to say, she felt extremely dizzy. “Ugh… what the…” she moved an arm over her body, noticing some straw sticking to it. “Hay?” “Wh...where are we?” groaned Sunset. “AJ? Is this… your barn?” “Sure looks like it,” replied the country girl, readjusting her hat. “How exactly did we get here? My mind’s a little fuzzy from that landing.” “I remember falling…” replied Twilight. “And then a gold flash among blue… Sonic?” Rarity fell back with a happy sigh. “Saved by jewelry… I cannot think of anything happier than that!” Pinkie and Fluttershy rose, the former shaking her head of straw. “I can think of some things!” Rainbow opened her mouth to speak while her friends traded words… but stopped. Something was digging into her thigh. She shifted her weight, reached under the seat of her pants, and felt something round. She held it into view: a ring. Sunlight glinted off it, giving it a golden glow. Her instincts told her to keep it. It may come in handy. But her thoughts also turned to the blue boy. She thought back to that daring rescue and Sonic’s face as he threw the ring. Sonic… I hope you’re okay. Sonic shook his head with a gasp. That fall certainly wasn’t one of his best moments. But all he cared about right now was that his friends were safe back in Canterlot City. “Can I give you one genius piece of advice?” Sonic turned. The hovercraft loomed above the streets, Robotnik staring at him from the cockpit. “Don’t run. It’ll only hurt more if you do. And it’s bad for your joints, they proved it! Now, if you don’t mind…” A blue glint caught Sonic’s eye. The gem! Before Robotnik could move to retrieve it, Sonic zipped up and snatched the jewel. “Ah, ah! No touchie!” “Clever little boy, aren’t you?” the doc sneered. “Give back that which rightfully belongs to me, and I’ll leave you and that band of girls alone. Neither of you will ever hear from me again.” That did sound tempting enough for Sonic… but he’d just met a guy who came jam-packed with thrills! And that was good enough for him. “This is what you want, huh?” He said, displaying the gem like a trophy for sticking it in his pocket. “Well, come and get it, Eggy!” He zipped around in afterimages, picking up his dropped rings and his bag… and blasted off down the street. Robotnik lowered his goggles and closed his craft’s canopy. “The hard way it is…” A blue blur blazed a trail through the streets of Manehattan, swerving around cars and trucks, making sharp turns through intersections, and even running up buildings. The only thing that would make the kid enjoy this more: no explosions popping up on both sides of him. Chunks of pavement flew past with one smacking him in the face. Grunting, Sonic raced up the side of a skyscraper and noticed Robotnik pulling up. More red blasts fired from his craft, smacking into the glass and raining down shards. Sonic broke right and jumped right off the corner, landing in a spin maneuver on the street. Robotnik followed him through intersections and stayed on the boy’s heels, much to Sonic’s disbelief. Stray laser blasts failed to hit Sonic directly, destroying various objects throughout the city. Passersby darted for cover and out of the way when the blue and red streaks sped by. One blast blew up a fire hydrant, nearly dousing Sonic with a spray of water. One struck a trash can and blew debris out onto the street. Sonic had to wipe a wrapper out of his face with a disgusted expression. And one more blast overturned a car that tipped over… and about to smash Sonic. “WHOA!” he yelled, sliding underneath just before the roof could slam onto the road. He made another sharp right turn, two more energy blasts blowing parts of the block to bits. “Okay… time for an appointment!” He ran off the road and up another building. But this time, he jumped right off and landed on the moving hovercraft’s cockpit, surprising the doctor inside. “Time out, Robuttnik!” he called. “How are you doing this? No one’s ever caught up to me before… uh, save for Rainbow Dash!” “Oh, this prototype was nothing special,” scoffed the doctor. “All it needed was a little special ingredient.” Robotnik gestured to a glass case… where a tuft of blue hair sparkling with electricity rested inside. Sonic gasped. “Is that- AAAH!” Robotnik pulled on the brakes, bringing the craft to a sudden halt and flinging the boy to the streets below. He bounced off three times but skidded to a halt on his feet. He’s using my own strength against me! He’s powering that thing with my special magic to keep pace with me! So, that’s how he wants to play, huh? “Alright, Eggman!” called Sonic with wide arms. “You wanna get fast? Let’s get fast!” He took off again in a blue streak. A quick glance over his shoulder gave him all he needed: the craft was still in hot pursuit. Sonic took out a ring from his pouch after jumping over an oncoming car. “Let’s see you chase me through this!” The Mane Seven rounded a corner, looking down one of Canterlot City’s streets. Rainbow Dash checked her pocket, making sure the ring within was safe and secure. “Oh…” she heard Fluttershy moan. “I do hope that Sonic’s okay and that he’s not blasted to bits.” While Rainbow’s mind had those same thoughts, her mouth replied with something totally different. “Pfft! He’ll be fine! I know it! A guy with a fancy jet-thingie and some weird mustache is a piece of cake for him, right?” “But we can’t just wait around and hope he’ll come back!” Twilight interjected. “We gotta do something!” “I dunno about that,” Sunset told her. “Sonic sent us here for our own safety. To avoid us getting hurt.” “And that means he truly cares about us just like a real friend would!” Pinkie added cheerily. “He’d want us to stay out of the way, and that’s what I’m gonna do!” “Yeah…” came Twilight’s nervous voice. “Because he thinks he can fight that crazy guy all by himself. And from my experience… doing something all on your own doesn’t get you very far.” “He thinks he can handle this,” Sunset slowly realized. “He’s been all alone for so long, he’s become reliant on just himself. I think he’s become too confident on his own abilities to see the bigger picture.” “Thank you! Thank you!” came another voice. “The Great and Powerful Trixie acknowledges your appreciation!” The girls looked to the sidewalk on the left. There, the self-proclaimed illusionist was in the middle of a street performance with Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle as her current audience. “Now, prepare your eyes as the Great and Powerful Trixie summons a gateway to beyond!” Tossing her star-tipped wand aside, Trixie closed her eyes, placed her hands over her head, and slowly drew them downwards in a congratulatory manner. Peeping open an eye, she noticed the trio’s faces were now full of astonishment. She giggled. “Please, hold your applause until the end of the-” “COMING THROUGH!” “Huh? AH!” A blue streak shot past Trixie and the other girls, blasting off down the street and around a corner. Trixie looked behind her, earning a closeup of a golden portal that had materialized from thin air… and a rapidly-approaching aircraft nearing it! “YEEP!” She dove to the side while the other girls scampered close to a nearby building. The aircraft shot past, veering after the sapphire streak. “That…” breathed Scootaloo. “... was… AWESOME! Coolest trick ever!” “I didn’t even know you had it in ya!” added Apple Bloom. “Truly astounding!” cheered Sweetie Belle. Albeit stunned, Trixie quickly stood up and brushed herself off. “Um, ahem! Yes! All is as the Great and Powerful Trixie planned!” “Well, she surely didn’t plan for that,” commented Sunset quietly. “Twilight, what now?” “I don’t know that we can do much, but…” the genius girl took a deep breath, pushing her glasses up her nose. “Maybe if I follow from the air and lock onto his craft, I can hack into it? That is if his firewalls aren’t too strong. Or maybe we can set up a trap? Or-” SHOOM! Twilight whirled behind her… and saw a colored comet vanish around a corner. “Rainbow?!” KA-BLAM! KA-BLAM! Sonic bounced off a car, the vehicle going up in flames behind him. Above him, the craft rolled and continued to fire off energy blasts that sent residents of Canterlot City screaming and running for their lives. Sonic skidded into a sharp left turn, glancing over his shoulder. The hovercraft kept on him like a hawk. “Come on, come on!” he veered around a right corner with two more shots hitting the street as he came out of the turn. He weaved and zigzagged around swerving cars, a blue trail of light behind him. “Whoa!” he heard Robotnik cry over a loudspeaker. “That was an illegal left, by the way!” “Says the guy who keeps blowing up cars! Ppppth!” Sonic playfully stuck out his tongue and made a face. He turned his head back around… but caught a stream of color a block away. He passed through another intersection, and through screeching and honking cars, he saw it again. His heart sank when he remembered who could do such a thing. “No, no, no, no, no!” He made another right turn, away from the colored blur. Robotnik banked after him. But to his horror, the rainbow streak turned after him and closed in on the hovercraft. Sonic gritted his teeth, racing past another car that got hurtled into the air from another close blast. He turned to look over his shoulder. “RAINBOW!” he screamed. “GET OUT OF- AH!” Another laser blast cut off his words, forcing him to steer away. Several more blasts hit the road in front of him, making him jump on top of a building’s balcony. Another explosion went off behind him, making chunks of debris fly past his eyes. Robotnik adjusted his aim, blowing up the rest of the balcony ahead. Sonic jumped up to the building’s rooftop, glancing across the street. Rainbow Dash sprinted upwards from her wall-run and vaulted onto the roof opposite of him, making eye contact with the boy. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” “Saving your blue butt, that’s what!” “No! Get outta here! It’s not sa-” BLAM! Another shot from Robotnik blew off the approaching corner Sonic was nearing, knocking him to the alley below and bouncing off a dumpster. He hit the ground with a groan, quickly scrambling back to his feet with ragged breaths and taking off again. He climbed up a fence and turned right when the alley gave way to another street. No sooner than he did, Robotnik flew off after him. Laser blast after laser blast rocked the road, sending Sonic swerving from left to right to left again. Deciding to take the high ground, he steeled himself and ran right up a building’s side, rolling onto the roof. He raced for the end, readying a long jump across. Robotnik’s aircraft hovered into view, barring his path. Sonic’s eyes widened when he saw the grinning mad scientist within, charging up another laser. Grunting, Sonic jumped off the roof with an acrobatic pose just as the explosion came (another stray shot barely missing his raised leg), sliding down the opposite building’s side and flipping down onto the road. Robotnik swiftly turned the craft and accelerated, once again keeping pace with the blue boy. Sonic ran up to a bus carrying an advertisement of the Equestria Land amusement park on its side, briefly looked behind himself, and gasped. He dropped down and slid underneath the vehicle when another explosion rocked it. The aircraft zoomed overhead… followed by Rainbow Dash leaping over the bus and giving chase. She quickly came and approached Sonic’s right just as he jumped over a speeding car. “Mind if I join in on the fun?” “Dash, I’m serious!” Sonic yelled, weaving past another car. “I won’t let this madman blow you to smithereens!” “Well, neither can I!” came the athlete’s reply as she sprang off a pickup truck that quickly got blown off the road. “You can’t take this guy alone, Sonic!” “Rainbow Dash, I’ve said it before and I will say it again!” snapped Sonic. “I’ve! Got! This! Now get out of here before both of us get-” BLAM! An explosion went off right between the two runners, separating them. Through the smoke, Sonic sharply turned left onto another street, away from Rainbow Dash as she dug her heels into the asphalt. “Oh, come on!” cried Sonic. “Seriously, Eggman! We were having a moment back there!” The doctor’s reply came from both the craft’s blaster and speakers. “You can run, boy! But you can’t hide!” Figures he can’t hear me over his trigger finger. Sonic thought to himself. But as long as I’m still here, Rainbow’s gonna try and keep getting herself killed! I can’t let her risk her life like that! He pulled out another ring, visualizing his next destination. Blocks away, Rainbow Dash came to a full stop at the sidewalk, hands flying to her knees and chest heaving. A golden flash from the corner of her vision made her head shoot upwards with another