New world, same hero.

"Luckily... it doesn't seem like this could get any worse..."

A bad choice of words.

I hope you’re enjoying this as much as I enjoy letting go of all the ideas about what I want to write, the human imagination is truly amazing, isn’t it?

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The day went on normally, with everyone going about their lives, but the blue hedgehog didn’t waste any time. From the moment he dropped off the young apple filly at school, he wasted no time exploring the surrounding areas of this unfamiliar world. From the outskirts of the town, on top of a snowy mountain to the southwest of Ponyville, he had no idea where the path he was taking would lead him. He simply smiled widely and sped down the mountain, only to end up in what seemed like a lifeless, dead farm. All he could see were rocks, rocks, and more rocks. "What a strange place. Could it be abandoned?" He ventured in, walking slowly, not hearing any typical farm animals or even signs of crops to be harvested.

"Hello? Is anyone living here? And I thought Eggman Land lacked life," he thought to himself.

His steps stopped when he heard a whistle that caught his attention, forcing him to turn his gaze to see who had called him. "Hey YOU! How did you get into our farm!?"

A light gray-coated pony with a green mane, with a tough look in her eyes fixed on Sonic, showing no fear of confronting the hedgehog. "Oh, so the farm is still inhabited? Sorry, but it looks a bit... petrified if not dead," he thought to himself, trying not to provoke the pony’s impulsive temper.

"That's right! This is the Rock Pie Farm! And who are you?" She approached, giving him a look as if trying to peer into his soul, only noticing pure blue fur and a silly, confident, and very calm smile.

"I'm just a hedgehog exploring new lands, and your farm happened to cross my path by chance," he said indifferently, shrugging. "So, a rock farm, huh? It looks a bit... uh... rustic for my taste."

"Well, friend! If you don’t like it, you can leave, or you can leave. Are you looking for any special rock, or are you just going to admire the scenery?" Sonic looked at her, trying to understand if it was a threat or if she was just trying to be friendly.

"Well, I’m not sure if I’ll find what I’m looking for here, but what I’m sure about is that it’s not a rock... it looks more like a gem, shiny, and it fits perfectly in my hand," he demonstrated by picking up a rock from the ground, which fit perfectly in his hand, covering all his fingers without being too big or so small that he could close it.

"Not a rock? Then I don’t think you’ll find it here. We only harvest and collect rocks."

While the conversation continued between the earth pony and the hedgehog, a light brown leather-colored pony with a gray mane and tail, honey-colored eyes, and gray hair and whiskers like his tail, walked up. His cutie mark was a pickaxe. "Limestone? Who is our guest?" asked the stallion with a calm gaze fixed on the blue creature.

"Hello, sir, good afternoon!" Sonic greeted politely, raising his right hand and waving it to the side of his head, with his left fist on his hip, while keeping his signature friendly smile. Immediately, the pony, named by the stallion, glared at him with hatred, as if the words he used were the worst way to greet someone.

The stallion walked over to the young ones, remaining calm as he noticed the friendly smile of the blue guest, which seemed to remind him of someone very happy and energetic.

"My name is Igneous Rock, and this is my daughter Limestone Pie. I apologize if she caused you any trouble, but we don’t usually expect surprise guests."

"Don’t worry about her, I have friends with the same attitude," Sonic smiled pleasantly, while the pony beside him glared at him with hatred. "I was just exploring new horizons, and your farm caught my attention as I was coming down the mountain. I thought it was abandoned, but I was wrong. I’ve never seen anything like a rock farm."

"It’s understandable that it might seem unusual to those unfamiliar with our family, but I assure you this farm has been in our family for generations."

"I have a friend with a job related to a 'giant rock,' but enough talk," he said, glancing at her "pleasant" daughter. "She, upon hearing this, suddenly felt that it was a mockery of her attitude," he continued, "was searching for a gem or jewel, more specifically an emerald."

