//------------------------------// // The Real Games Start // Story: Sonic and Equestria Girls: Friendship Games // by SonicAKG //------------------------------// The Real Games Start After Principal Cinch had finished her 'welcoming' speech, Sonic saw Sunset and the Rainbooms with Tails and the others as they headed out of the gym as they were discussing the whereabouts of the other Twilight. He immediately jogged over to them and when Sunset saw him, she gave him a warm smile. "Sonic, thank you so much for covering up Shadow's teleporting! I owe you big time!" She said as Sonic slowed down and walked over to them. "Anytime. Listen, guys, I have something really important to tell you." Sonic started. "Can it wait? The first part of the games is starting and we need to get ready." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "No, I need to tell you now. It's really-" Sonic said before in the hallway, he saw Dean Cadance, waiting for students. Sonic tried to avoid being seen by her and stopped in his tracks. He suddenly grabbed Silver and Manic, stopping them as well while the others headed out. "Hey, what gives?" Silver asked. "See that lady over there? She was there during our infiltration and we just left without explaining why we had to take some guy's uniforms. Seeing her is just going cause another mess. We need to be out of sight." Sonic quickly explained. "But I can tell you guys this. Scourge is here." Manic's eyes widened , while Silver just look confused. "What?! What's he doing here?" Manic nearly shouted. "Whose Scourge?" Silver asked. "Long story short, my evil twin. Anyway, yeah, Scourge is with Crystal Prep. And remember that Twilight girl I was telling you about? I think I've figured out what's going with her. Scourge is telling her lies." Sonic explained. "That explains a lot. Probably just trying to mess with you." Manic replied. "True. But I think he's got something else planned. I'm not sure yet, but I just got a feeling. When the first part of the games are over, we gotta tell Sunset and the others." Sonic said. "Ok." Silver agreed. "But can we still watch them from the sidelines? I don't want to miss out on anything and besides, that girl with the green hair needs to remember me." Manic brought up, causing Sonic and Silver to sigh. "Seriously? Ok, we can watch from the sidelines, but stay hidden. I don't want to cause a commotion." Sonic said. "Got it, Manic?" "But how she's going to notice me and remember who I am?" "I dunno. Just do something later, there are more important things to worry about." Later in the hallway, the WonderColts and ShadowBolts teams had lined up in order to prepare for the games. As she was standing among them, Twilight looked uneasy about the games and had her head down. When she lifted it up, she saw Scourge in the crowd, who gave her the thumbs up, making her smile a bit and she lifted her head up, feeling more confident. In the back of the crowd, Sonic stood with Manic and Silver, while upfront Knuckles and Tails stood among other CHS students, waiting for the two teams to start as they heard Dean Cadance and Vice Principal Luna explain the rules of the games. "Let the games...begin!" Dean Cadance declared as she brought her hand down and each of the two teams gave each other intense glares, each determined to win. And so the first part of the Friendship Games begun. The games started off with a scientific portion involving students creating a mixture of chemicals, putting both teams on an equal edge. They advanced then to baking, which the WonderColts managed to win. However, when it came to workshop building, the ShadowBolts took the lead. The third act featured a spelling bee competition in the auditorium between the Rainbooms and the 6 main ShadowBolts, who were the ones who managed to advance to this round. Both teams had screw up and it was hard to tell who was in the lead. Eventually, only Sunset and Twilight were left to represent their teams in mathematical equations. In the seats, Sonic and the others sat in the back. Sonic looked like he was about to fall asleep as his eyelids drooped and he yawned loudly. "Maybe it was a good thing I didn't take part. I didn't think things could be so boring." He said in a tired tone "They're about to announce who won." Tails said as he peered forward. "And the winner of the first part of the games is Crystal Prep's Twilight Sparkle." Dean Cadance announced, leading to surprised gasps coming from the CHS crowd. Tails put his head down while Silver and Knuckles looked disappointed. Hearing this prevented Sonic from falling asleep completely and he lunged forward. "What?! We lost?!" He yelled out loud, causing many to look back at him strangely. Luckily, no one saw him due to him sitting back in the dark but he sank down, embarrassed at his outburst. "What happened to keep a low profile?!" Manic whispered next to him with annoyance. "Sorry. Anyway, the first act is