Author's Notes:

Be aware that the next chapter will finally introduce a race with the appropriate music to match of course. Character building and introduction will still continue after this chapter but once you get to that last word and I release the next chapter, the reason you're reading this story will finally make it's way into the light so be patient.

45 minutes have elapsed so far and things seem to be looking up for Spike. He stood impressively upon his board as performed the basics, now able to move forward without losing balance, make turns, and stop his board. "I think I'm getting the hang of this Rotor."

Rotor gave a thumbs up in response. "Nice going you're not falling for once."

Rotor flashed a big grin at the comment until a smack on the back of his head made him think otherwise. Nicole gave him the evilest of stares as he nervously coughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Will you shut it Rotor, I think he's doing absolutely perfect for someone who's never been on an extreme gear."

"I guess you're right."

After practicing stopping one more time, he made his way in front of Rotor and shrugged. "What next?"

Rotor thought to himself and sighed. "Well I could teach you some of the more beginner type tricks but usually it takes a good hour or two to perfect them especially when you just started."

"Well we could at least try can't we?"

"I guess but fifteen minutes is definitely not enough time, oh well. Alright, let me raise the middle of the road so you can get a good jump." Rotor turned to the control panel behind him and pressed a small button. A crane positioned high above the street began to lower down two hooks which gripped the middle of the street in 5-foot space in between. Rotor pulled a lever up and watched as the crane did just that. It began to raise a small 5 foot in length and width ramp until it was at a 30-degree angle. Rotor pushed the small button again and the crane retreated above the street. "Alright, this won't get you all the air in the world but if you gauge your speed like I showed you earlier you should be able to get a good jump out of this ramp."

"But the ones I saw people doing tricks off of were way bigger."

"And those are also the ones people break their legs on."

"Um...right."

"Now I got a couple of basic tricks that you can learn within our limited time if you apply some effort."

"I have plenty of effort."

"Spike we spent ten minutes arguing about why you have to stand up on the board. Really I just think you didn't want to ride it."

"Ok valid opinion....but I offer this as a rebuttal, racing sitting down is a lot easier."

"And more deadly like that guy who decided to sit down on a board and ended up flipping through traffic."

"You...have made your point clear...sorry."

"Thank you. Now first up is the Ollie, a basic jump. If you had the magnetic shoes it would be easier but you don't, that's why I actually installed those snowboarding straps to help you stay on. To do this move all you need to is shift your weight to the back and bring the front of the board up. Extend the back leg so you can keep yourself upright. Once you're in the air, make sure to start bending your knees once you near the ground to land safely, Got it?"

"Alright then. Shift my weight to the back and jump." Spike lifted off the ground so the nose faced slightly upwards. Rotor realized the mistake instantly as he began to turn the nose too much. Rotor jumped up and caught Spike before he could 180 onto his face.

"How's bout we try to gain some speed this time but maybe you should see it to actually get it down. Let me see your board." Rotor removed the straps and stepped onto the board. His magnetic shoes locked in as he pushed off with his foot and gained a small amount of speed. He performed a perfect Ollie and stopped the board. "Just like that got it?"

"Alright if I do just what you did it should make sense." Rotor replaced the straps and handed the board back. Spike stepped on and took a breath. "Speed first...I got this." Spike tried to push off but soon found his issue. The straps were restricting his feet. "Um, there is no way I'm going to be able to push off like this."

Rotor scratched his head in stress. "Well, there's no other way to keep you on the board unless you want shoes."

"I refuse to wear those suicide risk you guys call shoes. It just doesn't work where I'm from."

"Well, how are you gonna get speed if you can't get on and off?"

Nicole began beeping at an alarming rate to which she closed her eyes and held her head. "Alarm you two, about ten minutes left.

Rotor snapped in frustration. "Dang, we're running out of time. How are you gonna push off with those straps on? Well, I could....no."

Rotor seemed lost in thought over the issue easily blocking out Nicole's attempts to snap him out of it. she turned to Spike who seemed identically lost in thought until he began muttering something. "I have to get home, I just have to, If I don't learn how to ride then I'll never get home. Twilight will be so mad and Fluttershy is probably crying right now...

A strange green glow made it's way around Spike making Nicole jump back. "Spike are you..ok?"

He stepped off the board and reached down hooking a claw around one of the straps. "I will learn how to ride this thing," he whispered.

Nicole tapped Rotor on the shoulder who was still ignoring her. "Um, Rotor?" Spike shredded through one strap and began to hook his claw around the other. Nicole nervously tapped Rotor again. "Rotor?"

