Sonic The Hedgehog x My Little Pony: A New Generation

by BronySonicFan

Rating: teen
Tags: Sunny Starscout, Adventure, Zipp Storm, Hitch Trailblazer, Crossover, Izzy Moonbow, Alternate Universe, Sonic the Hedgehog, Pipp Petals, My Little Pony: A New Generation
Length: 45909

Sonic activates an unfinished machine from Eggman, and ends up on a land of colorful talking ponies. Now, he's going to need to find his way back, while he helps some new friends to restore the magic.

During an encounter with Dr. Eggman, Sonic activates a machine that wasn't ready yet, just as the evil scientist planned out. Endowed with the power of the Chaos Emeralds, which Sonic conveniently brought with him, the machine swallows the hedgehog and sends him into a new world, a world that has been divided for centuries and has lost all its magic. Now teaming up with a very optimistic unicorn named Izzy, Sonic will embark on a journey through the uncharted land of Equestria, to unite all the ponies, reclaim the magic, and hopefully find his way back home.

Published 2022-08-22 22:30:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-09-10 18:00:06 UTC

Prologue

"Are you sure you saw the Egg Fleet flying over Angel Island, Tails?" asked a blue hedgehog standing on the wing of a red biplane, his arms crossed over his chest. He has emerald green eyes and wears white gloves and red sneakers with gold buckles on the side.

"Not only did I see it, Sonic," assured a yellow fox piloting the plane. He has two tails, light blue eyes, white gloves fastened with a black garter, and shoes that are half white and red. "Knuckles sent a signal asking for reinforcements, and you know he never asks for help."

"If knucklehead needs help, then it's serious," Sonic muttered, determined to help his Echidna friend. "Pedal to the metal, Tails. We have to get to Angel Island right now!"

"Right away!" Tails exclaimed as he put the plane in full gear. Soon, they arrived at Angel Island, a floating island where the Master Emerald usually rested, being protected by Knuckles, a red echidna with giant white boxing gloves, his knuckles being larger than most -his name is Knuckles for a reason- and military-style shoes that combined the colors green and yellow. The echidna was fighting off several of Dr. Eggman's machines while simultaneously trying to protect the Master Emerald.

"Stupid soulless machines…" growls Knuckles, ready for another round against Eggman's robots. "You are nothing against me! I swore I would protect this Emerald with everything I have, and that's just what I'm going to do!”

Knuckles lets out a warrior cry and launches himself to continue destroying robots. Despite his efforts, more and more were arriving, and the echidna was well outnumbered. He wouldn't give up, but deep down, he hoped that Sonic and Tails would come soon... thank Chaos, his prayers were answered. A blue ball drops from the sky, slamming into a robot before moving around the area and smashing most of the robots surrounding Knuckles. The ball straightened up and revealed Sonic, who stood beside the echidna in a battle pose.

"Hey, knucklehead!" mocks the hedgehog, analyzing his plan of attack while his eyes rove the battlefield. "Hope I'm not late for the party!"

"Haven't missed much, hedgehog," Knuckles answered, taking a moment to recover his strength. "Just the idiot that is Eggman is trying to take the Master Emerald."

"It's been a long while since ol' Egghead's bothered you, eh?" Sonic said, receiving a smile in response. "I guess he's trying to feed his machines with the Emerald's power again."

"If that's the case, we'd be in trouble," Tails says from the comm, the fox still circling the area in his plane. He spots an open space to land the Tornado, and once he does so, he pulls out a gun and aims at some nearby robots.

The energy bullets easily pierce the metal hides of the Egg Pawns, taking them out. He ran over to Sonic and Knuckles, taking a few more out before joining them.

"What do you guys say?" Sonic asks rhetorically with a smirk, stretching his limbs. "Shall we show Eggman what happens when he messes with one of us?"

"Oh, you don't have to ask me twice," Knuckles replied, slamming his fists together and cracking them.

"Let's do it!" Tails nods, spinning his two tails like a helicopter and hovering above the ground.

"Alright," Sonic said, positioning himself to run. "Eggman wants to get fast? Let's get fast!"

Team Sonic -as they call themselves- bolts towards the army of robots. Knuckles easily smashed the machines with his fists, while Sonic and Tails spun around with a move called Spin Dash, destroying the robots, and Tails took a few shots with his weapon when he had the chance. Once every bot had been bopped, they noticed something strange. The Master Emerald was still atop the altar. Knuckles had noticed this before, and it baffled him. Why would Eggman attack Angel Island if he wasn't planning on taking the Master Emerald? The team’s ears twitch when they hear a beep, and they look around for the source. They couldn't see where it was coming from until Tails noticed that one of the machines wasn't destroyed, looking directly at them.

"It's a trap!" Tails yelled, scrambling away.

Too late.

BOOM!

The machine exploded, knocking Tails and Knuckles to the ground unconscious. Sonic narrowly avoided the explosion thanks to his super speed. But as soon as he saw that he left his friends behind, he instantly regretted it.

'What the hell is wrong with me?' Sonic thought, rushing over to his fallen friends with worry. 'I know I usually act on instinct, but I never leave my friends behind! Why was the first thing I thought, 'Oh, just run and save yourself from the explosion; everything will be fine!'?! Well done, brain, well done...'

The hedgehog turned his gaze to the sky. The Egg Fleet stopped sending robots, but the fact Eggman wasn't taunting him from his ship was pretty suspicious. There was no doubt about it: the evil genius was up to something, but it had to be big if he was being that careful. Eggman's latest folly was creating a guy who could alter reality at will, and he didn't even take full advantage of that power. What was he planning now?

'Whatever it is, I'll stop it,' Sonic thought with determination. 'It won't be the first time, and I know it sure as hell won't be the last, but I have to be careful... something tells me that if I don't play my cards right, things could end badly for me, and for the whole world.'

Sonic carried Tails and Knuckles up the altar and laid them atop the Master Emerald, hoping the infinite energy emanating from it would heal them. Sonic redirected his gaze to the group of ships, focusing on the largest. He jumped from where he was, and he noticed a bounce spring nearby. He smirks, aiming for the spring and slamming hard onto it. The spring launches the hedgehog into the sky, his momentum carrying him to the ship's deck he aimed for. Sonic immediately went on the defensive, but he was surprised not to find an army of robots waiting for him, like on other occasions.

'What's the plan this time, Egghead?' Muses the hedgehog. 'Why don't you even have your security on deck?'

Sonic kept a careful eye out as he walked into the ship. Usually, he’d use his super speed and run through the whole place site in seconds until he found Eggman, kick his ass, then get out before the ship blew up. But Sonic had to be careful because he had no clue what Eggman was planning this time. As he crept around the hallways, one thing caught his attention: an open door to a lab.

"What the hell?" Sonic murmurs, cautiously entering the room. There was a giant computer built into the wall and a deactivated digital keyboard below it. The room was dark, but Sonic could still see what he was looking at. He approached an unfinished machine in the middle with seven empty slots around it that would fit a large gem.

'The Chaos Emeralds!' Sonic thought, instantly recognizing the shape of the holes. 'He wants to power up this machine, but for what? What's the point?'

"What are you up to now, Ivo?" Sonic asked out loud, surprising himself that he'd called the doctor by his real name and not his usual nickname.

"I'm glad you asked, Sonic!"

The hedgehog quickly recognized the voice, and the lights flicked on. Eggman appeared behind Sonic, his hands held behind his back as he stood with a sinister smile.

"Greetings, hedgehog!" the doctor greets, causing Sonic to growl. "Are you just passing through, or did you come to see how my masterpiece is progressing?"

"Your masterpiece, huh?" Sonic scoffed, causing the doctor to frown slightly. "Well, I'd like to say I'm just passing through, but seeing what you're up to bothers me."

"Oh, this beauty is just the beginning, Sonic," Eggman smiles, walking over to the machine and laying a hand against the side of the capsule. "You see, after the disappointing fall of my Empire, I realized the sad truth that I have refused to admit so much: I cannot defeat you, no matter how hard I try."

Sonic blinked in disbelief. "Wait a minute, are you… giving up?"

"Well, yes, but actually no," Continues the doctor. "You see, I discovered that there are worlds beyond this one. I'm not talking about planets; I'm talking about dimensions. Realities that go beyond what you can even imagine."

"This machine will allow me to travel to another reality, one where you don't exist, where the Eggman Empire can prevail without issue! Of course, that means we will never see each other ever again. I admit that, despite all my defeats and humiliations, I'll miss you, Sonic the Hedgehog. But once the machine is ready, you won't know anything about me, just like you've always wanted."

Something strange began to grow inside Sonic... Fear, maybe? No, he was always afraid, but he was willing to face death itself if necessary. No, what was growing inside him was something else... it was... anger...

"No... You can't be serious..." Sonic growled, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate Eggman's soul.

"I've never been as serious as I am now, Sonic," Eggman clarified with an indifferent look.

"Oh, don't tell me!" Sonic exclaims sarcastically, his fury beginning to bubble. "I've spent my whole life chasing a fat, broke man with delusions of grandeur who has all the potential to do incredible things but wastes it on ridiculous and dangerous schemes that do more damage than they repair. Yet you have the nerve to say you plan on bringing that misery to others on worlds that don't know you exist and can't defend themselves from the human scavenger you are, Robotnik?!"

This side of Sonic was new to the doctor, and oddly enough, it was also painful. As long as he's known him, Sonic's only made mean jokes and ridiculous nicknames, accompanied by a beating that always sent him flying...

Now, that same hedgehog was opening old wounds that the doctor thought he had healed or even forgotten so long ago, and now they were being reopened. Anger began to course through his being, but the feeling of defeat and helplessness grew stronger. Perhaps because Eggman- Robotnik, knew Sonic was right; he was just human scum that no one could ever accept, no matter how hard he tried.

"But you know something, Eggman? No more. I'm done playing this stupid game that's been going on for the last 20 years!" Sonic exclaims, his voice deadly serious.

He closed his eyes, concentrating, letting the Chaos power course through his body. Seven sparkling Emeralds -the Chaos Emeralds- appear around him. The jewels enter his body, his blue fur turns golden, and an aura of the same color surrounds him, his eyes turning red.

"And I'll start right here, destroying your damn device!" Super Sonic yelled as he stepped over to the machine.

Big mistake.

"Gotcha," Eggman smirked and pressed a button, which activated the machine Sonic was over. A capsule -like the one Shadow had been sent to Earth by Maria in- slid up around the super hedgehog. But that didn't scare him, as he let out a burst of Chaos energy... that was absorbed by the device.

Sonic arches a brow, confused as to why the machine wasn't destroyed. He looks around until Eggman's malicious laugh catches his attention. When the hedgehog saw the doctor laughing as if he'd been told the best joke of his life, his confused look changed to despair and terror.

He fell into the lion's den, and he hadn't realized it.

"Tricking you was even easier than I thought!" Eggman exclaims, still laughing madly.

"What the hell did you do?!" Sonic exclaims, slamming a super charged fist against the glass of the capsule, which did nothing, much to the super hog's growing horror.

"Nothing, and that's the best part of all!" The doctor announces, cackling with glee. "Of course I know about other dimensions, but did you think I was foolish enough to let this world go? Oh, of course not, Sonic. I'm an evil genius, and honestly, I'm surprised you didn't see it coming. I'm not traveling to another world, hedgehog. You are!"

Sonic's look of horror turned back to anger, and he started pounding his fists against his cell, desperate to get out. Eggman's satisfaction at seeing his worst enemy defeated grew. But it was interrupted by the sudden arrival of Tails and Knuckles.

"Sonic!" Tails exclaims, rushing to the machine when he sees his best friend locked inside.

The super hog stopped trying to get out and stared at his friend. The look of despair Tails held… it broke Sonic’s heart.

"This is the part where we say goodbye, Sonic... Forever!" Eggman announced, laughing like a madman as he pressed a button.

"NO!" Tails and Knuckles yelled, the latter punching Eggman and knocking him out instantly.

Tails desperately tried to open the capsule, and Sonic tried to look for a way out. He flinches as he feels the power of the Chaos Emeralds leave his body, and his fur goes back to blue. The seven emeralds float around him, darkening little by little as their power is drained. A swirling white portal appeared behind him and began to suck in the machine - with Sonic and the Emeralds. Knuckles joined Tails, trying to open the pod, but to no avail. Sonic looked at his friends sadly, but he smiled weakly and touched the window of the capsule, drawing the attention of the fox and the echidna.

"Hey, it's okay," Sonic says, his voice almost cracking. "You guys did what you could, but this thing won't open..."

"No! Sonic! We can't give up!" Tails exclaims, frantically trying to open the machine as tears fall down his cheeks.

Knuckles, however, stopped trying. He touched Tails's shoulder, and when the minor turned to see him, the echidna shook his head, indicating that Sonic couldn’t be saved. Tail refused to believe it and kept trying, but Knuckles grabbed him by the waist and pulled the fox away from the machine, tears falling from his eyes.

"NO! KNUCKLES, LET ME GO!!" Tails screams, squirming in the echidna’s grasp. "WE HAVE TO SAVE HIM!”

"Tails," Sonic's voice draws the young fox's attention to the capsule, and he sees his best friend looking at him with a sad gaze and smile. "It's okay. Everything will be fine. I'm not leaving forever..."

The portal was already pulling Sonic and the Emeralds in. He had to finish talking to his friends if this was the last time he saw them.

"I will return!" the hedgehog states, looking at his two friends with determination. "No matter how long it takes, no matter what the cost, no matter what I find, I'll be back, I promise!"

The last thing Sonic heard was Tails screaming "NO!" before he's pulled into the portal. A single tear falls from his eye, and this world goes white. He barely has time to register his body hitting the ground, and he rolls across a grassy terrain. His head slams into something hard, and the last thing he sees before blacking out is the blue sky.

Author's Note

Big shout-out to Real Solaris for editing the prologue, and most of the story in general.

Thank you so much for your help!

1. A world of Talking Ponies

Nothingness was soothing to Sonic in a circumstance like this. A place where the mind is empty, free from worries, and where even the most serious of problems would disappear. It was cozy and tranquil, and while it wouldn't last forever, the hedgehog enjoyed it while he could. But a voice began to echo in his mind.

It sounded far away, but Sonic would recognize that voice anywhere. A tiny fragment of something recent flashed through his mind like a memory. It was... it was Tails. And he was... crying? Why was he crying? Little by little, the memory lengthened until he got the whole picture... and he wished he hadn't figured it out. Eggman's machine, the portal, Tails' desperation to get him out of there, his and Knuckles's eyes filled with sadness, knowing they couldn't save him. The reason for Tails' scream and his horrified look returned, and that woke him up.

"TAILS!" Sonic screamed desperately, reaching a hand to grab ahold of Tails out of instinct.

He freezes as his mind registers what he sees. He sat in a massive field of flowers, stretching as far as he could see in every direction. The hedgehog felt something hard and rough against his back, and as he slowly stood up, Sonic saw it was a gigantic tree he was lying against, which, now that he looked closer, looked like a cherry tree. Sonic had traveled the world so many times that he knew every corner of Mobius, but he didn't recognize this place, so it was clear the hedgehog was lost.

'Tails... Knuckles...' Sonic thought, clenching his fist. 'I don't know where I am or how I'll get out of here... But I promised I'd come back, no matter what the cost. Although, it would be good to check where I am in the first place. I mean, if I want to get back home, I have to get my bearings in this new world at least.'

Sonic started looking for anything that could clue him into where he was. But beyond the tree, there was only the field of flowers, and there wasn't anything else for miles.

'Maybe I should run and look for a city or town. Hopefully, they speak English and can guide me,' the hedgehog muses to himself, rubbing a finger against his chin. 'Well, assuming they won't run away terrified when they see me...'

His ear twitched as he heard something coming from behind him. Turning around, he found a... pony? She was a unicorn, now that he looked closer. Her fur was purple, and her curly indigo-blue mane and tail bounced as she trotted. Her horn was light blue, her eyes were somewhat pink, and on one side, she had a kind of tattoo. It was a blue heart with a button in the middle and three needles in the top. She was humming something under her breath, looking at the ground with a smile, unaware of what was in front of her.

That was, of course, until a pair of red sneakers with a white stripe down the middle entered her field of vision. The unicorn slowly looked up until she was nose to nose with Sonic. The hedgehog got a little nervous, fearing that, seeing a creature like him, she would run away scared.

Let's say the reaction he got was... unexpected.

"Hi, new friend!" The mare greeted, jumping around Sonic and examining him. "What are you doing in a place as remote and empty as this? And how come I've never seen somepony like you?"

'That's... not the answer I expected,' Sonic thought as his gaze followed the mare's bouncing. 'But I ain't complaining either.'

"Hello, uh, unicorn," the hedgehog greets nervously. "Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea where I am. I ended up here by accident, and... to be fair, I've never seen a unicorn in my life either."

"So you're not from Equestria?" the unicorn asked, finally stopping and facing the hedgehog.

"So this place is called Equestria…" Sonic thought out loud, to which the pony nodded. "Yeah, it's not a place I know of."

"Well, welcome to the not-so-magical-anymore land of Equestria!" the unicorn joyfully exclaimed.

"Not so magical anymore?" Sonic asks, curious as to what the mare meant by that. "You'll have to specify a bit, kiddo."

"Many, many moons ago, we had magic; we are unicorns for a reason. But one day, poof, it left and didn't come back," the pony explained briefly. "We think the Pegasi have something to do with it, but no one is willing to go to their city to investigate, not even me."

"Okay… so you guys used to have magic, but one day it just disappeared," Sonic sums up, and the unicorn nodded. "And if you don't have magic, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm headed to Maretime Bay, home of the Earth ponies," the mare said excitedly, pulling a small piece of paper out of her mane and handing it to Sonic. "I found this piece of paper when I was a filly, and ever since then, I've always wanted to go."

The paper was a drawing, clearly by a girl, of an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus together under a rainbow. The picture also had a note reading: 'Dear unicorns and pegasi, You have friends in Maretime Bay. Come visit us!' Sonic found the gesture adorable and gave back the note.

"Well, I better get going. See ya!" the unicorn said, going back on her way.

"Hey kid, do your parents at least know you're out here? Or your unicorn friends?" Sonic asked out of curiosity.

The pony stopped. Although the hedgehog only saw her back, he could see the mare's ears fall flat against her head.

"I-I... I don't have any unicorn friends," she confessed, her voice cracking. "And I haven't heard from my parents for years, so... I'm all alone."

Sonic instantly regretted asking. "Sorry... I shouldn't have asked," he apologized, but now the hedgehog was in a predicament.

Part of him told him he needed to find a way to get back home before Eggman tried to take over the world, but another part, screaming much louder, told him to help this unicorn. Besides, he was a hero, and helping is what a hero does, no matter what. Nodding to himself, he made his choice and walked over to the pony.

"Okay, listen to me," Sonic said, getting the pony's attention. "I'm coming with you to Maretime Bay. I need to find a way to get back home, anyways, and maybe they can help me there. Besides, I'm always willing to help my friends."

The unicorn's eyes sparkled as she looked incredulously at the hedgehog. "R-Really?! I'm your friend? And you're going to help me?!"

"I always keep my word," Sonic assured, placing a fist on his hip. "By the way, I think we haven't introduced ourselves properly."

"Oh, right! My name is Izzy, Izzy Moonbow!" the unicorn said, holding her hoof out.

"And I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog," said the hedgehog, shaking Izzy's hoof. "So, ready to go to Maretime Bay?"

"I was born ready!"

The two unlikely new friends head off, Izzy leading the way while Sonic trails behind the unicorn mare. While he would've preferred to run, Sonic admitted that going slow for once was a significant change of pace, and he got to admire the scenery as he walked and talked with Izzy, the two of them getting to know more about each other. They'd been so focused on chatting they never noticed a lighthouse off in the distance, standing tall above a quaint town by the sea.

"So that tattoo on your flank is called a Cutie Mark, and it only appears when you've discovered your special talent?" Sonic said, to which Izzy nodded energetically. "And what would your special talent be?"

"I can create anything with whatever I have available," Izzy explained. "I could make a nice umbrella just with cardboard tubes and a garbage lid!"

"So you give a new purpose to garbage, huh? You remind me of a friend at home who creates all kinds of super useful gadgets with anything," Sonic chuckles while trying not to think of the last time he saw Tails. "I'm sure you guys would get along."

"And you come from a world that is always under attack from this 'Eggman' guy, right?" asked Izzy, to which Sonic nodded.
"That's a weird name..."

"It's more of a nickname, but it fits like a glove," Sonic said, but he could hear the anger in his voice when he thought of the evil doctor. He shakes it off and changes the subject to deter his rage. "Hey, you mentioned earlier that the three pony races split up a long time ago. Why'd that happen?"

"I don't know, nopony knows," the unicorn shrugs, confusing Sonic as he arches a brow. "It's been so long that nopony remembers why we stopped talking anymore. It's like somepony was trying to keep the three races apart..."

"That's weird... if it happened so long ago, why don't you try to understand each other again? I don't see any reason why you should stay apart."

"That's just what I think!" Izzy exclaims with exasperation. "It's just a matter of talking, that's it..." An idea popped into her mind, but it was more of a request as she turns to the hedgehog. "Hey, Sonic! You said you could run fast, right?"

"Faster than the speed of sound, my friend," Sonic confirms with a smirk. "Why? Want me to show you?"

Izzy nodded energetically, and Sonic chuckled. He raced around Izzy dozens of times in a matter of seconds. The unicorn tried to keep up with the hedgehog's speed, but it made her dizzy.

"Sweet stars! That was amazing!" Izzy exclaimed, holding her head as she tried to balance herself.

"That was nothing, compared to how fast I can go," Sonic said, rubbing a finger under his nose as he stroked his ego. "But let's leave the demonstrations for another time; we're here."

Sonic pointed a thumb forward, and Izzy gasped when she saw many Earth ponies doing nothing but going about their day-to-day life. But as they approached the entrance, an earth pony spotted the duo and fled in terror. As the pair walked further into the town, more earth ponies ran away, screaming in fright.

"Why is everyone running?" Izzy asked innocently, then gasped excitedly. "Are they playing a game?"

"I don't think so, Izzy," Sonic shook his head, frowning. "I mean, I understand that reaction with me. It's what I thought would happen when I met you back in the field, but with you? The only difference about you from them is this right here," He points to the pony's horn. "I guess these ponies have lived far too long from the pegasi and unicorns to the point they see you as monsters."

They noticed someone groan, and they looked ahead to see an earth pony mare lying on the ground a few meters ahead of them, holding her head as she slowly got up. Her fur was orange, her magenta mane hanging behind her neck, and her eyes were emerald green. Her cutie mark was a cluster of three pink stars, a blue trail following the largest. A cyan saddlebag strapped to her hung at her side, a six-sided star with five smaller ones around it etched into the flap. Three badges are attached to the strap, but Sonic doesn't pay much attention to those since they are too small to make out any details from where he is.

The earth pony shook her head, but as she looked, she gasped when she spotted Izzy and Sonic looking at her. Izzy decided to be the first to speak.

"Hi, new friend! My name is Izzy!" the unicorn said enthusiastically, while Sonic waved a hand to say hello. The earth pony scrambled to her hooves and didn't break eye contact with Izzy before speaking.

"U-Unicorn!" She exclaims excitedly. Too bad the other Earth ponies didn't share her enthusiasm. They started running and screaming; some ponies ran into the buildings and locked themselves in, lowering the shutters in hopes Izzy wouldn't see them. Others pulled away the manhole covers and jumped down while everyone else tripped over their hooves in their panic. Sonic watched this unfold with a bored expression, and he let out an exasperated sigh.

"I know I said I was expecting this kind of reaction, but this already seems exaggerated," Sonic groans, returning his gaze to the earth pony, who was looking at him in confusion. "So… what's up?"

Earlier that day...

The sun was shining brightly on the lighthouse standing on the outskirts of Maretime Bay. An earth pony named Sunny Starscout lived here, and little did she know, the greatest adventure of her life was about to begin.

She was getting ready to leave the house and head into town but took one more look at a photo of what appeared to be a blue stallion with glasses and a wooden pendant shaped like a star hanging around his neck.

"Today is the day, Dad. I have a plan this time. Wish me luck!" Sunny exclaimed happily. She trotted out of the lighthouse, and the door slammed shut behind her, jostling the photo and making it crooked. Sunny opened the door again and fixed the picture frame before closing the door carefully. She puts on her helmet and skates before pushing off. She rolls down the hill to the town and begins singing.

Good morning, Sun
No time to chat, I gotta run
'Cause I've got places to be

So much to do
Excited, yes, and nervous, too
A change is starting with me

I never worry 'bout upsetting carts, hardened hearts
Or wonder "Will I belong?"

I've heard it enough
I'm calling their bluff
I'll never get lost in the grey

There's something inside
Burns bigger than pride
Shines out of me, lighting the way

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (oh-oh-oh-oh)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be my day (ooh-ooh)

Hey there, hello
The friends I make, the friends I know
Today, you answer my call

Instead of hiding, instead of staying stuck inside
Instead of building your wall

Come on and party with me
Join the band, understand
We'll all be singin' this song

I've heard it enough
I'm calling their bluff
I'll never get lost in the grey

Go big or go home
Get real or get known
Get ready and raring to say

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (ooh-ooh)

Everyone's afraid
Always judging, never budging
Ain't it time we made
The team, the dream

Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

We'll open our eyes
Sun starting to rise
And finally able to say

Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (gonna be my day)
Gonna be, gonna be, gonna be my day (be my day)

She heads towards the Canterlogic factory, but somepony she'd known since childhood stops her.

"Aha! There you are, Sunny," says Hitch, the town's sheriff. "Just the pony I was expecting."

He was a stallion with yellowish fur, turquoise hair, and brown eyes. His cutie mark is a horseshoe on a shield with two turquoise hearts underneath it. A belt slung over his chest has a silver sheriff's badge clipped onto it, signifying his status.

"Morning, Sheriff Hitch! I see you brought the whole squad along again," Sunny gestures behind Hitch, and he looks down to see two seagulls and a crab standing beside him.

"What is it with me and critters? It's like they're attracted to me or something. Come on, guys, give Hitch a little space," The three critters took one step back before he and Sunny resumed talking to each other.

"So what's up?" Sunny asked.

"Oh, please, like you don't know," Hitch sarcastically says. "Today is the annual presentation at Canterlogic."

"Hey, I'm headed there right now!" Sunny said enthusiastically, moving toward the building before Hitch stopped her again.

"Uh, no, you're not, because I know you've come up with a hair-brained scheme to sabotage it, and if you think you gonna simply walk on through––"

"Hey, Hitch~," she said in a singsong voice.

"No."

"Come on!" Just then, two other ponies walked by.

"Good morning, Sheriff Hitch." Hitch quickly responded to them.

"Morning, Mayflower, Dahlia. Sunny, I'm on duty." He said with a hint of annoyance. Ignoring his tone, Sunny held her hoof up, waiting for Hitch to do the same. He groans, and he reluctantly does their hoofshake.

"Up high, down low, hitch it to a post! Flip it sunny-side up and on a piece of toast!"

"Okay?" said the stallion once they were done. Then, a red stallion approached, wheezing heavily.

"I did what you asked for, Hitch. She never left my side, not even once," he gasped, nearly collapsing out of exhaustion.

"Oh hey, Sprout. You okay?" Sunny asked with worry. "You seem wheezy."

"That's Deputy Sprout to you!" Sunny shrugs, then once more tries to head toward Canterlogic.

"Hey! W-Wait up! I'm not finished! Sunny!" Hitch gallops in front of the mare, making her stop. "Sunny, we both know how this goes. Every year, you try to sneak in, and every year, I stop you."

"Look, you have nothing to worry about. I'll go into the factory, deliver my smoothies––"

"Uh-uh!" Sprout interrupts. "You can't even step a hoof in there! My mom had you banned!"

"But I..." Sunny tries to protest, but Hitch cuts her off.

"I'm asking you as your friend, Sunny, not as sheriff. Just please try not to pull any stunts today."

"Okay, Okay. I'll try," Sunny says with a crushed look.

