Chapter 19: Super Sonic
Chapter 19: Super Sonic
The burst of speed, the gust of warm wind, and the splashing of brisk waters. These were all feelings that brushed her skin and were the last things before Sonic had rushed off. She didn't know when it had happened. In a single second, Sonic was no longer sitting in front of her, his warm flames no longer radiating their soothing glow on her body. Now, he was directly behind Chaos.
The monster himself didn't even seem to catch on in time. Even as he began trying to turn his massive body to face him, Sonic was already turning back. Just as Chaos reached the halfway point, his head was suddenly and violently hit in the other direction. Sonic had slammed his feet into the side of Chaos, the creature's jaw practically coming out of place. Rainbow was astonished at what just transpired. Here was the monster that was on the verge of crushing them into nothing but dust, the entire city at his mercy. Yet there was Sonic, striking him with so much force that Chaos crashed back into one of the buildings, his roars of pain evident as he tried to put his jaw back into place forcefully.
Rainbow was in utter shock. She couldn't even follow what just happened. Sonic had moved too fast. What happened during the time she was unconscious?! Where did he get all that power he suddenly had?! Just from the warm feelings in her chest…no, the burning sensation now, she could only guess something to do with chaos energy or something. But…when did he ever get that much so quick?! His whole body visibly changed from it. As he now floated there in front of a recovering Chaos, she couldn't help but be near mesmerized by the golden shimmer of his fur. It really was chaos, but in its purest form.
"Sonic…who, no…what are you?" she questioned breathlessly.
By now, Chaos had propped himself back up, unleashing a mighty and terror-inducing roar in Sonic's face. Even so, Sonic didn't even budge, staring down the beast head-on.
He then gave him a cocky smirk. "Hey, you've been breaking things all day. I'm just putting you on the receiving end."
Chaos took a quick swipe at the hedgehog. Sonic only tilted his body slightly as to avoid it.
"Huh, did I touch a nerve Big Drip?"
Chaos just unleashed a flurry of tentacles upon Sonic, the liquid appendages coming from every angle possible. From Rainbow's position, it looked as if they all had collided with him at once, leaving him no room to evade. Worry overtook her, but it had been vanquished at the sight of one of the arms exploding outward. Chaos was also taken back but shrieked in agony when an impact dent formed on his watery underbelly. Just when he thought it was over, his body was rapidity barraged with strikes, all of them leaving some visible damage. They came so fast that not even a blur was seen.
Once they were over, Chaos just slouched over, his body visibly creaking in pain. The wounds were slowly healing up, but the damage was still felt internally throughout.
"What?" Sonic taunted. "You not liking the taste of your own medicine big guy?"
Chaos's eyes scanned for the golden hedgehog, and they found him standing atop a crumbling statue not far from him, holding his ever-confident posture. Anger, hate, and abhorrence were fed into Chaos's very being. A low growl radiated within, and his eyes stared at Sonic with blood red rage clouding them.
"Cause that's nothing compared to the pain you've caused to everyone in Station Square. You came to the wrong hedgehog if you wanted an easy go-between."
The words must've left Chaos's ears the second they entered, as Chaos just charged up a volley of bolts on his back before firing them at Sonic. They soared towards him, but they were anything but fast. Before they could impact, Sonic jumped away in a blur, the statue being blasted away into dust. Chaos just kept firing, each volley attempting to track the fleeing hedgehog. As each approached, however, Sonic only continued to dance around them, some missing by a mile and others leaving as near misses. Even then, Sonic only looked on in a lazy but enthusiastic manner.
As the last one came in, Sonic flipped upside down and kicked the bolt away. In sailed right back to Chaos, hitting him square in the head. Chaos reared back but did what he could to keep up the assault. With a legion of arms at his side, each of his tendrils lashed out, arcing upward before coming down to where Sonic was. Sonic quickly noticed the change in tactics and flew backward, the first couple of tentacles splashing into the water in front of him.
The rest came in, and Sonic's eyes darted quickly between each one. To others, the fight was going at speeds that no person could reasonably track with the naked eye. But for Sonic, that was a different story. He couldn't explain it, but whenever he took this form everything just seemed to slow down. Not in a literal sense, but just how he saw things, how they seemed to telegraph their movements with clear intent.
It definitely made dodging these attacks much easier. Even when Chaos started mixing the tentacle strikes with those bolts. Sonic just let the movements come to him, sometimes without even a thought in between each action. As two bolts tried to flank him from both sides, he just turned his whole body one its side, flattening it as he slid between the two attacks. Once they passed, he flew up to avoid another tendril.
"Heh, too easy," he taunted.
Sonic got a clear view of Chaos from here, and he could see more and more bolts coming his way. Fine with him. It's not like Chaos had a chance of hitting him with those things anyw—
The bolts were vaporized when a familiar large blue beam engulfed them. Sonic had only a split second himself to dodge before it hit him too. The beam sailed past him, the forceful wind blowing past his quills as the beam shot into the sky, parting a patch of clouds above. Looking back, he watched as the beam dissipated, Chaos's maw losing its light.
That wasn't good. His body was much stronger in this form, but nothing good could come of those blasts hitting him directly.
'Huh, he was trying to get me at a distance. You'd think he was desperate or something,' Sonic thought.
Sonic watched as Chaos's aura suddenly flared up. It's been on his mind for some time now. Whatever that dark energy was, he felt that it wasn't Chaos's. It just felt too cold, even for him. Chaos roared in bloody rage to the skies, the aura exploding outward as it overcame many of the buildings in its way. It grew to the height of the clouds, lightning even beginning to form from the storm above.
