//------------------------------//
// Chapter 7: Flying From Fate 
// Story: Chaos and Harmony - Crossing Paths 
// by ShootingRainbowStar13 
//------------------------------//

Discord gazed into the shimmering green surface of the Master Emerald, a lazy grin on his snout. 

It all went according to plan. He got the emerald, trapped his foes on the doomed Angel Island and made it sink into the ocean. Yes, everything went like clockwork.

Including his enemies' escape.

Discord leaned back on his self-made chair in Eggman's temporary fortress. He closed his eyes and smiled.

Discord knew that a single magic bubble would not be enough to actually KEEP the friends trapped and killed. But it was enough to damage their egos, or two egos in particular.

How was it described again? Oh yes, a 'spark'. Well, he could see that a spark of friendship had instantly ignited between Rainbow Dash and Sonic the Hedgehog. With the Elements of Harmony and the Chaos Emeralds on their side, they would be a tough pair to beat.

But if they discovered the true limitlessness of their combined power....

Discord physically shook his head to clear that thought. No, that couldn't happen, he wouldn't let it. He and Eggman would get those promising Chaos Emeralds first, thus hiding any of this knowledge from them. And then... it would mean the end of the Elements of Harmony.

Speaking of Dr. Eggman....

The air glowed with a multicolored light, and a small aircraft puttered out. It was damaged, with a critical hit to the engine, and its driver had a grim expression.

"Did you get it?"

Eggman hesitated. "Get what?"

"You know what I mean!"

"Oh. Um... no."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NO??!!"

"The twin-tailed twit smashed my engine and nabbed the emerald!"

"WHY DID YOU SPARE HIM THEN??"

"I would have shot him down in the first place... except...."

"Except what?!?!"

"He was carrying that Fluttershy."

Discord stopped yelling at Dr. Eggman, who was secretly ashamed that he was intimidated of someone when he was so used to being in charge. Discord turned away, so Eggman couldn't see his face.

"Alright, I'll give you that. I told you to spare her." Discord stroked his beard.

"Why do you want to spare her? I could have gotten us the emerald if you said otherwise!"

There was a pause. Discord stopped stroking his beard.

"When I was biding my time, waiting to get revenge, I got to know Fluttershy. I instantly knew that she was weak-spirited and far too trusting, but when I learnt more about her, I found something else. Deep inside that soft mare's heart, there is a core of iron."

Discord turned back to Eggman, who was looking confused.

"That pegasus is more than what she seems. And by being that, she is the ideal tool for me."

Those dirty red eyes clouded with menace and cruelty.

"Just you wait. Soon enough, she will be my pawn. A pawn in a game that only I could possibly win."

And Discord let out such a deep, cruel laugh that it made the very foundations of the castle tremble.





A similar emerald, only much smaller, was glittering on a cushion in the Golden Oaks Library. It was inside a glass case, magically created by Twilight, sitting on a pedestal next to the Elements of Harmony.

Twilight was alone downstairs, sitting on the bare wooden floor. She had asked everyone else to go upstairs, which they were more than happy to oblige, as they all wanted to get some rest. 

She rubbed her horn and winced. Holding up a hot-air balloon filled with ponies to keep it from falling into a pool of toxic rainbows was no easy task. Although, the multiple spell against that ursa minor was much more difficult... her horn didn't hurt this much... maybe something to do with getting older?

Twilight shook her head, making her horn ache all over again. No, focus on the task at hand.

The purple unicorn got up off the floor and trotted over to the Elements of Harmony. They sat, like normal, on the pink cushion inside their case.

The Element of Loyalty was glimmering red, as if it was taunting her, calling her. Twilight took a deep breath.

She wanted to know more. She had to see more of the visions, even if they were terrible. They might... they might affect the future.

Gently, she let her magic wrap itself around the necklace and lifted it into the air.

Nothing happened.

Twilight looked at the Element. "Um... I ask to see the fate of the bearer of this Element of Harmony!"

Still nothing happened.

Twilight became frustrated. "C'mon!" She started shaking it with her magic. "Show me some magical visions!" She prodded it, pressed the red lightning bolt, filled it with more magic, and turned it upside down. Still nothing happened.

Twilight stopped. After a moment's thought, she slipped the Element of Loyalty around her own neck.

Everything was red, red sky, red flames, red eyes. 

'No, I've got to control this.'