done. When that Cadance lady gets off the stage and they head out, we're going to tell the others." Sonic instructed. After Twilight had brushed out Flash Sentry's attempts to congratulate her and she started to follow the readings of her pendant as she headed out of the auditorium, she was approached by Scourge, making her look up from her pendant suddenly to see him smiling. "Hey, Twi. Gotta say, nice win! You did great out there!" Scourge praised as he gave her the thumbs up. "(How can Blue stand being this nice all the time?)" "Th-Thanks Scourge!" She said. He had been the only one from Crystal Prep to acknowledge her win. She smiled slightly. It was nice having a friend to support her. Scourge heard the beeping of Twilight's pendant and he looked down and noticed it again, his eyes full of curiosity. "Been meaning to ask, what is that thing?" Scourge asked. "Oh. I can tell you now. Remember how I told you how I've been studying the weird occurrences at this school?" Twilight began. "Yeah. (As if I care anyway.)" "Well, this device lets me keep a track of those things and identify its sources. So thanks to it, I've been able to find a lot of new energy. I don't understand it yet, but I think I'm getting close. But the problem is, it keeps out of control. I want to know more, but the fact that this pendant keeps glitching worries me." "(So that's what it does. Interesting. I could use this to my advantage somehow.)" Ah, that sounds cool. Don't worry about your pendant thing. I'm sure it's just a glitch and knowing you, you can fix it. Listen Twilight, I know it's risky, but whatever's going on here, you need to find the source and put an end to it. With that device of yours, only you can. Remember how I said Sonic might have something to do with it? Well, I think its best if you put a stop to it before Sonic manages to figure out to do something worse. He's just a bully now, but if he gets more power..." Scourge told her, making Twilight clutch her pendant tightly. Scourge had a point. If Sonic could get more power, he could do worse to Scourge then just simple bullying. She had to figure how the magic worked and maybe keep it under control. "Good idea, Scourge. In fact, I was picking up a magic trail right now. " Twilight explained "Cool, go follow it. And don't have doubts. I believe in you." Scourge said as he put his hand on her shoulder, making Twilight flustered before she regained her composure. "You-You can count on me!' She said, feeling more motivated to do her work as she began to follow the signal. Scourge chuckled as she left. He then walked off in the opposite direction. "(I can't believe she's eating all this stuff up. I'm closer to getting this collar off.)" As the Rainbooms headed back inside the school after taking a break at the CHS statue, inside they saw Sonic along with Knuckles, Manic, and Silver waiting around in the halls. After seeing them, Sonic dashed in front of them quickly, startling them as they stepped back a bit, wondering why he seemed so agitated. "OK, I need to tell you this now!" Sonic declared as he gripped Sunset's shoulders. "Ok, Ok, settle down." She said as she took his arms off. "What's so important that you're this worked up?" "Scourge is here." Hearing the name of Sonic's evil double got the Rainbooms attention alongside Knuckles and Tails as they formed astonished looks. "What did you say? Scourge?!" Knuckles exclaimed. "That ruffian?!" Rarity asked. "Yeah. He's here. Turns out he's part of Crystal Prep now, thanks to me. Hehe." Sonic said, a little pleased with himself for giving him such a fate before his expression became serious again. "But the things is, I know why that Twilight girl is acting weird. Remember how she said, 'he' told her things? It was Scourge." Sonic explained. "That makes sense. No wonder she had trouble trusting us." AppleJack added. "But why? Just to screw you over or something?" Tails asked. "Maybe. But I don't get why he'd pick her of all people. I think Scourge has something up is sleeve." Sonic said. "You may have an idea there. As I said before, the portal's gone missing and I think Twilight might have had something to do with it. You think Scourge could be connected?" Sunset brought up. "Could be. But...." He began before Manic suddenly interjected. "Hey, where's Fluttershy?" Twilight burst into the halls of CHS through another entrance and she leaned against a locker, panting and trying to catch her breath. Her dog had just spoken! She turned around to see Spike coming up to her and she looked down. "Twilight, calm down." Spike said. "Calm?! How can I be calm after everything I just saw?! You're talking!" She cried. "I know, it's new to me too. But I kinda like it." Spike said. "Do you...feel any different?" "Nope, still me. I don't know how it happened myself. Maybe it had something to do with that portal I went through." Spike guessed. "Most Likely." "Anyway, Twilight, seeing as I can