//------------------------------//
// Welcome to the Next Level 
// Story: My Little Pony: Companionship is Magic- Rainbow's Sonic Adventure 
// by Twinkie Sprinkle 
//------------------------------//

It had a been an exciting day for Amy Rose.
The pink furred hedgehog girl brushed a few stray quills out of her face as she turned a knob on the door to her bedroom, and shut the door behind her as quickly as she'd opened it. She walked to a corner of her room and set down her crossbow, unfastening the quiver of bolts around her green, white, and orange dress, and letting it lay beside her faithful firearm. Rubbing her chin with a gloved finger for a moment, she felt like she was forgetting something...but soon, she smiled to herself in realization, and reached beside her into what seemed to be a hole in nothing...out of the strange pocket came a large mallet, which she set aside with her other weaponry.
Placing her hands upon her hips, she smiled proudly at the tools she'd used to best a trio of Buzzbombers, quickly returning the strange bee-like cyborgs to the innocent woodland critters they had been. Amy's manic agility in battle had earned her the title "Rosy the Rascal" from both both friend and foe. She chuckled to herself as she decided she was done stroking her own ego, and quickly went to sit at her reading desk, glad that the warm Mobian sun was peering through her window.
After a few minutes spent detailing her adventure of the day with pen and ink, Amy placed the letter in an envelope, licked it shut, and placed another of her custom heart shaped stamps upon it. Placing in it a rather large stack, she reminded herself to walk to the post office in the morning...Amy wasn't going to let anything get in the way of sending tales of her latest exploits to her crush, the one and only Sonic the Hedgehog.
Amy gave a longing sigh as she smiled out the window. She knew it would probably be a long time, if it even happened at all, but maybe she could grow into almost as much of a hero as Sonic himself, he'd ask for her hand in marriage.
Amy then looked to the other side of her desk, across from her garguatan tower of letters, and noticed her tarot cards. She giggled softly, remembering when her special deck had lead her to meet Sonic for the very first time. She decided that she'd try her hand at predicting the future once more. As the young hedgehog picked up the deck and arranged the cards carefully, she relaxed, and allowed her mind to listen to the energies of the universe, eager to learn from them.



Meanwhile, in another time, and another place, Twilight Sparkle had rushed into the throne room of Equestria's ruling monarch. The two armored guards beside the throne looked a bit uneasy as they saw the familiar youth rushing into the room in a panic, but held their places.
"Princess! I can't find Rainbow Dash anywhere!"
The mouths of the guards stood agape, worrying that one of the Princess's prized students had been abducted, or worse.
Celestia simply nodded understandingly, before smiling to her two loyal defenders. "All is not is not as it seems," Celestia said to the guards, before walking down to the purple unicorn and nuzzling her cheek gently.
"I...I don't understand!" Twilight exclaimed in confusion.
Celestia chuckled softly, giving a mysterious smile, that, in spite of everything, Twilight found strangely comforting. "Magic works in mysterious ways, Twilight Sparkle. Worry not...you shall see Rainbow safe and sound before you know it. In the meantime...do you like tea and biscuits?"
"Um...well...yeah, actually." Twilight said with a small smile and a deep blush, gradually beginning to calm down, feeling her fur no longer standing on end like it had been just moments before.
Firefly walked through the massive halls of the Throne Room, with important business on behalf of New Cloudsdale. She wondered if she could take the opportunity to catch up on her daughter and the new friends she made.
"Hi, Twilight. How's Rainbow doing?" she asked from behind the unicorn's back.
Twilight shook a bit, startled, whirling around and seeing her friend's mother in the flesh. "Uh...it's...sort of complicated."
Celestia snickered a little as she watched Twilight and Firefly, but quickly put her playful mischief aside and regained her royal composure, smiling reassuringly at Firefly. "Rainbow has gone on something of a mystical journey, Firefly. With luck, she could very well have revolutionized magic as we know it before day's end."
Twilight's eyes shot up to Celestia as the last words of the Princess ran through her ears, wondering if such a major upheaval of the way magic was practiced could truly be in the works, and if somepony so close to her would indeed be the one to put it in motion. True, Celestia did have an odd sense of humor...but something about the Princess' tone seemed entirely sincere.
Even Firefly was taken aback slightly by the explanation Celestia gave.
"Oh... well, wish her luck from me!" she exlaimed happily. Secretly she hoped Rainbow was safe, wherever she was right now, and that the Princess wasn't simply using her as a guinea pig for something. She turned to Twilight, kneeling down to her level. She could tell the filly looked worried. "The Princess and I have important things to discuss, Twilight, so we'll see you later, okay?" she winked.
Firefly watched her go, hoping that Twilight wouldn't be forced to wait and worry about her friend. An adventure together would be the perfect way for the two fillies to form a bond with one another. More than that, her thoughts turned to Rainbow Dash, wondering where she could possibly be right now.



