Gilda and Metal Sonic
“Sonic? Spike?! Where are you guys?!” Rainbow Dash called as she flew above Ponyville while her friends were searching down below. After recovering from seeing Amy chase after Sonic and Spike, the cyan pegasus, along with Tails, Twilight, Owlowiscious, Applejack, and Scootaloo decided to head back to Ponyville and make sure the pink hedgehog hadn’t seriously hurt anyone. Tails was helping her look from the air and was currently flying over the other side of town. Knuckles left on his own when they decided to go searching, claiming that Sonic would be fine before he leapt up and glided away from Sweet Apple Acres.
Twilight looked up as Rainbow Dash flew overhead, noting that she was flying in the direction of the library as they passed through the town square, heading in the direction of the houses near the edge of the square. She looked back down when Applejack asked her, “So this Sonic feller can run as fast as Rainbow Dash can fly?”
Twilight nodded in response, having explained everything on the way back to Ponyville. Scootaloo spoke up, “Ah, big deal. Rainbow Dash is WAY cooler! She could beat him in a race no problem!”
Before Twilight could respond to that, a loud shout caught her attention and she directed her gaze forward, coming to a stop as everypony else did the same. They looked to see Amy coming towards them down the street, still carrying her Piko Piko Hammer and still having a look of anger on her face. She came to a stop in front of Twilight and demanded, “Where is he?!”
Twilight raised an eyebrow, “Who?”
Amy angrily replied, “That dragon, of course!”
Twilight gave her a disturbed look as she said, “You know, ‘that dragon’ has a name, Amy. It’s not like you haven’t heard it before.”
Amy growled, “I don’t care! He’s not going to get away with making me look bad in front of Sonic!”
Applejack looked at her funny, “Why?”
Amy replied, “Because Sonic obviously believes that I’m going to make a good mother when we get married! I’m not going to have his faith in me shaken by a dragon!” Raising her hammer over her head with both hands, she ran past the ponies down the street.
Twilight, Owlowiscious, Applejack, and Scootaloo all watched her run until she disappeared around a corner. Once she was out of sight, Applejack said, “That girl has problems.”
Both Scootaloo and Twilight nodded at that, Scootaloo doing so in earnest while Twilight nodded a little more cautiously. The orange pegasus filly then said, “That sounds about right.”
Everybody’s ears perked up when they heard someone whispering, “Psst, hey!” They looked to their left and saw Sonic’s head sticking out from behind one of the houses they were about to pass. As soon as he saw their eyes, Sonic whispered, “Is she gone?”
Twilight replied, “Uh, yes.”
Sonic let out a sigh and said, “Good.” He stepped out from behind the house and then looked back behind it and said, “Come on out, Spike, the coast is clear. Amy passed us entirely.” A few seconds later, the baby dragon poked his head out from behind the house cautiously and looked around before stepping out next to Sonic while holding Peewee in his claws.
Twilight, Applejack, and Scootaloo came over, Twilight saying, “Oh, I’m glad neither of you are hurt. You did say she missed you, right?”
Spike said, “Yeah, thanks to Sonic moving fast and deciding to hide back there.” He glanced down at Peewee when the baby phoenix chirped up at him, followed by a cute little yawn. He smiled, “Aw, I guess it’s time for your nap, huh Peewee?”
Applejack said, “Not a bad idea, Sugarcube. I’m sure the little feller has had enough excitement fer one day, what with being chased by a crazed hedgehog and all.”
Spike nodded, “Yeah.” He looked up at Owlowiscious and asked, “Hey Owlowiscious, do you mind taking Peewee back to the library and looking after him for a while?”
The owl replied, “Hoo.”
Spike said, “Uh, Peewee? You know, the baby phoenix here in my claws?”
Owlowiscious asked, “Hoo?”
Twilight giggled and turned to Owlowiscious, saying, “You can stay at the library too if you want, Owlowiscious. Spike really wants to help out, but we could use someone to look after the library and Ponyville while we’re gone. Does that sound okay to you?”
Owlowiscious replied, “Hoo!” He then hopped off of Twilight’s back and hopped over to Spike.
The baby dragon held Peewee out to him, saying, “Go on, Peewee. Your Uncle Owlowiscious will take care of you.” The baby phoenix chirped at him and then hopped on top of Owlowiscious’ head, the owl spreading his wings and then flying off towards the library once the phoenix’s grip was secured.
Sonic said, “That’s a pretty cool owl you’ve got there, Twilight.”
The lavender mare nodded, “I know. But no matter what, he’ll never replace Spike.” The baby dragon smiled at her at that.
Everyone’s gaze was directed upwards when they heard Tails call, “Hey!” They all turned and looked up to see the fox and Rainbow Dash flying down towards them.
As they came closer, Scootaloo thought to herself, “I still can’t believe it… He’s not even supposed to be able to fly and yet he can.”
Applejack waved up at them, “Hey y’all! I see ya managed to pick us out amongst all the white.”
Rainbow Dash landed near them, Tails landing shortly afterwards, and said, “Well, yeah. Color here sticks out like a sore hoof. And it didn’t hurt that we could see Owlowiscious flying away.”
Sonic grinned, “That’s one point for you guys and nothing for Amy.”
Spike looked up at him at that and asked, “Why’d we have to hide from her anyway? She’s your girlfriend; couldn’t you have just talked to her?”
Sonic placed his hands on his hips and looked down at him, saying, “First of all, she’s NOT my girlfriend. And second, even if she was, you think it’s easy to talk to someone who can lose her temper at the drop of a pin and pull a huge hammer out of nowhere in a second?”
Twilight was the first to answer, “Well, it certainly sounds like you would have to be rather cautious when talking to her.” Sonic nodded in response; she then asked, “But if she’s not your girlfriend, why did she make it sound like you two were, uh, together?”
Sonic replied, “I take most of what Amy says with a handful of salt. Considering what you all just witnessed, it might not hurt to do the same.”
