//------------------------------// // Volume II - Chapter 9: Serious Talk at Zappers // Story: Equestria Girls: Sonic the Hedgehog // by sonicfan05 //------------------------------// Shortly after the dance, the older teens returned to their original table so they could sit and drink their colas and apple ciders while the CMCs were still out playing more games. Spike was sitting underneath the table, hugging his new plushie that he traded in the tickets he found from the prize store, which was a small gray griffon with a yellow beak and blue eyes. Everyone was still laughing at Rainbow’s expense, much to Rainbow’s annoyance. “Gee, what happened Dash? Feelin’ a little washed-up at the dance floor?” Applejack chuckled. “Oh ha ha. Very funny!” Rainbow muttered sarcastically, as she took several napkins to dry herself from the drink that was thrown at her.  Sunset chuckled in amusement as she faced Sonic. “So Sonic, did you have a good time?” Sunset asked. “I am having a good time! I'm having the best time! I’ve never had this much fun in years!” Sonic exclaimed with a smile. “Thank you all so much for granting me this.” “You’re welcome,” Sunset said warmly. “But you should thank Rainbow Dash. It was her idea.” Rainbow Dash was caught off guard with the way Sunset was passing the praise onto her. Before she could utter a word, Sonic turned to her with a look of appreciation. "Thank you… Rainbow Dash," said Sonic. Rainbow awkwardly cleared her throat as she turned away with an embarrassed blush. "Y-you're welcome." Just as Rainbow Dash uttered those words, the CMCs went up to their table near Sonic. “Hey Sonic, there’s a go-kart racing game featuring Speedy the Possum. You wanna join?” Scootaloo asked. Sonic grinned. “Would I?” “You should join us too sis!” said Apple Bloom as Sonic hopped off of his seat. Applejack chuckled as she stood up. “Alright, alright, Ah’ll comin’!” "C'mon Rarity, this way!" Sweetie Belle whooped as she ran towards the game ahead of her friends. “Slow down Sweetie Belle! A lady should not run!” Rarity scolded as she followed after Sweetie with Applejack, Sonic Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo in tow. “Whoo-hoo! A kart racing game!” Pinkie cheered as she stood up, pulling a startled Fluttershy with her. “Let’s go Flutters!” “Wait I– oh my!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she was dragged away by her party-loving friend. Twilight shook her head at them in amusement as she stood up. “I guess I better make sure they stay in line. You girls coming?” Sunset shook her head. “No, I’m good! I’m just going to chill for a bit.” Twilight nodded before facing Rainbow. “What about you Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow Dash leaned back into her chair. “Nah, I’m sitting this one out.” Despite both Sunset and Twilight being surprised by Rainbow’s answer, Twilight simply shrugged.  “If you say so. Come along Spike.” Spike, who was busy snuggling with his plushie, looked up. “Huh? Oh, coming Twilight!” As Twilight and Spike walked away, Sunset stared at Rainbow with wide eyes, which the athlete noticed. “What?” “You’re sitting this one out?” Sunset questioned in disbelief. “You usually jump at any opportunity involving a Go-Kart, let alone anything involving a race.” Rainbow sighed as she sat back up into her chair. “Actually… I stayed behind just so I could talk to you,” Sunset blinked, taken aback by Rainbow's serious tone. “About what Rainbow Dash?” Rainbow paused for a moment, trying to gather up her words before she spoke. “Sunset… what did you see when you grabbed the blue guy from the cliff?” Sunset frowned, nearly huffed in frustration again about Rainbow’s obsession with Sonic. “Seriously, Rainbow Dash? You’re still gung ho to find anything suspicious of him? Even after everything we–” “No, no! It’s not about that… this time!” Rainbow Dash said gently. “I’m only asking you out of concern.” Sunset’s anger was immediately changed to a confused expression. “What do you mean?”  Rainbow sighed as she tapped her fingers on the table. “Sunset, while I admit to being hot-tempered and done some stupid things sometimes…” Sunset cocked an eyebrow with a disbelieving look. “Okay… all the time,” Rainbow Dash corrected in annoyance, rolling her eyes. “But I’m not an idiot Sunset. I’ve seen you look all upset after you rescued us from the cliff and you’re still feeling down about it since.” She then gave Sunset a look of curiosity and concern. “Just… what the heck do you see in his mind that got you all riled up?” Sunset stared at her friend, hesitant to answer. Despite what Rainbow did earlier, it was not because Sunset didn’t trust Rainbow, it was because it wasn’t her secret to share. She still felt guilty for seeing through Sonic’s memories and she was trying to find the right time to come clean to the hedgehog. Admittedly, her guilt was weighing on her too heavily to the point that she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Since Rainbow Dash offered to hear her out and that she was there when it happened, it was probably for the best to let her in on it. “Fine… I’ll tell you,” Sunset conceded with a sigh before narrowing her eyes. “But this stays between us! Understand?” Rainbow nodded, beckoning