gasp… where a blue blur and a red streak raced through. The ring closed up before she could even move her legs again. “Ugh…” she groaned, smacking the side of the nearby building with her arm. “Why do boys have to be so stubborn?” Popping out at the Equestria Land roller coaster, Sonic blasted off down the track while Robotnik gunned his hovercraft full-throttle. Park visitors paused at the spectacle while the ride stopped preparations. Running along on the rainbow-colored tracks, Sonic couldn’t help but smile like a little kid. “Here we go! Room to open it up!” He blasted forward at near-supersonic speed, surging up the ascent and diving down the drop just as fast. Robotnik grunted, steering his craft into a roll. Sonic winded down a tight turn and laughed joyously, blazing through the first loop and immediately into the next. Robotnik weaved through them like a slalom course. “I’d enjoy this even more if I wasn’t running for my life!” cheered Sonic, going down another tight turn and descending down the tracks. Robotnik temporarily lost track of Sonic when the blue blur raced through the turns and screamed down the rainbow-colored rails. “Woohoo! I need to check this off my bucket list!” Sonic shouted, realizing his current position. “Can we go again, doc? I really wanna gooooOOOOOH, NO!” He looked right ahead of himself, realizing he was going to crash right into the back of the roller coaster cars with panicking people inside. “This is bad, this is bad, this is really, really, bad!” He grabbed another ring and threw it hard, running from the tracks to the warm, sunlit sands of the beach. And just as he arrived, laser blasts kicked up sand in his face and nearly dropped his speed dangerously low. Beachgoers immediately spotted them and kept their distance in fear. “Phagh! Blech! Ptooie!” Sonic gagged, boosting ahead of the laser blasts. “Maybe the beach wasn’t such a good idea!” Another blast sent him slightly skidding to the left. Reaching open sands, Sonic floored it and ran full-speed. “Sonic in pole position! Robotnik is hot on his tail and determined to take the rookie outta the race! But Sonic is equally determined to hold onto this lead and bring home the gold! Will he-” Several more laser blasts kicked up sand ahead of him, making Sonic run right through and cough. He wiped at his face furiously and shot a look at his pursuer. “Critics these days!” He raced past a lifeguard perch, its sole inhabitant diving to the sand before a stray blast obliterated the structure into splinters and burnt wood. Sonic dug his feet into the sand, drifting and sliding to a stop as the hovercraft flew over his head. At his feet, Sonic noticed sand swirling up before him: something that reminded him of a trick he saw in a broadcasted race involving dust kicked up by a drifting car. He felt a smirk form on his face. “If you can’t beat ‘em… blind ‘em!” He rushed up to the hovercraft’s position and wildly raced around in a circle. His momentum, velocity, and constant movement stirred up enough sand to form a storm of earth and dust. Sonic continued to literally run circles around his enemy, conjuring a sandy tornado that rocked the hovercraft. “Lost… visual… contact!” grunted the doctor from within. Sand pelted against the windshield and obstructed his view. Chuckling mischievously, Sonic dashed off from the swirling dust storm and raced off into a tree-dotted forest. He rushed past trees, logs, bewildered animals, and all kinds of foliage with a winning smile on his face. That smile dropped when he picked up the sound of engines. “What the juice?!” Robotnik’s hovercraft zoomed atop the trees, immediately firing down on the forest to flush Sonic out. Grass and dirt went flying and trees toppled. “Whoa! Ah!” Sonic slid underneath collapsing trees, spun through logs, and vaulted over stumps. He broke from the treeline, boosting towards the hills outside of the city. “I can’t lose him!” he cried with a hint of panic. He bobbed up and down hills, circling around the base of one in a failed attempt to ditch the doctor, and running across a river… but Robotnik stayed hot on his tail. Sonic raced up the side of a larger hill, taking out another ring desperately. “Please work, please work, please work!” He threw the ring. It grew and opened up, revealing Main Street of Canterlot City. He clenched his fists and ran as fast as he could towards it, watching the ring get closer and closer… KA-BLAM! The ground beneath him burst and he flew right through the ring with a scream. “I had him! I had him, but I lost him!” “Don’t beat yourself up over it, Dash,” Applejack said, patting the frustrated girl on the shoulder as they walked onto Main Street. “At least you did your best.” Twilight took notice of the activity on the street. She recognized some of the faces there: Flash Sentry and Sandalwood having a chat, DJ Pon-3 strolling to some tunes, Micro Chips fiddling with his phone, and even Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna had just exited a café. “We know Sonic can hold his own,” she added. “But what if that craft is too much for even him to handle?” “You worry too much!” Pinkie cut in with a grin. “Why, I bet that any second now, Sonic’s gonna show up and he’s gonna be just-” The air blinked with a gold flash, summoning a big ring right above the street. And right as the girls turned to look… Sonic came crashing through. He bounced onto the pavement below and slid to a stop while chunks of earth landed beside him, drawing the attention of everyone else on the sidewalks. Cars came to a halt and alarmed voices rang out. All eyes turned to the strange boy who had just fallen right in the middle of the road. Sonic’s bag was opened up, rings everywhere. And the blue Gem of Miracles clattered out of his pocket. “Oh, no…” whispered Sunset. Now, a sudden scream made the girls look back to the ring. From the other side, the white hovercraft inched its way through and into the city, sending the people scurrying away. At Twilight’s gesture, the Mane Seven took cover behind a building corner. “I don’t like this…” peeped Fluttershy. “Ha ha ha!” boomed Robotnik, opening up his cockpit and grinning at the struggling-to-rise boy. “I’ll admit it, you gave me quite the run for my money, boy. But, in the end, the greatest mind in the world triumphs over a stupid little kid. Now… hand over the gem.” Sonic grunted, slightly turning his beaten-up face to glare at the doctor. “I’ll… I’ll never give it to you. You’ve got... more important things to do… like testing reflexes.” “Even on the verge of death, you still run that ignorant mouth of yours,” replied the doctor. “You know, I’ve been thinking… I’ll be snagging a greater prize from the claw machine today. Even though I’ve set my sights on the Seven Gems of Miracles, I’ve been studying magic for a while now, particularly to boost my machines to the point where they can reach their full potential. Only a few known individuals have the ability to wield magic, but you?” The doctor chuckled. “Oh, you are just… extraordinary! From what I know, the local magic-wielders here conjure their power from necklaces made from mystical geodes. But your magic is different. Natural, without the use of any artifact. You were born with it, weren’t you? So, your magic must be stronger than theirs. Way stronger, with unlimited potential just waiting to be unlocked!” “What are we going to do?” stammered Pinkie. “I don’t like being on the sidelines as much as you do!” “I think I’ve got an idea,” Rainbow realized. “I just remembered. When we fell into AJ’s barn… a little extra came back.” She reached into her pocket… and took out the ring. At the sight of it, Twilight’s eyes widened. “This better be a good plan, Dash.” “Trust me, it’s an awesome plan. Sun, care to tag along?” “You know it. What do we need to do?” “As any scientist would be, I am eager to learn more about your powers. Just as a simple lock of your hair is enough to power this experimental vehicle, it just makes me anxious to know what your magic can do for the rest of my machines! It’ll be fun to take you back to the lab for some little invasive and exploratory procedures. And with both the power of the Seven Gems and your own unique magic… oh, I feel all giddy inside just thinking about it!” boasted Robotnik. “You’re basically about to get taken apart piece by piece so I can finally see what makes you tick. So! Any last words?” Sonic quietly moaned. “Guac… I like that word.” The boy’s head fell back with an exhale. His eyes shut themselves closed and his body went limp. Robotnik smirked, donning his goggles again. “I don’t have to tell you how many scientific breakthroughs have been made possible by live specimen testing. You’re being very selfish, do you know that?” “Hey! Going my way?” Robotnik spun to his left. “What the-” Rainbow Dash plowed a fist across his face, knocking the scientist’s goggles from his eyes. Opposite, Sunset Shimmer hopped into the cockpit and grabbed his arm. Her eyes immediately enveloped in a white glow. With her friend holding the mad genius in place, RD moved into the cockpit and drew back another fist. Robotnik lashed a leg out, knocking the athlete smack in the chin. He followed up with a punch of his own, shrugging his other arm off of Sunset. The other girl’s eyes reverted to normal and she momentarily paused. A stern look appeared on her face, prompting her to assist her friend. The hovercraft shifted around as a result of the scuffle between the trio. Robotnik elbowed Sunset in the face and snagged RD’s shirt. “Who the heck do you think you are?!” Rainbow shrugged free, delivering a solid hook on the scientist’s face with a yell. Grabbing his shoulders, she threw him to the hovercraft’s hull. “The name’s Rainbow ‘Danger’ Dash, Egghead!” came her triumphant answer. “If that big brain can think of something, think of getting outta my ci-” Robotnik furiously socked her in the gut, knocking the breath out of her. The next thing Rainbow Dash knew, she and Sunset were sent flying out of the hovercraft as it violently shifted again, dumping them onto the ground. She groaned, glancing to Sunset to see if she was alright. “Autopilot, adjust,” ordered Robotnik. The other five girls ran up to the doctor, Twilight bending down to check on Rainbow and Sunset. “You two okay?” “Yeah, we’re good,” panted Sunset. Rainbow simply nodded, wiping at her mouth with a fist. “Why?” called a dumbstruck Robotnik. “Why would you risk your lives for this… this stupid, idiotic, selfish child? You’d really throw them all away just for him? You see, that’s why I don’t have friends. The next thing you know, you’re somebody’s best man, they wanna have the wedding outta town, like no one has anything better to do!” Sunset’s face fell at the part where the doctor revealed himself to be friendless. And given what she just saw… it made enough sense to hurt. “Anyway, where were we?” Robotnik continued. “Oh, yes… you were about to die.” “HEY!” Everyone looked in the direction of the voice. There, in the daylit street, stood everyone who had previously fled the scene. At the front of the crowd, Flash Sentry crosses his arms. “Those’re our friends you’re messing with. And here, that’s something we take very, very, seriously.” “You mess with one citizen of Canterlot City, you mess with them all!” added Scootaloo. “And this is how the new guy is welcomed?!” Bulk Biceps finished. “I don’t think so!” “We’re not afraid of you! Get out of this city!” “Big mistake, buddy!” “I detect a ninety-eight point seven percent chance that your posterior will be rightfully booted!” Robotnik scoffed at the assembled crowd. “Friends, friends, friends! What is it with this town, anyway? Is that really all you care about? What part of friendship is special to you? And why would the seven of you be willing to die for a kid you don’t even know?!” “Rainbow…” whispered Twilight. The athlete looked to her, then to where she was staring at… and dropped a smile she didn’t even know she was holding. Her heart sank and her blood ran cold. Behind the girls… laid the unmoving body of the wise-cracking, supersonic teen everyone called their friend. “Sonic…” Rainbow Dash’s voice was quieter than even Fluttershy’s standard tone of voice. She struggled to even say it from horror… and she felt her eyes grow wet. Author's Note The chase brings Sonic and Robotnik to familiar places in Canterlot, USA before taking them back to Canterlot City, where the Equestria Girls, and eventually the entire town, try to stand up for their new friend, which the mad doctor doesn't take too seriously. Has Sonic died? You'll find out in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog. P.S. Still Crazy's inclusion was based off of this:
11) CHAPTER TENThe boy didn’t move a muscle. Parts of his shirt and jeans had small rips in them, visible patches of skin had bruises on them, and his whole body was covered in dirt and sand. He didn’t even make a sound as the girls looked over his form. “I don’t mean to be indelicate here,” said Robotnik. “But someone should get some ice; keep the body fresh.” No one else made a move. No one, not even from the distant crowd, took their eyes off the kid lying in the street. Rainbow Dash felt Twilight’s hand rest on her shoulder. Applejack slowly took her hat off and held it close to her chest. A whimpering Pinkie hugged a silent Sunset. Rarity had both hands drawn to her mouth. And Fluttershy looked like she was about to look away at any second. Another brief moment of silence passed before the doctor took an annoyed breath. “Come on, he’s just a silly little kid,” he groaned in disbelief. “He wasn’t even meant to be here, in this city! Just… why? Why would you throw everything out the window and put yourselves in harm’s way… for a kid you don’t even know?!” Each of the Mane Seven locked eyes with each other. Unspoken words traveled between them: words that shared the same purpose. Twilight’s eyes narrowed… and with an adjustment of her glasses, she stood and turned to face the doctor. “You’re wrong,” she said defiantly. “We know everything about this kid. A kid who was driven by his reasons to come here for the sake of his home. A kid who’s not afraid to express himself… and a kid who wouldn’t have gotten this far if it wasn’t for us.” “At first glance…” Applejack joined in. “The little rascal is stubborn like a mule. But it’s that same stubbornness that gets him through everything he’s caught up in. The little smooth-talking, wisecracking fella can improvise his way outta anything… and I do mean anything.” “But below that radical-like behavior,” continued Rarity. “...is a free soul. Someone who wishes to do whatever his mind can set on. Someone who won’t allow anyone to push him around like he’s a helpless child who’s reliant on only others. I can tell you this: the only person he is reliant on is himself. And it’s that self-confidence that keeps him running. Er, in a spiritual sense.” “Which is something you, for all your brainpower, know nothing about,” declared Sunset. “During our little struggle back there, I tapped into your memories. I saw how you were out on your own and what caused you to despise family. Your dedication to technology led you to appreciate nuts and bolts more than hearts and souls. Y’know, from one smart mind from another, it’s easy to think your intelligence leads you to believe that everyone else is as dumb as a rock. But add a little experience and moments to remember by into the mix… and you’ll see everyone in a different light.” “We didn’t know what to think of him when we first met him,” added Fluttershy with a hint of determination in her usually-quiet voice. “But once we spent time with him, he turned out to be kind and selfless: the complete opposite of what you are. He’s open-hearted, you seal yourself away. He relies on people, you rely on scary robots. And from what I think, I think you hate him because he’s all the youth and joy you’ve never had in your life. And I’ll never forget him in a hundred years, just like the rest of my friends!” “And you say he’s the one being selfish?!” cried a distraught Pinkie. “Please! I’d like to bet you hardly have any friends at all! You’re surrounded by heartless machines all the time, and you’ve become just as heartless as them!” Rainbow Dash looked to her feet, where a blue glow called to her. She bent over, picking up the Gem of Miracles and watching it shine in her hand. She caught her own reflection in it… a reflection she imagined to be that of her new fellow speedster. “When I first met that boy in my friend’s barn,” she began in a sad tone. “Somehow, I knew he was different. But I see now that in the last few days… he’s kinda like me in a lot of ways. And not just in terms of magical abilities. We had common interests, enjoyed the same things, even had tons of fun together. But just like me, he also… yearns for friendship. He’d been alone for years. He was scared, even. He was so desperate for a friend, he’d do anything it takes to keep them safe. And today, that’s what he did.” Rainbow Dash lowered the jewel, turning her magenta eyes to Robotnik with a stoic and fierce expression. “That kid knows more about being human than you ever did, or ever will,” she spoke loudly. “Canterlot City is his home, just as the one he came from! His name was Sonic, he was the most awesome, way-past-cool guy I ever met, and he! Was our! Friend! My friend!” KRABOOOOOM! A sound like thunder rocked the street, lighting up everything in sight in a bright blue light. The girls whirled around to where the boy rested… only to find a bright light in his place. Arcs of sapphire electricity trickled across the surface of the road. Large bolts came down from the sky as if from the clouds themselves. Rainbow Dash threw a hand in front of her face, tucking the glowing jewel in her pocket. The rest of the girls locked their eyes on the blue light before them, watching the lightning spray out in all directions. Rainbow felt her own eyes grow wide in amazement and wonder. A spinning blue ball launched into the air, whirling quicker than the fastest soccer ball Rainbow could remember kicking. It resembled a sapphire meteorite ablaze with white light, falling right back down to the road below… and connecting with another boom. A small blue pulse flew out from the impact, and a figure with blue hair alight with lightning stood in a triumphant landing pose with one hand touching the ground and the other in a balled fist enveloped in electricity. Slowly, the figure rose up to a standing position. Blue lightning flickered off his freshly-healed body, erasing any traces of injury. Lightning ran up his legs and sprawled from his fists as if he was wielding two whips of electricity. He raised his head, flashing open eyes that sparkled with a bright blue instead of an emerald green. And one of those eyes - upon glancing at Rainbow Dash - winked with a coy smirk. The athlete couldn’t help but smile in relief. But the moment had to wait, as the boy gestured to behind her with just his eyes. Rainbow Dash picked up the memo instantly. “Oh. Right. He’s all yours, blue!” she cheered enthusiastically. “Give him what for, sugarcube!” called Applejack. The girls ran from the road to the sidewalk, joining the amazed crowd. “Get back! Everyone, get back!” Twilight announced, waving for the people to do so. Rainbow Dash let out an excited laugh as she turned behind her. “Oh, this is gonna be SO awesome!” With them out of harm's way, Sonic turned to the stunned scientist in his experimental hovercraft. “I think you have something that belongs to me.” He clenched his fist with bared teeth… and lightning shot out from it, striking the hovercraft in a fraction of a second. It struck the front of the cockpit and both hover rings, sending an alarm blaring in Robotnik’s ears. The scientist struggled to maintain control of the ship, his eyes catching a glimpse of the hair’s case cracking. Sonic grunted, drawing his fist backward. The hovercraft moaned in pain when the lightning retracted, drawing it all back to the turbo-charged teen. The boy breathed in, feeling fully refreshed. But Robotnik was glancing at a screen flashing a warning. “Energy levels dropping?!” he gasped. “What did you just do?!” “You’re wrong about this stuff being natural, doc,” began Sonic. “When I was just a little kid, a magical geode transferred its energy into my body, making me who I am now. And ever since, I’ve been using it to run. Run from both people who’d want it for themselves and run from whatever I feared. But not this time.” “What are you talking about? What is that?!” “This is my power, a gift rightfully bestowed upon me,” answered Sonic boldly. “And I’m not using it to run away anymore! I’m using it to protect. My. Friends!” From the crowd, Twilight gasped. “He… he conquered his fear of loneliness! Our words gave him new magic! The magic of-” “Yeahyeahyeah! Zip it!” Rainbow interrupted with a raised finger. “Here comes the good part!” She smiled like a fangirl. Robotnik coldly lowered his goggles across his face and pressed something on his control panel. His cockpit closed up and his craft rose into the air with a high-pitched whine. The vehicle opened up hidden panels, revealing a massive payload of heat-seeking missiles. Lasers lit up and darted along the ground, pointing themselves at several different positions on Sonic’s unfazed body. The boy in blue lowered himself to the ground, placing his knuckles on the road and placing his left foot behind his right. He looked right at the craft with burning blue eyes dotted with an electric surge, waiting for just the right moment. The missiles flew right for Sonic like a flock of pigeons going for a dropped piece of bread. The boy narrowed his eyes… and took off in a blue flash. He dodged and zipped past missiles at breathtaking velocity, which missed by meters. They couldn’t recalibrate their courses quick enough, resulting in them exploding against the surface of the road and buildings alike. Balling up, the boy knocked some away and slid under another. He sprang back up, jumping to the side of a building and leaping right off. His spinning body connected with the craft in a metal-crunching slam, leaving a dent behind when he ricocheted away. Landing on a car, Sonic jumped off the vehicle to land another hit on Robotnik’s craft. After another successful strike, he swung off a lamppost and landed a third blow. Again and again, Sonic slammed himself into Robotnik’s hovercraft, cracking the glass and making the mad genius flinch with each hit. To the adrenaline-fueled awe of Rainbow Dash, Sonic moved so fast he appeared to be hitting Robotnik from everywhere at once, even from the nearby intersection. “This is so INTENSE!” Sonic bounced upward after another strike dented the aircraft’s nose, landing right on top of the cockpit and startling the scientist inside. From inside the cockpit, Robotnik sneered at Sonic. “Now you’ve done it!” he screamed. “Looks like you bit off more than you can chew, huh, doc?” “Shut up! Just shut up, you stupid, blasted, fidgety, horrid little runt! I will have that gem, even if I have to blow you off the map! Do you hear me?! I will permanently erase you from this city!” “Well, guess what, Eggman!” Sonic shot back. “I’m not leaving Canterlot City!” He jumped off in a backflip. “YOU are!” Instead of moving for a final blow, he turned his eyes to the crowd. Particularly, to one rainbow-haired girl who froze up in shock. “Wh-wha?” “Go on! Be my guest!” Sonic said, gesturing to his discarded ring bag. Realizing what he was referring to, all of the air in Rainbow’s lungs rushed out. “Really?” Sonic just smiled. “Really.” “Oh, wow!” Rainbow snatched up the bag, took out a ring and ran down the sidewalk. “Okay… be cool. Be cool. Focus.” She took a deep breath, calmed herself… and in a movement similar to a baseball pitcher, she threw the ring with all her might behind Robotnik’s craft. The golden decoration expanded in size, the sound it made reverberating Rainbow’s ears. Sonic smiled again… and ran off in the other direction. Ten blocks away, he looped back around and shot right for a steaming-mad Robotnik. “NO!” he screamed, pushing the badly-damaged craft to its limit. “I WILL NOT LOSE TO A BOY!” The blue streak raced through the roads of Canterlot City, moving fast enough to generate a blue pulse that burst outward in a sonic boom. The wave washed over everything and everyone, nearly blowing the crowd off their feet. As Sonic and Robotnik’s craft drew closer and closer to each other… a high-pitched whine came from the boy’s curled-up form. VREEEEEEEE! Sonic vanished inside a spinning ball of blue, ramming full-force into the hovercraft. The vehicle bent out of shape, the glass in the cockpit shattered, and the two hover rings shorted out and got blown off the main chassis. And Robotnik screamed, a sound that echoed as what remained of his hovercraft flew through the ring and into the sky above a tree-filled jungle. The ring shrank and closed up, leaving only a dinging sound behind when it winked out of existence. Sonic backflipped through the air, leaving a trail of lightning behind. He touched down gracefully in a manner resembling the finish to an acrobat’s routine. He stood up straight, his hair dimmed away and the lightning surrounding his body vanished. His bright blue eyes swapped back to their normal green shade, resulting in the living battery his magic transformed him into powering down. “Wow!” he