"I’m sorry to say, you won’t find anything like that here," Sonic shrugged with a smile, not too concerned about the failure of his idea.

Igneous continued, noting the calmness of his guest. "But why did you think you’d find emeralds on a rock farm?" Igneous asked as Sonic placed his hand on his chin, thinking.

"Hmm… honestly, I didn’t expect to find anything like that so quickly, but the conversation just came up. Although the story is a bit different, what I’m looking for, I can tell you that the one who was driving me in their 'flying carriage' is a terrible driver, and I lost her during the flight."

After that summary, Limestone was the first to speak. "And what made you really think your belongings would end up here?"

"A hunch, I’d say… but it doesn’t matter. I’ll continue on my way, and I’m sorry for bothering you."

"We’re sorry we couldn’t be of more help, sir..." Before asking for his name, the hedgehog prepared to run but looked over his shoulder to give them a smile.

"I’m Sonic! Sonic the Hedgehog, thank you so much, Mr. Rock! Goodbye, Miss Pie," he said, then quickly ran off, leaving them stunned by the surprising speed at which he sped away for a land creature.

"He’s a very strange guy..." Limestone pointed out with little enthusiasm as she walked away to return to her work.

"Yes, he is... he reminds me of your sister," Igneous smiled slightly and continued his way to continue working on the farm.

The path Sonic took after leaving the rock farm was unknown, not knowing the direction which excited him even more to explore everything his body’s limits would allow. But recognizing the landscape he had already passed through earlier, combined with his great speed, he knew he was never far from anything.

At his great speed and already far from the farm, he crossed a river at full speed, creating a wall of water and forming a rainbow with the mist from the water due to the speed he achieved while running from one side of the river to the other. As soon as he touched the ground, his speed increased dramatically as he had great traction on solid ground, accelerating without fear, only seeing barren land in every direction he looked. He could barely see anything that made it look different. The sun shone brightly, and the heat didn’t seem to affect him at all. But he knew that sooner or later, no matter how hot it got, it wouldn’t bother or affect him. The air blowing through his fur, due to the speed, kept him cool with every step he took.

A heavy, loud sound caught his attention. He turned his gaze toward it and saw a stampede of buffalo running in the same direction as him. He smiled and sped up until he matched their speed and got close enough for the lead buffalo to notice him.

"Hey, big guy! Where’s the fire?" he said casually, drawing the buffalo’s attention. The buffalo was surprised to see something as fast as him, so close to such a dangerous stampede.

"Uhh… we’re not running to escape from a fire or to put one out. We run because we do it every year along this path." Those words made Sonic smile even more. He kept pace with the buffalo but slowly accelerated, getting ahead of him, then turned around to run backward with his arms crossed while looking at him, showing off his speed.

"You know, running is my passion, and it’s something I don’t plan to stop doing for anything in life. You guys shouldn’t stop either. I hope it doesn’t bother you, but I’m going to take your running path for a moment. Goodbye, big guy!" Sonic said as he accelerated to distance himself, then struck his characteristic running pose while speeding away, leaving the stampede far behind. The buffaloes were left speechless by how they were surpassed by something faster than a buffalo.

"Nice places, clean air, friendly inhabitants as far as I can see in these lands, what more can I ask for?" he thought to himself when a growl and a familiar sensation caught his attention, making him look at his belly asking for food. "Ugh... just when I was thinking about it, now you remind me of it. I suppose I could go back and talk to Applejack before continuing to wander. I should ask how things work around here before doing something I might regret, but I don't want to offend anyone." With that, he kept running, naturally following his instincts for direction. His idea of the path he had taken gave him an idea of how to return to the treehouse, but fate smiled upon him and showed him a train track on his way. He came across it, maintaining his speed and running alongside it, hoping it would lead him back to the starting line.

Ponyville - ClubhouseCMC

The time at school was over, and it was the moment when the youth left what could be considered a second home for most of their young lives. A trio of fillies, already far from school, headed towards the forest, reaching a treehouse near the farm and far from the school— a perfect middle point to live between work and education.