"Thank you. Now, give your delivery to Sprout and go home." But before he could watch Sunny, somepony dropped some paper onto the floor, making him run after them. "Hey, hey! That's a violation of Code 33!"

Sunny attempted to skate to the building, but Sprout stood in her way with a smug look.

"Buh-bye." Sprout watched as Sunny rolled away defeated, but when Sprout wasn't looking at it, Sunny looked at the factory with a smirk, a plan forming in her head.

Afterward, the show began, and everything was going well. A couple of new inventions were shown off, like a hat that lets you see the sky, anti-unicorn caps, and even a balloon pack, which only floated the pony who strapped it on out of the building through the only open window.

Okay, how did he happen to fly through the one open window in the room?

Eventually - and unfortunately - Sunny came onto the stage and tried to convince everyone that they should befriend both Unicorns and Pegasi. Like all her previous attempts, it didn't work, and she left Canterlogic in defeat.

Later on, Sunny was packing up her smoothies while Hitch scolded her for what she did.

"Do you have any idea how many laws you broke in there?!"

"I'm sure you're about to tell me," Sunny retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Actually, for once, I can't! Because there's so many!" Hitch exclaimed angrily. "I tried to warn you. I can't keep associating with some pony who breaks every rule and causes chaos wherever she goes. I'm the sheriff!"

"Exactly! Other ponies look up to you! You can help!" Sunny exclaimed.

"The law is the law, Sunny, and I'm here to uphold it and keep everypony safe."

"Aha! You just said 'everypony', that includes pegasi and unicorns!"

"Come on, Sunny, what did you think was gonna happen? You give a little speech, and then what? Everypony just, magically welcomes unicorns and pegasi into Maretime Bay? You keep saying there's nothing to be afraid of. Well, then, prove it."

Sunny tried to think of something, but couldn't find the words.

"All that pony unity stuff was just a foal's bedtime story made up by your dad. Like it or not, this is how it is and always will be. I'm the last real friend you got in this town. You really want to lose me too?" Sunny looked away in shame, and Hitch shook his head as he trotted away. Sunny watched two Foals running after each other until they saw a poster of a bad pegasi. One pretended to be a pegasus, chasing after the other foal. Seeing this, Sunny sat down on a nearby bench and looked up to the sky.

"I wish you were here, Dad..." she said sadly. The silence is interrupted when a stallion runs behind Sunny, panting to catch his breath before screaming and running off. Sunny didn't look up, but a mare running made her look up in confusion. More hoofsteps drew her attention, and she looked around to see a crowd of ponies running away in a panic.

"What the...?"

More and more ponies came running towards her, and she tried to figure out what was happening.

"What's going on? What's happening? Ugh!" She's knocked down by somepony, and she takes a moment to recollect herself. When she looks up, she gasps. There, standing before her, was a unicorn.

"Hi, new friend! My name's Izzy!" The unicorn exclaimed. Sunny mind was reeling, and she couldn't believe it. A real unicorn!

"U-Unicorn!" She exclaimed excitedly. More ponies screamed in terror and ran away. Some decided to hide while others tried to get as far away as possible. This made Izzy curious.

"Ooh, is everypony playing hide-and-seek?" she said while watching a stallion hiding behind an ice cream stand. "I see you!"

"Ah! It's a unicorn!" the stallion screamed, then jumped into the sea. Sunny was about to say something, but another voice spoke up.

"I know I said I was expecting this kind of reaction, but this already seems exaggerated," a blue hedgehog said, turning his gaze to Sunny. She had no idea what to say, much less how to react to… whatever he was. "So… what's up?"

Once again, the mare couldn't speak when the voice of Hitch rang out.

"Hey, what's going on?" the stallion asked as he rushed out of the station with Sprout. Looking around, he gasps when he spots Izzy standing there.

"Unicorn attaaaaaaaack!" he shouted, making Sprout panic and run into a wall, knocking him out. Hitch slammed a hoof into a button, and an alarm sounded off across the town.

"This is not a drill! I repeat, this is not! A! Drill!" announced the Sheriff. He ran at it, hoping to capture it, but along the way, he saw a foal in the middle of the street, crying its eyes out.

"A vulnerable young pony!" He jumped over some objects before grabbing the foal and giving it to a random mare. "Gotcha! Your son is safe now, ma'am."

"This isn't my foal!" the mare called out.

"You're welcome!" He proceeded to give out orders to some of the ponies still out in the streets.

"Bring me the Splat-a-pult! Activate the unicorn trap! Pick up that litter!" he ordered. Random parts of the tiled street retract, revealing large red circles with X's on top. They pop up everywhere, making Sunny gasp. She looked over at Izzy, who was walking towards the sea, not realizing she was walking straight toward one of the open traps.

"Wow! Is that the sea? I've never seen the sea!" exclaimed the unicorn. Sunny was about to warn her, but a blue blur zipped toward the unicorn and brought her back alongside Sunny. She was confused by how the unicorn got from over there to next to her instantly.

"You good, Izz?" asked the blue hedgehog, while she just nodded to him. "Great, because that was a close one. Try to be more careful, okay? I don't think we're so welcome here."

Author's Note

Once again thanks to Real Solaris for editing this chapter!

3. Meeting the Royal Family

"Well, this is stupid," Sonic says with annoyance and crossed arms, tapping his foot impatiently since the elevator they were riding on was ridiculously slow by his standards.

"I think that's creative," Izzy commented, looking at a tennis ball on her horn. According to the blue pegasi mare, Zoom, it prevented Izzy from using magic. Somehow.

"I wasn't talking about... meh, forget it." The hedgehog shrugs and goes back to being bored.

Sunny, on the other hand, was rapid firing questions at one of the guards, Thunder, who was a little nervous about the questions, especially the one about flying. But she was interrupted when Zoom spoke up.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey, don't answer anything. They could be spies," She hissed, elbowing her fellow guard.

"If we were spies, we'd be the worst spies the world has ever seen," Sonic said with no emotion, then looked at Sunny and Izzy. "No offense, girls."

He then joined Sunny and Izzy gazing out the elevator window, admiring the city of Zephyr Heights, when one of the jumbo trons began broadcasting a news channel.

"Good morning, Zephyr Heights! It's another beautiful day in the big city. Looks like warm breezes and clear skies, just in time for tonight's royal celebration!" Said a pink pegasus with golden hair. Next to her was an orange pegasus with gray hair wearing glasses.

"Royal celebration? Ha! Talk about good timing!" Izzy exclaimed, and Sonic nodded in agreement.

"Tonight's royal bash for Queen Haven will be stunning, but the real jewel in the crown will be Princess Pipp's performance."

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle. "Is her name actually Pipp? With a name like that, I swear to Chaos that I'm going to be very disappointed if she doesn't have a song called Drip, Drip, Drip, or something like that," He joked, making Sunny and Izzy laugh. Even the guards let a giggle escape.

"This is just in, an exclusive video from Pipp. For all of you loyal fans out there in ZH!" Announced the pegasi. Then, the image switched to a video.

"What is up, everypony? Big shout-out to all my fans, the Pipsqueaks!" Pipp said from her room.

"Man, I'm gonna bet that she could write a book about how to use Twitter and still be relevant," Sonic quipped, once again getting a laugh from his friends.

"So tonight's the night; I can't wait to debut my new song later. It has a very special place in my heart, but not as much as you guys! Ok, guys, I love you lots. Got to go. Pipp, Pipp, hooray!"

The guards and Izzy yelled what Pipp said. Sonic said it as well, for his amusement. Finally, the elevator reached the top, and Sonic sighed in relief. "Thank Chaos! That felt like an eternity..."

"Move it," Zoom ordered.

"You betcha," Izzy replied, and they moved forward.

Sunny, on the other hand, couldn't help but notice none of the pegasi they'd seen so far were flying and began to question if the pegasi lost their magic, too.

"Hey guys, isn't it weird that no pony is flying?" Sunny asked.

"You can say that again, Sunny," Sonic replied, having also noticed this. "You'd think that, for a city where only pegasi live, you could find anyone flying around."

But their conversation was short-lived, as it was interrupted by their unicorn friend.

"They have a castle!" Izzy exclaimed with joy.

Sunny and Sonic looked up to see a vast, golden castle before them. They entered through the doors to the throne room to see more guards marching around while being escorted by Zoom and Thunder.

"Wow," Izzy awed.

"You know, for people that declare themselves royalty, I'm pretty impressed," Sonic praised.

"Now, before our queen!" Thunder announced. Trumpets started playing, making the trio look forward in curiosity, but everything went silent as the guards kneeled. The trio looked toward the front to see a little fluffy, white dog with wings walk out.

This confused Sunny and Sonic, while Izzy said, "Your majesty!" to the dog and kneeled. Sonic held back a snort, confusing Sunny even more. Then, lights came on as the dog stood up and started barking toward the ceiling, and they looked up to see three pegasi flying downwards. On the left, they recognized the one who talked earlier on the jumbo tron as Princess Pipp, who was paying more attention to scrolling on her phone than the trio. From what they could tell, the middle pegasus wearing sunglasses was the mother and most likely the queen, and on her right was the same pegasus they met when they first arrived on the mountain.

"Hi new friend!" Izzy waved to her. The Pegasus looked at them in surprise, then gazed worriedly at her mom and shook her head. The group zipped their mouths, nodding before refocusing on the middle mare.

"Guards, state your business, and please make it quick. We're on a very tight schedule today," She says.

"Half of that schedule probably has something related to the dog," Sonic quipped.

"Before the celebration, Cloudpuff needs his pedicure, Pipp needs to rehearse, and I need to practice my laugh. AhHa Ha Ha Ha!" She paused, holding a hoof to her chin in thought before shaking her head. "Hm, still not right..."

"Called it," Sonic says with a smirk.

"Your Highness, we found these intruders in our territory," Zoom explained. Queen Haven took her sunglasses off, then gasped at what she saw.

"An earth pony, a Unicorn, and a blue porcupine in Zephyr Heights?!" she exclaimed.

Sonic rolls his eyes. 'Why do I feel like the white pegasus over there is the only pony in this world that knows I'm a hedgehog?'

"We have them under control, Your Highness," Zoom stated.

"And we deployed the shield!" Thunder said, excitedly pointing to Izzy's horn, with Izzy pointing as well.

"Is this an attack on the night of our royal celebration? Why are you here? Who sent you?" She asked, demanding answers.

"Okay, your majesty..." Sonic called, and the Queen looked at him with surprise. "First of all, chill out; we're not here to attack anyone. Second, we're just passing by, doing a little sightseeing, taking selfies, etc. And last, but most importantly, I'm giving that laugh of yours a seven out of ten; it was pretty solid."

Deep down, Queen Haven wanted to smile at the compliment. She could tell that Sonic wasn't saying that because of respect or out of fear; he said it with honesty, something strange for her, sure, but very welcome. However, she resisted the impulse to smile and kept thinking about what to do with the 'visitors'.

"Nopony must know that they're here," She ordered, but the sound of a phone broke the tension, and she groaned, immediately knowing whose cell phone it was.

"Check it out, Pippsqueaks," Pipp announced, holding her phone to live stream the trio. "Live from the castle. It's a real unicorn, earth pony, and Blue Porcupine."

"Hedgehog," Sonic corrected.

"This is so not a filter," Pipp continued, but Queen Haven took her phone away.

"Pipp!" She exclaimed angrily, but calmed down and looked to the camera, "There's nothing to fear! Those nasty little ponies and porcupine have been captured. Your queen will protect you." At this point, Sonic was tired of trying to make it clear that he was a hedgehog, and he decided to let the others call him whatever they wanted.

"Shut it off!" the queen ordered.

Sunny decided to speak to the queen finally. "Excuse me, majesty. We only like to ask you a few questions about magic..." But the moment she said that the queen snapped and pointed toward the group's direction.

"Guards! Please escort these ponies and porcupine to the dungeon until I can question them properly. And confiscate the book," the queen ordered. Sonic released a tired sigh and made a blank expression so no one could read his emotions.

"What? No, no!" Sunny protested, but the guard took her journal anyway. "B-But, Your Majesty, I just wanted to ask you a few questions, please!"

But Queen Haven ignored her pleas, and the guards escorted them to the dungeons.

"I feel like you guys don't get paid enough for doing your job so well," The hedgehog whispers to Zoom and Thunder, and they glare at him. "Just saying..."

"Did the Queen just say dungeons?" Izzy asked.

"Yup," Sonic answered. "Our first impression wasn't good enough for the pegasi."

"What else could go wrong today?" Sunny asked herself.

"Let me teach you a life lesson, Sunny," Sonic says with a bored expression as he crosses his arms. "If you ask such a question, everything will go wrong."

A few hours later, the group was trapped in the castle's dungeons... although it didn’t feel like a dungeon. There was a massage seat, a fountain in the middle of the room, a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, and a massive bed with pink covers.

However, Sunny wasn't focused on the place; she was wondering why the only pegasi they'd seen flying so far were the royals.

"Something isn't right. We haven't seen a single pony flying except the royal family..."

"I have the feeling they can't fly either. In fact, I can say the white pegasi we met on the mountain wasn't too comfortable with how her mom treated us," Sonic spoke, making Sunny arch her eyebrow. "Just think about it: If she can fly, then why didn't she fly away from us on the mountain? Only somebody who tries to hide something jumps off the cliff like she did. That, or I'm just a little mad at 'Pipp' and the Queen for calling me porcupine..."

"Yeah, I'm going with the second one," Sunny sighed, then realized Izzy wasn't even paying attention. "Izzy, are you listening?"

Sonic turned his head towards Izzy and was amused to find her sitting in the vibrating massage seat and wearing cucumber slices over her eyes.

"This isn't dungeony at all," Izzy says to no one in particular. Sunny smiled and realized Izzy was right. 'How could this be a dungeon? With how furnished it is, I'd call this more of a hotel room. That's locked from the outside. With us inside.'

Sonic stretched his arms and lay against the wall while smirking at Sunny. "You know we'll get out of here in a few minutes, right?" She just looked at him, confused.

"I don't think so, Sonic..." Sunny replied with a shake of her head. "We have no way out of this room, and even if we manage to escape the dungeons, the whole place is highly secured, from what I can tell. So, I think we won't leave here anytime soon."

Sonic giggled, then began counting backward on his fingers. "3, 2, 1. Voila!" Sonic said before snapping his fingers.

"Hey! I'm sorry you three got locked up here, but I have to talk to you." The trio turned to the source to find the white pegasus from before on the other side of the bars. Sunny looked at Sonic, amused, while he winked at her.

"Princess?" Sunny asked.

"Your majesticness. Y-your grateful highness!" Izzy stuttered, but Sonic stopped her.

"I think you're just making her feel uncomfortable, Izzy," The hedgehog pointed out, while the pegasus nodded. "So, what should we call you?"

"Zipp. Just call me Zipp," She replied with a smile.

"Ok, Zipp, I'm Sunny, and these are my friends," Sunny stated.

"I'm Izzy, Izzy Moonbow," She said in a low voice.

"And I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!" Sonic said with his customary smirk.

"Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic. I need to ask you something important. About magic," She whispered the last bit.

"Straight to the point. I like this girl already, and we just found out her name a few seconds ago," Sonic said, making the three mares laugh.

"That's why we're here, actually," Sunny confessed. "Maybe you can tell us how your magic works? Izzy has no idea how the unicorns lost theirs. So we thought maybe––" But she was cut off by Zipp.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Lost theirs? As in no magic?" She asked with curiosity, to which the trio shook their heads. "Well, that changes things..." she whispered, rubbing her chin with a hoof before shaking her head and looking at the group again. "Listen, I might have some information that could help, but you need to tell me about this." She pulled Sunny's journey from under her wing and held it out for her to grab.

"My journal!" Sunny exclaimed, and she happily pulled it through the bars and hugged it. "Thank you, Zipp! I thought I'd never see it again."

"Yeah, I can be pretty sneaky when I want to be," Zipp confidently replied.

"Just like stealing someone's snack from the fridge!" Sonic quipped, garnering more laughs from the mares.

"So where did it come from?" Zipp asked, refocusing on the task at hand.

"It was my father's. Why?"

"That star…" Zipp tried to explain further, but a fanfare came down the hall as two guards holding their phones out with trumpet symbols on the screens walked over.

"That's a bit unnecessary, but who am I to complain?" Sonic said out loud.

The guards rolled down a red carpet that reached the cell, and Princess Pipp made her way down toward the main group, stopping when she saw Zipp.

"Zipp, what are you doing here? Mom said to stay away," She said with a sneer, causing Zipp to smirk.

"Right. Then why are you here?" Zipp asked with slight sarcasm.

"For the content," Pipp scoffed, pulling her phone out and preparing to take a selfie with the inmates. Izzy immediately smiled as she put a hoof around Sunny. Sonic stood next to Izzy and made a peace sign, winking and sticking out his tongue before Pipp took the picture.

"Well, now that you've got my good angle, let me ask you two questions," Sonic said, to which Pipp just nodded without paying much attention. "The first: do you have a song called Drip, Drip, Drip or something like that? I'm serious when I say you should have a song like that."

Miraculously, Pipp looked up from her phone and giggled at Sonic's question. "No, there's no such thing.”

"Well, my disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined," Sonic said blankly. "Moving on to my other question... Why are you, your mom, and your sister the only ones we've seen flying?"

That second question caught Pipp off guard, and she acted nervously, then turned towards the group.

"Everypony knows that only royals can fly, of course," Pipp said nervously... something only Sonic noticed.

"What?!" Sunny and Izzy exclaimed.

'I knew it,' Sonic thought. 'I could feel it a mile away, but her terrible lying skills confirmed what I suspected.'

"I know, it's unfair, but that's how it is. If there were some way we could teach the citizens to fly, you know we would do it in a wing-beat. Right, Zipp?" Pipp looked at her sister, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah. In a wing-beat." Zipp replied with sarcasm and a deadpan expression. While Sunny and Izzy looked at each other, Sonic slightly scowled at Pipp.

'You have no idea what it's like for life not to be fair, princess, he thought. But eventually, life will show you that, and I'm not the one who's gonna teach you some life-changing lessons.

His expression went unnoticed by everyone except Zipp, and she wondered why he was doing it. Pipp's phone buzzed, and she grabbed it from her wing. "Oh, dress rehearsals. Gotta go. And so should you," She said, whispering the last part to Zipp.

"Me-me-me!" She said in a singsong voice before trotting back down the hall. The guards rolled the carpet up as she kept practicing. "Red feather, Yellow feather, Red feather, Yellow feather…" Once she and the guards disappeared around the corner, Zipp looked back at the group.

"I have to show you something," She explained, putting her hoof on a scanner and opening the cell. "You coming or what?"

Sunny quickly followed Zipp out, but Sonic stopped Izzy and pointed at the fruit bowl with a grin, and she giggled before swapping the tennis ball out with an orange. They catch up with Sunny and Zipp, and the princess leads them somewhere in the castle.

A metal grate slid open, revealing the group of ponies and hedgehog looking down at the room below. Zipp jumped to the basket below them before looking up at the others.

“Watch your step!" She warned. Sunny and Izzy jumped down while Sonic curled into a ball before hitting the basket and rolling to a stop, making his fall much softer.

"Nice trick you got there, Sonic," Zipp complimented.

"Thanks," Sonic smiled, but he was still upset because of Pipp, and Zipp could see it. However, she decided to focus on what mattered and not question his attitude.

Zipp pushed down a lever, which activated the pulley system and lowered them into the room. Sunny and Izzy looked around in awe at the place, and Sonic whistled in amazement.

"Where are we?" Sunny asked, barely able to look at one thing for more than a second.

"It's amazing, right?” Zipp asked, hopping out of the basket as it reached the floor. "I'm pretty sure it was some sort of station for when earth ponies and unicorns used to visit Zephyr Heights."

Sunny walked towards a portrait of Maretime Bay and put her hoof on it, removing the dust covering the lighthouse. "It's like everypony just forgot..." Zipp guessed. Sunny looked up to see a picture hanging from the ceiling depicting a forest with one pony of each kind together, and text above them saying 'Visit Bridlewood'.

"This is proof," Sunny smiled. "All pony kinds used to be friends! My dad was right!"

For the first time since he arrived in Equestria, Sonic took a moment to consider how peaceful this world was compared to his home. Ever since he was a kid, Sonic had to deal with every macabre plan Eggman came up with, and since then, there hasn't been a single moment in his life when he's felt this kind of peace.

Whenever he thought he could breathe easy, Eggman would attack again, and what little peace he had crumbled away. Now, he was far away from his home, and though he didn't doubt for a second his friends would continue fighting without him, he feared Eggman would take over the world. He thought back to where he was and felt sad, knowing that, eventually, he would have to leave this world, and quiet moments like this would never happen again.

All this made him more irritated by Pipp's attitude. A princess who happily lived a lie, no matter how much damage she was doing to others. He inadvertently grunted, drawing Sunny and Izzy's attention, and they noticed the sad look on his face and his irritated frown. They exchanged worried glances for the hedgehog since he'd been making jokes nonstop and being very optimistic the whole trip, but this sudden change was strange for them.

Sonic shook his head, his expression neutralizing, but his eyes still held a note of sadness. Before the mares could ask what happened to him, they noticed Zipp staring at a poster of pegasi in blue suits with yellow stripes and special goggles for flying.

"Must be really weird..." Sunny said, trotting next to the pegasus. "Being the only pegasi that can fly."

Zipp sighed. She hated to tell them the truth about herself and her family, but she let it go.

"The truth is, we can't fly either. We've been faking it," Zipp admitted, relieved to have let the truth out to somepony else. Sunny and Izzy were shocked, but Sonic already knew after asking Pipp back in the dungeons. It was pretty apparent to him, but of course, he knew not everybody thought like him, so he waited for someone to confirm.

"Faking it? B-But how?" Sunny asked, her shock evident in her voice.

"You'd be surprised what some wires and good lighting will do," Zipp sighed.

"That's why I hate special effects; they ruin the fun for the others," Sonic commented.

"But I'm just so tired of living that ridiculous lie! That's why I come down here, to get away from all of that," Zipp explained, getting the guilt off her chest before continuing. "And… well, to do this..."

Zipp ran and jumped onto a lever, activating a massive fan she jumped onto. She spread her wings open, catching the flowing gust and lifting into the air. She flipped backward, then came to a hover again. Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic watched happily, seeing Zipp having fun with her flight.

"Now that's what I call fun!" Sonic exclaimed with excitement. "Mind if I join you?"

Sonic jumped over the fan, holding his arms and legs out to produce enough air resistance. He joins Zipp in the air, and though she was surprised to find the hedgehog up here, she laughed as he spun around. Sonic chuckles, doing a stationary barrel roll as the princess loops around him.

"Their sparkles are so bright right now!" Izzy commented. As Zipp glided back to the ground, Sonic curled into a ball and jumped out of the air stream. He hit the ground rolling, and stopped by Zipp as she led the group to a stained glass window, the center missing.

"But that's not why I brought you down here. This is what I wanted to show you," she pointed above the missing window to see a large purple star with five miniature stars surrounding it in the stained glass, making the trio stare in awe again.

"Oh, my stars!" Sunny said, pulling her journal out to see the same Star on the cover.

"This was made a long, long time ago when we still had magic," Zipp explained.

"It's beautiful!" Izzy commented.

Sunny looked around the stained glass before seeing a Pegasus with a crystal above it shaped like wings. "What is that?"

"That's the Pegasus crystal. It's part of my mom's crown," Zipp explained. Sonic looked at the opposite side, noticing a unicorn in a similar position as the pegasus, but there was nothing but broken glass above it.

"Say... where's the unicorn crystal?" Sonic asked himself and Zipp, but since he got no response, he decided to look around for the missing piece. Eventually, he notices sunlight reflecting off something under some material. He made his way over and pulled the fabric off to reveal what looked to be another crystal, but this time shaped like a unicorn's horn. He grabbed it and walked back toward the others, who watched with curiosity and wonder. He set the glass piece on the ground and slid it toward the reflection of the Pegasus crystal. "Well, would you look at that..."

"They fit?" Izzy questioned with surprise.

"I bet a table full of chilidogs that these two crystals belong together," Sonic explained with optimism.

"So what are you saying?" Zipp asked, a bit confused. Sonic looked at her with a bored face, expecting she might be kidding. But since the confused look stayed, he rolled his eyes and explained.

"What I'm saying is maybe you guys lost your magic because these crystals were separated," Sonic answered, then shrugged. "Then again, I'm just guessing here."

"So if we put them back together…" Izzy started.

"Magic might return…" Zipp continued.

"And all three pony kinds will get along again!" Sunny concluded.

"Now you get the idea!" Sonic says, snapping his fingers. Izzy and Zipp cheered until Zipp realized something.

"But what about the unicorn crystal?" She asked worriedly, but Izzy put her worries to rest.

"Well, if you're looking for crystals, we've got, like, a gazillion of them back in Bridlewood," Izzy explained, and Zipp calmed down.

"Guess we know the next stop of our little adventure," Sonic stated, then faced Zipp. "After we get the pegasus crystal from your mom, of course."

"Ooh, that'll be tricky. She never takes her crown off," Zipp explained, and Sonic started to think of all the things she does with her crown on her head the entire time, making him a bit uncomfortable.

"For a woman like your mom who doesn't respect us three and allows this stuff to happen, she does a pretty good job keeping her crown safe," Sonic complimented. "Maybe she could teach Knuckles how to guard the Master Emerald without any problem..."

"So, what do we do?" Sunny asked.

"I got it!" Zipp exclaims, and she explains her idea. "Pipp's performing at tonight's royal celebration. All eyes will be on her, especially my mom's. She'll be distracted, so we just need to swap the real crown with a fake."

"Ooh, I can make a decoy!" Izzy offered. "But I will need a box of macaroni, a tube of glue, fourteen gooey bunnies, and three jellybeans—oh, and glitter. Lots of glitter."

Zipp was about to explain something else, but she felt a massive gust of wind go by them, along with Sunny and Izzy. They looked around to find Sonic was gone, but before they could wonder where he went, another gust blew by them. They saw Sonic smirking, lying against a wall with a few bags with the needed supplies. Sunny and Zipp were shocked, but mostly Zipp, as they had no clue how the hedgehog did that so quickly.

"Oh yeah, he does that sometimes," Izzy said calmly and walked towards him, confusing Sunny and Zipp even more. They look at each other and then walk toward Sonic and Izzy.

"How did you do that!?" Zipp asked.

"When life gives you excitement, fun, and adventure, you learn a trick or two that sticks with you," Sonic stated. "That, and I'm the fastest thing alive, so as Izzy said, it's kinda a thing I do now and then."

"We'll, that's good and very useful, but now we need to talk about what we're gonna do," Zipp told them. They huddled up, and Zipp started to explain her master plan.

Author's Note

Once again, thanks to Real Solaris for editing this chapter.

4. Crashing the Pegasi Party!

"All right then, princess," Sonic said jokingly. "What's the game plan here?"

"Everypony who's anypony will be there, so security will be tight. I'll distract them so you can sneak in," Zipp explained.

"Maximum sneaky," Izzy stated.

"Pro sneaky," Sonic boasted.

"Exactly," Zipp nodded. "Then, make your way to the Grand Hall, but watch out for the guards."

"Sounds good, what's next?" Sonic asked. "We just enter like that or...?"

"I'll open the door to the backstage of the Throne Room," Zipp explained while whipping out a map. "Here, this map should help you so you don't get lost."

"Alright!" Izzy cheered.

"Thank-a you so much!" Sonic said, taking the map.

"And once Pipp starts singing, my mom will be so caught up that swapping the crowns will be easy-breezy."

"Easy-breezy," Sunny repeated, though she sounded doubtful. "Sure..."

"Any questions?" Zipp asked.

"Just one," Sonic said, raising a finger. "Are you okay with robbing your mom?"

"Whatever it takes to return magic to Equestria, I'll do it," Zipp replied.

"Alright..." Sonic said, thinking about the plan a little further. "Yeah, pretty neat. Alright, girls, sounds like we have a crown to steal!"

