Rainbow Dash couldn't stop laughing as she made her way outside the cave and dropped to her haunches beside Sonic the Hedgehog who was doing side lunges to stretch out his legs. "Are you serious? You're serious aren't you?"
"What? You don't stretch before you run? You could pull a hamstring that way." He said calmly ignoring her laughter.
"Pull a hamstring?" She asked before doubling over with laughter. "You ARE serious, you really wanna race ME! I don't think you get it, they don't call me Rainbow DASH for nothing you know."
"You do realize my name is Sonic, right?" he responded coolly while lightly bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"I don't think you really know just who I am," She said haughtily.
"Somebody that does a lot of talking that doesn't like to race?" Sonic said sarcastically.
"What was that?!" Rainbow Dash suddenly got very serious at the insult.
"Nothing…just for all your bragging, you seem like you really don't wanna race me, I mean you're the fastest flier right?"
"I'm the fastest EVERYTHING!" She said pounding her hoof on the ground.
"See, that's what I don't get, I mean…if I was the fastest thing alive, I'd race anybody, anytime, anywhere to prove it." He commented back, sensing he was getting under her skin. "Well, unless I was afraid I'd lose, that is…" He let his last statement hang in the air for a moment before questioning her one more time. "You're not afraid of losing…are you?"
"You think I'm afraid of losing?!" Rainbow Dash said as her mane started to get slightly frizzled as she grew more and more irritated.
"I don't know, I really don't know who you are," he said as he turned her words against her. "Tell you what; I'll give you a five second head start."
"FIVE SECOND HEADSTART!" Rainbow Dash fumed at the hedgehog's audacity.
"What, you need ten?" Sonic mocked her as he crossed his arms and tapping his foot impatiently.
Rainbow Dash flapped her wings rapidly and zipped over to Sonic pressing her forehead to his and jabbing his chest with her hoof. "You wanna race me? Fine! But when this is all over don't start crying cuz I beat you! Where to?!"
"Where's your ship?"
Rainbow Dash hovered high into the air and looked around trying to get her bearings, before dropping back down and pointing. "Due east!"
"Aright we'll race east, first person to the edge of the forest wins. I'll run, you fly, may the fastest win."
"I don't need to fly to beat you!"
"You think you can keep up with me running? I mean last time you were in forest you crashed into a tree, it was last week actually."
"I'm gonna run circles around you!" She boasted angrily as she made her way to a patch of flat ground outside the mouth of the cave. Once there, she maneuvered into a sprinting position and shot an impatient look at the blue hedgehog.
Sonic sauntered next to her and positioned himself beside her, digging his shoes into the ground as if he was on sprinting blocks. "So you're ready then?" he asked cheerfully.
Rainbow snorted angrily through her nose as she pounded the ground with one hoof, keeping her eyes straight ahead of her.
"All right then. On your mark…get set," At this call they both arched themselves high in the air prepping for the launch. "GO!" Sonic yelled out.
No sooner had he gave the word then Rainbow Dash bolted forward kicking up dirt and dust high into the air as she galloped as hard as she could and made her way into the lush forest. When the dust from her take off cleared, Sonic remained in the upright position having not moved an inch.
"One…two," he began to count with a wide grin spreading across his face.
Spitfire was growing more and more irritated with the team she was put in charge of. She had hoped to be miles away from their deployment zone by now. However, she found herself watching a crew of civilians lollygagging their way away from the airship. The white one with diamonds for a cutie-mark seemed to taking the longest, trying to decide what outfit would be best suited for the trip. Her only salvation came from the orange pony who at the very least was attempting to round up her friends to get them all moving as well as her brother who, despite not saying anything to spur the group along, did stand, patiently waiting in his full armor, ready to commence the journey.
"Captain Spitfire," Twilight Sparkle called out to her at long last, drawing her attention away from the rest of the group. "I believe we are ready to set out on our journey." The purple unicorn said in eager tone.
Spitfire looked at her with skepticism, "Really, and you're dragging along the whole Equestrian Library with you?" she said gesturing to her overburdened saddle bags filled to the brim with heavy books.