Sunset to talk. Sunset let out a long sigh. “I… accidentally saw almost his entire life, including the day he was born. Or at least… vague moments of his birth.” "What do you mean?" Rainbow asked quietly. Sunset stared down into her drink. "I… couldn't make out any clear images. Everything seems to be so blurry… and muffled. The only thing I could make out was that he was in the arms of another creature before being passed down to another creature… who looked like an owl before they flew away… leaving everything behind." Sunset gripped her cup tightly, feeling herself shaking. "But what freaked me out the most… were all those screams... and all that destruction in the background." Rainbow’s eyes widened. "You mean… he's been chased all his life since he was born?" Sunset silence only confirms it for the athlete, much to her horror. "Dude… that’s way messed up! Who and why would anyone chase him?" "...I don't know," Sunset said quietly before looking up. "All I know was that he fled from one dimension after another with Longclaw–" "Longclaw?" Rainbow interrupted with a questioned look. "That's the same owl he was with since he was born," Sunset explained. “She is pretty much a caretaker to him, but to Sonic… she’s the only family he had.” Rainbow looked down. “Family?” Rainbow said quietly, unknowingly clutching her “lucky charm” tightly from her pants pocket. “Hey… you okay Rainbow?” Sunset asked in concern. Realizing she nearly lost herself, Rainbow quickly looked up and let go of her “charm”. “It’s nothing Sunset, just continue!” Sunset knew Rainbow was hiding something, but she decided to let that go for now and continue the story.  “Well anyway, they have many close calls, but those two usually managed to get out of danger and stayed together through thick and thin.” Rainbow suddenly had a worried look, already telling where this was going. Sunset sighed heavily. “But on one planet, they were eventually discovered by some mysterious tribe after they spotted Sonic near a sunflower field. They even managed to injure the owl caretaker by shooting an arrow on her side as they were trying to escape.” Rainbow cringed. “Ouch!” “Yeah…” Sunset said with an uneasy expression before sighing. “Because of her fatal injury, she couldn’t go with him anymore. So… she gave him a bag full of those portal rings and had him escape to our world… all while holding the tribe off before the portal closes off for good.” The two had an uncomfortable silence with Sunset wore a solemn expression while Rainbow Dash had a look of horror. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed with wide eyes. “You’re telling me... that he has been alone all this time in our world… as a child… for years!?” Sunset nodded gravely. “Yeah... while I don’t know exactly how long he’s been on our planet, but all this time… he was always alone. And even then… people are still chasing him." Rainbow frowned. "What was he doing during his time on Earth?" "Hiding mostly," Sunset replied. "He pretty much did exactly as Longclaw told him, except when he decided to explore our town or when he had to find something to eat." "And what has he been eating?" "Just normal food like fruits, chips, or whatever he could find, even if he had to either steal from the market… or eat out of a trash can." Despite the noisy background from the arcade, the two girls were silent that. For Sunset, despite already knowing about Sonic’s life, she felt her heart was broken all over again from all the things he had to go through without anyone there to support him. This makes her feel worse for ever doubting their friendship through their letters, but she wondered if that really matters now once Sonic learned about what she has done. As for Rainbow herself, she already felt bad for the way she treated him since his arrival. But after hearing about Sonic's life through Sunset, she felt even worse. This little guy had been through so much hardship that no kid, let alone anyone for that matter, deserves that kind of lifestyle. Yet, despite everything, he was still able to put on a smile and find joy in life, something that both amazed and saddened her. However, there was still one thing that was bothering her. "And… what about us?" Rainbow asked. "Why was he watching us this whole time?" Sunset sighed as she drank some of her cola. “I can’t pinpoint exactly, but at one point he saw you girls at Canterlot City’s playground together. The way you all interacted together really inspired him… especially you, Rainbow Dash.” Rainbow blinked in surprise. "Me?" Sunset nodded. "After seeing you, you inspired him to be someone he truly wanted to be." "To be what?” Rainbow questioned. “And what exactly have I done to inspire him?" "That… I cannot say," Sunset replied vaguely. "This is something that you have to ask him yourself." Sunset quickly added before Rainbow could complain. "But what I can say is that he was lonely. And because of that day and then me at the Fall Formal, he really wanted to hang out with us. But due to circumstances, the best thing he could do at that time was to watch us from a distance." "...I see," Rainbow said simply.   