The group cheered and walked back to the platform where they entered earlier. But Sonic stood in place and looked at the empty slot between the pegasus and the unicorn. He walked over to the edge to see the world beyond Zephyr Heights, and he couldn't help but smile as he inhaled the fresh air blowing through the window.

But as he looked around Zephyr Heights, he couldn't help but think about Pipp and how comfortable she was with living a lie without thinking about how others felt. He growled too loud this time, and the three mares turned towards Sonic. They looked at each other for a moment, and Zipp waved them off.

"You guys go to the platform; I'll be back with our hedgehog friend," Zipp said. Sunny and Izzy nodded, still worried about Sonic, and Zipp galloped over to him. She stopped by his side to see his eyes glazed over, frowning as he crossed his arms and furiously tapped his foot. "Hey, buddy, everything okay?"

"I'd be lying if I said yes," Sonic sighed and looked up at the window with the pink star again. "I can't stand people who like to live in ways that negatively affect others and don't care about it. No offense, but your sister seems to be that kind of... pony, in this case."

Zipp's response was… a little defensive. "What's wrong with my sister?!"

"She seems pretty okay with lying about being able to fly. She doesn't seem to care how everyone else would feel if they ever found out," Sonic explained, surprising Zipp. "If she keeps this up, she'll never know how others feel when things aren't fair."

"Mind to specify a little, partner?" Zipp asked.

Sonic wistfully stares across the landscape for a moment, then sighs. "Where I come from, there's this evil doctor who's always planning to take over the world at least twice a week. When I was younger, I enjoyed it! It gave me excitement and something to fight for, but..." he paused and looked at Zipp. "His last scheme almost succeeded. He took over the world for six months and kept me captive in a dungeon, which was an actual dungeon, not a hotel room with cell bars. No offense."

"None taken."

"After kicking his ass again, I realized the days where the worst he could do was kidnap animals and use them as power sources for his robots were long gone." He finished. "Many times has life not been fair to me, yet I always find a way to make it through. Now, here I am, fighting alongside three ponies to make another world a better place. It's just... Pipp takes her peaceful life for granted and doesn't have a second thought about what could happen if something goes wrong. I know it shouldn't bother me, but... I can't help but feel she needs a second chance to redeem herself."

"I think I got what you're trying to say..." Zipp slowly nodded, thinking carefully about what to say next. "My sister is… a complicated matter. She wants to feel loved and important since she won't become the next queen of Z.H. I think that's kinda my fault, but also my mom's. She's treated her like a perfect doll mare, and eventually, Pipp went along with it. Maybe she feels too comfortable with lying because she's done it all her life, and she's numb to it."

"Well, I'll be glad to be there if she ever changes her mind," Sonic said, finally smiling.

"Me too," Zipp assured, smiling back. She gestures back to Sunny and Izzy, waiting by the lift. "Anyway, I think we have a heist to pull off."

"Now, that's something I can't wait to do. Let's rock'n roll!" Sonic exclaimed, but before he moved, he placed a hand on the pegasus' shoulder. "Oh, and Zipp... thanks for listening. I really needed to get that out of my system."

"Anytime, Sonic," Zipp said, chuckling as she shoulder-checks the hedgehog and gallops away. Sonic smirks, and he follows the pegasus to where Sunny and Izzy wait. Once Sonic hops on, Zipp pulls the lever up, and the platform rises to the ceiling.

'I hope Pipp changes how she acts soon,' Sonic thinks as the lift stops. 'Because one way or another, she'll eventually learn what unfair means...'

A few hours later, the concert was about to start, and it was time to take action.

The squad was in the elevator, waiting to reach the top and talking to each other. Sonic, however, was thinking about something unrelated to the plan, something he hadn't thought about when he first arrived.

'The Chaos Emeralds... where are they?' He asked himself. 'The portal pulled them in, but I didn't see them anywhere. Did they even end up in this world? Maybe they did, just in a place I haven't reached yet. But even if they are in Equestria, they're completely drained, so they'd be useless. Guess I'm not going home anytime soon...' He looked back at the group, still talking and laughing. 'But that's not so bad. I have friends here, so at least I won't be alone.'

"We're almost there," Zipp announced, bringing Sonic out of his thoughts. "Are you guys ready?"

"Yeah!" Sunny and Izzy yelled excitedly.

"I was born ready!" Sonic exclaimed with a confident smile, then looked at Zipp. "You know, you'd be a great team leader."

"Yeah, I've heard that a lot, but I'd rather take orders from somepony else," She replied with a smile. As the elevator reached the top, the doors opened, and Zipp was the first to leave. The others followed a few seconds later, keeping a safe distance from the princess in case she ran into anypony.

"Now, this is where the fun begins!" Sonic whispered excitedly.

"I just hope everything works..." Sunny whispered to herself, watching as Zipp approached a large set of double doors.

They opened, allowing Zipp to walk in before a bunch of other pegasi started asking Zipp questions. She ignored them and smirked, glancing behind her.

Sunny, Izzy and Sonic poked their heads out and looked everywhere to ensure it was safe to sneak across. With nopony in sight, they ran to the right and climbed on top of a statue. They looked down to see some guards, then slid down behind a hedge and peeked around the corner to see Zipp walk inside. They passed the guards to the Grand Hall and spotted two more guards standing by with one of them on their phone.

They used a concession table to sneak past them, and as Zipp opened the door to the backstage of the throne room, the trio entered without being spotted. Once behind the throne, they looked around the corner and noticed a lot of pegasi milling about the room, making Sunny and Izzy nervous. Seeing their nervousness, Sonic decided to try and lighten up the mood.

"Well, everything is working out so far," He said confidently. "Let's hope that everything else will work out as well."

"Now we just gotta get that crown, and we're home free!" Izzy exclaimed, making Sunny and Sonic shush her.

"I know this is exciting, Izzy, but let's stay quiet while we wait for the show to start..." Sunny asked, and the unicorn nodded.

As they waited, Sonic couldn't help but look around the place and admire it. 'I know I said it before, but I'm still impressed with how good these 'royals' managed to make this place,' He thought. 'Rouge would die of jealousy just from how well this palace is put together.'

His thoughts were interrupted when he saw, on the room's balcony, Haven talking with Zipp, then yelling at her. Of course, he didn't know what they were talking about since he was too far from them, but he could tell Zipp was trying to convince her mother to let them go, which didn't go well. Then he saw Pipp hanging from her wires with a big smile. Sonic growled quietly, but Sunny and Izzy heard him.

"Sonic, be honest. Are you okay?" Sunny asked, a little tired that her friend kept growling and didn't say anything. "Ever since we got to that abandoned station, you've been growling and growling, but you haven't said a word about it."

"We can help, you know," Izzy added, putting a hoof on Sonic's shoulder. "Whatever is bothering you, we can try and cheer you up."

Sonic looked between the two mares, and seeing the reassuring smiles their faces held made him sigh.

"...let's just say I'm a bit mad at Pipp. That smile she puts on while living a lie... bothers me. Zipp already told me why she's probably like this, yet..." He confessed, but he shook his head. The hedgehog looked at them and smiled. "But let's not think about that, okay? It's just a thought; it'll eventually go away."

The room is plunged into darkness as the lights are killed, and the trio looks up to see Queen Haven and Zipp 'flying' down to sit on their respective thrones. Zipp turned to see her friends hiding behind her mom's throne; Sunny and Izzy nodded at her while Sonic smirked with his thumbs up. Zipp nodded and returned her sight to the front before Pipp finally arrived to start her performance.

Pipp:
We got the light
We're coming in stronger
We're in it together
If you want it it's all inside your mind

Pipp 'flew' around the room, and the pegasi watched in awe as the princess sang.

We got the light
We won't wait any longer
We'll get it together
If you want, you can paint the sky

Meanwhile, the trio had stacked on top of each other behind the throne. Sonic was at the bottom, holding Izzy on his shoulders while the unicorn supported Sunny as she reached for Queen Haven's crown. To his surprise, the hedgehog found the music catchy and started tapping his foot in time with the beat.

"Damn, I hate to admit it, but this song is pretty good," Sonic muttered while doing his best to keep the mares above him steady. "As mad as I am with Pipp, she's got a great singing voice."

Used to care what they say
Let them into my brain
But I found a new way
Ooh-hoo…

Sunny finally swapped the queen's crown with the one Izzy made, and she tapped Izzy's horn. The unicorn looked up to see the crown in Sunny's hoof, and she smiled. She then nodded to Zipp, who'd been watching them out of the corner of her eye, and she nodded. Sunny hops down, and Sonic lets Izzy off his shoulders before they sneak away. They go unnoticed by all except one winged puffball - Cloudpuff.

Every time I fall down
I pick it up like rebound
Gotta get through somehow

The group made their way to one of the exits, but a guard talking on their phone blocked the trio's way. They close the door and start to move for another doorway, but a whimper makes them turn to find Cloudpuff growling at them. Sunny and Izzy scream, but Sonic stares at the puffball with an annoyed look. Sunny and Izzy ran away while Sonic grabbed Cloudpuff and gently grabbed his muzzle.

"Quiet, little buddy. I know you want to protect the queen, but this is also important, I promise," Sonic whispers to the growling dog.

We don't fly like we used to
We take what we've been through
And we can feel brand-new
Ooh-hoo-ooh

Sonic kept his hold on Cloudpuff, but he had to let the royal dog go when some guards came his way. He nearly ran the same way Sunny and Izzy went but stopped when he saw Cloudpuff taking off with the crown in his mouth.

I know I am a fighter
I feel the fire
I'm shining brighter
Ooh-hoo-hoo

Sonic went after Sunny and Izzy and pointed the runaway dog with the crown, and they doubled back while Hitch burst through the door, only to look up and see Pipp flying.

Glowin up, kind of love
Dip and slide through the cut
Glowin' up, kind of love
We say 'Hi', you say 'What?'

Hitch's flank involuntarily shook to the song, but he shook his head and focused on catching Sunny. In the meantime, the trio chased after Cloudpuff, but they had to hide behind a wall as some guards moved in front of them.

Everywhere that I've been
Yeah, they say I'm different
But I'm good in my skin
Ooh-hoo-hoo

As Cloudpuff ran up to the throne, Zipp gasped and went to intercept the dog. "Give it to me!" She hissed, grabbing the crown. She pulled against the dog, but the crystal popped out of the crown. Cloudpuff took off into the croud with it, and Zipp gave chase.

If it doesn't feel right
Break it in with tie-dye
And don't you stop 'til sunrise

We don't fly like we used to
We take what we've been through
And we can feel brand-new
Ooh-hoo-hoo

The group, on the other hand, looked to Zipp, but then they saw Hitch, who looked at them with a smirk and started heading over. The trio backed up behind some curtains and took a breather. They noticed a light behind them and turned to see a Pegasus near a control panel, and he sharply gasped when he saw them.

"Ah! It's the prisoners!" He exclaimed and ran away from Sunny and Izzy, while Sonic approached the control panel.

…I'm shining brighter
Ooh-hoo-hoo

We got the light
We're coming in stronger
We're in it together…

Cloudpuff was still running away with the crystal with Zipp in tow, but she ended up getting blocked by another pegasus. Cloudpuff, not looking where he was going, ran into somepony's leg and dropped the crystal. He looked up to see Hitch, who looked down in confusion to see an adorable little face staring back at him.

Behind the curtains, Sunny and Izzy had managed to corner the pegasus and tried calming him down while Sonic looked at the control panel.

"Alright, Sonic, think," He said to himself. "I need to create a distraction, and this control panel's gonna help me. I just need to figure out how it works..."

He pressed a random button, and the lights in the throne room flickered on and off, confusing everyone.

"What the…?" Pipp muttered to herself.

With a loud clank, a light beamed down onto Hitch, and he stopped dead in his tracks. He looked around to see all eyes were on him and, in a moment of genius, attempted to sing Pipp's song. The results were… interesting, to say the least.

Hitch:
Throwing up, find a glove, fly around, Bup-bup-bup,
Doing stuff that I love
You're like, 'Why?' I'm like, 'What?'

Sunny, Izzy, and the Pegasus they cornered looked at the screen confused, and Sonic struggled to hold his laughter.

Pipp continued to stare in confusion. "What is happening?"

Crisp and dry, eat some mud
Flowing up, lovey dove…

Hitch continued to sing, and Cloudpuff joined in with him, his howling making the already abysmal performance even worse.

"Okay, that's not helping. Gotta try something else," Sonic said, taking a deep breath to calm down. He spotted a lever nearby, and he grabbed it. "I wonder what this thing does..."

Pulling the lever, he heard Pipp scream, and he looked over to see her flying all over the place out of control. Hitch stopped his caterwauling and looked up in shock, as did the Pegasi, while Zipp took this as an opportunity to pick up the crystal and make her way toward the others.

Sunny and Izzy watched as well, feeling bad for the pegasus, but Sonic kind of enjoyed Pipp's peril.

"I know I shouldn't feel good over this, but she kinda deserves it. Heck, I am teaching her a life-changing lesson after all..." He said out loud. "Anyway, this was fun and all, but I think we should get our butts out of here."

Sunny and Izzy nodded, and they ran towards the exit when Zipp came running towards them.

"I got it!" Zipp exclaimed while Sunny grabbed the crystal and put it in her saddlebag.

"Great, now let's get the hell outta here!" Sonic exclaimed. They began making their way out when they heard a voice.

"Freeze!" They look over to see Hitch standing there, and a few more pairs of eyes land on the group.

"It's the prisoners!" A pegasus blurted. Unfortunate timing, as Pipp knocks Hitch's fake wings off, making everyone gasp.

"Another earth pony!" Yelled another pegasus, and Hitch quickly ran out of sight.

Pipp zoomed around uncontrollably before finally stopping, tangled in her wires and hanging upside down. What made it worse was when all the spotlights landed on her, and the whole room gasped.

"She's a fake!" One exclaimed.

"Fake!" Another yelled, and the room lit up with the flash of cameras taking photos. Pipp could only look around in terror as her public image shattered.

Zipp looked back at her sister, conflicting with what she should do now. Help her sister and risk the crowd's rage? Or leave and restore magic and finally fly?

"Zipp?" Pipp said loud enough for her sister to hear, but before Zipp could make a decision, Sunny bumped into her.

"Zipp, hurry!" Sunny exclaimed with worry as she dashed out the door. Zipp took one last look at Pipp before running off. But, neither she nor Sunny had noticed the Pegasus Crystal had fallen out when the earth pony bumped into Zipp, but luckily for them, someone else did.

"Hey guys, you dropped this!" Sonic exclaims, picking the Crystal up and calling out to his friends. Unfortunately, the group had already left and didn't hear his cry. Sonic looked at the crystal, shrugged, and put it in his quills. He was about to run and catch up with the group, but he heard somepony complaining and looked up. He saw Pipp trying to untangle herself from the wires holding her with a sad and defeated look.

Now, Sonic had two choices: He could leave her hanging in the spotlight, or he could save her and her mother. The hedgehog was still upset with Haven and Pipp for lying to their citizens, but they were already paying the consequences.

'I think they already got what they deserved,' He thought, glancing at the door one last time before looking back at Pipp and smiling. He wasn't happy with how Pipp acted with her life, but for Sonic, anyone deserves a second chance, no matter what they've done.

He ran up a wall and stopped, charged up a Spindash, and lunged at Pipp. He cut through the wires holding her up, then bounced off the opposite wall and caught the falling princess before sliding to a stop in front of Haven and setting Pipp down.

Everyone in the room was caught off guard, including Pipp and Queen Haven, who stared in shock at the blue hedgehog standing before them. He was about to say something, but the pegasi started yelling and moving toward the royals. The three of them looked at the crowd in fear and started backing away from them, and Sonic tried to think of what to do now.

"Great, I'm out of ideas," He said out loud, then looked at Haven and Pipp. "Well, if you have something to say, say it now..."

The crowd was getting closer, and they all began to look in every direction, searching for a way to get out. Pipp looked up, and she gasped. Haven and Sonic heard her, looked to Pipp, and then looked at what she was staring at. When they saw the open window, Haven gasped as Sonic smiled and a plan formed in his mind.

"I think I know how to get you two out of here, although I'm pretty sure none of you will like what I'm going to do," He said, and Haven and Pipp stared at him with a frown and disbelief.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Pipp angrily exclaimed. "You caused this in the first place!"

"You must have lost all sense if you think we will accept your help!" Haven stated, but Sonic wasn't planning on leaving them behind.

"Look, I hate this idea as much as you do, your majesties, I really do, but like it or not, I'm the only exit you have," He explained, then pointed to the angry crowd. "Besides, it is not like you have another choice. So, what do you say? Wanna get out of here or not?"

Haven and Pipp looked at each other, still not trusting Sonic, but they knew he was right. Haven let out a defeated sigh and looked at Sonic with determination.

"Listen, hedgehog, sir..." Haven was about to ask something, but Sonic interrupted her.

"Okay, first of all, thanks for finally calling me the right species, and second, I'm not that old to be called sir, so... just call me Sonic."

"...Listen, Sonic..." Haven said, a little annoyed. "I still don't trust you, but it seems you are willing to help us, so I'm going to ask you for one thing: Please, get Pipp out of here and keep her safe, at least until things calm down here."

"What?!" Sonic and Pipp yelled.

"Mom, what are you talking about?!" Pipp worriedly exclaimed.

"Ma'am, I'm not leaving this place without you," He stated. "I stayed back to get you and your daughter to safety, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

"Sonic, please," Haven begged. "I can hold them back while you and Pipp escape."

"But ma'am..." Sonic tried to retort, but Haven cut him off.

"I'm asking you this as a mother, not as a queen. Just... please, keep her safe."

Sonic looked at Haven, Pipp, and then the crowd. They were almost surrounding them, and if he didn't move now, he and the royals would be in big trouble. He sighed and looked at Haven.

"Your majesty..." Sonic said. "I'll keep your daughter safe; you have my word, and I always keep my word. Always."

Haven smiled at him and looked back at the crowd with a frown. Sonic looked over at Pipp, and he picked her up bridal style, making her feel uncomfortable.

"Like I said before, you're not going to like this..." He warned her, then looked back at the open window in the ceiling. "Now hang your hooves on my back, or… whatever you can, I don't know. Damn, I'm starting to run out of jokes..."

His legs spun in place before he boosted around the walls of the whole Throne Room, building enough speed before launching himself out the window. Once out, he looked around at the chaos in the streets of Zephyr Heights. Pipp felt her heart breaking, while Sonic felt terrible for the pegasus he held and the pegasi that discovered none of them could fly.

"I mean, I knew they would hate that not even royals can fly, but this seems like a bit much," Sonic said. He shivered as he felt a glare, and he looked to see Pipp frowning at him. "No offense, of course..."

Author's Note

Again, thanks to Real Solaris for helping in editing this chapter's mistakes.

I'll probably announce in a blog post that the story has been fixed thanks to you eventually, so don't feel surprised if it happens :)

5. Escape from the Pegasi City and Trip to Bridlewood

Sonic and Pipp hid in a dark alley from the Pegasi running up and down the streets, angry at their royals and in search of the runaways.

"So, what now?" Pipp asked, still mad at Sonic for ruining her performance. The hedgehog just rolled his eyes and looked at the pegasus princess.

"Well, I have to find a safe spot for you, just as I promised to your mom, and then I'm finding my friends so we can restore some magic. You're welcome to join if you'd like."

"Why would I want to join the ponies - and hedgehog - that ruined my night?!" She exclaimed, pacing from one side of the alleyway to the other.

"Again, you're welcome for saving you, princess," Sonic said with evident sarcasm.

"I didn't ask you to save me!"

"You're right, your mother did," Sonic said with a smirk, but it immediately faded. "And even if she didn't ask, I would've saved you anyway."

"I doubt it," She huffed.

"You know nothing about me to be so sure about that."

"And you know nothing about me either!" She shouts. Before Pipp could say anything else, Sonic put a hand over her mouth and pulled the princess behind a trash can. She starts to protest, but Sonic holds a finger to his lips and gestures to the front of the alleyway. Pipp peeks over to see the shadow of a pegasus on the wall, seemingly looking around for something.

She quickly pulls back behind Sonic, and the pair wait for the other pony to leave. It feels like an eternity passed before the pegasus left, and they let go of the breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding.

Sonic turns to Pipp again to keep the discussion going, this time at a lower volume.

"I do know things about you, Pipp. And let me give you a little spoiler: NONE of them are good," He stated, and the pegasus gasped slightly but kept her frown. "Do you really want to hear what I think about you?"

"Go on," She sighs. "It can't be any worse than what random ponies on the internet say anyway..."

Sonic watched Pipp, waiting for her to regret it, but after a moment of silence, he sighed. "You're arrogant, egotistical, you only care about the outside, you want to be the center of attention, you don't care how others feel, and you're very comfortable living a lie that cost your whole kingdom's trust. Also, your lying skills are terrible; I could tell you were lying about royals being the only ones capable of flying a mile away. Do you want me to keep going? Because I'm not done yet."

The look on Pipp's face after he finished was... expected, but it surprised him anyway. She was in shock, which was expected, but her eyes reflected her pain, and her lips started to tremble as all signs of anger left her. Sonic felt sorry for Pipp, but he didn't regret telling her all that. After all, she should've known that the truth would get out eventually, no matter how hard she or her mother tried to hide it.

Pipp felt something wet trickle down her cheeks, and as she passed a hoof over one of them, she realized she was crying. She wasn't sobbing, however, but she let the tears out and stayed silent since everything Sonic said hurt. And deep down, she knew it hurt that much because it was true, and it just made her feel even worse.

Sonic leaned against the wall with his arms crossed and stared at the floor, not daring to speak either since he thought he had said enough. Yet, he felt the need to say something else...

"However..." He started, and Pipp looked at the blue hedgehog with fear that he would say something worse. "I'm in no position to say that all of that is true."

Pipp looked at him in surprise."B-But you just said..."

"I said that those are things I think from you. But I never said they were true, did I?" He asked, arching a brow. Pipp wanted to say something else but couldn't find the words, so she shook her head. "I'm pretty sure that many of those things are just wrong perceptions from me, but I can say certainly that one of them isn't true: The one where I said you don't care about how others feel."

Pipp rubbed her shoulder as her ears flattened against her head, and she finally spoke up. "But you're not wrong about that one. I have been living a lie, not caring about how others would feel if they ever found out that we can't fly either..." She said sadly. However, Sonic wasn't planning on letting the princess feel like this, even though it was against everything he said moments ago.

"The way I see it, you were lying to make them feel safe," Sonic corrected, and Pipp's jaw dropped. "I'm not saying I like how you lied to all of them and felt comfortable with it, but I kinda understand why. Both you and your mom felt like they would feel safe - from something not that dangerous in the first place - if they believed the royals could fly."

"...I… guess I see your point... but still... I lied to them for so long that now I feel like a failure. And Zipp... she just abandoned me. Now, all the kingdom knows the truth... You should have just left me hanging in there..." She said, turning around and sitting down. "That's what I deserved for being a liar..."

Sonic chuckled, then sped in front of Pipp to kneel and look her straight in the eyes. "Regardless of whether I like you or not, I was going to stay and help you and your mom escape."

"But why?" Pipp questioned, still feeling like she deserved to stay hanging in the Throne Room. "Both mom and I mistreated you, mistaken you for a porcupine, and yelled at you when you decided to help. Why help ponies like us escape?"

"Because I believe everyone deserves a second chance, Pipp," He answered with a smile. "I could have left both of you there and followed my friends to the exit. Instead, I listened to my heart and decided to help and give you another chance. So, what do you say if we re-introduce ourselves? This time properly, of course."

Sonic stood up and held his hand out to her. Pipp giggled as she stood up and put her hoof on the hedgehog's hand.

"Hello, I'm Princess Pipp Petals from Zephyr Heights," She said elegantly.

Sonic decided to play along, kneeling again, still holding Pipp's hoof.

"Nice to meet you, Your Majesty," He said in a deep, serious voice while kissing her hoof gently, making her blush a bit and her wings pop open. "My name's Sonic the Hedgehog."

As he stood up and let go of Pipp's hoof, he noticed her flushed expression and open wings but decided not to ask since it likely wasn't his business to know.

"N-Nice to meet you, S-Sonic..." Pipp nervously replied, closing her wings as she tried to hide her blush.

"Now that we've properly introduced ourselves let's find a safe spot you can stay and..." Pipp cuts him off mid-sentence.

"Actually, about your offer of joining you..." Pipp said, smiling awkwardly.

"So you're coming along for the ride, huh?" He said with a smirk, making Pipp blush slightly again.

'What the Tartarus?' She thought to herself. 'You need to let those weird thoughts aside, Pipp. Don't forget he still ruined your show, maybe not on purpose, but he did it anyway. Besides, he's not a pony, making these thoughts even weirder!'

"It's just that I think it's better to go with you than stay here alone," She quickly replied after her strange mental battle. "Besides, I have a pending talk with my sister."

"Guess you're right on both things. It was stupid of me to think of making you stay here alone. But are you sure you wanna come?" He asked, half expecting Pipp to turn around and say no.

"Absolutely sure," She confidently stated.

"Well then..." He said, quickly picking the mare up bridal style again and causing blood to rush to her face again. "Let's find your sister and my friends!"

Crouching, the hedgehog looks up and tenses his legs. "Here we…" He can almost see a countdown in front of him, and once it hits one, he smirks. "…GO!"

Sonic pushes against the ground and jumps into the air, quickly going past the roof and landing on it. He then boosts over the rooftops of Zephyr Heights while Pipp tightly wraps her hooves around Sonic's neck. She couldn't help but feel something weird in her chest, and warmth rushed into her cheeks again as she watched the hedgehog's serious expression while running.

"I-I'm never going to get used to this..." She admitted.

"To what? Me running too high speeds or carrying you bridal style?" He asked, still focused on where he was going. Pipp wasn't talking about either, but she decided not to say that and play along.

"Both," She replied with a little smile. It wasn't a lie; it was still weird for her to move this fast and be carried in such an odd way.

After several minutes of searching from the rooftops, Sonic finally spotted his friends huddled in another alley. He carefully set Pipp down and smirked as he walked towards the group. Pipp glared at Zipp while Sonic focused on the rest.

"Oh no, no, no, no... It's not here!" Sunny cried out as she rummaged through her saddlebag.

"Seriously?!" Zipp grumbled. Hitch was also there, but he had no idea what they were talking about. Izzy, on the other hand, noticed someone was missing from them.

"Uh, guys?" She called out, grabbing everyone else's attention, "Where's Sonic?"

It wasn't until Izzy asked that Sunny and Zipp noticed the absence of the blue hedgehog. They looked around to see if he was nearby, but his voice echoed from the dark part of the alley.

"Miss me already?" Sonic playfully said as he walked out of the shadows. "I was out for like five minutes or so." The mares breathe sighs of relief, happy their friend hadn't gotten lost or hurt.

"Where did you go?" Zipp asked.

"Well, let me say you're terrible at keeping things safe," Sonic chuckles, reaching a hand into his quills. "'Cause I had to go back and get you a little present."

He pulls the Pegasus Crystal out, and Sunny gasps as Sonic hands it to her.

"The crystal!" She exclaims, taking and placing it back in her saddlebag.

"That's a nice storage space!" Izzy complimented.

"Thanks," Sonic replied with a smile, then remembered somepony and looked at Zipp. "Oh yeah, I also went to save your sister. I tried to save your mom, but she said no, so I just saved Pipp. You're welcome, by the way."

Pipp finally stepped out from the shadows. "Somepony needs to explain why that thing was so important that you had to ruin my whole show over it!"

"Trust me, it is," Zipp said while walking up to her sister, but Pipp snapped back at her.

"You left me hanging there! In the spotlight! Now everypony knows we can't fly... And I had to be saved by someone that's more worried about me than my own sister!" She said, pointing at Sonic.

Hitch, who had been silent this whole time, moved toward Sonic, who was leaning on a wall.

"What is your main goal here?!" He asked angrily, to which Sonic rolled his eyes and smirked.

"To live every second as if it were the last. I like adventure, and wherever there is one, I'm in. That, and I also like having fun."

The darkness of the alleyway is pushed back as one of the giant TV screens in one of the buildings outside the alley turns on. The group looks up to see the pegasus anchor from before with a grim expression.