"Well, I haven't finished researching the history of this new land and figured that…"
"You figured that you wouldn't slow us down as you carried pounds and pounds of books across this foreign soil that we know nothing about, while fighting any ground troops we encounter? Perhaps you can paraphrase Star Swirl the Bearded and put them to sleep." She commented sarcastically, causing they young scholar to droop with embarrassment. "Fine…You can bring one book." She conceded, drawing a smile from Twilight before she went to repack. "And where is you Unicorn friend?!" She called after her, but it was too late for she was out of reach.
"Who knows, he took off as soon as we touched down," a voice from below her responded, she turned down to see Twilight Sparkle's assistant, a purple dragon, standing beside her. "To be honest, I don't trust the guy, got too many secrets, he's too mysterious, too sneaky, too, too…"
"Too handsome?" Spitfire finished his line of thinking, lowering her head down with a mischievous grin as the dragon blushed at her comment.
"Wha? I have no Idea what you're talking about!" Spike protested.
"Oh really, I'm not blind, I've seen the way all the other mares look at him, and I've seen it drive you mad the way they ignore you when he's in the room. Question is, does it bug you more when Rarity ignores you…or Twilight Sparkle?"
"Or maybe it's none of your business!" Spike huffed, puffing out his chest. "Besides, who made you the expert on these sorts of things?"
"Listen scales, if anyone here knows a thing or two about jealousy it's me." She said with a grin as the dragon's frustration amused her. However, she couldn't distract herself with him long as a new voice called out to her.
"I'm ready for departure Captain. Is the rest of the crew prepared?"
"Speak of the devil," she muttered to the purple dragon before turning her attention to Midnight Tracer. "And just where have you been?"
"I had an important meeting with an associate that couldn't be put off, but I assure you that my business has been dealt with."
"Oh really? What sort of business?" Spike interrogated him.
"I really don't see how my business concerns you," the unicorn deflected.
"What's the matter stud?" Spitfire said sauntering next to him, closing the gap between them until they were uncomfortably close. "A big, strong, handsome stallion such as you wouldn't have anything to hide now, would you?"
"Umm…" Midnight backed up as the Captain's invasion of his personal space drew nervousness from him. "Well, Princess Luna had some contacts I had to rendezvous with, nothing more."
"Is that so?" Spitfire pressed forward. Then after an awkward moment she turned away and let him be. "Twilight is repacking so we have a little time before we head out." she said as she walked away from him. Spike stuck out his tongue at him as he followed the Wonderbolt Captain. "I'd use this time to take a shower unicorn, you reek of wet dog."
Rainbow Dash dodged and weaved her way around the trees in the woods, laughing to herself as she went. As soon as the race had started, she had left the hedgehog in her dust just like she thought. She couldn't hit her full stride in the forest due to the lack of a clear path, but she didn't need it at all. She looked back over her left shoulder and just as she expected there was no sign of him.
"That'll show him who's boss," she bragged to herself, "poor guy never had a chance, and I told him there is nopony faster than me."
"Well…maybe nopony." The unmistakable sound of his voice unnerved the blue Pegasus and she craned her head over her right shoulder. There he was, not three paces behind her, out of nowhere. "Miss me?"
"How?!" she yelled back to him while ducking under a tree branch, "Where did you even come from?!"
"From the cave," he responded picking up his pace and moving beside her. "Same place you came from."
"You know what I meant; I left you in the dust back there!"
"Of course you did," He responded, dropping back behind her and swinging around back to her right side. "Did you forget the deal?"
"What deal?" She yelled growing irritated that he wasn't running straight.
"Your ten second head start," he said with a big smile.
"WHAT?!" Rainbow Dash yelled out in disbelief.
"Don't tell me you forgot about that?" he chuckled.
Rainbow Dash felt herself laugh at the irony of the situation, "Okay, so you're sort of fast."