Sonic had to fall back, lest he would be taken by it too. He surprised when the energy extended out farther than he thought. The flame-like darkness threatened to drag him in as the buildings around them crumbled under its weight.
"Ok, that's too far!" Sonic shouted.
Clenching his fists, he gave out a hearty yell as he reached out to his own energy. His golden light collided with the dark aura, both now fighting for dominance. It was an intense struggle. Even without pushing against it directly, Sonic could feel the overwhelming force behind it. Both his aura and the other flattened against one another, the whole city shaking under all the pressure.
Rainbow herself just looked on, frozen with shock and awe. What she was witnessing right now…she couldn't even describe it all. It was almost blinding to look at Sonic's aura clash with the opposing dark force. She still couldn't even believe what she was seeing. These two, they were in a completely different league compared to everything else she's seen. They weren't just forces to be reckoned with; they were titans in their own rights. It was humbling, but at that same time completely terrifying to be in their presence. Her hooves were shaking, but not from the quakes from the clash, but her own trembles. Part of it felt like fear. But another part of it felt like…excitement?
With another shockwave passing over her, both auras suddenly vanished. The two seemed to have had enough and were now in a heated face-off. Sonic was but a glow in the distance while Chaos took up most of the view, his purple energy covering him like a cloak. With all that had happened today, this was the quietest this place had ever been. It was eerie, only the wind to break it up. Tensions ran high, and Rainbow could almost feel it consuming the entire city. All eyes were on this confrontation. She couldn't help but gulp in anticipation. This could get ugly quick.
Chaos seemed to have had enough of the silence. With another roar he launched more bolts at Sonic, the green streaks homing in on him instantly. Sonic didn't even move away from these. He just held his ground. He extended out his hands and began firing his own blasts of energy, these a pure gold color like him. The two attacks met in the middle, several flashes of light exploding from the collisions.
Sonic was about to fly through the smoke, hoping to catch Chaos off guard. However, the air suddenly felt heavy to him, and his sixth sense was going off like an alarm. Quickly dodging to the side, he narrowly avoided another large beam blasting through the smoke. Even after he dodged the attack, Sonic was kept on his toes as tentacle after tentacle came after him. Some he dodged, some he struck back with powerful punches and kicks. When several came at once, he flipped over two while leaning back under another one. When the last one passed, he kicked upward, striking it and breaking it apart instantly.
He swore as he saw Chaos charging up another beam. "Shoot!"
As the beam fired he dashed to the side, a golden stream following right behind him. The beam struck a building, the whole thing being vaporized to nothing, but it didn't stop there. Following Sonic's movements, Chaos dragged the beam in his direction. Sonic picked up the pace when he saw the ray of death fast approaching him. Orange lights from the explosions and fires reached over the skyline of the city. Sonic began flying backward as he tried to get a good look at the destruction following close behind him. While he couldn't see anyone around, that didn't mean there weren't any people hiding in some of the buildings.
"If this keeps up there won't be a city left to save," he stated. He watched the blue, flowing energy, seeing its pure destructive capabilities first-hand. It wouldn't be easy, but he didn't have much of a choice. He turned back, closing his eyes shortly after.
Part of him wanted to keep them open as to not crash into anything, but he'd have to leave it to his other senses and chance. Right now, he needed to dig deep into himself, to bring out as much power as he could stand. On the outside of his body, his golden aura was now but an inner layer of energy, coated on the outside by a pure white one. A tingling sensation jolted through his limbs, his heart pumping faster than he had ever felt before. It burned with a heated passion, and he was just one to let it all loose.
Opening his eyes, he let the energy take him. The world seemed to warp to him as his speed picked up tremendously. He sped away, the beam no longer able to keep up with him. Chaos was shocked by the sudden change in speed. Before he even knew it, Sonic shot off, leaving a single golden streak in his wake, leaving the city before anyone even knew it. Chaos stopped his attack. There was no use in wasting the energy if there was no one to use it on, and Sonic was well out of his reach right now. At this point, it looked as if half the city was either cleared out or on fire, many buildings now missing from where they once were.
Chaos kept a keen eye on the now vanishing streak, expecting Sonic to rush right back into the fray. Rainbow too waited anxiously for his return. But her mind still wandered away from the fight itself. It was all still on her hedgehog companion. That power. That agility. That…speed. It was unfathomable. All this time she had sought to outmatch this guy, to show him that she was the one who would claim fastest alive. But…how could she compete with this? Sonic was in a completely different realm of possibilities with what he was now. Just…was there any limit to what he could achieve?
About a minute had now passed, and Sonic still had not returned. Chaos seemed to be getting restless, and she could relate. Just where did he go? She knew the guy and no matter her opinion on him, she knew he wouldn't up and leave everypony like this. Yet, he was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't a golden speck of him in sight at all.
While she didn't think she could believe such a thing, she was starting to worry. He had to be planning something, right? Chaos let out a roar, and she could almost hear the frustration in its echoing presence. If he ended up losing interest, it would only be a matter of time before his focus shifted to everypony else, including her.
If she could move her wings, she would've gotten out of here sooner, but with them completely devoid of strength and with water surrounding her, she didn't have many options of escape. That, and the fact that she still couldn't get home, which in truth terrified her to no end. What was she supposed to even do about that?! But…there was something that she just couldn't place, something that felt different to her inwardly. Just what was—
A golden streak shot over her from behind.
