Volume II - Chapter 5: Sonic vs. Rainbow Dash (Pt. 2)
On the other side of the woods, everyone was already fast asleep from the inside of the tour bus, snoozing away on the seats of the bus. Everyone, except for one. Sunset stood outside of the bus, sighing morosely as she stared up at the stars in the night sky. While Sunset was currently worried about Sonic and their current situation, she couldn’t help but think about her other issue.
Her mood hasn't improved ever since her talk with Rainbow Dash. Rainbow’s attitude aside, she brought up a very good point about the issues with Sonic, and if she’ll really accept Sonic as a friend without their current circumstances. The more she thought, the more confused and torn she'll be. She wondered why everything in her life has to be so complicated.
"Couldn't sleep either?"
Sunset turned her head to see Twilight, who was stepping out of the bus to join her.
Sunset sighed softly and shook her head. "No. With everything that has happened for the past several hours, how can I not sleep?"
Twilight nodded. “I understand what you’re feeling. Between meeting a new creature and becoming fugitives from the government, it’s hard to not feel anxious and uncertain right now.” Twilight then chuckled. “And to think, before all this mess started, all we worried about was to figure out what we are doing with our lives after we graduate.”
Sunset slightly grimaced at the thought of graduating, but she quickly shook herself as she focused on their current topic.
“Well, you seemed pretty calm despite all of that,” Sunset said.
Twilight chuckled again. “Yeah, I know I’m probably the last person you expect to be calm from this without having a panic attack. And to tell you the truth… I would have a long time ago. But the only thing that truly keeps me sane and comfort… is having you and our friends by my side.” She gave Sunset her warm smile. “Just the fact that we’re all in this together, makes me feel like we can overcome anything.”
Sunset smiled back at Twilight warmly, feeling the same way. Her smile was then wiped away when her conversation with Rainbow Dash earlier came to mind.
“May I ask you something Twilight?” Sunset asked.
Twilight tilted her head at her friend’s sudden mood. “Uh, sure. What is it, Sunset?”
Sunset sighed. “What are your thoughts about Sonic?”
“About Sonic?” Twilight blinked before she tapped her chin in thought. “Well… I thought he was a strange creature, a bit childish, and so very energetic that he even makes Pinkie Pie run for her money. However… he’s also very curious and loves to learn everything about the world, funny and friendly too. And he doesn’t seem like the type to harm anybody. While we still don’t know much about him, he seems like a decent person– I mean, hedgehog.”
“And would you be friends with him?” Sunset questioned. Before Twilight could replay, Sunset quickly clarified. “I mean without getting chased by the government and knowing that he… watched us, would you want to be friends with him?”
Twilight blinked in confusion. “Where does this come from, Sunset?”
Sunset sighed and crossed her arms, appeared to be torn. “After I argued with Rainbow Dash, I couldn't help but think… 'what if my friendship with Sonic is not real'? The main reason I decided to start over and become a better person was that his letter encouraged me to not give up. And after meeting him for the first time, I…"
Sunset looked up when she felt Twilight gently grasped both her shoulders with a gentle look.
"That you are unsure if he is the same guy you know?" Twilight summarized. "And you're not sure of what else you don't know about him, to the point that you wanted to find out more about him... but scared to learn the possibility that your friendship with him turned out to be a lie?"
With a look of shame, Sunset nodded, confirming Twilight’s summary.
Twilight had a look of understanding. "I get it Sunset. You've been talking to him for so long through your letters, that you think that you get to know everything about him. But after you met him in person, he wasn't exactly how you imagined him to be."
"That's an understatement," Sunset muttered. "Thanks to that and Rainbow’s words… I'm not even sure what to think! I wanted to believe he is that same per– hedgehog who helped me in the past, but I couldn’t help but think if he did that as some sort of secret agenda involving us."
Sunset then sighed heavily. "Not that I'm any better. I was on board with Pinkie’s camping idea so that he'll warm up to us… but in truth, I did that as my chance for me to find out the truth about him while his guard was lowered… rather than trying to befriend him." She looked up at Twilight with a look of guilt. "Was that bad of me?"
"While I disapproved of your idea for deceiving him like that,” Twilight said sternly, but gently. “But at the same time, I don't blame you for wanting to know if his actions were sincere. However, worrying and stringing him along isn’t going to solve anything."