chuckled, wiping at his shoulder. “That was cathartic! Woo… spending too much time around a genius will boost your vocab, huh?” The crowd burst into applause; something that took Sonic completely by surprise. The Mane Seven ran up to him, giving the boy their own congratulations. Pinkie tackled him into a huge hug, Rainbow ruffled up his hair, Sunset and Twilight patted him on the back, Applejack crossed her arms with a smile, and Rarity and Fluttershy held back with smiles of their own. “It’s official, blue,” Rainbow told him while he gently pushed Pinkie away. “You and I? We’re going places.” “Totally!” “Oh, hey. Got something that belongs to you.” “Thank you very much.” Rainbow moved to place the ring pouch in Sonic’s open palm… only for Sunset to grab the athlete’s wrist and turn to the boy with a look. “No more pushing people off of buildings, got it?” Sonic shrugged. “You know I can’t promise that.” The girls laughed while Rainbow returned the ring pouch. A smile crept across her face and she held up a hand. And at the sight of it, Sonic’s face lit up and he gasped. Laughing in joy and excitement, he ran around in circles and jumped, giving the multi colored-haired girl a high-five. When he landed… he stared at his palm, thinking back to the soccer field when he was all alone. He looked back to the girls, comparing that time to now. He had to admit… now was better. “Thank you…” he said happily. “All of you.” “Heh. Like I said… we got this.” “Yeah… we do.” “Hey, Dash?” Twilight asked while the crowd behind them began to disperse and move away from the street. “Where… did you send him to?” Rainbow just stretched her fingers. “Oh, just a faraway lush jungle that he won’t be finding his way out of for a while. No biggie.” “This calls for a celebration party!” cheered Pinkie. “Yeah, I think that’s the last we’ll see of that guy for a little while,” added Sunset. “Now, who’s up for some… some…” “What is it?” Twilight asked, looking to what made Sunset pause. Soon, her own face lit up in awe. Curious, Sonic turned behind him. And there, lying in the middle of the road, were six glowing gemstones. Each of them emitted a different light: red, green, white, yellow, violet, and turquoise. Sonic gasped in surprise. “The… the Seven Gems of Miracles? Eggman had them all this time?!” “They must have fallen from his craft!” Twilight realized. “Was he using them as a power source like your magic? Or was he just collecting them?” “Maybe that’s why he wanted this one so badly,” noted Rainbow, taking out the shining blue jewel from her pocket. “He needed the last piece of the puzzle.” Sonic scooped up the other six gems in his arms, looking at them proudly. “Nabbing them all in one go… what better way is there to end a hunt than that?” While he held the shining jewels, Sonic felt something… odd inside him. Something warm. Something satisfying. Something great. Something amazing, even. “Alright… that just leaves one more thing for me to do,” the blue boy said. “I need to use these to fix my home… but the question is, how?” Before someone could offer an idea, Sonic noticed the light on the road starting to dim. Looking up, he saw the sky grow dark with black clouds. Ominous, familiar, black clouds. “Um, looks like that party will have to wait, Pinkie Pie!” Rainbow Dash spoke up. The rest of the girls had their eyes to the sky in both fear and confusion. Sonic never kept his own eyes off them, catching glimpses of flashing bolts of purple lightning. “Oh, no…” he muttered, getting a sense of deja vu all over again. “It’s… it’s just like the village! And that must mean-” “At long, long last,” spoke a booming thunder-like voice from within the clouds. “We meet again… Sonic, is it?” Two bright purple eyes broke through the darkness. “I’ve been desperate to feed off your magic for so long, and that little boost you did back there was enough for me to home in. Ah… I see you have gathered some more for me.” “You won’t have them!” Sonic shouted, dropping the jewels and getting into a fighting pose. “I may not have stopped you on South Island, but I will stop you here… whoever you are!” “Foolish child. You can only beat the averages so long before they beat you. Robotnik was a cakewalk, whereas I am the force you cannot run from, no matter where you go. Your magic cannot save you… because all those who have eluded or confronted the Man of Shadows…” A figure cloaked in blackness floated down from the clouds, purple eyes gazing at the boy. Purple waves of dark magic radiated off his form. And violet lightning traced between his outstretched fingers. “...have been consumed.” “He’s… real?” gasped Twilight in horror. Confused, Sonic turned to look at her. “Wait, you know this guy?” “Only in legends,” Twilight answered. “His name’s Stygian. He’s descended from a great band of heroes that began to fade away into myth. Throughout his life, he was friendless, alone, and mocked everywhere he went. Any statement he made about his identity was shot down, and over time he grew overwhelmed with emotions like anger, hate, and despair. According to what I’ve heard, he discovered a crystal holding great magic, kind of what happened to you. But this crystal held terrible dark magic that transformed him, turning him into what he is now.” “It appears my reputation holds firm, Miss Sparkle,” the figure spoke. “And yes, there is some truth to those myths. I enacted my vengeance on all who wronged me, draining them of their magic. But when I did so, I grew amazed and powerful. And so I went on, sustenance sustaining me for years. As for what you hold within you, Sonic… it could withstand me for at least a thousand more.” “Forget it, Mister Black!” snapped the blue boy. “As long as I have the Seven Gems of Miracles with me, your little blight is done for!” “Seven Gems of Miracles?” the Man of Shadows repeated with an amused chuckle. “What a foolish name given by your people! I assure you, Sonic… they are not the tools you wish them to be.” “Yeah, right! Once I kick your dark and ugly butt, I’m gonna wish everything away!” “Oh, my naive boy…” laughed Stygian. “You don’t know, do you? The gems were never intended to grant wishes with the power they wield. If one were to successfully unlock them… they’d be doomed to destruction by a greater force even they couldn’t endure. What’s believed to be healed only results in getting furtherly harmed. What is thought to bring life only brings death. The first users of these jewels found out the hard way. They feared the seven gemstones… and gave them a different name. Now… surrender the Chaos Emeralds.” Author's Note With the HuMane 7's encouraging words, Sonic unlocks his true potential and finally defeats his archenemy AND finds the other Gems of Miracles in one fell swoop. But it looks like Robotnik/Eggman was only the starter boss. Now, we're on the final boss: Stygian, the Man of Shadows! Let's see how Sonic and the HuMane 7 will deal with him in the next chapter. Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
12) CHAPTER ELEVEN“What?!” the boy gasped. “Chaos… no, you’ve gotta be lying! The Gems can’t be used solely for bad stuff!” “In all their years, the Chaos Emeralds have only been combined once,” continued Stygian. “By a small tribe native to your home of South Island. But whatever intentions they had for the jewels was for naught. Once the power of the Emeralds was unlocked, it was so tremendous and great that it decimated the tribe from hundreds to a handful. The survivors grew terrified of the gems, giving them their true name, throwing away the curtain that promised fortune, reformation, and cleanse. The leftovers of the tribe were forever scarred, fearful of power and magic that appeared to be disastrous from that point on.” Rainbow turned to the boy with a worried expression. “Sonic, don’t listen to him…” Sonic clenched his teeth, balling up a fist. “Don’t you pull this stunt on me! If you really expect me to think that I’ve been looking for disaster gems this whole time instead of solution gems, then you’re terribly mistaken!” “Poor boy… in gathering all seven Chaos Emeralds, you’re dooming your homeland further instead of purifying it. Do you not understand that, even as I tell you the unseen truth?” “NO! And I don’t want to!” Sonic dashed forward in a blue flash, curling up into a whirring blue ball of lightning and energy. He homed in right at the observing Stygian, whose only course of action was a raise of his hand. Sonic connected right into a purple magical shield, blocking him from hitting Stygian directly. Stygian thrusted his palm forward, knocking Sonic back. The blue boy skidded against the asphalt hard enough to crack some of it up. He slid to a stop before the shocked Mane Seven, groaning in pain and disbelief. “No way…!” “It is no use, my child. You’ve been running after the wrong solution this whole time. The Chaos Emeralds won’t help you… they’ve never helped anyone.” “Rrgh!” Sonic jumped back up, rushing for Stygian again. The man surrounded by shadows lifted a corner of his lips in amusement. The boy somersaulted into the air, swinging a leg at the man’s head. Without even moving his hands from his back, Stygian weaved and leaned away from each punch, kick, and spinning strike sent his way. At each blow he failed to land, Sonic grew more and more frustrated. If the only thing his people could rely on was really going to make things worse… no. He wouldn’t buy it. This guy was just messing with him. Stygian continued to evade as if it was the easiest thing to do. “Your efforts…” Sonic concentrated his magic, charging up a fist with blue lightning and thrusting it forward. “Rrraaaah!” Stygian casually grabbed his wrist, intercepting the electric fist just before it could hit him in the face. Sonic’s expression dropped into shock, a gasp of surprise escaping his mouth. “...are futile.” “AAAAAAAAAH!” Sonic screamed out when Stygian’s grip on him turned into the most burning and stinging sensation he’d ever endured. He could barely think straight through all the pain. He felt his strength and energy dropping by the second… did the girls just cry out his name? When he glanced back at Stygian, Sonic saw the man’s other arm encased in violet electricity. The malevolent eyes gazed upon it in wonder while Sonic fought for breath. A smile crossed his face… and his eyes glanced to the sound of a third voice. “GET YOUR HANDS OFF HIM, YOU JERK!” Rainbow Dash cried, running full-speed towards Stygian. She drew her own fist back, ready to plow it right through his head. Without even glancing directly at her, Stygian raised a hand. Rainbow Dash froze in place, struggling against an invisible force holding her back. Stygian made a finger-flicking motion, flinging away the athlete like a bug. “Astounding… this is what the crystal granted you? No wonder Robotnik wished to wield it for himself.” He spoke in awe as if Rainbow’s failed intervention never occurred. He clenched his fist, feeling the surge of purple electricity coursing through. KRAPOW! A single electric-imbued punch from Stygian hit Sonic with his own magic, sending him sailing right back to the girls. Twilight and Sunset caught the exhausted boy in their arms, steadying him. Twilight focused on her own magic, firing an amethyst bolt of light in his direction. Stygian batted the projectile away, leaving it to explode in the sky as a bright purple firework. Sunset gulped while the others grew nervous. “This doesn’t bode well…” “You are a stubborn one, Sonic,” gestured Stygian. “But this mere sample of your magic is just a taste of things to come. Stand down, or risk being drained entirely.” “You’d… do that… anyway…” croaked a weary Sonic. “Clever, also. But honestly, there is no point. Once I’m finished with you, these seven shall be next in line. Face it, boy… the jewels before you are worthless. You cannot hope to wield them and expect fantastic results. And even without them, all eight of you are powerless against the magic-feeding Man of Shadows. Your fates are all but sealed.” Sonic opened his mouth to retort with Rainbow and Twilight standing firm by his side. But something else caught the trio’s attention. Seven shining lights of color… from seven gathered jewels. The Gems of Miracles… Sonic realized. I mean, Chaos Emeralds… whatever they are! Stygian said their sole purpose is… well, chaos. But I don’t believe it. Because I think… I think I’m feeling something from them. “Twilight…” whispered Rainbow. “Why am I getting a warm feeling right now?” The other girl didn’t reply, as she and the others kept their transfixed eyes on the glowing rainbow gems. Looks like I’m not the only one, then. Sonic slowly reached out, taking the blue jewel in his hand. The instant he touched it, he could feel