It was late. Sonic was in the tree he was sleeping in since before the Christmas Party. He had a dream… one he hoped wouldn't come true, because he actually dreamt in all five senses. He, Spike, and Dash were on the top of a train… fifty times the size of a normal train, hurtling through a volcanic area, and facing a flaming statue of a lion. Out of nowhere Spike turned into a gigantic… well, Dragon that resembled the Colossus that he, Shadow, and Rainbow took down when they first got there. It happened so fast that Sonic didn't see it happen, but Spike got beaten to a pulp, and reverted back to the Baby he naturally was.
It didn't matter that Sonic only knew Spike for a couple of months, but when the lion statue raised a claw to deal the finishing blow, Sonic rushed in the way to protect him. The move happened at just the right moment to cost Sonic his right arm… and it hurt worse than living through being disemboweled.
Rainbow was petrified for half a minute, but when the lion raised its paw to finish Sonic she knocked it out of the way… but she looked totally different. Her rainbow mane was up in a similar way to Jet's… uh… hair? The rest of her body was white as… well no one knows what to compare it to. With one blast she tore off the stone armor of the Lion. Then Sonic woke up to the sound of… Knuckles Crying!?
Rainbow DashDash was with Knuckles and Applejack. When she got the news that Knuckles' girlfriend… died in childbirth… with twins… even she was devastated. In each of her saddlebags, with their heads poking out was one of the two children that ended the bat's life. On her left side was Nemesis, the only bat Rouge gave birth to. Knuckles was debating whether or not to let Nemesis be a treasure hunter, like her parents, or have Rarity take Nemesis up to become a fashion designer.
Then, there was Thanatos, the boy in her right saddlebag. Rainbow found it weird enough that an Echidna and a Bat could have children together, but what made it weirder was the fact that the Bat gave birth to an Echidna. And now, Knuckles was debating with himself, whether to train Thanatos to guard the Master Emerald… or have destiny make a different call.
"Dash…?" Sonic's voice came from behind her. "What's up with Knuckles?"
"His girlfriend died a couple of hours ago," she said. "She was sick, but she still managed to have twins… at the cost of her life."
"Wow…" Sonic said. "I never thought Rouge would die naturally… she was always tougher than she looked."
"Knuckles… it'll be alright," Applejack said. "I'm sure she'll be happy wherever she is."
"How do you know!?" Knuckles yelled. "I never knew that I was an expecting father, how will I be able to take care of these two!?"
"I can step in as a mother… if you want…" Applejack said. "O'course I'll never be as good as the real thing… but I can be a decent… substitute."
"You mean replacement?" Applejack looked at Knuckles… unable to believe that he would accuse her of trying to replace his girlfriend… well that's what her face looked like. Sonic stepped up… and slapped Knuckles upside the back of the head so hard, he probably left an imprint.
"Sonic! What was that for!?" Knuckles yelled.
"Applejack can never replace Rouge, and even she knows that!" Sonic yelled. "What makes you so stupid as to think that she would try!? The Knuckles I know would go around the corner with the same attitude he always has even when something awful happens two seconds before! Where's that Knuckles NOW!? Do you think Rouge would want you to grieve for the rest of your life because she's gone! That is no way to honor the dead! I may never forget the day my parents died, but I still live on because to keep back due to their loss would not be the best way to remember them! Try to keep that spirit with Rouge, if you want to keep her memory alive!"
Rainbow didn't know what to say, Knuckles looked as dumbfounded as she was at the moment. Then he looked down and came up with a smile.
"You're right, Sonic," He said. "I can't keep grieving over something I can't change. I have to keep moving forward until the day I croak too. Thank you."
SonicMost of what Sonic said, he just pulled out of thin air. It's not that he didn't believe it, he just… didn't know what else to say to get the red guy out of his funk. But he yelled so hard that he was panting by the end of that speech. To see that Knuckles was back to his old self made Sonic so much happier. Knuckles took his kids and went with Applejack to the Sweet Apple Acres farm house.
"That was impressive," Dash said. "Pulling that stuff out of thin air, and getting him to feel better with it."
"Funny thing… I actually believe all that stuff." Just as Sonic realized that he actually told the truth about honoring the dead by living the way they'd want you to… he noticed a green shine, and pulled out the green Chaos Emerald, meaning the power of Life returned to Chaos. His arm still hurt from the dream he had… but with the green Emerald restored, it hurt a little bit less.