Her brain had yet to register the sight, her eyes glazed over with disbelief. The streak slammed into an unaware Chaos, digging itself right into his back. The gargantuan serpent arched his back, screaming out in torment as he began getting pushed.
Then came the aftereffects.
Rainbow was almost taken off her hooves when the sonic boom hit. The waters now raged, pebbles and sharp wind striking her fur vigorously. She held onto her platform for dear life, so much that she was gritting her teeth to the point of cracking.
Meanwhile, Chaos was being pushed into a standing skyscraper, Sonic forcibly jamming both of his fists into his scaly hide as his white and gold aura erupted like a volcano, exploding outwards from Chaos. Chaos crashed into it, and Sonic took this moment to apply just a little more pressure. In one final push, he shot right through the monster and then the building. Unable to hold any more weight, the structure collapsed, the massive building careening to the waters below, all before ending in a disastrous crash.
Chaos was frozen in shock, a pain it had never felt before shooting throughout his body. There was a gaping hole in his liquid gut, anyone being able to see directly through to the other side. The edges of the water were steaming, the heat very evident to his senses. For the first time in the time he had existed, no being had ever been able to strike him in such a way, let alone touch him. Just…what was this hedgehog and how had he gained the power over chaos in such a way that rivaled, even surpassed his own?! And there was something else in there. Something that wasn't chaos at all. Something that wasn't as clouded, as unrelenting.
Sonic shot right in front of his left eye. He held that same cocky expression he seemed to stick to, only with strong hints of seriousness that sent shivers even down his spine.
"You had enough of me yet, Chaos?" Sonic questioned.
He swiftly kicked Chaos's head. The hit forced it to fly back; an obvious dent left where he hit. He didn't miss a beat. He shifted over to Chaos's other eye, making sure he saw him even as he shrieked from the previous attack.
"You know planets are round, right? You should've really payed attention more."
He punched him this time with the same effects. He struck him several more times, nothing but shockwaves being visible to the naked eye. Chaos tried to retaliate with his tentacles, but they just broke apart whenever they got close, Sonic making sure they couldn't stop him from finishing the job.
Chaos's body was now littered with damage. Craters, broken scales, leaking water, and of course the very evident hole. He was shaking now. His roars were only gasps now, unable to find the time or energy to produce them. Sonic finally reappeared, no right above Chaos's head and looking at the glowing orb that was his brain. The veins on it were now pulsating at a rapid pace, seeming to work endlessly to force more energy for him.
"This is where it ends Chaos!" Sonic yelled, rearing back his fist.
If he could just sever whatever this thing was from Chaos, hopefully, that would take away some of his power. At least enough to keep him from healing his body.
Sonic threw his punch, but he was quickly met with something other than his target. Chaos threw his head up, Sonic now staring into his gaping maw, the familiar blue energy built up inside. He was shocked that Chaos could still move at all and tried to course correct. Unfortunately, he was so close that he had no time to change his direction. The energy was released, this time taking on the form of a much larger bolt of fire than all the others.
"Sonic!" Rainbow yelled, seeing the bolt sail straight up into the sky. It looked like shooting star, going so high as to create a massive break in the storm clouds. Rainbow watched as the attack carried a small gold dot into the now clear night sky, both of them getting smaller and smaller the farther they went.
Sonic himself was shocked at how far this thing was carrying him. He was currently pushing back against it with both hands flattened against it. Even in his super form, he could feel the intense heat eating its way through his gloves. He was well above the clouds now, and the air kept getting thinner and thinner as he only got higher. Even now he could see that he was slowly beginning to reach the boundaries of the atmosphere.
No. This needed to end right here, right now. He powered up, releasing more of his gold and white energy. He pulled one hand off the bolt, his single arm now struggling to keep himself from taking the brunt of the attack.
"Man, I hope this works!"
Balling his other hand into a fist, it began glowing brightly with chaotic energy.
'Fight fire with fire as the saying goes!' he mused, throwing the punch and slamming it into the bolt.
Then came the flash. Sonic pumped as much energy into the strike as he possibly could. He felt the fire engulfing his hand, but as long as he kept this up, it wouldn't matter. A booming echo reverberated in his ears as the bolt began to buckle, its fires contorting and swirling to the breaking point. Eventually, it exploded. Thankfully, Sonic's energy had forced it to blast out in the opposite direction completely. He was able to pull away safely, and he just sat and watched as the mixes of chaos energy flashed into a beautiful display.
With one final flash, both energies dissipated. They each vanished into a multitude of blue and gold particles, each one twinkling like shining stars.
Sonic just breathed out a sigh of relief. "Phew, that was way too close for my liking."
He took some time to compose himself and take in his surroundings, or lack thereof. He looked as if he was at the very edge of the atmosphere. If he weren't in his super form, he would've been drifting out into space by now with no way of stopping. He shuddered at that thought.
He looked back to the Earth, a massive swirling cloud covering one part of it. There was still a hole in the center of it from where he shot through it, much to the courtesy of Chaos. However, he felt distracted, a fading sensation that felt like fatigue. He looked down at his body, a flash of blue fur fading in before returning to its golden hue.
"Shoot," he swore. "Looks like I won't be able to keep this up for much longer. Guess I should've grabbed more rings while I was away."
