Chapters The night skies were always the most freeing place to be for Rainbow Dash; the dark azure sea above so close it almost feels like she could touch it, the ground so far below it was almost out of sight and the air so thin the Pegasus' mind was completely clear of all worry and trouble. This is what I live for! She thought to herself. I bet I could fold my wings and fall for ten full minutes. Hmm, maybe I should try that... and closing her wings firmly against her body, she began to plummet, turning the stars into rays of light, the clouds whirling and passing faster than she thought possible.
As the earth of Equestria rose toward her, she let her wing out in a full spread, the air catching under and pulling her back up in a sharp arch. Ascending, Dashes wings stung with a numbed burning, the pull up from that plummet must have been a lot sharper than she thought. They didn't hurt, however, the burning felt more satisfying than pain filled. I haven't felt that for a while. That always feels sooo awesome!
As she inclined, she spotted something unusual in the sky, a spark of emerald light. "What the in the name of Celestia IS that?" She mumbled to herself, tilting her wings by minute angles, switching her trajectory toward the now flickering, fading light. With her usual speed, the Pegasus closed the distance in a heartbeat. But just as she approached, the light completely flickered out, and from it, something plummeted.
Following the quick dropping mass, Dash began to get closer, close enough to realize that it was an animal, but at the speed she was following at, she couldn't make out much else. Not good, that fall'll kill it! Her mind roared, and kicking into high gear, she burst towards the ground to catch it. As she closed in, she slowed her descent, and catching the creature's added weight, hit the ground with a firm thud. This pain wasn't satisfying at all. "Oh for the love of Equestria that hurt!" She groaned to herself, and rolling over, she pushed her weight onto the forehooves and stood up. Her rump aching, she limped over to investigate exactly what it was she had saved.
What she gazed upon was more than enough to force any pain out of her mind. Before her lay a creature that looked unlike anything she's ever seen, spiked quills protruding from its head, and bare spot on what she assumed was its belly, and some kind of muzzle on its face, with a black nose stretching from it. Its fur was blue like her own, but some shades darker, its ears seaming to be the only other similarity she could make. Whatever this thing is, it might be hurt, I guess I should bring it to Fluttershy for help. Maneuvering her head under the creature's body, she bucked and shifted until it was lying atop her and headed toward her friend's house near the forest.
The night air of the trip seemed to have brought whatever Dash saved to a semi consciousness. Between groans, she could hear mumbles, almost whispers; "Egg.. ma... What did.. Tai.. ls..?"
So, you can talk, your voice sounds pretty male, and wherever you came from, something bad happened. The young pegasus thought to herself. Not my problem, but I guess I couldn't just leave him. Oh well, I'll just drop him off with Fluttershy and come back in the morning, he might have an interesting story.
The last thing Fluttershy expected this late at night was to find her friend Rainbow Dash on her footstep, carrying some animal even the pink-maned pegasus pony couldn't recognize. "Oh, oh hello Rainbow, how are you? Who... What's this?" Moving passed Fluttershy; the blue pegasus rolled the now again completely unconscious creature off of her back, and onto a bed, obviously not big enough to fit him, it'd have to do. "I think he's hurt, I was hoping you could help him."
Giving a shy yet excited squeak, the yellow pony walked closer to the blue animal before her. "Oh, oh of course. I would never turn away an injured animal." She blushed slightly, her pale blonde fur turning a faint red around her cheeks. And I certainly would never turn YOU away...
As the glow of Luna's night faded into the radiance of Celestia's day, a streak of light lay itself across Rainbow Dash's eyelids. Apparently, she must have fallen asleep at Fluttershy's. Aww jeeze, I guess I was more tired than I thought. Her eyes fluttering open with some reluctance, and spotted Fluttershy looking more flustered than normal, her cheeks deep red, and eyes darting anywhere.. besides Rainbow Dash. Was.. was she watching me? Smiling calmly, Rainbow lifted herself up and walked over towards Fluttershy. "Hey Fluttershy, sorry about passing out here. Hope I wasn't too much of a problem."
Fluttershy simply put on her typical gentle, yet worried smile. "Ooh, it was no problem at all, but you worried me a little when you just.. fell over like that. You're much lighter than I thought though; I had barely any trouble carrying you to the bed." The pink-maned pony said with a sort of pride. "With the way you are, I thought you'd have been much heavier, what with the muscle mass." As Rainbow Dash thought of how it must have been for Fluttershy, something came to her. "So did I take up much space on your bed? Were you able to sleep alright?"
If there was anything redder than Fluttershy's face, Rainbow Dash had never seen it. Her cheeks were so bright it looked as if the once calm pegasus was about to explode. "Oh, oh, I, I mean, oh my... Well, well yes.. I, I mean yes, I did... Sleep I mean." The blue pony giggled at Fluttershy's ridiculously flustered response. "Oh Fluttershy, you're priceless."
As Fluttershy's cheeks turned back to her typical pale blonde, she almost shifted gears like Rainbow Dash's last comment didn't even exist. "Oh, about that animal you brought in, he seems to be alright, although he seemed to have taken a nasty fall." Fluttershy's words seemed truthful, but she still seemed worried for the creature.
Rainbow Dash thought about last night. "Yeah, when I found him, he just... appeared, I was flying around and I saw this HUGE flash." She stretched her arms out for emphasis. "And he just kinda fell from it. I managed to catch him before he hit ground." The pegasus spoke with the typical pride in her voice. Fluttershy smiled and spoke, a little of her embarrassment still lingering on her breath. "That's good, he would have been a lot worse without you. But anyway, I should check on him." She began to walk toward the stairs down, when Rainbow Dash followed. "I might as well check it out too, it could be interesting."
Now that she was completely awake and fully aware, Rainbow Dash observed this animal she saved. Deep blue fur, beige chest and arms. As she stared, the steady rise and fall of his chest hastened, and his body began to subtly twitch to life. His eyes shifting under the eye lids, he began to mumble to himself. "Ooooh, last time I EVER let Eggman press a big red button. Tails, you alrii.." His eyes fluttering open, his bright emerald eyes caught sight of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. "..ight?"
The time in complete silence was impossible to measure, all that could be distinguished was the confusion coming from this animals eyes. "You, you're not Tails. Who, what in the world are you?" Fluttershy attempted to speak, but she could only manage a squeak, Rainbow Dash decided to speak up. "I'm Rainbow Dash, and this here's Fluttershy." The pink-maned pegasus shrunk away as her name was spoken. "Who are you?"
The simple, hardy friendliness in Rainbow Dash's voice seemed to have caught some trust from the blue animal, who smiled a brave, cocky smile and, at a speed that shocked Fluttershy and even impressed Rainbow Dash, jumped up and flipped through the air into a standing position, this guy seems to stand on his hind legs. "Heh, who am I? I'm Sonic the hedgehog: fastest thing alive!"
The spark in Rainbow Dash's eye was almost visible at this "Sonic's" words. "The fastest thing alive?" the pegasus' mind mocked Ha! We'll see about that…
With a quick scan of his surroundings, Sonic turned back to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, in a friendly, yet confused tone, he asked "But anyway, where the heck am I?"
Fluttershy swallowed her timidness and tried to speak up, hoping that she could trust the blue Hedgehog enough to speak to him. "You, that is to say.. this is my house, Rainbow Dash brought you here. You see, you apparently fell out of the sky and she caught you before you landed."
"Really? Well thanks for-" The hedgehogs word were cut off before many of them even escaped his mouth.
"Well then, you seem to be all better, and you said your fast too. How about a race?" Rainbow Dash asked in a rushed pride. "You may be fast where you're from buddy, but I'M the fasted pony in ALL of Equestria."
The tension that she thought would arise, Sonic's eye's leering competitively at her, a silent aura filling the room, none of that came. In fact, almost the opposite happened, Sonic's eyes filled with a bright, cocky, rivalry when his mouth curled into a grin only able to be described as blazing. "Sure thing, uhh... Rainbow Dash, right?"
However surprising the lake of competitive force was, Rainbow Dash felt almost a relief from it. Just a friendly race then, huh? "Yep, Rainbow Dash. You're definitely not from around here, so try not to get lost when we start. "
A bright gleam came from Sonic, his teeth bright white. Does this guy ever lose his smile? "No problem, just choose something big and can't be missed."
The wind was a gentle breeze coming from the north, and the sun was high in the sky, beaming its rays down onto the lands, only being averted by the sparse clouds floating about, ignored by the pegasi on the weather patrol for that day. The day was perfect for a race. Sonic surveyed the surroundings and whistled. "Gotta say, the place looks nice, peaceful, wide open, a place I could get used to."
Rainbow Dash chuckled silently to herself. I guess this IS a pretty good place to live. "No getting distracted by your surroundings, I want a challenge in this race."
They had decided on the trail they would race; they would start at Fluttershy's house, following a southern trail to Froggy bottom Bog, where Fluttershy sent a blue jay to wait as a checkpoint, round towards Sweet Apple Acres, and back to the beginning, quite a far trek, even for Rainbow Dash. This would be around a trip to Cloudsdale, maybe even a little farther. Shaking her head, the blue pegasus threw her worry to the wind. Meh, I'd be able to fly there and back times over, this'll be a cinch.
Looking over, Rainbow Dash noticed Sonic as he stretched. His legs were thin, very thin, but as he stretched, the pegasus noted the ferocity in the way each hardened muscle moved and twisted just under his fur, the movements were almost invisible, but her eyes had to see such little details, if she couldn't she would never know where she was flying. Starting to stretch herself, she felt the sudden burn of being watched. Turning her head subtly, she spotted Fluttershy looking at her, almost mesmerized in the way each muscle moved, Fluttershy must have the eyes of a pegasus too.
At least she has that, she's never much of a flier, and even when she DOES fly she's so slow. Suddenly a thought brushed through her mind. She lowered he body, the fur of her chest just barely brushing the soft grass beneath. Her haunches tensing, she looked skywards and unfurled her wings, spreading them to their fullest. This'll break her concentration. Her forelegs quickly lifting from the ground and her hind ones extending and extreme speeds, she felt the land below leave her, and was greeted by the open sky.
Looking down onto the world she just left, Rainbow Dash spotted Fluttershy, in awe and amazement. Yep, always gets her. Keeping with the momentum of the take-off, she performed a quick series of tricks, loops, and general high flying, flying up and pasting her shadow over the sun. Sonic looked impressed, and mildly amused, and as she landed, he began clapping and let out a long, flowing whistle. "Nice moves there, I'd give it a solid 10." Giving a smile out of pride and appreciation of flying, she puffed out her chest. "Yep, Rainbow Dash: best young flier in ALL of Equestria, wanna give in, save yourself the embarrassment?" Sonic chuckled and shook his head, his quills waving with it. "Not a chance there, I feel pretty confident about my abilities." Really? After that, I'd have guessed that would shake him a little bit, but no. Is he for real? She was about to come up with a retort when she heard a small squeaking cough. Fluttershy was holding a small white cloth in her wing.
Fluttershy's voice was barely a whisper. "Umm, if it's alright with you, the warm-up time is over, and the race is going to start. If you could please come to the starting.. um... leaves."
Sonic threw his hands behind his head and chuckled. "Heh, I guess we're ready for this, I am, how about you?" He glanced over at Rainbow Dash, his deep emerald eyes showed no hesitance. The blue pegasus pony fluttered her wings in a flashy fashion. "You bet!" Both of the blue self-proclaimed speedsters neared the starting line, composed of leaves, layed out in a neat row, each leaf perfectly overlapping the next.
As they readied, Dash lowered her head close to the ground, she was ready for this race. Sonic looked the same, making quick hops in place, and lowering into an almost kneeling position. Fluttershy walked ahead of them, holding the small piece of fabric in her mouth and looked at both of them, from Rainbow Dash to Sonic, and back. "O-on your m-marks.." She began to lift onto her hind hooves. "Get set..." Her head lifting higher still, the fabric flapping gently in the breeze, and brought it down in a swift fashion.
"Go!"
The very force from the wind nearly knocked Fluttershy over, her mane fluttering violently. The only thing left that the little pegasus could see of the two was dust. They were both gone.
As she took into a low flight, Rainbow Dash let her powerful wings take control, each flap propelling her forward. The feeling of being alive, that's the feeling this was giving her, the only thing deterring her from it was the fact that whenever she would look down towards the trail, Sonic was right there, running to match her flying. Speeding up and slowing down didn't matter, Sonic would do the same to match.
He.. He's messing with me! No way! Her cheeks filled with a warmth as she realized what that could mean. Is he trying to be nice, is he pitying me? Or is he just messing with me, he acts cocky enough to do that. Deciding he was just having fun, she shrugged it off as the forest came up to greet her, they were nearing Froggy Bottom Bog.
Closing in on the blue jay hovering with another white strip of fabric, Rainbow Dash closed nearer to Sonic and grinned, her words rushed. "Hey, you getting tired yet?" Laughter can be heard faintly as Sonic looked up towards her. "After a stroll like this? Not a chance. You?"
The tone in his voice told Dash that he was still just doing this for fun, but so what? So was she by now, they both seemed to have an appreciation for pure, simple speed. They both returned their sights to the path before them, turning the corner, the rush of air blowing leaves every which way and dust flying anywhere it may, and rocketed off in the general direction of Sweet Apple Acres.
As the bog became a distant point behind, the two weaved their way through the quickly thickening mesh of branches and foliage. For every branch Rainbow Dash threaded her body through, Sonic was dodging trunks, roots and low hanging limbs. Not a single slip up.. He's good, that's for sure. The blue winged, pony thought to herself, maybe he was just what he said. The small distraction was just enough for her to slip up, just a slight, her cheek catching a thin branch, leaving a thin, nearly invisible cut. The pain was minimal at best, and a little bit of extra adrenaline was nothing to be mad about. Perhaps Sonic was just as distracted, because the blue hedgehog seemed to have tripped, just barely, over a root as they reached the forest line.
HA, that's going to cost you. Dashes mind laughed, but just as she thought such, Sonic didn't even seem to stop the fall, instead, he when with it, and curled himself. The young flier was confused. What's this guy doing? He didn't seem to be the one to just quit. And just as she tried to wrap her mind around it, Sonic has rolled into a complete ball, and rocketed forward, catching the remaining trees for more boost. Did… did he just spin? The slight moment of confusion caused Dash to stop flapping, and glided for a second, she almost instantly broke out of it and caught a small breeze to catch up. Sweet Apple Acres was coming into view.
One thing Applejack wasn't surprised to see was her friend Rainbow Dash bolting down the way towards the acres, what she DIDN'T expect to see was some.. thing with her. A blue creature was running, at a speed mirroring the rainbow maned pegasus'. The very spectacle was enough to make even Big Macintosh lose his calm expression, his jaw dropped. "What 'n tarnation is that there pony doin' now?" The big red colt simply shook his head. "Ain't got the slightest ah clue there."
The turn was gentle, and it took little effort for Rainbow Dash to alter her wing's angles to make it. The last leg of the race was coming upon them, a straight away towards Fluttershy's cabin, only a small part of the marathon race left, and Sonic was still speeding along below her, evenly matching her. This is it, if I don't break away now, I won't get the chance again. Let's do this, rainboom time! As the blue pegasus slowed her flapping speed, she increased the power behind each wing stroke, forcing her way past the burning sensation in her wing joints.
Every droplet of moisture in the air that hit her was like little beads of ice across her cheek. Even small details in her vision began to blur and meld away into the pure speed of things. As she began to reach the apex of her speed, a cone of vapour began to form, the very cone that will bust into a brilliant rainbow as she breaks the sound barrier. And looking below, she spotted something that nearly made her stop dead.
