//------------------------------//
// Stage 2: Join the Resistance 
// Story: Sonic Forces: Standing United 
// by Loveshock 
//------------------------------//

Rainbow Dash and Twilight had started to become familiar with their new forms and the new world they were put in.

“Where’s our crystals?” Rainbow asked, looking around, panicked. “Everything else is here, where’d the crystals go?!”

“They have to be somewhere,” Twilight replied, calmly. “I can sense them. They’re around us.”

“Woah woah woah,” RD interjected. “What do you mean, ‘sense them’?”

“I can just…feel them,” replied the scientist, who still kept her composure.

“Can you feel the others’, too?”

Twilight paused for a moment, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. “I sense all seven of them. The first two are here, with us. The other five all seem to be close together, but somewhat far away.”

“If our elements are where we are, where could they be? We must’ve dropped ‘em or something, I’ll look for mine,” Rainbow Dash replied. She started running off, only to go way faster than she meant to, a rainbow trailing her - and she was running directly towards a lamppost.

“Rainbow Dash! Look out!” The scientist called, putting her hand out. Just like that, RD halted mid-run, a magical force keeping her from moving.

“That…was…awesome!” Rainbow yelled, still stuck in Twilight’s purple bubble.

“It appears that the portal combined us with our crystals. They’re part of us now, so it seems our powers are permanent - at least in this form.” She put Dash down. Dash came bolting back.

“Hop on and hold on! You handle directions, I’ll get us there quick!” Rainbow knelt down, as if to give Twi a piggyback ride.

Hesitantly, she climbed onto RD’s back.

“I’ll tell you again, in case you missed it - hold on tight!”

“I’ll just tell you whether you’re getting warmer or colder,” Twi told her, “unless, of course, you’re going too fast for my voice to catch up.”
“Then let’s do this!” Rainbow Dash took off once again, with Twilight holding on for dear life.

The two blasted through the worn-down streets and roads, in awe at the flames and destruction. It was unlike anything either of them had seen. It was like a ghost town - there was no one else around, other than the giant robots that loomed over.

“Getting warmer!” Twilight yelled. “Just a bit farther! Around that corner!” She pointed to a turn right down the street.

“Awesome, we’ll be there in just a second!”

“And who might you be?” A deep voice asked from seemingly nowhere.

Dash came to a stop. Twilight hopped off and got her bearings, and they both looked around frantically.

“Who’s there?” The purple hedgehog cried.

“Answer my question first,” the voice called back.

“M-My name is Twilight,” the girl replied, her voice shaken with fear and curiosity. “A-And this is my friend, Rainbow Dash. We’re not here to cause trouble, we promise…!” With that, a purple chameleon revealed himself to the two.

“I’ve never seen either of you before, but that speed…surely, only matchable by Sonic himself…we could use you.”

“H-Huh?!” Rainbow Dash was shocked. “Need me for what? And who are you, again?”

“Espio,” the chameleon replied. “I’m with the Resistance. Ever since they took Sonic, we’ve been at a loss. Eggman’s taken the whole world over, and now he has Sonic as his prisoner. We could really use someone like you helping us.”

“I-I’ll think about it, but I should probably get back to my own world.”

“Oh, are you with those five?” He asked. “They mentioned something about being from another world, as well.”

“Yeah, those are probably our friends. Do you know where they are?” Dash asked.

“They’re back at Resistance HQ. I’ll bring you to them - if you join our forces.”

“If we join them, we may have a better shot at getting home,” Twilight added, trying to get Rainbow to sway.

Dash reluctantly sighed. “Fine, I’ll help you, as long as my friends can help too.”

“That can be arranged,” the chameleon replied. “Come on, let’s get you two to headquarters.”

The trio navigated dark alleys and numerous broken-down buildings before finally arriving at the Resistance’s base. When they arrived, they were greeted by all of Twilight and RD’s friends, only for them to also have been transformed.

“These…are our new recruits,” Espio told the Resistance. “They’ve agreed to help us, and if this blue one is of any evidence, they all seem to possess some interesting power.”

Mixed in with their friends were some new faces - a big green crocodile, a red echidna, a gray hedgehog, and some other species that they had yet to encounter before.

“So, what is this ‘interesting power’, Epsio?” The red one asked.

“Why don’t you see for yourself? Rainbow Dash, was it? Could you run a lap or two?”

And with that, Dash ran around the HQ a few times with incredible speed, a rainbow trailing behind her once more.

“So? What do you think?” Espio asked.

“I think we’ve got ourselves a new squad! Allow me to introduce you all, since I don’t believe anyone’s done that yet.” Knuckles talked the crew through names and introductions, before getting interrupted by a call through the Resistance system.

“Knuckles, can you read me?” The voice said.

“Loud and clear. What is it now? Robot attack in Capital City? Hostage situation?”

“…Sonic is alive,” the voice said, with the room gasping in shock. “He’s trapped on the Death Egg in high-security.”

There was a quiet cheer throughout the room. A light of hope - their star player was still in the game, and all they had to do was rescue him.

Easier said than done when he’s trapped in space.

“Thank you for the intel,” Knuckles told the voice, before ending the call. “If we time our attack right, we can hijack a shuttle at the Space Port. Won’t be easy, but we can send in Eagle Squad perhaps…”

“No,” Espio shot him down. “This would be a good test for our new members. And besides, as reliable as Eagle Squad, they don’t quite have the firepower to fight off Eggman if he catches wind of the mission.”

“Hmmm…you’re right. I know it’s a little early on to be asking, but…you think you can handle this mission?”

“There’s nothing we can’t do, as long as we’re together!” Rainbow triumphantly cried.

“There is no together on this one, sadly. You need to be as quiet, fast, and discrete as possible. Your friends will help us operate behind the scenes, while we test their abilities. Espio, Vector, and Silver will be your teammates for this one. You need to act quick and quiet. Got it?” The echidna gave Dashie the rundown.

After a few hours of preparations and planning, the mission was all set. Given an objective and a team, Rainbow Dash was ready for her first encounter with Eggman and his army.

“Good luck out there!” Dash’s friends called to her.

“I’ll be back in ten seconds flat, don’t you worry!”

With her new team, a new objective, and a new purpose, Rainbow Dash set off to rescue the heroic Sonic the Hedgehog from Dr. Eggman, with her friends behind her to help. However, every action has an equal and opposite reaction, and something’s not quite right at Canterlot High…