He looked back at the world. If he couldn't finish this with one more go, it was all over. There wouldn't be any way to regain this form in time if it fell now and Chaos would only go back to thrashing him around. Speaking of the water devil, he could sense powerful energy stemming from the city. Even all the way from up here he could feel its intensity. Chaos. He was charging something, and he could already guess what it was, and it was big.
And Sonic only smiled wide.
"Well, only one way to go from here," he tittered. "Body, don't fail me now. We've got some distance to cross."
He crossed held his arms to his chest in a cross. Reaching deep he powered up, bring out everything he had left. If this didn't end up working, nothing would. His shimmering energy blended completely with the white, making a much softer yellow hue as stars circled him. He began spinning, and spinning, and spinning. He only kept building up his speed, what little air there was visibly vibrating around him, a sharp hum ringing through the empty space. Shooting lights were attracted to him, mixing with his aura as it only grew to exponential size.
"Here we…"
Then, the energy all compressed.
"…GO!"
He was gone.
He had fired himself toward the Earth, spinning so fast that it was as if a saw was circulating, cutting straight through the air with deadly precision. Flames began engulfing him as the atmosphere conformed around him. It was only a matter of seconds before the city was once again visible, the clouds still trying to move back into place. And there it was; the single glowing light that was Chaos. His target singled out for him perfectly.
His ears caught onto the echoing blast down below, the light suddenly becoming much brighter as Chaos let loose the beam.
Then came the collision. Sonic's rapidly spinning body impacted directly with the beam, the force of the two attacks blasting outward. However, it might as well be a knife through butter. Much to Chaos's surprise, the beam did not even slow his descent, and only offered Sonic his greatest opportunity yet. With the speed of light itself, Sonic went straight into Chaos's maw, shooting down into his throat.
Silence took over the city. Even the raging waters and the thunderous echoes of Sonic's fall from orbit. Only sight painted the picture that was displayed. Chaos's body was quickly taken over by a dome of fire, the explosion sinking in on itself before expanding outwards, in a beautiful mix of red and purple flames like a setting sun. The fires reached the heavens, the entirety of the storm being dissolved by the shockwave as it only continued to rise.
Rainbow couldn't bring herself to move her spot, her eyes glued to the painting of different colors. It was pure amazement and a tinge of rare admiration. She could hear Chaos's guttural screams as he had been completely engulfed. What looked to be a convulsing body inside the explosion, to her surprise, began breaking apart. Small pieces of liquid were evaporating inside. This kept up until the massive silhouette had completely vanished.
It…it was over…
She couldn't tear her eyes away from this amazing scene, even as the heat from the blast washed over her. What she saw here, this was what Silver and Blaze were talking about this whole time. Sonic…he really was somepony who cared about others. Despite all the odds, he threw everything he had at Chaos for all the people in this city. And…even for somepony like her.
She stumbled a bit, her vision suddenly becoming excessively blurry.
"Uuugh…what now?" she questioned as she held her hoof to her head.
Looking at the expanding light became harder, her eyes hurting just to watch. But it wasn't from the light. No. This was from—
"No. Not…again…" she slurred, doing her best to stay standing, but her legs only felt like jelly now. Soon, she could resist no longer. She collapsed, doing what she could to prevent her head from hitting too hard, as futile as it was. Soon, there was nothing but white.
Rainbow only looked around in disdain as she once again gazed at the grey clouds of her mind. She was standing again, no pain eating away at her while she was here. In that regard, she supposed she should be grateful, even if she was starting to get sick of this act.
She was still unsure of what her purpose here was. All she knew that it had something to do with that dang Time Stone she picked up. Ever since then it never seemed to leave her alone, even after she went back to Equestria. That and if what she saw with her mom was any indication…she could see into the past. But was that the limit to this? She had visions before back on Little Planet, and those couldn't have involved anypony from Equestria.
Unless all that was the future.
She ruffled her mane in frustration. "Aaaaahhh! Why can't this just make a little more sense?!" She looked into the void as if she was trying to stare down an invisible force. "I don't' know what you want me to see, but I need something more than a vague picture to understand anything you're looking for! So, if you're going to do it just get it over with!"
"Whatever you say Rain."
She froze at the voice she heard behind her, a cold sweat hitting her hard. She turned around a new figure in her presence. It was far off, but that didn't deter the bright white light the figure was giving off. It brightened up the area greatly but so much that she couldn't make out any details of the figure. It was just a white silhouette, the only thing evident about it being that it was bipedal.
She was about to answer it; only for it to start slighting in her direction, it's feet not moving in the slightest. As it got closer, details of its face slowly began forming. She could slowly make out the shape of the eyes and muzzle, indicating he was from Sonic's world. But, what threw her off the most was the way his quills were arranged. They reminded her of—
The light had suddenly vanished, and it was replaced with encroaching darkness, the figure becoming completely clear as it stopped just before her, and her heart stopped.
"Zayn…" she mumbled with contempt.
"A world without pain…" he started.
"Ok, you tell me what a world without pain is supposed to be like to you. You want me to listen; then I'll listen to you, bub," Rainbow questioned, unsure if this was even the real thing or not.
"A world without pain…" he stated again.
Was…was he ignoring her or was he unable to respond?
"…that was my dream…"
"…but it wasn't my dream to make come true," he said with a sadistic smile.
"What are you talking about?" she shot.
For a split second, his dark visage was gone, replaced with a new face, much to her surprise.
No.
