//------------------------------// // The Solution // Story: Prince Sonic the Hedgehog // by castroedgar316 //------------------------------// The next morning after breakfast, everyone had gathered in the castle garden and where watching both Sonics performing some stunts. After finishing off with a spindash double, the duo land in front of the group before reviving an applause. "Wow, I forgot how fun it was to watch you perform stunts, Sonic." Dragon Spike said. "You said it Spike!" Dragon Rainbow Dash agreed, "I wouldn't be surprised if either of them suddenly decided to join the wonderbolts or create some sort of show were he shows off his moves!" "Gasp! That would be the bestest show anypony/dragon would ever see!" Both Pinkies exclaimed. "As amazing as that sounds, I don't think we'd have the time for it." Rabbit Sonic said. "Why's that?" Pony Applejack asked. "If we were to work in some sort of show like that, we wouldn't have any time to hang out with you guys! And that out be a big no no for us." Hedgehog Sonic responded as he placed his arms around dragon Spike's and pony Twilight's shoulders. "Plus, we'd rather not show off our moves to anyone else besides you guys." "You do make a good point Sonic." Pony Twilight said before getting out of hedgehog Sonic's grasp. "Speaking of showing off, do the two of you think you can do it for a another while?" Pony Rainbow Dash asked, "Only this time, why don't we compare the two of you." "Compare us? Why?" Rabbit Sonic asked. "Even though the two of you are practically the same except one of you is a hedgehog and the other is a rabbit, one of you has to have the edge on something, right?" Pony Rainbow Dash explained. "I get it." Dragon Twilight said, "Depending on what species they are, they could have a befit that the other wouldn't have." "There you go, now you know what I mean." Pony Rainbow Dash said. "Oh! I know! Why don't we start off by seeing who can jump the highest!" Pony Pinkie suggested. After she said that, everyone (except for hedgehog Sonic) looked at rabbit Sonic, who then frowned at them. "That's speicst!" He said in a stern tone. "Putting that aside, just how will we be able to test this?" Pony Rarity asked. "By doing something I kinda wanted to do since we got here." Hedgehog Sonic replied before looking at rabbit Sonic with a smirk, who then returned the gesture. "A good old fashioned duel!" Both Sonics exclaimed in unison. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Both Rainbow Dashes exclaimed. Before you two begin, allow me to do something." Princess Celestia said before her horn suddenly glowed in a golden aura until a golden barrier was formed around the garden. "This barrier is to ensure nothing ends up damaging the castle." Princess Celestia explained, "It also repairs the area within it once it vanishes." "So if we end up breaking something while we're fighting, it'll instantly be fixed once the barrier is out?" Hedgehog Sonic asked. "That is correct." Princess Celestia responded. "Perfect." Hedgehog Sonic said as he and rabbit Sonic got into position, "Are you ready?" "I was ready the moment you came here!" Rabbit Sonic responded. Instead of instantly charging at each other like everyone thought they would, both Sonics stood where they were while maintaining battle stances, almost like they were waiting for something to tell them to begin. As everyone waited for the duo to begin, they noticed a leaf that was being blown by the wind that was slowly falling towards the ground. Once it did land, that's when the Sonics lunged at each other. Once they were close enough to each other, the two Sonics had begun to throw punches and kicks at each other, but they were either blocked or dodged no matter what they did. Deciding to separate, the two of them then jump into the air, with rabbit Sonic making more height than his hedgehog counterpart. "Well, we now know which Sonic can jump higher." Dragon Rainbow Dash said as both Sonics reach their maximum jump height. Back to the fight, the two Sonics had begun to use their homing attack on each other several times, but every time they made contact, rabbit Sonic was knocked back a little. As they were falling towards the ground after doing one last homing attack, both Sonics had readying a spindash. Once they landed, they both suddenly spot towards each other before colliding into each other, neither one of them letting showing weakness. Although they had to look closely, everyone noticed that rabbit Sonic was slowly being pushed back. After a moment of this, both Sonics push each other away (undoing each other's spindash in the process), before lunging at each other and grabbing each other's hands, yet again fighting for dominance, only this time, they were evenly matched. "Wait a minute. How is it when they were clashing with their spindash attacks our Sonic was had a slight upper hand, but now they're evenly matched?" Dragon Spike asked. "This is just a guess, but maybe that's the type of advantage he has due to being a hedgehog." Dragon Twilight said. "What do you mean Twilight?" Colt Spike asked. "Remember when we said that each Sonic should have a benefit the other doesn't?" Dragon Twilight asked. After everyone nodded, she continued, "Well, since hedgehogs can naturally curl into a ball, hedgehog Sonic is more used to it than our Sonic. Meaning although it's slight, hedgehog Sonic should be superior when it comes to attacks that require him to curl into a ball." After hearing that possible explanation, everyone turned back to the fight just in time to see both Sonics yet again push each other away. After realizing they've made absolutely no progress, both Sonics decided to use a different approach. 