Without breaking the contact, Twilight concentrated. The scene froze. Gradually, gradually, Twilight worked her magic into the vision. She could feel the chaotic energy weakening, and then crumbling. She exhaled. She was in control.

Slowly, she let the vision continue, but she didn't break her magic hold on the scene.

Red eyes. Laughter. An outstretched claw.

The blue hedgehog (Twilight now knew it was Sonic)  was lying on a pile of crumbled and broken stone and wood. He was covered in bruises and cuts, his gloves ripped and tattered. He was clutching the area around his left shoulder. Blood was seeping through his fingers. His eyes were tightly shut, a grimace on his face. Rainbow Dash was no-where in sight.

More rumbling laughter, shuddering the ground and sending Sonic tumbling, crying out with pain as his shoulder hit the reddish dirt. 

"You were a fool to believe you two could defeat me." A booming voice, a vaguely familiar voice. No.... a voice, superimposed under something more evil and ancient.

"We... we still can... you haven't won yet!" Sonic opened his eyes and yelled into the endless sky.

Another wave of laughter, a noise that sent icy chills up one's spine. "Look at yourself, Sonic the Hedgehog. How could you possibly win?"

Twilight dwelled too long on the statement. Just for a moment, she let her concentration slack.

Flashes of light, blue, red, yellow, a scream, a single scream, calling a name...

"FLUTTERSHY!!!!"








It was night. The coal-black sky was sprinkled with stars and galaxies. The moon glowed, an arc of pure silver against the sky and stars.

Sonic lay on the roof of Tails' workshop. He was gazing into the night sky, wondering how they would retrieve the Master Emerald and get Angel Island back into the air.

He was so deep in thought he didn't notice the silent figure swooping out of the shadows and landing gently on the rooftop. 

"Hi Sonic."

Sonic looked over at Rainbow Dash, who was clopping over to flop down next to him.

"Why aren't you asleep?" he asked.

"I could ask you the same question."

"Mmh."

They fell silent, gazing at the stars. Rainbow wondered whether she was seeing the same moon that Princess Luna had brought up in replacement of the sun. 

"What's the symbol on your flank for, anyway?"

Rainbow faltered slightly at the unexpected question. "Why do you wanna know?"

"Cause it's a tattoo that everyone had specially on their butts."

Rainbow laughed. "It's not a tattoo! It's called a Cutie Mark. You see, we're born blank-flanked, but when we find our special talent, when we're fillies, a symbol representing it appears on our flank."

"What's yours then?"

"It stands for my speed. When I was a filly, I had a race against some colts. They were harassing Flutters, and I couldn't have that! So, I was winning, then one of them tried to cheat by ramming into me. And then I got angry, shot past him, and then BOOOM!!!" Rainbow flared her hooves. 

"I broke the sound barrier and created my first ever SONIC RAINBOOM!!!" She paused, lowering her forelegs and slumping back onto the roof. 

"Five other fillies got their cutie marks that day. My rainboom influenced something inside them, and they found who they were meant to be. Those five fillies... are my friends."

"Cool."

"Yep. Very cool."

But with her happiness came the inevitable memory that she refused to share with anyone. Her happiness faded and her grin vanished. 

But fate told here right then that she could tell Sonic, even though she had only known him for a short time.

"I envy you, Sonic."

Sonic looked at Rainbow, surprised. "Why?"

"You spend your days fighting crime, risking your life, smashing through Eggman's machines and wrecking his plans. You run where you please, feeling the wind in your face and fresh, cool freedom. You are a true, true hero. And I -"

Rainbow broke off, looking down at her hooves. "I can't leave Ponyville, confined to kick clouds around and save the occasional runaway foal. Even though they'd never say it aloud, those five mares don't see me as a hero. They see me as a mere friend. I've been thinking about it ever since... can I tell you a short story?"

"Go ahead." said Sonic.

"They impersonated a hero named Mare-do-well. Rarity made costumes that hid their true identity, while Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie and Fluttershy wore them and performed different feats at different times, according to who would manage the best in the situation at hand."

"They tried to teach me a lesson about boasting, as I was saving a lot of ponies, but they didn't realize how much I enjoyed being recognized as a hero. Just when I reached the top, they dragged me down, tricked me, lied to me, shamed me." Rainbow's tone was getting angrier and angrier.