Seeing Sunset's uncertain look, Twilight sighed, knowing what she’ll say next, won’t be easy for her friend to hear. "I really think you should just go talk to him about this matter instead of keep dancing around the bush. In other words: Rip the band-aid right out."
Sunset’s eyes widened at the suggestion, shaking her head. “But I… I don’t think I can! What if he–”
Twilight gently tightens Sunset’s shoulders assuringly but has a firm look. “Sunset, this whole thing with Sonic is obviously affecting you. You need to get this sorted with him right now, especially at a time like this. We need all of our heads together to get out of this mess, including you Sunset! And I’m not saying this just for our sake, I’m also saying this for your sake… as your friend.”
“But... I don’t know how I’ll handle it if this turned out to be a huge lie,” Sunset confessed with a sniff, eyes glazed from her unshed tears. “I’ve been burned so many times in my life… I don’t want to get burned by this!”
Twilight frowned, concerned for her friend. “Why is Sonic such a big deal to you Sunset? Is there something you’re not telling us?”
Sunset felt a pit in her stomach. There was a reason why Sonic is a big deal to her, and it also linked to her friends. This also relates to her future once they graduate from CHS. Not to mention, the lowest point of her life. She didn't want to talk about it, let alone telling this to her friend. But out of all the girls, Sunset is very close and trusted Twilight the most. Even if she didn't say anything, Twilight is smart enough to see through her lie, so she might as well come clean.
Even if it hurts.
And so, Sunset laid it all out, not leaving out a single detail. The more time Sunset spoke, the more shocked Twilight was by the minute. By the time she was finished, there was a heavy silence between the two of them. She noticed that Twilight appeared to be stunned, but also very upset, and strangely, guilt.
“I… I had no idea,” Twilight uttered.
Sunset bowed her head, feeling ashamed. “I’m so sorry Twilight. I never meant to–”
Sunset's words were cut off when Twilight brought her into a warm hug and held her tightly.
Twilight shook her head. “No. Don’t you ever be sorry for how you feel and your thoughts. It’s completely understandable. I would’ve felt the same way if I’m in your shoes.”
Sunset sniffed as she hugged her friend back. “Thank you,” she croaked, tears leaking out from her eyes. She shook her head. “I’m supposed to be the strong one, and yet... I’m being a total wreck right now.”
“You don’t always have to be the strong one Sunset,” Twilight soothed. “Everyone has their moments. Believe me, I know.”
Twilight broke their hug and stared gently into Sunset’s eyes. “May I tell you a secret?”
With a sniff, Sunset nodded.
Twilight sighed. “There was a time… when I doubted my friendship with you girls,” Twilight confessed, much to Sunset’s shock. “When you girls took me in immediately after the Friendship Games, at one point I thought the reasons why you befriended me was so you all could keep an eye on me so that I won't make the same mistake again, or it was because… I reminded you girls of the Princess and assumed that I act just like her.”
Sunset shook her head rapidly, horrified by what she heard. “That’s not true Twilight! None of those reasons are true!” Her expression then grimaced. “Yes, you look a lot like Princess Twilight and almost have the same quirks as her... but you are clearly a different person! We wanted to be friends with you because of you, not the Princess! I can assure you that your friendship with us... and with me, is real!”
Twilight smiled, looking like she was about to cry herself. “I know… and I bet Sonic’s friendship with you is real too!”
Sunset blinked in confusion. “W-what?”
“Because I gave you and the girls the chance and get to know you better, I realized that not only you girls are the best friends I could ever ask for… but also that your friendships with me are genuine,” Twilight explained. “So if you gave him a chance just like I gave you a chance, then maybe you two will learn something about each other and become better friends than ever before. While we still don’t know a thing about him, I can tell just by observing him with the CMCs that he’s a good person–er… hedgehog.”
Sunset gazed at Twilight in awe by her speech, but still a bit skeptical. “And… if he turned out to be someone that he’s not?”
Twilight shrugged but smiled. “Then we’ll cross that bridge when that happens, but that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. Sometimes, we all got to take risks in life. Friendship itself can be risky, but also very rewarding and worthwhile.”
Sunset stared at her friend in wonder. For a brief moment, she felt like she was talking to the Princess of Friendship, rather than her nerdy, but a wonderful friend. Sunset shook her head in amusement.
