Dawn of the Storm

by Real Solaris

A New Arrival (Reenergized)

Ponyville, for the most part, is a quiet town nestled in the heart of Equestria. Except on Tuesdays. Tuesdays are essentially chaos made into a day of the week in Ponyville, and it's usually the result of either the CMC trying to help someone get their Cutie Mark, Twilight freaking out over something again, Eggman attacking, or one Spirit of Chaos doing what he does best, which usually ends with widespread property damage.

So it's a little weird when the town is attacked by purple lightning clouds that create towers wherever hot pink lightning strikes, which in turn creates Storm Creatures from the late Storm King’s army.

On a Wednesday.

---

Snapping twigs echo around the trees and foliage of the Everfree forest as something charges through it. A figure crashes through some bushes, making sure to dodge low-hanging tree branches and jump over roots.

“C’mon, c’mon! If I don’t get there before those clouds do, Ponyville won’t last long, even with them defending the town!”

Seeing the trees ahead to be more tightly packed than before, the figure reaches behind his back, grabs the handle of a blue bat, and swings it down on the branches blocking his way. The bat changes shape, the hilt glowing green as a blade emerges from the front of the weapon, letting it slice through the thicker branches like warm butter. Looking through the thicket, the figure sees the forest's edge and puts on an extra burst of speed. With a grunt, he bursts out of the woods, leaving a small trail of leaves behind him.

Coming to a stop, the cloaked figure pants slightly as he looks around, attempting to find his bearings. He finds himself on a hill above a dirt intersection. Tracing it away from the forest, he spots the outskirts of Ponyville a few miles away. Looking closer, he’s shocked to see plumes of smoke rising from the town, magenta lasers slicing through the sky, and a purple mass of clouds hanging by the outskirts of the town.

“Aw, ponyfeathers, they’re already here?!” He exclaims, gripping his weapon tightly. “I hope I got here in time to help,” Taking a deep breath, he exhales heavily before sliding down the hill to the path. Reaching the bottom, he runs full tilt towards the town, to what he can only imagine is chaos and destruction.

---

Screams echo around the buildings of Ponyville as ponies and Mobians, young and old, try to find someplace to hide from the Storm Creatures. One such creature is chasing an orange Pegasus filly, her tiny wings buzzing at her side to propel herself forward. Her purple mane gets in her face, and she trips over her hooves. She tumbles to the ground and looks back in horror as the creature gains on her.

“Rainbow, help me!” She screams, curling into a ball and waiting for the inevitable.

“YO, FURBALL!”

The Storm Creature stops in its tracks and, upon looking around, spots a blue ball of spikes making a beeline for it. The Storm Creature can only accept its fate, and the ball of spikes slams square in its face. The impact sends it flying into a cabbage cart, crushing much of its contents and sending the survivors flying. The Storm Creature twitches momentarily before it fades away in a cloud of purple mist. The ball uncurls, revealing a blue hedgehog standing on two feet, wearing white gloves with a gold ring on his right ring finger, a thundercloud with a lighting bolt etched into the band. On his left wrist is a silver bracelet, designs engraved into the precious metal, a green orb holding the two ends together. He wears red shoes with white fasteners, gold buckles holding them tightly to his feet.

“HA!” He laughs, folding his arms across his chest. “That’ll teach you not to mess with fillies!” Turning around, he smirks at the filly, giving her a two-finger salute. “Hey, Scoots! You alright?”

“Yeah, thanks to you, Sonic,” Scootaloo breathes a sigh of relief. Getting to her hooves, she shakes her mane and coat free of dust.

“Alright then, let’s get you down to Twilight’s castle,” He grins, pulling her to her hooves. He dusts her shoulder off, then ruffles her mane. “Your aunts are probably worried about you.”

“HEY, SONIC!” Another voice draws this and Scootaloo’s attention to the sky, where a cyan blue Pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail hovers down to them. Light reflecting off the golden band just above her fetlock draws their attention to the simplified picture of Sonic’s face etched into the gold. Landing, Rainbow Dash pecks Sonic’s cheek before ruffling Scootaloo’s mane. “Hey there, Scoots! What’re you doing out here? Shouldn’t you be with the rest of the CMC?”

“Hey, Rainbow!” She giggles, hugging her idol. Dash pulls her in for a winghug, which Scootaloo tries to reciprocate, but her tiny wings can’t do much. “I don’t know where Applebloom or Sweetie Belle went when the attack started. We got separated almost immediately by one of those weird towers popping up out of nowhere.”

“One of those dudes was chasing her,” Sonic adds, stretching his hamstrings. “I was about to take her to Twi’s castle where the rest of Ponyville should be. Something up, Dash?”

