//------------------------------// // Hayseed Swamps // Story: My Little Pony Adventure: Neck-and-Neck // by PhycoKrusk //------------------------------// Anyone in Dodge Junction that hoped to sleep without earplugs was likely either sleep deprived or inebriated by the time the sun rose. Sonic the Hedgehog was still on the rooftop he was stargazing on the night before, sprawled out on his back and snoring, as one resident would later describe, like a roaring lion. Rainbow Dash, sprawled out on her back, wings splayed, using Sonic as a pillow, was somehow snoring slightly louder. At the very least, it made it very easy for a race official to find them when she needed to start jabbing her hoof into Sonic’s head. After the fifth and most forceful jab, he finally gave a loud yawn and looked around with bleary eyes, finally settling on the vaguely pegasus-shaped blob standing next to him. “What?” he asked. “Mister Hedgehog, it’s five minutes to eight.” “Oh.” Several seconds passed, and then his eyes widened and he bolted up to sitting. “What?!” he demanded on the blob, which had by then resolved itself into a cerulean-furred, crimson-maned pegasus. Dash rolled off of his stomach when he sat up and landed with a thud on the roof, but otherwise didn’t stir or wake up, even when Sonic lifted her up by her shoulders and started shaking her. “Dash, wake up!” “Five more minutes, mom…” Dash muttered. “Dash, we overslept!” Sonic shouted with great urgency. “The race starts again in five minutes!” That, at last, had the desired effect; the pegasus’ eyes shot opened and leapt into the air, wings beating in a panicked hover. “What?!” “Come on! We still have time for breakfast!” Without another word, Sonic jumped from the top of the rooftop and down to the ground, zooming off towards the saloon as soon as his feet touched earth, Dash right on his heels. They were greeted by another impressive spread of food (once again, far more than seemed even remotely reasonable for only one hedgehog and one pegasus), and kitchen staff who were clearly not happy with the time they’d decided to stroll in. One of the earth ponies in kitchen uniform even opened her mouth to speak, but held her words when they were taken away in astonishment as the racers tucked in with a level of energy and enthusiasm that was, truthfully frightening. They didn’t even bother with plates, scooping up mouthfuls of eggs, oatmeal, bacon (for Sonic, although he was pretty sure that Dash snuck a few pieces as well and made a note to ask her about it. Eventually), hay fries (for Dash, although she was pretty sure that Sonic snuck a few pieces as well and made a note to ask him about it. Eventually), and hash browns directly from the serving platters, finishing up by grabbing several pieces of toast each and and a carafe full of orange juice before hurrying out the door. The kitchen staff were left to wonder how just one pony and one hedgehog nevertheless managed to devour half of the food that had been prepared in the two minutes or so they had given themselves. Wonder that was quickly abandoned when it threatened to take a turn for the surreal. Outside, Sonic and Dash advanced at a leisurely (for them) pace towards the new starting line, stuffing their faces with toast and then passing the carafe between them after they’d finished those. They finished the juice just as they reached the starting line; waiting for them there were starting blocks, a silver-furred, dark-maned stallion wearing the single, striped sleeve of a race official, and the crowd that Sonic had not seen the night before, mostly ponies but with other creatures mixed in. Sonic deposited the carafe on the ground, and both he and Dash finished their jog up to the starting line. “Well,” said the official, “So nice of you to finally join us.” “Yeah, sorry about that,” Sonic replied. He dropped into leg stretches without another word, while Dash landed and started on her wings. Sensing that he was not going to get anymore than that from them, the official decided to move on. “In the next two minutes, the race will restart,” he said. “There is a Mach Zone that starts about a mile-and-a-half down the route, but I expect both of you to restrain yourselves to legal speeds until you reach it. Blah blah blah, don’t cheat, you know the rest.” He stepped off to the side with something of a huff. With a perplexed expression, Sonic looked to Dash, who shrugged in response. A little quirky, sure, but not really important. Stretching for a minute more, they stepped into the starting blocks, dropped to a crouch or raised their wings, and set their eyes on the road in front of them while the seconds