"For someone who is always awkward and full of science, you sure are an expert about Friendship. Are you sure you're not Princess Twilight I was talking to?" she teased.
“Hey, just because I’m an expert at science, that doesn’t mean that I can't be an expert on Friendship too!” Twilight retorted, but also had a teasing smile. “Besides, I learned from the best!”
For the first time of the night, Sunset genuinely smiled. “Thanks, Twilight.”
Twilight smiled back. “Anytime, Sunset.”
Sunset rubbed the back of her neck with a meek look. "Oh, and uh… if it's not too much trouble, can we please keep... 'that part' a secret between us… at least for now. I'm… not ready to share that with the girls yet."
"Of course Sunset," Twilight nodded. "But if you ask me, I'm sure the others will understand if you tell them how you told me."
"Will they?" Sunset inquired with a meek look.
Twilight nodded. "Positive." She then furrowed her brow. "When are you going to tell them?"
Sunset sighed. "Well, I–"
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to shake violently, nearly throwing the two girls off balance. They quickly kneeled as the ground continued to shake.
"Wha– what was that!?" Sunset exclaimed.
"I-I don't know?" said Twilight, freaking out by the event. "Are we having an earthquake?"
The two then heard many muffled screaming coming from their friends. They turned towards the shaking tour bus where their friends are, no doubt that they were rudely woken up due to the quake. As Twilight stared at the bus in concern, Sunset noticed that both hers and Twilight's geodes were growing rapidly.
Our geodes are glowing? Sunset thought in confusion as she lightly grasped her necklace. Why are they–
When the ground started shaking again, she sensed a huge amount of her magic being pulled from her geode towards the direction of the woods, as if they’re trying to tell her something.
The woods? Why would it be reacting towards–
Suddenly, her eyes widened when she put two and two together, as well as figuring out who was responsible for this earthquake.
No… she wouldn’t!
With no time to spare, Sunset immediately stood up and ran towards the direction of the woods, ignoring the shakiness below her. Twilight noticed her friend’s actions and called out to her.
"Sunset! Where are you going?" she shouted.
But Sunset never replied as she disappeared into the woods through the trees.
Rainbow Dash huffed and puffed as she continued to run across the field, trying to catch up on Sonic. Even with the added boost of her magic, she was still struggling to keep up with him, but she refused to give up and admit defeat. Eventually, she spotted a familiar cloud of dust up ahead, caused by a certain blue creature.
There you are!
With a determined glare, Rainbow Dash pushed forwards, gaining towards the dust cloud. She wanted nothing more than to see his smirk wipe off of his face when he saw her running past him with her own magic before heading towards her victory. Just as she was getting closer, she noticed the dust cloud was slowly getting smaller and thinner, revealing more of the blue hedgehog. Rainbow was eyeing at the sight in slight confusion at first, but as soon as the cloud completely disappeared and got a clear image of her opponent, Rainbow Dash widened her eyes in shock.
W-what the!?
She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Sonic, who was looking back at her, had his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face. But what shocked her the most, was that he was running backward like it was nothing. And he wasn’t even breaking a sweat.
“Hey Skittles, nice accessories!” he said playfully. “Where’d you get ‘em, Party Town?”
Rainbow Dash just stared back at him with a bewildered expression. He's… he's playing with me! He's been messing with me from the start! Rainbow thought as she growled furiously.
Even with her magic boost, it was still not enough to beat that creature. Worse of all, they’re less than a quarter away from the finish line. She was going to lose at this rate, but Rainbow Dash has one last trick up her sleeve.
I didn’t think I had to do this, but I have no choice but to use my 'secret weapon’! Rainbow narrowed her eyes and clenched her teeth angrily. There's no way I'll have anybody, let alone a hedgehog… faster than me… in my world!
In desperation and determination, Rainbow Dash gripped tightly around her geode and tapped more into her magic. She remembered the time they had their slumber party with Princess Twilight during the Battle of the Bands event and was intently inspired by all her stories about the things her pony self had accomplished. Ever since then and after she retrieved her geode, she trained herself in secret to perfect this new move for quite some time, but she never had a chance to properly test it. But because of the current stake she was in, she didn’t have a choice.
As more of her magic was channeling into her system, Rainbow Dash was putting more focus into her legs and wings in hopes that this new move will work.