something… strong. Powerful. Extraordinary. It didn’t feel evil or destructive in any way. Sonic noticed something else, too. He wasn’t feeling hatred or anger, and yet the gem wasn’t responding with equal force. That’s it! I understand now! “You’re wrong, Stygian!” Sonic shouted, rising to his feet with all seven Chaos Emeralds in hand. “I’m feeling something from these gems, and it doesn’t have anything to do with destruction and chaos! Instead, I feel incredible! The magic you took from me doesn’t matter anymore, because I feel totally fresh and renewed! And you know what? I think I know what happened to the guys who found these last time!” “Oh?” “The tribesmen unlocked the gems’ potential through hate, rage, and anger! That’s what did them all in! But now, I see the real way to harness them: through my friends!” The Mane Seven walked up to Sonic, each of them looking at him with smiles on their face. Sonic looked to each of them in turn, smiling back. “Our hearts together form awesome power,” he continued. “Sure, negative emotions can bring about something huge and catastrophic. But our positive feelings towards each other can create something even greater! Through kindness…” The turquoise Chaos Emerald floated away from his arm, moving up to an intrigued Fluttershy. “Generosity…” The white Chaos Emerald moved closer to Rarity, who observed the gem spectacularly. “Laughter…” The red Chaos Emerald hovered to Pinkie Pie. “Oooh, shiny!” she giggled. “Honesty…” The green Chaos Emerald floated to an awaiting Applejack. “Forgiveness…” The yellow Chaos Emerald floated until it hovered over the outstretched palm of Sunset Shimmer. “Loyalty…” The blue Chaos Emerald moved directly over Rainbow Dash’s heart. “And the magic that keeps it all together!” The violet Chaos Emerald positioned itself close to Twilight Sparkle, earning it another smile. Sonic turned to face everyone with crossed arms, barely noticing that their geode necklaces were also aglow. “And that is the true potential of the ‘Chaos’ Emeralds! Through the magic of friendship!” In a simultaneous move, the gems streaked right into the chests of the girls. The air erupted in a bright flash of light, forcing Sonic to shield his eyes. And inside the light, a remarkable transformation to behold went underway. The girls’ hair grew longer, horse-like ears sprouted, wings unfolded on three figures, horns jutted out from three more… and colored flashes shone forth on their chests. Violet. Yellow. Blue. Turquoise. Red. Green. White. The light faded. Sonic lowered his arm and cracked open an eye. “Whoa…” The Mane Seven stood in their Friendship Power forms- unlocked after a confrontation with someone named Wallflower, if Sonic was correct- but with one major difference. Their respective Chaos Emerald had fused with each of the girls, sticking out as a colored hexagonal shape on their torsos. They looked down at themselves in awe and amazement. “You. Guys. Look. AWESOME!” Sonic cheered. “I feel… incredible!” gasped Sunset. “Is that what the gem’s doing?” “Whee!” cried Pinkie. “I feel like I could fly around the whole world five- no, ten times!” “I feel like running around it a HUNDRED times!” emphasized Rainbow. “And never get tired!” “There’s something else…” Twilight spoke up, seeing her two hands beginning to glow with violet magic. “Like there’s something I need to do.” “I feel it, too,” answered Applejack. “I can’t think of anything else!” added Rarity. “Um, what are we supposed to do with it, exactly?” muttered Fluttershy. “I think I know…” replied Twilight. “Everyone, follow my lead.” She drew her arms back, eyes focusing on Sonic. The boy’s face fell. “Uh, are you sure that’s a good id-” Twilight unleashed the magic, a purple stream of shining energy striking Sonic in the chest. The boy cringed at first… until he opened his eyes and felt something amazing growing inside him. “No, no! I take it back!” he called. “Great idea! Come on, hit me!” One by one, the rest of the girls directed their own colored streams that struck Sonic right in the heart. The blue boy closed his eyes, letting the magic within him build up and grow to its limit. The Mane Seven ceased, allowing the last of their magic transfer seep into Sonic. “Whoa, what’s happening to him?!” Rainbow gasped. Sonic’s whole body began to glow with light until it was fully enveloped. His blue hair stood straight up and changed color into something bright. From inside the light, his eyes shot open… to reveal blazing red irises. BAWOOOM! A glimmering golden explosion rocked the Equestria Girls’ visions, making them cry out in surprise. The light faded, revealing a shining golden aura around Sonic… a changed Sonic. His hair had turned from blue to gold, pointing straight upwards instead of its standard spike-ball shape. His green eyes had turned red and his clothes had also changed color to white and yellow. Only his shoes remained unchanged. “Oh, wow!” he laughed to himself. “This… this is incredible! I feel amazing! I feel so! Pumped! Up!” Rainbow let out an amused laugh of her own. “So, since you’re basically saying you’re even better than before… I suppose this means you’ve gone from going sonic to supersonic!” The transformed Sonic paused at his friend’s words, contemplating on them with a shimmering golden aura around him. Rainbow caught his gaze. “What?” “Super Sonic… I LOVE it!” he flashed Rainbow a thumbs-up. The girl just smiled back at him. “That’s it?” spoke an unamused Stygian. “This is the so-called true power of the Chaos Emeralds? A simple change of clothing and color? Hmph. No matter. You will at least provide a great source of entertainment before I drain you all.” “I’ll have you know there’s more to it than that!” answered Super Sonic, turning to face the blackened man. “Alright, Stygian! Prepare to get your black butt kicked, Super Sonic style!” In a golden flash of light, he took off running at rocket speed. The Mane Seven followed up, drawing ever closer to the Man of Shadows. Stygian drew apart his arms, conjuring purple lightning between his hands. With a cry of rage, he directed it towards the eight heroes. Super Sonic weaved between the streams- some of them flying past his face at slow motion- and closed the distance, landing a solid kick at Stygian’s face. “HA!” he shouted, making the Man of Shadows stumble back. “How do ya like that?!” “Grr! I like it just fine!” he blasted another arc at Super Sonic, who jumped high into the air. His friends moved in to attack in his place… while he remained airborne. “Whoa! I can fly? Way past cool!” Super Sonic broke into a dive, curling up into a spinning gold ball. On the street below, Rainbow Dash threw a swinging kick at Stygian. “Hi-yah!” she nailed him across the head, following up with a one-two and a knee to the gut. Stygian snagged her leg, throwing her to the ground and lobbing a purple fireball at the athlete. A rainbow blur sped away, and the fireball hit nothing but the road. Super Sonic dove past, Stygian barely avoiding the gold streak. Applejack plowed a fist across Stygian’s exposed torso, following with an uppercut to the chin. “Left yourself open!” Annoyed, Stygian blasted the farmgirl away with another lightning blast, to which she shrugged off. He sent another fireball her way… to which Rarity jumped into its path and blocked it with a diamond shield. Again, Stygian turned his attention to the sky, conjuring another lightning storm at Super Sonic and Fluttershy. The kind-hearted girl yelped and flew away… but a bolt struck Super Sonic in the chest, sending him reeling. The supercharged boy clutched his chest, expecting pain… but he felt nothing instead. “Whoa again!” he gasped. “Not even a scratch? Oh, I love this look!” He flew through the dark-clouded air again, dodging more lightning bolts sent his way. “You know, you’d be more dark and powerful if you could actually hit me!” Magical sprinkles burst in Stygian’s face, blinding him and forcing an annoyed shout from his mouth. A giggling Pinkie Pie floated past… but not fast enough. Stygian snagged her by the hair, throwing her toward a building. Thinking fast, Twilight telekinetically grabbed her and placed her on the ground. Sunset ran in from behind to land a hit, but Stygian was ready for her. Using his own telekinesis, the Man of Shadows pinned her in place and flung her aside with an enraged cry. He turned back in front of himself… and his purple eyes widened at the sight of two gold and rainbow streaks. Super Sonic and Rainbow Dash tag-teamed Stygian, swinging wildly at their enemy. The two of them slowed time to land their final blow… but Stygian grabbed each of their legs, resulting in shocked expressions from each of them. “GRAAAH!” Stygian threw them both into buildings, shattering windows. Super Sonic shook his head in a dazed manner while Rainbow struggled to get up. “Sucker packs a wallop! But… how can he be faster than the two of us?” Stygian slammed with the ground hard with two fists, creating a small quake that sent pieces of asphalt and cars into the air. Applejack punched away the debris, only for a car to slam right into her and knock her to the ground. Twilight held up several pieces aimed for her… leaving her wide open for Stygian, who dashed in the form of a black mist and punched her with a magic-imbued fist. Stygian threw purple fire from his hands, burning away Pinkie’s thrown sprinkles and forcing her to back off. A strong kick sent Sunset into the air, where he jumped after her, grabbed her by the hair, and slammed her to the road with a roar. Stygian landed, fuming as he searched for his next target. His hate-filled eyes turned to a frozen Fluttershy, who caught his gaze and whimpered. With another scream, he blasted more lightning at her. Fluttershy ducked for cover, the lightning hitting Rarity’s shield instead. The Man of Shadows intensified his power with a snarl. Rarity squeezed her eyes shut and strained under the sudden pressure. Cracks appeared from the relentless bolts… and the shield shattered, leaving Rarity prone for electrocution and blowing her back up. Super Sonic darted back into the fray, smashing Stygian with some more rapid Spin Dashes. Stygian gave a high kick, popping Sonic into the air. The boy righted himself, but failed to block a strong punch that sent him crashing to the road. He hopped back and trained his eyes on his opponent. The Mane Seven gathered around him… each of them looking weary and bruised, yet not hopeless. “It’s eight on one!” Sonic cried in disbelief. “How is this not working?!” “THE DARKNESS WILL NOT BE STOPPED!” screamed Stygian. “YOU WILL ALL BE MINE!” More streaks of angry violet lightning zipped towards the group. Eyes quickly going wide, Sonic squeezed them shut and threw up his arms… Again, he felt nothing. But not just from the invulnerability. This time, he didn’t feel the electricity at all. He opened his eyes, terribly confused at what the heck was happening. “Huh?” Aside from the aura surrounding him, Super Sonic took in the sight of a circular yellow shield with diamond patterns protecting him from the lightning as long as he kept his arms crossed in a blocking pose. Behind him, the Equestria Girls floated overhead with equally shocked expressions. “What in the hey is going on here?” asked a baffled Applejack. “Those diamonds!” gasped Rarity. “That’s my magic!” “I think when we triggered his change with the Emeralds,” replied Sunset. “We gave him a little something extra. Our magic must’ve gotten into the mix!” “You mean he has our powers now?” Rainbow repeated. “Pretty much!” Super Sonic turned to the struggling Stygian with a confident smirk. “Aw, sweet!” He spread his arms out, the shield bursting apart and stunning the Man of Shadows. “Thanks, ladies!” He blasted towards Stygian, who met him with crackling hands. Super Sonic zipped around and landed a flurry of blows on the Man of Shadows. Stygian lashed out with more lightning, but Super Sonic dodged so fast he appeared to have teleported away. “Cool, right?!” He landed a solid spinning kick to the back of Stygian’s head, sending him reeling. “Hey, temper temper!” “SILENCE!” roared Stygian, unleashing a rapid volley of fireballs at Super Sonic. Instead of evading them, Super Sonic flew right in front of their path and extended his arms. The projectiles froze, surrounded by a golden aura. “Nope!” Super Sonic flung his arms to the sides, redirecting the fireballs to the ground below. “Impressive!” commented Twilight. Super Sonic blasted for Stygian again, weaving right past him instead of slamming into him. “What?!” gasped an off-guard Stygian. “Hey, blackie! Present for ya!” Super Sonic tossed out some golden sparkles, which blew in bright flashes right in Stygian’s face. “AGH!” “Wow! My