"Sort of fast?" Sonic said back to her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, bet you won't have anything smart to say when I pick up the pace!" She exclaimed as she poured all of her strength into her legs, and lowered her head to cut wind resistance. She saw Sonic fall behind out of the corner of her eye but kept her eyes in front of her. She had to focus, the trees were getting thicker and harder to avoid at this pace. Once she was able to navigate to a small clearing she dared a look behind her to find her competition and saw him trailing behind her.
"Well hedgehog, got anything to say now?!" she yelled back to him.
"Just one thing!" he yelled back, his voice hard to understand over the sound of the run. He sped up until he was abreast with the pegasus once again, leaving the Rainbow Dash bewildered at how he closed the gap between them in moments, despite her seeing it with her own eyes. "You should really watch where you're going," he said pointing in front of her.
"What?" Rainbow Dash said, turning to follow his hand only to see a small fallen tree directly in front of her. "Oh no…" She muttered as she realized it was too late to jump over and tried to skid to a halt. However, it was too short of a distance and she hit the trunk, with her forelegs sending her hurtling through the air. All she could think about was colliding with the ground and the other trees at this speed as she tumbled forward. The fall would easily break her bones or perhaps worse. The thought urged a wild cry to burst from her throat, but it was quickly silenced as she felt herself get scooped out of the air by a pair of arms and perhaps the most reassuring sound she had heard in months.
"Gotcha!" Sonic chimed as he caught her. "Now, let's get you someplace you can spread those wings!"
Rainbow Dash didn't comment, indeed she didn't even hear him as she was far to shocked at what was going on. One moment she was about to break every bone in her body, the next she was being carried through the woods like some helpless damsel. She would have protested if the hedgehog didn't dramatically increase his speed, nimbly weaving through the thick woods. His twists and turns through the trees happened so rapidly that she was beginning to get dizzy watching the scenery blow past her, at one point she could have sworn they were upside in a gigantic loop-da-loop. Next thing she knew, a deafening screech filled her ears as the hedgehog's feet squealed to stop on the ground, the hard stop causing Rainbow Dash to involuntarily wrap her hooves around him, hold tight and shut her eyes.
"We're here!" Sonic announced cheerfully once the two came to a complete stop, "You can let go of me now."
Rainbow Dash's eye shot open as she realized the position she was in and immediately leapt out of his arms and began to brush her mane back as she attempted to regain her composure.
"Okay, I'll be honest with you, your more than just sort of fast," she said swallowing her pride a bit. "Yeah, you're pretty fast on your feet and all, but once I'm in the air, you don't stand a chance."
"Well, now's your chance," Sonic said as he motioned with his arm.
Rainbow Dash followed it and gasped as he had run them right to the edge of a steep cliff that over looked the rest of the forest.
"Well, well, well," Rainbow Dash bragged, as she took in the view. "Like I said you're pretty fast on your feet, but in the end," She extended her wings and flapped them in front of the hedgehog. "You can't beat a good pair of wings."
"Is that so?" Sonic said slyly as she slowly backed away from the cliff side.
"That's right, Rainbow Dash said as she looked over the cliff. "When you're stuck on the ground, sooner or later you're stuck behind," she bragged.
"Less yakkin', more flappin!" Sonic yelled as he ran past her, leapt off the cliff and plummeted to the ground.
"SWEET CELESTIA!" Rainbow Dash screamed as she took to the air and rushed after him. She flapped as hard as she could, quickly closing the distance between her and free falling hedgehog. She lined herself up right behind him and with an extra push swooped under him and picked him up on her back. "Are you crazy?!" she yelled at him.
"What are you doing?" he said in a slightly annoyed tone.
"Saving your butt, you're lucky I'm so fast or you would have been a smear on the ground down there!"
"Stop being so dramatic I would have been fine," he argued. "I've jumped off of tons of cliffs, but…" His tone changed as he thought to himself. "I've never ridden on a pegasus before!"
"Oh really," Rainbow Dash said with smile. "Well, let me show you why they call it horsepower!"