ticked away until it was time. “On your marks! Get set!” Without warning, the official turned and broke into a full gallop away from the road, stopping and turning around only after he’d moved fifty feet away. “Go!” Dust flew down the road after the racers, both Sonic and Dash reduced to streaks of color as they zoomed into the distance, and the spectators poured into the road once they’d left to continue watching. A mere thirty seconds after the race was back on, a ring of rainbow burst into existence down the road, expanding outward from its epicenter at the start of the Mach Zone. The soundlessness this time was short-lived; less than a minute passed before they checked their speed and slowed to sane velocities. They would have even if the zone hadn’t ended, though, as trees were fast approaching from ahead, marking the beginning of the Hayseed Swamps. “Hope you’re not planning to swim through this part, Sonic!” Dash called over to her opponent. “Funny thing about water, Dash!” Sonic called back, “Get going fast enough, and it might as well be concrete!” As they moved past the tree line, the grass turned greener, and then thinner. The ground turned soggy, then muddy, and then the water abruptly started. But as the soil dropped beneath the surface, Sonic did not; he stayed above, keeping pace with Dash. The water behind him rose and fell in an impressively large rooster tail, but beneath his relentlessly hammering feet, it was as solid as rock. He was even still able to maneuver, weaving between the trees that he needed to, if somewhat more clumsily than he had on dry land. The trees were growing rather thick, as well, and Dash needed to concentrate on her flying just as much as Sonic needed to concentrate on his running; neither of them exchanged words for several minutes as they moved miles and miles deeper into the swamps. It was somewhere in those several minutes and miles deeper that then tension in the air changed with the addition of a sound. Dash’s ears perked up, and Sonic’s attention split between maneuvering and listening. Then, they both heard it again. It was distant, soft, and hard to hear, but it sounded very much like it could have been someone calling for help. Without waiting to see if she heard anything a second time, Dash banked hard and changed course, heading towards the sound and away from the race circuit. “Dash, wait up!” Sonic shouted. He tried frantically to turn, but it was hard on water; almost impossible, he was finding. Dash either didn’t hear him or ignored him, zooming onwards towards the distress cry they were certain they’d heard. “Dash, you’re leaving the route!” came Tails’ voice over her comm-link suddenly. “What’s wrong?” “Ask Sonic! I’m busy!” The source of the call for help rapidly came into Dash’s view; in the middle of what was apparently especially deep water was a capsized canoe that had turned completely over, and two ponies in the water — a stallion and a colt she realized as she zoomed closer — struggling to keep above the water. Skimming along the water’s surface, Dash scooped both of them up and once and immediately turned skywards. She was almost immediately halted and was spun around, wings flapping frantically to keep them all in the air. The reason for their struggles had been the mass of vines, creepers, weeds and other plants they’d become tangled in, and it showed no signs of letting them go. “Oh, come on!” Dash cried in frustration, still flapping. If she dropped them, or worse, fell in too, they’d never get free. “Keep pulling, Dash!” The pegasus’ attention snapped back in the direction she flew in from to see Sonic approaching fast. The water under him exploded outwards and he leapt up into the air, curing up into a somersault before streaking forward in a sudden burst of speed and energy. When he hit the vines and creepers wrapped around the ponies Dash was carrying, the Blue Blur may as well have been a blue buzzsaw; he sliced through everything just as well as one, and Dash was suddenly free to fly her passengers wherever she wanted. A quick glance revealed that Sonic had hit the water running and was skimming along the surface in a necessarily wide turn towards a nearby shore, and a glance at that revealed a small dock that was almost certainly where the whole mess had started. Only a few seconds later, Dash brought both stallion and colt in for a fairly gentle landing, and was immediately joined by Sonic in helping them pull off the plants that had held them in the water; a quick task, all things considered. “Sorry we took so long,” Sonic said as the last of the wines were pulled free. “Thanks for showing up at all!” the stallion — a