Despite having been warned not to go into Sugar Rush by a very threatening Vanellope, Turbo went back there anyway. There was nothing for him to do other than sitting around the penthouse all day, and while at first the plush surroundings were nice, the luxury soon wore off. There were only so many times a guy could watch Felix's renovation show DVDs before he got sick of it. He still had no idea where the handyman got them from, but it wasn't like he could talk to him that often.
So he found himself sneaking back into Sugar Rush during the day. It was a busy day, so every character was busy in their respective games, and Turbo passed through Sugar Rush's various tracks without being detected by anyone. The place he was headed for was beyond the tracks, though. It was a part of the game that was only used by the most experienced characters (or those such as himself who knew the game like the back of his hand), so he wasn't afraid of being caught. When the sweet scent of the candy corn was all that he could smell, he knew that he was there.
"Ah, my old candy corn maze. Pity I was the only one smart enough to know this place existed," he chuckled to himself, running an ungloved hand along the rows of candy corn. The sweet plant rustled with a clacking sound, a sound that was echoed further within the maze. Could it be...?
"Thkittleth?" he whispered, carefully entering the maze. Was his faithful steed still here where he'd released it years ago? He heard a snort and the sound of candy corn being crushed under hooves. Remembering that the animal had only come to him if he'd spoken without his lisp, he tried again: "Skittles."
To his delight, the candy unicorn stepped out of the rows of candy corn and snorted in confusion at him. "Relax, Skittles, it's just me. I might look a little different but I'm the guy who raised you from a tiny little foal. You remember me, right?" He extended his hand towards the unicorn and, after a cautionary sniff, his pet seemed to recognise him. With a delighted whinny, Skittles licked his hand and then nuzzled it as if searching for a sugar cube or other such sweet. Turbo cursed the fact that he'd forgotten a treat for his pet, but the unicorn seemed to just be happy with his owner's presence.
Seeing that Skittles remembered him, Turbo carefully placed a hand on Skittles' back. Seeing no protest from the animal, he jumped onto his back and settled into a comfortable bareback position.
"There's a good boy," he cooed to his pet. "Now, Skittles, we ride!" He struck a pose and dug his heels in, causing his steed to rear up onto his hind legs and then start forward at a gallop. Turbo realised his mistake almost too late. "Wait, Skittles, we can't go racing in the castle like the old days! I'm sorry but you'll just have to settle for the maze." The unicorn gave an angry snort but obeyed his master's instruction and turned around to trot back into the maze.
Turbo rode the candy unicorn around the maze, first at a trot until he remembered the layout but then upping the speed to a canter and then a full-on gallop. As the wind blew through his hair, Turbo grinned into it and relished the feeling of speed even if it was on horseback and not in a race car.
The middle of the maze was where Turbo always used to come to just be himself. He used to have a kind of Felix-shrine here, but of course it was gone now. All that remained was a single photograph of the two of them smiling with arms around each other. He thought he could see Flash in the background. After dismounting his steed, Turbo picked up the photograph and studied it closer. Yes, there was Flash in the background looking somewhat forlornly at Turbo. He'd used to treat the shy racer so poorly, a fact that now made him sad. If only he'd known then how much it hurt to have love not returned, he wouldn't have acted like such a jerk towards him. Jet was right for threatening to beat him up if he didn't leave Flash alone. At least those two had finally found happiness...
Footsteps brought him out of his thoughts. Vanellope's voice reached his ears soon after.
"...and this place stayed here. I don't know why but I've been clearing out some junk from the middle of it," she was saying to someone. Turbo didn't want to wait around to find out who it was. Feeling true panic for the first time in a long time, he clutched the photograph to his chest and leaped back onto Skittles.
"C'mon, we've gotta get outta here," he hissed, nudging the unicorn's sides and guiding him out of the maze. He had to hide in a dead-end at one point to watch Vanellope and a few other racers pass, but as soon as they were gone he took off again. His heart was pounding when he finally got out of the maze, even though he hadn't been doing much work at all besides guiding Skittles and clinging to his back. Who knew what Vanellope would do if she caught him in her game again?
Turbo rode Skittles out of the game almost without realising that he was still on the unicorn's back. He only realised that when he started to get some weird looks.
"I thought you raced cars, not horses," someone commented, earning a glare from the racer.
"He is a candy unicorn," he corrected the character, but they simply laughed and walked away. Annoyed, Turbo rode Skittles across Game Central Station and into Fix-it Felix Jr.
Inside, he soon met up with the game's protagonist.
"My, Turbo, I didn't know you were an equestrian," Felix commented with a chuckle.
"Equ- what? Nah, I found this little guy in Sugar Rush when I first went there. I raised him from a foal and he was like my pet. I rode him around the candy corn maze when I had spare time. He was the closest thing I had to a friend, in there. A real friend, not someone I had to be King Candy to."
"Heh, you weren't all bad then," Felix smiled. "I always knew you had some good in you."
"So anyway, can I keep him in here?" Turbo asked, resting a hand on Skittles' mane. "I'll look after him and take him for rides all the time. He eats anything sweet, but I'll get that for him too. Please, Felix?"
"Well..." Felix trailed off, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Can you keep him out of sight during the game day?"
"Of course," Turbo nodded enthusiastically. "Maybe you can even build him a pen behind the apartment block."
"We'll see," Felix assured him, and reached out a hand to touch Skittles. The unicorn's red eyes seemed to glow and he snapped at Felix's hand.
"Skittles, no! This is Felix, the guy I told you all those things about all those times," Turbo explained to his bad-tempered steed. The unicorn nickered as though in laughter but allowed Felix to pet his mane.
"You talked to your pet unicorn about me?" Felix asked with a humour-filled smile.
"Who else could I talk to about you?" Turbo shrugged. "Skittles seemed to listen but I dunno if he really did or not. Either way, he definitely understands me."
"At least he's tame," Felix figured. "You can keep him, just make sure he doesn't hurt anyone, interfere with the game, or show up while the game's being played. Speaking of which, I've gotta go meet Tammy for a lunch date." Turbo's high spirits immediately fell.
"Oh... okay then," he mumbled, looking down at Skittles' back. "I won't keep you, then. Litwak only breakth for lunch for half an hour. Have a nithe date." He rode Skittles around the apartment block at a gallop, but it was a few laps before he finally began to feel better again. There was just something about speed, about the wind in his hair, that made him happy. Even when he was constantly being reminded that the one guy who could make him happy was too busy making someone else happy.
Skittles! I like the idea of Turbo confiding in his pet candy unicorn. I haven't seen the lunch break idea used before, hopefully it might take off if I use it? Could I start a trend? We'll see.