Rainbow's wings were beginning to ache. She flew for what felt like miles, and it had been longer than she cared to guess since she had arrived. The further she went, the more she was convinced this was the same world that her book was set in, or something identical to it. As excited as she wanted to be, she couldn't help feeling lost, afraid and alone. The air was cold and breezy, making flight more exhausting than ever. Her eyes drooped, opening and closing, and as she yawned she realized she needed to rest somewhere, before she fell out of the sky.
A two story house on the horizon caught her eye. It was sitting on the edge of a forest, near the river she was following. She landed in front of the house, weakly stepping up to the front door and baning it with her hoof. Just then, her tired eyes noticed a sign on the door, reading "Chaotix Detective Agency."
After loud crashing and banging, she heard someone come towards the door.
"I'm coming, I'm coming! Just hold on!" Came a gruff voice on the other side. The door was opened by a large reptillian creature, with a long snout and several spiky teeth. He wore headphones and a gold chain around his neck, plus black gloves and boots. "Who do we have here?"
"I uh... I think I'm lost." replied Rainbow. "I've been flying for hours, but I can't find him..."
"Find who?"
"Oh... I'm looking for Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog. Have you seen him?" the filly asked, her voice trailing off in a mumble before yawning.
"Sonic? I'm not sure I've seen him around here in a while. Looks like you're not going anywhere, though."
Rainbow shook her head. Everything was getting way too weird for her to handle, and as she rubbed her eye, she wasn't sure if she was doing it because she was tired or weepy.
The reptile in front of her gave her a sympathetic look, the sight of the lost little pony getting to him. "Why don't you come inside, and take a nap with us? We'll find who you're looking for."
Rainbow nodded and followed him inside. She was lead into a room that looked like an office, with filing cabinets and lockers and all manner of information, as Rainbow half expected to see. She suddenly remembered who the owner of the house was. His name was Vector, and he was a crocodile. He was the leader of a group called the Chaotix Detective Agency, and their house also doubled as their headquarters.
"Charmy! We've got company! You in there?" he opened one of the locker doors.
Immediately, a large round shape flew out of the locker, zipping through the air in a frenzy. As soon as the shape slowed down, Rainbow could see that it was some sort of insectoid being, around her size, wearing an orange jacket and a black helmet with hot pink highlights. Whoever this new creature was, it seemed excited to see her.
"Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, company, I love company!" Charmy yelled out as he did a few figure eights as he hovered in the air, just before landing right in front of Rainbow Dash.
"You're a pony! A blue pony! No, a blue rainbow pony! I love, love, love rainbows, but I've never seen a blue pony before! Never seen one with wings either, nope nope nope! I bet you're special, really special! I'd pet you, but Vector says that clients need their per...son...nal...personal space! Yeah! But you're pretty, really, really pretty! I like pretty people and pretty things! Like flowers! Flowers, flowers, flowers everywhere, ding dong diddly doo! WHEE!"
As Charmy finally finished speaking, he looked right into Rainbow's eyes, a big toothy grin on his face as if he'd just won his weight in gold.
"Oh brother..." Vector sighed.
"You're Charmy Bee, right?" Rainbow asked. "I uh... I think I heard of you guys. Where's Espio?"
"Right behind you. A true ninja never lets his guard down." came a soft, soothing voice as a purple lizard creature familiar to Rainbow suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Like Vector, he wore black armored gloves and shoes. "You should be more careful who you bring into our house, Vector. She could be a spy for Doctor Eggman, or a thief or something."
"Aw, come on Espio. Just take a look at her. She's not gonna harm anybody!"
'Don't count on it...!' Rainbow thought to herself.
"Why did you come here? Do you have a mission for us?" Espio asked.
"Well, I was lost in the green hills looking for Sonic, and I guess I got lost." Rainbow tried to explain. She hoped they wouldn't ask what she was doing before that.
"Sonic, huh? You're a fan of his?"
"Yeah." Rainbow scratched her back and smiled. "I'm a big fan of Sonic's! I wanted to show off my flying moves to him, but I guess I missed him or something."
"Sonic's a pretty wild one, ya know. What made you think he would be coming here?" Vector then asked.
"Oh... just a hunch." the pegasus replied awkwardly.
"Sonic's fun! Crazy stuff tends to happen a whole, whole lot when he's around!" Charmy said with a giggle as he took wing and start flying upside down in a circle around everyone else in the room. "Like that one time last week when Vector ran right into him! Literally! You're real, real smart, Vector, but you should really, really learn to watch where you're going!"