Applejack said, “Huh. So ya like her as a friend, but ya don’t like her THAT way. Is that what yer sayin’, Sugar-hog?”
Sonic gave a sidelong glance at the ground as he murmured, “Well…”
Before he could finish, Scootaloo spoke, “Why is Ponyville mostly white, anyway? What happened to all the color?” She turned to Rainbow Dash and asked, “Rainbow Dash, can you get some rainbows from your home and bring the color back? That would work, right?”
The cyan mare shrugged, “I don’t think it’s that simple, squirt. Since Applejack’s home was completely white until a little while ago, I’m gonna guess my cloud house was affected too.”
Sonic asked, “You have a cloud house, Rainbow?”
The proud pegasus nodded, “Yep! As much as I prefer Ponyville, I still like to be reminded of my time growing up in Cloudsdale, a city that sits on top of the clouds.”
Tails asked, “A cloud city?”
Rainbow nodded in confirmation, “You got it! I’ll bet you’ve never seen anything like that before!”
Sonic spoke, “No, but I believe you. I can totally see a city being on top of clouds.”
Twilight asked, “You can?”
Sonic nodded, “Sure. You know those mountains we were at? If I remember right, they were on a floating island.”
Applejack asked, “Floating island? Oh, you mean like, floating in the water, right?”
Sonic shook his head, “No, I mean like, floating in the sky.”
Scootaloo gasped, “No way!”
Sonic replied, “Yeah way! In fact, there used to be a sanctuary above that island that was full of bouncy clouds. I say ‘used to be’ because it kind of fell apart.”
Twilight asked, “But how? How does an island float in the sky?”
Tails said, “Well, unlike Babylon Garden, which we later found out was a spaceship some time after it rose back into the sky, that island, along with the Sky Sanctuary that used to be above it, is held aloft by an object called the Master Emerald.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Master Emerald?”
Tails nodded, “That’s right. It holds a great power within it, and that power is what allows Angel Island to float in the sky. Whenever the Master Emerald is removed from the island, it comes crashing down into the sea.”
Spike murmured to himself, “An emerald filled with a great power? I wonder what that tastes like…”
Rainbow Dash spoke, “Okay, so this gem with a great power holds up this Angel Island and Sky Sanctuary. But what about this Babylon Garden place? You said it was a spaceship or something; is that how it stays up?”
Tails replied, “Sort of. It’s actually rather easy to explain what holds Babylon Garden aloft. You see, according to the Kutta-Joukowski Lift Theorem, the control surface flow is balanced by the inverse kinetics of the…”
Rainbow Dash interrupted him by rearing back on her hind legs and shouting, “STOP!” Tails immediately stopped talking and everybody else looked at her. Dropping to all fours, she exclaimed, “I get the idea, okay?! You can just say that it floats; Twilight spouts out enough egghead techno babble as it is! I can do without two eggheads, thank you!” Before anyone could respond to that, they all heard somebody laughing. Everybody glanced around, Rainbow asking, “Who’s laughing at me?!”
She was soon answered by a voice that Spike and the ponies all recognized, “Sorry, Dash, but I figured you would’ve interrupted him before he even started talking!”
Rainbow gasped, “That voice… No! It can’t be!”
She looked up at the roof of the nearby house as a familiar beak face peered over the side, smirking down at her. “Miss me, Dashie?” Gilda asked before leaping off of the roof, not even bothering to spread her wings before landing on the ground.
“Whoa! A griffin!” Tails exclaimed.
Gilda glanced at him and curtly said, “Hey, you got it. You’re pretty smart… for a lame-o freak of nature, that is.”
Tails was taken aback. “W-what?” he stammered, honestly not expecting what the griffin had just said.
Sonic held up his fists and angrily asked, “Who are you calling a freak, you turkey?!”
Before Gilda could retort, Rainbow Dash glared at her and said, “You leave Tails alone, Gilda! And just what are you doing back here in Ponyville, anyway?!”
The griffin nonchalantly replied, “Don’t look at me. One minute I’m taking a nap on a cloud, the next minute I’m waking up to the sound of some pink weirdo spazzing out over something. I thought it was ‘Stinky’ Pie at first until I got a good look at her.”
Sonic gave an exasperated sigh, “Amy…”
Gilda glanced at him for a moment before turning her gaze back to Rainbow Dash. She then asked, “Who’s this guy, Dash? Is he supposed to be your boyfriend or something? I always knew you had weird tastes, but seriously?”
Rainbow ignored the intended insult and said, “He’s not my boyfriend, Gilda! We only met, like… what’s it been, anyway? An hour ago? Two hours ago?”
Gilda shrugged, “Whatever. What’s wrong with your crummy town, anyway? Did every pony in town forget to pay the color bill or something?”
Rainbow stomped a hoof and said, “Enough! What do you want, Gilda?!”
Gilda held up her claws and replied, “Whoa, easy there, ‘Crash’! I just want one thing from you.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “What?”
Gilda said, “A race. I want to know if hanging out with all these lame-o ponies has turned you into a slug or not, as if they haven’t already turned you into a total flip-flop.”
Rainbow glared at her, “Forget it, Gilda! A race is the last thing I’m interested in right now!” She turned around and started walking away, saying, “Come on, guys. We’ve got bigger things to worry about than this feathered jerk.” Sonic and the others turned to follow her a moment later.
Gilda called, “Oh fine, be that way, Rainbow ‘Crash’! All this proves is that you either are a slug or you aren’t interested in serious competition anymore! Especially not when there’s a prize involved!” Rainbow came to a stop at that and looked back over her shoulder at Gilda. Her eyes widened after a moment; in Gilda’s right claw was a red lightning bolt necklace.
Rainbow Dash immediately zoomed in front of Gilda and demanded, “Where did you get that?!”
The griffin shrugged, “I found it. Why, what’s the big deal, Dash? Need to look good for your date tonight?”
Rainbow growled, “That’s my Element! Give it back!” She swiped a hoof towards the necklace, but Gilda pulled it back and held it up tauntingly.