“Nah, I was just looking for you,” She says, shaking her head. “Twilight and the girls need your help. I don’t know where her husband ran off to, but I’m sure he’s around here somewhere.”

“If I had to guess, he’s probably making sure nopony’s been left behind and getting them to safety,” Right as he says that, a blur of blue electricity boosts past them, whisking Scootaloo with it. Sonic smirks, jabbing a thumb at the blue streak heading toward Castle Friendship. “And I was right. Always getting others out of harm’s way before dealing with the problem.”

“It’s who he is,” Dash chuckles, taking flight. A cocky grin appears on her face, and she crosses her hooves across her chest. “Now come on, let’s see if you can’t beat my fifty-four combo!”

“Oh, it is on!” Sonic grins, accepting the challenge his wife gave him. Revving his feet, he boosts deeper into the town. “I’ll break that record faster than you can say, ‘chilidogs’!”

“We’ll see about that, Blue!”

---

In the courtyard near the Town Hall, five mares stand back to back in a circle, surrounded by Storm Creatures. One rushes at the group, claws extended from its paws and ready to rend into the ponies’ flesh. The lavender alicorn sees this, quickly knocking it back with a bolt of magenta magic, knocking it back into two of its companions. The impact destroys them, but four more take their place.

“My, these rapscallions are stubborn, aren’t they?” The unicorn says, firing a bolt of light-blue magic, vaporizing another one. “They never seem to end!”

“Ya got that right, Rarity,” The orange Earth pony agrees. She gallops toward a group of Storm Creatures and jumps. She slams her back hooves into the ground, creating an orange shockwave that destroys them. “They just keep comin’ and comin’! What is up with that?!”

“I don’t know, Applejack,” Twilight replies, blasting a trio of Storm Creatures, destroying them. “It’s great that they’re easy to take out, but if this keeps up, we’ll get overrun.”

“Well, as long as those towers don’t do anything else, we should be fine!” Chirps the bubblegum pink Earth pony. “OOH, maybe I could use them as a disco ball for a party later!” Pulling a party cannon out of her tail (somehow), Pinkie Pie fires it with a deafening *BOOM*, covering one unfortunate soul with a mix of confetti, taffy, and cake batter. It stumbles backward, struggling to remove the incredibly sticky candy cake batter from its face, but its paws stick to it, making it impossible to do anything.

“Maybe we should worry about what’s happening now and not that, Pinkie,” Whimpers the cream butter pegasus, shaking like a leaf in the wind as she crouches behind Twilight. “We have our hooves tied at the moment, and - EEP!”

A Storm Creature swipes at her, causing her to backpedal into Twilight, startling her into firing another bolt. This one misses its target, soaring above the Storm Creature’s head. It looks behind it in bewilderment, wondering why Twilight had missed. It watches the bolt bounce off the flagpole of the Town Hall and ricochet off a window, then zip across the courtyard to another window, then fly toward a bipedal figure standing on the roof.

His blue hair, at closer inspection, is actually tightly packed quills, just like Sonic’s, and styled upwards, with a few wayward spines in between the larger ones and one that curls above his forehead. He sports a dark navy blue scarf with a golden ring at the end and stripes of pink and purple going through the middle. His shirt is black, except for the blue edges and the symbol in the middle, which is a simplified, all-blue picture of his head, besides his face. His fingerless gloves are light gray, making it easier to see the gold ring on his right ring finger and the six-sided star placed on another etched into it. His pants are deep blue, with a stripe of lighter blue on the sides to contrast the darker color. He wears similar shoes to Sonic’s, but with two strips of white cloth fasteners instead of one, angled at the middle of the shoe, a golden buckle holding them in place.

His eyes turn the same color as the neon blue electricity that erupts from his body, and in a blur, he grabs the bolt. Letting its momentum move for him, he spins around and lets go. The magenta mana bolt zips back at the same creature it was intended for, blasting through its head and a few others behind it. They stand still for a moment before fading away into mist.

“Careful there, Twilight!” Tionic shouts to the purple alicorn, rolling his shoulder. “You nearly blew my head off with that thing!”

He jumps off the roof and curls into a ball, seemingly defying gravity as he spins in place. Charging it to the desired speed, he shoots forward and rams into a Storm Creature with a loud *SMACK*. It's sent flying back, knocking down its companions that were behind it like bowling pins before they disappear into mist.

“Tionic!” Twilight exclaims, galloping over to hug the Spark once he lands. “Sorry about that. Fluttershy bumped into me right as I released the spell."

“It’s alright,” He chuckles, booping her nose with a finger.. “Just be careful next time.”

