//------------------------------// // Chapter 2: New Encounter, New Adventure // Story: Sonic Origins Vol 1: Rainbow Dash's Story // by LightWinzz //------------------------------// Chapter 2: New Encounter, New Adventure The race had only just begun and already Rainbow was making good time. Sure, most pegasus were fast flyers, save maybe a few, but she was the fastest of them all. Heck, she was the fastest thing to ever life if you asked her. It was a bit of a shock to her, however, to see that there were still around three racers still ahead of her. At the front of the pack she could see Lightning Dust keeping well ahead of the others. Rainbow Dash grimaced at this. No way was she of all ponies about to beat her. With another powerful flap of her wings she pushed forward. Currently they were flying right over the streets of Ponyville, making plenty of hard turns every now and then as to not ram straight into the many buildings before them. Rainbow could see large crowds on the sidelines behind some see-through barriers. Useful in case any contestant somehow ended up flying towards them. In front of her, the three leaders went around the building that was Sugarcube Corner. The giant candy bakery/house split the track in two and most likely met right back up on the other side. She could've gone around as well, but right in front of her she spotted an open window which looked as if it leads clean to the other side of the building. Technically this wasn't going off the track so… Quickly she tucked in her wings and legs and sped right through the opening. Loud crashes could be heard from within as she disappeared. It sounded like it was an all-out brawl on the inside. Lightning and the other leaders zoomed past Sugarcube Corner, but as the last of the group was soon cut off by a blue pegasus zipping through an open window. The speed at which she was going through his wings off balance, causing him to lose speed and nearly fall to the ground. Rainbow, while satisfied with the takeover, grunted as she wiped all of the icing that covered her face. How was she supposed to know that the Cakes were working on a giant wedding cake now of all days? 'At least it was tasty,' she thought as she licked some of it off her face. The leaders finally reached the end of Ponyville and sped down to what the residents called "The Ghastly Gorge." Rainbow remembered her last fly through that place. It was when her wing got caught underneath a large boulder and she thought that she would've been stuck there for the rest of her life. But it was also where she got her pet turtle, sorry tortoise, Tank after he somehow managed to lift that huge rock with his head alone. She pushed back the old memories and focused on the task at hoof. With Lightning Dust still leading the pack, the leaders raced down into the ravine. Even more so than Ponyville, they had to make even sharper turns as to avoid hitting the sharp cliff faces. Even now they could hear the crumbling and cracking of the rocks that threatened to fall. Then came one of the more dangerous sections of the course. They started to see large holes dug into the walls. Looking at them they could see that they lead into long tunnels that burrowed deep underground. Seeing the pegasus ahead of her distracted by the size of the holes, Rainbow Dash began her approach to overtake him. However, as she was nearing him, a large eel like creature shot out of one of the holes and was about to chomp down on the careless pegasi. Both Rainbow's and the other racer's eyes grew wide at the mouth full of teeth about to consume them. The other racer, deciding he'd rather lose than be eaten, flared his wings and came to a full stop, keeping just out of the reach of the large jaws. Rainbow however, took this new opportunity. With a powerful push, she flew straight through the side of the eel's jaws and escaped before the mouth closed on her tail. She wiped the sweat off of her brow and looked ahead. There were many more of those eels taking shots at eating the ocean green pegasus in the lead. Lightning Dust simply weaved around all of them, despite the great number of them. Rainbow narrowed her eyes at the carefree nature of her rival before starting to weave through them herself. She wasn't gonna be outdone now of all times. After many failed attempts, the giant eels crept back into their homes. Rainbow and Lightning flew out of the gorge and raced to their most interesting stage of the track; the Everfree Forest. It was one of the few places in Equestria that wasn't controlled by forces of harmony. All that reigned there was chaos. The animals raised themselves, the plants grew on their own, and the weather changed without anypony, interfering with it. A certain chaotic friend of hers would have a field day here. Rainbow was just behind Lightning as the dark trees started to envelope them, completely cutting off the sun. It was just dark. Of course they could still see where they were going, but the vibe it gave off wasn't any less scary. The way the forest seemed to close in on them gave off an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia. The two racers were now neck and neck, both starting to push their bodies to the limit. Both dodged left and right, making sure to avoid all of the trees. Lightning looked over to Rainbow to see her sticking her tongue out at her before pulling ahead. Lightning flapped her wings even harder than before. However, no matter how hard she tried, Rainbow Dash just continued to get farther and farther away. No. It couldn't end like this. She was Lightning Dust! The perfect flyer! There was no way that this wannabe Wonderbolt could be better than her! She was visibly starting to grit her teeth until an idea popped in her head. She looked up to see that the trees provided a perfect barrier from anything that was above them. Which meant that the refs couldn't see inside the forest without having to get on the track themselves. A dastardly grin grew on her face as she started looking back and forth for one specific thing that the Everfree was known for. She then spotted what looked like a miniature storm cloud with spikes