Meanwhile, back in Equestria, Twilight Sparkle roamed back to the study, wondering if she could find any clues among the sheets of paper Rainbow had left arranged in a circle. She looked over the pages carefully, wondering if the writing on them would give her a lead.



"Always pay attention to something running towards you at mach speeds, I've learned that much." Vector admitted, rubbing his stomach. "Say, little girl... you never told us your name."
"Oh, it's Rainbow. Rainbow Dash!" the filly announced. The three looked at her quizzically, like it was an especially strange name.
"Hmm, you sure sound like the type to be a Sonic fan to me." Espio told her. "You must have a certain need for speed, just like him."
"Yeah, pretty much...!" Dash felt like being modest. "Say, how fast can Charmy go when flying at full speed?"
The other two Chaotix members looked puzzled.
"We uh... never thought of that." Vector told her. "Whaddya think, Charmy?"
Charmy turned right side up, landed in front the rest of the group, and thought for a few moments, his manic energy having died down while he thought about Vector's question...it had, admittedly, not been something he'd thought about much.
Luckily, something sparked in the bee boy's mind, and he smiled proudly. "Well, I can't fly anywhere near as fast as Sonic can run, but Amy timed me once when I was flyin' at full blast and I was goin' a hundred kilo-whatevers an hour! Zip, zip, zowie!"
"A hundred kilometers an hour, huh? Impressive!" complimented the rainbow-maned speedster. She yawned as talk of flying and speed reminded her of her long flight in search of help today. "That reminds me, I've been flying for miles, I could do with a nap. We can look for Sonic when we're all rested, right?"
Vector nodded. Espio looked at him with a sigh.
"Vector's pretty lazy. I think you'll fit in well around here, if you're staying." Espio told her.
"Looks like it... well, goodnight... er, day... whatever." Rainbow yawned, looking for a place to nap, and lying on a couch nearby. Vector, noticing that she took his resting place before he had time to lift a finger, sat down at his desk with his arms behind his back and started napping. Espio simply stood leaning over the nearest wall.



Hours later, after the sun had set, Amy Rose had fallen asleep at her desk, her body leaned back in her chair as she snored and dreamed of Sonic.
"zzz...shoo...glad you liked the cake Sonic, I baked myself...zzz," Amy mumbled as the scene in her subconscious mind continued.

Outside, Rainbow trotted carefully up to the door as the Chaotix waited behind a nearby bush with a torch. Vector gave the filly a thumbs up.
"Are you sure this is right?" Espio questioned the leader.
"Sure, I heard Rosy the Rascal is obsessed with Sonic, and she even met him. Well, she told me so."
Rainbow' hoof knocked the door three times, louder and harder than she meant to. It was hard with hooves to be gentle knocking on doors.
"Is she even in tonight?" she asked herself.

"Umm...ummm nah?" Amy said to herself as she blinked herself awake. "Coming, coming," Amy cried out weakly as she hopped out of her chair, walked to her door, and opened it. The half asleep hedgehog girl looked at the shape in front her curiously, and her brain managed to recognize it as the closest familiar thing she could compare to.
"Sonic! So nice of you to come by and visit me tonight...hee hee hee!" Amy exclaimed happily as she leaned over and hugged Rainbow tight, nuzzling the filly's cheek like there was no tomorrow.
"Yah!" Rainbow squirmed in her grip. "I-I'm not Sonic...!"
"Huh?" Amy leaped back now suddenly fully awake. "Wuh...wow, you really aren't Sonic! You're...hmm...you're a little girl." Amy rubbed the back of her quills, feeling very embarrassed. "I'm really sorry about this, I should have waited to wake up all the way before I checked for guests."
"I'm kinda looking for Sonic, know where he might have gone?"
"Not exactly, but wherever he is, I should be able to find him for you. I've kind of got a sixth sense about this kind of thing...some call it 'Sonic Radar'," Amy said with a confident smirk.
"Oh, uh... cool." Rainbow looked over at where Vector's group were watching, and decided not to try giving a thumbs up with her hoof.
"So, whatcha need Sonic for? Need him to help you with something, or are you just a big fan?" Amy said as she stretched her arms, letting out a small yawn as she finished speaking.
"I kinda need his help with something, big adventure stuff, ya know? It's a long story." Rainbow tried to explain.
Amy giggled and gave Rainbow a wink. "I understand. It's funny, that's exactly the kind of thing Sonic always says."
"So, that special sense you mentioned... care to elaborate inside? I hope it's not too late."
"Sure! Come right in, and I'll have us ready in a flash!" Amy said as she starting walking to the kitchen. "You want anything to eat or drink? I've got lots of soda pop, and I think I still have a few slices of chocolate cake in the fridge."
"Not just now." Rainbow followed her with a yawn. "I just woke up from my nap, and now it's getting late. I think this is what they call Jet-lag."
"You're from out of town, huh?" Amy said a she popped open a can of strawberry soda for herself, and began heading towards her living room couch. As she made it there, she tapped on one the cushions cheerfully, inviting Rainbow to sit beside her.
"Something like that. I was doing flight practice when I got majorly lost. Found myself out here." she explained, though she tried to cover up the 'using a magic spell on a book and getting sucked inside into the world of Sonic' part. She sat on the couch, and looked out the window at the open sky. She wondered what Twilight was doing right now, and whether she was already panicking and trying to look for her.