Spike shredded through the other and tossed the remains a couple of feet away. "All my friends and family back home are waiting for me..." He placed his left foot on the front pad leaving his right foot at the ready. Nicole sighed and placed a hand on Rotor's head letting loose a small electric shock. "Ow hey, what was that for?" Nicole quickly pointed to the glowing Spike about to take off. Rotor observed him and noticed the now absent straps. "Spike, what're you doing? Hey, hold up?!" Rotor rushed out to catch Spike but unbeknownst to him, Spike was well in his right mind as he packed the power of a jackhammer into pushing off leaving a vortex of wind pushing Rotor and Nicole back. He sped towards the ramp performing butter nose rolls as he neared the ramp with sonic speed leaving both his partners in shock. Finally, he aired off the ramp with outstanding height Indy grabbing the front of his board and performing a complete 360 spin. As Spike neared the ground, his green glow dissipated and he came back to reality screaming at the top of his lungs as the ground rocket towards him. "Spike, bend your legs! Land it!"

Spike did just that and landed the jump losing balance for a few seconds but overall sticking the landing. He stopped the board and looked around in confusion. He made his up to Rotor and Nicole and got off his board. "What in Equestria just happened?"

"Dude I have no idea but that was amazing. I thought you said you weren't good at riding a board."

"I'm not...at least I think I'm not."

"Well, you just performed two moves that would take most beginners hours to stick the timing."

Nicole rushed to him and began physically checking him for injuries. "Nicole, what are you doing to me?"

"Just making sure you're ok. You had this weird green aura around you so I imagine you had to unknowingly hurt yourself. You didn't by chance have a Chaos Emerald on you did you?"

"Green Aura?... I don't know about any green, oh wait a minute, now I see what happened."

"So it was a Chaos Emerald then?"

"No no Nicole, no emerald what so ever. Actually, it's a... me thing, more specifically a dragon thing."

"Me thing?"

"See when we want something so bad or are forever determined we grow a power that no other can replicate. The power gives us a boost in pretty much everything no matter what it is. Side effects may include growing a few sizes and uncontrollable rage."

"Uncontrollable rage?"

"It doesn't happen often trust me."

"Well that isn't just a one time power, is it? Can you do it again?" Rotor asked.

Spike slowly across the ground, once again shifting his board in complete 180 as he rode. "Looks like it gave a little added boost in my stability."

"So you literally just learned to ride a board in an hour, that is literally impossible. Either way, we did it and I'm happy I didn't have to take you to a hospital. Speaking of which, how much time do we have Nicole?"

"Unfortunately three minutes."

"Well with that muscle memory you just got, you should be able to hand with the crowd. But it couldn't hurt to test it."

Spike shot him a questioning glance. "What are you thinking?"

"Me, I'm gonna use the pipe to go back but there's a ladder leading up to the street over there. I want you to ride the board back."

"Wait a minute, through the moving death carriages up there, are you kidding me? I don't even know If what I just did will stick, you can't expec--"

"You'll be fine Spike, I'll make sure of it." Nicole chimed in.

"She'll keep you safe," Rotor added. "Or at the very least, provide medical care."

Rotor returned to the entrance and waved as he vanished into the pipe. "Can we just walk Nicole?"

"Hey, you want into that team right?"

"Well, yea but.."

"No excuses Spike. Sooner or later you're going to have to deal with obstacles and this is perfect practice. Let's hope that dragon power of yours kicks in. Now up the ladder."

"Oh Celestia...Fine."

Spike made his way up the long ladder and finally appeared at the top. Nicole guided him out of the construction site and back to the street leading north back up to the park and Rotor's shop. Spike looked out onto the street seeing no oncoming cars, he thought himself safe. As soon as his foot touched the road, an onslaught of cars quickly brought his foot back. "Don't you hate when that happens. Get out there Spike and do your best."

"That's not life works, you just don't jump into death, there are no gaps."

"Look closely. What may seem like no gaps is actually the widest gap you'll get. Focus, slow it down."

Spike became frantic with no way to jump in without getting hit. Nicole placed her hands on the side of Spike's face gently rubbed his temples. Spike's frantic state suddenly diminished, his fear drowned as he began to relax at Nicole's touch. That's when he saw it, The cars began to slow down ever slightly. Eventually creating gaps that seemed like miles in width. "What's going on?"

"Doubt is your sole enemy. Those who doubt will often imagine and create things that are not as they seem. The cars may seem like they're going too fast but should that person stay calm, focus, and believe that they can do it, they'll see a completely different outcome."

"Ok...this is awesome."

"Stay calm and you'll see what others can't. Now get moving Spike."

Spike hesitantly hopped on his board and kicked off drifting into oncoming traffic from the north. Spike began to wind his way through the passing cars trying to his best stay calm. Everything seemed relatively good until the sound of a large 18-wheeler made its way into his mind. He stared forward as the large truck neared him. His focus and concentration began to break as he saw cars on both sides of the truck cutting off any evasion. The cars began to speed up once again as his fear began to return to his mind. "I'm so dead."