'Since we're both technically the same being, I know what he doesn't like to move slow.' Both sonics thought to themselves, 'So a little chaos control should definitely give me the upper hand!' Smirking at each other, both Sonics lunged at each other yet again while unknown to each other, they each had a chaos emerald in their right hand. Once they were close enough to each other, they rose their chaos emerald in the air and yelled in unison, "Chaos control!", hoping to stop time for each other. But what happened instead was that a large, blue portal had formed in front of them. Curious about the portal, everyone made their way towards it (with Princess Celestia powering down the barrier since both Sonics had stopped fighting). "Where did this portal come from?" Dragon Rainbow Dash asked. "I think the more important question is, where does it lead." Pony Twilight said. "It must of been created when both Sonics used chaos control at the same time." Princess Celestia said. "That still leaves the question of "where does it lead to" unanswered." Hedgehog Sonic said. "There's only one way to find out." Rabbit Sonic said as he slowly moved closer towards the portal before stopping when colt Spike grabbed his wrist by using his magic. "Sonic wait!" He exclaimed, "Are you sure going inside of it is a good idea?" "No need to worry Spike." Rabbit Sonic said, "I may not know where this portal leads to, but I know I can use chaos control to come back here no matter what." After hesitating for a moment, colt Spike let go of rabbit Sonic's wrist before walking up to him and gave him a hug. "Please be careful." He said. Rabbit Sonic returned the embrace before saying, "I will." After ending the embrace, rabbit Sonic moved towards the portal until he was right in front of it. After turning towards everyone for a moment, rabbit Sonic turned around and stepped through the portal, with it closing right after. Everyone was worried for a moment before rabbit Sonic had reappeared in front of them, allowing them to sigh in relief. "Where did that portal take you?" Dragon Rainbow Dash asked. "It took me to dragonsville." Rabbit Sonic responded, "Which seemed like a coincidence because I was thinking about dragonsville as I stepped inside it." Upon hearing that, hedgehog Sonic began to think for a moment before snapping his fingers and exclaiming, "That's it!" "What is it, Sonic?" Dragon Spike asked. "I think I know how we can get back home." Hedgehog Sonic responded. "Really?! How?!" Pony Rainbow Dash asked. "By using chaos control." "But I thought chaos control wasn't powerful enough for interdimensional travel." Pony Twilight said. "That's when I'm the only one doing it." Hedgehog Sonic replied, "But since there are two of me. That could change. If my guess is right, all we have to do is create another portal and we have to step inside it while thinking about someplace in our world, and bingo! We're home!" "Are you sure this is going to work?" Pony Applejack asked. "Only one way to find out." Hedgehog Sonic before turning to rabbit Sonic. Knowing what he meant, rabbit Sonic took out one of his chaos emeralds and, once hedgehog Sonic had one of his out, they activated chaos control and were able to create another portal. "Before we all go through, me and my rabbit self we go in ourselves and check it out. If it does take us to equestria, we'll come back to get you guys." Hedgehog Sonic said. "But what if it doesn't?" Dragon Spike asked. "Then we'll have to improvise." Hedgehog Sonic responded. Having said that, both Sonics made they're way to the portal. Once they were right in front of it, rabbit Sonic stepped back a little and said, "Since you're the one who's from equestria, you should go first so that the portal knows were to take us." Hedgehog Sonic responded with a nod before turning towards everyone else. "Wish us luck." He said before he, and rabbit Sonic when into the portal. After stepping out of the portal, the duo find themselves in a familiar looking library. "This looks a lot like dragonsville library, which means we got that right. "Rabbit Sonic said, "But the question is, are we in your world, or are we still in mine?" Hedgehog Sonic moved towards a nearby window before smiling at what he saw. "I think that question will be answered once you look out the window." He said. Curious about what he meant, rabbit Sonic made his way towards the window and looked out. What he saw surprised him. Ponies. An entire town filled with ponies. "Whoa! Look at all those ponies!" Rabbit Sonic said, "If my Twilight was here, she'd more than likely flip and want to see how they live." Hedgehog Sonic chuckled, "She'd probably be disappointed because from what I saw, everything is the same in both our worlds except for what species we are, which includes the way we live." "Yeah, and she already knows a lot about the pony body since your Twilight explained it to her." Rabbit Sonic said. "Well as much as I'd like to show you around, we need to get back with the others already." Hedgehog Sonic said, "They're probably starting to worry about us." "Right." Rabbit Sonic responded as he took out one of his chaos emeralds again. Once They created another portal, rabbit Sonic stepped in first with hedgehog Sonic following a second later. Back in serpentia at canterlot castle, everyone were beginning to wonder whether they made it or not but were put out of their thoughts when the portal reappeared in front of them, with both Sonics stepping out of it. "Did it work?" Dragon Twilight asked as she and the others walked up to them. "You bet it did!" Hedgehog Sonic replied. "You should of seen it, it was all ponies! Not a single dragon in sight!" Rabbit Sonic said. "Stop it before I begin to wish that I came with you guys!" Dragon Twilight said, earning a chuckle from the