"This just in. The blue porcupine captured earlier has broken out and taken Princess Pipp with him!"

Behind her, footage of Sonic holding Pipp is shown, and the camera follows them as he runs away from the Throne Room and into the city.

"You did what?!" Zipp exclaims, whirling around to face the hedgehog. He facepalms and rubs his eyes.

"They're never going to get that I'm a hedgehog, are they?" He groans, then looks at Zipp with a bored expression. "I'm the fastest thing alive; I told you that before. And your mom told me... no, made me promise to keep Pipp safe, so I just did that."

Buzzing from under Pipp’s wing makes the pegasus pull her phone out to see what it is, but she immediately regrets it as the notification plays.

"A warrant is out for the arrest of the princesses," Said a pegasus, as pictures of Pipp and Zipp pull up on the screen before switching to a clip of Queen Haven.

"Pipp! Zipp! Save yourselves!" The queen begged, then posed dramatically.

"At least now we know who Pipp inherited being so photogenic from," Sonic whispers to Izzy, and she giggles. Pipp, however, starts to freak out.

"What?! This isn't happening. This is so not happening––"

"Pipp!" Zipp interrupts. "Forget all of that! We think we can bring back magic, but we need the crystal."

Pipp stares in disbelief. "Have you lost your mind? We can't trust them!" She points toward everyone else.

Sonic rolls his eyes, growling in frustration before getting close to Pipp.

"Look, princess, I feel like I should have said this when we were in that alley before, but we're sorry that our little plan ruined your show," He said in a tired but honest voice. "It was simple: We get the crystal, then get out of the palace, and let your little show keep going with no one noticing we were there in the first place. Ruining your performance was not in the plan, but things get out of hand and... well, you know the rest. But nothing of that was on purpose, and I'm pretty sure that if we did try to ruin it, we probably wouldn't have made it. So again, we're sorry."

The rest of the group, Hitch included, nodded in agreement, and Pipp's angry look softened a little, although she was still mad.

"Look, Pipp, you can come with us to Bridlewood so we can find the unicorn crystal and restore magic, or you can stay here hidden," Zipp stated.

Pipp thought for a moment, and then Sonic spoke again.

"Besides, I saved your life, so you kinda owe me one," He said with a little smile. "How about you show us the way out of here?"

Pipp sighed in defeat and looked at the group with determination. "Fine, I do know a way out. Come on!"

The rest of the group ran after her, but Hitch stood where he had been the entire time. "What?! Wait! You can't just... But I'm the sheriff!"

"Not in this town, Donut Lord!" Sonic yelled from a distance, with the rest of the group laughing loudly.

Hitch sighed in frustration and galloped after the rest. Together, they escaped from the Pegasi city with little to no issue and began moving toward Bridlewood. As they left the city behind, Sonic caught up with Pipp and started running backward as he faced her.

"By the way, you have a wonderful singing voice. And although you didn't manage to finish the song, I must admit it's quite catchy. Keep up with the amazing work!" He complimented, then winked at her and fell back to bring up the rear.

Pipp knew it was just a compliment, nothing new for her, yet that strange feeling in her chest came back, and she blushed again but put those thoughts aside and focused on running. Perhaps she was overwhelmed by everything that had happened that her mind was thinking some weird stuff...

Out in the middle of a grass-field, the group of heroes, with Pipp reluctantly joining them, were on their way to Bridlewood to find the Unicorn Crystal.

Sonic couldn't help but notice the tree they were close to was the same tree he woke up by when he arrived in Equestria. A thought flashed in his mind, and he ran towards the whole tree and returned in a split second since he didn't find what he was looking for.

'They're not here,' He thought. 'Then where are the Chaos Emeralds? They have to be here in Equestria, but where?'

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Sunny shouting, "...Is this way!" and then looked at her as she continued walking alongside Izzy and Zipp. Sonic followed up but stayed behind because he wanted to keep an eye on Pipp and Hitch. After all, he promised Haven he would keep her safe, and he thought looking after the Sheriff was a good idea.

"What am I doing here?" Hitch asked out loud. "Hoofing across daisy fields, looking for a magical crystal that doesn't even exist!"

"It was supposed to be my best show ever, and now it's over," Pipp said dramatically. "I'm a criminal, and it's all because..."

"Of them," Pipp and Hitch said simultaneously.

"And that's so not cool," Pipp angrily said, then kept moving.

"No, it is not… did I just agree with a Pegasus?" Hitch asked himself, realizing what he said.

Sonic heard everything and decided to slow down to have a little talk with the two ponies.

"Guys, just get over it," He tiredly exclaimed. Pipp and Hitch stared at him with confusion and anger, so he proceeded to explain further. "Look, I get it. You were both raised to believe that the other pony races were enemies and dangerous, and you still don't trust them at all, but that's something you can change if you have the will to do it. So far, we haven't tried to harm anyone, and if we did, it was because things got out of hand, but we intend to make this world a better place."

Sonic stopped and pointed to Sunny. "And to do that, you must have the courage to take the first step. She already did, and it's up to us to follow her example or cast her aside. Nothing I say will change your mind, but try to go with the flow. Who knows, maybe you'll end up enjoying it."

As Sonic turned back around, Pipp and Hitch felt something strange inside. Fault? Grief? They didn't know what it was, but one thing was for sure: What Sonic told them got through to them. They didn't completely trust him, or the rest, really, but at least they would try to let go and go with the flow, as the hedgehog said. Pipp decided to catch up to her sister while Hitch stayed behind, mumbling to himself.

"Oh, by the way, Donut Lord..." Sonic said with a smirk, making Hitch growl. "Your badge is missing. Weird for a Sheriff to not have a badge if you ask me."

"What? What are you...?" Hitch tried to ask as he touched his sash, only to discover that Sonic was right. His badge wasn't in its place anymore. He started to freak out and pointed at Sonic. "You stole, didn't you?!"

Sonic blinked a few times before bursting out into laughter. "Yeah, sure! I love to steal shiny badges that are meaningless to me," He said, wiping away a tear. "And I thought Shadow's jokes were terrible."

"Y'know, I did see a shiny badgey thing on the ground a few hours ago," Izzy admitted, popping into the conversation.

"Hours?!" Hitch exclaimed with worry.

"Well, maybe it's for the best. Between you and me, buddy, that badge was creating an unhealthy power dynamic," Izzy mumbled before dashing off, singing a song.

Sonic chuckled at the sight and then put his arm around Hitch's neck. "You know, she's not wrong at all. So, good for you!" He exclaimed before running ahead.

The group kept walking until they arrived at a destroyed bridge. Sonic poked his head over the hole in the bridge, tossed a rock over, and waited for it to hit the bottom. He started to lose patience and looked at his wrist as if he had a clock while tapping his foot. The hedgehog's ear twitched, meaning he heard the rock hit the bottom, and he cringed slightly.

"Thirty seconds exactly. Well, if you try to cross, there will be more than a dead end down there," He joked.

"What are we gonna do?" Sunny asked, looking at Izzy.

"Any ideas, Zipp?" Pipp asked her sister, trying to mock her.

"You know what'd be great right now? Let me think... Maybe something like... The ability to fly!" Zipp snapped back. The two sisters started to fight while Hitch walked over to Sunny.

"Oh well, that's the end of that!" He said joyfully. "Time to go home! I wished I could say it was nice to meet all of you, but it wasn't."

"Real smooth," Sonic said sarcastically.

While the rest keep fighting, Sunny can't take it anymore and practically explodes.

"Everypony, STOP!" She shouts, making Zipp, Pipp, and Hitch freeze while Sonic rolls his eyes and turns around.

He spots a thick tree nearby and decides to investigate. Once he looked closer, he could tell the tree was tall enough to cross the gap, and he called out to Izzy. "Hey, Izzy, come take a look at this!"

"Wow!" Izzy exclaimed, gazing up at the tree as she trotted over. "This tree is huge!"

"I think it's tall enough to help us cross to the other side," Sonic explained, rubbing his chin with a finger. "We just need to find a way to make it fall..."

"Oh, I can help with that!" Izzy said excitedly, and Sonic moved back and looked at her curiously. Izzy began to chip away at the tree with her horn, making quick work of the bark like she was using a chainsaw and not her horn. Sonic's jaw hit the ground in shock, but he was more impressed that the unicorn could do this.

"Everypony happy now?" Sunny asked the rest when a loud crash and branch snapping echoed through the chasm. They look over to see Izzy standing next to a felled tree that crosses the expanse.

"Ta-da!" Izzy said, proudly gesturing a hoof to the makeshift bridge. Sonic gave the mare a golf clap, impressed by how quickly she cut the tree.

"Alright!" Zipp exclaimed.

"Oh great..." Hitch said with annoyance.

"Nice work there, Izzy. That's a trick of yours I didn't expect!" Sonic complimented.

"Come on, everypony!" Sunny exclaimed as she hopped onto the improvised bridge.

They crossed with no problem and then kept walking through another grass-field. Once Sonic was on the other side, his ear twitched again because he thought he heard someone screaming. He looked around but found nothing out of place, so he shrugged and kept going.

"So, how far we are from Bridlewood, Izzy?" Sunny asked.

"Not too far from here, but I think we may have to camp tonight," Izzy answered as she looked at the sky, noticing the blue skies beginning to darken.

"Well, if that's the case, let's find a spot to stay for the night, and then we'll keep going tomorrow," Sonic suggested, receiving nods from the others except Hitch.

'Guess I'll worry about the Emeralds another time,' Sonic thought before following the group in search of a suitable camp area.

Author's Note

First of all, I'm going to clear this up, okay?

Pipp is developing a platonic crush on Sonic. I mean, yes, she is liking him, but as she said, they are different species, so she maintains that limit. She likes his jokes, his personality and the way he is, but she tries to keep her mind focused and not fall for the feelings, although it might change in the future.

As the story progresses, you will understand better.

Also, thanks once again to Real Solaris for editing this chapter!

6. Missing home by the Campfire

A while later, the group found a spot under a stone outcrop to camp and gathered enough kindling and larger branches for a fire. After setting it up, Sunny clicked her hooves together, creating sparks that ignited the kindling and started the fire. Once it got going, Zipp flapped her wings once at the fire, and it roared to life.

Hitch, on the other hoof, sat separate from them, struggling to start his fire by rubbing a stick against another. Considering his position, you'd think Hitch, of all ponies, would know how to get a proper fire going, but apparently, that was one of the things he had no clue about, evidenced by the oversized logs he was trying to ignite.

Sonic sat between Zipp and Pipp, looking at a picture he took with Tails and Knuckles years ago while quietly humming the melody of one of his favorite songs. He looked over at Hitch and rolled his eyes in annoyance, and the mares looked over with amused looks planted on their faces.

"You need some backup, sheriff?" Zipp asked.

"No, thank you, I've got it!" Hitch spat back. His face lit up as he finally got a little flame going, but it fell as the fire immediately died.

"Oh, that was sad to watch. Come on, don't be a hero, dude; Come get warm," Zipp offered, but Hitch continued to be stubborn.

"Hey, Sunny, maybe you should talk to him," Sonic said, nudging the mare. "I think he's more willing to listen to you than the rest of us."

Sunny nodded, and as she walked over to talk to Hitch, Sonic looked back at the photo in his hand. His ears fell against his head as sadness rippled through his body, but the others never noticed as they talked with each other.

Sunny then returned to the fire and sat by Zipp as she gestured for Hitch to come over. He reluctantly did, but he kept his distance from the others. Sunny joined in on the other's conversation until Zipp noticed Sonic sadly looking at something.

"Hey buddy, what's with the long face?" She asked Sonic, putting a hoof on his shoulder. The rest of the group finally looked at him, and some, like Izzy and Pipp, gasped in surprise to see the confident and happy attitude of his gone.

Sonic looked up and saw the others, even Hitch, looking at him expectantly. He sighed and put the picture on the ground, spinning it around so the ponies could see it better.

It showed Sonic in the middle, his arms wrapped around Knuckles and Tails' necks, each smiling at the camera with closed eyes. If it wasn't obvious just by looking at the photo, these three were more than just friends - they were the blue hedgehog's family.

"I think it's about time I explained how I ended up in Equestria," Sonic blurted out, receiving curious looks from Hitch, Zipp, and Pipp but worried glances from Sunny and Izzy.

"Sonic, you don't have to if you don't..." Sunny tried to reply, but Sonic cut her off.

"It's not a question of being ready or not. It's something I have to do; I owe it to you guys. I've been trying to avoid bringing it up the whole trip, but it's about time you knew. Besides, it's not fair that I know why you're here, but you don't know why I'm here."

Sunny wanted to protest, but she couldn't think of anything, so she sat down and let Sonic speak.

"First of all, I want to clarify that where I come from, we are always in danger of being attacked at least twice a week," Sonic starts. "A crazy scientist named Robotnik - although I affectionately call him Eggman to mock him - is obsessed with conquering the world and is always looking for some way to hurt everyone with his machines. I've been dealing with him since I was a kid, and to this day, it's still going. We have a very nice and healthy arch-enemy relationship." He says the last part sarcastically, then points to the picture.

"These two here are my best friends, Tails and Knuckles. Tails is the little brother I never had, and meeting him was the best thing that ever happened to me. We met when the most macabre thing Robotnik did was kidnap animals and use them as power sources for his machines."

"He did what with the animals?!" Hitch interrupts, standing with a growl.

"Are you implying that's not the cruelest thing he's done?!" Pipp asked fearfully.

"Unfortunately, yeah," The hedgehog sighs. "Eggman's ambitions grew over time, and therefore, his plans reached levels that, to this day, continue to give me nightmares. But that doesn't matter yet..." He said calmly as if it was no big deal, puzzling the ponies. "Then there's Knuckles, who punched me when we first met. Nope, no kidding, he literally punched me as soon as he saw me. But he's justified; ol' Eggy tricked him for the first time, and he didn't know he was fighting the wrong guy. He didn't realize until Eggman stole a huge gem from him called the Master Emerald, which Knuckles swore to protect."

"Did you say 'tricked him for the first time'? Have there been others?!" Zipp asked in confusion.

"I've lost count of how much he's been fooled," Sonic replied with a bored look. "But despite all the crashes we've had, we've put that in the past, and now we're what I like to call 'competitive friends'. We help each other when needed, of course, but we're rivals for fun. He's like a big brother to me and Tails. Together, we tore apart Eggman's plans every time he showed up, and we always emerged victorious. Always… until he created Infinite."

"Infinite?" Izzy asked with amusement. "Sounds like a weird name."

"Oh yeah, he's nobody important. He just knocked me out during our first meeting and made me a prisoner for six months while Eggman took over the world," Sonic said again like it was no big deal, and the ponies looked at the blue hedgehog with concern as he waved it off. "Minor, unimportant details. But in the end, I managed to escape thanks to an old friend I hadn't seen in a while, and I helped my friends get the world back. After that, Eggman disappeared for a few months, and I was able to enjoy some peace with my friends..."

Sonic allowed himself to smile briefly, remembering all the good times he'd had with Tails and Knuckles. But the image of the fox crying and screaming desperately came to his mind for a split second, and his smile disappeared.

"But... three days ago... Knuckles was guarding the Master Emerald as usual when one of Eggman's ships appeared over the island he lives on. The knucklehead thought he could handle it, but he was outnumbered and sent a distress signal to Tails. As soon as he received it, we decided to give Knuckles a hand." Sonic continued to explain, frowning as he clenched his hands into fists. "We destroyed the robots, but one exploded, and... Tails and Knuckles were knocked out. I got them to safety and decided to fight Eggman alone. Without knowing it, I fell right into the lion's den."

The others looked at each other with unease, unsure where the blue hedgehog was going with this.

"After searching for a while, I came across a dark room with a strange machine in the middle. Once I entered, the lights came on, and Eggman appeared. He explained that he would travel to another world to conquer it and leave ours alone after losing so many times. It made my blood boil just thinking about it... innocent and defenseless lives in his clutches... I wasn't going to allow it. I wasn't going to let another world - this world - suffer because of Eggman and his delusions of grandeur. I got so mad I used the power of seven very powerful Emeralds to try to destroy the machine I saw earlier, as I believed its supposed purpose was to open a portal to another world. It never crossed my mind that it might've been a trap before Eggman locked me inside and activated it," Sonic continued, his voice beginning to crack. He paused to hold back the urge to cry, then continued.

"Everything afterward happened so fast, and even for me, it's still hard to take in... Knuckles came in and knocked out Eggman, and then tried to help Tails get me out of the machine... but it pulled the Emeralds out of me and used their power to open a portal that sucked me and the Emeralds in. I promised Tails and Knuckles I'd be back, but the last thing I saw... it still haunts me..." The hedgehog shivered as a ghostly scream echoed through his mind. "Tails was... so hurt, so desperate to save me that seeing his face covered in tears broke my heart... and the worst part is, that's the last thing I saw of him before waking up in the field we passed earlier, at the foot of that giant cherry tree. So here I am, with no way to know if they're safe, with five talking ponies around a campfire and trying to make their world a better place," Sonic finishes with a sad smile.

The perception the ponies held of Sonic dramatically changed after practically hearing his life story, mainly for Hitch and Pipp. As everypony saw him now, that carefree and playful soul Sonic showed himself to be on the outside hid dark and difficult moments inside. Yet despite everything he'd been through, despite his current situation, he kept smiling like nothing had happened.

"Now, I know everything I've said sounds very tragic and sad and blah blah blah, but please don't change how you look at me. I'm a guy who goes with the flow and is willing to do anything to live life to the fullest, and no trauma or pain can change that. Even if I miss my home and friends, I feel... happy because I have you... and Hitch," He says the last part in a mocking tone.

The others burst out laughing, instantly breaking the tension. Even Hitch laughed a little but stopped. "Ha ha ha, very funny."

As the laughter died down, Zipp decided to pick up the subject.

"Listen, Sonic, if you ever feel lonely or sad again, just say so. We'll help and support you however we can," Assured the pegasus.

Besides Hitch, the others nodded in agreement. This surprised Sonic; he barely knew these ponies, but they already considered him that close of a friend.

"Thank you, all four of you. I appreciate it…" Sonic said before shaking his head quickly, making his quills stand straight up and give him an afro. "So what's the next step, captain?" He asked Sunny jokingly, doing a military pose. The ponies laugh, but mainly because of his funny hairstyle.

"I think we should set off at first light. Last stop: Bridlewood," Sunny answered, then noticed Izzy's expression turn sad. "Izzy? What's wrong?"

Sonic fixed his quills and focused on Izzy.

"It's just that... being with you ponies and hedgehog has been the best thing that's ever happened to me. I guess... I just don't want our adventure to end," Izzy explained while slightly getting happier.

"But Izzy, you'll get your magic," Sunny stated with optimism while Izzy smiled.

Hitch then looked at both Sonic and Izzy.

"Can I ask you both a question? Why did you come to Maretime Bay?" He asked, curious.

"When I woke up, I was very disoriented. I wanted to get an idea of where I was and then figure out how to get back home, then Izzy ran into me," Sonic explained first. "She told me about... herself, and I decided to help her. Why? I guess it was in my heart... I'm willing to help anyone who needs it because it's the right thing to do. I guess... it's an instinct of duty I must heed."

"And I always wanted to visit," Izzy spoke next. "When I was a filly, I found this pretty lantern. It had a message inside saying that I had friends in Maretime Bay," Izzy pulled out the note she had shown Sonic a few days earlier and showed it to the rest.

Sunny's ears perked up, and she put on the biggest smile the group had ever seen from her. Sonic looked between the photo and the mare, putting two and two together before his jaw dropped.

"I-It was you!" Izzy said with surprise, passing the note to Hitch, who then passed it to Sunny.

"I made it with my dad. We always promised each other that, someday, we would prove that all ponies are meant to be friends… We'll do our part, hoof to heart," Sunny finished with a smile, holding the note close to her chest.

Everyone else smiled, and Sonic picked up his picture with Tails and Knuckles from the ground, looking at it one last time as a big smile spread across his face. He put the photo in his quills and then heard Hitch draw everyone's attention.

"Hey..." He said. "I want to do my part." This made Sunny smile even more. "What do we have to lose, right?" He asked rhetorically, causing the group to cheer. "I have to admit, a Unicorn forest does sound kind of magical."

"You know, everything that has happened so far feels so weird," Pipp said. "This whole adventure feels surreal, to be honest."

"You can say that again, sister," Zipp replied with a smirk while the others giggled.

"Yeah, sure," Sonic simply said with his eyes closed, scratching one cheek. When he felt too much silence, he opened his eyes and found the whole group staring at him, confused. "What? Did... did I say something wrong or...?"

"Uh... Why were you so calm when Pipp said all this has been crazy?" Sunny dared to ask.

"You mean all we have lived since we left Maretime Bay? Please, this is all like a walk in the park to me," He replied calmly. After that, the group stared at him in disbelief.

"Y-You're joking, right?" Pipp asked nervously, hoping that Sonic was messing with them.

Sonic smirked a little, then stretched and fell to the ground. "Remember when I said the worst thing Eggman could do was kidnap animals, and then his ambitions grew? Well... I can't list them all, but among the worst things he has done, we have the time he destroyed the moon, the time he split the world into seven gigantic pieces, the time he built a time machine and tried to erase me from existence; the time he enslaved an alien race and locked them up in his intergalactic amusement park... Oh yeah, there are some other things he wasn't involved in, like the time I fought King Arthur and became a knight, or the time I ended up trapped in a magical book and had to defeat an evil genie to get out... and that's not even half of the things I've lived so far." He finished explaining.

When he got up to face everyone, he was surprised to find everyone with their jaws dropped. He then smirked and spoke again.

"I'm just used to weirder stuff happening all the time. This adventure is fresh and new to me, and while not with the same amount of craziness I'm used to dealing with, it's still a fun ride that I'm totally in."

"...You've seen aliens?!" Hitch asked, still in disbelief.

"From all shapes and colors, sheriff," Sonic replied joyfully.

"You've been on a magic book?!" Sunny and Izzy asked excitedly.

"Trapped on one, but yeah. It was pretty fun."

"You fought in space?" Zipp asked with curiosity.

"So many times I already lost count."

"You were a knight?!" Pipp asked, surprised and flustered.

"Technically, I still am. Yes, I may not have fancy heavy armor or a fine golden sword, but I earned the title, and it still stands today, so... yeah, I'm a knight," He replied, still feeling calm about everything that had happened in his life. He could feel the others still had questions, but he looked up at the sky and knew it was time to sleep.

"I'd love to keep answering your questions, but we should rest and recharge our batteries. Tomorrow, we're restoring magic for sure, so let's sleep before letting the questions continue, okay?"

Although the others did want to ask more questions, they nodded since they felt a little tired, so they decided to follow Sonic's plan and get some sleep.

However, Sonic wasn't tired at all, but he tried to fall asleep anyway, although he could still hear Tails scream when he closed his eyes.

'Don't think about that right now,' He thought. 'It'll only hurt you more...'

She couldn't tell the exact time, but Pipp knew it was too early, and she still couldn't sleep, no matter how hard she tried.

Hearing parts of Sonic's history and some of his adventures made her feel terrible as she looked back at what she did to maintain the lie that she could fly. Thinking of how she treated Sonic since his arrival in Zephyr Heights only made her feel worse.

Ultimately, she sat up and blearily rubbed her eyes as she stifled a yawn. Then she noticed there were only four sleeping ponies.

'Where's Sonic?' She wondered, looking around.

She wouldn't have to wait long to get an answer. The sound of a softly singing voice drifted into her ears, and she turned around to find a familiar blue figure sitting on the edge of a cliff. To her surprise, he sang pretty well despite not being a professional. The pegasus slowly approached him, and little by little, the lyrics became clearer...

I'm gonna reach for the stars
Although they look pretty far
I'm gonna find my own way
And take a chance on today

"You sing very well," Pipp complimented, startling Sonic before he turned slightly to see the pegasus princess.

"I'm not the type to sing a lot. I only do it when it comes to my heart, although doing it for fun occasionally isn't all that bad," Sonic said with a little smile. "Can't sleep either?"

"No," Pipp replied, sitting next to Sonic. "My thoughts won't allow it."

"Same," Confessed the hedgehog. "I'm still worried about Tails... I know he's strong, and if Eggman messes around, he'll do anything to stop him... but the thought of something bad happening to him while I'm not there... it scares me."

"You know, for somepony with a free spirit, it's hard to imagine you having problems," said Pipp. She quickly corrected herself as the hedgehog looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not saying it's a bad thing; it's just... hard to believe that something awful is happening to you. With such a joking and rebellious attitude..."

"It's a defense mechanism, I guess," Sonic says, shrugging. "I prefer to pretend I don’t have any problems and make silly jokes because deep down, I'm terrified and stressed over so many things... That's why I hide behind such a liberal attitude; it helps me contain fear and forget things for a moment..."

Sonic sighed ruefully as he gazed at the stars, and Pipp didn't say anything else. Now, she felt much more guilty about how she treated him before. After a moment of silence, Sonic decided to break it.

"And what about you?" He asked, looking at the mare out of the corner of his eye. "What's keeping you up?"

"It's just that..." Pipp stops, rubbing a hoof against her arm before continuing. "I feel like I've been a jerk..."

"What do you mean?" Sonic asked her confused.

Pipp sighed and kept talking. "Ever since I was little, I was never into sports or figuring out how to fly like Zipp was. Mom always taught me that I should never trust earth ponies or unicorns, as well as keep lying about how we were able to fly. And it started on an early stage of life that... eventually, I just became a character, and lost my true self..."

Sonic started feeling more sympathy for the pegasus and decided to let her finish. He'd already let out what he had, and she listened; now, it was his turn to listen.

"It made me be a big jerk to Zipp. I love her as a sister, I really do, but... due to how I was supposed to act, I treated her and everypony else horribly... I even mistreated you without caring about how you felt. What kind of a pony does that make me? The only reason the Pipsqueaks even care for me is because I'm a royal… a stupid, worthless, pathetic mistake of a royal..." Pipp trailed off as tears fell down her cheeks, and she silently wept.

Sonic was in disbelief. All this time, Pipp had been acting this way because that's how she'd been taught, and she hid her emotions to the point that she just stopped caring.

'Dammit,' Sonic thought. 'I feel bad for thinking of her like I did. Well, I guess I shouldn't judge a book by its cover; she's an excellent and interesting book; she just has a… questionable cover.'

He looked at her again and spoke up. "Look at me, princess."

Pipp slowly looked up at him, and when she looked into his eyes, the hedgehog wrapped his arms around her for a hug. It caught her off guard, yet it felt... warm and welcoming, so she accepted it.

"Don't you dare think those things about yourself are true," Sonic begged her, squeezing the mare slightly. "You acted like this because your mom taught you it was right, and she acted like that because that's how her mom taught her. I'm not the kind of guy that can talk about family since I never met mine, but I know it's never too late to fix some of your mistakes, even when it seems impossible."

Pipp felt terrible again. She didn't treat Sonic in the best of ways since meeting him, yet here he was, helping her to feel better. That strange feeling in her chest came back, but this time, she didn't try to push it aside. She hugged Sonic back, a little smile forming on her lips.

"I'm sorry, Sonic... for how I've treated you this whole time," She apologized, breaking the hug.

"I'm sorry too, Pipp. I... may have accidentally, intentionally pulled the lever that made your strings go haywire... Guess I shouldn't touch things if I don't know what might happen..." He confessed, a little embarrassed.

"Hey, you didn't mean to do it. I think we've all done something we didn't mean to, one way or another," She replied with a smile. "By the way, was all you said earlier true? Have you really been to space and in a magic book and all that stuff?"

"You wouldn't believe everything I've been through just so I could stop an egg with a mustache," He replied with a smirk, making Pipp giggle. "Well, I think we should get some sleep, unless you have something else you want to talk about."

"No, I think we've said everything we needed to," Pipp replied, standing up.

"Alright. But if you have something else to say, call me, and I'll be here in a flash," Sonic assured with a smile.

They quietly walk back to the camp, finding the rest still as they were when they left - asleep. However, Pipp decided to question two more things. "Hey, Sonic, who was that 'Shadow' guy you mentioned earlier?"