“Please work, please work, please work…” Rainbow chanted quietly in her desperate tone.
Soon, both her legs and wings began to glow. Her wings grew slightly bigger, extending further from her back, while her legs were moving a bit faster. Rainbow felt a bit of resistance from the air barrier in front of her, but she shut her eyes and pushed further. The air barrier became more solid and noticeable in front of her, electric sparks danced all around her. The barrier slowly wrapped itself around Rainbow’s body with the front part of the barrier becoming more like an arrow with faded rainbow colors around the edges. Rainbow pushed further and further with the barrier and became narrower and brighter by the second.
And then, with a loud "BOOM", Rainbow Dash shot forward, leaving a huge trail of rainbow behind her and a rainbow wave up into the sky.
Sunset ran as her life depends on it. She was desperately lost within the woods, not sure where to go due to the semi-darkness, and the trees all looked the same to her. If it weren’t for the moonlight, she would have a much harder time navigating through the woods. But even so, she doesn’t know where to find her friend or where to look. As much trouble Rainbow is in, Sunset was mostly worried for her safety.
Suddenly, Sunset heard a loud ‘boom', causing her to halt in her tracks.
“W-what’s going on!?” Sunset exclaimed loudly.
Sunset looked up in the sky just in time to see a very powerful rainbow wave in the sky, causing nearby trees to shake violently due to the vibrations from the wave. Sunset widening her eyes in horror.
“...Oh no!” Sunset exclaimed.
Alarmed and worried for her friend now more than ever, Sunset ran towards the direction of the rainbow wave through the trees where the plains are located.
Tempest Shadow has been driving on a highway for several hours now. After she repaired her arm, she refused to make any more stops unless it's for gas, until she located those fugitive teens. Unfortunately for her, her search remained fruitless, most likely that they are well ahead by now after their getaway. In hindsight, using her partner’s junk of a car probably wasn’t the best choice for chasing after a bus, but she doesn’t have any other options. She refused to quit, and she refused to let her Commander down.
Suddenly, she heard a loud "boom", causing her whole car to shake. Tempest immediately slammed the breaks and checked out in alarm.
"Wha– what the heck was that!?" she loudly exclaimed.
The shakiness of her car and the road subsided shortly afterward. She assumed it was a sudden earthquake until she spotted something strange and out of place right up in the sky.
"Is that… a rainbow wave?" she muttered.
She thought she was seeing things due to fatigue from hours of driving. But lull and behold, there was a multicolored wave right up in the sky, despite that it was nighttime. Something like that shouldn't be possible.
Then, her mind clicked. There was only one possibility of what could've caused this strange phenomenon, and there was no doubt that her hunch was right.
Determined and with a new destination in mind, Tempest went back to her seat, turned on the engine of her car again, and drove towards the direction of the rainbow wave.
Like a locomotive, Rainbow Dash zoomed across the field, faster than she was before. Rainbow’s hair was flowing right behind her like a wavy banner and her wings were flapping rapidly like a motor of a jet. She let out a huge grin on her face, enjoying this exhilaration of being the fastest human being on the planet and soon to be the fastest being in the universe.
Within seconds, she was closing in on the blue hedgehog, who had a look of surprise on his face. In the last second, Sonic quickly side-stepped out of the way before Rainbow could barrel right into him. Rainbow glanced right behind her with a smirk as she spotted Sonic, who was now far behind her.
"Eat my dust hedgehog!" she shouted as she continued to run ahead, leaving Sonic many miles behind her.
Rainbow Dash grinned victoriously. At any moment now, she'll make it back to their starting point by the tree and win the race. And her opponent was way behind her and couldn't keep up with her awesome speed. There was no way she could lose now.
Hehe. There's no way he can catch up on me now! Rainbow thought with glee. The only way he could beat me now is if he goes supersonic! Ha!
Suddenly, she heard something behind her, as if it was a sound of an upcoming jet. Rainbow glanced to her left and her eyes widened. Almost in slow motion, she watched as Sonic, who had a confident smile on his face, caught up with her and ran alongside her. And before Rainbow could even blink, Sonic shot forward with a loud 'BOOM', leaving her and a trail of blue light behind him.
"No way!" Rainbow exclaimed with a shocked expression. "That's a… sonic boom! He's… he's faster than the speed of sound!"