She then said, “I don’t know what all this ‘Element’ business is about, but I’m not just going to give it back to you. If you want it that badly, you’re going to have to race me for it.”
Rainbow gritted her teeth, glaring at the griffin. Applejack called, “Go on and get ‘er, Dash! Kick her flank!”
Twilight turned to her and mouthed, “Applejack!”
Sonic placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “No, she’s right, Twilight.” When the lavender mare turned to him, he explained, “These Elements of Harmony are obviously important; one of them probably wouldn’t have ended up here without a reason. If that’s the case, then we need to get them back, even if that means having to race an old rival.”
Dash overheard what they were saying, her eyes sliding back in the group’s direction. She then looked back at Gilda and said, “Okay, Gilda, you’re on. Where do you want to race?”
The griffin smirked, “Follow me. I’ll show you where we’re gonna race.” She spread her wings and started flapping them, lifting off the ground and hovering above Rainbow Dash.
The cyan pegasus turned back to her friends and said, “You guys wait here! I’ll be back as soon as Gilda and I settle things!”
Before she could spread her wings and take off, Scootaloo ran up to Rainbow Dash and said, “Rainbow Dash, wait! Let me come with you! I want to watch you race! That would be so awesome!”
Rainbow looked up at Gilda as she gagged, “Ugh, you actually have a fan, Rainbow Dash? Please!” A sneaky expression then crossed her face, one that Rainbow failed to notice, and she said, “But she can come if she wants. It’ll make it all the more satisfying when I crush your world!”
Rainbow snorted, “Yeah, like that’s going to happen!” She then looked down at Scootaloo and said, “Hop on, Squirt!” Scootaloo jumped onto Rainbow’s back and she spread her wings, flapping them until she was up at Gilda’s level. Gilda then flew out of Ponyville, Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo close behind.
Twilight shook her head as she watched them go, “I don’t like this. Based on what Rainbow Dash has said about her, Gilda’s likely to do something to mess her up during this race she’s talking about.”
Sonic held a hand to his chin, “Hm.” He turned to Tails and asked, “Hey Tails, why don’t you go after them? Just to make sure Gilda doesn’t try anything funny.”
Tails nodded, “You got it, Sonic!”
Spike asked, “Hey, can I come with?”
Tails replied, “Sure, as long as Twilight’s okay with it.” He looked up at the lavender unicorn and asked, “Well, Twilight?”
Twilight thought about it for a moment before looking at Tails and saying, “Uh, that’s okay, I guess. Just so long as you make sure Gilda doesn’t see either of you. Who knows what she’ll do if that happens.”
Tails replied, “Don’t worry; we’ll make sure nothing happens to either Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo without Gilda knowing that we were following them.” He looked down at Spike and pointed a thumb behind him, saying, “Hop on up, Spike.” The baby dragon leapt onto his back and made sure he had a firm grip while Tails spun his twin namesakes around, lifting off the ground. He then flew after Rainbow Dash and Gilda while trying not to fly too fast for Spike.
Sonic turned to Twilight and Applejack and said, “I have a feeling we’re going to be waiting for at least a little while. Do either of you mind showing me around Ponyville while we’re waiting?”
Applejack replied, “Nope, Ah ain’t got a problem with that. Mah name’s Applejack by the way, pardner. And any friend o’ one o’ my friends is a friend o’ mine.”
Sonic nodded, “Thanks, Applejack.” He then looked at Twilight and asked, “Is this okay with you, Twilight?” The lavender mare nodded in response and they left the town square, walking past the town hall as they did.
Tails flew as fast he could after Rainbow Dash and Gilda, the pegasus’ multicolored mane and tail standing out sharply against the white surroundings. Spike kept a claw on the back of the fox’s head while he peered up over it, helping him keep an eye on the two flyers. Soon, they both saw them fly into a house with arches coming out of the sides. Tails came to a stop, hovering in midair, and asked, “Is that…?”
Spike nodded, “Yeah. That’s Rainbow Dash’s home. But why’d they fly in there if they’re going to race?”
Tails fished out his radar and turned it on, holding it up in the direction of Rainbow’s house. After a moment, he said, “I’m getting a positive reading. There’s a portal inside! But the frequency is a little unusual…”
Spike spoke, “Really? Gilda must know where it goes; otherwise, she wouldn’t have brought Rainbow Dash out here.” He then looked down and noticed a blue figure on the ground below, looking up at the cloud house. Spike squinted and asked, “Is that Sonic? What’s he doing out here?”
Tails looked down and his eyes immediately widened. “That’s Metal Sonic!” he exclaimed.
Spike raised an eyebrow, “Metal Sonic?”
Tails replied, “He’s a robot built with most of Sonic’s abilities. He’s one of Sonic’s biggest rivals and his doppelganger.” Looking back down at the robot, he put his radar away and said, “From the way he’s looking up at Rainbow Dash’s house, he must’ve seen her and Gilda go in there. He must be planning to go after them! We’ve gotta stop him!”
Spike protested, “Hold on! You told Sonic we were going to follow Gilda and keep an eye on Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo!”
Tails corrected him, “What I said was we would make sure nothing happens to either of them without Gilda knowing we were following them. And right now, Metal Sonic represents a bigger threat to their safety than Gilda does.” He glanced down as the engine on Metal Sonic’s back ignited, lifting him off the ground. As he started flying up towards Rainbow Dash’s house, Tails hardened his gaze and said, “I’m sure Dash can handle Gilda, but she doesn’t know anything about Metal Sonic. We’re going to have to take him out ourselves.” He then shot forwards, Spike clinging on for dear life while he prepared to intercept the robot.
When Metal Sonic was about halfway between the ground and Rainbow Dash’s house, he was suddenly slammed into from the side by Tails. Startled, he stopped his ascent and scanned his surroundings, his eyes soon coming to rest on the two-tailed fox hovering a short distance away. Tails called, “Back off, Metal Sonic! If you want to go after Rainbow Dash or Scootaloo, you’re going to have to go through us first!”