At the treehouse, the trio set down their saddlebags and began a private meeting to discuss their next activities.

"Alright, Crusaders! Tomorrow is Saturday! What haven’t we tried yet to get our Cutie Marks?" Apple Bloom asked as she pulled out a long list of unfinished activities, which rolled from her little podium to the front door of the clubhouse, with no end in sight.

The young trio gathered around to see the last activity marked with an 'X' beside it, which was the one that didn’t work out as they had hoped.

"We haven’t tried wood carving yet," Sweetie Belle pointed out on the list, only to be interrupted by the pegasus in front of her.

"We haven’t tried treasure hunting either."

"I don’t think that would be a good option. We have no idea where to find treasure, and we can’t go far without an adult. It would be best to pick something within our reach."

Scootaloo lowered her ears in frustration at the rejection of her idea. "Then we also need to cross off studying dragons because Spike doesn’t know much about himself, and we couldn’t guarantee we’d survive if we came across another one." Her friends nodded, and then they took a red crayon and crossed off both ideas from the list.

"How about making potions with Zecora?" Apple Bloom added, catching the attention of her friends, who thought it was the best and safest idea, though they still had the problem of how to get to the newly mentioned Zecora’s home.

"The sun is still up; should we go now to ask her to teach us? Or should we meet tomorrow at the entrance of the Everfree Forest?" Sweetie Belle hesitated for a moment while looking out the window, where the sun gave warmth and light.

After a moment of silence, they decided to leave it to a vote, with 2 in favor of going right now and 1 against it. No one said who voted for what option; they simply didn’t want to argue and respected the vote. Apple Bloom left a note on the clubhouse door: ‘If you’re looking for us, we’re in the Everfree Forest with Zecora.’ After a few minutes of walking, they ended up at the entrance to the path of a dark forest.

Everfree Forest

Inside the forest, following a poorly guided path by the passing of hooves, the trio managed to reach a house in a tree, more at ground level than above it. Everything seemed quiet, with no internal noise coming from the house. They didn’t hesitate to approach and knock on the door, looking for the owner of the home.

"Zecora? It’s the Crusaders!" Apple Bloom called while knocking again, but receiving no answer.

"Did she leave before we got here?" Sweetie Belle asked, looking around.

"She probably went out to gather ingredients for her potions... or maybe she went to Ponyville to shop," they all looked at each other, wondering what their next move would be.

"So, what do we do? We could wait for her," suggested Scootaloo, but Apple Bloom raised her hoof to dismiss that idea.

"If she takes too long, it might get late, and we'll still be here in front of her door."

"How about we wait for her outside the forest? After all, she always uses the same path, right?" Sweetie Belle suggested, offering a new point of view on the idea of waiting for her.

Her fellow Crusaders didn’t take long to think over the idea, and they decided to return along the path that had led them to the house of the one they were searching for. They didn’t realize they were being watched by green eyes from the bushes. While they walked back, with the sun slowly setting, the eyes continued to follow them, more pairs of eyes appearing, revealing a beast growling with its companions.

Throughout the entire journey, the Crusaders traversed the forest naturally and without issue, but suddenly Scootaloo stopped after hearing a twig snap behind them. She turned around only to see the entire path they had walked down completely empty.

"Is something wrong, Scoots?" asked her unicorn friend, stopping next to Apple Bloom and looking at the pegasus in alert mode.

"Shhh... I think we're being followed..." she whispered. After saying that, distant bushes rustled, revealing a pack of three wooden wolves growling at the trio of fillies, who slowly backed up, scared by their sudden wild hunters.

"Timberwolves... what do we do?" Sweetie Belle worried, stepping back in sync with her friends.

"The most logical thing... is to run!" With that, the trio turned around and started running towards the village, with the wolves chasing them, howling. Ahead of the Crusaders, more Timberwolves appeared, forcing them to split up individually, each chased by two wolves through the forest as they screamed desperately.