She grits her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, both out of anger and grief. This wasn't fair. She was supposed to win. She was supposed to be the best. She was supposed to be the fastest. She was supposed to knock that hedgehog down a peg and finally get him to leave, away from her and her friends for good. But no... she lost. Despite all the magic she has available, she couldn’t even beat that one, annoying, blue loudmouth hedgehog.
What would "he" think of her now?
"Rainbow Dash, watch out!"
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes at the sound of her rival's voice and her eyes widened.
She barely noticed Sonic, who just stood from the sideline for some reason, but was overshadowed from the site ahead of her. She was heading right towards the cliff. She was so busy feeling sorry for herself, she barely paid attention to make one last turn towards the direction of the tree and she was approaching the cliff fast.
Rainbow Dash tried to turn around, heck, she tried to stop running, but she kept going straight and her legs refused to stop, panicking the prismatic-haired teen even more. Even her wings refused to cooperate since it was too busy flapping rapidly for the sake of picking up speed.
“No no no no no!” Rainbow Dash cried, desperately trying to grab her legs to get them to stop. “Stop stop stop! Please stop!”
She watched in horror as she was getting a lot closer to the edge of the cliff and towards her doom. She didn’t want to end this way. Her friends are way too far away to help her. There was still so much more she wanted to do, including fulfilling her dream.
And to fulfill her promise.
Tears trailed down her cheeks as she shut her eyes shut.
“Help me!” she screamed, even though she knew it was pointless.
Just as she was close to the ledge, she suddenly felt somebody grab her hand and pulled her backward at the last second.
“I got you!”
Rainbow Dash opened her eyes, surprised that someone stopped her, despite her legs were still running in place, creating a huge mark on the ground beneath her. Rainbow Dash turned her head towards her savior and her eyes widened in shock to see it was none other than Sonic, who appeared to be struggling. He held onto her left hand with his, while his other hand was holding on to a different tree branch behind him, refusing to let go. He even went as far as to run backward in the attempt to keep themselves away from the cliff.
“J-just hang on!” Sonic shouted, gritting his teeth as he ignored the pain of his joints being stretched.
“W-why? Why are you helping me?” Rainbow cried.
“B-because… I refuse… t-to leave anyone… h-hanging,” Sonic answered, still struggling on his hold. “N-not... again!”
Sweat was pouring down his head as he sped up his legs, trying to pull themselves back into safety. While he managed to pull Rainbow Dash back somewhat, unfortunately, that didn’t make much progress. Pain shot through both of their arms as they continued to stretch each other, desperately trying not to let go. To make things worse, unbeknownst to them, the tree branch that Sonic was holding onto was slowly starting to crack due to too much tension.
Rainbow grit her teeth tightly, trying not to scream in pain. Of all times I wanted to stop running... but my magic is out of control! I shouldn’t have tapped into my geode too–
Rainbow Dash widened her eyes in realization. My geode! That’s it!
Rainbow quickly brought her other arm behind her neck, fiddling with the cord on her necklace until she found the clip. She had a bit of difficulty trying to disconnect it with one hand, while her whole body was vibrating on top of that. Sonic meanwhile, was starting to lose his grip on both the tree and Rainbow’s hand, but he refused to let go, not knowing that the tree branch was halfway split from the base of the tree.
Rainbow Dash eventually took her necklace off of her neck and as an added measure, she tossed her necklace aside in hopes that her magic disconnected from her quicker. However, just as she threw her necklace, the tree branch Sonic was holding on broke off completely. With loud screams, both Rainbow and Sonic zoomed forward and went off the cliff, which was when Rainbow Dash conveniently powered down as her wings disappeared and both her hair and ears went back to normal.
“Oh, come on!” Rainbow exclaimed, before screaming as she descended from the cliff.
Reacting quickly, Sonic grabbed her hand again with her left hand and then grabbed the edge of the cliff with her right hand, keeping themselves from falling. Unfortunately, he was unable to bring themselves up because Rainbow’s weight made things difficult for them.
“Jeez Skittles… how much do you weigh?” Sonic grunted. “Ever thought of going on a diet?”
“Hey! Less complaining about my weight, and more trying to get us up!” Rainbow retorted desperately.
“I’m trying!” Sonic shouted, trying to keep himself from slipping.