The Sonic robot silently looked at him for a moment before droning, “NEW TARGET ACQUISTION. SIGHTS LOCKED ON PRIORITY TWO TARGET AND ADDITIONAL TARGET.”
Spike asked, “Is he talking about us?”
Tails nodded, “Yeah. Not all of Eggman’s robots use proper names, after all.” Spike was about to ask who Eggman was, but Metal Sonic suddenly shot towards the duo while spinning like a drill, forcing Tails to fly up out of the way. Turning around, he said, “We’ve gotta keep him away from Rainbow Dash’s house! Hang on, Spike!” With that, he shot off through the air, his twin tails spinning fast while Spike held tightly onto his back.
Looking back over his shoulder, Spike called, “Look out, Tails! He’s catching up!” Tails glanced back over his shoulder and made a quick dash upwards, Metal Sonic shooting underneath him harmlessly. The Sonic robot managed to stop himself in midair, taking several seconds to do so while Tails came to a stop in a much shorter amount of time. The fox then turned and flew in the direction of Sweet Apple Acres as Metal Sonic turned around and shot after him again.
Tails continued to do his best to dodge Metal Sonic’s charges, but the robot came closer and closer to hitting him every time. Spike eventually called, “Why don’t you attack him, Tails?!”
The fox replied, “Because at the moment, I’m kind of defenseless! I don’t have my arm cannon or my Dummy Ring Bombs, and if I try to attack up close, you might lose your grip!”
After Tails narrowly dodged another charge, Spike called to him, “I’ve got a firm grip! Take the chance!”
Tails hesitantly called back, “Okay. Here goes!” He then shot towards Metal Sonic at full speed, getting close as the robot started to turn around again. As he turned around completely, Tails reared back and punched him right in the face, causing his head to jerk to the side at the contact. Almost immediately afterwards, he took a swipe at the fox with one of his claws, though he only managed to slice off the ends of some of his chest fur.
Spike cheered, “Yeah, that’s it, Tails! Get him again!” Encouraged by the baby dragon’s cheers, Tails flew towards Metal Sonic again and, after dodging a slash aimed at his head, shot up towards the robot, headbutting him. Unfortunately, Metal Sonic recovered quickly and brought his foot down on Tails’ head, pushing the fox down and leaving him rubbing his head for a moment. When he looked up, his eyes widened as he saw Metal Sonic shooting straight down at him! He quickly flew to the side to get out of the way, but the robot still managed to brush along his side, throwing off his orientation.
Tails managed to recover and, upon seeing Spike dangling from one of his legs, grabbed him with his hands. He then sighed, “For an old model, he sure packs a punch.”
Spike raised an eyebrow, “Old model?”
Tails replied, “I think it’s the original Metal Sonic, but I don’t know how that could be. Sonic and I defeated him after Eggman brought him back.” Before he could continue, Metal Sonic suddenly rammed into him from the side, separating him and Spike! Spike screamed as he went into a freefall, heading for the farmland below.
Before he could reach the top of one of the apple trees, he was suddenly grabbed in a cold, metallic grip that squeezed him rather tightly. Spike looked to his side, only to see Metal Sonic’s red eyes. Looking up, he saw that Tails, although disoriented, seemed to be okay and screamed as loud as he could, “TAILS!”
The fox instantly snapped out of his disorientation at the sound of his name and looked below to see Metal Sonic flying off with Spike. Spinning his tails as fast as he could, he pursued the runaway robot over the tops of the apple trees. After about a minute of flying, Tails noticed a tree house ahead, Metal Sonic flying straight for it. The robot flew right through the front door, almost ripping it off of its hinges, and Tails immediately followed him inside, not even realizing he was flying towards another portal until it was too late.
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Rainbow Dash looked around in shock. “Cloudsdale too?” she muttered. The city in the clouds had suffered the same fate as Ponyville; even the clouds the city sat on seemed to have a lack of color. She looked over at Gilda and asked, “Did you know Cloudsdale looked like this?”
The griffin shrugged, “Yeah. After I woke up, I ended up flying out to your house and found that weird hole in your bedroom and looked inside. I also found that fruity necklace of yours on the table next to your bed. That’s when I came up with the idea for this race.”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “Huh?”
Gilda pointed to some pegasi that were frozen in midair and spoke, “Don’t you get it, Dash? Look at them, the way they’re somehow stuck in place. They’ll make perfect hazards to fly around.”
Rainbow asked, “So this race of yours involves flying around all the pegasi that are stuck in the air and back here?”
Gilda replied, “No. It involves flying through all of Cloudsdale, including the weather factory, while flying around all the pegasi. They’ll lead right back here, and we’re gonna do five laps around.”
Rainbow looked at her and asked, “Five laps?! What’s wrong with one lap?”
Gilda rolled her eyes, “Duh! It’s more fun this way!”
Scootaloo grinned, “Oh, it’ll be fun to watch Rainbow Dash kick your furry butt, all right!”
Gilda glared at her, “Shut up, short stuff, or you’ll be getting a crash course in flying!”
Rainbow pressed a hoof against the griffin’s chest and said, “You even think of harming her…”
Gilda interrupted her, “Sheesh, take it easy, Dash! I’m not gonna touch her.” When the cyan pegasus looked away, she added, under her breath, “Unless I need to.”
Rainbow simply looked forward and said, “Let’s just get this over with!”
Gilda snorted, “Fine, whatever you say, Rainbow ‘Crash’.” She and Rainbow then lowered themselves to the ground, both glaring at each other for a moment before turning their gazes forward again.
Scootaloo bounced up as she exclaimed, “Go!” Although they didn’t expect her to start them off, both Rainbow Dash and Gilda shot into the air at the sound of her voice. As she watched them fly away, Scootaloo cheered, “Beat her, Rainbow Dash! Beat her good!”