As it turned out, back in the study room in Canterlot, Twilight was pacing in circles, still examining the sheets of paper Rainbow had left behind. She'd learned a lot about the spell that had been cast, but hadn't figured out how to recreate it yet.
Just then, Twilight Twinkle opened the door to the study, and was great surprised. She knew her daughter loved reading just as much as she did, but reading random sheets of paper on the floor was new.
"Uh...Twi...are you okay? Is...this some kind of weird- I mean, special lesson from the Princess?" Twinkle sent gently, looking at Sparkle with concern.
Sparkle blushed as she looked up at her mother. "Kind of. It's a long story...I think you might want to sit down for it."



"So... what happens now? I mean, how do you find Sonic?" Rainbow suddenly asked. She was weak and drowsy, which seemed to have started as soon as she sat down.
"I follow my nose," Amy said with a laugh. "Well, okay, not really. I've always had a little bit of uh...clairvoyance, since I was a kid. Like...a kind of special way of seeing and feeling things most people don't. For anything complicated, I'd be consulting my special deck of cards...but we won't need anything like that. I'll just walk right out of the house, feel for Sonic's energy, and we'll find him, just like that. I've done it a million times, no joke, hee hee." Amy then raised an eyebrow, as if she'd just remembered something important. "Oh, by the way, I really don't want anything to happen to a nice kid like you, so I'll bring my weapons along, too. There's been some dangerous robots running and flying around here a lot lately...but where there's robots, there's usually Sonic, too."
"Yeah, good point." Rainbow smiled and nodded. Dangerous robots sounded appealing to her. "My uh... parents don't think I'm old enough to fight them yet. But this is my chance to show 'em what I've got!" she punched the air with her hoof enthusiastically. "Uh... I'll follow right behind you."
"Hmm...I have a feeling Sonic's going to get along just fine with you," Amy said, taking a sip from her soda can and smirking playfully at the rainbow maned girl beside her. Finishing her drink, she rose up and tossed it into a bin labeled "recyclables," then headed off to grab her weapons, looking behind her to shoot another quick wink at Rainbow before leaving the room.
"I sure hope so." Rainbow nodded, before trotting behind her hedgehog friend.

Outside, the Chaotix watched for them to come outside. They could hear something that caught their attention.
"So, what do we do now?" Espio asked straight away.
"Just act casual, like we're just passing by. Then we can help Rainbow and Amy, nice and convenient."
"Yeah, yeah, nice and convenient!" Charmy repeated, miraculously managed to keep his voice calm despite the increasing urge to fidget his limbs and wings.

Once Amy had her quiver slung over her dress and her bow and hammer in their "special" compartments, she began walking towards the front door, checking behind her from time to time to check on Rainbow.
"I have a good feeling about this," Amy said cheerfully. "We've just met, but I feel like I've known you a long time. Well, off we go!" Opening the door carefully, Amy stopped and stood behind it, smiling at her new friend. "After you!"
Rainbow trotted by, looking to see what the Chaotix were doing. She spotted them standing around, whistling innocently.
"Oh, hey guys!" Rainbow said as she spotted them.
"Hi Rainbow, hi Amy! We're just... taking our Charmy for a walk, don't mind us." Vector tried to look innocent as best he could.
"Arf, arf, bow wow wow wow!" Charmy barked, doing his best imitation of a dog.
Amy quickly wound up snickering. She wasn't sure why the Chaotix were there, but couldn't find much reason to care about the reason. "Well, if you're not too busy, I don't suppose you all would like to come with me and little Rainbow here on a journey?"
"Rainbow's got a job for us? Sure! We'll help!" Vector smiled awkwardly. "Well, let's go!"
"Whee, a job!" Charmy cried out as he took wing and did a loop in midair.
"Come along guys, I'll lead the way!" Amy exclaimed as she charged ahead. Rainbow trotted briskly behind.



