These Christmas shoppers were driving Sonic crazy. Their pushing and shoving and crowding the streets was almost too much to take. What were they doing waiting until the last minute anyway? He had already finished getting his gifts a week ago. A doll for Cream and a bracelet for Amy. Socks for Knuckles, he would want something practical. Sonic was especially proud of the new tool box he bought for his best friend, Tails. Tails's old one was well used and dented pretty badly, he would appreciate the new, shiny tool box.

"Woah!"

Sonic crashed into the side of a man who cut across his path. The tall man hurried on into a nearby book store without an apology or even acknowledging his mistake. Sonic stumbled back, but caught himself. He sighed.

"I don't know how much more of this Christmas stuff I can take."

"What's the matter, Sonic?"

Tails had just finished fixing a burnt out light on the Christmas tree. The top half of the tree, previously dark, flickered back to light.

"You should cheer up, it's almost Christmas!"

"I know, buddy," Sonic answered, "but that's exactly why I can't settle down. All the holiday stress in this city is starting to rub off on me. And it doesn't help that I have to constantly be on the lookout for Amy and that mistletoe she's been carrying around."

Tails chuckled. Amy sure was persistent. But even so, it wasn't like Sonic to be so down. Tails couldn't help but be a little worried.

"It's strange to see you stressed about anything. I hope you can calm down before tomorrow's Christmas Eve party."

"Yeah," Sonic nodded. He hated this feeling, he wanted to be as excited about the party as Tails was, but he just couldn't get into it this year.

Sonic watched snow collect on the window. It mesmerized him, the way it just kind of flew around in the wind before crashing into the glass. Like all the speed was built up just for that moment, just to try and burst through the invisible wall. Tails watched his friend mope. He crossed his arms and followed Sonic's eyes to the window. Surely Sonic would cheer up if he could get out there in the fresh air. He just needed some freedom.

"Maybe you should go for a run, Sonic. You've been so busy lately… You haven't just ran in a long time. Just ran for the fun of it, I mean."

Sonic smiled. "You're right. My feet are just itching to get out of the house."

Tails hopped over the couch and grabbed Sonic's green and brown scarf from the back of the chair that it had been draped over. He tossed it to Sonic, who caught it in midair and threw it around his neck. He gave Tails a wink as he stepped into the snow, "I'll be back in a flash, buddy!"

Tails nodded a goodbye and headed to the kitchen to make some hot chocolate.

Sonic rushed into the city. Even though it was night the streets were too crowded with shoppers, so he took to the rooftops. The leaps from home to home took little effort at the speed he was traveling. The wind through his quills was icy, but it didn't bother him. Tonight the cold made him feel alive. Each sting of cold reminded him that he could feel, and it was a beautiful sensation. He couldn't stop smiling.

He stopped on the top of a building to stick out his tongue and catch the snow.

"Ahhh…"

He could feel the snowflakes melting. They tasted as clean and crisp as the air. The city lit up the dark sky like a Christmas tree. He scanned the lights and caught sight of a red flash on the top of a nearby house. His eyes stopped and focused on the building; they could see a silhouette, a figure on the roof.

"Who else is out tonight?" Sonic wondered out loud.

The figure dashed across the roof and leapt to the next. It looked around for a few moments before taking out what appeared to be a piece of paper and writing something down.

Sonic couldn't contain his curiosity. This was just too interesting. He speed over to the figure and tapped him on the shoulder. The guy was so startled that he jumped.

"Woah!whosthere?"

The blue hedgehog was nose to nose with a very surprised reindeer. A pair of pine green eyes gave him a look of utter confusion. Sonic could tell that this guy was completely dumbfounded by his sudden appearance, and he thought that was hilarious. He held back a chuckle. The reindeer blinked and shifted back to get a good look at who had startled him.

"Ah… Nice night, eh?" He asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his head.

"Yeah, perfect weather to stand around suspiciously on rooftops," Sonic replied with a smirk.

The reindeer crossed his arms defensively. "You would know it, wouldn't you?"

"Touché."

Sonic could tell that whatever this guy was doing, it wasn't anything harmful. He had a way of knowing these things, a gut feeling that he believed was right. He held out his gloved hand. The reindeer looked at it for a second, still a little confused. But then he smiled and extended his own. The handshake was nice and firm.

"I'm out for a run," Sonic explained. "So what's your excuse?"

The reindeer adjusted his green scarf and mumbled something that Sonic couldn't quite hear.

"Come again?"

"Oh!" He stopped fiddling with his scarf and looked up with a smile. "I do a lot of traveling on Christmas," he answered, "so I was just trying to find the best path to travel. Heh. I guess you had the same idea, eh? It's easy to get from place to place when you're up here."

He took a look across the skyline. "It's a lot of homes… A lot of people waiting for Christmas to happen." He smiled at nothing, the smile of a person who knows something that he's not telling. He winked at Sonic.

"I'm Rudolph," he said with a laugh. His face was flushed in the cold wind; his cheeks were pink under his fur and his nose was bright red.

The blue hedgehog introduced himself as well. "I'm Sonic, the fastest thing alive."

"Usually, the fastest thing alive," corrected Rudolph.

"Oh ho?" replied Sonic. Was that a challenge? Sonic knew that nothing was faster than him, and he was always up for a chance to prove it.

"I'll give that you're the fastest thing alive most of the time," Rudolph explained, "But you see, and I don't mean to boast, but I'm something of… well, I'm like a superhero of sorts."

Sonic crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at the reindeer. Rudolph just smiled and continued to brag.

"Now I'm not super all the time, you see, but the closer it gets to a certain day… well, I'd say that right about now nothing could beat me," he said as he rubbed his nose.

Sonic couldn't help but grin. This guy was asking for a challenge. He was excited from his head to his toes, this was what he lived for. A new guy to race, a new chance to push himself to the limits again.

"All right, speedy, I'm guessing you're up for a race then?"

"Oh you know it, friend," cheered Rudolph. "Where to? Pick your course."

Sonic pointed toward the freeway that circled the city. "The roads in this city are wicked to run on. I know that the area over there is clear, it's under construction. They're adding onto it. We run from here to where the road ends."

Rudolph's face was glowing with excitement. "Shall you say when?"

"You can start us," Sonic replied.

"Right then," Rudolph leaned forward and tilted up onto the balls of his feet. "Let's GO!"

They were off! Two blurs of brown and blue speeding across the rooftops until… THUD! They leapt down onto the road. Sonic was impressed, the guy wasn't lying. He had met people who thought they were fast, but Sonic could out run them in an instant. Rudolph, however, actually knew what he was getting into. He raced like Sonic himself, as though it were his very nature. Sonic was pleased to find that he was going to have to put a real effort into this. He couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present.

The two competitors were almost neck and neck. Sonic sped around a curve and overtook the reindeer, sending a wave of piled-up snow into his path. Rudolph plowed through it and shook the powder from his face. He smirked and pushed himself forward. Soon he had caught up again and rushed ahead of the hedgehog.

Sonic looked over at his new friend's feet. He couldn't even see them touch the road, it was as though he were flying across the ground. Sonic called to his feet to pick up the pace. He pulled into the lead again.

Just as the duo raced past a clock tower, a chime rang out that it was midnight. Christmas Eve. Rudolph moved up to Sonic and the two looked at each other for a moment. Rudolph winked. Suddenly his nose flashed a bright red, like the bulb of a light on a Christmas tree. Then he was gone.

Sonic did a double take. Rudolph had just disappeared! There wasn't even a blur to follow. BAM! … A sonic boom? Rudolph must have broken the sound barrier. Sonic wasn't going to be outdone though. He ran forward with his full effort and passed the speed of sound with his own thunderous bang.

He could barely see Rudolph in the distance. The only trace of him was the faint glow of his nose. A spark of red light chasing the horizon. Sonic couldn't believe that the lanky little reindeer on the rooftop was faster than him after all. At that moment the adrenaline that pumped through his body was exhilarating. It was a high that Sonic hadn't felt in a long time. A challenge that he might lose, a race that would push him to his top speeds ever - this was like a dream. It was amazing!

The world outside had no idea what was happening. Sonic and Rudolph followed the road faster than the human eye could trace. A line in the snow where the two passed over was the only evidence of the racing animals.

Every muscle in Sonic's body ached as he began to catch up with his new friend. If he could only move a little faster he would pass that red light.

Rudolph stepped into the snow. He dug his feet into the road as hard as he could, sliding in the process, turning to face the arriving blue hedgehog. His nose shone fiercely as he extended his arm, the palm of his hand forward.

"STOP!"

At the rate he was traveling, Sonic had no time to hear the command, let alone actually follow it.

"ICE!"

Too late. Sonic was running on a slick surface now, and straight ahead was the end of the road. He tried to slow down, but it was no use. There was nothing to stop him, he would slide off the freeway and into the air. He would keep going until he hit something… and he highly doubted that something would be a pile of fluffy pillows.

He turned himself around and tried to run backwards, but it was no use, it didn't even slow him down. So he turned forward again to face his fate. He sighed as he slid into the cold winter air. The road was elevated, it sent Sonic flying above the city. Above the Christmas lights in the dark night.

"Merry Christmas," Sonic whispered sarcastically as he closed his eyes.

"Merry Christmas to you, too!" replied Rudolph.

Rudolph? Sonic opened his eyes. He was still flying above the city. He blinked in confusion. Then he noticed the warm furry feeling against his belly. Arms were holding him around his middle. He followed the arms to their owner, a smiling, red-nosed reindeer. Sonic looked back to the city. They were flying above it. The two of them were flying.

"Woah! What's going on?" Sonic asked.

"I told you I was a superhero," Rudolph answered with a laugh.

Rudolph carried him across the skyline until finally he slowed down and floated above a tall building's rooftop. He set Sonic down carefully and then landed himself, adjusting his scarf as he did so.

"That was awesome!" Sonic exclaimed. "What just happened? Who are you? You…" He searched for words to express what he wanted to say. "You're really fast."

Rudolph laughed. "Yeah, I'd say I won that one, eh?"

Sonic nodded. "I've got a lot of work to do if I want to beat you. I will beat you!"

"It's not really a fair race," Rudolph admitted, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment. "I mean, I've got the magic of Christmas working for me tonight. Any other time of the year and you'd beat me easily. It wouldn't even be a contest."

"The magic of Christmas?"

"Yeah," explained Rudolph. "See, I've got a job to do each year. I help this guy, Santa… Maybe you've heard of him?"

"You mean the guy who's supposed to give gifts to children on Christmas?" Sonic asked, "I thought he was just a myth."

"No, no he's real," Rudolph smiled. "But he doesn't do it alone. He needs help to get to every house in the world. He needs someone really fast to pull him across the globe. That's what I do. On Christmas, I get the power of speed that no one can match, I get the power of flight quicker than any jet ever created." He couldn't help but brag a little. Sonic returned his cheesy smirk.

"You're still amazing," Sonic replied. "And I owe you thanks for catching me there."

"You don't think I'd have let you fall?" Rudolph laughed.

Sonic admired Rudolph. He was genuinely happy. He had been smiling and laughing all night; his laugh was deep and hearty, almost unnatural for such a small deer with a small voice. He must have a lot of pressure on him, running around all night before Christmas, helping to deliver gifts to the world. Sonic was worn out from just the short race they had held, but Rudolph would be pushing himself all night. How could someone be so happy under so much stress?

"This was fun," Rudolph said. "I don't often get to run at my full Christmas speed just for the fun of it, you know? I'm glad I met you tonight. You're a nice guy, Sonic."

"I'm glad I got to meet you too, Rudolph," Sonic replied. "You really relieved me of my holiday stress."

"A lot of people get that," Rudolph said thoughtfully. "It's a shame. The holidays aren't about stress. They're not about work or showing people how ready you are. They're about showing people that you care. They're about loving friends and family and life itself." He smiled at Sonic, "They're about letting yourself be loved."

Sonic returned the reindeer's smile. He could feel in that moment the warmth of a thousand Christmases. Images of hot chocolate and mistletoe flashed across his mind.

"I've got to go now. There's a lot of work to be done, eh?" Rudolph winked.

Sonic winked back, "If anyone can do it, you can."

"See you next Christmas then, Sonic! Bye!"

"Sayonara!" Sonic waved as Rudolph flew away with a flash of his red nose. "Thanks for everything…"

Sonic flung open the door and stepped inside. He kicked off his shoes at the doorway so that he wouldn't drag snow inside the warm, cozy home.

"I'm back!" he called loudly.

"Sonic!"

Tails rushed in to great his best friend. Sonic unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and threw it over the back of a nearby chair.

"How was your run? Are you cold? I made hot chocolate!"

Sonic laughed. "Thanks, buddy, I'd love some. Have I got a story to tell you…"

Tails fixed two mugs of hot chocolate and sat down to listen to Sonic's story. He eagerly took in every detail of Rudolph and the race down the road. He gasped when he learned that they flew through the air. But before the story could finish, he couldn't hold his eyes open anymore. Tails was fast asleep on the couch when Sonic told him how Rudolph was gone with one last blink of his glowing nose.

Sonic draped a blanket over his little friend before leaving the room for his own bed. "Goodnight, buddy," he whispered.