It was still Zayn, but at the same time, it wasn't. For that split second, she saw a white hedgehog, completely differing from his normal appearance. His eyes weren't red on black, but a deep blue on a normal white. His sickening smile was replaced with a cold and serious look, like he was judging her. There was no darkness in him at all. Only, a strong sense of purpose.
It didn't last, unfortunately, as was the visage left, so did Zayn. She looked everywhere for the dark hedgehog, not wanting to keep her eyes off him for too long, lest he may try something, vision or not.
"I was a fool to put my trust into that of my friends," she heard from above.
She looked up to see Zayn floating above her, his head tilted to its side in a lazy manner, his smile never fading.
"It only brought more hardship, more heartache…more loss of life."
With every word he spoke, red lights began appearing behind him. They were slowly beginning to form three shapes, all of them bigger than Zayn himself.
"The power that I have now," he laughed, "oh, it doesn't even deserve to be compared. This," he exclaimed, the shapes finished forming.
Rainbow looked on in angst, the newly formed shapes taking on that of a floating face, if you could call it that. The two red lights above looked to be eyes, only there was no background to them at all, and they were just blood red. They were curved outward, a certain sharpness to them that cut deep into her soul. Then there was the mouth. It was just a jagged red line that seemed to resemble teeth in some manner, only if there were no lips and they were shaped like broken glass.
"is the future of this world. A world without you, without Sonic, without any of you repulsive ants. I don't want you to listen. I want you to see. What I see. We want you to see what lies at the end of your path. Your judgement. Your submission. Your death."
As punctuation, the jagged mouth opened wide, sending out a strident roar that threatened to break her eardrums. She clutched her ears to her head, hoping to seek refuge from the noise, but it was as if the sound was coming from inside her head. It was torture. So much internal torment that she started shedding tears. What even was this feeling? What kind of pain was this that she couldn't even defend against?
She was going mad. It was just unbearable to hear, and she wanted it desperately to stop.
And it did.
It just faded away, nothing to be heard, nothing to torment her. Only, it now felt warm. No, hot. She reluctantly uncovered her ears; her eyes completely tear-stricken. Both the face and Zayn were gone. In fact, most of her environment had changed. She cautiously got up, afraid that whatever just transpired would return and haunt her even further. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she quickly scanned her surroundings.
It was Ponyville.
"Wha—what?" she stuttered. "Why am I seeing this of all things?!"
Everything was here. The stalls, Sugarcube Corner, the town hall, and she could see Twilight's castle peeking over the buildings. Only, nothing had its colorful tone to it. Everything was a bland orange, the shadows cast by the buildings long and distinguishably dark. No ponies were about. Not even the air seemed present.
Then came the heat. It was like a Summer afternoon, only if Celestia's sun was far closer if it should've been. Sweat was pouring down her fur, and she found it hard to breathe at all. So, she looked up, looking for the sun.
She stumbled backward, landing on her flank as her heart sunk with it. There was no sun. There was no sky. There was only a moon…no…an entire planet above her. And it was on fire. The heat only grew worse, now realizing that it wasn't just sitting there.
It was coming right to her. The buildings around her collapsed as they were attracted toward the planet, its fires setting everything ablaze. It was the last things she saw as it careened right into the town, right into her.
Her eyes shot open, inhaling sharply as her breath was muffled. The familiar pain had returned, much to her appall. Even with her eyes open, she could only see the dimmed light. That and there was a softness caressing her face as she felt herself moving, but without even walking herself.
"Hey, you all right back there?" she heard.
Still groggy with feelings of nausea from before, she lifted her head from the cushion, seeing it was made up of blue quills. She blinked in confusion, looking at the mess as she felt a pair of hands on her back legs, her forehooves draped over the figure's shoulders. She was being carried on someone's back, and that someone had taken the time to look back at her with his emerald eyes, a gentle smirk on his face.
"You don't look too bad to me. You're pretty tough you know?" Sonic grinned cheekily.
"Uuugghh…h—hey!" she exclaimed in shock. "What do you think you're doing?! Put me down!" she demanded but winced when she tried to push off his back.
Sonic felt her flinch and stopped walking. "Hey, easy. If you want to walk yourself, then I won't stop you."
Rainbow tried to move again, only achieving the same results. All of her hooves felt like they were about to lock up just from repositioning them and her wings were dead to the world at the moment. She could feel every individual bruise that littered her body, and it didn't help that her depleted energy only made it all worse.
"I mean, if you think you can handle it, maybe you could carry me the rest of the way. I'm all out of juice, so I wouldn't mind a little kick back," he joked.
Rainbow just grumbled to herself. "Yeah yeah, I get it, and not happening."
"Whatever you say," he winked, continuing to walk.
She couldn't believe this. Of all the positions to be put in, she was forced to remain trapped in his hands. She could only imagine her friends right now, glad that she was safe, but Applejack probably chuckling up a storm with her predicament. She blushed in embarrassment as she resisted the temptation of hiding away in Sonic's head quills.
Taking her mind off all that for the time being, she looked out to what remained of the ruined city. Sonic was currently carrying her away from the square, finding plenty of dry paths from the rubble that dotted the whole place. The storm was completely gone, only calm skies looking out over the scene. The city was still severely flooded, but thankfully the waves seemed to have come to a halt, no longer controlled by the winds. More flying machines were out now, only now they finally seemed to be landing, hopefully, to take people in.
"Hey, what happened to Chaos?" she asked Sonic, no longer seeing a trace of the massive monster.