Just when they’re losing any hope to survive, a voice called out to them.
“Sonic? Rainbow Dash? Is that you?”
Relief filled in their eyes when they heard a Sunset’s voice from above them.
“Sunset! We’re down here! Help us!” Rainbow screamed.
Sonic managed to glimpse above the ledge to see Sunset, who had a look of horror on her face.
“Oh my gosh! Hang on!” Sunset exclaimed before running towards them.
“Obviously!” Sonic retorted, grunting as he felt his fingers were about to give out.
Sunset ran towards the ledge as quickly as she could to help Sonic and Rainbow Dash before they fell. But by the time Sunset reached them, Sonic couldn't hold on the edge anymore as his fingers finally gave out, falling towards their doom.
“No!” Sunset screamed.
In a state of panic, Sunset quickly reached over and grabbed Sonic’s arm. Unbeknownst to her, Rainbow’s geode, which laid a few feet away from Sunset, glowed intensely, causing her own geode to glow as well. As soon as Sunset touched Sonic's arm, her eyes suddenly glowed white, temporarily disconnecting her sense of awareness. A few seconds later, Sunset’s eyes went back to normal, but her expression appeared to be in distress as if she discovered something she was not supposed to.
Sonic… is this what your life was like?
“Sunset! What are ya waiting for!?” Rainbow shouted, unaware of what happened to Sunset.
“Yeah, pull us up, Equestria Girl!” Sonic exclaimed, who also had no clue above him.
Sunset quickly shook her newly discovered thoughts and put her focus on saving them. With all of her strength, Sunset pulled them both up with two arms until they were safely out of the pit and far from the ledge. Relieved that they’re safe, Sunset sat on the ground, catching her breath with her hair covering her eyes while Rainbow and Sonic lied on the ground, recovering from their near-death experience.
“Whew, that was close!” Sonic wheezed. “A few seconds longer and I would’ve become a hedgehog pancake!”
“You... and me... both,” Rainbow croaked, huffing and puffing in between words.
Rainbow then glanced from the corner of her eye to see her geode necklace on the grass near her. With her exhaustion forgotten, Rainbow reached over and picked up her geode. She was relieved that it wasn’t broken but frowned when she noticed that her stone looked dimmer than usual. She turned to face the blue creature with a scowl.
“This is all your fault hedgehog!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
Sonic sat up with an indignant expression. “My fault!?” Sonic shouted, offended with Rainbow’s accusation. “Was that the thanks I get for saving you? Besides, if you had simply turned left before the cliff, we wouldn’t even be in this situation!”
“I wasn’t able to!” Rainbow argued. “My newest move only allowed me to go straight! I wasn’t able to control it!”
“Oh, was that your new move? That pretty little rainbow wave in the sky? I thought you were performing a stunt show. No wonder I was able to outrun you!” Sonic mocked, angering Rainbow more. Sonic then narrowed his eyes. “If you can’t even control your move, what makes you think you can beat me?”
“Hey, I have to!” Rainbow yelled, walking up to Sonic. “You were way ahead of me, so I have to kick up the ante!”
“Well, too bad for you, I beat you anyway!” Sonic retorted smugly as he crossed his arms. “So I win!”
“That race didn’t count!” Rainbow bellowed angrily, jabbing her finger at Sonic’s chest. “You cheated with that tornado of yours!”
“You cheated too Miss ‘hit-me-in-the-face-with-a-tree-branch’!” Sonic countered, who was just as angry.
Both angry parties pressed their faces close to each other again with fire in their eyes.
“You want another go, rodent?”
“I like to see you try, Skittles!”
“Oh, that’s it! I’m gonna–”
“Enough!”
Both Rainbow Dash and Sonic immediately stopped bickering and turned towards Sunset, who just stood up and her hair still covering her eyes. During their argument, they had completely forgotten that Sunset was there with them. While they couldn’t tell what Sunset was feeling with most of her face obscured, but her voice, however, Sunset didn’t sound too happy with them.
“S-Sunset,” Rainbow stammered, feeling worried after seeing her friend’s state. “What’s–”
“What is wrong with you two?!” Sunset screamed, causing the two of them to flinch back. “You both nearly tore this land apart, causing our magic to go haywire and nearly died by hanging over a cliff, and all you two fight about was this stupid race!? Do you have any idea how scared I was, thinking I couldn’t save you two on time!? Don’t any of you care!?”