Back in Rainbow and Twilight's familiar Canterlot study room, Twilight Sparkle, after several minutes of curious reading, suddenly lifted her head up from the circle of pages beneath her and smiled to herself.
"...Find out anything champ?" Twinkle remarked calmly as she noticed the look on her daughter's face.
Turning her body towards Twinkle, the same confident grin still on the young filly's face, Sparkle proudly began to explain the situation. "I know where Rainbow disappeared to! After fully reading her notes, I learned that she was performing a special time spell." Twilight suddenly blinked in realization, rubbing her chin for a moment, looking at the ceiling. "Oh...so that's why she was asking. But...moving on!" Twilight said as she smiled proudly in Twinkle's direction again. "As it turns out, this spell can be powerful enough to make simple books into doorways other places on the space time continuum!"
Twinkle began to stare blankly into space as Sparkle finished her explanation, as if the older unicorn had seen a ghost.
"Um...Mum, are you feeling alright?" Twilight said curiously as she looked up at her mother with a concerned face.
"Well I...hmm," Twinkle stammered out as she smiled awkwardly and shifted her eyes from left to right. After a few moments, she took a deep breath, exhaled, walked out of the room, and then returned, levitating a copy of the novel she had written, and placed it into the center of the circle of pages. She then walked in front of her purple coated daughter and smiled more calmly. "When I was as small as you are now, Rainbow's mother told me a legend...something about a spell that could make fairy tales a reality. I didn't believe her at the time, but...looking back from where I am now...I've learned that Firefly's intuition is spot on much more than it's off. From what you've told me...Rainbow Dash is now walking among the characters I've created."
Now it was Sparkle's turn to stare in blank shock. "Mum...that makes no sense."
Twinkle chuckled softly, and put a hoof gently on Sparkle's shoulder. "Twi...lots of things don't make any sense at first. That's what makes magic fun."
Twilight Sparkle stared in wonder for a few moments, her mind processing Twinkle's words, and then she smiled contently, nodding up at Twinkle. "I think I understand now...I need to follow Rainbow into your story, like you followed Rainbow's mum along on all those adventures."
Twinkle smirked playfully as she lifted her hoof from her daughter's shoulder. "You catch on quickly. Just remember, trust your instincts, and trust your friends."
Twilight nodded again, grinning in determination, before walking into the center of the circle of pages, looking down at the copy of "Sonic's Adventure" below her. She then looked back at Twinkle, looked worried for a few seconds, then slowly smiled once more. "I'll tell you all about it...if...when I see you again!"
Twinkle nodded, her smirk softening as she watched Twilight disappear, before covering her face with her hooves, the mystical explosion of light having grown too bright. As she looked back at the circle, both Sparkle and the book were now gone, and Twinkle sighed, feeling a little exhausted. "The world keeps getting stranger and stranger."
As Twilight Sparkle fell through the vortex, she hoped the strange glowing tunnel would let her land somewhere safe...luckily for her, after several minutes of screaming, a particularly dense and soft pile of leaves broke her fall.



Rainbow Dash flew towards the vast mountain on the horizon until she realized she was flying on water. The ground beneath her stopped at a cliff and in the distance the mountain had become a vast island floating in midair. She stared in amazement and recognition, and turned back to the others. She found them further back down the hill, waiting for her to return.
"I just found Angel Island!" Rainbow exclaimed excitedly. She didn't care to mention she had never seen it before, only read about it in a fictional book. "Why don't we check it out?"
"Oh yes, yes, yes, fun fun fun!" Charmy blurted out as he did a figure eight in mid air.
"Hmm...sounds just like the kind of place Sonic would go," Amy said with a chuckle. "Lead the way Rainbow," the pink haired girl remarked with a nod of approval.



Meanwhile, at a very long distance away, Twilight felt her face brushing against leaf after leaf as she slowly realized that her limbs were instinctively clinging to something below her. As it turned out, it was a long, but very, very thin branch of an extremely tall tree. Twilight gasped as she slowly took in the sight of the vast expanse of fog below her that never seemed to end. She looked up again with a gulp, but saw nowhere else to turn except for more and more branches of the many, many trees that surrounded her.
"Great, just the wrong time for me to remember that I'm afraid of heights...okay, okay, I've just got to stay calm...and not look down again!"



Rainbow was transporting Amy on her back, flying over to the edge of Angel Island, and dropped her off.
"Wow, that was fun!" Amy cried out as she straightened out her dress. "You may be small, but you're really fast and strong!"
"Uh... thanks!" Rainbow smiled. "Let's get going!"
"Right behind you!" Amy said cheerfully, pumping her fist in the air.
A short distance from where Rainbow and Amy where standing, a enormous cloud of smoke was visible as a blindingly quick blue blur zipped through it, bright yellow sparks appearing in its wake, as loud noise filled the air, as if something was being sawed apart.
Soon, the cloud began dissipating, revealing countless piles of blue, red, and silver metal, from which rose up crowds of rabbits, squirrels, and birds, fleeing the scene in a panic. A figure walked out from amidst the center of the commotion, fists at his side, and a look of complete confidence and composure on his face. He slicked back his long spiky hair as he looked silently back to his accomplishments behind him.



Back in the mysterious forest she had found, or rather, uncomfortably jettisoned herself into, Twilight Sparkle kept her gaze looking forward at the other trees in her vision, not daring to look upon the perilous drop below her in the foggy depths, her shivering body a reminder that she needed a way out of her predicament as soon as possible.
As luck would have it, a large crimson object was approaching the purple unicorn. Twilight jaw dropped, believing for a few moments that she was to be devoured by a large, red, quadruple winged dragon. Quickly, however, her mind regained it's rationality as the object drew closer and she saw it for what it was...a simple flying machine of some sort, with a pilot. Breathing a sigh of relief, Twilight waited for what she hoped would be a rescuer.
As it turned out, Twilight was soon treated to a full view of her visitor. He- it was a boy, she was sure of this somehow- looked up at her curiously out of his flight goggles, seeming concerned. At least she hoped he was concerned, rather than hungry. Twilight desperately hoped she had no reason to fear the boy's somewhat canine facial features.
"Hey! Little girl! It's okay, I'm here to save you! Just jump on!"
Twilight suddenly looked at the boy like he was completely mad. "That's very kind of you, but where am I meant to jump? You only have one seat in that thing! I'd land on top of you, and just wind up killing us both!"
The boy blinked in realization, blushing a bit, embarrassed that he'd accidentally made this strange girl think he had a death wish. He'd become used to odd encounters, however, and quickly his gaze became cheerful and generous. "Not to worry, ma'am, the wings of this plane are stable enough to carry your weight."
Twilight, left with no other choice, decided to trust the boy with the bright orange fur coat, and, closing her eyes, made a leap of faith...instinctively, after the sound of her hooves firmly tapping metal filled her ears instead of that of her skull cracking apart , she let out a belly laugh. "Ha ha ha...heh! Thanks...whoever you are!"
"I'm Miles! But most people call me Tails. I can show you why later! What's your name little girl?"
"Twilight Sparkle...Or just Twi if you like. I'm...looking for a friend."


Rainbow looked at the figure inside the smoke in shock and awe, standing between Amy and Vector, with Espio and Charmy in tow. She quickly tore ahead, realising who it was. She stopped in her tracks, landing her flank on the ground as she skidded to a halt, looking up at the spiky figure.
"Sonic...?" her mouth almost hang open in a gasp as she spoke his name.
Sonic turned around slowly, looking down at Rainbow curiously for a moment, before smirking and crossing his arms. His lips parted, making it seem like he was about to speak, but he merely widened his smirk into a toothy grin and gave a nod.
Rainbow sat there thinking of what to say. She imagined meeting him would be a lot more glamorous, but instead she felt ignored by the aloof hedgehog. She also had a lot of explaining to do.
"Don't you think should at least try saying hello, Sonic" Amy said in a mildly displeased tone as she ran towards her crush.
"Heh...come on Ames." Sonic said simply, noticing Amy coming towards him and smirking at her...before, less than a second later, showing up behind her, much to the pink hedgehog girl's shock.
"...gimme a bit more credit than that," Sonic said with a laugh, pulling an arm out behind him and revealing none other than Rainbow herself in the palm of his hand.
Rainbow gulped, feeling uneasy. It was a sudden shock to her to suddenly be held out in midair, and she could almost feel herself giving way, about to fall to the ground.
"Gyah! Put me down!" she yelped, waving all four hooves in the air haplessly.
Immediately, Sonic placed her upon the ground softly, kneeling down and looking Rainbow in the eye with a smile that still seemed mysterious, but a little less so than the cocky smirks he had been giving. There seemed to a bit of a softness in his face, as if he were letting some of his guard down.
"Guess I spooked you a bit, huh? What's your name, kid? Don'tcha worry 'bout a thing...I can tell you're all right, Amy may be kind of a pain sometimes, but she knows a friend when she sees one."
"Hmmph, well, at least it's a partial compliment," Amy said a smirk and a friendly, teasing bit of pride.
Rainbow quickly shook her head, making sure the contents were alright. As she looked up at Sonic, she blinked. She still couldn't believe it was him.
"Uh... Rainbow, Rainbow Dash. I've come a long way to find you, y'see I kinda need your help to get back home."
Sonic stood up for a moment, tapping his foot, and looking skyward with a stoic frown, thinking for a few moments, and then quickly knelt down again, once again with the same strange gentle look. "Rainbow Dash, huh...I kinda like that, sounds like a fun name! You look fun, too...wherever you're from, it must be pretty cool! Don't worry buddy, I'll help you out!" Sonic then stood up again and crossed his arms, looking down with a cocky grin, his teeth gleaming a bit. "It's just what I do!"
"Okay." Rainbow uttered, the first word that came into her head. "Thanks!" she smiled up at him. "Yeah, it's a long way from here... not exactly sure how long. Really long."
"No prob, I do toooooons of travel," Sonic remarked calmly as he placed his hands on his knees and started stretching his legs.
Rainbow quietly wondered how she was going to tell her story... the story of him being a story she was reading and accidentally got sucked into. She looked around and then up at the sight of Angel Island's tallest mountain, and the ancient temple that dominated it. In the center, on top of the stone steps of the temple, a giant crystal, perfectly shaped, gleamed bright green. Her thoughts turned to another subject as she remembered who guarded it.
"Where's Knuckles?" she asked.
Sonic stopped stretching and laughed as he flicked his nose with a finger a bit. "So you've heard of him. Ol' Knucklehead is probably guarding his piece of rock candy...you're looking at it right now. "
Rainbow nodded. In her book, Sonic and Knuckles first met here. She wondered how much time had passed since then.
"I'm just jokin' around of course, kid. I'll let you know what that thing really is when the time comes."
"Do you guys hear someth-" Amy was suddenly interrupted as a golden shape rushed by Sonic and Rainbow...something about it gave Amy the shivers, and so she immediately drew her crossbow and held it at the ready.
"Woah! What does Robotnik want now? Is he after the Emerald?" Rainbow asked out of nowhere, not thinking about how surprisingly knowledgeable she sounded.
Sonic's face was one of total surprise for a brief moment, but he quickly regained his composure. "Heh...you must get around a lot, Rainbow. Buttnik's either after the Master Emerald, or he's out to get me...either way it doesn't matter, 'cause I ain't letting him have either!"
The gold figure had stopped, revealing itself to be a slender, yet somehow also vaguely egg shaped mechanical replica of a cheetah, complete with painted spots. It stood and roared at Sonic, but no sooner had it made a sound had he curled into a ball and rammed his sharp quills into its face...not a single dent was made, but it was pushed back several meters before Sonic 's shoes touched the ground once more.
"Sonic! Robotnik's back, and he...!" came a voice as a red furred figure came running out of the woods. Knuckles watched the attack, for a moment not knowing what to do. "Too late." He scolded himself before rushing forward to help, not caring to identify the others until they were safe.

Rainbow looked around, noting the presence of Knuckles the Echidna, wanting to do something. A moment later she saw Knuckles land a fierce blow on the Cheetah-like robot, his arm raised as it flipped back.

High in the sky over Angel Island, a massive, round metal shape floated in the air. It was round like a ball but with a cockpit, and a pair of huge metal hands, clearly designed for heavy lifting and possibly even causing serious harm. Inside the cockpit, the occupant was a round, egg-like human being, grossly overweight and with a round, bald head, almost hidden by a huge pair of orange whiskers sprouting from his red nose, and a pair of round black glasses. He wore a red tunic with a simple yellow cape draped over it.
"Hmmmph..." the man growled, his voice gravelly and rough. "The plan isn't working. The Egg Cheetah should have reported back by now."
Behind him flanked a dozen mechanical insects, like giant bees. The man in the cockpit pushed a button and they began to nosedive into the forest in attack formation.

"Hmm. Not bad Knux, so nice of you to soften it up for me!" Sonic said as he rushed towards the downed Egg Cheetah and laid into it with his spin attack once more. Noticing that it was now struggling on its back, he aimed for his belly, causing the feline machine to roar in pain, just before picking itself up.
"So that's the trick...gotta trip it and go right for the gut!" Sonic said with a chuckle as he landed and skidded backwards a little, keeping a hand on the ground for balance.

Amy looked towards the sky suddenly, investigating a strange noise. "Buzz Bombers incoming!" Amy shouted as she tried to hit one with a crossbow bolt. She then remembered that Rainbow Dash was nearby, and open to attack. "Rainbow, quick, get behind me, I'll cover you!"
"Uh, okay!" Rainbow hid behind Amy, watching the action unfold.

A second later, the dozen Buzzbombers appeared in the sky, flying through the trees and swarming around Sonic and Knuckles.

