A week had passed since Rainbow had found herself in the strange world of Mobius. Although she'd gotten used to walking on two legs, she still hadn't gotten used to some of the high-tech gadgets and gizmos. And although she'd befriended most of Sonic's friends, there were certain quirks about them that reminded her of her friends back home.

For example, there was a red creature that claimed to be an echidna named Knuckles. To Rainbow, however, the crimson spiked mitten wearing creature looked nothing like an echidna. Or any kind of anteater for that matter. Nevertheless, the fact that Knuckles could argue with Rainbow over something as trivial as that strongly reminded the rainbow-maned pegasus of her friend Applejack, who had constantly competed with Rainbow Dash over who, in some form or another, was the better pony.

Before long, Rainbow was considered part of the family, something Sonic took great pleasure in, since it was nice to have another speedster around who wasn't built in a lab.

Sonic... Rainbow didn't know why, but everytime she thought of him, she felt all warm and toasty inside... Rainbow was starting to wonder if she was feeling happiness that she finally found someone who could match her speed, or if it was something more.

But, she wasn't the only one who was wondering about Sonic.

"Where is that Sonic?!" yelled Amy, who had been looking for the blue blur in the hopes of getting him to have dinner with her.

Tails, who had been listening to the pink hedgehog rant about where Sonic was for the past half hour, sighed and shook his head. "I know that Sonic's my best friend and, well, mentor, but to be honest, he'd be late for his own funeral, even with his supersonic speed," he said.

Overhearing this, Rainbow recalled what Dr. Eggman had said and approached Amy. "I'll go look for him. Just tell me where the local graveyard is," she said.

...

As it turned out, Rainbow's hunch was right. Inside the local cemetery, she found Sonic kneeling in front of one of the headstones, talking to it as though it were an actual living thing.

"... I don't know what to do, Blaze. I think I might be falling in love with her... but, at the same time, I don't want to betray your memory... I try to keep a brave face and protect everyone from Eggman, Metal Sonic, and Scourge, but the truth is, I'm hurting..." whispered Sonic, tears in his eyes.

Rainbow couldn't believe it. Sonic the Hedgehog, the speedster who she might be developing a crush on, was secretly suffering from a broken heart.

"Would I happen to know who this person you're talking about is?" asked Rainbow Dash, approaching Sonic.

Sonic jumped about a foot in the air at the sound of Rainbow's voice. "Rainbow! What are you doing here? How much did you hear?" asked the blue blur.

Rainbow smiled. "Enough," she said, coming to sit next to Sonic, where she was able to read the headstone.

Blaze the Cat

A fierce fighter, loyal friend

and lover.

2090-2014

"What's with the weird dates?" asked Rainbow.

Sonic looked Rainbow dead in the eye. "The weird dates are there because Blaze was born in the future," he said.

Rainbow's eyes narrowed at this piece of information. "The future? Seriously?" she said, sounding very skeptical.

"What, you magical ponies don't have any time machines or mystical artifacts that allow time travel?" asked Sonic.

"Oh, no we have methods to travel through time... it's just staying at that point in time that we're having difficulty with," explained Rainbow, recalling a story Twilight had told her about her attempts to evade a non-existent crisis and/or war.

"Uh-huh..." said Sonic.

"So, anyways, as you were saying?"

"Right, so, anyways, Blaze was from the future. We fought against Eggman's great-grandson, although, why anyone would fall in love with him is beyond me... and, well, as we continued to fight together... our friendship grew into something more," explained Sonic.

"I bet that Amy chick was pissed," said Rainbow with a smirk.

Sonic chuckled. "That would be an understatement," he said, before his look quickly became much more somber.

"Then... it all came crashing down..."

...

A few months earlier, we find Sonic and Blaze, who is a pink and white cat in a dark blue dress, having a picnic in a peaceful meadow, filled with plenty of trees, rocks, and, well... the things you'd usually find in a meadow. As the two lovers sat talking about their relationship, Amy being ticked at Sonic for being with Blaze, and what Silver was up to, Sonic and Blaze leaned in and began to kiss, which steadily began to grow more passionate.

That's when disaster struck.

"Hey Sonic, I'm going to head back home okay? See you tomorrow you blue devil." Blaze said with a smile and a wink. Sonic smiled and nodded before he sped off in the opposite direction. Blaze started to walk off before she felt the air turn cold. Suddenly she was surrounded by a blur of green and sick laughter. She tried summoning some fire but the oxygen was too low for it. Soon Blaze felt the air leave her lungs and she started gasping for more. None would come to her as her eyes slowly became bloodshot and soon she fell to the ground... dead. Soon the green blur stopped moving as the figure revealed itself. The being was a green version of Sonic with three scars on his chest and wearing a black leather jacket.

"Hehe. Hope you like my gift bro," Scourge said before he ran off, laughing as he made a run for it.

…

A few hours later, Sonic returned home to find Tails there waiting for him.

“Hey, buddy! How’s it hangin’?” asked Sonic, before noticing the look on his protege’s face. “What’s wrong?”

Tails sighed. “Sonic… I’m so, so sorry…”  said Tails.

Sonic tilted his head in confusion. “For what? What happened?” he asked.

In seven words, Tails took a hammer the size of Amy’s and pounded his heart into dust.

“Sonic… Blaze is dead. Scourge killed her.”