The playground Sunset has mentioned was an old hangout near the park where she and her friends used to play all the time as kids. As much as Rainbow was curious about which moment in the playground Sunset mentioned, she decided to save that mystery for later and moved on with the conversation.  "So I take that you felt guilty for seeing through his life without his knowledge?” Sunset craned her neck in guilt. “I didn’t mean to do that! My magic suddenly went into overdrive from the after-effects of your race against Sonic.” Rainbow cringed at that. “Yeah… that was my bad,” Rainbow admitted remorsefully with a sigh. “You were right earlier, what happened back there was because of my own selfish ego… and I nearly put you all in danger because of it. For that… I'm sorry.” “I appreciate your apology Rainbow Dash and I forgive you,” Sunset responded with a smile before frowning. “But this doesn’t help solve my issue with Sonic.” She then glanced at her drink again. “I still have a hard time looking at him after knowing that I invaded his privacy.” Rainbow stared at her friend with a pensive look, feeling responsible for putting her friend in that position. After a moment of gathering up her thoughts, she spoke. “Listen Sunset, if you know what I think, just tell him the truth.” Before Sunset could protest, Rainbow raised her hand. “Just hear me out! What happened was an accident, it’s not like you did it on purpose. You just need to explain what happened and let him know that you never meant to hurt him.” Sunset looked down sadly. “But… then he’ll hate me.” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Sunset, that little guy adores you! I highly doubt that he'll hate you for just one mistake." She then pointed at herself. "I made a boatload of mistakes today! Did you end up hating me after that?” “...no,” Sunset answered meekly. Rainbow grinned. "Exactly! And even if he gets mad at you, I'm sure he'll understand once you explain to him. Besides, it would be better if he heard it from you rather than for him to discover it himself." Sunset sighed. "Maybe you're right Rainbow Dash. I should tell him… but only before he leaves. We already had enough problems on our plates as it is. I just hope he'll forgive me when I did." Rainbow shrugged. "Personally, I think you should just rip the band-aid off and get it over with, but whatever floats your boat Sunny!" Sunset chuckled. "Funny, Twilight said the same thing to me earlier about my letters." Rainbow took a sip of her apple cider. "That's because it is good advice. Works for me all the time!" Sunset shook her head. “So… are you satisfied with your curiosity about Sonic?” Rainbow looked down. “Well, yes… and no.” Sunset blinked. “What do you mean?” “While I learned some new things about him, that dude is still a mystery to me,” Rainbow explained while sipping her drink again. “I still don’t know what his intentions were for watching us this whole time and why only us? I get that he was alone, but something tells me there’s more to his reasoning.” Sunset frowned. “So… you still think he was plotting against us?” “I never said that!” Rainbow said quickly, assuring her. “While I still have some suspicions, but even before your story… it’s clear to me that he was never a threat, nor any malicious intent from him at all.” Rainbow sighed as she glanced away slightly. “To tell you the truth… I always knew from the start, even before you told me your vision that he wasn’t a bad dude.” “Then… why all the hostility against him in the first place?” Sunset questioned, not out of annoyance, but pure curiosity. "Let’s just say… I have my own reasons," Rainbow responded vaguely.  Rainbow then appeared to be in deep thought as she subconsciously rubbed her “lucky charm” again within her pocket. Maybe… we were not so different than I thought. “Hey! What are you doing here?” Rainbow Dash and Sunset jumped from a sound of an angry, yet familiar voice. They both turned silently and were shocked to see a few familiar faces they didn’t expect to see again.  One was a real tall girl, wearing black jeans, black boots with a green lightning bolt on its side, a black t-shirt with an electric green graphic through the center of the chest, and an open leather jacket over it. She also had curly white and blue hair, icy blue eyes, and two small scars at the bottom of her left eye. The second person was a very short male teen who wore black jeans, shoes with a green lightning bolt. He also wore a black t-shirt with an electric green graphic and an open leather jacket over it. Unlike the tall girl, both of the sleeves of his jacket were torn off, leaving his arms exposed. He had blonde hair, dull green eyes, and has an irked expression on his face as if he’s about to blow a fuse at any second. And finally, the third person, who stood in between the other two was another teen girl. She wore black jeans, black boots with a green lightning bolt on each side with three green stars at the end. She also wore a long black sleeve hoodie with the same electric green graphic on the center of her chest. She had long golden-yellow locks with a green lightning bolt hair clip and yellow eyes. The third girl in question, narrowed her eyes, particularly at Rainbow Dash with an angry scowl. “Dash!” she seethed. Rainbow Dash narrowed her eyes at the girl. “Lightning Dust!”