talk, can I ask you something?" Spike said, his voice full of concern. "About this Scourge guy." Spike said. "Oh, him. I'm so glad I have him looking out for me! He's been a great friend so far!" Twiligh said happily. "When he finds out you can talk, he'll probably think you're the coolest dog ever!" "About that, Twilight, are you sure he's telling you the truth?" Twilight lost her smile and she gave Spike a serious and puzzled look. "Wha-what do you mean?" "Like what he told you about this place. From what I've seen so far, everyone's just been trying to be nice to you. I don't think they're up to something like he says." Spike brought up. Twilight stood silent for a moment, thinking over Spike's words. "Well.....I see where you're coming from. Maybe they really are just nice and they don't know Sonic's true colors, which is why they're around him. He's probably tricked them. Maybe I can have Scourge tell them the truth"Twilight finally said. "About that...are you sure he's telling the truth about this Sonic guy? Dogs are better at sensing people's real personalities better than people and I don't think Sonic is a bad guy. I mean, you haven't even really talked to him."Spike pointed out. Twilight began to ponder over what Spike was saying. She remembered the times she did have runs in with Sonic and all those times, it sounded like he was sincerely trying to apologize to her and didn't mean her any harm. But he was also harassing Scourge as well...Twilight was confused. "I-I.." Twilight said before she heard Principal Cinch call her name and she gasped. "Spike, hide...." "Just keep your application in mind." Scourge heard Cinch tell Twilight as he walked through the halls. He stopped and he saw Cinch walk away from an unsure Twilight, who gripped her arm. Scourge walked up to her. "Man, I think flowers die when she walks past." Scourge said looking back at Cinch, making Twilight turn to see him coming. She still looked unsure, making Scourge a little confused, as usually, she was happy to see him. Spike took notice of him and gave him a glare, which Scourge noticed. "Easy there, Fido. Twi and I are friends." Scourge said, but Spike still gave him the same look. "You doin' okay, Twi?" "Yeah." She said softly. "Scourge, can I ask you something?" "Anything." "Are..you telling me the truth?" Scourge didn't expect to hear this from Twilight. He stood still for a while and was taken back. "What? Why do you ask?" He said, his voice beginning to sound nervous. "It's just that...everyone here has been nothing but nice to me and I think they mean it. I mean, if they did want to do something to me, wouldn't they have done it by now, especially now that the Games are happening. And about Sonic, I've been starting to think, is he really that bad? I know you and him don't seem to get along, but do you think maybe you just misunderstand each other?" Twilight said. Scourge's face sunk. What Twilight had just said was the last thing he wanted to hear. He tried to remain calm, but inside, he was freaking out as the colour drained from his face. "(No, no, no, no, no! Is she on to me? This can't be happening, everything will be ruined! I gotta think of something fast!)" Scourge panicked in his mind. His eyes darted back and forth for a while until suddenly, he thought of a trick that might work for him. "(Hope this works)" Scourge let out a large prominent sad sigh and he sunk his shoulders, taking Twilight by surprise. "So, you too, eh?" He said, his voice full of 'hurt'. "What?" Twilight asked. "I guess it was stupid of me to think I'd ever have a friend with Blue around. He really is a good actor. Oh well.." Scourge said as he turned around slowly and began to walk away from Twilight. "Wait, Scourge! We are friends!" She pleaded as she stuck her hand out. "Really? Then how come you think I'm the liar then? I thought you trusted me, but guess I was wrong. Anyway, it was at least nice to have a friend for a short while but looks like in the end, I'm just on my own. See ya around." Scourge replied glumly as he waved his hand at her and continued to walk down the hall, pretending to be upset. "Scourge, please! I didn't mean to hurt you!" Twilight desperately called out as Scourge pretended to ignore her. Twilight felt awful. Had she just lost her first friend? Spike looked up at Twilight. Now he was beginning to feel guilty for suggesting that Scourge was a liar in the first place. "Twiligh...I'm, I'm sorry, I didn't mean for this.." Spike said but Twilight gently patted his head. "I know Spike..." She said sadly. Fluttershy entered the halls of CHS, still feeling dazed and looked quit exhausted, causing the group to turn to her as her hand rested on her head. "Fluttershy! Hey, you don't look so good." Manic noticed. "I know. One second I was with Twilight and then I ponied up after giving her a bunny and then I felt so weak after Twilights object sucked the magic out of me." Fluttershy