sprinkles!” gasped Pinkie. “Although they’re not really sprinkles right now…” Grabbing a car without even touching it, Stygian hurled it out at Super Sonic with a cry. Super Sonic drew back a fist, uppercutting the car and punching it back at the Man of Shadows. The vehicle slammed into his body and forced him to the ground. “That’s showing him! Woo!” cheered Applejack. “I… will not… be defeated…!” grunted the Man of Shadows. “Doesn’t look that way to me,” Super Sonic noted. Another lightning strike was desperately unleashed in his direction, utter frustration on Stygian’s face. “Do not TEST MY PATIENCE, YOU-!” Super Sonic was gone when the attack dissipated. Confused, Stygian looked around wildly in a desperate search. While he found nothing, a finger tapped on his shoulder twice. “What’s up?” Super Sonic delivered a strong uppercut, following with a flip kick that knocked Stygian into the air. Grabbing him by the arm, Super Sonic took off skyward in a gold streak. Breaking free when high enough, Stygian blasted Super Sonic away with a fireball that met his shield. “Alright, this is getting old. How about giving you something I’ve saved just for last?” “I’m not through with you yet, child! Your magic will be mine, and it shall sustain me for-” “Okay, okay! Sheesh, you bad guys never know when to shut up.” “YOU DARE-” “Case in point.” Super Sonic balled up, spinning rapidly in place. As his golden form whirred like a turbocharged engine, he became flooded with all the colors of the rainbow until he resembled a swirling whirlpool of paint. “Oh, so awesome!” whispered Rainbow Dash. Stygian threw up a shield of his own, but Super Sonic plowed through with a rainbow streak. In seconds, they crashed down onto the street in a cloud of dust. While the girls watched on, a golden figure floated out and joined them. “Okay, we’re done here. Care to surrender?” Stygian coughed through the dissipating smoke. “I… I can’t… I will not lose… to… to children…” Super Sonic shrugged with a sigh. “Shoulda known better.” He glanced over his shoulder to the girls. “Welp, looks like he’s finished.” “NEVER!” screamed Stygian, throwing out another lightning bolt. Effortlessly, Super Sonic raised a hand to absorb it in a smaller version of his shield. “Like I said, finished. Now, mind if I join in on your usual?” Twilight nodded. “By all means.” She closed her eyes, linking hands with her friends as they did the same. All eight of them floated into the air, Super Sonic clenching his fists to trigger a flash of his golden aura. Magic streams floated from the Equestria Girls to Super Sonic, who initiated another supercharged Spin Dash. He shot off in a brilliant bolt of light, surrounded by rainbow colors. “NOOOOOOOOO!” BOOOOM! Super Sonic collided with the weakened Stygian, erupting in a sonic rainboom that traveled beyond Canterlot City’s borders. A magnificent glow flooded the city for five seconds, parting the black clouds above. The light of a blue sky revealed itself and the rays of the sun shone through. Down below, Super Sonic and the Equestria Girls floated close to street level, staring at the small crater before them. All eight of them watched the dust rise and listened to everything around them settle down. Super Sonic turned to the sky. The only clouds up there now were fluffy and white… just as they should be. “It’s quiet…” “Hey,” he turned to see Twilight smiling at him. “Thanks for everything you’ve done for us.” “Nah,” Super Sonic responded. “Thank you girls for everything you’ve done for me. Without all of you, I’d probably be still stuck with one Emerald.” Rainbow chuckled. “Hey, it’s what we do. But a question… I know I’m not really into gems, but why call them emeralds when they’re not all green?” Super Sonic just shrugged. “Take it up with him. Also, have I mentioned you guys look amazing like that?” The athlete smiled warmly at him. “Not looking too bad yourself, blue dude… wait, or should it be gold dude? Uh, I’ll work on that.” Everyone else laughed at her words… until Super Sonic’s body brightly flashed. The light came and went, revealing Sonic back in his normal blue self. The girls quickly followed with colored flashes of their own, reverting to their everyday appearances with the Chaos Emeralds at their feet. The seven jewels glowed with color, rising into the air and spinning in a circle. The gems whirled in a colorful wheel, ascending higher and higher into the sky. Another bright flash filled everyone’s vision… and seven streaks of light flew away in separate directions, scattering the gems once again. Sonic sighed happily. “Y’know… they really are seven gems of miracles.” “Ungh…” “Hm?” Sonic turned to the small crater in the middle of the road. Inside it, something was slightly moving. Something human. Everyone made their way over to the rim, peering down and catching a glimpse of whoever was inside. “What… where… where am I? I remember… nothing?” “Hey!” called Sonic. “You okay? Nothing broken and all that?” The dust settled. The figure inside rose to his feet and turned, a confused expression on his face. He wore a grey shirt and brown pants, had azure eyes and dark cerulean eyes. Eyes that stared at the eight teenagers in uncertainty and bafflement alike. “Um… I am fine?” “Stygian is… back to normal,” Twilight realized. “We must’ve purged the darkness from him!” “Stygian?” repeated the man, confusion on his face. “Stygian… yes. That’s my name. It’s… coming back. The… the misery. The pain. And the darkness… then black.” “Yeah, you did some pretty messed up stuff,” Rainbow said. “Consuming magic for eternal life, or something like that.” “How… how long was I cursed?” “Years,” answered Sunset. “You traveled to many places and sucked the magic from a lot of people.” “And you have us to thank for putting an end to it!” Sonic finished. “You’re welcome, by the way.” Stygian blinked. “I’m sorry… but, who are you?” The boy in blue paused, soaking in those words. The Mane Seven turned to him with smiles on their faces. Smiling back at his new friends, Sonic looked back to Stygian… and pointed at himself with a thumb. “The name’s Sonic!” he boldly stated. “And I’m just a kid that loves adventure!” “Is that true?” “Whatcha see is whatcha get, pal!” “I see… I, um, I am sorry for the trouble I have caused for you.” “Nah!” Sonic dismissed, waving his hand. “Don’t worry about it! It was that Man of Shadows guy, not you!” “Still… there is the matter of returning to my home village.” “I got just the thing for that.” Sonic reached into his pouch and offered a golden ring to Stygian, who looked at the decoration in confusion. “A ring?” “A magic ring,” the boy corrected. “Just think of where you want the other end to appear, then throw it. The rest takes care of itself.” “All right…” Stygian took the ring, turned around and tossed it in front of him. Instantly, the ring expanded and revealed a humble village in the countryside. He looked back to Sonic and the girls with a grateful smile. “Thank you. All of you.” He stepped through the ring, leaving it to vanish with a dinging sound behind him. Now alone, the group sighed in relief. “It’s really over,” Sunset whispered. “Celebration party time?” Pinkie pleaded. “I do believe that is in order, darling,” Rarity answered. “YES!” “After that wild ride,” Sunset added. “I could use a moment to unwind.” “Okay, everyone!” Twilight spoke up. “Time to head home!” Everyone cheered in celebration and started to move out with Twilight… everyone but one. Rainbow noticed the state of the group, pausing in her tracks with curious eyes. The multi-color haired girl turned behind her… ...and saw Sonic with a stricken, heartbroken look on his face. Rainbow immediately ran up to him, crouching down on one knee and placing a hand on his shoulder. “Sonic?” she whispered. “What’s wrong?” The boy just lowered his head. “Home…” Rainbow heard a gasp leave her throat. Her own heart snapped at his only spoken word. Everything came back to her in an instant. Sonic may have been in Canterlot City for a while… but he wasn’t raised here. “You… you should get going, shouldn’t you?” “Mm,” came the kid’s reply. He dipped a hand into his pouch and held a ring between two fingers. His eyes were full of hesitation as he stared at it. Rainbow gathered herself. “But you don’t want to…” “No. But if I stay here, more crazy, possibly power-hungry bad guys are gonna show up and threaten this city,” Sonic whispered, turning his eyes to Rainbow. “I can’t just endanger you like that.” “It’s okay, Sonic… me and the girls can handle ourselves just fine both with and without you,” Rainbow told him in a calming tone. “You have your own friends on South Island who’ve been missing you, right?” “Y-yeah…” “Hey… you can come back any time.” Rainbow said soothingly. “Okay?” Sonic looked to her with green eyes resembling grassy fields. “Okay… I’ll be sure to.” He moved closer to Rainbow… ...and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. “Thanks, Dashie.” The athlete returned the hug with a warm smile. “No prob, BFFF.” The boy drew back in confusion. “Uh…” “Best Fast Friend Forever,” Dash clarified. “I thought of it just after you sent Robotnik… uh, or Eggman, whatever, packing. Catchy, don’t ya think?” Sonic giggled. “Yeah, totally.” He paused, looking at the ring in his hand once again. He inhaled deeply, releasing it in a breath of readiness. He locked eyes with Rainbow, who nodded warmly at him… before her eyes lit up in remembrance. “Here,” she said, handing the boy a piece of paper. “This fell out when we were laying the smackdown on Stygian.” Sonic took it from her. “My bucket list,” he whispered, placing it in his pocket. “Thanks for that, Colors.” “Nah,” Rainbow replied with a shake of her head. “I’ve got you to thank, kiddo. This was pretty much the craziest adventure I’ve ever been on. And considering everything else I’ve done, that’s saying something.” Sonic smirked. “It sure is.” The boy in blue turned around, facing the open road that stretched down ahead of him. Raising one leg and drawing his arms back, Sonic tossed the ring like a baseball player, sending it flying through the air with a golden trail… ...and when it grew in size, Rainbow was treated to the sight of a grassy path with wooden fences on both sides of it. Sunflowers, totem poles, cliffsides, and a beautiful waterfall awaited on the other end of the ring. The grassy path sloped downwards, leading into a loop carved from checkerboard-style ground. And the sky was clear; a bright blue matching the color of the boy’s hair instead of the dark, angry clouds that she remembered looming overhead. Rays of the sun beamed down onto the surface of the nearby ocean. The teen approached the ring, adjusting the straps of his bag. He came to a stop in front of the swirling golden gateway… and turned to Rainbow. “One more thing, Dash…” “Yeah?” The boy was quiet for a moment, casting his eyes to the ground. He bit his lip before his mind came to a conclusion… “Skyler.” Rainbow raised a brow. “What?” The boy smiled at her sudden confusion. “Skyler,” he repeated. “That’s my name.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t find the words to reply to that. “Before I found the crystal and got my magic. You, uh, you said you wanted to know earlier, so there you have it.” “That’s… that’s a pretty good name.” “Just…” Sonic held up a hand. “Don’t tell this to any of the girls, okay? Speedster’s word?” Rainbow chuckled, placing her own hand over her heart. “Speedster’s word.” “Cool.” Sonic turned back to the ring, hopping through onto the grassy path. Immediately, a blue bird flew past his face. The boy in blue turned back to Canterlot City… and back to the rainbow-haired girl. The athlete was waving at him, a smile on her face. “So long, Sonic!” Sonic gave a warm smile of his own, taking one last look at Rainbow Dash… and gave her a thumbs-up. “I’ll be seeing ya!” The ring shrank and vanished with a ding, cutting off the bridge between city and island. Now alone, Sonic listened to the sounds of his old home. The sounds of the rushing waterfall… the sound of chirping birds… and the sound of the ocean. He turned to the blue, nearly-cloudless sky. It seemed like a lifetime ago that the Man of Shadows arrived and plunged South Island into darkness, and with his defeat the clouds had dissipated. And now, the only thing noticeable in the sky was a rainbow. A rainbow shining with all of its colors to behold. Sonic thought back to the fellow speedster in Canterlot and sighed happily. “One more thing to check off the list,” he muttered, reaching into his pocket and unfurling the small piece of paper. He looked down his bucket list, searching for a particular entry… He stopped when he found what he was looking for. The words “Make a new friend” with a circle around it was already crossed out. Crossed out not in black… but in a multicolored line from red to violet. In rainbow colors. Sonic’s heartstrings nearly tugged at that moment and he let out a gasp of disbelief. The longer he looked at that line, the more warm he felt inside. After a moment of silence, he tucked the list back into his pocket… and looked to the sky. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash.” He turned to the path before him, took a runner’s stance… and blasted off into the loop in a blue streak, leaving blades of grass flying behind him. And in Canterlot City, Rainbow Dash stared at where the ring rested, moving to the sidewalk. She slowly walked down the street, turning her eyes to the sky. It was blue, with barely any clouds in sight. And the color reminded her of her new friend. She barely noticed she was starting to pick up speed. When she did, she just narrowed her eyes and picked up the pace. Faster and faster she ran, seeing whole blocks speed past her sight. She boldly smiled… as her eyes shifted from their normal magenta to a whirlpool of color. Rainbow Dash blasted off with a shout, leaving a trail of her namesake behind as she raced for home… Author's Note It might've been a rough start, but with the power of the Gems of Miracles (now known as the Chaos Emeralds) and the Magic of Friendship combined, Sonic and the HuMane 7 have triumphed over the Man of Shadows, purged the darkness from his being, and freed the Mobius Archipelago from evil! That's a big win for them! Sadly, now that his mission is completed, Sonic has to say goodbye to his new friends, but not before he reveals his true name to them. Plus, he did promise he'll visit them whenever he can. All will be concluded in the FINAL CHAPTER! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