Sonic chuckled and looked at Pipp. "Long story short, he's me but edgy and grumpy."

"And that song were you singing when I found you?"

"A lullaby someone taught me. I don't remember who did, but it's stuck with me ever since. I like to sing it to myself when I feel down; It helps me to relax," He explained. "If you want, I can show you the full thing sometime."

"I would love to," She replied with a little smile.

"Well then, time to bed. 'Night, Pipp," He said, lying on the ground.

"Good night, Sonic," She said back, doing the same as the hedgehog.

Soon enough, both were fast asleep, but they were unaware that Hitch had been awake the whole time and heard everything.

'Maybe I should apologize as well...' He thought before falling asleep.

Author's Note

Thanks again to Real Solaris for helping to edit this chapter!

7. Bridlewood, Where Sadness Rules

As the sun rose above the horizon, its rays of light shone brightly on the sleeping ponies and startled Sunny awake. She confusedly surveyed her surroundings before remembering why she was there in the first place.

She quickly began waking up the others, but with non-morning ponies like Pipp and Hitch, it took a few tries before they got up. Sunny was about to wake Sonic up, but she noticed the hedgehog wasn't where he was last night.

"Ah, great, here we go again..." Zipp groaned.

"Where could he go? He doesn't know Equestria, so there's no way he could leave just like that," Pipp said.

"I mean, he was trying to find a way to go home, so maybe he already did?" Hitch suggested, only to receive glares from the mares.

"But he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye... right?" Izzy asked, worried about the possibility that he may have left.

"I... I don't know," Sunny simply replied.

"You know, maybe you should ask him instead of jumping straight to conclusions."

The group whipped around to find Sonic with his arms crossed and his foot tapping, with the same smile they’d come to recognize.

"Sonic!" The mares joyfully exclaim, but Pipp says his name with a little more enthusiasm than the others.

"Sup, party ponies. What did I miss?"

"Oh, not much, just wondering where you went," Hitch replied.

"Well, you weren't far from the truth, Sheriff," Sonic revealed, and the gasps from the rest, minus Hitch, made him continue. "I'm not planning on leaving without saying goodbye if that's what you think."

The mares sighed in relief, but Hitch needed clarification.

"But you did find a way to go home?" He asked.

"Yes... and no. Remember the Emeralds I talked about last night? The ones that also came across the portal that brought me here?" He asked, and the group nodded. "Well, I didn't find them, so I guess they aren't here, or they are, but I don't know where exactly. It's a lost cause, so I'll stop looking for the moment."

"What?!" Sunny yelped. "What do you mean 'it's a lost cause'?!”

"Well, they're either in Equestria or they aren't. Plus, even if I find the Emeralds, I'm still stuck here because Eggman's machine drained all of their power, so they're nothing more than fancy paperweights. In other words, I'm still far from finding a way back home," He explained, calm as usual. "But that's not the actual reason I left. As I said before, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to stay in the same place for too long, so I went to stretch my legs and run at hypersonic speeds. I just passed by the tree and decided to investigate, that's all."

"So, you're not leaving yet?" Izzy asked with a smile.

"Are you kidding? I'm not leaving this place anytime soon, at least not until we restore magic to everypony!" He assured with a smile. "Anyways, with that cleared up, I think we have a Unicorn Crystal to find."

The rest of the group cheered in agreement, and a few minutes later, they headed off to finish the last leg of the trip to Bridlewood. Sunny, however, decided to stay close to Sonic as they walked.

"Hey, I know you're worried about your friends, Sonic. And I promise that, once we have restored magic, we'll find a way to get you home," She assured with a smile.

It caught Sonic off guard, but he slowly smiled back and looked at Sunny. "Thank you, Sunny. Thank you so much."

Hours later, the six friends find themselves at the edge of Bridlewood, where several signs of danger are posted on the trees, telling potential visitors to turn around.

"Remember when I said a unicorn forest sounded magical?" Hitch asked. "I take it back."

Most of the group had neutral expressions about how dark and scary the woods looked, while Sonic and Izzy smiled.

"Come on! My place isn't far from here." Izzy exclaimed excitedly. Sonic followed the mare without hesitation, while the others held back briefly before catching up with the two. Izzy was farther ahead, jumping happily while the others followed closely behind Sonic.

He whistled, looking around. "Now, THIS is what I call my kind of place," He said with a smile, making the ponies, minus Izzy, give him questionable looks. Soon after, they arrive at a house built into a colorful tree, the wood and leaves popping brightly in the morning sun.

"Welp, here we are, guys!" Izzy announced before opening the door. "La Vila, Izzy!"

As they walked in, the group looked around the home in amazement. Hitch spotted a portrait of colorful macaroni and was startled when the eyes turned to look at him. Sunny cranked the lever of an instrumental object with colorful glass bottles hanging by strings, and it played a familiar tune courtesy of spatulas and spoons attached to the roller.

"Subarashī!" Sonic exclaimed.

"You speak Japanese?" Pipp asked with a bit of blush, which her sister noticed and frowned a little.

"It's my native language. I learned English eventually," He replied, then looked at Izzy. "Did you make all of this?"

"Yup!" Izzy nodded. "Unicycling. Isn't it funky?"

"Unicycling, huh?" Zipp asked with a raised eyebrow.

"It is gorgeous~" Pipp sang, flapping her wings.

"I also made friendship bracelets!” Izzy said, pulling out a bowl with various bracelets. At the mention of bracelets, Sonic remembered he still had Chip's, a little gift he gave the hedgehog after sacrificing himself to save the world from Dark Gaia. Sonic was about to pull it out when Izzy spoke again.

"Oh wait, wait, watch this, hold everything!" She yelled, then grabbed some gimmick. "I never got to use this with actual friends!"

Izzy set down a flower gadget on the table, and it opened to reveal six teacups; everyone except Sunny was impressed.

"Izzy, you're officially smarter than half of the human population I know," Sonic smirked.

"I so wished I had live-streamed that!" Pipp said with a smile.

"We don't have time for that right now," Sunny said, disappointing Izzy. Sonic noticed this, wrapped his arm around her neck, and winked, making the unicorn feel a little better.

"If we're going to get the information we need on the Unicorn Crystal, we can't stick out like sore hooves. We need to look like unicorns," Sunny explained, causing Pipp to get excited.

"Yay! Makeovers! I love makeovers!" She exclaimed with joy.

Her sister, however, laughed nervously. "No, no... This is not what I signed up for..."

"I mean, you're still a pony," Sonic says. "Just cover your wings, put on a horn, and that's it; you're a unicorn. The actual problem here is getting a big blue hedgehog with no hooves to pass unnoticed around the crowd. In other words, there's no way I'm getting out of here without being noticed."

"Nah, I wouldn't worry too much," Izzy said, confusing the others but piquing Sonic's curiosity. "The other unicorns won't notice you too much since they're always sad. I'll just put a horn on you, and we're ready to go!"

"That... is the dumbest thing I have ever heard since I came here... and I LOVE IT because of that!" Sonic excitedly replied.

"Okay..." Sunny said, confused but keeping a smile. "So, Izzy, can you do it?"

"A glow-up?" Izzy asked, drinking some tea and putting her cup down. "Honey, you came to the right cottage.”

Izzy:
I thought Earth ponies were the pony ladder's bottom rung
I heard that pegasi were brutes you'd hate to be among
You smell like fishes (you're vicious)
I bet you eat your young
Meet any one of you, the thing to do is run away

But although I know we're all a bunch of different breeds
Take away our wings and horns, and we're just frightened steeds
So, let's put aside our differences, ‘cause what we need's a win
Oh!

Come on, rip out all the pages of your history books
Just because we're undercover doesn't mean we're crooks
When we walk, you through the crowd and give your brand-new looks a spin
You're gonna fit right in

Hitch:
This is a new low

Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in

Hitch:
It's never gonna work!

They taught us unicorns were super scary maniacs
With horns like razors and tongues like tasers and teeth like tacks
They take your hooves and then they grind them into midnight snacks
The basic gist of it is unicorns are not okay

Sunny:
Look, I know we're risking everything for this endeavor
But look at us, we're brave and strong and weird and clever
We're running out of options and we're desperate to begin

Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in

Hitch:
Ha-ha, if you say so!

Sunny and Izzy:
You're gonna fit right in

Izzy:
I know you will, now watch and learn

This is how a unicorn walks (Walks)
And this is how a unicorn talks (Talks)
This is how a unicorn hoops (Hoops)
This is how a unicorn––

Hitch:
Oops!

Sunny
Oh!

Zipp:
Geez!

Izzy:
Stop!

This is how a unicorn struts
Oh, watch us shake our unicorn butts
Now you're in the unicorn know

Sunny
Whoa!

Izzy:
Soon, you'll be a unicorn pro!

Oh, a unicorn horn makes a unicorn stride
It's the more-head on your forehead, it's the source of your pride
Every unicorn who's born has worn a horn that's unique
So we'll whip them up as we speak
You be lookin' très magnifique

Sonic:
We'll fake a phony protrusion
To make a bony illusion
(It's not the perfect solution, but the world's not big on inclusion)

Izzy and Sonic:
And with those rocks in our pocket, we'll reap the reward
And folks'll be floored, we'll strike a new chord, our magic restored

Sunny and Izzy:
Lately, all of Equestria has lost its heart
But if we can help to find it, we should play our part

Hitch:
If we fail, we'll go to prison

Sonic:
But if not, we'll start to grin

Izzy:
So, let's begin!

Sunny and Izzy:
We're gonna fit right in!

Izzy:
This is how a unicorn walks
This is how a unicorn talks
Now you're looking unicorn strong
This is how a unicorn...

Sunny and Izzy:
Ends this song!

After their little makeover session, the group walked towards the village, enjoying the change of scenery from the misleading entrance earlier. The ponies giggled at how funny Sonic looked with a fake unicorn horn on his head.

"This isn't the weirdest thing I've done, yet I feel really uncomfortable. Anyway..." He said with a neutral expression. While they walked, Hitch approached Sonic to talk with him.

"Hey, uh, partner," Hitch said hesitantly. "Can I talk with you? From one stallion to another."

"Sure. Let it out, Donut Lord," Sonic replied jokingly.

"I heard you talking with Pipp last night, and... I want to apologize for the way I've been treating you. You came to Maretime Bay for help, and... well, we could have taken it more nicely than we did. I'm sorry for how I acted," The Sheriff apologized. Sonic was surprised by the sudden apology, but he smirked and spoke.

"Hey, no hard feelings, Sheriff. You were doing what you thought was right to keep everyone in town safe. Trust me, I know that feeling as well. But don't you worry, like I said, there's no hard feelings," Sonic smiled.

"You're too trusting, aren't you?" Hitch smirked. "You forgave Pipp last night, and now you're forgiving me. You know it's bad to immediately trust somepony you know nothing about, right?"

"It's not that I'm too trusting. Let's say that I can tell when someone has bad intentions, and both you and the princess right there are anything but bad ponies," Sonic explained, surprising Hitch. "You were taught the other pony races were bad, but that's not your fault. Just because you had the wrong perception of others doesn't mean you're bad people, or ponies in this case. So cheer up, Hitch. What do you say if we just put the past in the past and restore the magic?"

"Deal!" Hitch exclaimed, smiling at the hedgehog. Soon, they finally arrived at the village and came across large, glossy crystals. They dot the area in small clusters,

"Ta-da! Crystals! Crystals! Crystals! Cryyystals!" Izzy exclaimed as she hopped around the nearby clusters, enthusiastically showcasing each one.

"She does know we’re looking for just the one, right?" Zipp joked, making Sonic chuckle. Walking deeper into the village, they noticed that Izzy wasn't kidding when she said the other unicorns were depressed.

"Ow. Ow," An old mare said, getting hit in the head by apples repeatedly.

A few foals 'played' with horseshoes while two other unicorns spoke emotionlessly.

"Hey," Said one.

"Hey," Replied the other.

There were also three foals on a slide, a swing, and a sandbox, but they just sat still, bored out of their minds.

"Well, this is cheerful..." Hitch said sarcastically.

"These other unicorns seem so different than you," Sunny pointed out.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. My sparkle is a little too sparkly for Bridlewood," Izzy responded.

"Heck, if Shadow were here, he would stay and call this place his dream paradise," Sonic said to no one, but he did get a giggle from Pipp.

"How can you tell which ones are magic?" Hitch asked, gesturing to a small cluster of crystals near the playground. Suddenly, the foal on the swing gasped and pointed at Hitch.

"Oooh, you said a bad word!" He said dramatically. "Hurry! Before we get jinxed!"

The other two foals stood up, joining the first one in... the strangest dance they'd ever seen. They lay flat on the ground before pulling their backs up, blowing raspberries, and hopping from their left and right hooves while chanting. "Bing Bong, Bing Bong, Bing Bong, Bing Bong."

The ponies, sans Izzy, watched the strange... dance in confusion, but Sonic was mentally telling himself not to burst out laughing, holding a fist to his mouth in a desperate attempt to keep it together.

"Okay... I'm gonna need some context," Zipp requested.

"Unicorns are very superstitious," Izzy whispered. "If a pony ever says a forbidden word, we have to do a ritual to ward off the jinxes."

"Jinxies?" Pipp questioned.

"Bad luck."

"Forbidden words?" Sonic asked, barely holding a chuckle back.

"Magic, wing, feather… oh, and mayonnaise," Izzy listed, leaving the rest confused.

"What's wrong with mayonai––?" Hitch tried to ask but couldn't finish as Izzy shoved her hoof in his mouth. The other unicorns perked up, but after a few seconds, they returned to normal while Izzy let go of Hitch's mouth.

"About what I said earlier of Shadow loving this place if he was here... I take it back after whatever that was," Sonic said.

"Come on, there's something I wanna show you!" Izzy told them, trotting down the path. The others followed and saw a building ahead with a teapot-shaped sign with steam rising out of the 'neck'.

"'The Crystal Tearoom?'" Sunny asked no one in particular.

"There's a pony inside who collects crystals. Maybe he can help us!" Izzy explained.

"That's great, Izzy! Oh, and guys," Sunny leaned towards Hitch and Sonic.

"I know, I know. No forbidden words," Hitch groaned.

"Why are you looking at me as well?" Sonic asked with confusion. Sunny frowned, giving the hedgehog a bored look that screamed, 'Really?'

"Okay, fine! I'll keep my mouth shut," Sonic huffed, crossing his arms. "Killjoy," He muttered.

"I heard that!"

"I don't care!"

Entering the tea room, they spot depressed unicorns sitting around the establishment, one of them 'singing' on a stage.

Earth pony jinx, something stinks, Pegasus neighs…

They then found a particular unicorn at a table, all by himself.

"That's the pony I was talking about," Izzy whispered. Sunny nodded and walked up to the unicorn.

"So, word in the forest is you collect crystals..." Sunny spoke with a confident voice, and the unicorn perked up.

"Yes! I do... Well, I mean, I did. I lost them all in a limbo contest with… Alphabittle!" The unicorn explained, sadness and fear evident in his voice.

"Oh no..." Izzy groaned.

"Yeah... No, sorry, I'm a little lost here. who's Alphabittle?" Sonic asked. Before Izzy could respond, a ring of a bell caught the group's attention, and they looked at the bar counter.

"Time's up! Pass it over, Jasper!" Said a gray unicorn with a beard. In front of him was a unicorn trying to complete a 2x2 Rubik's cube, but seeing as he ran out of time, he gave up. He gave the cube to the bigger unicorn, who quickly completed it before plopping it back onto the counter.

"Guess that makes me the winner again! Pay up," Alphabittle demanded. The group watched the scene, feeling bad for the unicorn, who had to give Alphabittle a glass jar with a miniature Christmas Tree inside.

'Now I get why my friends get annoyed when I start to get cocky...' Sonic thought.

With his prize lost, the defeated unicorn took his leave. "You could always try winning it back!" Alphabittle called out as armadillos rolled up to him but got no response. "All right, suit yourself."

As Alphabittle put the jar on the shelf behind him, the group spotted the Unicorn Crystal on the top shelf.

"There it is!" Sunny exclaimed, and she turned to her friends. "I've got an idea: Maybe I can beat Alphabittle at his own game."

"Wait," Izzy stopped Sunny to advise. "Alphabittle can smell fear."

"Got it," Sunny replied, walking over to the counter while Izzy looked scared. While Sunny talked with Alphabittle, Sonic couldn't help but feel there was something... off.

"I don't buy it," Sonic said quietly, loud enough so the group could hear him, but nopony else. "There has to be a trick here. Solving a Rubik's cube is too easy compared to anything else. This guy has some trick up his non-existent sleeve; I can feel it..."

"That'll be pretty much something Alphabittle would totally do," Izzy said.

"It's strange, but I gotta agree with Sonic on this one," Hitch confessed, looking over to the pair at the counter. "If we're not careful, he might pull some sorta..."

He stops mid-sentence as Sunny puts the Pegasus Crystal on the counter as an offering in exchange for the Unicorn Crystal.

"... trap," Hitch finished with disbelief. They pulled Sunny aside to have a little talk with her.

"What are you doing?!" Zipp hissed.

"Don't worry," Sunny shrugged. "I could solve that cube puzzle in my sleep."

"But if he wins, we lose both crystals!" Pipp pointed out.

"And I feel he has some sort of trap, ready to pull it out and catch you with your guard down..." Sonic tried to persuade her.

"He won't. Trust me," Sunny reassured.

"Izzy," Alphabittle called. "If your friend is finished stalling, do we have a deal?"

Sunny started walking back to Alphabittle, but Sonic spoke up.

"Fine," Sonic grunts. "But don't look at me if he pulls a trick out from under his hoof."

Sunny considered for a moment if there was a chance to find another way... but she spoke before she could think of anything else.

"Deal," Sunny stated, putting her hoof on the table. "Now give me that cube!"

One of the critters was about to give Sunny the cube, only for Alphabittle to quickly snatch it away.

"No, no, no, no, no," He shook his head. "A special prize calls for a special competition," Turning to the side, a spotlight shone on him as he declared, "Bring forth the ultimate challenge!"

"The ultimate what now?" Sunny asked. The spotlight that turned clanked on answered her question, illuminating two platforms with nine horseshoes on the ground in front of two speakers underneath a scoreboard. Sonic facepalmed and growled.

"I knew this was going to happen..."

"A dancing game?" Sunny frowned. "Seriously?"

"Did I tell you, or did I tell you?!" Sonic exclaimed.

A unicorn took to the stage and announced the match. "Both ponies agree. Best out of three."

Alphabittle and Sunny took their place on the machine before Alphabittle spoke. "Let's make this more interesting. You only need to win one out of three."

Getting their game faces on, Sunny and Alphabittle began the game as the machine displayed a set of colorful horseshoes for Sunny and Alphabittle to dance on as music started playing. Sunny was off to a bad start, as Alphabittle was already ahead of the game, wracking up a huge score and moving the arrow on his score meter higher than Sunny's. Before long, a bell rang, declaring Alphabittle the winner of the first round.

"Yeah!" Alphabittle hollered. "That's how you do it!"

"Yay," The unicorns cheered dejectedly.

"Great," Sonic said with a bored expression. "Can we give up now?"

"Are you okay?" Hitch asked, worried because Sonic was acting more or less like him.

"I'm good. Just a little pessimistic because your girlfriend didn't listen to me when I said there was a catch. I feel great…" Sonic said sarcastically.

"S-Sunny's not my...!" Hitch tried to correct, his face red as a tomato.

"I know, Hitch. I'm just messing with you," Sonic said with a smirk.

"I-It's okay!" Izzy reassured to Sunny. "You're just warming up!"

"What can you do?" The announcer asked as the second round was about to start.

"Round two."

With that, Sunny and Alphabittle went again. But like the previous round, Sunny could barely keep up with the senior unicorn's moves and fumbled behind until, once again, Alphabittle was declared the winner.

"Yeah!" Alphabittle cheered. "Critters, get my crystal polish ready, would ya?"

"Round three. Who will it be?" The announcer asked.

"Ohhh. Here goes nothing..." Sunny moaned.

Sonic closed his eyes and started to think of a solution. Eventually, something in his mind 'clicked', and he smiled, knowing what to do. However, it wouldn't be him to put the plan into action.

"Hey, Pipp," He called to the pegasus, who looked at him curiously. "I think our friend needs advice from the best dancer we have here," He said, winking at her. Pipp immediately got the idea and nodded.

"Hey!" Pipp called to Sunny. "You hear that, Sunny?" She gestured to the music playing in the background. "Feel the rhythm take you over. You feelin' it?"

Sunny smiled, moving her body to the song's rhythm and improving her moves. "Oh, I'm feelin' it. I'm feelin' it!"

"Yeah, you are, Sunny!" Pipp sang. "Yeah, you do this, Sunny! Whoo!"

As Sunny felt the beat, she made an impressive comeback, matching and surpassing Alphabittle's movements, moving the arrow on her meter higher than his.

"Yes! There you go, Sunny!" Sonic cheered.

"Yes! She's doing it!" Hitch smiled. "She's doing it!"

Pressured to win the crystal, Alphabittle struggled to dance as fast as he could, but the turned had tables on the senior unicorn as Sunny's renewed confidence and spirit put her well in the lead. Everypony watched in anticipation until the machine's bell finally rang, and Sunny was declared the winner.

"We won," Sunny panted heavily while Alphabittle and the unicorns could hardly believe their eyes. "WE WON! WE ACTUALLY WON!"

"YEAH!!!" Sunny and her friends cheered as they gathered together.

"Yeah! That's how you do it!" Sonic hollered, and then he turned to Alphabittle. "Alright, ponyfied Gandalf, pay up!"

"Oh, darn!" Groaned the unicorn stallion, walking over Unicorn Crystal to pay up. All was going well for the heroes as Sunny celebrated with her friends, but Sunny accidentally pushed Sonic, and both her and his horn fell off.

"Uh oh..." Izzy moaned.

All the unicorns in the room, except for Izzy, were shocked at the revelation. Sonic and Sunny froze as they looked at the unicorns, and the hedgehog tried to rack his brain for anything to get out of this situation.

"Uh... meow?" He said, slowly shrugging and hoping they would think he was just a giant blue cat. He groans and facepalms. "I can't believe that's the first thing that came out of my mouth…"

Author's Note

Looking back at this.... Yeah, I can't believe he said that, either.

Anyways. Thank you again, Real Solaris, for editing this chapter! :twilightsmile:

8. No magic and No way home, but Hope is never lost

The group knew they'd been caught, and it was apparent there was no way they could talk out of this one.

"An Earth pony," Alphabittle said in an intimidating voice.

"And Pegasi!" Zipp spoke up while she and Pipp took their horns and blankets covering their wings off.

"And a Unicorn, which you knew already!" Izzy stated determinately.

"Oh, sure, let's just ignore the blue hedgehog that's also here..." Sonic said with sarcasm; frustrated that nopony was referring to him.

"I know it doesn't look like it, but we're here to help," Sunny said, stepping forward.

"Help? We don't need help, especially from ponies and hedgehog like you," Alphabittle scowled. "Give me the crystal!"

Sonic frowned while looking at Alphabittle, and he stepped forward and jabbed a finger at the unicorn's chest. "Now listen here, you ponyfied Gandalf. Sunny won that crystal fair and square by playing your stupid dance game! So we're in our right to leave. Besides, you're not as scary as you may think, so stop playing as if everything has to go your way!"

This was the group's first time seeing this side of the hedgehog. They knew Sonic had his moments, but now they were looking at an angry Sonic, something they would never get used to seeing. However, his angry expression quickly changed to a smirk.

"Also, if you try to stop us, I'll be forced to say some forbidden words.”

"You wouldn't dare," Alphabittle growled.

"Yes, I will."

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will."

"No, you won't."

"Yes, I will."

"No, you won't."

"No, I won't."

"Yes, you will."

"Thanks for the permission!" Sonic exclaimed, and Alphabittle's eyes slammed open as he realized what happened too late. "Magic! Wing! Feather! MAYONNAAAAAAAISE!!!"

And just like that, the unicorns and Alphabittle started to shout 'Bing Bong!' as they did the 'dance'. This time, Sonic didn't hold his amusement back and laughed at the unicorn's antics.

"HAHAHAHHAHAHA!! Oh, you all look so ridiculous!" He laughed, holding his stomach and pointing at the unicorns.

"Go, go, go!" Sunny shouted as the group escaped from the building, with Sonic taking their prizes from their pedestals and shoving them in his quills.

"You'll pay for this!" Alphabittle shouted after the runaway ponies.

"Sorry about that!" Izzy called out. "Thanks for the tea!"

"So long, suckers!" Sonic said, blowing a raspberry as he followed the group out.

"Good job back there, Sonic!" Hitch complimented.

"Meh, no big deal. I just did what I knew was the best for us. Now, let's get out of here before things get harder!" Sonic exclaimed, taking the lead and guiding the group to the exit of Bridlewood. They were getting close when rustling leaves to their right made them screech to a halt, watching as another pony emerged from the bushes. To everyone's surprise, it was Queen Haven, panting slightly and covered in scratches and leaves.

"Mom?!" Zipp and Pipp exclaimed, galloping up to their mother and hugging her.

"Oh, my darlings!" Haven exclaimed, hugging her daughters. "Thank hoofness!"

"You escaped!" Zipp smiled.

"How did you find us?" Pipp asked.

The bushes rustled again, and Cloudpuff jumped out, knocking Hitch down and proudly presenting the Sheriff's lost badge in his mouth.

"Ah! My badge! Yes!" Hitch held the badge in victory before clipping it back on his sash. He petted the winged dog and scratched behind his ear, much to Cloudpuff's pleasure.

Queen Haven turned back to her daughters. "Oh, I'm so glad I found my little fillies. Now, I know that if you just come back with me, we can explain everything. Spin the story, and they'll love us again. R-Right?"

"I don't think that's how things are supposed to work..." Sonic muttered to himself. They heard hoof steps coming their way and spotted a crowd of angry unicorns running toward them before stopping.

"Let us explain!" Sunny pleaded, only for a voice to interrupt.

"There she is!" Zoom said. They all turned to see a squad of pegasi guards walk out of the bushes, the one leading them being Zoom. "Your criminal highness! You're coming with us!"

"Ah! Unicorns!" Thunder screamed, throwing a tennis ball at Alphabittle, who just frowned as it bounced harmlessly off him.

"Give me back my crystals and leave Bridlewood!" He demanded.

"Your crystals? That crystal belongs to me!" Haven spoke up.

"Not anymore, it doesn't! I won it fair and square." Alphabittle lied, making Sonic angry again, but this time... it was different. Something was growing inside him... rage, more rage than he'd ever felt.

"Hah! I certainly doubt it!" Haven scoffed. "Unicorns are known to be cheaters!"

"You Pegasi always thought you were better than us!" Alphabittle glared.

"Hey, that's our queen you're talking to!" One of the guards shouted.

"She's not a queen here!" One of the unicorns barked.

"Who do you think you are?!" Another guard snapped.

"We're gonna zap you with our horns!" The unicorn retaliated as another joined the scuffle. "This is our land! You're not welcome here!"

"Surrender the crystal, or we'll use our powers against you!" Alphabittle threatened.

"I'd like to see you try!" Queen Haven challenged.

With that, something snapped inside Sonic. He didn't know what it was, but he could feel a strange power coursing through his body, begging to be released. His eyes turned blue, and some of his quills glowed the same color as electric sparks came out of them. Tired of listening to the ridiculous argument between unicorns and pegasi, he let everything out.

"ENOUGH!!!" The hedgehog roared as massive bolts of electricity exploded from his body and struck around him. Luckily, none of the bolts hit anypony, but the damage was done. Everyone, his friends included, stared at him in fear, horrified to see the sudden explosion of anger and electricity from the hedgehog. When Sonic looked back at the ponies with a frown, he was surprised to see them cowering away. A blue glow from the corner of his eye drew his attention to his arm, and he was confused when he saw neon blue electricity arcing around it. He looked around himself and was shocked to discover it wasn't just covering his body; it was coming from it. Sonic looked again at his hands, clenching them as he took a deep breath to calm down. To his relief, the energy faded, and his eyes became green again.