two Sonics, before hedgehog Sonic suddenly stopped. Noticing this, Dragon Spike asked, "What's wrong Sonic?" Hedgehog Sonic seemed hesitant are first before responding, "We need to leave, now." Everyone was surprised when they heard that. "What!? Why?!" Pony Rainbow Dash asked. "Although I'd like to spend some more time here, we can't stay here for too long." Hedgehog Sonic responded before explaining, "I can only assume time passes at the same rate in both of our worlds, which means, the longer we stay here, the more time it takes for somepony to realize we're missing. And who knows how everyone will react when they realize that the crown prince and the bearers of the Elements of Harmony are missing." "But if you leave now, wouldn't that mean we won't be able to see any of you again." Colt Spike in a upset tone. Seeing how upset colt Spike was, hedgehog Sonic walked up to him before kneeling beside him and said, "Hey, just because we're leaving doesn't mean we won't see each other ever again." "It won't?" Colt Spike asked. "Of course not." Hedgehog Sonic responded, "Although we won't be able to use chaos control, I'm sure we'll be able to find a safe way to each other's worlds. Besides, fate allowed us to meet, it would make sense that we would be able to meet again." Seemingly convinced, colt Spike gave him a smile and said, "Thanks Sonic." After that, everyone began exchanging goodbyes with there pony/dragon (hedgehog/rabbit for the Sonics) counterparts before the Sonics opened one last portal. After finishing they're goodbyes, hedgehog Sonic, dragon Spike, and the mane six (Twilight having a saddlebag full of the notes about dragons see took the day before) made they're way towards the portal until they were right in front it. Turning towards the other group, they saw that rabbit Sonic was walking towards hedgehog Sonic. After stopping in front of him, rabbit Sonic gave a smile and said, "I guess I'll be seeing you around." before extending his fist at hedgehog Sonic. "You can count on it!" Hedgehog Sonic replied before completing the fist bump. After that hedgehog Sonic, dragon Spike, and the mane six began to pass through the portal, waving goodbye as they did so. "Don't forget about us." Hedgehog Sonic said before entering the portal, which closed after he did so. "Trust me, we won't." Rabbit Sonic said before rejoining his group. In ponyville library, the group had just exited the portal and watched it close as Sonic stepped out. "Do you really think we'll ever see them again?" Spike asked Sonic. "It might take a while to find out how to do so safely, but I'm pretty sure we can if we try." Sonic replied before he made his way towards the door. "Where are you going?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Just going to visit someone." Sonic responded as he took out a chaos emerald. "Who?" Twilight asked. "I'll tell you later. For now, I suggest you all to check to see if missed anything while we were gone." Sonic said before teleporting away. "As curious as I am about what he's up to, I need to get back to the farm and see what chores I missed." Applejack said before leaving. "I need to check on the animals and see if they have been fine by themselves while I was gone." Fluttershy said before leaving as well "I must head back to the boutique and check to see that Sweetie Bell didn't ruin any of the dresses." Rarity said before she made her leave. "I should see if Mr. and Mrs.cake need some help at Sugar Cube Corner." Pinkie said before bouncing out of the library. "I should see how the weather team was while I was gone." Rainbow Dash said before flying out of the window. "Well, I guess that just leaves the two of us Twilight." Spike said, "So what are we doing today?" "Actually Spike, you can go ahead and have the day off, I'm going to be looking over all these notes I took while we were in serpentia." Twilight said. "If you say so Twilight." Spike said, "Also, were do you think Sonic when to?" "I'm not sure, but I have a feeling where ever he went, he wanted to go there since we left." Twilight responded. In canterlot, Princess Celestia was in her room looking through a photo album. The photo album was full of pictures of her and a young Sonic who appeared older the more she flipped through the pages. She stopped at a picture that showed a sleeping six year old Sonic in her hooves. Seeing the picture reminded her of how close the two of them were and how they were almost inseparable. But compared to now, they hardly saw each other due to both her royal duties, and that Sonic had been spending more time with the friends he, Twilight, and Spike made in ponyville, which caused her to sigh in sadness. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a knock on the door. "Princess are you busy?" A voice asked from the other side of the door, which she recognized as one of her guards. "No, I'm not." She responded, "Is something wrong?" "No your highness, Prince Sonic has arrived and asked if you were available." The guard said. "Please, send him in." Princess Celestia said. "Right away Princess." The guard said as he left. About a minute later, Princess Celestia heard another knock on the door. "Mom? Can I come in?" Asked a voice who she instantly recognized as Sonic's. "Go right ahead Sonic." Princess Celestia responded. After opening the door, Sonic quickly stepped in before closing the door again. "Sonic. It's good to see you aga-" Princess Celestia began before stopping when Sonic suddenly ran up to her and gave her a hug. "Oh! Is something wrong?" Princess Celestia asked. "No, everything is fine mom, it's just so good to see you again." Sonic responded. Smiling at his response, Princess Celestia returned the embrace with her wings. "Everything is just perfect."