"AAAAAAAYUUUUUDAAAAAAA!!!"

The trio’s cries for help were heard by those closest to the forest, and the one nearest to the situation outside the forest didn’t waste any time. His ears turned toward the cries for help. In a flash of blue, he darted into the forest, dodging all the unnatural obstacles of the terrifying woods. The night was falling as he entered the territory, and the cries of the fillies grew louder around him. He focused on the nearest one and, from the branch of a tree, he spotted how a pair of wooden beasts had surrounded a white filly like a pearl against a large rock wall she couldn’t climb.

He raised his index and thumb to his mouth, letting out a loud whistle that caught the attention of the beasts. Along with the filly, they turned to look at the shadow on the tree branch. Suddenly, something jumped down to the ground, emerging from the shadows of the night, illuminated by the moonlight, revealing a blue figure, bipedal, with white claws, red feet, a grin on his face, and green eyes.

"Two against one? I don’t think that’s how you treat a lady" he said. The Timberwolves growled and lunged at him at the same time. "Watch out!" was the word that escaped the unicorn’s mouth.

Sonic smiled, dodging the wolf's bite before jumping on its head, using it to propel himself into the air. Then, he curled up into a ball and performed a spin dash towards the other wolf, destroying it in an instant.

The first wolf to attack turned around, only to find a white fist hitting him in the face, launching him into a tree where he crashed and broke on impact.

"Not so tough, huh?"

She couldn't understand what had happened in that second. The blue creature didn’t hesitate to save her in less than 1 seconds. The Timberwolves had been defeated, and her hero approached her, carrying her in his arms and running off in an instant. She wanted to ask questions, but more questions kept coming to her mind. She kept thinking until a voice pulled her away from her thoughts. "Are you okay, miss?" It was a simple question, but it woke her from her thoughts. When she looked up, she saw her savior’s face more clearly a kind look with eyes green as emeralds, and a calm, relaxed smile that made her feel the warmth of peace. Everything felt peaceful, and she was about to respond when a nearby scream sounded, and she felt the wind change direction, noticing how her hero was heading toward the source of the scream. When they arrived, they saw a little pegasus clinging to a high branch of a tree, holding on upside down as the wolves clawed at the sides of the tree, jumping and trying to use their claws to climb and reach her.

"Scootaloo!!!" shouted the unicorn in Sonic’s arms. The wolves turned their gaze along with the pegasus, seeing them there, watching. "Can you save her? Please!" Her body gently touched the ground as she saw her savior set her down and give a thumbs-up, flashing a smile.

"No problem! I'm used to this kind of thing!" Before she could say anything else, he disappeared in a sudden burst of wind, forcing her to shield her eyes from the dust cloud raised by his speed. Once again, she felt another gust of wind behind her and saw that her friend was safe in that very instant.

"Wh... What happened?" asked the little pegasus, confused and trying to comprehend what had just happened, after passing from the tree branch to the ground next to her unicorn friend.

"Scoots! You're safe!" the unicorn shouted, suddenly hugging her. Then she looked toward where the wolves had been, seeing the blue hero shaking dirt off his hands, looking at the destroyed wolves. He then turned his gaze to the fillies and gave them a thumbs-up while smiling.

"Wh... What is that thing...?" Scootaloo whispered to Sweetie Belle, who simply shrugged, keeping a shy smile at the ignorance of the question.

As he approached them, walking calmly, they looked at him with intrigue but with some security, since he had saved them. Before anyone could say anything, a scream was heard in the distance, which only Sonic managed to hear. He quickly grabbed both fillies, one in each arm, and dashed deeper into the forest at high speed, once again surprising the fillies with the intense speed he had achieved in such a short time. They arrived within seconds at an open area, seeing a terrestrial pony reaching the edge of a cliff, slowly backing up while still watching the approaching predators getting closer and closer.

"Apple...Bloom!!!"