'That was... weird...' He thought, then looked back at Haven and Alphabittle and frowned again. "You know, for two adults that are supposed to be responsible over their people, you're acting like five-year-old kids fighting over the last piece of candy," He said angrily, but not as much as he was a few seconds ago. "Ever since Izzy, Sunny, and I left Maretime Bay, the only thing we've been trying to do is restore magic while all of you have been so busy fighting each other and trying to blame someone else for the bad things you deserved! How is it that someone like me, who isn't even from this dimension, has managed to befriend two earth ponies, two pegasi, and one unicorn in less than three days, while all of you haven't
even tried to in who knows how long?!"

"Bing-Bong!"

Sonic sighed, and his face softened. "Look, I know that you can all become friends with one another if you just try instead of being guided by rumors and things that you've heard and spread for years," He explained, then pointed at himself and his friends. "Just take a look at us. A blue hedgehog from another dimension and five ponies from different races. Who says we can't change the story?"

"Did he just say 'Magic'?" A random unicorn asked.

"This is a trick," Zoom guessed.

Sonic gave a bored expression as he rolled his eyes and then looked at Sunny and Izzy. He smiled, walking over to them before taking the crystals from his quills.

"Maybe you should be the ones doing the honors," Sonic said with a smile. "After all, it's thanks to the both of you we're here today," He handed the pegasus crystal to Sunny and the unicorn crystal to Izzy.

"You're wasting your time, kid," Alphabittle huffed as he and Queen Haven watched.

"Ready, Izzy?" Sunny asked.

"Ready!" Izzy nodded.

Everypony watched in anticipation as Sunny and Izzy proceeded to join both crystals together, but Zipp nudged the hedgehog.

"Hey, Sonic," She whispered. "What was that thing before?"

"I don't know, and I don't want to talk about that right now..." Sonic quickly replied. 'I know I can't ignore it, but whatever that was, it could have hurt someone,' He thought. 'From now on, I should be more careful when I get mad.'

Sunny and Izzy's eyes sparkled with excitement as they closed the distance between their crystals for a perfect fit. But nothing happened.

Sunny was in disbelief. "It... It..."

"Why didn't it work, Daddy?" A unicorn colt asked.

"'Cause it was all just make-believe," His father answered sadly.

"We can try it again!" Sunny pleaded desperately. "Maybe... Maybe w-we did it wrong somehow..."

But the unicorns and pegasi didn't want to hear any of it, so they turned and walked away.

"Wait... Wait, don't go!" Looking down at the crystals, Sunny repeatedly touched them together. "Oh, come on... Work... Work! Please work! Come on!"

"Sunny..." Hitch comforted his heartbroken friend. "It's okay. You did everything you could."

"I... I thought it would work..." Sunny sobbed, looking up at Hitch. "I was so, so sure of it..."

The rest looked at her sadly, and Sonic felt he had failed his word. He promised to help magic come back, but it didn't happen.

"What do we do now, Sunny?" Zipp asked sadly.

Sunny sighed in defeat. She gave the Unicorn Crystal to Alphabittle, walked over to Haven, and returned the Pegasus Crystal. "I'm sorry for all the trouble I caused you," She apologized to Haven and Alphabittle, then started to walk back home.

"Sunny! We can't give up!" Pipp exclaimed, making Sunny stop and turn around to look at her friends.

"I thought I could make a difference..." She said, looking at the unicorn colt, who looked back at her. "But everywhere I go, I just make things worse..."

That last line made her friends look in disbelief, even Sonic, who wasn't as optimistic as usual.

"That's not true! We're all in this together, right?" Izzy asked the others, who nodded in agreement except for Sonic, although no one noticed. Yet, Sunny still felt defeated.

"I'm so sorry I let you all down," She said, then turned to face Sonic, who looked lost in his thoughts. "And Sonic... I'm sorry that we won't be able to get you home," She said, a tear falling down her cheek as she walked away, her head hung low.

Sonic looked at her quickly. He wished he could crack a joke and cheer her up or say anything that could make her feel better... but he wasn't in the mood to joke around or feel optimistic either. The idea that he not only failed his new friends but also that he may never see his old friends again destroyed him on the inside.

Hitch sighed before walking after her but turned to face the group. "I guess this is goodbye… friends."

"You better hurry, sheriff," Zipp said sadly, and Hitch nodded before catching up with Sunny.

Sonic watched the two Earth Ponies make their way home in defeat, and he felt like it was time for him to leave, too. After all, magic wasn't coming back, so the best he could do now was leave these ponies alone and keep searching for some way to get home, even though it seemed impossible.

"...Guess I should keep going, too," He sighed, then turned around and walked off.

"Sonic?" Pipp called sadly.

"There's no reason for me to stay either," Sonic replied. "I'd like to stay, I really do, but... what's the point if I'm causing trouble with each place I go? I'll either end up scaring ponies, locked down, or treated like an enemy. All I wanted was help to go home... but I'm not welcome in this place. The best for everyone is if I leave."

"That's not true!" Izzy yelled desperately. "T-There has to be something we can do..."

"I really want to believe there's something, Izzy... but I'm afraid there's no way things can get better for me," He replied, then faced Haven. "Your majesty... I kept my promise; you can ask her if you don't trust my word," He said to Haven, then looked at Alphabittle. "And Alphabittle, I'm sorry for the mess I caused in your tea room when I yelled the forbidden words," He apologized to the unicorn, who looked at him with sadness and sorrow. "I'll leave so I won't cause any more trouble."

He then walked away and aimlessly wandered, getting lost in the woods. After walking for a few minutes, he found himself by a cliff in the forest that seemed nice and quiet. He sat on the edge and looked up at the sky with sadness.

"I promised I'd come back, Tails..." He said, tears falling down his cheeks. "But for the first time in my life, I'm not sure I can keep my word..."

Memories of the two-tailed fox flashed through his mind, and Sonic remembered the day he met Tails for the first time...

A young Sonic, maybe 7 to 8 years old, was looking for a place to land his plane, and when he spotted a small island nearby, he headed toward the coastline. Once he landed, the young hedgehog decided to explore the place.

"Alright, time to take a little vacation!"

A few days after his arrival, the hedgehog sensed someone was following him during one of his runs. At first, he thought it was nothing, but looking back, he spotted a little two-tailed fox close behind. The fox panicked when he realized Sonic saw him and hid in some bushes. Sonic found this strange, but he shrugged and continued.

The little fox still followed him for a while. 'Meh, let him do what he wants,' Sonic thought at first, but after a while, he began to feel curious about why the fox was chasing him, so he decided to put him to the test. He ran off quickly, but when he thought he had lost him, he was surprised to find the little guy beside him, his tails spinning like a helicopter propeller and keeping him aloft.

Sonic was surprised he could fly and keep up with him. He screeched to a stop, and the fox barely stopped before coming face-to-face with Sonic. The hedgehog stared at the fox, making him nervously squirm in place, but Sonic's expression softened once he spoke.

"So, you can keep up with me, huh? By the way, why are you following me? Not that it bothers me, but I find it weird you're doing it without knowing who I am."

The fox didn't know what to do, but he swallowed some of his nerves before speaking. "S-Sorry…" He said, a little scared and intimidated. "I-It's just, I saw you on the beach, and I really liked your plane! But I also saw you running super fast, and I thought it was really cool! I thought I could be as cool as you, too, and, well, I decided to follow you!"

"You wanna be like me, huh? Well, you don't need to if you're already great," added Sonic. "You have two tails that you can fly with, and on top of that, you're sneaky. It took me a bit before I realized you were following me, little buddy. What's your name?"

The boy was a little sad. "I-I don't like my name... I'm... Miles Prower..."

"So your name's Miles... are there people messing with you if you don't like it?" Sonic asked, and the fox nodded slowly. "Bullies, those good-for-nothings. Well, don't worry about them anymore. I'll teach you some tricks so they don't mess with you ever again... Tails."

The boy looked at Sonic, surprised and excited. "W-what did you call me?" he asked.

"Tails. It suits you pretty well, after all. That way, I don't have to call you something you don't like," Sonic said with a smile, then put an arm around Mi- no, Tails' neck. "Starting today, it's Sonic and Tails against the world!" The hedgehog exclaimed.

Tails got excited and couldn't help but happily fly around.

The electricity from before returned, but this time, it didn't shoot everywhere; it was just there. Tears fell down Sonic's cheeks, and he couldn't help but sob. He really missed his little buddy. The electricity faded faster this time, but he never realized it came back in the first place, or maybe he did, but he was so sad that he couldn't care less.

Sonic laid back and looked at the sky as his tears finally dried. He wasn't thinking about anything since a lot was happening. Right now, he just wanted to feel the same peace he felt at the abandoned station in Zephyr Heights. The sky disappeared, now replaced with the face of a certain pegasus princess.

"Hey," Pipp said with a little smile.

"Hey," Sonic replied, smiling back. He sat back up, and Pipp sat beside him, just like at the campfire.

"I thought you were going to leave..." Pipp said after a minute of silence.

"I was. But I needed time to put my thoughts in order," Sonic sighed. "Besides, the longer I can stay here, the better. I don't want to go... but I'll eventually have to. What about you, Pipp? What are you doing here?"

"I was looking for some privacy to think as well. Izzy's trying to convince Alphabittle to let her visit Zephyr Heights and Maretime Bay, and Zipp's trying to do the same with Mom, but I don't think it's going anywhere,"

"I wish that all races would forget about their prejudices and misconceptions. Everything would be easier... but life is never easy, whether we like to accept it or not," Sonic confessed.

"Yeah, I wish things would be different," Pipp replied sadly, then perked up slightly. "Hey, um, I know this is probably not a good time, but... could you teach me that lullaby now?" She blushed slightly. "O-Only if you want, of course..."

"...Yeah. I think I can do that. I need to relax a bit, so singing it will help me a lot... and I hope it helps you too," He replied with a little smile. The hedgehog cleared his throat, ran through the lyrics a little, and closed his eyes before letting the melody in his mind carry him away...

Sonic:

Take off, at the speed of sound
Bright lights, colors all around
I'm running wild, living fast, and free
Got no regrets inside of me

Not looking back
Not giving up
Not letting go
I'll keep on running

I'm gonna reach for the stars
Although they look pretty far
I'm gonna find my own way
And take a chance on today

The sky with stars so bright
The colors feel so right
I never felt like this
I'll keep on running

The sky with stars so bright
The colors feel so right
Just take my hand
We're gonna reach for the stars
Tonight

Tonight

Pipp was stunned. The lyrics, the way he sang, his voice. Sonic turned out to be somepony much different than she believed, and she was starting to like being wrong about him.

Wake up living day by day
Do what I want, and I'll do it my way
The world is flying right below my feet
Got no regrets inside of me

Not looking back
Not giving up
Not letting go
I'll keep on running

Before singing the next verse, another melodious voice sang beat Sonic to it.

Pipp:
I'm gonna reach for the stars
Although they look pretty far
I'm gonna find my own way
And take a chance on today

The sky with stars so bright
The colors feel so right
I never felt like this
I'll keep on running

Sonic was surprised that Pipp joined him, but he smiled slightly and joined her in the last verses.

Sonic & Pipp:
The sky with stars so bright
The colors feel so right
Just take my hand
We're gonna reach for the stars
Tonight

Tonight

"It's so beautiful," Pipp sniffed, whipping a stray tear away. "I didn't think a lullaby could have such deep and beautiful lyrics."

"I can't remember who sang it to me the first time, but I really appreciate it," Sonic said with a sad smile. "It makes me feel better when I'm down. And it worked like a charm; I feel better now, not just because of the song but also because of you. You know, for singing it with me."

Pipp blushed a little, but it faded as she smiled and replied. "Anytime, Sonic. And it really helped me, too; I feel that I can put my thoughts in order now, despite everything that's happened so far."

"Yeah, I know what you're talking about," Sonic said.

"Oh, here you are!" A voice calls out, and Pipp and Sonic turn around to see Zipp and Izzy approaching them.

"You got me worried, Pipp," Zipp said, worry and anger lacing her voice, then looked at Sonic with confusion. "And I thought you said you were going to leave."

"I still have no way home, and I have nowhere else to go either, so here I am," Sonic replied with a neutral expression.

"Well, we came to say goodbye," Izzy said sadly. "We couldn't convince the Queen or Alphabittle, so... this is it."

"But, if you're really the fastest thing alive, you can get in the castle with nopony noticing. So I think you can visit us anytime!" Zipp said to Sonic with a smile.

"Oh, you can bet I'll do that. It may make your mom mad, but it's totally worth it," He replied, smiling back.

"I wish the Crystals would've worked," Pipp said. "Maybe things would be different right now..."

"Yeah... I'm pretty sure magic will bring everypony back together..." Sonic said out loud. Then something clicked.

"Everypony... everypony..." Sonic repeated, and the mares looked at him curiously. "We found two crystals, but there are three pony races. Pegasi, unicorns, and... earth ponies... OH, SWEET CHAOS!!! I feel like an idiot!"

"What's gotten into you?" Zipp asked, finding Sonic's change of attitude weird but smiling anyway. "You were sad a few seconds ago; now you're talking about everypony and the crystals, and now you're all happy."

"I think I know what went wrong with the crystals!" Sonic said, making the mares gasp. "It was so simple, but I didn't realize until now!"

"What do you mean?!" Pipp asked. "What went wrong?!"

"You see, we found out about the Pegasus and Unicorn Crystal because Zipp showed us that stained glass window in the old terminal below Zephyr Heights, but that aside, we found out about a Unicorn Crystal as well. But there was a missing panel in the middle, and we never stopped to think that maybe it wasn't a panel but a third window!"

Both Izzy and Pipp were confused about what Sonic explained. Zipp, however, started to put two and two together and gasped. "Are you saying there might be an Earth Pony Crystal?!"

"Now you're getting the idea, Zipp!" Sonic smirked, snapping his fingers.

"What?!" Izzy and Pipp yelled in surprise.

"But that means... we still have a chance to restore magic!" Izzy said happily.

"Exactly!" Sonic shouted. "The only thing we have to worry about now is to make up an excuse so Haven and Alphabittle let you go..."

"Why make an excuse? We've done a lot of stuff so far without permission," Zipp pointed out.

"I mean, if you just want to go ahead of them and run as fast as we can to Maretime Bay, sure, let's just do that..." He said blankly.

"...I see your point, but nothing we say will change their minds!" Izzy exclaimed.

"...Okay then, if they don't want to listen, then let's play in the rule-breaker style!" Sonic said.

"Which means?" Pipp asked, receiving looks from the others saying, 'Are you serious?', and then snapped. "Oh... oh, I get it now. Alright, let's go!"

The group bolts for Maretime Bay, and on the way, they pass by Queen Haven, her pegasi guards, and Alphabittle.

"Izzy!" Alphabittle called. "Where are you going?"

"Pipp? Zipp?!" Queen Haven called after her daughters. "Get back here!"

"Sorry, mom!" Zipp called out. "But we gotta go!"

"Go? Go where?"

"To Maretime Bay!" Sonic answered. "Sunny needs our help!"

Author's Note

Ah the good ol' days when the cast's biggest concern was restoring magic...

Not like now, that they have to deal with Eggman and Opaline's crap on a daily basis... Oh well.

Thanks to Real Solaris for editing this chapter once again! :pinkiesmile:

9. Maretime Bay Zone: Act 3

"Why didn't it work, Daddy?"

"'Cause it was all just make-believe."

The words continuously echoed in Sunny's head, leaving a hollow feeling inside her. She was so sure that bringing the crystals together would bring magic back to their world. When it didn't return, everypony gathered was stunned, then disappointed when their efforts proved to be a wild goose chase.

On the way back to Maretime Bay, Sunny felt like she was a failure for failing to fulfill her father's dream and the false hope that forgiving others would bring magic back. But she felt the worst for failing Sonic, to whom she promised she would help get him back home.

They were all promises that she ultimately could not hold.

Hitch, who had caught up to her after leaving the others in the forest, wanted to say something. However, nothing came to him since everything his friend believed in and held was falling apart around her, and nothing he could say would change that.

While they didn't speak, they could appreciate the sun slipping below the horizon, or at least they would, had the skies not been darkened by gray clouds. Once they reached the crest in the road that led back down towards Maretime Bay, the pair split at the fork in the road, and Sunny ambled towards her home.

"I'm right here if you need to talk, Sunny," Hitch assured. Sunny stopped and faced him but didn't say anything. Her defeated expression spoke volumes as she turned away, resuming her walk back home.

Hitch sighed in defeat and turned towards Maretime Bay, hoping to Faust above that Sprout didn't cause any trouble in town.

Meanwhile, Sunny entered her lighthouse, not bothering to fix the photo as the door shut behind her. She sat on the windowsill in her room, staring out at the sea for what felt like hours. After what was really a few minutes, she sighed and decided to pack up all of her old toys and any artifacts or memories of ancient Equestria that she and her father had worked on together. It broke her heart as she carefully put her mementos away in a little box, as they were all she had left of her dad. She then looked at a nightlight on the shelf next to her bed, and the memory of her dad giving it to her slowly played out...

"Can you tell me the story?" A young Sunny asked, holding the covers of her bed close.

"Again?" Her father laughed incredulously.

"Pleeeeease?"

Unable to resist his daughter's plea and childish charm, Sunny's father complied and told the story. "Once upon a time, many, many moons ago, in ancient Equestria, there lived a very special––"

"Unicorn!" Sunny finished.

"The unicorn was very bright..."

"As bright as the sun."

"One day, the princess summoned her to the castle for an important assignment..."

"To learn about friendship!"

"Mm-hmm. She soon made lots of new friends."

"Earth ponies, Pegasuses, and Unicorns!"

"Together, they showed everypony the Magic of Friendship and how to live in harmony," Her father ended the story and held up a night light resembling a carousel, with images of unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies attached to the outside.

"Wow! You finished it!" Sunny marveled.

"Pretty neat, huh?" Setting it on the nightstand next to her bed, Argyle turned the night light on, enchanting his daughter as the light shone around the moving pictures to create silhouettes of ponies on the walls. "Earth ponies watched in wonder as Pegasi painted rainbows across the sky. The nights were lit up by a hundred unicorn horns."

"It's beautiful!" Sunny marveled before letting out a tired yawn. "I wish I had a friend who could fly around or float things. Why can't we be friends anymore?"

"That, my darling, is a big question..." Argyle frowned sadly before smiling again. "And maybe one day, we'll figure it out. Together. We'll do our part..."

"...hoof to heart," Father and daughter said together.

"Goodnight, Daddy," Sunny yawns, snuggling into the covers.

"Goodnight, my little pony," Argyle replied, softly kissing her forehead. With that, he took his leave, slowly closing the door to Sunny's room behind him.

"Goodnight, friends," Sunny said to her dolls, finally falling asleep.

Sunny smiled a little, remembering that beloved memory of her father. But her smile faded, remembering she failed in her father's mission to return magic. Although it hurt her, the poor mare put the night light her father made in the box, believing there was no reason to keep it after what happened.

Sunny's heartache intensified when she went upstairs. Setting the box near the center of the room, she moved dejectedly around, pulling one or two things down before moving to another. As she pulled a drawing away from the pedestal holding the lighthouse bulb, a symbol underneath it caught her eye.

Moving the other papers away, she saw what looked to be the unicorn and pegasus crystals together, but the same hole in the middle seemed… filled.

Conveniently, a shaft of sunlight entered the room and hit the top of the night light, reflecting into the lighthouse bulb before spreading around the room. Sunny looked up to see herself surrounded by unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies all around the room.

As the light show slowly faded, she followed the light until she found the lamp she placed in the little box earlier. In the lamp was a crystal her father had installed, and she took the crystal out of mere curiosity when she suddenly felt an epiphany. Placing the crystal in the center of the symbol, a weighted mechanism rattled to life. The circle sunk into the table, the crystal falling into a perfect fit before the other two parts sunk around it.

Sunny couldn't describe her overwhelming happiness as her heart beat faster and faster. She finally understood why magic didn’t come back; there was a missing piece.

In her excitement, Sunny forgot to grab the crystal and raced downstairs, grabbed her saddlebag, and ran out of the lighthouse toward town. But when she reached town, she noticed something… off.

Everything was a mess; garbage was strewn everywhere, tables and chairs were knocked over, even a few carts on their sides, and a trolley pulled off the tracks. It was as if a stampede had gone through. What worried Sunny more was that she couldn’t see anypony anywhere. But her worries were silenced as a voice called out to her.

"Sunny!"

Rushing out of the sheriff's station was Hitch, and a bright smile overtook the mare's face.

"Hitch... Hitch!" She exclaimed, rushing over to her friend. "I figured it out; there's actually a third...!"

*BANG*

*BANG-BANG BANG*

The two Earth ponies turned to look toward where the explosions had come from. They were fireworks from the Canterlogic factory, confusing them as there wasn't anything important going on like Maretime Bay Day. Both ponies looked at each other worriedly and rushed toward the factory, but on the way, they ran into something they didn't think they would ever see.

Earth ponies of Maretime Bay marched like soldiers toward the factory entrance, each wearing anti-unicorn hats to prevent their minds from being read. That only made Sunny and Hitch look at each other even more confused.

"Hey! W-Wait!" Hitch called, garnering the attention of one stallion in the back. "W-What is going on here?"

"We can't tell you!" He replied, stopping momentarily before catching up with the rest. "We signed the official Sprout debt!"

"The official Sprout what?!" Hitch and Sunny look at each other, confused and worried, before following the marching group.

Meanwhile, Sonic, Zipp, Pipp, and Izzy have made good progress to Maretime Bay, but they were unaware of the Alpabittle, Queen Haven, and a few of their own following close behind. Soon, the hedgehog and mares noticed the lighthouse Sunny lived in off in the distance, getting bigger and bigger with every step they took.

"We're getting close!" Sonic exclaimed, putting on more speed. Before anypony could reply, loud bangs rang out over Maretime Bay, forcing them to slam on the brakes. The group looked up to see several fireworks crackling in the air,

"Fireworks?" Zipp asked.

"Oh, they're giving us a welcome party to Maretime Bay!" Izzy smiled. "Sunny must have known we were coming!"

Sonic, however, was not entirely convinced. "I've been to many homecoming parties, and I know very well that those fireworks aren’t a homecoming party for us," He said, narrowing his eyes. "Something's wrong... we need to find Sunny and Hitch. I've got a bad feeling trouble is right around the corner..."

They walked the rest of the way to the lighthouse, mainly to catch their breath, but Sonic looked back and noticed two figures running up the hill toward them. He squinted to get a better look and discovered it was Sunny and Hitch, who seemed to be running from something, or somepony.

"Sunny!" Izzy shouted before rushing to meet them halfway, the others following suit.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Sunny asked, she and Hitch stopping halfway up the hill.

"We don't care what anypony says!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Yeah! We just wanna stay friends!" Zipp agrees while Pipp nods.

"And I think I figured out what went wrong with the Crystals!" Sonic exclaimed. "Oh yeah, I'm still here, and I'm glad I'm not leaving anytime soon!"

"What do you find?" Hitch asked.

"There's a third crystal!" Sunny and Sonic said in unison. They both looked surprised but then smiled, pointed at each other, and said, "Ha, Jinx!" in unison again.

"Say what now?!” Hitch exclaimed with confusion.

But his confusion rose even further when Queen Haven and Alphabittle arrived,

"Pipp! Zipp!" Haven shouted as she galloped towards the group. "I know you're upset, darlings, my sweet little darlings, but it's time to go home now!"

"Izzy Moonbow!" Alphabittle barked. "You're gonna get us all jinxed!"

"Excuse me?!" Haven huffed to Alphabittle. "Do you see my mouth still moving? That means I'm still a-talking!"

"For the love of Chaos... Just get a room already!" Sonic yelled.

"You're all in danger!" Sunny interrupted.

"What?!” Haven and Alphabittle exclaimed.

A loud horn sounded in the air, catching the attention of everyone as they turned to look at the base of the hill. Driving out of a smoke cloud was a giant robot in the shape of an earth pony, specifically Sprout. Marching alongside the mechanical giant was an army of Earth ponies, wearing hats that supposedly prevented their minds from being read.

"Now THIS, this is the same as at home!" Sonic said with a strange smile, even for him. "A giant robot in the shape of its creator? Finally, something as crazy as my life!"

"Would you look at this? Our enemies delivered themselves to us!" Sprout announced.

"No, no, no! We're not here to fight, Mr. Big Robot Pony!" Haven explained, trying to calm the tension, but Sprout ignored her.

"I do not accept your surrender! Load the Splat-a-pults!" He demanded. However, the Earth Ponies ran away in fear, which made him groan as he activated them himself. "Why do I have to do everything myself?!"

"We have to stop that thing!" Zipp declared.

"But how?" Izzy asked.

"With magic!" Sunny said, then ran towards Alphabittle and Haven. "Quick! I need your crystals!" Both exchanged looks before deciding they had nothing to lose. Without any argument, they gave Sunny their crystals, and she turned to her friends. "C'mon! Let's go!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Sprout exclaimed, moving the massive machine toward the lighthouse. Sonic noticed this and stopped abruptly before facing the robot with a frown.

"Sonic!" Pipp cried out.

"You go and find the earth pony crystal!" he ordered. "I'm gonna..."

"Actually, the earth pony crystal is in the lighthouse!" Sunny interrupted. "My father had it on the lamp he made me years ago!"

Sonic looked at her and blinked a few times. "Ok, that's incredibly convenient, but I ain't complaining because it's a great help to us. You go get some magic back; I'll teach this guy a lesson he'll never forget!" They nodded and ran back to the lighthouse while Sonic stood before the machine.

"Hey, freak!" He shouted, stopping his robot a few meters from Sonic. "Get out of my way!"

"You know, for a temporary guy in charge, you've done a terrible job as a sheriff!" Sonic shouted. But instead of a playful banter, his voice held a serious edge. "Now, do you want to turn that stupid machine of yours off before it hurts someone, or do you want a blue hedgehog from another dimension to kick your ass?"

"You think I'm afraid of you?!" Sprout yelled back. "I won't let magic come back, and if I have to destroy the lighthouse, I will do it!"

"So kicking your ass, it is," Sonic smirked, staring straight at Sprout, who glared back in anger. "I'm glad you chose the hard way 'cause I have something really cool I wanna try out, and you're gonna be the guinea pig!"

Sprout growled a little and started to push some buttons on his machine. Sonic, on the other hand (or hoof, whichever you prefer), positioned himself to run. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the power inside of him, and he felt it gradually crackle through his body. He opened his eyes and looked at Sprout again, who was already moving the machine towards him. But Sonic smiled as his quills lit up, neon blue electricity dancing off and around his body. But instead of it uncontrollably flying around, this time, he had it under control.

“Gotta go fast!" Sonic said confidently, and his eyes turned from green to neon blue.

Not wasting any more time, Sonic charged at Sprout. The first thing the hedgehog did was tease him a bit, and he slipped under the machine, not even touching it. This confused Sprout, and he turned the robot around to charge at Sonic. The hedgehog charged at Sprout again, jumping in the air and quickly charging up a Homing Attack, unleashing shortly after at the machine and knocking it back. Usually, this attack was powerful on its own, but thanks to Sonic's new power, it was twice as powerful.

"Ooh, I should take advantage of this!" Sonic told himself with a smile. He revved his Spin Dash and launched at the machine, denting the metal. But Sonic didn't stop there: He kept going, faster and faster, before the electric trails accumulated into a single star of neon light. After hitting the machine for what might have been the hundredth time, Sonic ceased his assault, believing to have dealt more than enough damage to incapacitate the machine. The hedgehog slid to a stop before the lighthouse with a victorious smile, but as he looked up, the robot recomposed itself faster than Sonic expected and charged at the lighthouse.

"That usually worked out with Eggman..." Sonic gawked, his eyes turning green again as his newfound power faded. "Then again, this guy's... not... Eggman... oh, we're scre––! Holy chilidogs!"