"Spike jump!"

With no error, Spike took off into the air, landing on the big white trailer it was carrying and sliding off the back. He landed on the street just behind it and continued through traffic. "I'm alive...that...was terrifying...but I'm alive!"

"Remember what I said about doubt. Always look for a way out even if it seems impossible. Now stay focused."

"Right." Spike sustained his motion through the cars easily maneuvering between them. Finally, Spike made it to Rotor's shop, hopping off his board and placing it under his arm. "Rotor we're here."

Spike and Nicole made their way into the back of the shop to see Rotor nowhere in sight. A slight difference in scenery however, as the door adjacent to the front counter was wide open. "In here guys."

They took a few steps over to the door until a familiar voice caught their attention. "So this Sonic's board huh? Mind If I hang onto it?"

"No you can't take the board as a souvenir, don't you have other things to do?"

Spike and Nicole stepped into the room and were met with a female's face Nicole is none to happy to see. "Oh it's...you.."

"I have a name you know and...oh who's this?"

Spike held out his claw. "I'm Spike, nice to meet you."

The girl returned a handshake and bent her legs to bow. "My name is Amy Rose, nice to meet you. Say, you don't seem like you're from around here."

"I really don't feel like explaining this again so I'll just say it. I'm from a different world and am trying to get home but the only way to do that is by racing in this Grand Prix, whew."

"A different world? It's nothing new I guess since we tend to go on those kinds of adventures every week."

"I've heard that a lot especially from Sonic."

Amy grabbed Spike's shoulders and pulled him in close. "You saw Sonic?!"

"Um...yea."

"Please tell me where?!"

"Wait why?"

"I need to find him. I made him lunch two hours ago and he hasn't shown up yet."

"Well see...Nicole help me out."

Nicole gently pried Amy's hands from Spike's shoulders and patted her. "Look I know you like Sonic and all but just give it up will ya?"

"No way, my tarot cards said we would be together and I plan to make that a reality."

"Alright, get your heart broken. He ran out of town to the east."

"Sonic I'm coming! Don't you dare leave me!"

Amy bolted out of the shop in a blur. Nicole slightly chuckled to herself as Spike began thinking about the directions. "Wait Sonic rode out to the west not the east."

"Don't tell her that."

Rotor sighed. "Thanks for getting rid of her Nicole, she's cute as a button, but when she wants sonic, she won't stop. Besides I'm just got too interested in working on Sonic's board. Tails did some truly ungodly work upgrading it."

"Well even though Tails is a kid, he has to be the smartest fox we know. Oh dear, Spike, it's time."

"Already? Well, let's hope this doesn't go south."

Rotor moved Sonic's board off the table and pointed to Spike's. "Quick before you go, let me tweak it a little just make sure it works right." Spike handed Rotor the board as he whipped out a few different tools and began messing with board. "Alright...one more...and there. You should be good to go, go knock em dead Spike."

Spike gave a thumbs up, Nicole digitizing back into Spike's wrist as he took off across the street and through the park. "You remember where the meet up is at right Spike?"

"Yea..kinda."

"Don't hesitate to ask if you forget."

"Thanks Nicole." After twenty minutes, Spike finally spotted the two sitting at a large bench next to a vacant street.

"Spike I told you to ask me for directions if you get lost," Nicole uttered.

"I thought I knew where it was, I swear I did. We made it though and that's all that matters."

Korbin jumped up as Spike hopped off his board." "Oh my god, you made it."

Lindsey stood up and looked at her watch. "Nice to see you, of course you were a little late."

"Sorry I was little...lost."

"No worries Spike, it's a big city. If you're ready we can get started."

"Sure...I think."

"What's the matter Spike?"

"Um, nothing just a bit nervous is all."

"Well don't doubt yourself or you'll slip up," Lindsey said. "Korbin, can you set up the bot?"

"Yes mam." she responded with the enthusiasm of a hyped-up 5-year-old.

Korbin grabbed something from under the bench and placed it on the street. Upon pressing a button, the small circular robot spike recognized from the tower hovered slightly off the ground. Once again two hatches opened up revealing a small hole through the center but this one didn't shoot off with turbulence. Instead, it made one straight line about five feet across and only a couple of feet off the ground. A transparent board popped up next to the line with one, two, and three in a straight line down. "Wait what is that?"

Lindsey giggled at what she thought was spike joking. "The finish line silly. This Robot helps us keep track of everything, speed and time mostly. Let us waste no more time though, the sign up will end soon. Are you guys ready?"

Korbin gave a salute and smiled. "Ready!"

Spike gulped and nodded. "Ready..."

Lindsey waved her hand in front of the robot which began the countdown in a robotic voice. "3......2.....1....Go!"