Gilda rolled her eyes at the cheer while Rainbow smiled and gained a burst of speed, pulling ahead of Gilda. As she approached the pegasi that were frozen in midair, she began to swerve around the ponies, slipping through gaps and veering around her fellow fliers. Her lead over Gilda began to get bigger, the griffin’s larger form forcing her to slow down as she made her way around the pegasus ponies. “Ha, she’ll never catch me at this rate!” Rainbow laughed, glancing back as she swerved around another pony and turned to fly for the weather factory.
She turned her head back around, only to see the side of a pony right in her flight path! She screamed and pulled her wings back, but was unable to stop herself before crashing into the pony. The pony stayed where it was in the air, but Rainbow slid down its side. She managed to get back up in the air after a moment, only to see Gilda fly overhead. The griffin called back, “What’s the matter, ‘Crash’? You tired from not having your third nap of the day, or are you just getting slow?”
Rainbow glared after her, “It. Is. On!” She then shot after the griffin, looking to make up for lost time. She began to catch up as they approached the weather factory, but Gilda remained in the lead as they flew through the factory, weaving under and around parts in the various rooms. As they flew out the back and began to weave around more frozen pegasi, Dash called, “How did you get through there so easily?”
Gilda called back, “Easy! I’ve had a lead on you this whole time: I know the course!”
Rainbow exclaimed, “What?! You cheater!”
Gilda called, “What are you talking about? Someone had to map out this course or there wouldn’t be one! It’s not my fault you weren’t around when I plotted it!” She then flew ahead while Dash weaved around another pegasus to pursue her.
Scootaloo looked on excitedly as Gilda and Rainbow Dash approached her, but her smile dropped when she realized Gilda was in the lead. The griffin thumped on the cloudy ground near her and said, “First lap!” before taking off again.
Scootaloo turned back to face Rainbow Dash as she came in, panting as she touched the cloud. The orange pegasus filly ran over to her and said, “Come on, Dash, don’t give up! Get back in there and show her how awesome you are!” Rainbow perked up at that and nodded to her before taking off. This race was far from over.
________________________________________
Tails glanced around as he followed the road in front of him, the area he was in seeming very familiar to him. “Is this… Stardust Speedway? It kind of looks like it, but why is it so… corrupted-looking?” he muttered to himself. Down below the road was a dim, dark red skyline and up above was a large electrical storm, the clouds thick and red.
Tails looked at a street light as he flew past it and murmured, “Sonic said that this is what it would look like if Eggman continued to mess around in the past on the Little Planet, but I thought he erased this future, especially after we stopped Eggman’s second plan for the Little Planet. How could it still exist?”
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Spike yell, “TAILS, BEHIND YOU!” The fox looked back over his shoulder and saw Metal Sonic shooting towards him, Spike still clutched in his hands. Wasting no time, Tails quickly leapt up, Metal Sonic shooting underneath harmlessly.
Landing back on the road and spinning his namesakes to propel himself forward, Tails nodded, “There’s no time to worry about that now. I’ve got to save Spike!” His tails motored furiously behind him, closing the gap between him and Metal Sonic, but before he could reach him, the robot flew up and off to the side of the road. Suddenly, he charged into one of the street lights, snapping it off and throwing it at Tails! Tails’ eyes widened at this and he slowed down, leaping over the light when it hit the ground and broke apart. Metal Sonic broke off another light and threw it at Tails, the fox speeding up to avoid getting hit by it. When Metal Sonic flew back over the road, Tails saw his chance and leapt towards Metal Sonic, ready to attack.
Before he could reach him, however, Metal Sonic suddenly held Spike up in front of him! Tails gasped and refrained himself from throwing a punch or whipping his tails around. Metal Sonic took advantage of his distracted state and brought his knee up into the fox’s face, knocking him backwards. Before he could get too far, Metal Sonic flew around Tails and kicked him in the back of the head, knocking him down onto the road face first.
While Tails was lying on the road, Metal Sonic began to charge up some kind of electric shield around him. Spike glared up at the robot; not only had he taken advantage of the fox’s kind nature to keep him from attacking, but he was hurt now too because of it. Before Metal Sonic could finish charging his attack, Spike yelled up at him, “Hey, you!” When the robot looked down at him, Spike unleashed a torrent of flames from his mouth up at his face. The green flames didn’t really faze Metal Sonic, but the ashes from the flames spread out over his eyes, temporarily blinding him. Metal Sonic was so surprised by his heat-seeking eyes being blocked that he not only unleashed his attack too early, but he unleashed it on himself! Electricity sparked out of his midsection, paralyzing him and causing him to land feet first on the road.
As Metal Sonic attempted to recover from his own attack, Spike looked over at Tails, who was just beginning to recover, and called, “Get him now, Tails!” The fox looked up and, upon seeing the state Metal Sonic was in, leapt to his feet and ran towards him. Then, in one swift motion, he sent the robot flying with a tail whip and caught Spike on his tails, the robot crashing into one of the hills on the road. Spike breathed a sigh of relief as he held onto the fluffy tail and said, “Thanks, Tails.”
Tails brought the tail Spike was on around to his front and lifted him off of it, saying, “Don’t mention it, Spike, especially since it’s my fault he grabbed you. I’m sorry…”
Spike replied, “What? You’ve got nothing to be sorry for! Sure, maybe you got a little distracted and he took advantage of that, but you still saved me! And aside from squeezing me a little hard, he didn’t hurt me, so you’ve got nothing to apologize for!”
Tails asked, “Are you sure?”
Spike nodded, “Of course I am!” The both of them then looked over at Metal Sonic, the robot giving a robotic noise as it wiped the ashes covering its eyes off. It then stood up and activated its engine, lifting off the ground. Spike looked back at Tails and asked, “Now, are you ready to take this jerk out for real?” Tails gave a determined nod and set Spike on his back, his tails spinning around as he shot after Metal Sonic, the robot turning and flying forward as the fox came after him.