He lept back as the machine he saw the robot charging towards him, then ran into the lighthouse and yelled from downstairs. "I don't know what you're doing up there, but hurry up! Sprout's getting real close to the lighthouse!"

Hitch and Zipp were the only ones to hear Sonic, and they quickly rushed downstairs to help him. The three ran towards the machine, and Zipp climbed up to one of the Splat-a-pults. Sonic gave Hitch a boost to get him up too, and the two ponies tried to remove a screw that held a Splat-a-pult to the side. Sonic hopped to the other side and did the same with the other Splat-a-pult, but when Hitch and Zipp removed the screw, the Splat-a-pult went flying and crashed into the lighthouse.

"Okay! That was a bad idea!" Hitch yelled with slight fear.

"What was a bad idea, exactly?!" Sonic called, having not seen what happened. As he removed the screw from the other one, one of the blades caught his foot and sent him flying into the lighthouse. His head bounced off one of the walls, then hit some rubble before falling flat on his face on the ground.

"...Ouch..."

Meanwhile, Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp had gone up to the second floor to set up the crystals. But such a simple task was made incredibly difficult as the fight between Sprout and their friends caused the machine to crash into the lighthouse on certain occasions, causing them to drop the crystals several times. And when it seemed they already had everything and were about to unite them, another attack slammed into the house and separated them again.

Back outside, Sonic slowly got up, brushing the dust off his head and body. Seeing that nothing worked, he decided to play his last card, one that rarely worked, but he had to try at least. Sonic revved his Spin Dash and launched himself up to the window Sprout sat behind. He landed on the 'snout' and caught hold of the machine's roof to face the earth pony.

"Let me tell you something, Sprout. When I first arrived, I thought you were an inept who cowered at anything and everything. How I hate being wrong about you... in the end, you ended up being something that everyone, your earth pony friends included, detest with their soul," Said Sonic with a threatening voice.

"Oh yeah? And what would that be?" Sprout asked with a smug grin. Sonic smiled victoriously, knowing what he would say next would hurt the earth pony.

"A villain," Sprout, in his shock, stopped thinking altogether. The word stuck in his mind, echoing and bouncing around, yet the hedgehog didn’t stop.

"The bad guy, the rotten seed, the bad third, call it whatever you want. You are all that, and many others that are even worse. You were given a simple job: To keep things in order. And you did an excellent job! In less than three days, you turned a bunch of citizens into soldiers with no experience or training, created an authoritarian regime out of excess power, and built a machine to eliminate beings that don't care about your existence in the least. Now you're trying to destroy private property because you fear something you never had!" Electricity shot out of Sonic’s body at the last two words.

“You have all the markings of a villain, Sprout. But do you think that's it? No, not even close. You're just a spoiled rich kid who will never live up to anyone’s expectations because he's too clumsy and cowardly to admit he wants to get on well with his "mommy". Do you want me to go on, Sprout? Because I can go on all night!"

Was Sprout hurt by everything he heard? Yes, without a doubt... but he thought that if, at this point, he had already become the villain…

"Well…" Sprout spoke up. "I've already become the bad guy, and I think there's no point in stopping now!"

Sonic's scowl changed to shocked horror as the machine roared to life. Sprout rammed into the lighthouse again, knocking Sonic, Hitch, and Zipp off the machine.

"Well, I tried…" Sonic said a bit giddily, shrugging before Hitch tackled him out of the way as a chunk of debris crashed onto the spot the hedgehog was standing in. Sonic was about to thank the sheriff before Hitch smacked the hedgehog upside the head.

"What were you trying to do, make him angrier?!" Hitch furiously yelled.

"I don't want to sound like a spoilsport, but Hitch's right, Sonic," Zipp said, joining the two. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"I tried to use reverse psychology on him: I tell him the truth to his face, he feels bad and gives up... but I guess it didn't work..." Sonic said with slight embarrassment.

"No, don't tell me!" Hitch exclaimed sarcastically.

Sunny and Izzy, for their part, managed to put the crystals together, but once again, nothing happened. As they do this, Sprout rammed into the lighthouse, shattering the glass dome and showering the mares in glass shards. They found their sense of balance disappear, and they grabbed onto the shattered balcony to keep from falling. Determined to take the lighthouse down, Sprout prepared to ram the lighthouse again before a voice called to him.

"Sprout! Let's put the toy away!"

Sprout turned to see his mother running up to the side of the machine, and he groans. "Mommy, please! I'm in the middle of something!"

"You come down from there right now!" She demanded.

"But, Mommy... I'm. In. CHAAAAARGE!" Sprout yelled, putting his machine at full throttle. But Phyllis stepped in front of it, seemingly unafraid of the multi-ton machine bearing down on her.

"I...said...STOP!"

Sprout frantically turned the machine away from his mom but crashed into the lighthouse.

Hitch and Zipp immediately moved away, but Sonic noticed debris blocking the door to the lighthouse before he heard Pipp call for help. His instincts taking over, he dodged the falling debris, pushed aside the debris blocking the door, and opened it for Pipp to rush out immediately. Sonic backed away entirely as the lighthouse rapidly collapsed, but then he noticed Sunny and Izzy barely holding onto the second floor's railing.

"Alright, Sonic. It's not time for thinking; it's time for running!"

Using the falling debris as platforms to jump to the top, he reached the balcony they held onto and helped them up. But he saw how the top of the lighthouse was beginning to collapse, and he remembered the entrance was blocked again, so he only had one option left.

"Girls, I know how to get you out of here. But first, do you trust me?"

"Of course!" Sunny assured.

"The question offends!" Izzy exclaimed.

"Something tells me that after this, you won't anymore..." Sonic warned with a specific sarcastic tone.

He picked Izzy up bridal style before getting a running start and jumped. He lands a safe distance away and sets the unicorn down safely. He then rushed back to Sunny and did the same thing, but he barely made it back with the rest of their friends when the lighthouse finally collapsed into the ground, a plume of dust

After it dissipated, they couldn't help but look at Sunny's former home with pity, as it was now in pieces. Sonic sighed heavily and put Sunny down carefully while Sprout came out of her machine unscathed but silently walked toward the others in fear, especially Sonic.

"...It's not the time to make jokes, so I'll save it," Sonic said. Still looking at the house, he turned to Sunny. "What happened to the crystals?" He dared to ask, though he thought he knew the answer.

"They didn't work…" Sunny said, a bit sad, but then she smiled and looked at the rest of the ponies gathered. "But I understand now."

Sonic and the others were confused but decided to let her continue.

"It's not the crystals that need to be brought together... It's us," She started. "We can bring back everything lost, but it's up to us. We can stay separated by fear and distrust... Or, we can choose friendship... We can choose love... That's the true magic."

The ponies stared at her in surprise, but her friends looked at her with smiles because they knew she was right. They just had to hope the others understood. Sunny walked over to the broken frame with her and her father's photo in it, feeling sad as she gingerly touched the fractured glass.

But her attitude brightened as Haven walked over to her and slowly pushed the left wooden frame in place, then looked at Sunny and smiled. Alphabittle came over next, and he fixed the right frame. Last came Phyllis, who pushed the top of the frame back in place.

They all looked at each other with smiles and then gave Sunny and her friends the same treatment, making the group look at each other with hope shining brightly inside them.

No one noticed as each pony species came over and pushed a piece in; streams of light began to shine from within the rubble of the lighthouse, each varying in color. Once the leaders of each race smiled at each other, the lights intensified as the crystals from each race flew out and moved toward one unsuspecting mare - Sunny.

Author's Note

Thanks to Real Solaris again for editing this chapter! :twilightsmile:

Epilogue

He woke up somewhat tired, even though he slept the usual 8 hours he was supposed to sleep. This is how Tails has felt every day for the last 6 months, ever since Sonic was sucked into a portal right in front of his eyes. The image of what he considered his older brother being swallowed by that white portal was repeated in his dreams every night since he had disappeared. That's why he tried to sleep less and concentrate solely on bringing him back.

The problem was that, now that he slept less, he couldn't work as well as before. At other times, he would finish his inventions in at least 2 weeks; if there were any difficulties, it would take him one whole month. That's how skilled Tails was at engineering and mechanics, but his concentration had deteriorated since Sonic went missing months ago. Every time he seemed to be making progress with the machine he had just built, he would discover a bug that forced him to take EVERYTHING apart and start from scratch once again.

Tails didn't usually mind starting all over again; he saw it as an opportunity to improve his engineering and mechanical skills. However, Sonic's absence and having to start all over again frustrated him, and he felt like he was failing. As a friend and brother, he spent day and night working on that invention to show Sonic that he could also count on him.

However, that only deteriorated his physical aspect. Since he was always stuck in his workshop, he didn't eat and lost a little weight, not enough to be alarmed, but he was beginning to lose some weight. He also had huge dark circles under his eyes from how little he slept, costing 2 or 3 times a week. He was also messy and dirty and did not take a moment to rest or bathe. He was too involved in building that machine that he claimed would take him back to Sonic.

But his physical appearance was not the only thing that deteriorated: his social relationships also went down the drain. He usually went out with Cream for a good time, but now he shamelessly stood her up. Sometimes, he would visit Amy for tea or talk about topics Sonic would never be able to deal with properly. Still, now he didn't even bother to look for her, although it didn't take a genius to know that Sonic's disappearance had also affected Amy.

And with Knuckles... it was with him that the relationship had worsened the most. Although he never saw him as an older brother, he knew he treated him and Sonic like younger brothers. He was always there to protect them... but Tails' perspective on Knuckles changed when he decided not to save Sonic, even though Sonic himself asked not to be rescued. Since then, Tails does not want to know anything about Knuckles, although in that aspect, his life has not been fair either because the echidna always visits him to see his current state. It wasn't bad; he was asking him to rest and get enough sleep because if he wanted to see Sonic, he had to look at least presentable.

In that aspect, Tails agreed, but he thought that he would worry about looking good to see Sonic again when the time came. He always promised Knuckles that he would rest, but he only did it to eliminate the echidna and continue his work in peace without being bothered by Knuckles' presence in his workshop. The only interesting thing Knuckles said to him was 2 months ago. He told him that Eggman managed to escape, which was the only thing that got his attention, but after a while, he stopped caring about the news and continued with his business.

"You're almost done, Tails," he said, getting up from the bed. "You just have to adjust the same coordinates that Eggman used, and you will be able to see him again..."

He walked over to the mirror, and for the first time in six months, he was horrified at what he saw. The dark circles under his eyes, his messy fur, his dirty appearance to the degree that his fur had darkened, and the smell of sweat that emanated from him. He realized that Knuckles was right, and although he hated to admit it, he must have listened when he told him to get more rest.

"I guess he's good for something other than guarding that stupid Emerald on Angel Island," he said to himself.

He decided to take it off today and dedicate himself to improving his appearance. After all, he was close to fulfilling his goal, so delaying his idea for a few more days wouldn't harm anyone.

The first thing he did was bathe, which felt wonderful because all the dirt on his body disappeared, and his fur was once again its characteristic yellow color. Once he got out of the shower and dried off, he brushed his hair back, including his two tails, which he had also neglected by spending all his time finishing that machine. He also ate more than usual; believe it or not, that helped him regain some of his lost weight. Lastly, he said that he would only rest for a few minutes before going back to work, so he lay down on his couch and slept... for two whole days, which helped him in the end since the dark circles under his eyes were already disappearing.

He woke up in his bed, bundled up, and a bit confused because he knew he had fallen asleep on his couch, so it was strange that he woke up in his bed now. He left the room, finding the last person he wanted to see, which made him frown.

"What are you doing here, Knuckles?" the younger asked in frustration.

"I came by to check on you and found you very sleepy. I'm glad to see you took better care of yourself…" Knuckles said.

"Great, now that you've seen me, get out of my workshop," Tails annoyedly requested.

"You're not going to get over it, are you?" asked the echidna

"No, and don't expect me to change my mind. You didn't let me save him, so I don't have to forgive you," Tails answered, taking an apple from the fridge and a few mints from a cabinet.

"As you wish, I won't stop coming until that thing is ready," Knuckles said, walking towards the exit.

Now Tails was intrigued to listen to Knuckles.

"What do you mean 'until that thing is done'?" Tails asked, looking genuinely confused at the echidna without a hint of anger.

"I was there when he left, Tails. I want to be there when he comes back because I know you'll be able to bring him back, no matter how difficult or impossible it sounds," the echidna explained. "Besides, you're right that he left because of me. I'd also like to apologize...for not trying to do more..."

For the first time in 6 months, Tails felt genuinely...compassionate towards Knuckles. He'd treated him all these months by holding him so tight so he wouldn't try to save Sonic, and now he was standing there, waiting for him to finish building the machine to bring Sonic back. He was still a bit angry, but at least knowing that Knuckles wanted to greet him and apologize was enough to make him think about having a truce with the echidna until Sonic returned.

"Well...you can stay," Tails said. "But I ask you not to touch anything unless I ask...please..." the younger asked.

"I won't move anything from his site," Knuckles assured neutrally. "It's not like I understand how that thing works anyway."

In the end, for the next 3 days, Tails did not work on the machine, but he decided to take care of his body a little more by eating, exercising with Knuckles, and sleeping 8 hours a day. In that short time, he also managed to reestablish his relationship with Knuckles a little more, and little by little, the resentment he felt towards the echidna was disappearing. He also visited Amy, who was worse off than him: her hair was disheveled, her dark circles were even bigger than his, and she had been in pajamas for at least 5 months. But having visited her, along with Knuckles, seems to have raised her spirits a little more, although that did not change the fact that her appearance was fatal, not to mention the mess in her house that was much worse. He tried to talk to Cream but was ignored, which didn't make him feel bad since he had done the same thing in the past few months, so he felt he deserved it. He left a note apologizing and returned to his workshop with Knuckles.

On the fourth day, Tails finally decided to put the finishing touches on his machine. Now that he was clean, his fur was groomed, his figure was in shape, and the dark circles under his eyes were gone, he felt more energetic and inspired. But he still had one more thing to do before making the first test.

"Hey, Knux," Tails called to the echidna, lying on the ground with his eyes closed.

"What's up?" Knuckles replied.

"I... I'm sorry for distancing myself from you and the others... and I'm also sorry for treating you so badly in the last few months..." Tails apologized with a rueful look.

Knuckles's eyes widened; he stood and looked at the two-tailed fox. "What happened to not changing your mind?"

"I'm not as good at keeping my word as Sonic... and it's because of him that I've done all this, but I forgot about myself and the others... I'm sorry," the younger apologized again.

Knuckles smiled slightly, walked up to Tails, and lightly patted his head.

"No worries, Tails," assured the echidna. "I must also apologize... I shouldn't have distanced myself so much from you... I guess losing Sonic affected both of us..."

"Well, do you want to find out if he can come back?" the younger asked, to which Knuckles nodded with a smile.

Without further ado, Tails turned on the machine and began writing down the coordinates he extracted from Eggman's computer before ripping it to shreds.

Little by little, the machine began to cause slight tremors throughout the workshop due to how much energy he needed and how large the machine was compared to the one Eggman had built. The machine created a small white dot, gradually growing into a large portal. But the difference with the one that swallowed Sonic was that it was not a white portal, but only white around it, because it did show the landscape on the other side: a green field with a gigantic cherry tree in the distance.

"That must be the place!" Tails exclaimed happily.

"Cool!" Knuckles also exclaimed. "I just have one question: is it normal for that thing to be so big and swallow some of your blueprints?"

Tails noticed what Knuckles was referring to and got a little nervous.

"I mean, that the portal is so big if it's normal, but that it swallows my blueprints…" the younger stopped talking as soon as he realized what he said. "It's taking my blueprints!"

Tails crossed the portal without thinking twice to retrieve the blueprint from him.

"Tails, no!!" Knuckles exclaimed, chasing the younger and also passing through the portal.

But accidentally, running towards the portal, Knuckles hit a lever that began to close it. As it got smaller, it began to swallow other things in Tails' lab, like tools, materials, food, and the machine itself.

"I got them!" Tails exclaimed, charging all the blueprints with him.

"Okay, now let's go back before…" Knuckles tried to say, but noticing everything coming towards them, Knuckles ran to Tails to cover him.

"Uh oh..." was the only thing the younger said before being knocked down by the echidna.

Soon, various materials fell on them, and the portal closed completely, leaving them stranded in another dimension. Knuckles brushed the rubble off him and looked around, discovering that he was now in that field with the cherry tree in the background.

"Great. Now we're in another dimension too…" Knuckles said, then analyzed what he just said and gasped. "Meaning..."

"That we can look for Sonic!" Tails exclaimed excitedly. "Quick, help me lift some of these things!"

"Okay. What do you have in mind?" asked the echidna curiously.

"We will build a plane like the Tornado and look for Sonic," the younger man determinedly exclaimed.

Author's Note

And the story is finished now!

Thank you all for reading the story until the end!

And thanks to JD1 as well for editing the epilogue! :twilightsmile:

I'll see you soon on my TYT adaptation including Sonic. Byeeee!

2. Escaping the law and traveling to Zephyr Heights

Sunny didn't understand what was happening, but she wouldn't find out by standing there.

"Guys, follow me!" she said while running away and dodging the traps. Izzy happily followed while jumping, and Sonic stayed behind the mares in case somepony decided to go after them. "I've gotta get you out of here!"

"Earth ponies are serious about games," Izzy giggles, running alongside Sunny.

"They're not playing! They're terrified!" Sunny explained, making Izzy gasp.

"Oh no! Of what?"

"You! You're a unicorn! Earth ponies hate unicorns!" Sunny explained.

"Really? That seems a little harsh..." Izzy says sadly.

"Just like I said before..." Sonic said from behind Izzy. "These ponies have lived in fear for far too long, and they treat pegasi and unicorns like monsters."

"Hey!" Sunny exclaims, catching the hedgehog's attention. "Who are you? WHAT are you?"

"Listen now, kid, I know you have tons of questions right now, but let's focus on what matters here, okay?" Sonic answered calmly. "I can disable those traps; I have experience with that. You take Izzy out of here, and I'll catch up with you girls later."

Sonic ran off, ready to destroy the machines and the boxes, but Sunny stopped him.

"Wait!" she called. "Before you go, can I at least know your name?" Sonic looked at her, slightly confused, but he smiled.

"Name's Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog!" he answered, immediately running away and getting rid of the splat-a-pults. Sunny saw this as her chance for her and Izzy to escape. While running towards her lighthouse, she couldn't help but notice the high speeds Sonic could reach while destroying the traps. In ten seconds flat, the splat-a-pults were destroyed. Sonic jumped onto the roof of a building and ran after Sunny and Izzy. The ponies dodged more traps on the ground, but once Sunny thought they were safe, she turned to find Izzy walking toward the theatre.

"Ooh, I haven't seen this one yet," she said in a happy tone, but she didn't realize that there was an active trap in front of her, and it sprung up around her. Sonic screeched to a stop, seeing the box where his unicorn friend was trapped. He needed to come up with something quick to rescue her...

Hitch came running around the corner, and when he saw the unicorn trapped, he confidently smiled.

"All right, citizens, calm down. The threat has been neutralized. The unicorn has been captured. You may now cheer."

The ponies did precisely that, cheering for the unicorn's successful capture. Sunny, of course, was planning on setting Izzy free, something Hitch saw.

"Sunny!" he barked, making Sunny flinch, but she kept moving closer to the box. "What are you doing?" Looking at the red button on the side of the container, Sunny reached a hoof towards it.

"Don't even think about it!" Hitch berated. Before Sunny could even touch the button, though, all the other traps were set off by seemingly nothing. Everypony looked around in confusion, and Hitch was starting to panic before his thoughts were interrupted by a new voice...

"Well, those were all the traps!" Sonic said while leaning against Izzy's cage, his arms crossed and a smirk plastered to his face. All the other ponies started to whisper and stare at the hedgehog in fear, but Hitch stood firm.

"Hey! How dare you come into our town, you freak?! Who and what are you?!" Hitch said, slowly walking towards the blue hedgehog. Sonic decided to have a little fun with the sheriff, zipping over to lean against Hitch with one arm on his back.

"Oh, you know. Just a blue hedgehog from another dimension that loves adventure and high speeds," Sonic said, then ran back to Izzy's cage. "By the way, there's this mustache guy back home who has a terrible security system. Yet, somehow, yours is even worse."

Sonic smirked, watching Hitch's reaction turn offended as he smacked the release button with the side of his fist, setting Izzy free.

"So, your name's Sunny?" Izzy asked, having heard Hitch while inside the trap.

"Well, at least we don't have to introduce ourselves anymore," Sonic said with a smile.

Seeing the unicorn was free, the earth ponies screamed and ran in random directions. Using the chaos to their advantage, Sunny guided Izzy and Sonic away.

"Bye!" Izzy called out to the earth ponies, waving a hoof goodbye. "It was nice to meet you all!"

"Yeah, it was fun!" Sonic called out happily. "Hope we do that again sometime!"

"Deputy, to the lighthouse!" Hitch pointed.

"Uh..." Sprout, instead of following the orders of his superior, purposely traps himself in one of the containers. "Oh no, I appear to be trapped."

Hitch lets out an exasperated sigh, rubbing a hoof against his forehead. “You gotta be kidding me..."

Meanwhile, Sunny, Izzy, and Sonic ran to the lighthouse, trying to put some distance between them, Hitch and Sprout. Once they reached the door, Sunny yanked it open for Sonic and Izzy. She runs in herself and slams it shut. Her dad's photo tilts again, but she quickly fixes it before running around the ground floor and closing the shutters and blinds.

After she closed the last one, she looked at both Izzy and Sonic, who stared at her with the same smiles they had been carrying to her home.

"Do earth ponies also like staring contests? Hmmmmmm." Izzy got close to Sunny's face, squinting hard before blinking. "Ah! You win, I blinked!"

Izzy walked off toward a telescope while Sunny was still in shock by what she was seeing. Sonic looked around, too, and he was impressed by how nice the lighthouse was.

"You know, this is a really nice place," Sonic complimented, putting his hands behind his head. "I'd totally live in a place like this if I ever get rid of Eggman once and for all."

Sunny, on the other hand, finally spoke up. "There's a unicorn and blue hedgehog in my house... This is so cool!" she happily exclaimed before everything that happened minutes prior came to her mind. "Oh wait, it's bad. Very, very bad. What have I done?!"

"Hey, it's no big deal," Sonic says calmly, keeping his smile in hopes it would calm the stressed mare. "I'm pretty sure we'll find a solution. Just let the sheriff calm down and put his thoughts in order. Who knows, maybe he'll even help us."

"I highly doubt he's willing to help me after I helped a unicorn to escape..." Sunny worries, but Izzy comes up to her.

"Woah, I've never seen an earth pony before…" Izzy says, looking from herself to Sunny. "We look exactly the same, except for this, of course," She points at her horn.

"Woah! Hey! Careful where you point that thing!" Sunny exclaims, carefully pushing Izzy's horn away.

"Why?" she curiously asks.

"Well... I uh... um... Sorta don't want to get zapped by a wayward laser beam. But of course, you know that already," she chuckles. "You've probably been reading my mind this whole time." Looking at Izzy's horn, a question popped into her mind. "Isn't it supposed to glow, by the way? Or does it happen when you levitate stuff?" Sunny asked.

Izzy nervously chuckled. "Well, actually..."

"Wait! Don't answer that yet. Let me get my notebook!" As Sunny went to grab her notebook, Sonic stretched his arms out.

"Well, as much as I'd love to stay and see what she has to ask, I'm exploring the place a little bit," he said, but before he moved off, he noticed Izzy's confused look. "Let's just say I'm not the kind of guy who likes to stay in the same place for too long."

He ran up the stairs and found himself in what looked like Sunny's room. The bed was a little messy, and there were a few posters with drawings on the walls, like one with a sun and one with a cloud releasing rainbow-colored lightning. On a little shelf were models of six ponies, and the hedgehog came closer to get a better look at them. There was a pink earth pony with puffy hair, an orange earth pony with a hat, a cyan pegasus with rainbow hair, a yellow pegasus with a pink mane, a white unicorn with a purple mane, and finally, what looked to be a mix of both a pegasus and unicorn pony who was lavender in color and had a navy blue mane with pink and purple stripes in it.

'Interesting,' Sonic thought. 'Whoever these ponies are, they must be important if Sunny has a lot of their merch.' Sonic picked up the figure of the lavender pony, amazed by how detailed it looked upon examination. 'Wish the toys they sell of me and my friends back home were this detailed.'

He put the figure back in its place and kept looking around. Sonic looked at pictures of all three pony kinds plastered everywhere on the walls. Some photographs and notes were tacked to a board, as well as a weird map. Sonic was amazed at how these ponies, despite having no fingers, were so advanced to make these items and how they could make things such as traps.

'Heck, if Eggman wasn't a pain in the ass, he could teach these ponies a thing or two on how to make traps or even create more helpful stuff.'

But his thinking was interrupted by an amplified voice that came out of nowhere.

"Sunny Starscout!" The feedback of the megaphone hurts Sonic's ears, and he clamps his hands over them. He looked out the window to find the two stallions from before and ran downstairs to see Sunny worriedly peeking through the blinds.

"Sunny Starscout, I know you're in there with that unicorn and creature! Come out with your hooves up and surrender!"

"Yeah, you're completely surrounded!" Sprout exclaims. Awkward silence follows.

"Will you let me do my job?" Hitch berated before yelling back into the megaphone. "You are under arrest!"

Back inside, Sunny panicked while trying to figure out a plan. "This is bad. How sneaky are you two?"

"Uh, medium sneaky?" Izzy replies.

Sonic, on the other hand? "I can get out without you even noticing."

"I can work with that," Sunny replied happily. "Okay, I'll distract them."

Before she could walk out the door, Sonic ran up and stopped her.

"No, Sunny, I'll distract those two while you and Izzy run out of here as fast as you can."

"Wait, what? No!" Sunny exclaims, her worry for Sonic growing. "They want to arrest you; didn't you hear them?"

"Yes, I did hear them, but trust me on this one, I can make sure those two won't follow us," he assured. Sunny was still unsure about this plan, but after a few seconds, she reluctantly nodded.

Soon, Sonic opened the door and walked out. When Hitch and Sprout saw him, the hedgehog smirked, waiting for one of the stallions to do something. But as neither did, he spoke up.

"You know, for this world's version of the police, I can already tell what you guys are planning," Sonic quipped.

Sprout became terrified of Sonic and grabbed Hitch's face. "He's already reading our minds! Quick, before he fries our brains!"

The red stallion runs off to Maretime Bay, surprising Hitch.

"W-What are you doing?!" He exclaims, and while he focused on Sprout, the sheriff never noticed Sunny and Izzy come out of the lighthouse and run away with Sonic following the two mares out of town.

"Where are you going?!"

"To get reinforcements!"

"We have reinforcements?" Hitch asked, but when he turned around to look at Sonic, the blue blur was gone. "Huh? Oh, come on!"

With the three escapees, Sunny and Izzy talk with each other as they run, while Sonic easily keeps up with the two.

"You don't have any magic?" Sunny pants.

"Nope," Izzy happily replied, making Sunny stop running.

"No magic?" Sunny questioned once more, lost in thought.

Sonic decided to step in and join the conversation. "Well, Izzy told me they did have it, but it just disappeared one day and never came back."

"Everypony thinks the pesky pegasi had something to do with it, but…" Izzy then noticed how tired Sunny looked. "Hey, you look kinda woozy. Are you okay?"

"I am on the run with a unicorn with no magic and a big blue hedgehog with shoes and gloves..."

"I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that..." Sonic says out of nowhere.

"What are we gonna do?" Sunny thought, but while she was trying to think, Izzy came up to her and started sniffing her face. "What are you doing?"

"Um, Izzy? Why are you sniffing Sunny?" Sonic asked, feeling a little uncomfortable.

"You don't smell!" Izzy responded to both of their questions.

"Thanks. Wait, what?" Sunny asked in confusion, while Sonic had no idea what just happened.

"Other unicorns told me that all you earth ponies smelt like rotten sardines, but you don't. Hmm..." Izzy replied.

This made Sunny curious, and she wondered what unicorns thought of ponies like herself. "What else do Unicorns say about Earth ponies?"