1) PROLOGUE: OUT OF THE BLUE 1) PROLOGUE: OUT OF THE BLUE An orange tint began to brighten the cloudy early morning sky. Beneath it, a tall, looming figure of a factory rose over the landscape. A figure that was so vast and dense that it made any smaller building seem quaint and insignificant… ...until an explosion went off near one of the towers. Clouds of red and orange flames puffed into existence as alarms went off. Spotlights snapped awake and shined their light on the ground for any sign of an intruder. A blue streak zoomed into view, pursued by several egg-shaped drones. Rounding a large bend, the sapphire streak sped up the side of a search tower. Missiles flew from their sockets, exploding against the structure and obliterating the spotlight. Evading them, the streak bounced off and raced away as it touched the ground. The drones flew after it, now unleashing hails of bullets. Their shots failed to hit their mark, the streak darting left and right to avoid them. It made a sharp right, and only three drones gave chase. The rest couldn’t turn quick enough, smashing against a wall and exploding into pieces. The blur bounded off storage crates that erupted into flame when missiles hit them. Underneath the sky blue color of the blur, a dark-blue flash of light shone underneath. “Gotta get outta here!” Mechanical warriors barred the streak’s way, weapons aimed and charging up. More drones sped onto the scene, ready to engage. The robots’ guns burst into a storm of bullets, the projectiles screaming right for the streak. A gold ring flew from the streak, shining in the early morning sun. The robots barely noticed it, believing the circular decoration to be useless… They were proven wrong as the ring suddenly grew in size, becoming a portal to parts unknown. The blue streak raced through the ring, the drones set to give chase. The ring suddenly closed off, sending the drones crashing into the bipedal robots. Several of them crashed to the ground with metallic smashes, yet two remained standing. “EG-NS2017 to Control,” one of the robots whirred. “Target has escaped perimeter. Repeat: target has fled using unknown rift in space.” In the main control tower, a response came as a figure pressed down on a button. “This is unfortunate. Whoever… or whatever that was managed to escape with the gem. Contact the doctor and Agent Stone in the city. Inform him of this setback. He and his agents will be on the lookout for him whenever he appears.” “Affirmative, Agent Snively.” The transmission cut and the man stared out at where the ring portal closed. “Now, you speedy little thing… where did you go?” Miles away from the facility, on a single stretch of early morning sun-lit road, only a few cars drove along. Something flashed in the air just above the road, and a golden circle opened. A blue blur shot out from the rift, speeding down the road and racing past a sign as the ring closed behind him. The dust kicked up by the blur settled, revealing the words on the sign while the streak sped towards towering buildings. WELCOME TO CANTERLOT CITY (The My Little Pony: Equestria Girls logo spins into view, the purple colors slowly turning blue and sparkling with lightning. A blue streak races underneath it, revealing the words “True Blue”. A ring portal flashes into existence, the logo being sucked in.) Author's Note The adventure begins. What's going to happen next? Trust me, you'll find out soon! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Once again, thank you DareDreamer for letting me adopt this story so I can show it to everyone who hasn't read it yet! Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
3) CHAPTER TWO“Thanks for the news, Shining… okay, she’s just about done here, so… got it. Bye.” Twilight Sparkle hung up and slipped her phone back in her pocket. She looked back at the skatepark, where a helmeted figure on a multi-colored board raced all over. Other skaters watched in awe at the cool tricks the figure performed. When the routine was finished, the figure sped back up a ramp… ...and touched down next to Twilight. Reaching up to its helmet, the figure removed it to reveal flowing hair of multiple colors. She shook it loose, kicking her board into her arm. “Woo!” she cheered, punching the air. “Did you SEE that awesome grinding, Twi?! And that three-sixty hardflip? Oh! Don’t forget that five-forty nose grab!” Twilight just smirked and rolled her eyes. Rainbow Dash, ladies and gentlemen. Competitive. Athletic. And all out self-respecting. She just wouldn’t be herself without it. “You did pretty good out there.” “Pretty good? Pretty good?!” the jock shot back in disbelief. “You’ve just bared witness to the most amazing skateboarding ever, and all you can say is ‘pretty good’?!” “Okay, okay!” Twilight chuckled. “You were amazing, Dash. By the way, my brother has a message for you.” “Heh. Lay it on me,” Rainbow said with crossed arms. “He says to knock off going past the speed traps on your morning runs. According to Officer Soarin, you clocked three hundred miles per hour on the road leading into the city.” Rainbow’s magenta eyes shot open. “Three hun- wait, wait, wait. Hold on a minute, Twilight. I didn’t go anywhere near any speed traps today. In fact, I skipped my morning run today to help out with AJ!” “You… didn’t?” Twilight asked, confusion seeping in. “Nuh-uh! And no way would I run out of the city unless something was up! Wasn’t that just another car or something?” “Uh, Soarin didn’t report seeing many vehicles on his shift,” Twilight reported. “Not even when his radar went off. I… I think it was broken or something.” “Could be. He should probably get it fixed.” “But he swore he saw something on that road.” Rainbow cut her off. “Hey, boredom will do that to you. Now, if you’ll excuse me…” SHOOM! In a rainbow-like blur, she was off and away, leaving Twilight in the dust. The girl was left alone with her thoughts, a thinking expression on her face. If Soarin really did see something out there, how could it move that fast? Unless magic is at work here, something doesn’t add up… Sunset Shimmer sighed as she fished out her keys. She’d been helping out Fluttershy at the animal shelter, and Pinkie wouldn’t stop jabbering about some “weird guy” she’d seen hanging out in the city. According to the cheerful girl, the person in question barely made any social contact with anyone. It was like he was invisible… because he wanted to be. Sunset had a sense of deja vu. This better not be like Wallflower again… “You don’t think your prolonged isolation is making you a bit crazy, perhaps?” a nasal voice said. Sunset froze just before her key could touch the door to her apartment. She turned down the hallway, where the voice continued through another door. “Crazy? Me? No way, doc. You got me all wrong.” another voice said, clearly the same one she just heard… but normal. Crazy? Doc? That room wasn’t a psychiatrist’s office, as far as she could tell. And that door was locked, right? So how did he (whoever he was) manage to get in there? “And despite all these so-called friends of yours deep down…” the voice from earlier said, slowly reducing to a normal yet saddened tone. “...you are still rather lonely?” Lonely? Was… was he the guy Pinkie was talking about? “Perhaps… you’re afraid you’ll be alone forever.” The words hung in Sunset’s mind. Alone forever… She shook her head, hearing the doorknob turn. She unlocked the door to her apartment and stepped inside, not wanting to make it awkward for the person heading out. Author's Note We get to see what the HuMane 7 are up to, and Sunset eavesdropping on Sonic sets up the eventual meeting with the titular Equestria Girls and True Blue. See you all in the next chapter! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
13) EPILOGUE: LIFE IN THE FAST LANEA golden ring flashed open atop a building. Through it, a tranquil forest could be seen. And from the ring, four figures jumped through and landed on the building’s roof. At the front of the pack, Sonic rose up. “Fellas… welcome to Canterlot City!” “Wow!” gawked a kid with blonde white-tipped hair and a yellow-orange jacket. A yellow backpack was slung on his back, he wore orange-tinted goggles that rested in his hair, white fingerless gloves, white-red shoes, and a name tag reading “Prower” rested on the left side of his jacket. “This looks amazing!” His blue eyes shone in wonder. “Not too shabby, blue,” commented a taller and broader violet-eyed boy in red. His crimson-dyed hair was tied into dreadlocks and he wore leather pants, a jacket, and spiked gloves wrapped in sports tape. “Looks like you had quite the adventure staying here.” “So this is where you fought the Man of Shadows and saved South Island,” said a girl with pink-dyed hair. A hammer was slung over her back and she wore a maroon-pink outfit with gold rings on her wrists. “And it’s a good thing you did, too. Never again will he do to another place what he did to ours.” “And there’s an upside to all this,” Sonic explained. “In between searching for the Gems of Miracles - er, Chaos Emeralds, whatever - and beating the blackness out of Stygian… I made some new friends here.” “Whoa, really?” asked the boy in red. “You gonna introduce us?” “That sounds like a great idea!” answered the kid in yellow. “After all, any friend of yours is a friend of mine!” “Glad we’re all on the same page! Try to keep up, guys!” Sonic jumped down to the street below and took off in a blue streak. The girl pulled out her hammer and twirled it, her green eyes going to a streetlight. She jumped to it and latched her hammer onto it, swinging off with the grace of a ballerina. The boy in red took a running start and jumped to the building just next to the one he was standing on. The spikes on his gloves stuck into the wall, giving him the grip he needed. With a grunt, he started to climb. The boy in yellow was all that was left, smiling as he watched his friends. He lifted a hand to his backpack and pressed a hidden button on the right strap. Something within the pack whirred… and the contraption opened up. Twin orange helicopter-like rotors unfolded and stood at attention. Two rocket turbines painted yellow with white rims positioned themselves and fired up, engines hot with thrust power. The boy adjusted his goggles over his eyes, grabbed two joysticks that popped up at his sides… and jumped off the roof. The rotors spun wildly until he reached a safe altitude. The rockets kicked in and sent the boy off across the sky at high speed. Soon enough, he was flying right overhead the blue streak. The boy in red and the girl jumped, balanced, climbed, and acrobatically swung after them into one of the city’s neighborhoods. Like it always did when it had a magical crisis, the city moved on as if nothing strange had happened at all. This didn’t surprise Rainbow in the slightest. Well, it wouldn’t have even if she wasn’t feeling