As both Tails and Metal Sonic entered a tunnel, the robotic doppelganger suddenly fell behind the fox, Spike watching him while Tails concentrated on the road. Suddenly, Metal Sonic lunged towards the two while spinning like a drill! “Tails, he’s doing that spinning attack again!” Spike called. Tails looked back over his shoulder to see Metal Sonic quickly getting closer and used his namesakes to propel himself upwards. Metal Sonic narrowly missed him and, after Tails came back down, floated in the air while sparking and letting out smoke. While he was stunned, Tails performed a Spin Jump, hitting Metal Sonic from behind and sending him down to the road, where he rolled and flopped around a bit before flying up again.
Tails soon exited the tunnel, but Metal Sonic was still behind him. A bit far behind him, actually. Tails could hear the robot’s engine, but it sounded distant. Suddenly, the noise level increased and Metal Sonic charged towards the duo with an even stronger version of his charging attack! Spike’s eyes widened at the sight of the electric sphere surrounding the robot and yelled, “Tails, he’s coming in quick, and I don’t think you’ll be able to jump over this one!”
Tails glanced up and noticed a raised, flat section of road just above the main road coming up. “Maybe if I can get up there…” he thought. Once he was close enough, he leapt up and, as soon as his feet touched solid ground, shot forward, Metal Sonic hot on his heels. The robot’s charging attack was breaking up the raised section of road as they continued on, but Metal Sonic seemed to be unable to catch up to Tails. The raised section soon ran out, but Tails’ tails kept spinning as he returned to the road below. The sphere surrounding Metal Sonic dissipated soon afterwards, allowing Tails to easily jump over him.
Metal Sonic once again floated in the air after coming out of his attack, allowing Tails to Spin Jump him again, knocking him into a hill, which he bounced off of while flipping over in midair. Tails came to a stop underneath him and crouched down on one knee, saying, “Hang on, Spike! I’m putting an end to this!” He then leapt up towards Metal Sonic and, as he saw the robot’s red eyes, swung his tails around, sending him flying. Metal Sonic flipped over several more times before he exploded, Tails dropping back down onto the ground afterwards.
Spike leapt off of his back after he landed and the two bumped fists, Spike saying, “Yeah, that was great! Way to go, Tails!” He then looked up where Metal Sonic had exploded and noticed a violet light shining against the red clouds. “Hey, what’s that?” he asked, pointing up.
Tails looked up and noticed what he was talking about. He started, “I think that’s…” The object suddenly fell past them, heading for the skyline below. Moving quickly, Tails spun his namesakes around and dove off the road, flying towards the object. He caught it before it could land on top of one of the buildings and flew back up to Spike with the object in his hands. Spike’s eyes widened and he began to drool at the sight of the violet gem in Tails’ hands. He was so fixated on the gem he almost didn’t hear Tails when the fox landed and said, “This is one of the Chaos Emeralds! But why did Metal Sonic have it? And for that matter, why is this bad future still around?”
Spike snapped out of his gem fascination at Tails’ words, shaking his head and then looking up at the fox, asking, “Huh? What did you say?”
Tails didn’t hear him, due to being lost in his thoughts again, and instead turned to look out at the skyline, watching lightning flash in the distance. He muttered, “Unless Eggman came back to the Little Planet some other time that we didn’t know about, there’s no reason why Stardust Speedway should look like this. It’s not possible! Unless…” He snapped his fingers and said, “It’s crazy, but that just might be it!”
Spike spoke, “Hey, Tails! A bit for your thoughts? What are you mumbling about? And why is that gem in your hand glowing?”
Tails turned his head to look at the baby dragon for a moment and then looked down at his left hand, which held the Chaos Emerald. He held it up and asked, “This? Well, remember when I mentioned an emerald called the Master Emerald?” Spike nodded, so Tails continued, “This is one of the gems that’s responsible for the Master Emerald’s existence. A mystic gem full of unlimited power: a Chaos Emerald!”
Spike looked at him quizzically, “Whoa, what? Chaos Emerald? Unlimited power? I don’t follow you.”
Tails reached into his right tail as he said, “That’s okay, Spike. I’ll try to answer your questions as best I can when we get back to Ponyville.” He pulled out the Warp Ring and held it up to the Chaos Emerald. When the two objects came into contact with each other, the ring emitted a bright white light for several seconds before it faded back to its normal color. Tails pulled the ring back and said, “There. That should’ve recharged it completely.” He then tucked the Chaos Emerald in his left tail.
Spike said, “Whoa, whoa, wait! What do you mean you’re going to answer my questions when we get back to Ponyville?”
Tails explained, “Well, there’s no doubt in my mind that Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Applejack are going to have the same questions that you have when we tell them about this. So we might as well save some time and answer everyone’s, or rather everypony’s, questions at the same time.”
Spike murmured, “Oh yeah, that makes sense…”
Tails added, “Besides, I think I’ve figured out what’s going on!”
Spike looked up at him and asked, “Really?!”
Tails nodded, “Yeah! We’ve gotta tell the others right away!” He turned and tossed the Warp Ring up in front of them, the ring expanding with a *PHVWOW*. Spike leapt up onto Tails’ back and the fox jumped through the ring’s portal, the ring vanishing soon afterwards.
________________________________________
Rainbow Dash grinned to herself as she flew out the back door of the weather factory, once again flying around the frozen pegasi as she made her way to the starting point of the race. She had been lagging behind Gilda for the second lap and part of the third, still trying to drill the layout of the course into her head. Fortunately, Gilda had gotten overconfident about halfway through the third lap and crashed into a wall, giving Rainbow a chance to catch up to her. She had passed her near the end of the lap and, despite Gilda coming close a few times, managed to keep her lead during the fourth lap. “Just one more lap after this and I’ll put Gilda in her place!” she cheered to herself.
The griffin in question growled as she flew out of the weather factory after Rainbow Dash, her size once again working against her as she flew after the rainbow maned pegasus. She gritted her teeth and muttered, “She’s tiring out, but she’s still managing to keep ahead. It’s time for Plan B.”
Scootaloo cheered as Rainbow Dash approached, “Yeah, go, Rainbow Dash! You’ve got it now!” The cyan mare grinned at her as she touched down and then leapt up, starting the final lap.