"Oh, just that you're lazy and not the brightest crystals in the forest," Izzy responded.

"Charming," Sunny says sarcastically.

"Nope, just those three. So, what's the plan?"

Sonic tried to come up with something until he remembered something else Izzy had mentioned earlier and recently.

"Say, Izzy, didn't you say that the pegasi stole your magic or something?" he asked the unicorn, and she nodded. "Maybe we should visit our pegasi neighbors and see if they can help. Who knows, maybe we'll even make a pegasi friend or two on the way."

Sunny immediately understood where he was going. She agreed while Izzy wasn't entirely on board.

"You're right. Sonic, Izzy, we're going on a quest… to Zephyr Heights!" she declared as she opened her book, revealing a map of Equestria.

Sonic couldn't help but notice that the map in the book and the one back at the lighthouse differed.

'Weird...' he thought, but he backlogs the thought for now. 'Maybe that was a map of another time or even another country. Who knows.'

"Uh, but the pegasi are bad news," Izzy said uncertainly.

Sonic and Sunny looked at her with confidence.

"Izzy, even though I just got here, I can say that we'll never know unless we try," Sonic stated confidently.

"Earth ponies were wrong about unicorns. They could welcome us with open wings." Sunny suggested.

"But what if they don't?" Izzy replied before running up a nearby cliffside and breaking into a song.

Izzy:
Up ahead is a sky growing dark
Where it leads is a big question mark
And I'm scared that I'll end up
A pony gone missing from Pegasus-ing

Sunny:
But you're not alone
You got a pony or two in your crew

Izzy:
I do? Who?

Sunny:
I'm lookin' out for you
When you're off track
I got your back
You can rely on me
I'm lookin' out for you

Back at home, it was Earth ponies first
Heard it so many times, I could burst
And I fought for a change, but it's lonely
'Cause, you know, party of uno

Sonic:
Well, if you need a friendly steed
Like you-know-who

Sunny:
I think I do

Sunny & Izzy:
I'm lookin' out for you
When you're off track
I got your back
You can rely on me

Sonic & Izzy:
I'm lookin' out for you
Lost in the hills
I got the skills

Sunny,Izzy, and Sonic:
Pony, let's get goin'
Get goin', get goin'
I'm lookin' oooooout

I am lookin' out...
...for you!

Before they knew it, the trio stood before a sprawling mountain range, the tips hidden by the bright snow and clouds illuminated by the setting sun. Far in the distance, on the tallest mountain, was Zephyr Heights, the city of Pegasi.

"There it is," Sonic said.

"Yup," Sunny replied. "We just have to walk a little longer, and then we'll be there."

"Great," Sonic said, stretching before laying against a lone tree. "Now, I think we should sleep before we head up there; we have a big day tomorrow, and we'll need all the energy we can get."

"You're right, Sonic," Izzy yawns, the day's activities finally catching up with her. She plops down beside Sonic, and Sunny joins her friends by the roots of the tree.

Before long, the ponies fell fast asleep, but Sonic was still wide awake. Thoughts raced through his mind, and try as he might, the hedgehog couldn't stop thinking about Tails and Knuckles. Sonic could still see the despair and sadness on Tails' face when the hedgehog was pulled through the portal clear as day. He couldn't help but wonder how his brother and friend were doing.

'He's okay, Sonic,' the hedgehog assured himself. 'He's still strong when you're not around. Even if you can't find a way back home, he'll work day and night to bring you back to Mobius... Or that's what I hope.'

Sonic looked over to the slumbering ponies, and a small smile crept onto his face. The past few hours had been hectic, but he'd made two new friends out of it and was going on a new adventure with them. Zephyr Heights loomed in the distance, the lights from the city acting like a beacon, beckoning to the hedgehog.

'Don't worry, Tails,' he thought again. 'I'm gonna help my new friends here in Equestria, and I will find my way back home.'

The hedgehog thought about what could be happening with his best friend as his drowsiness started to take over. Closing his eyes, Sonic soon joined the two mares in the realm of dreams.

The following day, the trio were on their way to Zephyr Heights. While strolling up the mountain path -too slowly for Sonic's liking- they talked to spend time and get to know each other better.

"So, Sonic..." Sunny called out, catching the hedgehog's attention. "How did you stop the splat-a-pults?"

The hedgehog smirked. "I simply took 'em down by disabling those spinning wheels they had. Piece of cake, if you ask me."

Sunny and Izzy were amazed, yet Izzy was a little curious...

"But how'd you know to do that?" she questioned. "You've never seen those things before."

"Well, let's just say I've taken care of things similar to those machines too many times to count. Heck, I could write an entire book with how often I dealt with similar things."

Sunny and Izzy shared a look of disbelief that Sonic could do something so unbelievable yet act so casual. Sunny was about to ask another question, but Izzy beat her to it.

"You know, not to freak you guys out or anything, but you do know that pegasi can steal your luminescence, don't you?" she asked, her voice laced with fear.

Sonic and Sunny exchange confused glances before looking back to the unicorn. "Our lumi-what?"

"Luminescence. You know, your Sparkle!" she stares at them both before replying. "Yours is lavender," she says to Sunny and then faces Sonic. "And yours is... light blue!" Sunny and Sonic were confused and looked at themselves before Izzy kept talking. "And the happier you are, the brighter it shines!"

Before Sunny or Sonic could say anything, they heard something land above them. Sonic went on the defensive, looking around the pass for whatever landed while Sunny and Izzy huddled behind Sonic. Something swooped behind them, making the hedgehog whirl around. It continued from above until rocks fell near them, and the trio ran for it. Looking back, they could see a figure following them.

"Run!" Sonic exclaimed. But before the mares could do that, the path ended abruptly, a sheer rock wall reaching into the clouds.

Without wasting time, Sonic ushered his friends to start climbing before running up himself. After reaching the top, he looked back to see Izzy make it, but Sunny was lagging behind. The mare looked behind her to see the figure still following them, but she was so focused on the figure that she didn't realize she was slipping off the cliff.

"Sunny!" Izzy shouted, and Sonic ran over and grabbed Sunny's hooves before yanking her up to safety.

All three sighed in relief, thinking that it was over. But before they could relax, a pegasus shot out from the clouds. Sunny and Izzy screamed and hugged each other while Sonic rolled his eyes at the mares' reaction and watched the pegasus with a bored expression. The Pegasus did some tricks, climbing up some rocks before landing. She lifted a hoof and flared her wings while looking at them sternly.

"A real Pegasus," Sunny said with awe, her fear suddenly gone.

"Nice landing," Sonic complimented, impressed by the show of acrobatic prowess.

The pegasus' eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing in front of her. "Woah, a unicorn, earth pony, and a hedgehog? Together?!"

"Well, would you look at that? Someone got it right for once," Sonic says with a smirk.

The pegasus stares in shock before smiling herself. "Okay, this day just got a whole lot more interesting."

But hoofsteps approaching the group caught her attention, and upon looking over, she saw two pegasi guards. She jumped toward the cliff edge before looking at the group. "Don't tell them you saw me."

"Yes, ma'am." Sonic quipped, stiffening his body as he held a straightened hand to the side of his forehead. The pegasus chuckles before jumping down the cliff.

"There's no way we could! We don't even know your name!" Izzy yelled, then turned to Sonic and Sunny. "She seems nice."

A scream drew their attention behind them, and they saw the pegasi guards looking at them nervously.

"Thunder, get it together!" the blue one snaps to the quivering green pegasus.

"B-But that's an earth pony!" Thunder stammered in fright.

"They're harmless and have really tiny brains," the blue one reasoned, making Sunny frown. They turned their attention toward Izzy, who gave them a friendly smile.

"What do we do about that?" Thunder asks, pointing a hoof to the unicorn.

"Well, did you bring the shield?"

"What shield?"

The blue Pegasus stared at her partner, dumbfounded. "Didn't you read the guard guide?!"

"Yes!… okay, no!" The blue pegasus groans at this.

"Fine, I got this," she sighs, flaring her wings and walking toward them.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait," Sonic says, moving between the approaching pegasus, Sunny and Izzy. "You know, it's kinda weird you're walking towards strangers just like that, so let me ask you a little question… Are you racist or something?"

"What? No! I'm just a guard!" she exclaims, then looks at him with confusion, tilting her head. "What the heck even are you?"

Sonic facepalms. "Aaaand we're right back to square one."

Author's Note

Thanks to Real Solaris once more for editing this chapter!

You seriously save my butt like you have no idea.

10. The ponies celebrate, but evil does not rest

It was an unforgettable moment to tell the truth. What began as a journey to restore magic between an earth pony, a unicorn, and a blue hedgehog from another dimension ended with six new friends fulfilling Argyle's mission: to revive the magic of friendship between earth ponies, unicorns, and pegasi.

Suddenly, the crystals from each pony race burst out of the rubble and began to swirl around Sunny.

"What's up?" Sunny exclaimed. "What's going on? What's happening?"

The crystals lifted Sunny into the air, and she grew golden-colored wings and a horn, although they looked transparent. Also, a rainbow line was painted on her mane, which was weird, but it was clear what happened: Sunny became an alicorn.

Her friends and all the ponies watching were amazed to see Sunny's new form. But the show did not end there: the three crystals came together on her and let out a rainbow ring that lit up the night sky and filled it with colors.

They all closed their eyes briefly, but when they opened them, Izzy squealed excitedly because her horn lit up purple, indicating that she now had magic. But next were Zipp and Pipp, whose wings glowed, and when they started flapping, they lifted off the ground.

"We're actually flying!" Pipp exclaimed happily as she and Zipp flapped their wings and took to the sky, where they met up with Sunny.

"Whoa, Sunny!" Zipp exclaimed. "Check you out!"

"What?" Hitch exclaimed, too taken in by Sunny's new appearance.

"I can't believe it!" Sunny smiled.

"Now that's what I call a glow-up!" Izzy pointed.

"Ten out of ten with the new look, Sunny!" Sonic added.

"Hey, look!" Pipp pointed up to the sky.

They all turned to see the rainbow ring traveling across the land.

In Bridlewood, the unicorns were still vey depressed, but as soon as their horns started to glow, they immediately became happy. The same unicorn colt that was there when the crystals didn't work the first time hopped off and ran to his dad.

"Daddy! Daddy! The magic is real!" he exclaimed happily.

Even the crystals scattered throughout Bridlewood glowed with the return of magic, as the unicorns were still becoming happy.

In Zephyr Heights, the pegasi were finally flying, and they looked quite happy as if they didn't care about anything else since they were having the time of their lives. They'd probably try to forget Haven and her daughters lying about being the only ones capable of flight, but only time will tell.

Back at Maretime Bay, Sunny watched happily as all the pony races helped clean up the place and generally spoke naturally, as if they had never been apart in the first place.

However, her greatest reward was seeing all the ponies become friends despite their differences, just as her father had always dreamed of. It was thanks to her and her friends that it became possible.

Everywhere she looked, young foals from different pony tribes ran around, playing and laughing together. An earth pony foal was happily chasing after Cloudpuff.

"Aw, you made a new friend!" Haven cooed, cuddling her cheek against Cloudpuff before he resumed playing with the foal.

"Hi there, buddy!" Alphabittle greeted a young colt, who stared in awe.

Meanwhile, Hitch and a few Earth ponies watched in fascination as Izzy and the other unicorns put the train track back in place, all thanks to their magic.

Sonic stood on a balcony, smiling at the sea and the colorful night sky. He closed his eyes and inhaled the fresh air the wind blew, finally feeling the peace he longed for.

"Hey! Uh..." a voice asked, and Sonic turned around to find Sprout. "About the whole...trying to arrest Sunny and you thing... Can we... forgive and forget?"

"I think I can do that, yeah," Sonic said. "Just... I think you also should make up for your mistakes. How about doing some community service?"

"Sure, if that helps and can make everyone else forgive me, I don't see why not," Sprout said with a little smile.

"Very well, then. Hey Hitch!" Sonic called the sheriff.

"Yes, sir?" Hitch asked.

"First of all, never call me sir again," Sonic said, a little mad but then cut the act. "Can you watch this earth pony doing his community service? You know, make sure he does his job, and don't let him lie down on the job. Or else... well, you know," he winked.

"You got it!" Hitch said, returning the wink.

"Oh, and Sprout..." Sonic called the red stallion, "Sorry for what I said back in the lighthouse... I crossed the line by letting rage get over me..."

"I deserved it, so no hard feelings," Sprout assured.

"Well then, now go and do your community service!" Sonic yelled jokingly.

"Well, you heard the hedgehog!" Hitch said, talking seriously. "Pick up those litters! That's an order!"

"Yes, sir!" Sprout whimpered as he immediately went to work. "Sheesh. From an Emperor to community service... My life has taken a weird twist..."

"Sonic?" Sunny called, walking up to him and Hitch with the others. "Shouldn't you go home? Now that we have magic, maybe we can help you."

"Honestly, I think that can wait," Sonic said with his eyes closed, then opened them to find his friends surprised by what he said. "The only way I know to return is probably not here in Equestria. And even if it was, all of its power was drained, so I still don't have a way to return. But that's not a bad thing at all. It means I'll be here with you guys for a while."

"So you're not leaving?!" Pipp asked, almost jumping for joy.

"I'd have to be crazy to leave when you guys are at your best!" Sonic answered with a big smile.

"Well, you did it, Sunny!" Hitch congratulated.

"No! We did it! Together!" she said while bumping Hitch on the shoulder.

"Now we never have to be apart!" happily Izzy exclaimed while bouncing.

They put their hooves/hand together and yelled, "Hooves to Hearts!" in unison.

But then Sonic noticed someone coming to them. "Uh... What's with that guy and the balloons?" he asked while pointing at something.

Suddenly, an earth pony dropped down at that exact moment after his long balloon trip worldwide.

"Whew! Hey, guys. What did I miss?" he asked the ponies and the hedgehog.

After helping his friends clean up Maretime Bay, Sonic walked through a field, whistling the melody of the song that Pipp had yet to finish singing, but it was quite sticky to him. Suddenly, he noticed a trio of foals walking past him.

"Glowing up!" a unicorn foal sang.

"Kind of love!" an earth pony followed.

"We say high! You say what?" the pegasus sang, with their friend saying the last part together with a laugh. "Race you the bridge!"

"Oh, it's on!" the unicorn raced.

"No using your magic this time!" the earth pony foal shouted, chasing after her friends.

"Last one there is rotten sardine!"

"I'm gonna win this time!"

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head in delight at the little foals, happy to see that the Equestria Sunny always dreamed about was now a reality.

"If those legends her father told her are true, then those six mares did exist long ago, huh?" Sonic said. "All this power of friendship stuff is something I'm not used to, although I have used it sometimes. I just hope that whatever the future holds for me in this land will be amazing". He then looked up at the sky, still shining with colors. "And Tails, don't worry about me. I'm okay and promised to return. Until then, I'm gonna have some fun with my new friends here in Equestria."

Sonic turned around but then looked back at the sky. "Oh, and Knuckles, please take care of him. I know he can stand for himself, but it would be good if someone worried about him," he said with a little smile. With that, he turned his sight to Maretime Bay and ran at top speed to the town, ready to see what new adventures he could have with these ponies.

"123 days," Eggman growled. "123 days since that blue plague disappeared into another dimension, and his friends confined me to this stupid dungeon in Station Square!"

As Eggman himself said, he was locked in a very deep and hidden cell in Station Square to prevent his machines from locating and rescuing him. He had been trapped there for 4 months now, the same time that Sonic had been out in another dimension, and with each passing day, he became increasingly frustrated that his plans had gone to hell because of Knuckles, who knocked him out before he could even escape.

He tried every possible way to get out of his confinement for 2 months straight, but eventually, he gave up and accepted that he had no way out. Every once in a while, Shadow or Rouge would come by to deliver him some food, but they just did that; they left immediately and left him alone. If it were up to them, they would leave him there for him to die once and for all, but Tails insisted on letting him live, although he did allow them only to feed him twice a week.

"I don't understand how it all went so wrong... it was a fail-safe plan!" Eggman yelled in frustration. "I just had to knock out his friends and lure him out, then piss him off so he'd use the Emeralds, then activate the machine and get rid of him; that was perfect! But NOOOOOO! His stupid friends had to come and knock me out to send everything to hell!"

I've spent my whole life chasing a fat, broke man with delusions of grandeur who has all the potential to do incredible things and wastes it on ridiculous and dangerous schemes that do more damage than they repair. And yet you have the nerve to say that you plan to bring that misery to others on worlds that don't know you exist and can't defend themselves from the human scavenger you're made of, Robotnik!

Those words echoed again in Eggman's mind. Every time he felt defeated and frustrated at being locked up, Sonic told him all when he fell right into the trap. They hurt at the time, and they did now, but having plenty of time to reflect, he always concluded that Sonic was destined to kick his ass until the doctor gave up. Before, the idea of giving up would never have crossed his mind, but given his current state, since he was more and more convinced that everything Sonic told him was true, that idea haunted his mind, and he was starting to lean towards said idea.

"Never in my entire life have I ever sat down to consider giving up..." Eggman said to himself, "But unfortunately, I have no other options. Besides, what's the point of continuing to fight if no one will listen to me even if I win fair and square? They will always rise against me..."

"So, after so many years of defeat and humiliation by a blue hedgehog in slippers, it's only now that you're considering giving up, doctor?" a female voice suddenly asked.

Eggman was startled to hear someone else. After lying on the ground, he inspected everything around him. But nothing was out of the ordinary beyond the toilet, bed, and sink inside his cell.

"Who's there?!" Eggman demanded an answer. "Show yourself if you think you're so brave by speaking to me from the dark!"

"It is unnecessary to be so abrupt, doctor," the voice spoke again.

Suddenly, a purple glow appeared in the room, releasing smoke that clouded Eggman's vision and made him cough a little. When the smoke dissipated, what he saw in front of him confused him too much: he found an alicorn with purple fur and sky blue mane; her horn was curved and mixed with sky blue and purple colors, her eyes were light blue, and her purple wings. The alicorn gradually approached until she was face to face with the doctor.

"I'm glad to meet you, doctor Eggman," said the alicorn.

Eggman blinked a couple of times, and seeing that the strange equine was still there, he laughed lightly until that laugh turned into a laugh while he rubbed his head in desperation.

"I finally freaked out..." Eggman said, still laughing a little. "4 months trapped in this cell have finally made me go completely crazy... I'm listening to a horse with wings and a horn speak..."

But his laughter stopped as he felt his entire body struck by lightning from the alicorn's horn. The doctor got up from the ground in pain and saw the horse terrified.

"Do you think that was just your imagination?" asked the alicorn.

"W- Who are you? The messenger of death? Have you come to kill me?!" asked the doctor, trying to sound threatening, without success.

"Kill you?" asked the equine in disbelief. "No, no, doctor. I'm here to rescue you from this hovel."

"What for? To use me and then throw me away when I'm no longer useful to you?" asked the doctor, now annoyed. "Because if that's the case, thanks for the offer, but I'd rather stay in the pigsty and rot here."

Eggman turned around, turned his back on her alicorn, and crossed his arms, waiting for her to get away from her and leave him alone. But since nothing went right for him, that didn't happen.

"Oh, doctor, doctor, doctor... I'm not incompetent, but I want to take advantage of you. I just came because I thought you'd like to feel free and powerful again to end that... what did you call it? Blue plague," said the alicorn.

"Well, find out, doll, Sonic went to another dimension, but it's a matter of time before he comes back here... luckily for him, I won't be in his way anymore because I'm here, rotting in a cell," Eggman snapped with annoyance.

Suddenly, the doctor felt like he was running out of air. Turning around, he saw the equine's horn lit up again and half-noticed his neck wrapped in the same color.

"Never call me a doll again," warned the alicorn, and then released the doctor, who breathed quickly and with fear. "And I know Sonic isn't in this pathetic world of weirdos. He's hanging around with new friends in my dimension."

Now, the horse finally caught the doctor's attention.

"Your dimension?" Eggman asked, genuinely intrigued. "Elaborate."

"You see, doctor. I come from a world where there is magic everywhere. Unfortunately, it only works when there is peace, love, and all those sweet things. But, in the right hands, it can be a source of wealth, prestige, and…" She leaned close to the doctor's ear and whispered, "Power."

Eggman felt her 'evil genius' ignite within her, and then he looked at the alicorn with a sinister smile.

"Excuse me, madam. I think I was too rough with you. Shall we introduce ourselves properly this time?" the doctor asked the alicorn, who returned another sinister smile. "I'm Doctor Ivo Robotnik, but everyone around here calls me 'Eggman.' Don't worry, after a while, I don't find it offensive anymore if it even has a certain charm."

"Well, delighted, Doctor Robotnik," said the alicorn, making a small bow. "My name is Opaline, and I want to take you to a magical land called... Equestria."

"Please, Opaline, continue," asked the doctor, still with that smile.

"First things first, doctor. I have to get him out of here. Oh, and I'll also need his help investigating this Sonic guy. He moves too fast for me, and I can't detect any weak spots in him," Opaline requested.

"I'll be happy to help you, Opaline," Eggman assured. "Just get me out of here. Let's quickly stop at my lab and then harass Sonic and his new little friends."

The alicorn lit his horn, and they appeared in the middle of one of the doctor's laboratories in no time.

"I won't question how you do all those things because I don't understand anything about magic," the doctor said sarcastically.

The first thing he did was take off his prisoner clothes and put on his usual clothes, which he is seen wearing all the time.

"That's how I like it!" exclaimed the doctor, feeling like the king of the world again. "The egg has been reborn!"

"You have a very... particular style, doctor," said the alicorn, looking at all the technology Eggman had. "In a good way, of course."

"Now that I have my style back, let's put a few beauties to work," Eggman said, rubbing his hands together as he put a few machines to work. "By the way, if you don't mind my asking, how did you get from your world of talking ponies to here?"

"Oh, don't worry. I think you'll be interested.".

She made her horn glow and levitated two yellow and silver colored gems, respectively. Eggman was speechless when he saw those stones because the last time he saw them, he had extracted the power from him with his machine, and then they were lost in a portal with five other stones and with Sonic.

"C-Chaos Emeralds?! But how?? They got lost with Sonic months ago...!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Ivo, it's simple. The Emeralds also ended up on my land, although I only found 2. I was walking quietly through my castle when I heard a crash. I went to investigate and found large pieces of metal and a strange machine in my garden. Inside, there were these two beauties you see here. If I'm not mistaken, there are 7 Emeralds, isn't there?" she asked. "I also found seven spots on that weird machine of yours."

"Yes, and with all seven together, its wearer can use chaos for good or ill. I guess you've learned about Chaos Control; there's no other way you'd end up here..." Eggman theorized.

"You are correct, doctor. And thanks to these Emeralds, not only will I be able to take you with me to Equestria…"

"We can also have some fun with Sonic and company, right? I love how you think, Opaline," Eggman said with a smile. "And with just these 2, I'll be able to locate the whereabouts of the other 5, if Sonic still hasn't found any, of course..."

"I can assure you that the hedgehog has no idea that his return ticket is in the same world as him. At least, he doesn't know yet," Opaline assured.

"Opaline, you and I will be very good friends!" Eggman assured now.

"Oh, I think so!" Opal exclaimed.

They maniacally laughed until Eggman decided to re-prepare some of his machines to travel to Opaline's home. Having fully set them up, he helped the alicorn open a portal to Equestria. First came the doctor's machines, which appeared in a dark, gloomy castle in some unknown part of Equestria.

"After you, ma'am," Eggman said to Opaline, bowing and pointing with one hand to the portal the Chaos Control of the Emeralds opened.

"Oh, what a gentleman!" the alicorn said, crossing the portal.

So you're still alive, you bastard. Well, not for long, Sonic. If you thought you had gotten rid of me, you better get ready because now two dimensions will fall under the clutches of my empire! Oh, and under the hooves of this mare, of course.

And with that last thought, Dr. Eggman stepped through the portal to Equestria.

Only two inmates were in the secret cells under Station Square: Eggman and Zero-Infinite, but without powers since the Phantom Ruby no longer exists. The latter was found shortly after half-dead in the middle of nowhere but was cured and imprisoned after having contributed to world domination. And when Shadow found out that the same guy he tore apart outside Casino Forest was Infinite, he didn't stop taunting the jackal for at least 3 weeks.

Right now, Shadow was walking around that prison, carrying a cardboard bag with the first food he found in his fridge to throw into Eggman's cell and then out of there. If it were up to him, he would let him die in that place, but Tails insisted so much on feeding him that he had to give in in the end.

This is pathetic, Shadow thought. What's the point of letting him live? Not just him, but Zero's weakling too. They should both be dead, buried meters underground, and forgotten there. It's what they deserve.

Coincidentally, he passed by Zero's cell, and Shadow smirked.

I think I'll have some fun before I deliver the stupid lunch to the fat man.

Shadow touched one of the bars in Zero's cell as if it were a door, which caused the jackal to wake up since he was sleeping soundly. Seeing who had teased him, to Shadow's surprise, he smirked.

"Boy, look what they brought me to my cell. A dirty, pathetic, broken cloned hedgehog," Zero scoffed.

"You should be thankful that these bars are between us; otherwise, I would have already knocked your teeth out," Shadow said in a threatening tone.

"Oh, how scary!" Zero said sarcastically, "Your threats are worthless here, Shadow. So suck up to your bullshit and get lost. You and I have nothing left to do."

Zero turned around and was about to lie down again, but...

"Oh, I know. I just wanted to see my favorite weakling," Shadow blurted out with a smirk.

The jackal slammed to a stop, and he felt his blood boil at the word 'weakling.' He clenched his fists in anger, which Shadow saw and smirked at, but Zero let go of his anger by taking a deep breath and letting go of his fists, which wiped Shadow's smile away.

"I tell you something?" Zero asked, not seeing Shadow. "So much time in this cell has made me reflect. I still hate being called weak, I admit it, but I have learned to live with it. I no longer explode in anger or make rash decisions like giving up my freedom to be all-powerful and serve a fat man's empire."empireYou would say that...you have matured, right?" Shadow asked.

"Yeah, something like that," Zero answered, finally turning to look at the hedgehog. "I don't understand why they saved me after what I did..."

"Thank Sonic and his stupid kindness for that Zero," Shadow said, annoyed. "Because if it were up to the rest of us, you'd be dead, and your corpse would be floating in a river or Lava Rift."

"Ah, yes. Sonic. Everyone's favorite hero who always gave everything for the good of others…" Zero said. "Still no news on him?"

"That's none of your business," Shadow said, crossing his arms and turning his back on her.

"I was just curious," said the jackal with obviously feigned innocence.

But even though Shadow knew it was just a trick to get him to talk, he decided to give in and tell her anyway. "We don't know anything yet. He's still trapped in another dimension, and we know nothing about it. Are you happy?"

"A little," Zero said, leaning back. "Oh, by the way, the doctor has been very quiet. I guess he's already dead or just asleep. I don't know, and I don't care."

Shadow rolled his eyes and walked away from Zero's cell without saying goodbye. He approached the doctor's cell door and realized he was quiet inside. He opened the grill where he and Rouge usually passed their food and slid the bag in before closing it tightly. But not hearing a sarcastic reply or comment from Eggman, like he used to do when he was given food, Shadow began to fear the worst. He opened the grille that allowed him to see inside and immediately loudly swore as he pulled his communicator and dialed Rouge.

"Rouge! If you can hear me, put all G.U.N. units in search and capture mode everywhere!" ordered the hedgehog over the comm. "This is a huge code red! This is not a drill or a joke! I repeat: This is NOT a drill or joke! We have a code red!"

"Now, what's wrong that you won't let me sleep?" Zero groaned from his cell, getting up and meeting Shadow's terrified gaze. That would have amused him in other times, but now he was a little afraid.

Shadow looked at Zero and frowned.

"Dr. Eggman has escaped!"

To be continued...

Author's Note

Finally! I'm done with the main story.

I have to admit I only brought in the clash between Shadow and Zero to add a bit of drama, but it's not really going anywhere. Still, I found it interesting to put it, so I hope you don't mind :)

Also, thanks to JD1 for editing this chapter! :twilightsmile: