"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.
"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 proudly like a trophy before 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 through the craft's loudspeakers. "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 in 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 the 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 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! The passengers inside broke into a panic. "This is bad, this is bad, this is really, really, bad!" Sonic 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 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 heels 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- accompanied by a chime of several dropped rings- 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 spilling out 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 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 a litany of 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 at 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, careless, 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.