…

Rainbow looked at Sonic in horror. She and her friends had faced some pretty twisted villains before, but for somepony to just up and murder someone… not even The Mane-iac would do that.

Rainbow placed a comforting hand on Sonic’s shoulder. The blue hedgehog looked at her in the moonlight… and felt a familiar warmth starting to return.

“You know, Sonic… you’re not the only one who’s lost someone who meant a lot to you. I’m going to tell you something I’ve never told anybody before,” said Rainbow.

“And… what’s that?” asked Sonic.

Rainbow sighed before closing her eyes. “I had a big sister. Her name was Firefly. She was a rising star with the Wonderbolts. For nearly all my fillyhood, I wanted to be just like her, flying at break-neck speeds, performing aerial stunts while thousands of ponies screamed my name over and over again, all while finding the time to come home and hang out with my friends and family. Unfortunately, I wasn’t exactly the world’s greatest flyer,” she said.

“Are you kidding me? You actually managed to keep up with me! And you weren’t made in a lab nor are you an evil copy of me! How could you not be the world’s greatest flyer?” asked Sonic, surprised by this news.

“Yeah, well, that certainly wasn’t the case when I was just learning how to fly straight. Back then, my face usually made contact with the ground before my hooves did. Bullies called me ‘Rainbow Crash.’ Anyways, the only ponies who encouraged me to keep pushing myself was my family, especially Firefly. She always told me that one day, I’d fly higher than Elysium itself and prove to everypony that I was something special,” continued Rainbow, before a truly sad look crossed her face.

“Then, one day, during a training exercise… there was some kind of accident. I don’t really remember all the details, but I do know this: Firefly's wings were badly damaged and the Rescue Ponies didn’t catch her in time. Ever since then, I’ve become motivated to follow in her hoofsteps and become the next Captain of the Wonderbolts." Rainbow said with a determined look on her face.

“Rainbow… I don’t know what to say… but, I do have one question,” said Sonic.

“Which is?” asked Rainbow.

“What’s a Wonderbolt?”

Rainbow snickered a little before laughing out loud. Sonic started to chuckle as well. Something about Rainbow's laughter was just contagious... and it made him feel good.

“W-well, since you asked, the Wonderbolts are Equestria's best fliers. They perform at all sorts of events, like the Summer Sun Celebration, the Marecy's Hearth's Warming Parade, Summer Wrap-Up... the list goes on and on. Also, they're Equestria's air defense, if Equestria's at war for some reason," explained Rainbow as she regained her composure.

"Uh-huh, and assuming I don't know what those holidays are?" asked Sonic as he and Rainbow Dash stood up.

On their way back to Sonic's place, Rainbow began to explain the various major pony holidays, such as Hearth's Warming, Nightmare Night, the Running of The Leaves, Hearts and Hooves Day, and the Summer Sun Celebration. But, as Sonic pointed, the pony holidays and holidays on Mobius had some scary similarities.

"Well, for starters, Nightmare Night sounds almost exactly like Halloween, only with Halloween we say something different, we get to keep ALL the candy, and the costumes are just for fun," explained Sonic.

"Oh, really? What do Mobians say when they ask for candy on Halloween night?" asked Rainbow, her hands on her hips.

Sonic smirked. "Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat," he said.

Rainbow started laughing again. "You-you guys actually say that?" she said in between laughs.

"Well, not the 'smell my feet' part, but the rest of it we do," said Sonic.

As she and Sonic grew near to Sonic's place, something that had been growing, blooming, and evolving on Rainbow's mind ever since she'd gone to find Sonic in the graveyard made her say something that made her want to kick herself.

"What's Hearts and Hooves Day like here?"

Sonic blushed. But, before he could say anything, he was almost knocked to the ground by Amy. Once the pink hedgehog had finished obsessing over her crush, Sonic made his way into the house. Rainbow made to follow, but found the business end of a giant hammer blocking her way.

"Not so fast, Dashie. You and I need to have a little talk," said Amy, her voice deadly serious.

"About what?" asked Rainbow.

"I've seen the way your face gets when you think about Sonic. So, I am warning you now. Sonic is M-I-N-E. Understand?" said Amy, a hint of menace in her voice.

"Amy, I'm not sure how romance between hedgehogs work, but I'm pretty sure these five words can sum up how he feels about you: he's not that into you," said Rainbow.

Amy scoffed. "We'll see who's into who in due time. When Sonic and I get married, you're going to be the Maid of Honor... just so I can see the look on your face," said Amy.

"Likewise. Wait, did I just say that?!" said Rainbow, facepalming herself.

Amy growled. "You'll see, Dash..." she muttered, before storming off.

Rainbow glared at Amy as she left. Once she was out of earshot, Rainbow started to scold herself.

"Ugh, why in the wide, wide world of Mobius did I say that?!" growled Rainbow. "I mean, it's not like I actually love Sonic... or do I?"

...

Later that night, a certain blue hedgehog was facing a similar inner turmoil as he lay awake in his bed.

Can I really be falling in love so soon after losing Blaze? thought Sonic as he tossed and turned, trying to get comfortable and fall asleep

No I… I let one die on my watch.. I won’t let another one go the same way. Sonic thought to himself as he finally fell asleep.

Completely unaware of the cyan blue pegasus who slipped into bed right next to him.