Sonic was keeping up.
The cone, the speed, everything that was happening to Rainbow Dash was happening to Sonic. Swerving towards him, she knew it was dangerous to be this close to anything just before a sonic rainboom, but the pure curiosity pulled her in, little threads of questioning dragging her. She yelled at the top of her lungs, trying to cut through the pure velocity of the impending explosion. "How are… WHAT ARE YOU!?" A thin smile curling across his face, he kept his eyes forward, but chuckled, she couldn't hear it, but the small gyrations of his chest told her. "They don't call me 'Sonic' for nothing!" And just as the pegasus attempted to pull away, it happened. Something she never even imagined, two sonic booms, at once.
The pure, simple, raw force of the feat left Rainbow Dash incapable of any real thought. In the wake of the huge explosion was the rainbow ring the Dash knew would be created, but in company to it, a huge wave of deep blue mixed within, creating two interlocked rings of pure energy. The sight was breath taking, the very world seemed to slip away into it, and nothing existed in this world, just Rainbow Dash, the wind, and the rainboom in her wake.
And as the impossibly beautiful, infinite, eternal moment engulfed her, she realized something, someone else was her, running just below, Sonic. Someone else who can see this. I never thought I'd share a place like this with a soul, and out of nowhere, this guy falls from the sky and just… comes in.
How long did the moment last? A minute, an hour, years, just a heat beat? Whichever it was, Rainbow Dash had been reminded of the reason she lived, her true calling, speed. With the world reforming about her, she let out a huge breath she didn't even realize she was holding. Her mind began to register the world around, and spotted the cabin upcoming at a ridiculously fast rate. They were coming in too fast. Yikes, turning.. Beginning to act on her thought, Sonic did the same, synchronised with the pegasus' movements, making a perfectly mirrored break just in time to avoid Fluttershy's home, the pressure of the wind blowing leaves in any possible direction.
Slowing to a stop, Rainbow Dash suddenly realized how tiring the race had been to her. Her wings burning as if the blood flowing inside was liquid fire, her breath being caught in her throat as she huffed, and beads of sweat dropping to the ground. She whipped her mane over her neck, wild from the wind, and began to walk over to Fluttershy, sitting dumbfounded and in awe, eyes wide and mouth open. Glancing past, the blue pony spotted Sonic, walking proudly, but breathing noticeably heavy. So that took something out of him too. I still don't understand how he could do that!
She laughed weakly, trying to keep her breath steady. But before she could say a thing, Fluttershy broke from her trance. "Rain..boom… two of.. two of them. A.. a sonic.. double boom?" A second weak laugh emitted from Dash's throat. "Double boom? I guess that name's as good as any." Sonic chuckled, letting himself collapse on the soft grass. "You're telling me, that was amazing, way past cool." The simple term caught a grin from Rainbow Dash, following Sonic's example. "Way past cool"? Well, he definitely has his terms straight.
Rolling over on the grass, she asked, she had to ask. "How can you do a… can you even call that a sonic rainboom?"
Sonic stared skyward, watching the clouds glide by. "Heh, I never heard of a ' rainboom' or anything like that before, but I've been able to make a sonic boom since I first found my love of running. Ever since I was just a little speedster I've known I love speed, the wind, the freedom, everything about it."
Every word Sonic spoke reached Dash on a personal level. Freedom, that's it, that's always it, that’s always the reason why. I always thought that, but I never even believed someone else would too.
Sonic's sight shifted towards the distant mountains. "You're a pretty cool gal, RD."
Rainbow Dash giggled out loud, her body aching slightly. "Wait, 'RD'?"
"Yeah, RD, as in Rainbow Dash?"
The giggle she was carrying grew. "Yeah I know, but 'RD'? Really?"
Sonic smiled, his face full of mock insult. "What's wrong with that?"
Dash thought about it. "Nothing, I just never heard anyone say that."
"Well, there's a first time for anything, eh?"
After a short silence, and in a sudden realization, Sonic turned his head to face the bright blue equine. "By the way, where am I? I’m pretty sure that's kind of important."