Sonic craned his head downwards, ashamed of himself for getting himself carried away, and made Equestria Girl worried. Rainbow Dash also felt guilty for making her friend upset and didn’t mean to cause any trouble. Not sure what to say, she tried to apologize.
“Sunset… we’re–”
“You!” Sunset roared, turning her attention towards Rainbow Dash with her nose flared up and her eyes full of rage, scaring the athlete teen in the process. “What you did with our magic was irresponsible! We’re supposed to be using our magic in moderation or in case of emergencies. But instead, you just waste it on something so stupid and trivial! Now we are defenseless without it until our magic recharges… all while the government is still hunting us down! What do you have to say for yourself!?”
“…he started it,” Rainbow argued meekly, pointing at the blue hedgehog in question.
Sonic rolled his eyes at Rainbow’s weak argument. “Liar!”
“I don’t want to hear any of your excuses!” Sunset shouted before another fight broke out. “I want you two to go back to our camp this instant!”
“What?” They both shouted, shocks and disbeliefs were all over their faces.
“B-but what about our race?” Rainbow cried indignantly. “We didn’t even settle who–”
“I don't care!” Sunset screamed, having enough of Rainbow’s childish antics. “You can call your stupid race a draw! Now march back to camp!”
“But–”
"Now!"
Defeated, both Rainbow and Sonic slowly marched back towards camp, all while slumping their shoulders as if they just got scolded by their parent. As they continued to head towards the camp, Sunset let out a shaky sigh, bowing down and hidden her eyes in her bangs again. She felt very angry– no, furious at Rainbow Dash for her reckless action involving her magic just to settle about something so pointless. Sunset was also mad at Sonic for also going along with this race, however, her anger was overshadowed by her two other emotions.
Pity… and guilt.
Because of the magic mishap, Sunset unintentionally sees through most of Sonic’s memories. She saw all those times he was forced to flee with some owl creature named “Longclaw” by others who wanted to use his power… despite that he was only a child. She saw that one crucial memory of his when he came to their world for the first time… only to leave that same owl creature, who was like a mother to him behind, fending off against his pursuers. She saw everything in his life all those years in this world: living in a dark cave for him to sleep and avoid bad weather, picking up any scraps he could find for food, even if he had to steal some to survive, keeping himself hidden out of fear and uncertainty to avoid getting captured. But what really breaks her heart was that one emotion she felt from him in almost each one of his memories.
Loneliness… and desire to have a friend.
It was why he’s been spying on her and her friends. It was why he was being so nice to her in his letters after the Fall Formel. He knew what it was like to be alone and he knew her friends are really good people just by observing them over the years. Since he couldn’t befriend them due to circumstances, the best thing he could do was by helping her since Sunset needed friends more so than him at the time. And when she responded back to him with her letter, thanking him for the advice, he was overjoyed from it and decided to keep talking to her through their letters, even though he knew from the back of his mind that they could never meet… until now.
While Sunset felt touched and happy for his kind and generous gesture to help lead her to the right path, guilt overrides those emotions because she pretty much invaded Sonic’s private memories without his consent. She didn’t know how she was going to explain that to him, let alone even look at him after what she had done and learn everything about him.
Tears began to leak from her eyes. She barely kept herself together as she only allowed a small number of tears to flow down her cheeks. Shortly after that, the dam finally breaks, and Sunset wasn’t able to control her emotions anymore. She placed her palm over her lips and she let out a quiet sob.
“Sonic… I'm sorry,” Sunset wept, both out of sorrow and guilt for the poor creature. “I'm so, so… sorry!”
Poor Sunset! 
What will she do now after she accidentally sees through Sonic's memory? Will Sonic and Rainbow Dash resolve their differences? What's going to happen next?
I can tell you all one thing, there will be major consequences after that race between Sonic and Rainbow Dash... and I'm not talking about just those two! 
On a lighter note, here are some notes and references:
There were many moments throughout their race was a major callback to episode one of Sonic X, Chaos Control Freaks when Sonic raced against Sam Speed for the first time. Including:
1) Sonic running backward at one point of the race, toying Rainbow Dash as he did with Sam and his team.
2) Rainbow's monologue about not want anyone to be faster than her, which is similar to Sam's.