explained. "The magic was drained out of you?" Sunset said, her curiosity growing. "I felt the same thing happen to me!" Pinkie brought up. "As did I." Rarity added. "And you all ponied up after you did something you really enjoyed." Sunset noticed, "Fluttershy, did you see Scourge around? He's been messing with Twilight." Sonic quickly told her, making her eyes widen. "That awful guy is here? No, I didn't see him anywhere." Fluttershy said as she gripped herself. "Do you think Scourge has anything to do with Twilight stealing magic?" Tails asked. "Ah don't think so. From what I've heard, her magic stealing doesn't sound intentional." AppleJack commented. " Sunset mentioned that she closed the portal too and it doesn't seem that Scourge knows about that. " Silver added "Good, the less he knows, the better. We gotta stop him before he finds out about any of this magic stealing stuff. He might try to use it somehow. Knuckles decided as he placed his fist into his hand. "And we need to fix things with Twilight." Sonic chimed in. "How? Unless of course, maybe if one of us thinks that the Crystal Prep Girls should do it, seeing as they are better than people he knows.." Rarity said not so subtley as she looked back to Silver, making him look away as he rubbed the back of his head. She gave him a dirty look. "Let me explain.." Silver said but Rarity just turned her back to him like before. "Still, if Scourge isn't making Twilight close the portal, we don't know how it's happening." Sunset said, looking slight glum. "Yeah, too bad the other Twilight who knows about this stuff isn't here." Pinkie said, unaware she had offended Sunset. "In the meantime, we need to focus on these games! The next event is starting up and I-" Rainbow Dash started to say as the group headed outside and she stopped when she saw the field, making everyone gasp as their jaws dropped. It was many times larger as it looked like a large race track, which in the center had 4 stacks of hay, a mud pool with two bars on its end and a wall with archery targets. Large elevated rumps and terrain found on dirt bikes were on the outside with bleachers sitting on the right side of it. "W-wow!"AppleJack managed. Sonic just stood in shock. The field..it looked so perfect for a running exercise. Sonic began to remember why he was so down about participating. He began to shake softly as he looked on at this beautiful missed chance.... "Sonic, are you crying?" Sunset asked. "N-no." Sonic said softly as he wiped a tear from his eye. "I just got some dirt in my eye. Excuse me." Sonic slowly walked back into the halls of CHS and he calmly shut the door. Inside, everyone else began to hear sounds of what was him weeping. They all exchanged looks and Knuckles shrugged. "He'll be fine." Knuckles said. Later at the field, excited students from CHS and Crystal Prep filled up the bleachers as both teams were getting ready for the games. The Rainbooms were each at their positions, with AppleJack and Fluttershy with archery, Pinkie and Rarity doing roller skating, and Sunset and Rainbow doing motocross. As they were, Principal Cinch was explaining the rules of the event to the ShadowBolts, with Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest at roller blading, Indigo Zap and Sugar Coat at motocross, leaving Twilight and Sour Sweet with archery. Cinch then began to approach Scourge, who was faking a sad look, glanced at Twilight and she saw him. She was still feeling terrible. She wanted to make it up to him somehow. "Now, young man. You will be the final act in the marathon around the stage. In this event, teams are allowed to have a special player and you will be that one for us." Cinch explained. "(I hate to admit it, but this gig looks pretty cool actually. But I have to remember to keep looking sad.) Sure thing." Scourge replied in a disinterested and melancholic tone. "I expect you to win. Now go get changed for your racing uniform." Cinch instructed. Scourge groaned. Another uniform? He sighed and began to go get it. As he walked off, Twilight looked on, hoping to find some way to talk to Scourge. In the bleachers, Sonic sat with the others at the top. Sonic was still down that he couldn't race in the fields as his hands rested on his face and he looked out. Suddenly, Shadow teleported between him and Tails, making them jump back slightly in their seats. Other students were more preoccupied with the start of the games to notice what was happening in the crowd. "Shadow?! What are you doing here?" Tails asked. "Yeah, didn't you say that these games were a 'waste of time'?"Knuckles said. "They are. I'm here because Pinkie Pie wouldn't stop texting me messages saying I need to be here as she skates because I skate all the time and would be good luck to have around." Shadow explained. As he did, from the ground Pinkie noticed Shadow up in the bleachers and she gave him a giant wave with just as big a smile. Shadow sighed