"No need to worry," he laughed. "Hehe, me and him settled some things, so I don't think we'll be seeing him for a long while."
"Settled some things? Last I checked you two were at each other hoof and wing."
"It worked, didn't it? But it looks like he wasn't a match for the two of us, huh?"
Rainbow's ears drooped at that. "You mean you, right?" she murmured.
Sonic heard her near whisper, not quite what she said. "Hmm, what was that?"
She sighed in defeat. "I said, you mean you right? You're the one who did all the work in the end. What could I even do?"
"Hmm, how do you figure?" he asked calmly.
Rainbow felt reluctant to answer. This was her pride on the line here, and of all people she was telling the one person she's disliked for so long that it was practically breaking apart. Against the likes of Chaos, against Zayn.
Of course, she didn't think that Sonic ever even saw Zayn during that whole time he was there, but the feeling still lingered in her head. And it wasn't even just that. She was now shaking, a realization that came to her not too long ago.
Sonic just felt her lay the side of her head on the back of his. He felt her breathe out a large sigh. His curiosity was beginning to peak.
"You win…" she proclaimed, defeat evident in her voice.
"Hmm?" Sonic perked up, his ears catching what she said, but unable to process what the meaning behind it was.
"Say what?" he said back.
"You know, I'm starting to think you do have quills in your ears. I said you win. You happy."
"I didn't even realize we were competing in anything. What'd I win exactly?" he asked with genuine interest.
He heard audibly groan behind him. "I mean that form you had a minute ago. What else? It was just…I don't even know what it was. You were just so fast. Even Chaos couldn't keep up with you. You may not remember it, but ever since I met you, I've been doing whatever I could to match you, to push myself that one last extra mile, ya know."
She gave herself a pause, not even sure herself what she was even saying. "But watching you now, knowing that you have that kind of power in you for whatever strange reason, I…I don't see how even I can top that. Dang it. Why am I even telling you this? It's not like you care enough, right?"
There was a long pause between the two. Rainbow felt she made her point, and Sonic looked as if he was contemplating all that she was saying. She didn't know why she had said all that she did, but after all that had happened, she supposed she might as well have come out and said it.
They remained quiet for some time, but not too long after, she heard laughing. Sonic's laughing. Not full out, but more of a lighthearted chuckle.
"You know, I don't see it that way all," he answered. "And hey, what if I told you I think of you as more of rival myself, Rainbow Dash?"
"…"
"…"
Rainbow leaned her head off Sonic's, unsure of what she just heard.
"What did you call me?"
"Hmm? That's your name, isn't it? Or do you still prefer Colors?" he teased.
"..."
Even in her pained state, she still found the strength to lift up one of her hooves and deliver a sturdy 'whack' to the back of his head, causing him to hunch over.
"OW! OW! OW!" Sonic yelled in pain. "Hey! What's your deal girly?!"
"You knew who I was the entire time, didn't you?!" she questioned forcefully.
Sonic had recovered, although was cautious as to the supposedly hurt pegasus on his back. "Can't you take a little joke?"
"If it was supposed to be a joke it was all in poor taste!"
"Whoa, no need to yell in my ear, ya know," he winced. "And hey, don't blame me. After all, you're just really easy to get a rise out of."
Rainbow just huffed, but let her hoof go back down. Although, she had to admit something to herself. It actually felt good to hear him say her name. Not even her nickname. Her real name. Still, she would be sure that he never heard the end of it. Not by a long shot.
"Anyway, it's hard for me to explain, but I think there's more to ya than meets the eye. You're one of the only people I've met that can keep up with me. I mean, when we first met, I doubted you quite a bit. But hey, you showed me wrong in the end, and now I have someone that can actually entertain me."
Rainbow was hooked on every word he said, but with disbelief at best. That couldn't really be true, could it? "Maybe, but when we were up against Metal Sonic that changed didn't it? You were so fast back then too. I mean, I can do that too, but only when…ugh, I don't even know what it is really."
"Hehe, how do you think I feel?"
"Wait…what do you mean?" she questioned.
"Well, I don't know what it is either. It's just when you're around; there's just this feeling in my gut. I see you, and when I'm around ya I get this burning feeling just to let loose. I don't know what it is, but I just feel like I can push myself even harder than before. Heh, maybe you're just a good motivator."
She was shocked. Was he really telling her the truth? If he was, then what does this mean? What he was describing, it sounded a lot like what happens to her when she's around the emeralds. But how would Sonic fit into that? That and if he was telling the truth, then was he admitting that they weren't as far apart as she originally thought.
The revelation hit her like a stack of bricks. That aura he had…Silver always said that he'd never shown that before now. Then she had her aura as well. And what did he mean when he said he felt that way around her? She didn't have anything like Chaos Emeralds, and he had already been around them so much, so what gives? But, most importantly, he was saying that she was equal with him. In the grand scheme of things, it may seem like such an insignificant thing, but to her…
"But…what about that golden thingy you did back there?" she questioned, nearly breathless. "You really think I can be on par with that?"
"You know what I say. Either you reach for the stars, or you don't reach at all. So, what do you think? You think you can top me at my best? Heck, I'm anxious to see you try," he exclaimed with a smile, a small shine to his teeth as he did.
"I…" she stuttered.
Was he offering her to beat him? She searched his eyes as he looked back at her and saw no deceit whatsoever. He was genuine. He actually wanted her to succeed. Just by the look he was giving her, he wanted her to give him a challenge. He was like her, and that was obvious now. He lived for speed like she had her whole life. He was looking for somepony to put their feet, or wings, where their mouth was.