the way she was. She wouldn’t admit it to anyone (at least, for now), but she missed Sonic. The person she had so much in common with. Not just the super speed, but the longing for adventure. The inability to sit still. The self-admiration. That boy was like a brother from another mother. And maybe even more… Everyone else never forgot him, because why wouldn’t they? After all, they had helped him get over his fear of loneliness and reminded him that, even though he had left his old friends, he had gained some new ones that he could always count on. At least he made his home safe enough to return. Maybe even if Rainbow wanted to, she’d visit it herself. He was probably reconciling with his old buddies, racing around the island just like he did as a kid- A small sound and a quick flash disrupted her thoughts. She sat up in her seat with a curious expression. Was that just a trick of the wind, or was it… Ding-dong. With the sound of the doorbell ringing through the house, she stood and moved towards the front door. From the other side, Rainbow could hear faint, murmuring voices unfamiliar to her… save for one. Grasping the knob and turning it, she pulled the door open. “Hey, Dashie! Long time no see!” Her magenta eyes widened at the sight of the boy in blue before her. “Sonic?! I- wow, what… what are you doing here? I thought-” “Uh-huh. Island saved, bad guys beaten, all is good in the world. But I thought it would be cool to stop by and introduce you to some pals of mine.” He pointed behind him with a thumb, allowing Rainbow to look at three other people on the porch. All of them were looking at Rainbow with calming smiles. One of them, a tall boy in red, whistled in an impressed tone. “She does look like quite the runner, blue.” A kid in yellow and orange clothing stepped forth, holding out a hand. “Nice to finally meet you,” he said. “Sonic’s told us all about you and your friends, so he decided to give us a little tour of this city before we meet everyone else.” “Is it true that one of the restaurants has a never-ending pasta bowl?” asked a pink-haired girl with a hammer. At her words, Rainbow just chuckled and turned to the kid, shaking his hand and eying the nametag on his jacket. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too… uh, Prower.” “Miles Prower,” the kid replied. “But please, call me Tails.” Rainbow rose a brow. “Tails? Why that?” The kid didn’t answer her verbally. Instead, he turned around to give Rainbow a view of the yellow backpack he was carrying. He pressed something on one of the straps, and before Rainbow’s eyes the accessory unfolded and transformed into a flying contraption of helicopter-like rotors and two thrust engines. “Whoa!” Rainbow chuckled. “Okay, that is awesome! Do you use that thing to fly or something?” “To keep pace with me when we were kids, yeah,” Sonic answered, ruffling Miles’ hair and earning a giggle from the younger kid. “The two engines look like two foxtails, and the nickname I gave him just stuck.” “And he built that by himself?” Tails turned back around and nodded, disengaging the contraption. “Along with lots of others! Not bad for a twelve-year-old, huh?” “Yeah, not bad!” Rainbow flashed a thumbs-up in approval. The boy in red stepped forward with crossed arms. “Name’s Kyle, but I like to go by Knuckles! And if anyone wants to mess with my buddies, they’re gonna have to go through me first!” Sonic gave him a cheeky smirk and leaned close to whisper in his ear. “Unless they pull another dupe move on you.” The boy spun on Sonic with an annoyed expression. “Hey! I thought you agreed to not bring that up!” Sonic just laughed. “Force of habit, rad red. Get used to it.” Rainbow smiled before turning to the girl. “And you are-?” “Amy Rose,” she replied charmingly. “The best hammer swinger on South Island. A pleasure.” “The pleasure is mine,” Rainbow replied. “So, I take it all of you know what blue had been up to here, yeah?” “Yeah, what was the deal with that science guy?” Knuckles asked. “What was his name? Robot Nick or something?” “Robotnik, apparently,” Tails answered, gluing his eyes to a small handheld device. “And no matter how many times I search for evidence of him, I get nothing. It’s like he digitally wiped himself from existence or something. Totally strange.” “That’s your typical shady mad genius for you,” Rainbow chuckled… before her eyes lit up. “Oh! I just remembered! The girls helped me put something together in case you decided to come back!” Sonic looked interested at her words. “Oh, yeah? What would that be?” Rainbow gestured for them to enter. “I’ll show ya.” She led the group upstairs until they reached the door to the attic. She pulled it down and prepped the ladder, standing back once she was finished. “After you.” Sonic climbed up the ladder and peeked inside the attic. Rainbow watched the curious faces of his friends while she just gave a knowing look at them. From above, a gasp of surprise left Sonic’s throat. “Oh… my… are you kidding me?” Tails was the first to speak up at his friend’s quieted tone. “Uh, Sonic? Is everything okay up there?” Sonic disappeared into the attic. “I can’t believe it… R-Rainbow, how did you…?” Anxious as to what the boy in blue was seeing, everyone else climbed up the ladder one at a time. Rainbow was the last to ascend, taking in the sound of the group’s delighted gasps and whispers. “Oh, wow…” Knuckles gasped. “This is incredible,” Tails whispered. “How did you get all of this?” Amy asked. Rainbow stayed quiet as she stepped into the room and placed her hands on her hips. The attic of her house was no longer a dusty, dark space filled with boxes and collectibles. Now, it was a thriving bedroom. A round skylight hung from the ceiling wall. Racing posters and a desk of pictures and trophies stood at the far end of the room. Road signs littered the walls, with speed signs spray-painted to add a little more velocity behind them. Among them, a license plate read “G0T2G0F45T”. It was positioned over a race-car style bed near a window, parallel to a small TV hooked up to a video game system. A pile of comic books and a pair of headphones rested in a corner, lying near a beanbag chair, a pair of nunchucks, and a tire swing. A stereo rested near the bed, complete with a box of music tapes. Lastly, a living area for a small pet- complete with a food and water dish and a running wheel- stood near the back closet. “I… it’s all here,” Sonic breathed. Even his old hammock was restrung in case a guest came over. To add a little flair to the scene, strung-up lights shined with blue, red, and yellow colors. Looking proud at her work, Rainbow walked up to Sonic. “Twilight found your old cave two weeks ago. It took us several days to relocate all we found in there… to here. So, what do you think?” He gave no answer, although she saw tears welling up in his eyes. His mouth widened in the biggest smile she had seen on him… and then he laughed joyously. “Look at this!” he shouted, shooting through the skylight and landing on the beanbag chair. He zipped all around the room in sheer excitement. “Are you kidding?! And the beanbag?! No way!” He played with both his paddle and his pair of nunchucks before trying on his ridiculously-huge hat. “How did you even get this?! Oh, this is so cool! Ha ha ha! I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it!” He belly-flopped onto his new bed with a celebratory whoop and spread himself out. Everyone else gathered around him while Rainbow knelt beside him. “Welcome to your new home-away-from-home, Sonic.” “Thank you…” Sonic whispered happily. “Thank you so much.” Rainbow smiled again. “You’re welcome. The city’s been pretty lively since I last saw you, though.” “In what way?” “I've heard that three guys are moving a detective business downtown soon. Fluttershy met a little girl at the animal shelter that wanted to adopt a rabbit, and Sunset saw someone coming to town on a black-and-red motorbike. Plus, a gang of daredevils calling themselves the Rogues are gonna be hitting the local skate park and I wanna see what they’re made of.” “I guess we came just in time for the party, then,” Knuckles replied. “So, when are we gonna meet the rest of your friends?” “Soon. Soon enough,” Rainbow answered. “But first, I figured you might wanna stay for a while.” Sonic sighed happily as he stared up through the skylight. “That’s the best news I’ve heard all day…” Elsewhere As the cries and hoots of animals echoed through a vast jungle, a hand set down a sharp stone. The figure it belonged to turned to a small pool of water, gazing at his reflection: a bald head with a wild long mustache. Nothing but a pair of goggles laid atop the bare skin of his forehead. “My grasp on sanity remains… absolute,” spoke Doctor Eggman, his voice notably deeper than his last encounter with Sonic. “Even after days and weeks of solitude in this harsh, unforgiving environment. Isn’t that right, Agent Stone?” His attention turned to a small rock that looked similarly to a face. It gave no reply, but Eggman picked it up and heaved it into his arms. “Why don’t you get a headstart…” With a grunt, Eggman chucked the rock further into the foliage and heard it hit the ground rolling. “...and do some rock-connaissance!” Immediately after those words, he burst out into heavy laughter. “HAHAHAHA! ROCK-CONNAISSANCE!” he bellowed to the nearby plants. “COME ON, that’s hilarious!” He jerked his head towards a large mushroom, giving it a good thwack that made the fungus vibrate. “What’s the matter with you? I thought you were supposed to be a fun guy! HA! Fun guy! Is that gold or what?!” Eggman picked up a small component from a bag he stitched together: a satchel that held the remaining parts of his demolished aircraft. “Doctor’s Log,” he spoke into it. “It’s been eighty-seven days since my arrival into this jungle. Limited resources are at my disposal, as are limited supplies… and a method of vacating this untamed ecosystem. Heh. A lesser man would die here… but me?” He took something else out from the bag and held it in front of his twisted, grinning face. It was a glass container holding a long blue strand of hair that crackled with energy. “I’ll be home in time to steal Christmas. End of entry.” He tucked the hair away and turned in a mechanical fashion, hiking off into the jungle with robotic movements. He mimicked mechanical buzzes and clanks as he did so, reaching down to pick up the rock he had thrown earlier. With a loud grunt, he threw the rock further into the forest and bellowed out into the wild. “ROCK-CONNAISSANCE! HAHAHAHA! Come on, cheer up!” In the woods outside Canterlot City, a short tree stump started to hum with an eerie rhythm. From the ground beneath, something broke through the base of the stump: a crimson light. And if one could investigate the stump and look closer at the source of the ominous pulsing, they’d find an odd gem sticking out of the ground. Budged near the base of the stump and shining with energy. A crimson gemstone lodged into the ground, its surface flickering and constantly changing. A magenta ruby icosahedron in shape. A ruby that gave off an eerie tone and appeared to distort the very air around it, coating it in a crimson hue as its hums continued to emanate. Silently it sat, waiting to be found by an unlucky soul… Author's Note CAST: Walker Scobell - Sonic Tara Strong - Twilight Sparkle, additional voices Ashleigh Ball - Rainbow Dash, Applejack, additional voices Andrea Libman - Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, additional voices Tabitha St. Germain - Rarity, additional voices Rebecca Shoichet - Sunset Shimmer, additional voices Cathy Weseluck - Spike, additional voices Lee Majdoub - Agent Stone Donna J. Fulks - Longclaw Iain Armitage - Miles "Tails" Prower John Boyega - Knuckles Alexandra Daddario - Amy Rose and Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik/Dr. Eggman Bill Newton - Styigian/The Man of Shadows, additional voices Benjamin L. Valic - Sonic (young) Andrew Francis - Shining Armor, additional voices Matt Hill - Soarin, additional voices Michelle Creber - Applebloom Claire Corlett - Sweetie Belle Madeleine Peters - Scootaloo Kathleen Barr - Trixie Lulamoon, additional voices Vincent Tong - Flash Sentry, additional voices Kelly Metzger - Spitfire, additional voices Nicole Oliver - Additional Voices Shannon Chan-Kent - Roadhouse Waitress, additional voices Garry Chalk - Roadhouse Thug, additional voices Eric Bauza - News Reporter, additional voices Thank you for joining me on this awesome adventure, everybody! And thank you DareDreamer for making this fantastic story, too! Comments, reviews and opinions are appreciated, thank you. Note: I don't own My Little Pony: Equestria Girls nor Sonic the Hedgehog.