A laugh burst forth, echoing from Rainbow Dash's lungs, her chest aching. "Now? After all this, you ask NOW?"
"Hey; act first, ask later, you know how it works."
With some strain, Dash rose from her laying state, an extreme ache pulsing from beneath her wings and across her abdomen. Oww, jeeze, that's what I get for flying so close to a sonic boom. "I guess so. Anyways, you're in Ponyville, Equestria, a great little place to live. "
The hedgehog's face was washed in a deep thought. "Equestria? Don't think I've heard of it, I don't think it's even anywhere close to Mobius. I guess that blast actually WAS from the emeralds."
Dash tried to comprehend what Sonic was saying, but all she could give was absolute confusion. "Mobius? Where the hay's that? I've never heard of it."
The question seemed to almost relax Sonic, but something was behind his eyes, just the slightest touch of.. sadness? "Mobius, my home planet, probably far, far away from here, a place where you could just lay back, relax, take in everything around you, a real beautiful world. Of course, it's has its share of problems, the wars, the brotherhood's disappearing, and then of course, Eggman."
She couldn't help herself, serious or not, she burst out into a small laughing fit, muscles aching. "Haha, 'Eggman'? What kinda name is that?!"
Sonic chuckled, but the action was obviously shallow, he didn't think this "Eggman" was that funny. "Heh, that's not his actual name, just a nickname I gave him, and he just kinda stuck with it." Sonic noted, his emerald eyes faded, his vision far off from this world.
"Eggman, take the most self-righteous, egotistical, traitorous guy you can think of, give him countless robots and resources, an army that will fight for him to the death, slap an I.Q. bigger than his weight, and that's saying something, and you've got him. A self-proclaimed genius and wannabe emperor of Mobius."
"Time after time he tries to take over, and make his 'Eggman Empire'-" A soft, honest, cocky scoff left his mouth. "- And time after time, I smash his plans and show him not to mess with us."
A feeling of admiration welled up in the winged pony, not a lot of admiration, but some. Not many people here get to ACTUALLY go adventure, beat the bad guys and save the day. I'm a little jealous.
"Celestia, you get to go around and do the whole hero thing? That's really cool, like, at least 20% cooler."
"Yeah, it's pretty cool, getting to mess with Eggman is pretty fun. Still, rather have a world where I never needed to do that stuff. All we want is freedom."
"We?" Dash asked, her eyes open and inquisitive.
"The Freedom Fighters, we're the ones who stop Eggman at every turn." As Sonic continued, he turn over, facing Rainbow Dash, smiling proudly. "In the few recent weeks though, Eggman's on the ropes, his 'empire's fallen, and Mobotropolis, our city, is, well, ours again." Sonic concluded as brought himself to his feet, his face showing a sliver of pain passing through.
Well, looks like you're not so hot either, the boom must have hurt you just as much as it did me.
"Aai, guess that's what I get for standing so close to a sonic boom, eh?" Sonic half smirked, half grimaced as he cracked his back, making a defined *pop* sound. "Anyhow, this is a real nice place you got here, I think I might take a look around, you know, instead of blurred glimpses of it."
Dash was about to remark when they were both silenced by the sound of galloping. With her pegasus eyes, Rainbow Dash could see who it was, and couldn't help grinning. How's Applejack gonna react to this! It should be good.
As the blonde earth pony reached her stop just in front of Rainbow Dash, she gave a few deep breaths. "Wha- what 'n tarnation are y'all up to? Here ah was, minding mah own business when ya went an' scared poor Apple Bloom straight out from under her bow. I undastand that y'all like ta practise, but SOMEPONY could use a warnin when you go an..” Her words drifted off when her eyes caught sight of the blue hedgehog, standing there and smiling.
"..an who- WHAT in the whole ah Equestria is THAT!?"
Dash couldn't hold it, she started laughing, her friend's confusion too much for the pony to handle. Sonic chuckled and gave a wave. "Sonic the hedgehog, nice to meet you."