unicorn, it was now apparent — replied, ignoring them in favor of opening a small case that was hanging from his neck. With a steady glow of copper-red magic, the camera contained inside levitated into the open air and was immediately inspected while the colt carefully approached. “Is it OK, dad?” he asked cautiously. After another moment, the stallion smiled and nodded. “Yup! Looks like it’s just fine,” he said, before finally turning to regard Dash and Sonic, who had moved to stand by each other and give him space to work. “It’s a good thing you two came by when you did.” “Yeah, thanks —” the colt began, before his eyes widen when he saw who he was looking at. “Whoa! Rainbow Dash! And Sonic!” It did not take either racer more than a second to start basking in the implied praise. “Looks like our reputations precede us,” Sonic quipped. “Got that right,” Dash replied. A moment later confusion overtook her expression. “Wait, I get you knowing us and all, but what happened? How’d you get in the water like that?” “Well, um, we wanted to get a really close spot to watch you when you were going by, for the race,” the colt said. “And then, you ended up in the water…” Sonic began, trying to coax an explanation that was, luckily, readily forthcoming. “Erm, that was my fault, actually,” the stallion admitted. “I tried to swing the canoe to get a better shot and, well, you can figure out the rest. Guess we should leave boating safety to the experts, huh?” “Sorry for wrecking your race,” the colt said sadly, hanging his head. “Hey, don’t worry about it!” Dash said cheerfully. “Besides, it can still be an awesome day. I mean, that camera still works, right?” “Um, yes, it should work fine,” the stallion replied uncertainly. “I didn’t see any damage, at least.” Sonic, however, wasn’t uncertain at all. “Great idea, Dash,” he said with a smile. He turned the colt towards his father, and then stood to one side, with Dash moving to the other. Both the other ponies figured out what was happening and took action, the colt standing tall and smiling widely, and the stallion raising up his camera. “Everypony say ‘totally wicked’!” he said. “Totally wicked!” Briefly, they heard the sound of the camera’s shutter opening and closing, and after another moment, the stallion lowered the camera. “I’ll have to make extra prints of this one!” he said. “You’ll have to take one with you to school!” “Wow! A picture with Rainbow Dash and Sonic! I can’t wait to show everypony!” the colt said, prancing about happily. “Here’s one for the road, too,” Sonic replied. The colt turned around, and discovered that both Sonic and Dash were each holding out a fist and hoof, respectively. With a stupidly large grin, he reared back and bumped his front hooves against both the hoof and fist. “Maybe we’ll see you next year too, kid,” Sonic said. “Only don’t fall in the water next time,” Dash added. “Don’t worry!” the colt replied. “We’ll be extra careful.” With a nod to the colt and his father, and then a nod to each other, the two racers turned around — Dash leaping into the air and Sonic coiling down in a shallow crouch — and were off across the water once again, waves and rooster tails flying every which way as they made their way back onto the circuit. “Wow,” the colt said, “Rainbow Dash is so cool!” “Sure is!” said his father in agreement. “Kind of a funny name, though —” he brought a hoof to his chin in thought — “There wasn’t one bit of rainbow on him!” The colt stared at his father for a moment, and then raised his own hoof and planted his face firmly against it. Already nearing one mile distant, Sonic and Dash raced on, weaving through trees and splashing water over nearly everything around them. They didn’t exchange words, but didn’t need to, either; each one knew the other was pleased at their good deed, and so raced in silence. The seconds stretched into minutes, Sonic and Dash both intensely focused on maneuvering, until finally the ground rose up from the water, and they were back over solid, if extremely muddy ground, although that quickly changed, the soil becoming dryer as they moved towards the outskirts of the swamps. The silence was finally broken when their comm-links beeped. “Sonic, Dash, can you hear me?” came Tails’ voice. Sonic brought his arm away from his side, bringing the comm-link close to his face. “Loud and clear, buddy,” he replied. “Great! It looks like both of you made it out of the Swamps OK, and given the nature of your detour, the officials have decided to include an exception to disqualifications for emergencies, so don’t sweat it if it happens again. And lastly, you’re both coming up on another Mach Zone. If