Before they could react, both fillies were already on the ground, watching a blue streak charging toward the wolves. One of them noticed the blue threat and lunged at it. Sonic dodged to his left and split it in half with a spin dash. The other wolf lunged to attack the pony but was stopped when it was grabbed by the leg. It turned to see Sonic smiling and then began spinning faster and faster before launching the wolf into the air above his head. As the wolf started to fall, Sonic was already preparing another spin dash and launched into the sky, finishing the wolf off from its face to its tail.

The fillies admired the scene, watching as their savior landed smoothly on the ground, only to see Applebloom jump into his arms. "Sonic!!!" she shouted as she leaped toward him, being caught in his embrace. Before she could fall to the ground from the force of the impact, he lifted her into the air, spinning her around while smiling. "Hey little apple! Are you okay? Did those sticks hurt you?"

"N-no! Thanks for saving me!" Her friends quickly arrived, not letting her respond as they jumped at her, knocking her to the ground in a joyful hug.

"Girls!! You're okay!"

"Yeah, he saved us! It was awesome, and he's so fast!" Scootaloo excitedly remarked, running around her friends and pointing out every detail.

Sonic just admired the scene, smiling with one hand by his side and a fist on his hip.

"Ahem, ladies," the trio turned to see their savior waving his hand, drawing their attention.

At that moment, Applebloom realized that there had been no introductions between her hero and her fellow Crusaders. "Girls! Let me introduce you to Sonic the Hedgehog! He's the one I talked about at school today. Sonic, these are Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, my fellow Crusaders!" Sonic smiled and approached both fillies, kneeling down in front of them.

"A pleasure, girls. As little apple said, Sonic is my name, and the speed is my game," he said, extending his hand to each of them. They looked at him for a second, then each took a hoof and felt a gentle handshake while he smiled kindly at them.

"Hey, you're so fast! The way you took down those Timberwolves was amazing! How do you do all that?" asked the pegasus, running around him, inspecting his body, which had no injuries.

Sweetie Belle stepped closer and gently tapped his leg, drawing his attention. "Excuse me, Mr. Sonic, but how did you find us?"

Sonic reached into his spines and pulled out the note that Applebloom had left at the clubhouse. "I found this at your treehouse and decided to explore, looking for that 'Everfree Forest.' Luckily, as I got close to this strange and eerie forest, I heard some cries for help. That's where I found each of you. It was just the three of you, right?"

"Yep! Just us, and together, we're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!!!" they all shouted in unison, jumping and striking a pose in mid-air while Sonic smiled at them with joy.

When Sonic saw them together, posing and shouting their name in unison, he couldn't help but think of his friends Tails and Knuckles, which made him chuckle softly. This drew the attention of the young trio.

"What’s so funny?" Scootaloo asked, feeling that his laughter was mocking them.

"Hehe, it's nothing... you just reminded me of some friends I work with as a team during our adventures. One day, you might meet them."

The fillies were about to speak, but then they heard a howl coming from the trees, and everyone turned to look at the forest. From between the trees, a pair of glowing eyes slowly appeared, revealing a giant Timberwolve that had grown in size by merging with the parts of the wolves Sonic had previously defeated to save Applebloom. It now had a more robust body and was twice as tall as the trees.

"It’s...it’s...ENORMOUS!!!" The trio screamed in fear in unison as they quickly hid behind Sonic's legs.

While they trembled in fear, Sonic crossed his arms and stared the giant wolf in the eyes with a confident smile, assessing his new, formidable enemy. Everything was calm in his mind until a beeping sound came from behind him, catching the group's attention.

"Did you hear that?" Applebloom looked at her friends, who nodded as they listened to the beeping sound, now much closer.

Hearing it again, Sonic reached into his spines and pulled out his phone, which was emitting the sound. He showed them the screen, which read CHAOS EMERALD LOCATED, as an arrow appeared pointing straight ahead of him. When he looked up, he noticed the giant Timberwolve growling at him, with a strange glow emanating from its chest.