Gilda soon came in for a landing, but she didn’t take off right away. She smirked; Scootaloo was too preoccupied with trying to watch Rainbow Dash to pay attention to her. “Hey short stuff!” she called. When Scootaloo turned to look at her, an annoyed expression on her face, Gilda wrapped a talon around her head, picking her up. Gilda then walked over to the edge of the cloud and said, “Let’s see how loud you can scream! Happy landings!” She then released Scootaloo, the orange pegasus dropping like a rock.
Scootaloo screamed as she flailed her hooves in the air while Gilda resumed the race, her hooves meeting nothing but air. After a moment, she extended her wings and started flapping them, gritting her teeth as she tried to trap air beneath them. Alas, they were too small and could not hold her up, no matter how hard she flapped them. After a few seconds, she gave up and let out an ear-piercing scream in the hopes that Rainbow Dash would hear her.
Thankfully, the cyan pegasus did hear her! The scream cut right through the still air of Cloudsdale and reached Rainbow Dash’s ears as she turned to fly towards the weather factory. She turned her head to the side and saw, through a gap in the clouds, Scootaloo flailing as she fell. “Scootaloo!” she exclaimed as she turned and flew right towards the gap in the clouds, extending her hooves in front of her.
Gilda smirked to herself as Rainbow Dash flew off the course, “Like a moth to a flame. I’m sure she’ll save the kid, but not in enough time to win this race.” She then continued on, though at a slightly slower speed than before.
Below, Rainbow Dash clenched her teeth as she shot down towards Scootaloo, the wind tearing at her face and making her eyes tear up. She was getting closer, but she had no idea how much time she had left before Scootaloo hit the ground. With everything completely white, there was no telling if there even was any ground! Not wanting to find out, she increased her flying speed, her hooves getting closer and closer to the flailing filly.
As Scootaloo watched her idol get closer and closer, she noticed that a nearly invisible aura was beginning to appear around her front hooves, her flight speed seeming to increase as it got bigger. All of a sudden, Rainbow Dash shot forward like a rocket, a rainbow ring spreading out from that point and a rainbow trail behind her! “A Sonic Rainboom!” Scootaloo exclaimed as she was grabbed in Rainbow Dash’s hooves.
Immediately after Scootaloo was secure in her grip, Rainbow Dash pulled a 180 and headed back towards Cloudsdale, going faster than the speed of sound! She flew back up through the gap in the clouds and headed for the weather factory, easily weaving through the various rooms and soon exiting out the back of the factory. As she exited, she saw Gilda and narrowed her eyes. The griffin had evidently heard the start of her Rainboom and was now trying to get to the goal as fast as she could.
It was a futile effort at best; before she could get close to the finish line, Rainbow Dash blasted past her, causing her to spin around in the air like a top. As she spun around, Dash’s Element of Loyalty necklace was thrown out of her feathers, flying in the direction of the finish line. Rainbow pulled another 180 and caught the necklace in her mouth, shooting past Gilda again. The griffon stopped spinning after a moment and fell to the cloud below, dizzy. Before it wore off, Rainbow Dash flew up in an arch over Cloudsdale, leaving a large rainbow above the city before flying down and landing on the finish line.
Scootaloo leapt down onto the cloud and turned to Rainbow Dash, grinning, “That was so awesome, Rainbow Dash! You totally won that race!”
Dropping her necklace into her hoof, Rainbow replied, “Of course I did! I also saved you.”
Scootaloo rubbed her head with her hoof as she said, “Oh yeah. Gilda dropped me off the edge and… well, thanks for saving me.”
Rainbow replied, “No problem, Squirt.” She then slipped on her necklace and turned to look at Gilda, who was still lying on the ground. She then turned to look back at Scootaloo and said, “You know, I’m not even going to waste my breath on her. It’s bad enough she hasn’t changed a bit since the last time we saw each other, but I can’t believe she would resort to such a cowardly tactic like that! Come on, Squirt. Let’s get back to our real friends back in Ponyville.” She then bent down, allowing Scootaloo to climb on her back. Once the little filly was secure, she flew through the portal back to Ponyville. After she passed through it, a shimmering wave began to climb up the clouds that held up Cloudsdale, restoring the color and ponies.
Rainbow Dash’s hooves met the blanket atop her bed and she leapt off of it, landing on the floor. She and Scootaloo stared back at the portal for a moment before turning around and walking out of Rainbow’s bedroom. As she walked, they heard a shimmering sound and, when they reached the ground floor of her house, they saw that the color was coming back to Rainbow Dash’s house!
“Whoa! Did I restore my house and possibly Cloudsdale just by racing Gilda?” she asked.
Scootaloo grinned at her, “Of course you did, Rainbow Dash! I knew you would be able to!”
Rainbow smiled back at her, “Heh, thanks kid.” She then stepped out of her house and looked at one of the rainbow arches outside of her house and then spread her wings, lifting off the ground. As she looked out at Sweet Apple Acres, she noticed a white spot beyond the apple trees beginning to get its colors back. “Hey, isn’t that your group’s clubhouse over there?” Rainbow asked, pointing.
Scootaloo looked and said, “Hey, it is! Did you do that too?”
Rainbow shook her head, “No, it couldn’t have been me. Sonic must’ve done that. Come on, let’s get back to Ponyville and find out what happened.” She then flew off, heading for the town square.
As they got closer, they both saw the Warp Ring appear out of thin air, Tails stepping out of it with Spike on his back. Tails turned to the ring and caught it in his right hand as it shrunk down to its dormant size. He then put it back in his right tail and knelt down, letting Spike off of his back. Rainbow Dash landed in front of him as he stood up, Scootaloo jumping off of her back. He looked at her and said, “Oh, Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo! You’re back! And I see you won the race, Rainbow!”
The cyan pegasus puffed out her chest in pride, “Well, of course! That’s to be expected from the winner of the Best Young Flier Competition, after all!”
Tails asked, “Yeah? Did you do one of those Sonic Rainbooms you told me about?”