3) Sonic easily ran past Rainbow Dash with a 'sonic boom' as to how he ran past Sam.
Rainbow's memory of having a slumber party with her friends including Princess Twilight was a callback to that scene from the EqG second movie, Rainbow Rocks.
Rainbow Dash performing her 'secret weapon' for the first time, which is the human Rainbow Dash take on "Sonic Rainboom", was a callback to that same moment to the pony Rainbow Dash from Season One episode of MLP:FiM, Sonic Rainboom.
Rainbow's quick thinking to toss her geode away to power herself down was a callback to EqG Music Video, Cheer You On when Sunset temporarily lost her powers after her geode necklace fallen off of her.
Sonic's "Obviously" response to Sunset as he was hanging over the cliff was a callback to Rarity's same response to Rainbow Dash during the climax of the third EqG movie, Friendship Games as she was keeping herself from falling into Midnight Sparkle's portal to Equestria.
See you all next week for the next chapter!
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That was an Excellent chapter and I feel so bad for sunset and she even use her magic to see sonic memories and saw everything happen to sonic and she felt really sorry for him
Fun chapter! :D
The talk with Sunset and Twilight was very sweet and comforting, I really enjoyed that. :) And daaang, both Sonic and Rainbow both got carried away, and both were clearly at fault no matter who they say was really the one that started it and both of them deserved Sunset's scolding for their stunt. And Sunset's seen Sonic past without the hedgehog's consent, that's another layer of complication there!
The references were fun, too, and I hope the group can handle Tempest coming on!
But I honestly think Sonic would've easily won the race. ;)
I don't know what I should worry about ...
If in Sunset and Sonic...
Or in Tempest that approaches the place.
What do you say?
...
...Wait...
You wouldn't...
...You did. Excellent Sonic X reference.
Bravo, my dude, bravo. One of the better scenes from Sonic X, imho.
Oh, rats.
Once more, an excellent job on the exchanges, characterizations, action and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Definitely adored Sunset and Twilight's chat concerning not just Sonic, but also when Twilight started becoming friends with the group. And, yeah, Rainbow and Sonic really messed things up with that race (which they were both equally at fault). And now Tempest has a real clue where they are (and if SHE does, Robotnik probably isn't going to be far behind, if behind at all) . I don't blame Sunset for being so angry with both Sonic AND Rainbow OR for feeling so guilty for seeing Sonic's memories without his permission. Yeah, it IS going to take a while for this mess to clear up.
Definitely going to be looking forward to more of this.
Well, things have literally gone off the deep end!
I shudder to imagine the irate looks those two will get back at camp,
On the plus side, I truly think Sonic's friendship with Sunset is as real as Equestria is!
10904704
Both are to worry
Man I have a feeling the next chapter Tempest founds them and a chase scene. But the Rainbooms will argue with Sonic and Rainbow Dash for their reckless race that puts them in danger.
I don’t know but I having a feeling with an argument, Rainbow lashed out and ends her friendship with Sunset and her friends. And their magic will diminish without her making much worst.
But that just my guess, it’s your story to decide.
Wow! that went different than I thought. Hope this puts a cork in Rainbow's attitude. Also, sorry to Sunset
Finally, Sunset knows the truth, even if it isn't what she had in mind. But she realized her friendship with him is real after all.
And really Rainbow, you endangered your friends over something stupid, and not to mention he saved your life and you still act stupid and and stubborn to suit your own ego.
But I hope he gets a chance to tell them.
I liked the references to the very first episode of Sonic X. Sunset really lost her temper with those two though.
I like how the sonic rainboom works as a reference to the mlp movie as well. Since like the movie Tempest sees it and uses it to find the heroes.
And there's the Rainboom that alerts the baddies. Called it!
10877801
Are they referring to Sunset ruling Equestria with Twilight.
I don't feel bad for Sonic or Dash, they are both idiots.
no!!! she cant be that stupid!
YOU ARE SO DUMB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sonic and RD are so dumb
lol
She's right. We all have our weaknesses.
Indeed.
Did she just do a sonic rainboom!?!?
Something tells me we're gonna have a repeat of what happened in the 2017 MLB movie!
Winning isn't everything Dash!
And just when I thought they were done with it.
I can feel an eye twitch over this.
Fall Formal.*