What shocked her the most, however, was not the fact that he considered her a true rival, but that he seemed to consider her a friend. He had known who she was the whole time, and while she hated his taste in jokes, he didn't harbor any ill thoughts toward her, despite how venomous she was toward him this whole time, which for him was years apart!
She felt disappointed. Not towards Sonic or anypony else, but to herself.
"…"
"Sonic?" she asked.
"Hmm?" he asked back.
"Would…would you like to race again sometime?" she hesitantly asked him. For whatever reason, she couldn't help but feel nervous asking such a simple question. "I—I wouldn't mind having a rematch, just with us two though. No bucket heads."
Sonic couldn't help but let out a heartfelt chuckle. "Hey, you're on! I'm going to hold to that though, ya hear?"
Rainbow couldn't help but give him a small, but genuine smile, something she felt she had been light on with him. "I'm the one that's going to hold you to that, cause next time we're going to try it on my terms."
"You act like it make a difference," he teased.
Their heartful talk was interrupted when they heard the sound of jet engines above them. Looking up, they both smiled widely at the sight of familiar faces.
"Ow! You think you could be a bit gentler?" Rainbow whined, feeling a dislocated wing pop back into place.
"Hey, don't blame me," Knuckles shot at her. "You act like I've patched up wings before. How am I supposed to know how these things work?"
"They flap up and down Knuckles," Sonic poked at his friend, both him and Rainbow subject to the glowing green light that emanated from his gloved hands. "Should I be worried at all too?"
"You will if you don't let me concentrate!" Knuckles yelled before going back to his work with a huff.
"At least we had Knuckles here," Amy pointed out with a sweat drop. "He does a better job at patching you up than we do."
"I guess being the guardian of the Master Emerald has its perks huh?" Tails asked.
"What part of concentrate do none of you guys understand?!"
"Sorry!" Amy and Tails quickly apologized.
After a couple of minutes, he was finally done. He let the mist fade and allowed Sonic and Rainbow to stand up. Sonic immediately began doing some leg stretches, leaning down on one leg as he pushed down on the knee of the other. Rainbow just gave both her wings a good flap before taking off, doing a couple of flips just for good measure.
"Aaaww yeah!" she exclaimed, landing with back with them with her own form of grace. "Rainbow Dash is back in action!"
"Heh, I'll admit, I'm still glad we keep you around Knux. Don't know what we'd do without ya," Sonic goofed, shooting him a thumbs up.
"Probably a pulp of blue paste if you're lucky," Knuckles riled. "But, I guess I can't complain at the moment. At least Chaos as finally been calmed. Hopefully, he'll stay sealed now."
"I hope all the people in Station Square can rebuild after this," Amy commented. "They look like they have their work cut out for them."
"It'll take time, but I think they'll recover," comforted Tails. "There may be some people out there we can help though. I can easily take the ship and search for anyone that got trapped during the attack."
"Well, I'll you all handle that," Knuckles stated as he walked off.
"You're not coming with us Knuckles?" Sonic asked.
"Someone needs to get back to Angel Island and reassemble the Master Emerald. Sorry, but it's just something that I've got to do. But hey, Sonic?"
He turned back to his blue companion, and in a rare display, he extended his hand to him.
"I hate to admit it, but if it weren't for you, there probably wouldn't be an emerald left to guard. So, thanks."
Sonic just smiled and slapped his hand into his, both of them gripping hard. "Any time Knux."
With that, they separated, and Knuckles looked over to Rainbow. "Keep an eye on him will ya? Seeing as you're the only one who can keep up with him," he suggested as he walked off.
"That's easier than you think," she chuckled.
"Hey! Why am I the one who needs watching?!" Sonic questioned.
Knuckles just gave a light laugh but didn't let anyone else see it. He just continued on, jumping from the building they were on as he glided away.
"Guys, I think it's about time I got going too," Rainbow said, earning the attention of the others. "Not to ruin the fun, but I think I need to hit the hay."
"Are you sure?" asked Tails. "We could sure use your help finding people."
"Sorry kiddo," she answered. "There's just some stuff I gotta get done first. But I'll be back before you know it. Just watch," she said with a wink.
"Rainbow?" she heard Amy say, the hedgehog girl walking up to her. "Thanks for helping out Sonic. I hope I get to see you again. I never really got to see you since we first met."
"Hehe, no need to go all mushy on me guys," she blushed. "You'll see me again."
"Well, like before," Sonic started, him now coming up to see her off. Rainbow watched as he extended his hand, forming it into a fist before her, "I'll hold you to that, ight?"
Rainbow couldn't help but remember those times she would've scoffed at the idea of playing nice with Sonic, mostly due to her own pride. But after today, she couldn't help but smile at his own grin.
"You've got a deal, Sonic," she agreed, bumping her hoof into his fist bump. And Rainbow felt it; that one small touch giving way to the energy Sonic held. She could almost see her red aura glowing off her fur, while Sonic's white one shined off his. Strangely, it felt soothing, just like what she felt form Sonic when he fought Chaos.
"Glad to hear it Colors" he winked.
"Don't push it Blue Boy," she shot. "Don't think I'm letting you off that yet."
He flinched back a bit at her gaze but chuckled all the same. "Hey, you got it, Rainbow Dash."