coming out of it, and it looked as if lightning was constantly striking the ground beneath it. She veered off of the track and in one swift motion kicked it with all of the strength she had. She then flew back and ducked behind one of the larger trees as the cloud began to buckle and shake, lightning starting, lightning starting to envelope it. In one giant burst, the cloud erupted into a flash of lightning, causing everything in sight to be struck by uncontrollable bolts of lightning. One lightning bolt was attracted to a specific blue pegasus, who was completely unaware of the arcing bolt. Rainbow could, however, start to feel her hairs start to stand up on end as she felt the static start to build up around her. She turned to see the bolt heading straight towards her, her eyes shrinking in fear of being struck. Being lightning meant that it was far too quick to for her to try and out speed. Her only option was to try and dodge it and hope for the best. At the last second she pulled hard to the left, causing the bolt to miss her. It was still very close; close enough for her entire right side to be given a tiny jolt. She could feel the small amounts of trace electricity flowing through her wing, numbing it slightly. The bolt continued to travel until it hit the side of a tree, causing several chips of charred wood and bark to fly and cause Rainbow to lose her bearings and slam into another tree. She fell a short way to the ground with a light thud. Rainbow pulled herself off of the ground and shook her head. That really smarted. Not to mention that her wing was still out of whack for a few more seconds. How did that happen anyway? That was way too big of a bolt for an undisturbed cloud, even if it was from the Everfree. Her ears perked up. She opened her eyes and saw Lightning Dust take the lead once again. She swore she saw a smirk on the pegasus's face as she passed. Now Rainbow understood, and she was furious. Lightning Dust had just cheated! She completely dismissed the rules! It was just like back at the academy. She was completely reckless, not caring about anyone else but herself. If that lightning bolt had hit her directly it could've been way worse. Then she remembered that she was still in a race. Beating Lightning Dust into the ground could come later. Right now she still had to actually beat her in the race. Rainbow Dash got back into her signature stance and was ready to take flight yet again. She was beginning to move as the air suddenly seemed lighter than before. Once again she felt her hairs sticking up on end. She prepared to dodge another bolt of lightning, but it never came. In fact, there was nothing even remotely close to her to cause that. She decided to ignore it, but then felt it again. Ok, now she was starting to get a bit paranoid. She's been to the Everfree countless times before and has never felt like this before. Before she could think on it further, a bright light suddenly appeared before her, forcing her to shield her eyes as it was so bright. While she couldn't really she what was happening she could definitely hear it. It sounded like a constant cracking like a massive amount of energy trying to escape. Her first thought was to seek cover, but it was so bright that she couldn't get her bearings. After only a few more seconds, the light was starting to die down. She could now finally open her eyes to the strange phenomenon. Once it was all over, she looked to where the light came from to see that the ground where it once was was scorched in some places. However, that wasn't what caught her attention. There was now a lone figure standing over the scorched earth. Rainbow was a bit speechless if anything. The Everfree was known to be chaotic, but this was completely new to her. Unless this is just some way that Discord likes to blow off some steam. It must be because the creature standing before her wasn't like anything she's seen before. It looked like a hedgehog, only it was bipedal and had whitish grey fur. Its quills stood on end in five separate appendages on its forehead and had two large ones hanging on the back of its head. It wore white gloves and black and blue boots, both which have golden braces on the wrists and ankles. Both also had cyan accents along them. She didn't know why, but she didn't like how they seemed to be glowing. Before she could open her mouth to speak the hedgehog opened its eyes, both staring straight at her. Its eyes were a very intense shade of amber. All it did was move its eyes constantly at her. It looked like it was trying to size her up. Finally finding the right words to say in this situation, Rainbow spoke up. "Umm…hey…" Ok, maybe not the RIGHT words. Upon hearing her response to the situation, the hedgehog raised an eyebrow at her. It didn't really seem to expect that. It was a bit…lack luster. Rainbow was kind of hoping that it would say something back in order to alleviate the awkwardness, but then a thought hit her. She was still in a race! By now Lightning Dust is at the finish, laughing it up with the Wonderbolts! "Hey! I'm in the middle of something! I don't know what you exactly are or want, but I need to be going!" Rainbow exclaimed as she turned to leave. Before she could even get off the ground the hedgehog as suddenly in front of her, a rush of wind following him. She could swear he was glowing blue for a second there. "Hold on," it said with a scratchy voice and an outstretched hand. "I need to talk to you about something." It was a little weird to see this thing talking to be honest, but then again there are a lot of creatures in Equestria that can speak so maybe it wasn't too outlandish. That didn't stop Rainbow from getting an annoyed look on her face. "Look buddy, I'm busy. If you want an autograph, you can wait till…" "How fast are you?" it interrupted her again. Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "What?" "I said how fast are you?" he repeated. Now on one hoof Rainbow Dash was irritated that she couldn't even finish a sentence without being interrupted. One the other hoof she was a little giddy at the idea of boasting to this new guy. She puffed out her chest and said, "Well you happen to be looking at the fastest flyer in all of Equestria. If it's speed you're looking for, you aren't gonna find anypony better for it." By the end she had her fore hooves on her hips in a proud manner. While she does this, the hedgehog was looking at her with a questioning look. Just from looks alone he honestly wasn't extremely impressed. Sure he's actually yet to see her in action, but she seems more overconfident than anything. Maybe there are other choices? The again, she was the only one here as of right now. Maybe he could give her chance. "So you claim to be fast right?" the hedgehog asked in a serious tone. Rainbow looked annoyed. "Not just fast. The fastEST! Look, as much as I'd like to demonstrate my skills to you I have to…" "How about in a fight?" the hedgehog interrupted her again. "How skilled are you when it comes to that?" Once again, Rainbow finds herself glaring at the stranger. (1) he's keeping her from the race and (2) she can't finish a sentence without him butting in. "Ok look buddy! I can't sit here all day and answer your questions! I'm in the middle of something very important here, so I don't have time for this!" Rainbow flared her wings and took off. She proceeded to continue down the track as she did before the crash. What kind of pony, or whatever, just goes around people that anyway? Maybe he was some kind of fighting mechanist, or something along those lines? She shook her head. Those were thoughts for another time. Right now she just has to catch up to Lightning and… Her train of thought was caught off by the hedgehog suddenly appearing to her right. In no way did it look like he wanted to start another conversation either. He was rearing back a kick! Rainbow Dash twisted her body away for the kick, feeling the wind from it blow her mane. Just has she spotted the hedgehog again she suddenly found herself trapped in place by…nothing… There was nothing there at all, but her entire body was just frozen. She was even still airborne without the use of her wings. Rainbow gritted her teeth as she struggled to escape the invisible force. "H-hey!" Rainbow managed out. "What is this!?" "Sorry for this, but I need to see what you're capable of for myself." Only able to move her eyes, she looked back at the hedgehog. For some reason though he was holding his hand out towards her. Now that she got a good look at it though, it was enveloped in a cyan colored aura. In fact, looking back at her hooves she saw the same aura. Was he capable of some kind of magic like Twilight? But he didn't even have a horn, unless you count those five weird quills. With a hint of frustration in her eyes, she only continued to fight against his powers, whatever they may be. The hedgehog noticed this and applied a bit more strength to it. "Once I get out of this I'm gonna kick your sorry flank!" Rainbow yelled. "Well first we need to see if you can," said the hedgehog. She didn't know what was with this guy, but at this point she didn't even care. She just needed a way out. However, she could feel her stamina slowly draining from her constant struggling. If she couldn't find a way out soon then she'll never be able to win the race. She'd lose her chance at making history. She'd lose her chance being with the Wonderbolts again. Worst of all, Lightning of all ponies would be the one to be with them. She felt a sense of dread at that. But then, why did it feel warm? The hedgehog looked at her with a bit of expectance, but it was slowly turning into doubt. 'I…was honestly hoping that she'd be able to put up some kind of fight. Maybe it was all just boasting and nothing else,' he thought. If she couldn't even find a way out of this then it might be best to go find someone else. "I'm…" Rainbow got out. The hedgehog looked back at her with interest. "I'm…not…about to…let you…RUIN THIS FOR ME!" she yelled with a mix of determination and anger. In a bit of a switch, the hedgehog slowly began to feel his powers on her weakening. Wait. What? That hasn't ever happened before. He applied even more strength to it, but once again he felt the pegasus in front of him regaining control of her body. Rainbow still felt the force trying to push against her every move, but she felt something else as well. It felt so, warm. It felt so different, but at the same time it felt very familiar. With newfound strength, she started to move her fore hooves, then her hind hooves, then her wings. She was breaking free! The hedgehog put even more of his strength into the aura, but every time he added more some of it seemed to be sapped away. Both of his hands were up now trying to keep her in place, but he could see that was quickly failing. A small, red lightning bolt appeared near her chest and flashed out of existence as quickly as it came. With one final push, Rainbow Dash broke right out of the aura, it visibly shattering around her. Now for her target. That hedgehog. He was wide eyed at the display, but even more so at the enraged pegasus that was ow currently charging him. Rainbow flew at him at max speed already rearing her hoof back. She was aiming right for his head. The hedgehog quickly bent backwards to avoid the swift strike. As the attack passed over him he planted his hands on the ground and brought the rest of his body upward, his feet meeting her stomach. Before she could react, Rainbow was flipped over her attacker while he jumped back up to face her. She quickly flared her wings in order to slow down and right herself before landing back to face him as well. The hedgehog's expression was one of both surprise and amazement. A small smile grew on his face. "Ok then. Now that's more like it. Show me what else you can do!" He started floating off of the ground, the cyan aura enveloping his body. Rainbow only glared at him and lifted off the ground herself. She didn't know what kind of powers this guy had, but it didn't matter to her. This guy was on her nerves. She wasn't letting him go without showing him what for. "Ok…" Rainbow started while popping her neck. "Let's dance pin head!" She yelled as they speed towards one another. To be continued...