you keep up your current pace, you’ll probably make it to Baltimare before it gets too dark to keep going. You might even make it to Hollow Shades, if you don’t stop again!” “One of us might!” Dash replied into her own comm-link, “But we’ll see about the other. Thanks for the update Tails. We’ll check in after the Mach Zone.” “Roger that. Tails, out!” “Only one of us might, huh?” Sonic asked, arm back at his side. “What’s wrong, Dash? Don’t have enough in you for another supersonic sprint?” “Ha! Save your breath, hedgehog!” Dash replied, turning her full attention forward again. “You’re gonna need it!” “Yeah, for gloating!” Sonic attention likewise turned to the route in front of them; a packed dirt highway through grassland that ran to the coast of Horseshoe Bay. From there, they would turn north towards Baltimare, but that was still some time and a Mach Zone away, and with the highway generally free of traffic and debris, Sonic pushed some of the world out of mind and focused on the road in front of him. Sonic focused on the road in front of him with such dedication that he didn’t even notice that Dash was no longer keeping pace with him. Not until he heard a distant cry: “Sonic! Help!” When he looked to his side, Sonic saw that he was alone, and a glance to the other side and then behind him did not reveal any sign of the pegasus. About-facing without even slowing down, his feet became a blur on the ground, bringing him to a rapid halt before he rocketed back in the direction he came from. Not even a full second later, he came skidding to a halt. Rainbow Dash was lying on the ground, her wings stuck together with some sort of green-colored goo between them. The same goo had bound her hind hooves together as well, although she was still able to squirm them a little bit, and both front hooves was stuck to the ground — although not together — by more of the goo. What exactly it was, Sonic didn’t know, and there was only one way to find out. “Dash, what happened?” he all but shouted. “I don’t know!” Dash replied loudly as she squirmed some more, trying to get free. “This stuff just came out of nowhere and now I can’t move and I think it’s still out there and I can’t move!” “Hold on! I’ll get you out!” Without wasting even a second, Sonic tried to pull Dash’s leg free of the goo, and when that failed, tried to remove the stuff from her directly, only for both of his hands to be immobilized. With a sharp tug, Sonic managed to pull his hands free from the gunk on Dash’s hoof, several long, thick strands of the stuff sticking to his fingers. Bewildered, he tried to shake them loose, and finally resorted to wiping them off on the ground, needing a couple tries to do so, his expression twisted in disgust the entire time. “What the heck is this stuff?!” he exclaimed. “It’s like crazy glue!” “Sonic, I can’t move and it’s still out there!” The hedgehog’s attention was brought back to the goo, and he resumed trying to remove it, although with greater care as he realized some of it was starting to harden. “Sonic!” “I’m trying! Let me think!” “Hurry!” “Dash, look at me!” The pegasus did exactly that, surprised by the forcefulness of the statement, and Sonic held her gaze for a moment before continuing. “I’m not leaving you here, but this stuff is super sticky,” he said, “And if I’m not careful, I’ll get stuck too. I’ll get you free, but I need to concentrate, so you need to watch my back, OK?” Dash was a lot like Sonic, and that meant that when faced with the particular situation they were in, neither one of them were afraid. The difference was that Sonic had an action plan, and Dash did not; that was why she was panicking. Now that Dash also had a plan, her nerves were instantly under control, even if they were not calmed. “Got it.” Dash started a vigil immediately, and Sonic set to work on the green goo that was gluing her to the ground, amazed at how quickly it was drying, and at how hard it had become. He pulled from different angles, and even tried hammering at it with his fist to try and loosen it. This paid off almost immediately and yield a crack he was able to get his fingers in. He didn’t have long to start prying, at it, however; not even three seconds. “Sonic, watch out!” With a little more warning, he might’ve dodged. But there wasn’t enough warning, and the hedgehog felt sharp pain when something struck him in the head and to the ground. Trying to focus through the haze suddenly filling his skull, he rolled onto his back and, through blurred vision, made out a black blob with brilliant blue eyes. A moment after that, acid green light glowed above the blob. A moment after that, darkness took him.