and he turned away from her as he sat down and crossed his arms. When he did, Shadow saw something which caught his eye. He saw Scourge emerge, now wearing a purple racing uniform with black checkered spots all around it and black fingertip, similar to a race car drivers outfit. His shoes matched his color scheme. Shadow eyes widened. "Scourge?!" He said out loud, making Sonic and the others notice him. Sonic squinted. "Hey, why's he dressed up like that? No...don't tell me.... he's going to compete!??" Sonic nearly yelled as he lunged forward in his seat. "He can't, can he? If he does, then CHS is screwed." Manic said. "He won't." Shadow said as he rose up but Sonic grabbed his arm, making him look down to him with an irritated look. "You have five seconds to let me go. 4..3...2..." "Chill out, faker. You can't just barge in there and make a scene like you did at the party." Sonic told him through grit teeth, making him sit down. Shadow would never admit it, but Sonic was right about that. "Then what do we do?" Silver asked. Sonic put his hand on his chin and began to think about his options. Suddenly, his face lit up. "I got an idea." He said as he dashed off. Sonic ran to the Spectator box, where Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Principal Cinch and Dean Cadance sat down to observe the Games. Sonic quickly dashed behind Celestia and Luna's seats and he tapped them. The two of them turned around to see him crouching and they almost gasped, but Sonic made a shhh motion. They looked at each other and rose up. "Excuse us, but my sister and I have something we need to discuss." Celestia said suddenly as Sonic dashed away discretely. "Take your time." Cadance said. Cinch just didn't care. Celestia and Luna came behind the box where Sonic was. Luna didn't look too happy while Celestia was more baffled. "Sonic, what do you think you're doing?" Luna asked as she folded her arms. "Listen out there, Crystal Prep has someone who can move just as fast as me. He has hair like mine except green." Sonic said. Luna paused and remembered seeing a student who matched Sonic's description. "Sonic, what do you mean?" Celestia asked. "It's true. He's out there and Crystal Prep is planning on having him compete. If he does, then he's going to mop the floor with CHS! His name's Scourge!" Sonic said. "Hold up, how do you know this? Sonic, you're not pulling any tricks are you?" Luna asked suspiciously. "When have I ever lied?" Sonic responded. It was true. Sonic always told the truth and Luna was stumped. "Ok then Sonic, if this is true, then what do you suggest?" Celestia asked. "Let me participate. It's the only way CHS has a chance! You were worried about me being in the games as it would be unfair, but now if Scourge is competing, then it's fair for me right?" Sonic said. Luna and Celestia exchanged glances.. Sonic did have a point. They looked at each for a while, thinking things over, before Celestia spoke. "Well, we needed to pick an extra player for the last portion of this race anyway. Sonic, it can be you." Celestia decided. Sonic's broke out a huge grin. Finally! He could actually participate in the Friendship Games! It was a dream come true! He couldn't contain his excitement. "Yes!!!!!!!!!!!" He shouted, making Celestia and Luna shoot him a look and he calmed down. His face turned a bit red. "I mean, you won't regret this! I'll help us win for sure!" Sonic said as he dashed off, making both of their hair blow. Sonic ran back to near the field and he slowed down not to attract any attention. As he did, Rarity noticed the smile on his face he trotted happily. "Sonic, what's going on? You look much happier than before." She questioned. "Of course I am! I can participate in the Friendship Games!" He informed her, getting Pinkie's attention as well. "Really?! That's super-duper!" Pinkie congratulated. "What made Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna change their minds?" Rarity asked. "Turns out Crystal Prep has Scourge here to participate. I'm needed to even the odds." Sonic told her. "Well, That's great news darling, but before you go, you need an outfit. Luckily, I have one for the occasion!" Rarity said. "It's in the bandroom." "Man, you are prepared for anything, huh?" Sonic said with a smile and he dashed off to the bandroom and saw a rack of clothes, which was empty except for one. It was a black racing outfit with red bars on the side and red marking near the end of the legs. The shoes were black with red spots on the back. The gloves had red stripes on the front. All the red parts had silver accents with them on the outside. Sonic dashed to the outfit and he put it on quickly. Sonic examined himself as he wore it. "Not bad, pretty comfortable actually." Sonic said before he formed a determined look on his face and clenched his fist. "All right, Scourge, let's get these games started!" Sonic announced as he began to dash back to the field.