The pegasus felt the hedgehog adjust himself on her, by getting a firm grip while allowing her full movement of her wings and lowering himself to remove resistance. Once he was comfortable, the pegasus began some aerial stunts. She performed corkscrews and barrel rolls and busted clouds with him on her back as she waited for him to grip on to her tightly out of fear. However, before she knew it, instead of hanging on for dear life, the hedgehog had relaxed his grip as he and sound of merriment instead of fear came from him as she flew through the air and he took in the aerial view of the world. The cyan pegasus grinned, all of her other friends would be cringing at this speed, but this guy couldn't get enough of it which only served to fuel Rainbow Dash's excitement. It drove her to go faster, to whip him through the air and give him the thrill ride of his life as he had done to her on the ground. She spun through the air, raced high in the sky and pulled off faster and more intense stunts in an attempt to impress her rider, try to get him to cling to her as she had done to him.
"This is awesome!" Sonic exclaimed as Rainbow Dash pulled out of a dive bomb, not exactly the expression she was looking for, so she resolved to pull out all the stops.
"You think this is cool? You better hang on, cuz I'm about to blow your mind!" She said as she changed course and began to climb higher and higher into the sky. It wasn't long before they burst above the clouds and reached an altitude so high that it was hard to breathe. "You ready to go faster than you've ever gone before?"
"That's a pretty big check you're writing pony," he said as he took in the amazing view of the skies of this new world. "You sure you can cash it?"
"Guess we'll find out, hedgehog," she replied as she fell back into a nose dive for the ground. The wind picked up as they sped faster and faster to the earth below. In moments, they burst through the clouds hurtling at breakneck speed and soaring ever faster. Sonic leaned forward and hugged her tightly allowing his quills to smooth out and cut down on wind resistance and not impede her acceleration as Rainbow Dash straightened herself, extending both hooves forward. As the details of the ground enhanced while their surroundings blurred, she felt the buildup of pressure in front of her as she flapped her wings harder and harder pushing them faster and faster. Then, with one final thrust the familiar snap of the Rainboom echoed in her ears as the air pressure dissipated around them as they sailed towards the ground.
Sonic was at a loss for words as he saw the sky explode in an array of colors that spread across the sky behind them. Never before had he seen something like this in his life as sky lit up and the pony left a rainbow trail in her wake. He turned away from the sight and leaned in close to her ear and urged her on, "Faster!"
'Who is this guy!?' Rainbow Dash thought to herself as she stretched even further and beat her wings in the wind driving them forward even more, her cheeks pushed back and flapping in the wind as they went. However, their descent to the ground was reaching its climax and soon she found herself pulling up with all her might. She was able to right herself and send the two flying parallel to the ground in what seemed like inches from the tree line. The two cleared the forest and began crossing a vast plain as they headed east toward the last known location of the Equus.
"What's that?" She heard from her passenger yanking her attention from the flight to the sky in front of them, revealing to her what appeared to be a large column of smoke.
"I dunno," she responded, "Looks like a fire."
"Could be trouble, we should check it out!"
"Sounds like a plan," She agreed as she altered her course toward the smoke. "Hang on I'll get us their in-" she began but was interrupted by Sonic jumping off of her back, "Hey!" She yelled out to him. She began to slow down and go back for him but stopped her course of action when she heard the sound of a sonic boom and the hedgehog pulling up alongside while on foot.
"I'll scout ahead and see if anyone's hurt!" he yelled out to her, before accelerating rapidly and leaving her behind instantly as he zoomed ahead toward the smoke.
The blue pegasus's jaw dropped as she was left in his dust almost effortlessly. Did he really just out run her while she was flying? How was this possible, she was fastest, there was no way this could possibly be happening. She gritted her teeth and rushed after him, desperately trying to catch up, not willing to admit that she wasn't the fastest. Thankfully she was able to see a trail of dust ahead of her coming closer. She must have been closing in on him. Then the trail of dust broke wide and circled around and came alongside her. She reeled at the thought that it was the hedgehog running back for her, but sure enough there he was and his face was pale.
"Hey!" He yelled as he sprinted alongside her. "What was your ship called?!"
Rainbow Dash gulped at his question, "The, the Equus Fortis…Why?!"
"It's on fire!"