Scootaloo spoke up, “Did she ever! She did one right in front of me! Gilda tried to cheat by dropping me off of a cloud in Cloudsdale and Rainbow Dash not only shot to my rescue, but she also totally kicked Gilda’s flank!”
Rainbow nodded, “It’s all true. Even with Gilda trying to cheat her way to victory, I still won.” She then dropped the confident act and asked, “By the way, where did you guys just come from? And where’s Twilight, Sonic, and Applejack?”
Spike spoke, “Well, I think Sonic got worried when Twilight mentioned Gilda might try to cheat in the race, so he asked Tails to follow you guys to keep an eye on things. I wanted to come with and Twilight agreed, so we followed you out to your house, but then we saw this robot called Metal Sonic!”
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, “Metal Sonic?”
Tails explained, “He’s a robot that looks like Sonic and was built to counter all of his best abilities. Based on what he said when he saw us, I think he was planning to go after you two and Gilda. I didn’t think you’d be able to race Gilda and avoid a Sonic robot at the same time, so we intercepted him and ended up going through a portal in a tree house.”
Scootaloo said, “That was our clubhouse! So you guys were the ones who restored it?”
Tails shrugged, “I guess so. Anyway, we managed to defeat Metal Sonic and…” He then remembered what they had found and what he figured out and said, “That’s right, we’ve gotta find the others! They need to hear this too!”
Rainbow asked, “Hear what?”
Tails replied, “I think I’ve figured out what’s going on around here! Also…”
He was interrupted when they all heard the Mayor call, “There you all are! Oh thank goodness!” They all turned to see the Mayor running out of the town hall and over to them.
Tails asked, “What’s wrong, Mayor?”
The Mayor explained, “After the four of you left, Applejack and Twilight agreed to show Sonic around Ponyville while they were waiting for you. Since I needed some fresh air, I decided to join them. Just a few minutes ago, we came back here and I invited them to come inside. While I was talking to Twilight and Applejack, Sonic decided to take a look inside the pavilion area and…”
Rainbow asked, “And…?”
The Mayor said, “He came back saying something about a strange portal, so Twilight and Applejack went with him to investigate and they haven’t come back yet! I’m worried they may be in danger!”
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Uh, sorry about the wait for this chapter. Aside from the Metal Sonic battle, I'm worried that I didn't get Scootaloo and Gilda right. I hope they turned out okay.
So... notes. Gilda having the Element of Loyalty is meant to be a reference to an AU fanfic I read where Gilda is the Element of Loyalty instead of Rainbow Dash.
Tails facing off against Metal Sonic in Stardust Speedway is a reference to his inclusion as a playable character in the digital re-release of "Sonic CD".
If there's anything else that catches your eye, feel free to mention it.
Music:
Rainbow Dash vs. Gilda - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfpF6ZbfZzM
Tails & Spike vs. Metal Sonic - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zo3UcnH8y3c
The Sonic Rainboom - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XzMMcGI5Vac
Great song choices for the story.
Although, from the title, I was hoping Sonic and Rainbow Dash would race both Metal Sonic and Gilda together like a tag-team race or 2 vs. 2 or something. But this works out well, cause it shows that this story just ain't just about Sonic & RD kicking ass/flank, it's everybody/everypony fighting for what's right and restoring both their worlds to normal together as one complete team.
If I may ask a question: If this were an actual anime OVA, what japanese opening & closing themes would you give this? The Sonic X japanese themes, or something esle that has that "racing beat"? I can imagion a TV Sized version of "Super Sonic Racing" being a closing theme.
Anywho, I also have another question: Well we be seeing the Daimond Dogs, Trixie, Photo Finish, and Prince Blueblood as villians in this story like Gilda was, like as future bosses?
Anyways, keep up the good work. I've been a fan of Sonic for a long time, and never seen a good Sonic/MLP crossover as good as this one. There was one or two on Fanfiction.net that were interesting, but I quickly lost interest. But this keeps me going. After watching the walkthrough of the Sonic Generations game (I have only a SuperNES & PS2), I would love to see how this crossover plays differently from the offical game story.
Til next chapter.
397895
An anime opening and closing theme, huh? Well... I guess the Japanese opening "Sonic Drive" would work as the opening and either "Cosmic Eternity" or a TV-sized version of "Super Sonic Racing" would make a good closing theme.
Trixie will definitely make an appearance as one of the rivals later on. I was also thinking of having Iron Will appear, but I'll give the rest of them some thought as well. Also, as an early spoiler, the boss in the next chapter is going to be a MLP villain.
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Cosmic Eternity - "Believe In Yourself"? from Sonic CD? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4R7zb_uTH1U
Anyways, those seem like good choices, but for an opening and closing theme, I was thinking something along the lines of "Hikari" by Koji Wada from Digimon Savers as an opening theme, or some other anime theme that has that adveture-like feel to it. IDK really, I'm just telling what I feel, I'm sure there's an opening theme out there for this story somewhere that fits. This one I was just guessing.
As for the closing theme, I still think a TV sized version of "Super Sonic Racing" would seem nice as both Sonic and Dash are "super-sonic racers" in a way.
Anyways, I have a question of who the next MLP villian will be? Discord or NightMare Moon?
Wait! Here's a thought: Discord & Dr. Eggman working together as the main villians for this story. If I've guessed it's them behind all this, then yay.
But anyhow, My question is Applejack & Knuckels, they should both fighter together against The Flim-Flam Bros. don't you think? =3
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I never was good at coming up with opening and ending themes. I only seem to be good at coming up with music to fit specific moments in a story.
Oh, it's going to be a surprise. I'd tell you whether you were right or wrong, but someone else might read this and end up having part of the story spoiled.
Flim and Flam, eh? Hm, maybe if they could find trick Knuckles into giving them something and he and Applejack have to chase them somewhere in order to get it back...
Tails being badass? Aww yeah.
3950906 I'm just as confused as you bro.
20 bits says that Pinkie will break the fourth wall.