After she finished watching Rainbow move to safety, Amy looked back towards the sky, and noticed that the Buzzbomber she hit was damaged and sparking, but not yet neutralized...she aimed her weapon at it as it dived towards her, but all of sudden, a blur slammed into hit from behind.
"Diddly doo, I'm a bee too!" Charmy shouted out as he gripped the badnik tight around it's neck, causing its head to fail wildy, its body making awkward loops through the air as it became more and more disoriented, eventually sailing straight towards the ground.
"Whee!" Charmy yelled out as he jumped from the robot's body right before it exploded. Smiling and walking up to the wreckage, Charmy notices a small rabbit climbing out, that had once been the machine's brain.
"Thanks for the ride, little guy!" Charmy said with a wave and a giggle as the lagomorph hopped up.
"That was a bit odd, but it worked...thanks Charmy!" Amy said with a salute and a smirk before returning to providing cover fire for Rainbow.
Charmy nodded excitedly, glad to be helping in the fight against Robotnik yet again.

Suddenly, Sonic was right in front Amy, smirking and pointing behind his back with his thumb. "Got one of your old fastballs in ya, Amy?" Sonic said as Amy looked behind and noticed the Egg Cheetah approaching at a blinding rate.
Chuckling and swapping out her crossbow for her hammer for the time being, Amy readied her swing. "I've always got one!" With that, Sonic jump and curled up into a ball, and Amy slammed her hammer right into him, sending his spiny body colliding with the feline badnik's face, knocking it on it's back once more.
"All right Knux, get ready, and let's finish this golden dork together!" Sonic cried out as he landed, rocketing himself towards the Egg Cheetah and aiming a spin attack at its belly.
"Ha-haah! Not so fast, hedgehog!" A voice called out as wind blew from above, blowing in the faces of the defenders. A flying metal pod brushed trees aside, hovering beside the Egg Cheetah, its occupant laughing and aiming its massive limbs outward in Sonic's direction.

Rainbow, meanwhile was paralyzed with shock until she saw Sonic clearly falling into a trap. She raced forward to stop him, calling out his name.
"Sonic!!"
The man in the cockpit controlling the arms saw her straight away.
"Agh, who's this? No matter, I'll grab you instead!"
Sonic quickly turned and saw Rainbow fall into the same trap, the giant metal grabbing arms going for her instead.
"Hey kid, watch out...!!!" He called out. A moment later a spray of light shot from under the Egg Cheetah, forming a bright glowing net made of energy, which wrapped around Rainbow Dash's body, trapping her in place.
Rainbow screamed as she struggled hard, but somehow her energy was disappearing. The world around her seemed to spin as everything went dark.
"Aw, too bad." Mocked the controller of the flying cockpit. "I was hoping to catch you with this simple little trick, but I'll take the little horse girl if that's all the same to you. she should prove quite useful in my latest experiments, and maybe I'll even use her against you! Thanks for the offering, Sonic! Au revior!" he chuckled as his pod started hovering away, and the Egg Cheetah disappeared, running into the woods.
"Get back here Doctor Robotnik, you jerk!" Amy yelled out loud the name of Rainbow's captor. She was about to run forward and take a few shots at the pod with her crossbow when Sonic stopped her with a simple gesture.
"Cool it, Amy. We can't do anything to save her just yet. Besides, hitting Robotnik would just dump both of them in the sea."
"I hadn't thought of that, heh heh..." Amy looked sheepishly at him.
Sonic looked stern for a moment as Robotnik's flying contraption flew into the distance. "I've got to rescue your new friend. He may be plannin' ta put her in one of his Badnik machines or something like that." he scratched his head. "New experiments... sounds bad, I'd better hurry!"
"Want me to come with?" Amy asked, concerned but excited.
"If it's not too much trouble. From you, I mean. I was waitin' for Tails to show up in the Tornado, he said he'd meet me here today."
"Oh, right..." Amy felt a little irked by Sonic's comment, but the thought of flying on the Tornado raised a question in her mind. "How'd you get here, anyway?"
"I sorta... hitched a ride, was followin' Robotnik's minions and managed to beat them into a metal pulp until you came along. All 'sept for that slippery Cheetah thing."
Knuckles looked up at the Master Emerald still positioned on top of the temple. "That thing had better not come back, or I'll have to teach it a lesson!" He cracked his knuckles.
"I doubt it, it was only lookin' for me anyways." the hedgehog replied.
A moment later, Vector, Espio and Charmy came running from behind carrying the remains of their Cheetah-shaped enemy.
"We got it, we got it!" Charmy sqealed. "Vector bust it up good!"
"Job's taken care of Sonic! I'll just put it on your tab!" Vector grinned proudly. He suddenly noticed Sonic was looking less than thrilled, and the new pony girl was nowhere to be seen. "Hey, what's goin' on?"
"Rainbow's been kidnapped, we've gotta go rescue her!" Amy told him enthusastically. Sonic was standing still, scratching his head and thinking of a way off the island if Tails didn't show up anytime soon. Time was ticking, and patience wasn't one of his major virtues.
"Aw man, I hope she's okay." Vector replied with a sorry expression.
"Don't worry guys. We'll get her." Sonic smirked confidently.