“I will,” She rolls her eyes, giggling as she does so. “But we’ve got bigger matters to deal with right now.”

Looking around, Tionic sees that there indeed is a bigger matter right now - the continually growing horde of Storm Creatures. They’re surrounded, and with no way out but up, they don’t have the option of retreating.

“Fastball Special?” Tionic grins, glancing back at Twilight.

She grins back. “Fastball Special.”

Tionic curls into a ball again and spins in place, spinning faster and faster the longer he revs it. His powers spark to life, signaling Twilight to encase the Spark in her magical grip. With a flick of her horn, she lifts him into the air, and another flick sends him rocketing around Twilight and the girls. She guides Tionic’s spinning form around herself and her friends, clearing an area around them and giving them some breathing room. Once they have sufficient space, she switches tactics and sends Tionic flying into the crowd, blasting through them like paper. He reaches a building on the other side of the courtyard and, with help from Twilight, pulls a one-eighty to fly back through his enemies. He repeats what he did on the other side, and before long, Tionic blitzes the entire horde, leaving behind a fog of purple mist. Once the last one was destroyed, Twilight releases Tionic, and he slides to a stop in front of the girls.

They’re about to celebrate their victory when pink lightning strikes everywhere, and to their shock and confusion, nearly double the amount of Storm Creatures from before flood the courtyard.

“Are you kidding me?!” Tionic groans, slapping his hands to his face and dragging them down. “Where the buck did they just come from?!”

“That doesn’t matter right now!” Twilight growls, flaring her wings and magic. “We have to stop them!”

“Mind if we help, then?”

Blue and rainbow blurs slam into the horde, bouncing a few times before stopping in front of the Mane Six, showing Sonic and Dash with cocky smirks on their faces.

“Took you two long enough to get here!” Tionic says, gut-punching a Storm Creature and sweeping the legs out from under another one. “What took you so long?”

“Traffic was a little tight on the way here,” Sonic calls back, jumping over a swipe and landing next to Tionic. “But we’re here, aren’t we?”

Rolling his eyes, Tionic holds his right hand out, and Sonic accepts it. But instead of shaking their hands, the two spin around each other and create a Double Spindash. The two charge ahead, carving large swathes out of the horde, giving their friends and loved ones room to breathe before jumping. Reaching the pinnacle of their jump, they uncurl and drop to the ground with individual Dropkicks. The attack is devastating, cracking the ground and sending dozens of Storm Creatures flying.

But even that wasn’t enough to quell the horde. Their endless numbers prove to be tough on the Mane Eight, and thirty minutes later, they’re still outnumbered 8-1 and no closer to finishing the horde off than when they started.

“How do they keep coming?!” Dash groans, dodging and weaving between opponents, punching and kicking too fast for the naked eye. “I’ve taken well over nine hundred out, but it’s like we haven’t made a dent in their numbers!”

“I don’t know!” Twilight pants, rapid-firing attack spells like there was no tomorrow. At this rate, that may come true. “It’s like they’re endless!”

“Nah,” An unknown voice makes everyone freeze, even the Storm Creatures. Looking around, they spot a cloaked silhouette on a nearby rooftop, leaning on a blue bat. “Nothing’s truly endless. It might be hard to find…”

He jumps off the roof without warning, shocking The Mane Eight. The hilt flashes green as it morphs into a giant hammer, and he raises it above his head.

“…but everything has a limit!”

*THOOM*

The shockwave generated by the hammer blasts the entire horde off its feet, sending most multiple blocks down the road and a few flying into buildings and through roofs. The wind from the attack also kicks up a massive plume of dust into the air, obscuring the Mane Eight’s vision. Through the dirty haze, they see the silhouette of their unknown savior stand up, his giant hammer morphing back into a bat with a green flash.

“But that doesn’t mean you can make something seem endless!” He says, pulling off the cloak that hid his figure and throwing it off to the side. “You just need the dedication and grit to make it possible.”

As the dust settles, the Mane Eight get a better look at their savior and gasp. Standing before them is a creature unlike anything the group had ever seen – some do, however. His dark blond hair is swept up and over to the right, the back and sides of his head long and curled. He wears a grey hoodless jacket, the front end open to show a pure blue shirt. He also sports navy blue jeans with tight pockets, black shoes with three white stripes on the sides, and white bottoms. The human inspects his handiwork, giving off a low whistle. “Dang, I didn’t expect to do THAT much damage! Am I really that strong?”

“W-who are you?” Twilight stammers, barely able to believe her eyes. “Are you a… a human?! But that’s impossible! Any human that comes to Equestria turns into a pony!”