"They showed me up, doing better things than me, and made everypony forget that I had done anything amazing! And - HEY! I just realized that while they were trying to teach me not to boast, they were boasting THEMSELVES! In Sugarcube Corner, when they were marveling at Mare-do-well's amazing deeds! When - when they... they LAUGHED at me for being hurt and embarrassed!!!"

Rainbow Dash angrily brushed away a tear. It was silent again. 

Sonic thought hard. Then he spoke.

"You know what I think? I think, deep inside, they were jealous."

"Y-you do?" stammered Rainbow.

"Yeah. And something else. It took FIVE ponies to get the better of you. When I look at you, Rainbow Dash, I don't see just a mere friend. I see a great, great pegasus... and a hero. And do you know what?"

"What?"

"I envy something that you have."

"You do?!"

"No matter how much I run, no matter how fast I dash, I can't fly, at least not by my natural talents. I can jump extremely high, I can run like the wind, but I can't soar through the air. I have to take the Tornado. That's why I didn't want to drive. I wanted to be standing on the back, spreading my arms and laughing as the clouds fly past. But it's still not enough."

"But... you told me you can fly at light speed when you're Super Sonic!" said Rainbow. "That's way better!"

"I need seven pieces of magic rock to do that. I can't just take off whenever I want to and fly."

Another silence. A light wind blew over the trees nearby. Somewhere in the woods, an owl called. 

Rainbow suddenly stood on the roof.

"Sonic, can you get on my back?"

"Why?"

Rainbow smiled at him. "I want to show you the night sky, up close and personal."

Sonic felt a smile of his own creep across his face. He carefully got up and lowered himself gently onto Rainbow's back. He held onto her neck, and he could feel surges of adrenalin pounding through her bloodstream.

"Hold on!"

Rainbow took off, leaving a glowing, glittering rainbow behind.

They climbed up, up through the clouds, feeling wet coolness on their faces. The ground below grew smaller and smaller and they went higher and higher. Sonic heard himself whoop with delight.

Rainbow was beating her wings hard and fast, straining to go faster. She was already going faster than the wind, faster than the Tornado. Sonic kept his hands tightly clenched on Rainbow's neck, and began to feel the true exhilaration of flight. 

But something... something was still not quite there.

Then, when Sonic thought that they would touch the moon, Rainbow slowed down. Her wings stopped flapping and she began to glide to a stop on a cool, crisp updraft. She peaked, right under the blanket of night. The sky seemed so close, like they could just reach up and run a hand (or hoof) over the stars. 

For a moment, they hovered there. Time stood still. They were two beings, two fantastic friends that were alone in a world of night and clouds and stars. No words had to be spoken. They knew they were feeling the same emotions. They were alone, alone, with no-one else but each other.

Then the moment became packed with electricity. Rainbow Dash dipped over, and she began to dive towards the ground. 

The wind whistled in their ears, rushing past them like a freight train. The air was cold and sharp, nipping them like needles before shooting past into the sky.

Faster and faster, like the climb upwards was nothing, the wind thundering, two pulses racing. The night was flashing by, clouds whisked away. The thrill, the speed, the beauty of adventure.

The air around Rainbow's outstretched hooves began to thicken. It became a white layer, stretching like elastic, threatening to snap them back with the fast-passing clouds and wind and stars. Sonic was forced to almost close his eyes against the racing wind. Rainbow was doing the same. 

Then the whiteness began to flicker with colors, stretching further and further. Rainbow knew the feeling, but something was different. She felt stronger and faster, the pressure different. Then the colors became clear, and there were two layers of color on top of one another. They were stretching out, pushing harder and harder... almost as one.... and then....

The sky exploded with colors of the rainbow. The barrier was gone, and Sonic and Rainbow Dash were going faster, faster than the speed of sound, shooting, riding, incredible feelings exploding like the colors behind them.

Rainbow had one final move. She pulled out of the dive and, catching the wind, shot back upwards. As they climed up again, a true, solid rainbow that did not fade arced as she carved it into the canvas of the night sky.

They both looked back, and a jolt of surprise went through them. TWO bright rings of color were splashed across the features of the night, TWO magical broken sound barriers were decorating the star sprinkled sky. Rainbow Dash had performed a beautiful double sonic rainboom, breaking the sound barrier twice in a row.

The tiniest realization of the power they held together flickered into their consciousness.

Sonic leaned forward and murmured something into Rainbow's ear.

"Can I just call you Dash?"