She held her glare for a time, but it eventually gave way to a laugh of her own. She left his touch and took off, giving one final one hoof salute to the group, each of them sending her off in their own way. Tails and Amy waving cheerfully, with Sonic just flashing her his signature thumbs up.
For the first time in since coming here, she felt a little conflicted one leaving her newfound friends. When she took the time to look at everything, not just what was through her previous views, there was a lot she's come to love about this world, seeing things that are worth protecting after all.
Sadly, there was something she needed to confirm, something that took priority right now. With the final sendoff over, she dashed off into the distance, her sparkling rainbow trail following right behind her.
It took some time to get out of the city, but she eventually landed on the outskirts. There were a group of houses that seemed to have avoided the worst of the disaster. The lower portions still looked completely soaked, but nothing looked demolished or ruined like it was in the city. Still, there didn't seem to be any people around here, so this was as good a spot as any.
She landed on the roof of the closest one, being sure to do her best to stay behind the chimney. Looking back and forth she could confirm no pony was around, so it was now or never. She did what she was told to do the last two times she came here, concentrating on Sol and nothing else. However, her mind couldn't help but wander back to that time with Zayn, that time she tried to leave and couldn't due to whatever he did to her.
She trembled thinking back on that. During the fight between Sonic and Chaos, she felt something different about her since that point. Like…a weight that was taken off her shoulders as Sonic's comforting flames grazed her body. Even so, the thought of being trapped in a foreign world with no way back to her friends scared her to death, and she prayed that something really had changed between then and now. Pushing away those thoughts, she went back to focusing on her destination, the only way of getting back being just to try.
To her joy, no weight came. The water-like feeling from all her other returns was slowly being brought back. Her mane waving, her fur tickling with an invisible energy. This was it. She was going home.
Her hooves touched smooth stone, a warm, radiating sun boring down on her. Her mane had rested, and with confidence, she opened her eyes.
"RAINBOW!"
Rainbow didn't have a second's worth of reaction time. In an instant, she was descended upon by several colored beings that tackled her to the ground. Her breath was knocked out of her as the group of ponies hugged her tightly, her face turning bluer than it normally did.
"Guys…please…I need…air…" she struggled.
Thankfully, they seemed to have listened and got off her, allowing the air to all flow back in. Even so, they were still huddle around her intently with mixes of worried and joyous faces.
"RAINBOW DASH! RAINBOW DASH!" Pinkie screamed in her face, her face that of somepony who just won a mountain of bits. "We're so glad that you're alive! WE! SAW! EVERYTHING! It was so, AWESOME! You were all like 'Zoom!' and 'Zooooooooommmm!' Oh! And did you see Sonic! He was all shiny and sparkly! You think he puts on excessive amounts of glitter sprinkles to do that?"
"Pinkie…" Rainbow sighed, but let it grow into a smile. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you guys."
"Shoot, ya had us all more worried than a pack a timber wolves in a lumber mill," Applejack commented, a wave relief washing over her.
You had us all on the edge darling!" Rarity snapped suddenly. "What were you even thinking, doing something so hazardous?!"
"I'm glad to see you too, Rarity," Rainbow said, poking fun at her posh friend.
"Rainbow! You—you're not hurt, are you?!" Fluttershy began freaking out, looking over Rainbow as she tried to stand, only to finding trouble to with her worrying.
"I'm fine Flutters," Rainbow stated uncomfortably. "I'm still in one piece. See." She flared her wings in punctuation, showing them that she was now without injury, courtesy of Knuckles.
"Hey, Rainbow!" Silver exclaimed as he and Blaze came to meet them.
"Are you all right?!" the regal cat hastily questioned.
"Hey, it'll take more than that to keep me down guys," she said with confidence. "Have some faith."
"Sorry," Silver said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. "It's just…when we saw you sink under the water…we didn't know what to think."
"Are you sure you're ok?" Blaze asked. "We're not wishing you any harm. Everything just got out of hand this time it seems."
"Believe me, that's an understatement," Rainbow stated. "But you know, for the first time, I'm not mad about it."
"Huh?"
"Hmm?"
"Yeah. You know, at first, I really wanted nothing to do with that world. But, I guess I kind of let my pride get in the way of what was really important. And it didn't stop at just me, but I realize it was affecting everypony around me, too. So, I think I should be the one to be apologizing."
Both Silver and Blaze were taken back by that statement. It was as if they were talking to a completely different pony. Silver couldn't help but wonder what had changed her so drastically. Blaze on the other hand couldn't help but smile, mostly to herself, but not quite trying to hide it. It was him again. As always, that hedgehog never seemed to surprise her.
"You could say you learned a lesson! Right Dashie?!" Pinkie jumped in. "Am I right?! You know Twilight is gonna be asking about this!"
"I'm already expecting that," she said amusingly. "But hey, I need to talk about something with you guys first."
Silver and Blaze's expressions hardened. They knew what she had to say, and it was about time they got to the chase.
"Do you guys know who Zayn is?"
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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..............................I love this fic so much.
8868767
I'm glad for ya 😃
Well if I can locate you on fb Ill shoot ya a request. Dont know if Ill drive from Texas up to Oklahoma anytime soon though lol
8875590
Hey man, or gal, that's perfectly understandable, as I'm not one for longs trips either. Hope to see you on Facebook though!
This fic is everything I was hoping for with the tags. Most people just use a mlp Sonic crossover for blatend shipping at complete disregard for the charakters themselves, but here its done with subtlety and Respect. Thank you!