“Yeah, I’m human,” He nods, facing the alicorn. “Although I definitely can’t explain why-" He stops mid-sentence when he sees a certain Blue Blur.

“Wait- i-is that… S-Sonic?” He gapes, pointing a shaky finger at Sonic. His dropped jaw morphs into a massive grin, and his eyes sparkle. He looks like he’s about to explode with excitement. “Sonic THE Hedgehog? As in the fastest thing alive?!”

“The one and only,” Sonic states, flashing his trademark grin. “Though I never imagined I’d be talking to another human from the Mirror World here, of all places. How’d you get here?”

“The Mirror World?” He repeats, raising an eyebrow. He shakes his head. “No clue what that is. I’m actually from a place called Earth.”

“Wait, you mean you’re from another world?!” Twilight exclaims, her brain going into overdrive. “What?! Then that means Starswirl’s theory on the multiverse was -!“

“As much as I would love to sit down and talk about how the multiverse works, Twilight, we have more pressing matters at hand,” The human gestures to the new wave of Storm Creatures heading towards them. “Sweet Chaos, these guys are insistent on destroying you, huh?”

“Kid’s right, Twi,” Tionic says, laying a hand on her shoulder. “We’re gonna need to work on taking care of these guys before we do anything else.”

Twilight’s face scrunches up in disappointment and annoyance, but she knows her husband is right. She groans, then glares at the human. “Fine, but I want some answers later!”

“You got it, Princess!” He gives her a two-finger salute, then gestures for the Mane Eight to follow him. Leading the charge through the horde, they leave a mist trail behind them as they cleave through them.

“You see those purple towers springing up everywhere?” The human points to a nearby tower. “Those are what we need to concentrate on. They’re why they seem endless - they keep making more of these guys. Take the towers down, stop the continuous waves.”

He makes a beeline for a nearby tower that looks more worn than the others, squares and cubes of itself jutting out. With a glint in his eye and a grin on his face, the human charges towards it and jumps, raising his bat above his head. At the apex of his jump, the hilt flashes green and turns the bat into a hammer again, and he brings it down on the top of the tower with all his might.

*CRACK*

The tower cracks along the cubes and squares, pulsing as plasma violently dances across its surface. The human jumps off the tower and lands by the Mane Eight to watch it explode in a shower of lavender light and dull, purple crystals. Once the tower was destroyed, a large chunk of Storm Creatures immediately vanished.

The human chuckles as he stands back up. “And as a bonus, take out a good chunk of the horde!”

The Mane Eight stare in surprise at how easy it was to keep the horde in check. Shaking it off, they charge in with renewed vigor. Going around Ponyville, they take the towers out one by one, all while dealing with the remaining Storm Creatures. Soon, only one was left, and without its horde, it turns tail and runs for the hills.

“Oh, no, you don’t,” The human mutters. Slamming his bat into the ground, he cracks it to pull out a baseball-sized rock. Looking down the road, he aims and heaves the piece of earth into the sky. “YEET!”

The arc of the throw is massive, and though it seems like the fleeing Storm Creature was going to escape, the rock plummets back to the ground and smacks into its head, knocking it down and destroying it. The human snorts. “Fragile little bastards.”

Turning to the group, he notices that they’re in shambles. Hair, fur, and quills stick out in various places, bruises dot their bodies, and they’re all out of breath. “Is everybody alright?” He asks worriedly, eyeing some of the worse injuries. “You guys look like you took a beating out there.”

“Pfft, we’re fine,” Dash scoffs, waving it off. “Nothing a little R&R can’t fix.” The human looks at the cyan Pegasus with a raised eyebrow, taking note of the many scratches covering her body and the slight, but noticeable twitch her left wing made every so often.

“Out of everyone, you seem to be the most damaged. What were you doing out there, anyway? It almost looked like you were fighting like a crazed banshee.”

“That’s Dash for ya,” Sonic chuckles, shaking his head. “Always going headfirst into things without thinking first.”

“You do the same thing,” She fires back, glaring at him.

“…you have me there.”

Twilight rolls her eyes. “Those two aside, thank you for your help… umm…” She sheepishly chuckles, rubbing the back of her head. “I… don’t think we ever caught your name.”

“To be fair, we had more pressing matters at hand than getting to know each other,” the human laughs. “But allow me to introduce myself.”

He smiles, giving a two finger salute. “Hey there! The name’s Scott, but you can call me Real!”

Author's Note:

Tionic the Spark is my creation, so don’t try to mooch of him without my permission.

All other characters belong to their respective owners.

Comments

[Okamiluver]

Besides the hedgehog coming out of major left field... the first chapter was pretty good...